# I am my own person



## P^O

Good day everyone,

I've got a friend who would like to have a tattoo saying

"I am my own person"

She was asking what language would make it sound most profound, and Latin was suggested. I would appreciate it if someone could give a good Latin translation for the phrase.

Thank you very much!


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## rainbowizard

Could it be *"EGO PERSONAM GERO MEIMET"* ...? 

Please, wait for other suggestion... a tattoo is (almost) forever


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## franz rod

Can be
"Ego ipse sum"

But also.
"Gnosci te ipsum"-->you have to know yourself


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## Cagey

P^O said:


> I've got a friend who would like to have a tattoo saying
> 
> "I am my own person"
> 
> I would appreciate it if someone could give a good Latin translation for the phrase.



Could you please say in other words what this sentence means to your friend?

Does this mean he/she thinks independently?  Is subservient to no-one but his/herself?  Is a one-of-a-kind sort of person?   

The words translated one by one into Latin will not mean much.  To translate the sentence well, we need to know the idea behind it.

Edit: To be clear, I don't mean to dismiss the suggestions that have already been made.  I just mean that we can't talk about how suitable each of them are until we know what it is you want.


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## Probo

Hello: Perhaps *"Egomet ipse sum"*? In fact, I'm not sure ... Vt ualeatis.


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## P^O

The statement is meant to assert her individuality; I suppose this is a response to people’s bad habit of expecting (or to a certain extent, demanding) one to think and act like themselves, and perceiving others’ actions and motives in terms of their own. 

And yes, it also means that she is subservient to no one.

There you have it, I am very much grateful for caring to ask for me to expound to give a closer translation. I am looking forward to see more suggestions!

Saludos


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## rainbowizard

P^O said:


> ...expecting (or to a certain extent, demanding) one to think and act like themselves, and perceiving others’ actions and motives in terms of their own.


 
Then maybe that my first suggestion could fit well... since _gero personam alicuius _means "I play the role (or act the part) of someone"...
_[Ego] gero personam meimet_ literaly should mean "I play the role of myself"


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## Fred_C

"hypostasin propriam egomet gero"
(I direct my own personality)
with a luuvely greek word for "personality", so much nicer than the insipid "persona".


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## J.F. de TROYES

Fred_C said:


> "hypostasin propriam egomet gero"
> (I direct my own personality)
> with a luuvely greek word for "personality", so much nicer than the insipid "persona".


 
Why "insipid" ? As for "hypostasis" it's Greek indeed and not Latin ! Besides I think this word belongs to the philosophical  vocabulary rather than to the psychological one with the more extensive meaning of " substance" ; so it seems to me that it  does'nt fit in exactly with what we are looking for.
Only one more try : " Persona mihi omnino propria "


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## P^O

> Only one more try : " Persona mihi omnino propria "


 
Again, thank you to all contributors.

I would like to ask, what would be a close English translation of “Persona mihi omnino propria??”

Thanks!


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## rainbowizard

P^O said:


> Again, thank you to all contributors.
> 
> I would like to ask, what would be a close English translation of “Persona mihi omnino propria??”
> 
> Thanks!


 
_persona mihi [est] propria_ means something like "I have my own distinguishing/exclusive personality"

Omnino is an adverb and means "absolutely" or "at all"

Is it correct J.F.  ?


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## wonderment

rainbowizard said:


> Could it be *"EGO PERSONAM GERO MEIMET"* ...?



It could be...and suitably so (IMHO).  I first read this as: “I’m in charge of my own personhood.” But the theater idiom makes perfect sense; this idea of identity as performance is very Roman. Suetonius tells us that Caesar Augustus, on his deathbed, asked his friends if it seemed to them that he had played his part well in the comedy of life, and if so, to send him from the stage with applause. 

A couple more suggestions:

_Auctor meae personae sum_ (adapted from Cicero _de Orator _2.194: _neque actor sim alienae personae, sed auctor meae _= I’m not an actor playing someone else’s role, but the author of my own self/identity).

_Gratia autem Dei __sum id quod sum_ = By the grace of God, I am what I am. (_Vulgate Bible_, Corinthian 15.10)


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## J.F. de TROYES

rainbowizard said:


> _persona mihi [est] propria_ means something like "I have my own distinguishing/exclusive personality"
> 
> Omnino is an adverb and means "absolutely" or "at all"
> 
> Is it correct J.F.  ?


 
Yes, that's what I mean.


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## J.F. de TROYES

wonderment said:


> A couple more suggestions:
> 
> _Auctor meae personae sum_ (adapted from Cicero _de Orator _2.194: _neque actor sim alienae personae, sed auctor meae _= I’m not an actor playing someone else’s role, but the author of my own self/identity).
> 
> _Gratia autem Dei __sum id quod sum_ = By the grace of God, I am what I am. (_Vulgate Bible_, Corinthian 15.10)




 Your first translation sounds perfectly suitable for the idea of the life being a play where every one has his own part. I think the second one is closer to the present notion of individuality , but perhaps not so assertive as the initial sentence. So translating it depends on what sense is given to it.


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## scriptum

Hmmm... I am not a great latinist, but why not write simply "meus sum"? It seems to be the most exact translation. It is easy to tattoo. And easy to remove if somebody tells you it's bad Latin...
Cf. _"vaco, et ubicumque sum, ibi meus sum"_ (Seneca's epistle to Lucilius).


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## wonderment

scriptum said:


> Hmmm... I am not a great latinist, but why not write simply "meus sum"?


The simplicity of it is lovely...This is the meaning I’d give it: _Vaco, Lucili, vaco, et ubicumque sum, ibi meus sum_ (I’m free, Lucilius, and wherever I am, there I belong to me). If the person getting the tattoo is female: MEA sum. 



J.F. de TROYES said:


> wonderment said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> A couple more suggestions:
> 
> _Auctor meae personae sum_ (adapted from Cicero _de Orator _2.194: _neque actor sim alienae personae, sed auctor meae _= I’m not an actor playing someone else’s role, but the author of my own self/identity).
> 
> _Gratia autem Dei __sum id quod sum_ = By the grace of God, I am what I am. (_Vulgate Bible_, Corinthian 15.10)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Your first translation sounds perfectly suitable for the idea of the life being a play where every one has his own part.
Click to expand...

Oooh, that’s not how I read the Ciceronian quotation at all, but much more figuratively, along the lines of “I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul” (from William Henley’s _Invictus_).


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## P^O

Good day everyone, “Mea Sum” sounds perfect for a tattoo! Simple, symmetrical, WAY easier to tattoo, and yet very insightful.

You’ve all been absolutely great. Thank you very much!

Saludos


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