sylvar: (Default)
sylvar ([personal profile] sylvar) wrote2006-04-17 04:52 pm

Because I'm a geek...

Crossposted to [livejournal.com profile] latin_lovers:

Contra sicilianus numquam pugna cum mors acta est.

Is that a pretty good translation of "Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line" (a classic quote from The Princess Bride)? I tried to avoid a literal (temporal) translation of 'when', and I found a dictionary entry that said 'actus esse' can be used for 'to be at stake'.

I suspect it sounds a little bit off to someone who's actually been using Latin more recently than I have. I'd welcome any suggestions to make it sound more like an actual proverb or epigram might have.