The Latin term ''Poenitentiam agite'' is used in the first of the Ninety-Five Theses of

Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

, and variously translated into English as "

Repent Repentance is reviewing one's actions and feeling contrition or regret for past or present wrongdoings, which is accompanied by commitment to and actual actions that show and prove a change for the better. In modern times, it is generally seen ...

" or "Do

Penance Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of contrition for sins committed, as well as an alternative name for the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession. The word ''penance'' derive ...

". The phrase was also used as a rallying cry by the Dulcinian movement and its predecessors, the

Apostolic Brethren The Apostolic Brethren (sometimes referred to as Apostolici, Apostoli, or Apostolics) were a Christian sect founded in northern Italy in the latter half of the 13th century by Gerard Segarelli, a native of Alzano in the territory of Parma. He was ...

, two radical movements of the

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

period. The term is part of the larger quotation from

St. Jerome Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian priest, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome. He is best known for his translation of the Bible ...

Vulgate The Vulgate () is a late-4th-century Bible translations into Latin, Latin translation of the Bible. It is largely the work of Saint Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels used by the Diocese of ...

translation of Mt. 3:2 (as said by

John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

) and Mt. 4:17 (as repeated by

Jesus of Nazareth Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the central figure of Christianity, the world's largest religi ...

): ''Pœnitentiam agite: appropinquavit enim regnum cælorum'' ("Do penance, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand"). The term is translated from the original Greek command μετανοεῖτε (English

transliteration Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus '' trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → and → the digraph , Cyrillic → , Armenian → or L ...

: "metanoeite"), which some post-Vulgate translators (including

Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus ( ; ; 28 October c. 1466 – 12 July 1536), commonly known in English as Erasmus of Rotterdam or simply Erasmus, was a Dutch Christian humanist, Catholic priest and Catholic theology, theologian, educationalist ...

) alternatively render in Latin as "resipiscite" – a translation that favors the connotation of changing one's internal state of mind, rather than the connotation of engaging in external penitential action. The Greek μετανοεῖτε is alternatively translated within the Vulgate at Mk. 1:15 as "pœnitemini," a translation more similar in connotation to "resipiscite." The translational issue is often used to justify positions on the subject of sacramental penance.

In popular culture

The shortened rallying cry Penitenziagite exposes two monks as former members of the Dulcinian movement in The Name of the Rose, a

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

Umberto Eco Umberto Eco (5 January 1932 – 19 February 2016) was an Italian Medieval studies, medievalist, philosopher, Semiotics, semiotician, novelist, cultural critic, and political and social commentator. In English, he is best known for his popular ...

and the homonymous

movie A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

Jean-Jacques Annaud Jean-Jacques Annaud (; born 1 October 1943) is a French film director, screenwriter and producer. He directed ''Quest for Fire (film), Quest for Fire'' (1981), ''The Name of the Rose (film), The Name of the Rose'' (1986), ''The Bear (1988 film), ...

References

{{Reflist Latin religious words and phrases