Here is today's emblem and distich by
Joachim Camerarius, 1:2. As you can see in the emblem, the god Mercury is the one who is watering the plants; the poem lets us know that it is very important who and what it is that waters our mental "gardens," so to speak. The "Deus" of the poem clearly refers to the Christian God, but Mercury (Hermes) is a good symbol to use here, as Mercury was often the messenger of the gods among men. Moreover, as Camerarius explains in the essay following the emblem, Mercury is a symbol for "the power of ingenuity, eloquence and learning,"
vis ingenii, eloquentiae et doctrinae.
Nempe Arbos Unde Rigetur
Intererit multum quis nostros irriget hortos,
Ac mens nostra Dei qua foveatur ope.Here is the vocabulary:
nempe - certainly, indeed
arbos (arbor) - tree
unde - from where, from whom
rigo - moisten, irrigate
intersum - be in-between, be different, matter
multum - much, a great deal, very
quis, quid - who, what
noster - our, ours
irrigo - irrigate, water, wet
hortus - garden
ac - and, and also
mens - mind, reason, mental faculty, intention
deus - god
qui, quae, quod - which, that
foveo - keep warm, favor, cherish
ops - might, power, resources
