English Translation of Latin Act of Contrition?

[una_fides]

Does anyone know Latin on here well enough to translate the Act of Contrition from Latin to English? The English translations we have are not very literal. I searched all around on the internet and haven’t been able to come up with a literal translation. I’ve studied some Latin and have translated most of it, but the end of the prayer is most difficult.

Here’s the Latin:

Deus meus, ex toto corde poenitet me omnium meorum peccatorum, eaque detestor, quia peccando, non solum poenas a Te iuste statutas promeritus sum, sed praesertim quia offendi Te, summum bonum, ac dignum qui super omnia diligaris. Ideo firmiter propono, adiuvante gratia Tua, de cetero me non peccaturum peccandique occasiones proximas fugiturum. Amen.

If you know any experts in Latin, pass it on to them please for me and see what they come up with. Thanks!

 

[una_fides]

Here’s what I’ve got so far for a translation:

[Oh] my God, from all my heart I am sorry for all my sins, and I detest them, not only because in sinning, I deserve the penalties that you have justly established, but especially because I have offended Thee, [who art] the greatest good, and [who art] worthy beyond all [my] love. Therefore I firmly purpose, with the help of Thy grace, … (de cetero me non peccaturum peccandique occasiones proximas fugiturum).

 

[jkarp]

Here’s what I’ve got so far for a translation:

[Oh] my God, from all my heart I am sorry for all my sins, and I detest them, not only because in sinning, I deserve the penalties that you have justly established, but especially because I have offended Thee, [who art] the greatest good, and [who art] worthy beyond all [my] love. Therefore I firmly purpose, with the help of Thy grace, … (de cetero me non peccaturum peccandique occasiones proximas fugiturum).

how about:

“to sin no more and avoid the near occasion of sin”

 

[jkarp]

Does anyone know Latin on here well enough to translate the Act of Contrition from Latin to English? The English translations we have are not very literal. I searched all around on the internet and haven’t been able to come up with a literal translation. I’ve studied some Latin and have translated most of it, but the end of the prayer is most difficult.

Here’s the Latin:

Deus meus, ex toto corde poenitet me omnium meorum peccatorum, eaque detestor, quia peccando, non solum poenas a Te iuste statutas promeritus sum, sed praesertim quia offendi Te, summum bonum, ac dignum qui super omnia diligaris. Ideo firmiter propono, adiuvante gratia Tua, de cetero me non peccaturum peccandique occasiones proximas fugiturum. Amen.

If you know any experts in Latin, pass it on to them please for me and see what they come up with. Thanks!

I believe the Act of Contrition that I use is a pretty faithful translation:

“O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee and I detest my sins because of Thy just punishment. But most of all, because they offend Thee O Lord, my God, who are all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve with the help of Thy grace to sin no more and to avoid the near occasion of sin.”

 

[una_fides]

how about:

“to sin no more and avoid the near occasion of sin”

That’s our current English translation, but it is not a literal translation of the Latin. I provided my English literal translation of the Latin above except for the last part. I’m particularly having difficulty with the “de cetero me non peccaturum peccandique”

The word “cetero” seems particularly difficult to place. Here’s what my Latin dictionary provided as the definition:

ceter.o ADJ 1 1 DAT S M POS
ceter.o ADJ 1 1 DAT S N POS
ceter.o ADJ 1 1 ABL S M POS
ceter.o ADJ 1 1 ABL S N POS
ceterus, cetera, ceterum ADJ [XXXAO]
the_other; the_others (pl.). the_remaining/rest, all the_rest;

cetero ADV POS
cetero ADV [XXXCO]
for the rest(new details/theme), otherwise; in other respects; at other times;

“peccaturum peccandique” is also troublesome as the first is a future active participle and the second is a future passive participle both with the meaning of “sin.”

It does seem the ending literally says: “and avoiding the nearest occasions of sinning” (peccandique occasiones proximas fugiturum)

Do you know Latin by chance?

 

[jkarp]

That’s our current English translation, but it is not a literal translation of the Latin. I provided my English literal translation of the Latin above except for the last part. I’m particularly having difficulty with the “de cetero me non peccaturum peccandique”

The word “cetero” seems particularly difficult to place. Here’s what my Latin dictionary provided as the definition:

“peccaturum peccandique” is also troublesome as the first is a future active participle and the second is a future passive participle both with the meaning of “sin.”

It does seem the ending literally says: “and avoiding the nearest occasions of sinning” (peccandique occasiones proximas fugiturum)

I believe a comma would be appropriate between peccaturum & peccandique each being a separate clause of the statement. Perhaps a more exact translation would be something like:

de cetero me non peccaturum
of others (i.e. sins) I will not sin

I think an exact translation to English may be extremely awkward and a reasonable translation is “to sin no more.”

Do you know Latin by chance?

I don’t think I know much more than you do

 

[una_fides]

I believe a comma would be appropriate between peccaturum & peccandique each being a separate clause of the statement. Perhaps a more exact translation would be something like:

de cetero me non peccaturum
of others (i.e. sins) I will not sin

I think an exact translation to English may be extremely awkward and a reasonable translation is “to sin no more.”

I don’t think I know much more than you do

Ok, so I think I figured out “de cetero”! How about “from henceforth” I actually saw that phrase translated as such in another Latin document. That just leaves us with “me non peccaturum.” Why did you translate it as “I will not sin”? Do you translate a future active participle along with an object in that way? I guess I want to figure out the literal translation to make sure I understand how to translate it properly and then adapt it to English from there.

 

[jkarp]

Ok, so I think I figured out “de cetero”! How about “from henceforth”

That sounds pretty good.

I actually saw that phrase translated as such in another Latin document. That just leaves us with “me non peccaturum.” Why did you translate it as “I will not sin”? Do you translate a future active participle along with an object in that way?

Not really, but we don’t really have a good mechanism in English to translate this form and it just seems extremely awkward any way I try to make it work.

There is a short discussion about this at the following site:
orbilat.com/Languages/Latin/Alternative_Grammars/Harris_Grammar/Latin-Harris_10.html (“Future Active Participle” about halfway down)

I guess I want to figure out the literal translation to make sure I understand how to translate it properly and then adapt it to English from there.

I think literally it would be something like “From henceforth, I, being not about to sin . . .”

 

[una_fides]

Ok, so here’s my final translation. I think with that last part it’s safest to stick with our current English translation because the literal Latin does not translate very well:

[Oh] my God, from all my heart I am sorry for all my sins, and I detest them, not only because in sinning, I deserve the penalties that you have justly established, but especially because I have offended Thee, [who art] the greatest good, and worthy beyond all [my] love. Therefore I firmly purpose, with the help of Thy grace, from henceforth to sin no more and avoid the nearest occasions of sinning.

Let me know if anyone has any qualms with any of my word choices.

I find it interesting how the prayer attributes the penalties as being justly established by God. This fact often seems to be passed over or completely ignored in our present day, as most people want to overemphasize God’s love rather to the exclusion of his justice. Our penalties for sin, including the loss of heaven and the pains of hell, are “justly established by God.” None of us deserve heaven, and we can only make it there by God’s grace and through our cooperation therewith.

 

[jkarp]

Ok, so here’s my final translation. I think with that last part it’s safest to stick with our current English translation because the literal Latin does not translate very well:

[Oh] my God, from all my heart I am sorry for all my sins, and I detest them, not only because in sinning, I deserve the penalties that you have justly established, but especially because I have offended Thee, [who art] the greatest good, and worthy beyond all [my] love. Therefore I firmly purpose, with the help of Thy grace, from henceforth to sin no more and avoid the nearest occasions of sinning.

Let me know if anyone has any qualms with any of my word choices.

I find it interesting how the prayer attributes the penalties as being justly established by God. This fact often seems to be passed over or completely ignored in our present day, as most people want to overemphasize God’s love rather to the exclusion of his justice. Our penalties for sin, including the loss of heaven and the pains of hell, are “justly established by God.” None of us deserve heaven, and we can only make it there by God’s grace and through our cooperation therewith.

Sounds pretty decent to me.

 

[ASD]

Hi. I have recently taken a crack at this, too. My version is here. Any corrections will be appreciated.

TIA. ASD​

Traditional Latin Mass: Translation and Grammar

 

[I_Believe]

Here’s what I’ve got so far for a translation:

[Oh] my God, from all my heart I am sorry for all my sins, and I detest them, not only because in sinning, I deserve the penalties that you have justly established, but especially because I have offended Thee, [who art] the greatest good, and [who art] worthy beyond all [my] love. Therefore I firmly purpose, with the help of Thy grace, … (de cetero me non peccaturum peccandique occasiones proximas fugiturum).

Here is the one I use…
O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee and I detest all my sins because of Thy just punishments, but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, who art all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to sin no more and avoid the near occasions of sin. Amen.

 

[tee_eff_em]

Interesting. All the Acts I am familiar with use the phrase “…avoid the near occasions of sin” – and that is a secondary definition of *fugiturum (fugio, fugere, fugi, fugitus) *(in any dictionary I have checked), but “avoid” seems almost passive (not grammatically) or accidental to me. The primary meaning of *fugio *is “to flee, to run away from”, which IMHO is more active/conscious.

I wonder if I would take my Act of Contrition more seriously or more efficaciously if I concluded with “…and I shall make myself scarce from…”?


tee

 

[Chatter163]

This is all very interesting, considering that there is not one single, “official” act of contrition.

 

[sancte_joseph]

[Oh] my God, from all my heart I am sorry for all my sins, and I detest them, not only because in sinning, I deserve the penalties that you have justly established, but especially because I have offended Thee, [who art] the greatest good, and worthy beyond all [my] love. Therefore I firmly purpose, with the help of Thy grace, from henceforth to sin no more and to flee from the near occasions of sin.

 

[DorianGregorian]

Does anyone know Latin on here well enough to translate the Act of Contrition from Latin to English? The English translations we have are not very literal. I searched all around on the internet and haven’t been able to come up with a literal translation. I’ve studied some Latin and have translated most of it, but the end of the prayer is most difficult.

Here’s the Latin:

Deus meus, ex toto corde poenitet me omnium meorum peccatorum, eaque detestor, quia peccando, non solum poenas a Te iuste statutas promeritus sum, sed praesertim quia offendi Te, summum bonum, ac dignum qui super omnia diligaris. Ideo firmiter propono, adiuvante gratia Tua, de cetero me non peccaturum peccandique occasiones proximas fugiturum. Amen.

If you know any experts in Latin, pass it on to them please for me and see what they come up with. Thanks!

Disclaimer: I do not hold a college degree in Latin, but I know a fair amount.

My God, I am heartily sorry for all my sins and I detest these sins because of your statutes, but chiefly because they offend thee the greatest good who are deserving of all my care. Henceforth, I firmly promise with the coming of your grace to sin no more, and to avoid near occasions of sin. Amen.

I don’t think using a literal translation would make much sense, the “traditional” Act of Contrition is:

O my God! I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee; and I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of heaven and the pains of hell, but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, Who art all good, and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life. Amen.

But that’s definitely not a literal translation, there’s no reference to heaven (caelum) or hell (inferos) and the word deserving of all my love (caritas) translates better as care. Among other things.

 

[PaulinVA]

Here is the one I use…
O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee and I detest all my sins because of Thy just punishments, but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, who art all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to sin no more and avoid the near occasions of sin. Amen.

Yep, that’s the one I use. Learned it as a child.

 

[una_fides]

This is all very interesting, considering that there is not one single, “official” act of contrition.

Well there is an official Latin version, which is what we are trying to interpret into English. However, different countries have adapted various versions and such. I know in my daily Missal (1962, Baronius Press) there are different versions listed for various English speaking countries; however, unfortunately that missal does not have the Latin version or a translation thereof. In fact, I’ve never really found any official English translation of the Latin, which again is the purpose of this thread.

 

[una_fides]

Hi. I have recently taken a crack at this, too. My version is here. Any corrections will be appreciated.

TIA. ASD​

Traditional Latin Mass: Translation and Grammar

Great literal translation! I pretty much got the same thing when I initially tackled it many months ago; however, I tried to adapt it to how we would say those words in modern English. Obviously we have some liberty in doing so, as in the case of translating fugio, fugere, fugi, fugitus, as “to flee” or “to avoid”, etc.

 

[Langdell]

I came across this old thread while trying to work out the Latin of the Act of Contrition. The Latin in this prayer is tricky because, unlike, say, the Ave Maria, it contains some unusual grammatical constructions.

I’ve prepared the following interlinear translation for those who might be interested:

Deus meus,
My God

ex toto corde
out of [my] whole heart

paenitet me omnium meorum peccatorum,
I regret all my sins (literally, it pains me of all my sins)

eaque detestor,
and them I detest

quia peccando,
because, by sinning,

non solum poenas a Te iuste statutas promeritus sum,
not only the punishments by You justly established I have earned

sed praesertim quia offendi Te,
but especially because I have offended You,

summum bonum,
the greatest good,

ac dignum qui super omnia diligaris.
and worthy to be loved above all things. (literally, and worthy who above all things should be loved)

Ideo firmiter propono,
Therefore, firmly I determine,

adiuvante gratia Tua,
with helping grace Your,

de cetero me non peccaturum
that henceforth I will not sin

peccandique occasiones proximas fugiturum. Amen.
and of sinning the occasions near will flee. Amen.

As someone above mentioned, and as confirmed with the help of Mr. Google, the phrase “de cetero” is late Classical/early Medieval idiom for “henceforth.” It literally means “regarding the other.” The closest idiomatic English analogue would propbably be something like “for the rest” or “as to the remainder.”