Latin III

See Latin and Latin II.

(Instead of another Latin inscription, here is an image of the Spaghetti House, where we went this evening.)

In The Lost Symbol, Dan Brown's characters encounter the phrase, "Jeova Sanctus Unus." "Jeova" is a version of the Biblical Name, therefore is not Latin and unequivocally means "God," not also "a god." Thus, the phrase means either "One holy God" or "God, the holy one." However, Brown's characters, including a bishop, consistently translate it as "One true God," which in Latin would be "unus verus Deus."

Maybe I am missing something - or maybe this mistranslation is consistent with the adverse criticisms that have been made of Brown's scholarship? As always, I welcome any alternative views or corrections. Brown has perfected a particular kind of thriller in which the reader is lured on by continual promises of a big revelation although each solved clue merely leads to the next clue. In this one kind of writing at least, he excels.