# Mens sana in corpore sano.



## Linni

I can't speak Latin at all (unfortunately) and I read this sentence in a book:

*Mens sana in corpore sano.*

I did try to interpret in on my own, but my translation doesn't make sense too much...
Could somebody try to translate it for me?

Does it mean something like "(There is) healthy mind in a healthy body."?

(Could you also correct my English? Do you think I should rather have used present perfect in the previous sentences I wrote?)


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## Namakemono

"A healthy mind in a healthy body." We use it a lot in Spanish to encourage people to do exercise.


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## Linni

Thanks 

I just wonder... The word "sana" (grammatically) is a verb, and adjective or what? 
"sanar" = to cure?


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## Krümelmonster

It's an adjective, sano/a=healthy


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## Linni

Krümelmonster said:


> It's an adjective, sano/a=healthy


 
and how do you say "to cure" in Latin?

if it is "sanare" (the infinitives get -are at the end, don't they?), it may mean that the sano/a isn't an adjective, actually, but only a past participle form or sth. similar which is used instead of adjectives...

just tell me if I am right - I have really never learnt Latin and I don't know anything about it


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## Talant

Hi Linni,

This sentence is usually misunderstood. It does mean "a healthy mind in a healthy body". However, the poet that wrote it was asking the gods for "mens sana in corpore sano" and not saying that those two went together.

This said, Namakemono is right. The current usage is to encourage people to do exercise.


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## Outsider

Linni said:


> and how do you say "to cure" in Latin?
> 
> if it is "sanare" (the infinitives get -are at the end, don't they?), it may mean that the sano/a isn't an adjective, actually, but only a past participle form or sth. similar which is used instead of adjectives...
> 
> just tell me if I am right - I have really never learnt Latin and I don't know anything about it


Latin had several infinitives, and I'm not sure that it had an exact equivalent to what we call the "past participle". I guess what surprises you about this sentence is the lack of any verbs. However, that's not unusual in Latin sayings. It was a very sparing language, at least in literary form.


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## jazyk

Sano is the ablative (also dative) of sanus, sana, sanum, an adjective indeed. The first form given corresponds to the masculine, the second to the feminine and the third to the neuter.

Sanare is the infinitive of the verb (Latin verbs are normally given in the first person singular present indicative, though) and past participles do exist in Latin. This one would be sanatus, a, um.


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## Whodunit

Outsider said:


> Latin had several infinitives, and I'm not sure that it had an exact equivalent to what we call the "past participle". I guess what surprises you about this sentence is the lack of any verbs. However, that's not unusual in Latin sayings. It was a very sparing language, at least in literary form.


 
Yes, there were past participles in Latin (usually referred to as 'PP' = participle perfect). And yes, Linni, "sanare" would be "to cure," but the past particple is formed by the supine stem + -o/-a/-um (in the respective gender), which would be "sanata" is your example. "Sana" is simply the feminine nominative singular form of the adjective "sanus." "Sano" is the neuter dative (_here_: ablative, governed by the preposition "in") case in the singular, which is usually -o.

mens = nominative singular feminine noun
sana = nominative singular feminine adjective
in = preposition, requires the ablative case
corpore = ablative neuter singular of "corpus"
sano = ablative neuter singular of "sanus"

Hope it helps.


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## Stéphane89

*Sano* is an adjective of 1st category.

*Sanare* means *To cure* though *Curare* is more common.


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## jazyk

> *Sano* is an adjective of 1st category.


I don't think this helps anybody.  You might as well have explained what these "categories" are (I know what they are, I'm just talking for those who have no idea what that refers to.)



> *Sanare* means *To cure* though *Curare* is more common.


Says who?


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## Whodunit

StefKE said:


> *Sano* is an adjective of 1st category.


 
I assume that all verbs that end in -us belong in the 1st categoy. I don't know what you are referring to, but it would be more helpful, if you had said that "sanus" belongs in that category, because "sano" is just the inflected form of "sanus."



> *Sanare* means *To cure* though *Curare* is more common.


 
Not in the meaning of "to cure." "Curare" rather means "to fend for" or "to look after" (in the sense of "to take care of").


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## jazyk

> I assume that all verbs that end in -us belong in the 1st categoy. I don't know what you are referring to, but it would be more helpful, if you had said that "sanus" belongs in that category, because "sano" is just the inflected form of "sanus."


Nope. Take vetus, for example. Its genitive form is veteris, which makes it a 3rd declension adjective.



> Not in the meaning of "to cure." "Curare" rather means "to fend for" or "to look after" (in the sense of "to take care of").


Curare also means to heal:


> claresceret, leprosos mundavit, paralyticos curavit, caecos illuminavit, mortuos suscitavit. ... dixit: "Misit me dominus Jesus Christus, cujus te ...


That's why we have English cure, Spanish/Portuguese/Catalan curar, French curer.


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## Whodunit

jazyk said:


> Curare also means to heal:


 
Most likeley, but I'd say that the usual translation of "curare" is "to fend for" or "to look after," whereas "to cure" would rather be "sanare."

Do you agree?


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## jazyk

Whether I agree or not is not important. The fact is that the word may have several meanings, depending on the context.


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## Jana337

Linni, v češtině říkáme "ve zdravém těle zdravý duch".

Jana


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## judkinsc

There are _medeor, mederi,_and _sanesco, sanescere/coalescere _with reference to something wrong with the body, such as wounds.  _Sano, sanare_ seems more general to me, such as "to make/be healthy" in the sense of correcting what is wrong.

Here's a dictionary entry under those headwords:
_sano, sanere: _to cure, to heal;to correct, to repair; to allay, quiet, relieve.
_sanesco, sanescere: _to get well, to heal. _intr._
_coalesco,-ere: _to grow together, coalesce; to close (of wounds); to become unified; to grow firm, take root; to become established, to thrive. _intr.
medeor, mederi:_ _tr. _to heal. _intr. (with dat)_ to heal, cure.
_medico,-are: _to medicate, to cure; to dye; to poison.
_medicor, -ari: tr. _to cure. _intr. (with dat) _to cure, heal.


So, relying on the general usage of the roots: whatever relies on the root "medi", seems best to me.  It's also the root for medical, of course.  It's what I'd use if there's any kind of human agent that heals you, i.e. _medicus_: doctor.
The others seem more general (or specific) to me.


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## Claire Steiner

Whodunit mentions verbs ending in -us. These occur in all conjugations and usually signal the active first person plural.


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## jazyk

I would say that the verb ending to which you are referring is -mus, rather than -us.


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## Linni

Is there an English equivalent (idiom) for "Mens sana in corpore sano." ?


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## polysonic

Is there any analogue for this Latin expression in English?


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## panjandrum

Yes.
... a sound mind in a sound body ...
The literal translation appears frequently.


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## polysonic

thank you!

but what does "sound" mean in this context?


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## Gwan

Healthy, basically. Not mad/senile/deluded etc. in the case of the mind, and physically fit in the case of the body. 'Sound mind' is something of a set phrase that often comes up in legal contexts, especially when making wills (at least in popular culture it does at any rate!)


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## polysonic

So... is it like "sane"?


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## Gwan

My understanding would be that you would have to be sane to be considered 'of sound mind', yes, but 'sound mind' is a broader term. I don't think most people suffering from, say, dementia, would be considered to be 'insane', but they may not be considered to have a 'sound mind' i.e. they might not be capable of making decisions for themselves (e.g. about their hospital care, about their will etc.)


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## brian

Hi, this thread has been moved to the Latin forum, so we should now turn our attention principally to the Latin word "sanus" and not the English word "sound," which is just one possible translation.

"Sanus" simply means healthy and has little to do with "sanity"; rather, "sanity" & "insanity" come from "sanus" (not the other way around of course!) and so literally mean (or meant) "healthy" and "unhealthy." So:

_A healthy mind in a healthy body._


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