Latin Phrase: I Garden, therefore I am
by M. Bissell
(Somerset,NJ)
Dear Latin Teacher,
How would you say "I garden, therefore I am."
Sincerely,
M. Bissell
Dear M. Bissell,
Playing off the famous line from Descartes (
cogito, ergo sum), the simplest way to put this phrase into Latin is
hortum colo, ergo sum.
The Latin word
hortus stands for all kinds of gardens, i.e. vegetables or flowers, big or small, even a shrub garden or pleasure grounds.
If you would like to be a bit more precise, however, there are other Latin words for garden.
Hortulum colo, ergo sum would mean "I keep a small garden, therefore I am."
Viridarium colo, ergo sum would mean "I keep a shrub garden or pleasure garden, therefore I am".
Lastly,
pomarium colo, ergo sum would mean "I keep a fruit garden or orchard, therefore I am".
Hope this helps, and thanks for asking a Latin teacher!
Sincerely,
John
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