What is the english translation to this latin quote “Semper in excremento sum, solum profunditas variat” ?
It’s what someone thought meant ‘I’m always in s**t, only the depth varies’. It’s either from an online translator or from someone who knew a little Latin using an English to Latin dictionary – probably the latter. A better Latin translation would be: Semper in merda; sola altitudo variat (you could use’mutat’ there). “sum’ (I am) is omitted. The Romans left out the verbs, especially forms of ‘to be’, when the meaning was apparent. ‘Excrementum’ is more ‘polite’ and is also subject to other meanings. ‘Merda’ is cruder, and gave rise to French ‘merde’ and Spanish ‘mierda’. The Romans used ‘altitudo’ (English cognate ‘altitude’) for both depth and height. ‘Sola’ is only, and it must agree with the noun it modifies. Altitudo and also profunditas from your version are both feminine, so it must end in ‘a’.
