Is `duco sanitas` a grammatically correct way of saying `I lead health`?

Question

Is "duco sanitas" a grammatically correct way of saying "I lead health"?

For context, I'm looking for a short but grammatically correct way of saying I lead the development of healthy minds and bodies. I'm working on the tagline for an art project concerned with physical, emotional and psychological optimisation with a view to nurturing wholesome leadership.

If there are any other words concerned more with natural/organic health than sanitas, please let me know!

This follows on from my prior question.

Joel Derfner · Accepted Answer · 2016-03-22T23:04:39.773

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Joonas Ilmavirta's suggestions are excellent. As he says, though, Sanitatem duco doesn't really mean very much. And Studium sanitatis animi corporisque fovendæ duco is a mouthful (eyeful?).

I'd like to suggest a compromise, which may or may not be suitable: In sanitatem duco. This means "I lead into health." If your project is about nurturing qualities of wholeness, then this might work.

Another option would be In integritatem duco. This means "I lead into completeness" or "I lead into wholeness." Integritatem is the way the word integritas would look like in this sentence; integritas is, of course, the source of the English word "integrity," which might be nice given that you're talking about leadership. However, it's important to note that what we today usually mean when we say "integrity" (a commitment to keeping one's word, honesty, etc.) isn't really part of integritas/integritatem. That said, our "integrity" also isn't excluded by integritas/integritatem, so you'd be getting the benefit of the connotation without betraying the meaning.

In any case, good luck with the project!

edited Mar 22 '16 at 23:04

answered Mar 22 '16 at 21:32

Joel Derfner

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Integritas by itself is a nice name for something. – cmw Mar 22 '16 at 22:46
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Véní lupanar meum ad visitátum, nomine "Integritátem." – Joel Derfner Mar 22 '16 at 23:08
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@JoelDerfner would my grammar be correct if I swapped out duco for ducitis to get 'you all lead in health'? In sanitatem ducitis? – DVCITIS Mar 29 '16 at 23:22
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Well, it would be "You all lead into health" rather than "lead in health," but yes, the grammar would be absolutely correct! – Joel Derfner Mar 29 '16 at 23:33

score 5 · Answer 2 · answered Mar 22 '16 at 15:32

I suggest Sanitatem duco. Reasoning:

Sanitas is a good word for health, but it has to be declined to the accusative case: sanitatem. (If you say Duco sanitas, it could be read as something like "I lead as health", but it makes little sense to think that you are health.)
The English sentence "I lead health" is quite meaningless as such, but it can be understood the way you describe, given enough context. Similarly the Latin translation I suggest is grammatical but doesn't mean much as such.
In Latin it is more natural to put the verb after the object.

For a longer version of the expression I suggest this: Studium sanitatis animi corporisque fovendae duco. "I lead the pursuit of fostering health of mind and body."

@JoonasIImavirta would my grammar be correct if I swapped out duco for ducitis to get 'you all lead the pursuit of fostering health of mind and body'? Studium sanitatis animi corporisque fovendae ducitis? — DVCITIS, Mar 29 '16 at 23:24
@Pete, yes, the sentence remains grammatical if you make that change. — Joonas Ilmavirta, Mar 30 '16 at 06:49

Is `duco sanitas` a grammatically correct way of saying `I lead health`?

2 Answers2