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Conference lgp30::christian-perspective

Title:Discussions from a Christian Perspective
Notice:Prostitutes and tax collectors welcome!
Moderator:CSC32::J_CHRISTIE
Created:Mon Sep 17 1990
Last Modified:Fri Jun 06 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:1362
Total number of notes:61362

424.0. "solvitur ambulando translation, please" by CSC32::LBDUCK::DEADERICK (Joan E. Deaderick) Fri Mar 20 1992 12:38

I came across this Latin phrase in a book by Michael Marshall, the director of
Anglican Institute�.  I can guess from the context, which is 

	"Ultimate proff of the hypothesis can only be discovered by acting
 	 out the program on the basis of the hypothesis. Solvitur ambulando
                                                         ------------------
	 is not the only way to walk by faith, but it is also the way by
	 which the scientist pursues his or her experiments."

But I'd like a translation.  Its not in my Latin tag book, probasbly because
its church Latin.

Thanks,

Joan



�"The Gospel Connection", published by Morehouse.
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424.1It is solved by being traversedKALI::EWANCOEric James Ewanco, MLO LENaCSat Mar 21 1992 22:5322
    Hi ... I am not an expert on the meanings of Latin phrases in English
    (often such phrases have an entirely different meaning in English than
    their literal translation) but I can offer a literal translation from
    my knowledge of Classical Latin.
    
    Solvitur -- passive 3rd person singular present indicative -- it is 
    loosened, untied, released, freed, dissolved, broken up, exempted, 
    weakened, paid off, solved
    ambulando -- root is ambulare, to walk, now to decode the ending ... 
    looks like future passive participle, ablative or dative ... ah,
    probably dative of agent. 
    
    It is solved by being traversed.
    
    That's rought -- I couldn't fit in the future part of the ambulando. So
    the "traversed" part is in the future. Maybe, "It is solved when it
    will be traversed" but that's ugly.
    
    Close enough?
    
    Eric Ewanco
    
424.2clarificationKALI::EWANCOEric James Ewanco, MLO LENaCSat Mar 21 1992 22:556
    oh, by the way, if you're confused by what "traversed" means, I think
    that the phrase means something like, it is solved by actually being
    performed or walked through, executed; i.e., we know the answer by
    doing it and not until then.
    
    Eric
424.3Assuming it's trueCSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace: the Final FrontierTue Mar 24 1992 20:0810
    Re: .0
    
    I would say that it means roughly "Walking (or behaving) as though the
    hypothesis was the correct answer."
    
    This is basically a verification technique used by many fields of
    research and study.
    
    Peace,
    Richard