Defeat your demons

Tiaa92

New Member

Good morning everyone,
Let me introduce myself, my name is Mattia and I'm new to the Forum.
Unfortunately, Latin is a language that I have not studied and therefore I am here to kindly ask you experts for advice on the translation of this phrase:

"Defeat your demons"

It literally means the act of defeating one's problems or insecurities (I chose to call them demons).
It's a phrase addressed to myself as I read it.
Last, but not least, is a phrase for a tattoo, my first.

I thank you all in advance
 

AoM

nulli numeri

  • Civis Illustris

It's not exactly what you wanted, but just to get an idea (or at least possible template) out there: Virgil wrote the famous expression quisque suos patimur manis ("We each endure our own ghosts/demons").
 

Tiaa92

New Member

It's not exactly what you wanted, but just to get an idea (or at least possible template) out there: Virgil wrote the famous expression quisque suos patimur manis ("We each endure our own ghosts/demons").
Thanks for the reply, you were very kind and I am grateful.
It's a good idea and I will consider it, but I would like to express more of a concept of liberation and victory rather than suffering.
How could I do? Can you kindly tell me if they exist or advise me where to find other famous expressions about it, to express the my original phrase? Or simply advise me on how to translate the my original phrase? I would like to have as complete a vision as possible and then make the choice.

I thank you all in advance
 

Pacifica

grammaticissima

  • Aedilis

Location:
Belgium
The difficulty here is that the Latin word for "demon" isn't normally used to convey the figurative meaning that "demon" has in your English phrase.

"Defeat your demons" can be translated literally as vince daemones tuos. But that's a calque of English, not something a Latin speaker would have said or maybe even understood.

There is a Latin word that comes at least somewhat close to this idea of "demons": furiae, the "Furies", a type of avenging spirits in Greek and Roman mythology. Their name was sometimes used figuratively to mean some kind of madness or obsession. Using that word maybe you could say vince furias tuas.
 

Tiaa92

New Member

The difficulty here is that the Latin word for "demon" isn't normally used to convey the figurative meaning that "demon" has in your English phrase.

"Defeat your demons" can be translated literally as vince daemones tuos. But that's a calque of English, not something a Latin speaker would have said or maybe even understood.

There is a Latin word that comes at least somewhat close to this idea of "demons": furiae, the "Furies", a type of avenging spirits in Greek and Roman mythology. Their name was sometimes used figuratively to mean some kind of madness or obsession. Using that word maybe you could say vince furias tuas.
You were very kind.
I didn't know this, it's very interesting to learn new things.
Thank you for the clarification.
 

Clemens

Aedilis

  • Aedilis

Location:
Maine, United States.
I will dissent (slightly) and say that you could feel comfortable using vince daemones tuos, or some variant, even though it would not be understood by an ancient Roman in the sense that you are understanding it. My reasoning is that Christian Latin (notably the New Testament) uses daemon in a sense that is already different to how the pre-Christian Romans would have understood it, and it's precisely the Christian notion of demonic possession and obsession that is the origin of our modern figurative meaning of psychological torment or obsession, at least at the level of terminology.
 

Tiaa92

New Member

[CITAZIONE="Clemens, post: 735356, membro: 23869"]
Non sono d'accordo (leggermente) e dico che potresti sentirti a tuo agio usando vince daemones tuos , o qualche variante, anche se non sarebbe compreso da un antico romano nel senso in cui lo stai intendendo tu. Il mio ragionamento è che il latino cristiano (in particolare il Nuovo Testamento) usa daemon in un senso che è già diverso da come lo avrebbero inteso i romani precristiani, ed è proprio la nozione cristiana di possessione demoniaca e ossessione che è l'origine del nostro moderno significato figurato di tormento psicologico o ossessione, almeno a livello di terminologia.
[/CITAZIONE]

Comprendo e approvo il tuo ragionamento e ti ringrazio per la risposta.
 

Iacobinus

Civis

  • Civis

Location:
Lutetiæ Parisiorum
What incites to do something bad, the figurative meaning of dæmon, could be said furor, oris, m.
As suggested Pacifica, someone evil, another figurative meaning of dæmon, could be called a furia, æ, f., and, indeed, “driven by his dæmons” seems to had been meant as something like his instinctus furiis by Livy.
 
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