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- "Vates est vir sacer."
33 Comments
It's a sentence in a conlang I made, meaning "Two rivers do not flow the same direction." I use it to mark my posts so I can find them again, since Duolingo doesn't have an option to search by username and my Followed list is super duper long already. Case in point, it's the only reason why I rediscovered this one and saw your question. ;)
Thanks for asking!
Volgav vitsenanieff nivya kevach varatsach.
706
ehartz by name and all-heart by nature... you're so nice in your responses and so quick to respond.
thank you for you and your colleagues have done and are doing.
cursus magnopere mihi placet!
I reported because the English "correct" version (it accepted my "a bard is a holy man," but told me I had an extra space) was "A bardis a holy man." However, there was no check box to indicate that the problem was in the English. Anyway, the Latin team has already corrected it; it might take a few days. Not a good translation anyway, since what one thinks of are the bards in Shakespeare's time who were poets.
Hey guys, for a change a question about sacer:
I'm reading here
http://www.latin-dictionary.net/definition/33851/sacer-sacra-sacrum
that sacer means both holy and accursed. That can't possibly be true, can it? That's like giving one word both the meaning yes and no.
If the gods give you something, it can be sacred because it comes from the gods, and it can be a terrible burden to bear. Think of how people today can describe something as "a blessing and a curse". If you think about the origins of words, it can be easier to see how they can develop different meanings. Like "ciao" can be used as a "hello" greeting or a "good-bye" salutation.
"Sacer" in plain language didn't mean "holy", but "damned by the gods". It technically indicated the victim of a sacrifice, so something or someone that belongs to the gods. Extensively, in the early giuridical language the word used to mean the capital punishment, for exemple like "sacer esto" in the XII tables.