# Of the importance of purity



## Casquilho

Hello again Latinists.
I've figured out a title for the essay I've being written, "Venus Verticordia or Of the importance of purity to the cult of the Felix Dea", which I've made to Latin thus:

_Venus Verticordia vel De integritatis [...] ad cultum Felicis Deae"_

Can you help me with the word "importance" to fill the [...]? The _integritatis _I've taken from Catullus' Carmen 34, and Felix Dea alludes to the statue of Venus Felix erect by Hadrian.

Thanks in advance.


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## Giorgio Spizzi

Hullo, Cas.

I suspect _integritatis_ is a Genitive: shouldn't it be _integritate _?

GS


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## Casquilho

Giorgio Spizzi said:


> Hullo, Cas.
> 
> I suspect _integritatis_ is a Genitive: shouldn't it be _integritate _?
> 
> GS



The subject is _importance_, that's why I've used _integritatis _in genitive: "Of the importance *of purity;* I couldn't find in Classical Latin at least, a translation to "importance" that would convey the intended meaning.


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## Giorgio Spizzi

Certainly, Cas. So sorry.

GS


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## Scholiast

Salvete amici!

So far as I know, there is no single Latin word that would ideally stand for "importance" in this context (_gravitas, momentum _and the _-tudo_ words such as _magnitudo_) all seem to miss the required nuance.

Casquilho may be best advised to re-phrase with a clause, such as:

..._quantum integritas valeret ad cultum..._

or 

..._quomodo integritas referret...

_With the latter, the dative might be more idiomatic (_mihi refert_ means "it is important for/to me"), so it would end up like:

_Venus Verticordia vel quomodo cultui Felicis Deae integritas referret.

_Incidentally, I'm not entirely sure that _integritas_ is the word you want for "purity" - but that's probably because I'm not sure of the sense of the English you're looking for. If Venus is involved, then _castitas_ is hardly fitting, but... well, what is it about? Justice"? "Principled high-mindedness"? "Incorruptibility"?

Do let us know.

Σ


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## Casquilho

Thank you very much, Scholiast.
Actually I wanted a word with a sense of relative chastity, more related to fidelity and taking love seriously, like that which was celebrated in the festival of Veneralia, and I was doubtful about the use of _castitas_ in this context. So I thought that _integritas_, having the quoted Catullian precedent,

_Dianae sumus in fide
puellae et pueri *integri*:
Dianam pueri *integri*
puellaeque cenamus_

could do the trick.


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## Ben Jamin

You forgot to translate the word *purity*.


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