[Apologetics] Latin translation

[Stephen Korsman]

Hi

My Latin is very rusty.  Is there anyone who can help translate something for me?  You might also find my attempts amusing!

"The only way to be heard is to scream; the only path to peace is the threat of war."

"... the only promise of peace ..." would work equally well.  The important parts are the "only", the "heard" vs "scream", and the "peace" / "threat of war."

The context is the bureaucracy I work in.  Bureaucracy prevents me to providing an adequate service to the patients our lab tests, and it's only when I start sending e-mails with red, bold, and/or underlined text and with half my address book in the CC line to witness my frustration that I actually get a response out of the administration.

The best I can do is a very literal translation:

solus modus auditum esse quiritare est; sola via ad pacem impendere bellum est.

There are probably various Latin idiomatic expressions that I am not familiar with that would replace some of that.

Another way would be, ironically, to copy the grammar from the Prayer of St Francis:

in quiritando audimur; pacem impendendo bello acquirimus.

[In screaming we are heard; we obtain peace by the threat of war.]  I assume quiritando would be in the form of a gerund; impendendo in the form of an ablative gerundive?

Thanks!
Stephen
--
Stephen Korsman
skorsman at theotokos.co.za
The Theotokos Website
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