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Ancient Languages/translation of motto

Expert: Maria - 10/23/2011

Question
Need translation on family coat-of-arms for Randolph - fari qure sentlat

Answer
Hello,

Actually the correct motto is “Fari quae sentiat” that is a quotation from Horace, Epistles, Book 1, poem 4, line 10.

This motto means “To say what one feels” just to denote that one must be able to express his sentiments.

Best regards,
Maria
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Note that:

-FARI (infinitive of the defective verb FOR, I say) = to say

-QUAE (direct object, accusative neuter plural of the relative pronoun QUI) = what

-SENTIAT (3rd.person singular, present subjunctive of the verb SENTIO, I feel) = one feels

As you can see, Latin word order can be different from English for Latin is an inflected language where syntactical relationships are indicated by the endings, not by the order of the words.

Questioner's Rating

Rating(1-10)	Knowledgeability = 10	Clarity of Response = 10	Politeness = 10
Comment	This motto belongs to one of my ancestor i.e. Randolph of Scotland and I copied this into needlepoint - the spelling I gave you is what appears on this coat-of-arms. I am very pleased to know the proper spelling. It is amazing through time how things get changed. I would not be surprised is the artist did not know how to read and therefore did not recognize a misspelling. Thank you again for your correction and promptness.