# omnia si perdas, famam servare memento



## zyriab

Hello,
this is the big sentence :

omnia si perdas, famam servare memento

How to translate omnia si perdas ?

if you lost everything or if you lose everything ?


Bonjour,

comment traduire le début de cette phrase :

omnia si perdas, famam servare memento


si tu perds tout,
ou 

si tu as tout perdu

Je ne comprends pas trop la présence du subjonctif.
Merci.


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## Outsider

I think it means "Even if you (should) lose everything, you'll still have fame as a souvenir." _Même si tu perds tout, tu auras la gloire comme souvenir._

The subjunctive is used because the first clause refers to a hypothetical situation in the future.


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## Toma

Or rather

'Remember to serve glory, even if you have all to lose'

Salve!


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## Outsider

Ah, yes, I believe you're right: _Même si tu as tout à perdre, n'oublie jamais de servir la gloire._


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## Cagey

How about:

If you should lose everything, remember to save/ preserve your reputation.​
"watch over, keep, preserve" are the more usual translations of _servare_ into English.
For "serve" in the ordinary English sense, I would expect _servire_. (This verb would take a dative.)

(I apologize for having insufficient French.)


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## Forero

Is _memento_ an imperative form?
Est-ce que _memento_ sera une forme impérative?


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## Cagey

Forero said:


> Is _memento_ an imperative form?
> Est-ce que _memento_ sera une forme impérative?



Yes, it is an imperative.  

So all those little mementos we have are ordering us "you shall remember!".

Edit: (Sorry, that wasn't a complete answer.)  _Memento_ is a future imperative: "you _shall _remember".  The plural would be _mementote_.  It's an older form of imperative.

(Later: corrected spelling error kindly pointed out by Forero below.)


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## Forero

Thank you, Cagey.  But this time something happened to _memento_, and it became _momento_.  _Servare_, _servire,_ _memento_, _momento_.  This is easy to mix up.

By the way, why is it _monumentum_, but _memento_?


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## Cagey

Forero said:


> Thank you, Cagey.  But this time something happened to _memento_, and it became _momento_.  _Servare_, _servire,_ _memento_, _momento_.  This is easy to mix up.
> 
> By the way, why is it _monumentum_, but _memento_?



_memento_ is an imperative of the verb, _meminisse_ "to remember".

_monumentum _is derived from _monere_ "to remind, warn".

Etymologically, _meminisse_ is related to _monere_ and _mens, mentis_ "mind". 

(Thanks for pointing out the spelling errors.  I _hope_ I have fixed them and not added more.)


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