# die before you die to find there is no death



## el_caballo

Hello, new member here. 

can one of you kind fellows please help me with a translation of the following to Latin:

"die before you die to find there is no death" 

much appreciated.

MMc


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## paradoxa4

Welcome to the forums,

Let's wait for a native speaker to solve your doubts.


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## Hamlet2508

el_caballo said:


> "die before you die to find there is no death"



Morere (imperative)antequam moreris _*intellegens*_ mortem non esse !

Maybe even (I am not sure how much emphasis you want to put on the final aspect of "to find")

Morere antequam moreris *intellecturus* mortem non esse !


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## wandle

> Morere antequam moreris intellecturus mortem non esse


Better, I would say; *mortem nil esse*, since *esse* needs a complement.


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## Scholiast

saluete omnes!

This is a tricky one, because it is not altogether clear what the original English aphorism is meant to mean.

But here's my hap'orth:

prius morere quam moriaris, ut cognoscas mortem nihil esse.


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## stevelogan

paradoxa4 said:


> Welcome to the forums,
> 
> Let's wait for a native speaker to solve your doubts.




I beg your pardon?


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## stevelogan

Scholiast said:


> saluete omnes!
> 
> This is a tricky one, because it is not altogether clear what the original English aphorism is meant to mean.
> 
> But here's my hap'orth:
> 
> prius morere quam moriaris, ut cognoscas mortem nihil esse.



Hi, I think the sense is quite straight, but maybe I am wrong, correct me pls.

"You have to die before to be dead (die while you are still alive), to discover that death is nothing (or, does not exists)"


I will translate it (ad sensum) as:

_   morere ante mortem, ne mortem (g)noscas 

_or_

mori ante mortem, ne mortem (g)noscas
_
(_mòrere_= imperat. pres. morior ?)
(_mori_ = infinitive form)
(_ut non_ = _ne_) (_et tu non_ = _nec_ )
(_nosco_ is better than _cognosco, _the last being closer to the objective/intersubjective knowledge, the former to the subjective experience)

the phrase is a kind of a "short form" for _mori ante mortem (necesse est), *ne (ut non) *__mortem (esse)__ *noscas* _


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## stevelogan

Hamlet2508 said:


> Morere (imperative)antequam moreris _*intellegens*_ mortem non esse !
> 
> Maybe even (I am not sure how much emphasis you want to put on the final aspect of "to find")
> 
> Morere antequam moreris *intellecturus* mortem non esse !



Intellìgere (intus legere)  is the abstract and "mental" way to perceive the reality, not the personal experience I think. It means "to rationalize" (discèrnere, in latin).


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## Hamlet2508

stevelogan said:


> Intellìgere (intus legere)  is the abstract and "mental" way to perceive the reality, not the personal experience I think. It means "to rationalize" (discèrnere, in latin).



I'm afraid intellegere is derived from _inter + legere_. _Discernere_  wouldn't qualify as appropriate translation since it means _to separate, part, divide_.


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## stevelogan

Hamlet2508 said:


> I'm afraid intellegere is derived from _inter + legere_. _Discernere_ wouldn't qualify as appropriate translation since it means _to separate, part, divide_.



There are two  etymological interpretations, you can easly find both (at least in the Italian etymology vocabularies).
The general sense of my intervention was that I would not use _Intelligere_ but I'd prefer to use _Noscere: _it was not about the etymology of the word _Intelligere_


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