# Wake Your Dreams and Fear Nothing



## Enigma735

I was wondering if someone would be kind enough to give me a good translation of "Wake Your Dreams and Fear Nothing" to Latin. I am hoping to use this as a tattoo on my side and I would like it to be done in Latin, but I am afraid to use your standard babelfish translator. Much appreciated.


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## Todessprache

Enigma735 said:


> I was wondering if someone would be kind enough to give me a good translation of "Wake Your Dreams and Fear Nothing" to Latin. I am hoping to use this as a tattoo on my side and I would like it to be done in Latin, but I am afraid to use your standard babelfish translator. Much appreciated.


 
Do you mean wake in a transitive or intransitive sense?

Expergeface a somniis et time nihil.


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## Starfrown

Todessprache said:


> Expergeface a somniis et time nihil.


 
It seems to me that he is using "wake" transitively, with "dreams" as the direct object, but I could be wrong.

In any case, are you sure that _a_ is the preposition that would have been used in Classical Latin before _somniis_? I only ask because usually I see _e_ in a similar expression, namely _e somno excitare/expergefacere_, "to wake from sleep."

Also, wouldn't _expergefac_ be more typical of classical usage than _expergeface_?


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## Todessprache

Starfrown said:


> It seems to me that he is using "wake" transitively, with "dreams" as the direct object, but I could be wrong.
> 
> In any case, are you sure that _a_ is the preposition that would have been used in Classical Latin before _somniis_? I only ask because usually I see _e_ in a similar expression, namely _e somno excitare/expergefacere_, "to wake from sleep."
> 
> Also, wouldn't _expergefac_ be more typical of classical usage than _expergeface_?


 
My bad. Yes, fac is the imperative; I thought of a/ab in the sense of away from though e/ex might be better here...


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## Starfrown

Todessprache said:


> I thought of a/ab in the sense of away from though e/ex might be better here...


 
I think it's pretty clear that _e/ex_ was preferred with _somnus_, but I don't know about _somnium/somnia_--I can't seem to find anything on _e/ex_ versus _a/ab_ when it comes to the latter, and I have learned that it's best not to assume anything when it comes to usage in a foreign language.

Maybe someone else would know.

Of course, if Enigma intended "wake" to take "dreams" as its direct object, the debate would be moot, as we would have to consider a completely different translation.


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## loco44

Expergeface sumnia tua, nihil umquamque time.


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## relativamente

I think it is better to say
ne timeas
or to say noli timere


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## Enigma735

Thank you all for the translations... It seems to be a bit longer than I thought it would be. Perhaps I should think of a new phrase before approaching my artist to come up with a design around it. Any suggestions? I'm looking for something dealing with dreams / aspirations, fortitude and strength, or rising to the occasion.


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## loco44

Expergeface sumnia ac nihil metue


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## Starfrown

loco44 said:


> Expergeface somnia ac nihil metue


 
Perhaps you missed the earlier post on _expergefac_. Are you entirely sure that _expergeface_ was used instead?

Why _ac_? It generally stresses what follows as more important than what comes before.

Why _metue_ instead of _time_? According to one source, _metuere_ is used for the "apprehension of the calculating and cautious," whereas _timere_ "designates the fear of the dispirited and coward." The latter seems more appropriate to me in this case.

I generally don't like translating an English phrase into Latin, as it is often very difficult, if not impossible, to know exactly what constructions the Romans would have favored.


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## loco44

You can choose either _expergefac_ or _expergeface_ as Vocative present.
_Metuere_ means to fear/to be scared/ to be afraid of  as well (from _metus, us_)

You're right about _ac:_ in my opinion the second part of the sentence is far more important than the first one, since It calls for achieving the dreams  

Finally, I was suggesting two different solutions (as previously posted):
Expergeface sumnia tua, nihil umquamque time
Expergeface somnia ac nihil metue


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