Monday, January 16, 2012

Primatus Maritalis

Here is today's distich by John Owen, with an English translation by Thomas Harvey, 10.9.

Primatus Maritalis
Nocturnum imperium muliebre, virile diurnum est.
Regnat enim noctu Cynthia, Solque diu.


WEDLOCK’S PRIMACY
The man by day, by night the feminine
Bears rule: So Sun and Moon alternate shine.

Here is the vocabulary:

primatus - supremacy, first place
maritalis - marital, marriage
nocturnus - night
imperium - rule, command, authority
muliebris - belonging to a woman, feminine
virilis - belonging to a man, masculine
diurnus - daytime
sum - be, exist
regno - rule, be king, reign
enim - for, the fact is
noctu - at night
Cynthia - the moon
Sol - the sun
que - and
diu - by day, all day, for a long time