Expert: Maria - 7/31/2009

Question
What would the appropriate translation be for To the Glory of God Alone?  Or To Magnify God?

Answer
Hello,

here are the appropriate translations you asked me:

-“Ad unius gloriam Dei” meaning exactly “To the Glory of God Alone”.
Also, “Soli Deo gloria! “ which however means “To God alone be glory”.

-“Ad Deum magnificandum” meaning exactly “To magnify God”.

Best regards,
Maria
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Note that:

-To = AD  (preposition which requires the accusative case)

-the Glory = GLORIAM (accusative of GLORIA, 1st.declension)

-of God = DEI (genitive case of DEUS, 2nd.declension)

-Alone = UNIUS (genitive of UNUS agreed with DEI)


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-To Magnify = AD MAGNIFICANDUM ( gerundive of the verb MAGNIFICO, I magnify)

-God = DEUM (accusative of DEUS)

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-To God = DEO (dative case of DEUS)

-alone = SOLI (dative of SOLUS agreed with DEO)

be (omitted in Latin)

glory =GLORIA (nominative case)

As you can see,  in the above phrases there is a different word order which in Latin can be variable as in Latin syntactical relationships are indicated by the inflexional endings, not by the order of the words.