Ne Tenear

Here is today's emblem and distich by Gabriel Rollenhagen, Book 1.4, with an English rendering by George Wither. The emblem and the distich are based on a statue of Kairos (the "Critical Moment") by the classical Greek sculptor Lysippos; the statue has not survived, but it is immortalized in one of the fables of Phaedrus and you can read a detailed description of the statue in Posidippus.

Ne Tenear

Ne tenear, postica cavet pars, vertice raso;
Caesariem qui scit prendere fronte, sapit.

Occasions-past are sought in vaine;
But, oft, they wheele-about againe.

Here is the vocabulary:

ne - not, so that not, lest
teneo - hold
posticus - back, rear
caveo - take care, avoid
pars - part
vertex - top, crown of the head
rado - shave
caesaries - head of hair, hair
qui - who, which, that
scio - know, know how to
prendo - grab, seize, catch
frons - forehead, front
sapio - be wise