In publicis nihil est lege gravius: in privatis firmissimum est testamentum

English translation: Before public audiences, nothing is stronger than law:in private business, a will is the more powerf

08:13 Nov 18, 2013
Latin to English translations [PRO]
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters / Poetry
Latin term or phrase: In publicis nihil est lege gravius: in privatis firmissimum est testamentum
This is said by the guy regarding his divorce.
Thanks in advance.
Gad Kohenov
Israel
Local time: 17:43
English translation:Before public audiences, nothing is stronger than law:in private business, a will is the more powerf
Explanation:
"the more" and not "the most" since there are only two parts in the comparison...

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Note added at 1 hr (2013-11-18 09:21:53 GMT)
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"Convincing" seems O.K. to me in this context...

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Note added at 2 hrs (2013-11-18 10:14:28 GMT)
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"... the more powerful"... Typo!
Selected response from:

Pierre POUSSIN
France
Local time: 16:43
Grading comment
Thanks a lot. I used convincing.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +2Before public audiences, nothing is stronger than law:in private business, a will is the more powerf
Pierre POUSSIN
4In public issues there is nothing as strong as the law: in private business a will is most firm
Luis Antonio de Larrauri


  

Answers


43 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
Before public audiences, nothing is stronger than law:in private business, a will is the more powerf


Explanation:
"the more" and not "the most" since there are only two parts in the comparison...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2013-11-18 09:21:53 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

"Convincing" seems O.K. to me in this context...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 hrs (2013-11-18 10:14:28 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

"... the more powerful"... Typo!

Pierre POUSSIN
France
Local time: 16:43
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Thanks a lot. I used convincing.
Notes to answerer
Asker: firmus firmus, firma, firmum adj. |loyal/staunch/true/constant; stable/mature; valid/convincing/well founded; the more founded?


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Jennifer White: how about "carries greater weight"?
1 hr
  -> Sure! Seems quite good too! Thanks Jennifer!

agree  Rebecca Garber
1 day 5 hrs
  -> Thank you Rebecca!
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4 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
In public issues there is nothing as strong as the law: in private business a will is most firm


Explanation:
When the plural is used in Latin in these cases (as in "publicis"), it means "things" in general. A possible translation is therefore "issue", "matter".

I use "most" here as an intensifier, as in "it is most kind of you...". This is the real sense. It is not simply that the "will" is stronger than the "law", because that would be expressed in Latin with the "-ior" ending.
The idea is that among private persons, the "will" is most binding, as if it were a law between them. The will is binding enough.

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Note added at 1 day3 hrs (2013-11-19 11:51:28 GMT)
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As for the use of plural in that sense, a similar case is the expression "stare decisis", which means to "adhere to what has been decided"

Luis Antonio de Larrauri
Local time: 16:43
Works in field
Native speaker of: Spanish
PRO pts in category: 8
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