\'Supremo Fine Mundi\' quote

[Nathan Ross]

I'm trying to create a suitable translation for a line from the Panegyrici Latini. I wonder if any Latinists could check my version against the original?

The line is from Panegyric VI - the orator praising Britain for being the first place to acclaim Constantine as emperor. After mentioning the bountiful crops and fecund cattle of the province, he says this:

Di boni, quid hoc est quod semper ex aliquo supremo fine mundi nova deum numina universo orbi colenda descendunt?

The full text is here, and a good translation of it here.

I actually prefer the version given by Patrick Ottaway in his Roman York, but it's not referenced. So I've tried to combine the two, and give some idea of the poetic language of the orator without straying too far from the original:

Gracious Gods! Why is it that new dieties, destined to be universally revered, always descend from the furthest edge of the world?

Does that seem about right, or is it too free an interpretation?

[Lyceum]

Not bad, however I'd query "the furthest edge of the world" for a few reasons. Latin doesn't match up well with English with regards to definite/indefinite pronouns and articles so you have to be careful, if you look at the next line you get a typical paratactis of names in the ablative "a Nilo....ab Indis..." so we probably ought to reintegrate aliquo in the sentence. E.g You need the word "some."

I don't think "some farthest" makes as much sense in English as it does in Latin, well not anymore at least. So reword that, but otherwise not bad and nothing I'd really want to dock marks for.

[Pyrgopolynices]

Maybe "some extremely distant corner of the world" vel sim.?

[Nathan Ross]

Thanks both of you. I agree that superlatives preceded by 'some' sound a little odd in contemporary usage. But perhaps not with 'most'...

'some most distant edge of the world' might have the right flavour, I think!

mile: