Virtus Hinc Maior

Here is today's emblem and distich by Joachim Camerarius, 1.4. The emblem refers to the legend of the asphalathus reported in Pliny's Natural history (12.52): if a rainbow arches over a shrub, it causes that shrub to emit a scent as sweet as that of the aromatic asphalathus, and if the rainbow arches over the asphalathus itself, the scent is extraordinarily sweet. As Camerarius sees it, the same can be true of our own excellence when it is nourished by our pious devotion to the gods.

Virtus Hinc Maior
Iridis Aspalathus vi suavior, ipsaque virtus
Gratior est superum quam pia cura fovet.

Here is the vocabulary:

virtus - virtue, excellence
hinc - from here, from this cause
maior - greater
Iris - Iris, rainbow
Aspalathus - rosewood (aromatic shrub used in making aspiced wine)
vis - power, strength
suavis - sweet
ipse - emphatic adjective/pronoun
que - and
gratus - welcome, pleasing
sum - be, exist
superi - the gods
quam - than
pius - pious, righteous, good
cura - care, attentiveness
foveo - favor, cherish, keep warm