Sunday, January 8, 2012

Non Impune Feres

Here is today's emblem and distich by Joachim Camerarius, 2:3. One legend tells that the elephant and the dragon are mortal enemies. Even if the dragon manages to overcome the elephant, as the elephant falls, he crushes the dragon, bringing about its death, too: hostis sui ruina certa est!

Non Impune Feres
Contemnit mortem, qui non moriturus inultus;
Una etiam est hostis certa ruina sui.



Here is the vocabulary:

non - not, no
impune - with impunity, without punishment
fero - bear, carry
contemno - look down on, disdain
mors - death
qui - who, which, that
morior - die
inultus - unavenged
unus - one
etiam - even
sum - be, exist
hostis - enemy
certus - certain
ruina - downfall, destruction
suus - reflexive possessive pronoun