- #2,206
RonL
Gold Member
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zoobyshoe said:"Impediti" seems to be the passive perfect plural. So, "We, You, or They, were not impeded (ratione) of thought". But it might also be the future tense, "We, You, Or They, will not be impeded (ratione) of thought."
http://www.verbix.com/webverbix/go.php?D1=9&T1=impediō&H1=109
"Ratione" is the ablative of ratio. Ratio = "Reckoning, account, reason, judgement, consideration, system, manner, method" The ablative has manifold functions:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ablative_(Latin)
and I can't definitively sort out why it's used here, but the following prepositions take the ablative case:
None of these mean "by". Therefore, this phrase might actually mean something like: "We (You, They) were not impeded from the method of thought." Or, "We (You, They) will not be impeded from the method of thought." Like vowing not to let your thinking get cloudy. "Unimpeded by..." is certainly funnier, but choosing meanings based on which seems funnier might get you corrected by a Roman soldier with his gladius at your throat. Latin is exceptionally complex.
- ab, a -from
- coram -in the presence of, before
- cum -with
- de -down from, from
- ex, e -out of, from
- in -in
- intus -within
- palam -openly in the presence of
- prae -in front of, before
- pro -before
- procul -far from
- simul together with, simultaneously with
- sine -without
- sub -under
Guess if I found myself in the last situation, I would probably say something like " I'm Spartacus and I'm not encumbered by the thought process" :D