# Non temetis messor



## Frescoesco

Hi all
I found this phrase in a book, but I can not find its meaning. Can any of you help me? Thanks


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## Setwale_Charm

This is Latin, not English, and should therefore be referred to the Latin forum. The meaning in English is something like: Fear not the reaper.


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## Frescoesco

Thanks a lot Setwale_charm


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## franz rod

Poor Latin!

Where did you find this sentence? It's wrong!
Messor is in nominative singular, the verb in second person plural and means "you don't fear" (but it's not exaclty right because it shoul be timetis).

I think, like setwhale_charm, that the author want to write an "imperative sentence" but it shoul be "non timete messorem."


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## Frescoesco

Thanks a lot Franz Rod. I found it in a Terry Pratchett book "Hogfather"


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## Flaminius

Hello *Frescoesco*,

...and welcome to the WordReference fora!  

If you have the book with you, could you please provide us with sufficient context and background?  Even if the sentence is incorrect Latin, we may be able to work out what the correct sentence should look like, based on the context.  

Regards,
Flam, LA modo


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## jazyk

> I think, like setwhale_charm, that the author want to write an "imperative sentence" but it shoul be "non timete messorem."


Actually, contrary to Italian, Latin uses the subjunctive, like Spanish and Portuguese, in the case the perfect subjunctive, for negative imperative, so it should be ne timueris messorem. Non timetis messorem is an indicative sentence (you don't fear the reaper).


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## franz rod

In Italian you can use for negative imperative the subjuncitve and the infinite


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## jazyk

Right, but only for lei and loro you use the subjunctive and for tu it's the infinitive.

Anyway, we're discussing Latin and it should be Ne timueris messorem if you want it to be 



> This is Latin, not English, and should therefore be referred to the Latin forum. The meaning in English is something like: Fear not the reaper.


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## Frescoesco

many thanks to all of you for your accurate ecplanations.


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## cassandradixit

De acuerdo con jazyk en que se trataría de una sentencia en indicativo y no en imperativo. De acuerdo con franz rod en que evidentemente la sentencia, tal como está escrita, es completamente agramatical. Y de acuerdo con Flaminius en que se necesita el contexto para saber por qué está dicho así... ¿De dónde has tomado ese texto? Hercle!, es imposible!

Oscula,

C


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## Frescoesco

Frescoesco said:


> Hi all
> I found this phrase in a movie, but I can not find its meaning. Can any of you help me? Thanks


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## Frescoesco

What does it mean?


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## XiaoRoel

La cadena lingüística así presentada supone varias interrogantes:
a) *temetis*: sólo puede ser ablativo plural de *temetum, -i,* 'vino' (o por tropo 'viña');
b) *messor*: sólo puede ser nominativo singular de messor, -is, 'recolector de frutos', segador;
c) *non*: puede negar _toda una oración_ o sólo _un sintagma_ (simple o complejo), o cuando niega _un verbo_ actua _como morfema de negatividad_ de ese verbo.
La frase, así sin verbo, se puede entender como una frase nominal cuyo sujeto o núcleo es *messor* y *temetis* un complemento circunstancial (traducible por _*de/en las viñas*_). El problema es si *non* niega la oración *temetis messor*, o sólo un miembro: *temetis* o *messor*.
En el primer supuesto la frase significaría *no (soy) recolector de vino/viñas*; en el segundo tenemos una doble posibilidad:_ *(soy) no un recolector de viñas/vino*_, o bien _*soy un recolector no de viñas/vino*_.
Supongo que la frase está _desgajada_ de una oración con núcleo verbal de la que *messor* será SUJ, o bien será un _lema_ medieval o renacentista, donde es posible cualquier solecismo.
Evidentemente la otra forma que se ve por ahí **non timetis messor* es imposible, como aquí ya se ha dicho, pues *messor* debería ser *messorem*, y, así corregida, su traducción sería _*no temeréis al cosechador/vendimiador.

*_


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## thunderpogo

Hi All,

I was looking for clarification of this phrase myself and to my delight I discovered this forum.

I would like to provide a little further information about "Non Temetis Messor", where it came from, its meaning and beyond...

In the "Discworld Companion" by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Briggs (1994 edition), "Non Timetis Messor" is given as the family motto of the character Mort.

The phrase also appears in the Terry Pratchett novel "Hogfather" (released in Hardcover in 1996) as being the family motto of the character Susan Sto Helit, daughter of Mort and the granddaughter of the character Death (an anthropomorphic personification - you would need to read the novels "Mort" and "Soul Music" as well as "Hogfather" to see how this happened).

In David Langford's 2002 book "The Wyrdest Link, A Terry Pratchett Discworld(r) Quizbook", "Non Temetis Messor" is translated as " 'Don't Fear The Reaper' - A Blue Oyster Cult song title, and also the motto of the Duchy of Sto Helit, i.e. Mort and Ysabell in _Mort_ and their daughter Susan. _(Hogfather) _Probably it should be_ timetis _rather than _temetis_."

Consequently, after receiving an OBE in 2008, and being knighted in the New Years honours list of 2009, Sir Terry Pratchett OBE was granted Armorial Bearings by Letters Patent of Garter and Clarenceux Kings of Arms dated 28 April 2010.  The motto given with this Armorial Bearing is "Noli Timere Messorem", which is reported as being a literal translation of "Don't Fear The Reaper" and a good Latin sentence.

I hope I have managed to satisfy your curiosity as to the both the meaning of the phrase and the development of its usage Frescoesco.


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## relativamente

Maybe the explanation given by Xiaoroel es the one than can justify this phrase as grammatical Latin.In that explanation the Death itself is saying " I am not a I'm not a collector or a  grape  picker"Or a third person saying " It is not a fruit picker" Since it is a picker of something else.
To say don't fear you should say ne timeas or ne timeatis, o noli timere or nolite timere.Messor is nominative but in medieval text many times the nasal sounds m and n are just ommited and replaced by a little sign over the next consonant.


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## Aoyama

I thing that in proper English, reaper should be written with a capital R (in that sense). Don't fear the Reaper (death is not to be feared). "Noli Timere Messorem"seems the best option, for those who want to mess with Latin.


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