Expert: Maria - 2/20/2005

Question
I got two phrases:

"Pride and never quit"

"Ash to ash, dust to dust"

Thanks

Answer
Hello,

-"Pride and never quit"  is in Latin :

“Excelsum te praebe nec umquam  cede!”.

Please note that EXCELSUM TE PRAEBE is ‘pride'; NEC is ‘and'; UMQUAM is ‘never'; CEDE is ‘quit'.


-"Ash to ash, dust to dust"  is :

“Cinerem cineri, pulverem pulveri [committimus]”.

Please note that CINEREM(accusative) is ‘ash'; CINERI (dative) is ‘to ash'; PULVEREM(accusative)  is ‘dust'; PULVERI (dative) is ‘to dust'.
The accusatives are subordinated to a verb COMMITTIMUS meaning ‘we commend…' as these words refer to the Burial of the Dead (Book of Common Prayer, in Latin ‘Liber precum publicarum'.)

Best regards
Maria