Please help me translate "courage" "Faith" and "Family" into Classical Latin (Roman period please) thanks!

Question

I love Roman History, but am having a difficult time translating a few Classical Latin words (Ancient Roman period) "courage" "Faith" and "Family" It's actually for a tattoo i am getting.

Answer 1

Virtus, Fides, Familia.

Or:

Fortitudo, Fides, Familia

If you hadn't explicitly asked for Classical Latin, I might have agreed with Caicos. But "Valor" is late Latin - it's not even found in any of my classical Latin dictionaries. "Fides" is also tricky (but still maybe the best choice). The same goes for Familia. So I understand that you had trouble with these words.

Courage: I would definitely not go for Valor, since it's not the Classical Latin that you asked for (Merriam Webster: Valour - Etymology: Middle English valour worth, worthiness, bravery, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin valor). Also, there are very good Classical Latin words for Courage.

Virtus = courage, bravery, strength in the face of adversity. Originally "manliness". Also "worth, goodness, virtue", which is the meaning which much later survived into "virtue" - but toughness and courage is more in line with the classical use of the word. "Fortitudo" is also used for bravery (physical and moral) and courage in classical Latin, but since it also means physical strength it couild be misunderstood. I think that a Roman definitely would have chosen Virtus. A problem with Virtus is that people might tend to think that you mean Virtue (as later Latin tended to use it), and not specifically Courage. And of course, the three f's in "Fortitudo, Fides, Familia) make a nice alliteration.

Fides/Pietas: In Classical Latin, none of these are actually good translations for what I suppose you mean by "Faith".

Fides = trust, keeping to one's word, loyalty (especially loyalty in oaths), faith as used in "in good faith", honesty in business and political transactions, fulfilling obligations in a contractual sense (and therefore, in a way, fulfilling obligations to your gods. Romans were very legal minded)

Pietas = originally sense of filial duty (children's respect for their parents); respect for authorities, sense of duty towards your country (patriotism); dutiful and correct behavior towards your gods = formal worship, religious observance (e.g. correct sacrifices).

I don't think that any of these two words are very good for "faith". But I do think that "fides" is more in line with what we usually call faith these days. The mere fact that fides later came to be used for the Christian faith, and that pietas came to be used for piety, strengthens my choice. Besides, fides sounds better with familia! However, if you feel that you lean more towards the meaning of Pietas, that is perfectly OK, too.

Familia - yes, that's not easy either.

Quotation from http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/familyanddailylife/p/RomanFamily.htm : "In legal terms, familia included all those under the power of the pater familias; sometimes it meant only the slaves. The pater familias was usually the oldest male. His heirs were under his power, as were the slaves, but not necessarily his wife. A boy without mother or children could be a pater familias. In non-legal terms, the mother/wife could be included in the familia, although the term usually used for this unit was domus, which we translate as 'home'. Domus referred to the physical house, the household, including the wife, ancestors and descendants. The domus referred to the places where the pater familias exerted his authority or acted as dominus. Domus was also used for the dynasty of the Roman emperor. Domus and familia were often interchangeable."

Still, I would go for Familia. I think it is the best alternative, since those who know Latin these days are more likely to think "house, home" when they see the word Domus. If you want to convey the meaning "Courage, Faith, Home", then Domus is of course much better, since it includes both home and family - but if you really want to stick to family, Familia is what people of today will understand, and it is Classical Latin for family, too.

Answer 2

Courage In Latin

Answer 3

"Valor" "Fides" et "Familia"