Expert: Maria - 11/15/2007

Question
How do you translate the phrase "All hope abandon, ye who enter here" to Latin?  It is my favorite line from Dante's Inferno and I would like to use it in my art.

Answer
Hello Anna,

Here's the  translation of Dante Alighieri, The Inferno, Canto III, line 9: “Lasciate ogni speranza voi ch'entrate”(All hope abandon, ye who enter here”).

-“Omnes relinquite spes, o vos intrantes"

Best regards
Maria
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NOTA BENE

-OMNES (accusative plural agreed with SPES) = all (‘ogni', in Italian)

-SPES  (accusative plural of SPES, 5th.declension) = hope (‘speranza', in Italian). Latin prefers to use the plural instead of the singular.

- RELINQUITE ( 2nd.person plural, imperative of RELINQUO) = abandon (‘lasciate', in Italian)

- O VOS ( personal pronoun, 2nd.person plural) = ye (‘voi', in Italian)

- INTRANTES  ( nominative plural, present participle of  the verb INTRO, I enter here)= who enter here.