# Live Free or Die



## relic411

I'm looking for the proper translation of "Live Free or Die". Any help?


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## Pincadilly

You can try with:
Liberam vitam age vel ex ea excede.
(Lit. "have a free life, or go away from that").
I hope I've been helpful.


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## relic411

Any chance we could change the meaning slightly to something along these lines:

Live Free ( A command) or you might as well be dead
Live free or you will be dying
Live free or you might as well be dead.


Thanks


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## Whodunit

Well, a possible literal translation would be:

Vive libere aut morieris!

However, I really like Pincadilly's version and you should go with that. I'd just like to mention that "e vita cedere" is more common than "e vita excedere," because "e ... ex..." is kind of redundant. 

Finally, I'd say:

*Vitam liberam age aut ex ea cede!*


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## relic411

Thanks for all the responses! Here's a few more possible that I've dug up that seem to be a bit more along the lines I'm looking for:

Vive libere aut tabesce  (Live freely or waste away)

Age libere aut tabesce  (Do life freely or waste away)

Age libere aut morere  (Do life freely or die(command))

Vitam libere aut tabesce  (Live life freely or waste away)

Vitam libere aut morere  (Live life freely or die(command))


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## Whodunit

Relic, the only sentence I would sanction is number one. 

If you combine #2 and #4 with the last two, they would be possible, too:

"Vitam age libere aut ..."

I want to tell you why: The last two sentences lack the existence of a verb in the first part (before aut). "Vitam" is the accusative singular of "vita" (life), so your last two sentences mean "Life freely or waste away/die." And numer 2 and 3 are nearly incomprehensible without further context. It is possible to use "agere" alone (i.e. without vitam) to express "to live," but this shouldn't be done if the context doesn't make it clear.

It would be clear that "live" is meant in a sentence like this:

De hominibus, qui tum agebant, loquor.
_I'm talking about the people who lived (actually: acted) at that time._

However, in your sentences, I would definitely add "vitam."

Furthermore, I don't think that some Roman would have said any of your sentences. They sound too modern, not the way they spoke back then.


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## relic411

Thanks for your input! And you are absolutely correct. In my haste I accidentally did not add that into my sentence. And yes, it is not the speech of Ancient Romans - it is the modern day motto of New Hampshire.


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