Let’s take this refrain (it’s repeated) since it’s the hardest to translate. (On the web, some Ace of Base fan sites will translate this as “the greatest in all time” which is wrong, wrong, wrong – ‘greatest’ is ‘maximus’ or ‘magnissimus’ in Latin.)
Literally it means “he/she/it rejoices forever.” There’s no subject, (common in Latin), and so we assume one in English with a personal pronoun. The verb could also mean ‘magnifies’ or ‘amplifies’ or ‘exalts’ or ‘praises,’ but that would be a transitive form requiring a direct object, of which there is none in this line.
However, I suspect that that is not what this line is all about. Sometimes famous texts are known by their opening and closing words such as here. The ‘song’ that Mary, the mother of Jesus, sings in the first chapter of Luke begins with “magnificat” and ends with “in secula” (in Latin, of course). And so, you’ll sometimes see that text referred to in the shorthand as “magnificat…in secula.” So, in fact, the verb is transitive, with Dominum [the Lord] being the object that Mary’s soul [anima mea in the original text, being the subject of the sentence] is magnifying/praising. (Side note, later ecclesiastical Latin will spell it “saecula.”
This line is transliterally “and soul my praise.” And so, one would think that it is properly translated, “and praise my soul” as in the psalm which exhorts one’s own self or soul to praise the Lord: “Praise the Lord, my Soul!” However, there’s one catch: ‘praise’ is in the plural. It works for the first line (see below), but it should have been ‘lauda’ to match ‘anima’ in number (i.e., singular). Now, ‘anima mea’ does go with ‘magnificat,’ in fact, Mary’s Song begins with, “Magnificat anima mea…”
Note that many, many times a line in ecclesiastical Latin will begin with ‘et’ like it was a bad habit (and I went to the store; and I bought some detergent; and I went home; and I got into an accident; and the other guy was all wiggin’ out; and… and…).
[QUOTE]
**laudate omnes gentes laudate **[/QUOTE
Ah, this is simple: “Praise, all nations, praise.” Or, to biblify it: “Give praise, all ye nations, give praise!”
To the Lord, of course. It’s from Psalm 117 (Psalm 116 in the Latin Vulgate), the shortest Psalm (I think). St. Paul quotes it in Romans 15:11.
I think this whole stanza is just corrupted lines from somewhat famous prayer texts, mostly from Evening Prayer (i.e., ‘Vespers’) in which the Magnificat appears all the time and Ps. 117 is often used.
You’re not going to be able to make a coherent English translation from it. Sorry.
Pax tibi.