Fortiter araneulas frango

Pliny says No No No to the grapes motto. He thinks I should try 'I am bold when it comes to killing small spiders'.

He says he knows it to be true. He has seen me do it with his own eyes. He says that if it would not spoil the motto, which it would, I ought to make it medium sized spiders.

I ask him why. He says that he has seen me let small spiders live, when they are in the bath or on a page of a book I'm reading. I was unaware that he observed me so closely. He is right though. Small spiders are money spiders and to kill them is bad luck.

I want him to help me with the Latin. He says he won't but he will give me some helpful advice. Don't translate it literally, try for brevity and succinctness.

Let's try the literal. Sum audax dum venit frangere parvas araneas. Yes that does sound rather clunky.

How about 'Boldly I crush small spiders'. Fortiter frango araneas parvas.

That's still too long, says Pliny. You can make it shorter. Use the diminutive.

O clever!

Fortiter frango araneulas! Boldly I crush wee spids.

But Pliny's right. I don't. Just mid-size ones. There's a fundamental problem with this motto.