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- Topic: Latin >
- "Vates est vir sacer."
33 Comments
Hello all - we are aware that this sentence originally had a typo ("bard is" becoming one word "bardis"). We've already fixed it on our side, but it often takes a few days before our updates are reflected on the user side. We appreciate your patience as the sentence goes through the update process.
Noted. Thanks for the update! :)
Volgav vitsenanieff nivya kevach varatsach.
What is the second sentence? The language doesn't seem to have something to do with Latin
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.
It is a sequence of characters that helps the author find their own posts, I guess.
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've reported it - they seem to be quite quick on acting on problems
The meaning of vātēs as 'bard' is correct only in restricted contexts. The primary meaning is 'prophet' or 'seer' and these meanings should be accepted as correct. Cf. the entry in the Oxford Latin Dictionary.
Agreed. Better for "bard" would be poeta or cantor (used by Cicero and Horace.)
The hints also give soothsayer (not sure if it is accepted, I haven't tried). Have you used the report function to suggest these alternatives?
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.
«Vivere post mortem vates vis nosse viator?
Quod legis ecce loquor, vox tua nempe mea est».
Oh traveller, would you like to know that the poets live on after death?
Behold, I speak what you read, your voice is indeed now my own.
—Alcuin of York (8th century), Carmina.
Anyone who plays DnD knows that bards are definitely NOT holy men, lol.
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.
Thanks, that makes sense. I just forgot that the pagan gods are not always, if ever, morally good.
Why is 'bard' no longer accepted for 'vates'? It was a few days ago, but now you can only write 'seer'.
Each prompt has its own answer database. It's possible there are oversights/omissions from one database to another. Alternatively, there could have been an error somewhere in your answer. Next time, please copy and paste the full text of what you wrote so we can look at it and see what's going on.
Well, it must be back again now, because I typed it and it was accepted.
"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.
Some nouns are irregular. We have the same thing in English: one fish, many fish; one sheep, two sheep.
