My command of the Latin language was never the stuff of legend even in its prime, and is now rusty beyond utility. Nonetheless I have volunteered on the part of a friend to render a phrase into Latin, and would not wish to have him appear a complete stultus when it is unveiled in a public forum.
The phrase in question is “Free the imagination!” I would think that the simplest way to translate it would be “imaginationem libera.” I have no idea, however, whether this is idiomatically correct. Should the plural imperative be used instead? Or would it be best (gulp) to employ the hortatory subjunctive? Any recommendations would be appreciated.
Seems like I usually see the imperative written first in a sentence where it appears, though obviously that’s not a requirement. Also, I’d be in a quandry as to whether to make this singular or plural.
I think that a simple imperative is best (in the singular, especially if it’s written: you’re addressing each reader individually, sequentially). The gerundive is more about the imagination than the freeing: “Imagination: it must be set free!” as opposed to “[You there:] free the imagination.” In the Vulgate the imperative “libera” seems to preceed the object so I’d suggest: Libera imaginationem!
I think you’re right on the money, Dr. Drake. The message being conveyed is a clarion call to action – the gerundive, while more poetic, is also more ambiguous in the degree of necessity it expresses. As to the word order, I recall an article I had to read many and many a year ago that explained Latin word order as being a matter of emphasis (actually it used the phrase “communicative dynamism” but I’d managed to block that out until now). By placing the verb first, one lends it a bit more oomph than the more standard S-V structure.
As using the singular rather than the plural imperative does not seem to strike anyone as an egregious error, I think that Libera imaginationem is my answer.
While my dictionary agrees with you that animus is a better fit as far as definition, I think it’s too easily confused with anima. The cognates need to be fairly recognizable to the non-Latin speaker.
The literal translation is “Carthage is going to be destroyed”, and implies necessity in the same sense as “Carthage has got to be destroyed”. That’s my take on it at least.
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As to the OP’s questions, I would suggest the use of the hortatory subjunctive for this, but it depends quite a bit on the context. I really don’t know exactly how this command is being used, but it seems more along the lines of a general request to suggest a course of action than a direct demand for something to be done.
