I'm confused. The description for the above picture gives the translation of the Latin as, 'to/for the glory of God and the welfare of the neighbour/nearest'. As far as I can tell, glōria and salūs are both in the accusative and preceded by the preposition in. Having looked up the usage of in, I read that when used with the accusative, it means either into, on to or against. Why then does the translation begin with 'to/for?
Inspirational in gloriam dei et salutem proximi
- Thread starter Mikael71
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I'm confused. The description for the above picture gives the translation of the Latin as, 'to/for the glory of God and the welfare of the neighbour/nearest'. As far as I can tell, glōria and salūs are both in the accusative and preceded by the preposition in. Having looked up the usage of in, I read that when used with the accusative, it means either into, on to or against. Why then does the translation begin with 'to/for?
It's quite often that Latin inscriptions are loosely translated.
I'd read it as "into the glory of God and the welfare of (our) neighbor."
I'd read it as "into the glory of God and the welfare of (our) neighbor."
It appears to be a sign on a building. Perhaps it indicates the purpose of the building, or the desires of the owner (or builder), that the work be used for the glory of God and benefit of the neighbor. In with accusative can indicate purpose. Translating as "to" or "for" is fine in English to indicate purpose. This is a good example of why translation is an art as much as a science.
This is a case of use II C as per Lewis & Short:
Thank you for the additional information. Much appreciated.