Latin Phrase

[ken c]

Please can anyone help with the phrase "Bene Vivre et Laetare"

Thanks

[robbo82]

Live well and enjoy yourself, although i think you mean 'vivere' rather than 'vivre'.

[jno]

not somebody trying to translate 'live long and prosper' frm Vulcan into Latin, is it?

[ken c]

many thanks its on a family coat of arms

you were correct it is vivere not vivre

[mike b]

Strictly speaking the Latin is infinitives: TO live well and to rejoice/be happy etc... more of a motto than an exhortation/greeting. What is the original Vulcan, anyway, or perhaps I shouldn't ask...

[moppettshow]

Sorry to be pernickety; in this case, vivere and laetere are nominative gerunds (aka verbal nouns), not infinitives. Its translation into English can, however, be either 'to live' or 'living', but 'living' would be more correct. It looks like the present participle, but because of its grammatical function, it is actually a noun/verb- hence 'verbal noun' being an alternative name for 'gerund.

The gerund has a counterpart, called a 'gerundive', aka a 'verbal adjective', which is commonly mistaken for a passive infinitive... but I imagine I'm boring everyone now...