Sunday, November 27, 2011

Labor Omnibus Unus

Here is today's emblem by Joachim Camerarius, 3:90. This emblem about the bees alludes to a line in Vergil's Georgics, IV (the book dedicated to bee-keeping; English version here): Omnibus una quies operum, labor omnibus unus, "There is one rest from work for all, there is one labor for all." In the ancient world, bees were considered to be the most pure and productive creatures, with a society that exemplified everything a human society could be - ruled by a king bee, of course, not a queen bee. Here Camerarius urges the wise man to reflect upon and keep the bees in mind at all times: revolvat.

Labor Omnibus Unus
Doctus apum et studia et mores et iura revolvat,
Qui bene vult populis dicere iura suis.






The vocabulary is keyed to the DCC Latin Vocabulary list. There are only two words in this poem that are not on the DCC list:

apis, apis f. - bee
revolvo -ere, revolvī, revolūtum - roll back, revolve, turn

bene: well
dīco dīcere dīxī dictum: say; causam dicere, plead a case; diem dicere, appoint a day
doceo -ēre -uī doctum: teach
et: and
iūs iūris n.: right, justice, law
labor -ōris m.: toil, exertion
mōs mōris m.: custom, habit; (pl.) character
omnis -e: all, every, as a whole
populus -ī m.: people
qui, quae, quod: who, which, what; quis quid: who? what? which?
studium -ī n.: eagerness, zeal
suus -a -um: his own, her own, its own
ūnus -a -um: one
volo velle voluī: wish, be willing