Re: Question

From: cafaristeir
Message: 68208
Date: 2011-11-14

From my own Latin knowledges, I think you did right :

"negamus" = "we deny"
"we refuse" would be "nolumus".

"peccasse" = "having sinned" (or, as you say: having made a mistake).
This is a shortening of "peccavisse".
The present infinitive is "peccare".

However, "falli" (passive of "fallere") can mean "to be mistaken, to err".

Word by word, I would read : "If we deny having sinned, we are mistaken, and no truth is in us"

Olivier
http://sambahsa.pbworks.com/

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Torsten" <tgpedersen@...> wrote:
>
>
> In
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Latin_phrases_(full)
> I changed the translation of
> 'si peccasse negamus fallimur et nulla est in nobis veritas'
> from
> 'if we refuse to make a mistake, we are deceived, and there's no truth in us' (Google: 6.210 hits)
> to
> 'if we deny having made a mistake, we are deceived, and there's no truth in us' (Google: 1 hit, namely my Wikipedia-correction)
>
> Did I do the right thing, cybalist?
>
>
> Torsten
>