Sunday, February 19, 2012

Epitaphium Athei

Here is today's distich by John Owen, with an English translation by Thomas Harvey, 1.28. While I am an atheist myself, I have to say I am very impressed by Owen's deft use of the Latin future participles here! :-)

Epitaphium Athei
Mortuus est, quasi victurus post funera non sit:
Sic vixit, tanquam non moriturus erat.


THE ATHEIST'S EPITAPH
He died, as if dead, no Life There were:
As if There were no Death, He lived Here.


The vocabulary is keyed to the DCC Latin Vocabulary list. There are two words which are not on the DCC list:

atheus -a -um - atheist
epitaphium, n. - epitaph, eulogy

fūnus, funeris n.: funeral; death; dead body
morior morī mortuus sum: die
nōn: not
post: after (adv. and prep. +acc.)
quasi: as if
sīc: in this manner, thus; sīc . . . ut, in the same way as
sum, esse, fuī: be, exist
tamquam: so as, just as
vīvo -ere vīxī victum: live