Multa ruinosæ præbebat numera turbæ

English translation: Count up all the things she showed to the base mob...

05:20 Sep 10, 2008
Latin to English translations [PRO]
Anthropology / Grave stone inscription
Latin term or phrase: Multa ruinosæ præbebat numera turbæ
Eigth line of a grave stone inscription.
Pyran (X)
English translation:Count up all the things she showed to the base mob...
Explanation:
This inscription is online at http://www.pyran.org/Lake'sLostwithiel.html lauding the life of Temperance, the wife of one William Kendall.

I offer, loosely, "Count up all the things she showed to the lowly mob...." MULTA is the object of PRAEBEBAT, but in more careful Latin it would have been QUANTA (how many things) with PRAEBERET (subjunctive mood in an indirect question). RUINOSAE TURBAE is the beneficiary, a.k.a. the indirect object.

This is a typical way of eulogizing a good person, mentioning how she set a fine example with her life, from which the rabble could learn some useful lessons.
Selected response from:

David Wigtil
United States
Local time: 05:32
Grading comment
Thank you.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
5 +1Count up all the things she showed to the base mob...
David Wigtil
3 +1she offered many gifts to the ruined crowd
Luis Antonio de Larrauri


  

Answers


15 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +1
Count up all the things she showed to the base mob...


Explanation:
This inscription is online at http://www.pyran.org/Lake'sLostwithiel.html lauding the life of Temperance, the wife of one William Kendall.

I offer, loosely, "Count up all the things she showed to the lowly mob...." MULTA is the object of PRAEBEBAT, but in more careful Latin it would have been QUANTA (how many things) with PRAEBERET (subjunctive mood in an indirect question). RUINOSAE TURBAE is the beneficiary, a.k.a. the indirect object.

This is a typical way of eulogizing a good person, mentioning how she set a fine example with her life, from which the rabble could learn some useful lessons.


    Reference: http://www.pyran.org/Lake'sLostwithiel.html
David Wigtil
United States
Local time: 05:32
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Thank you.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Joseph Brazauskas: If one retains 'numera'.
17 hrs
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1 day 4 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
Multa ruinosæ præbebat munera turbæ
she offered many gifts to the ruined crowd


Explanation:
I am reading "munera" instead of "numera", since the latter does not exist (as a noun. It could be imperative of "numerare"). In the ninth line of the reference ";www.pyran.org...." appears "numera" as well (numera quae tacite...), but it seems that the same asker (Pyran) corrected it when asking and read "munera". Indeed, it is what makes sense, I think, having the whole inscription in mind.

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Note added at 5 days (2008-09-15 07:38:10 GMT) Post-grading
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Ruinosus admits both and active sense "ruinous, bringing physical or financial ruin. Extremely harmful" and a passive one "ruined, Brought to ruin". I prefer the passive sense here because it seems to me that is more logical here. It makes more sense to give to the poor than to give to the enemy

Luis Antonio de Larrauri
Local time: 10:32
Works in field
Native speaker of: Spanish
PRO pts in category: 8

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Joseph Brazauskas: Certainly 'munera' should be read for 'numera', but perhaps for 'ruinosae' you mean 'ruinous' (a rarer but, it seems to me, more appropriate sense here)?
4 hrs
  -> Thank you Joseph! See my note
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