Monday, February 20, 2012

Sol et Tempus

Here is today's distich by John Owen, with an English translation by Thomas Harvey, 7.28. Of course, the sun most famously stood still in the Biblical Book of Joshua, 10.13: Stetit itaque sol in medio caeli, et non festinavit occumbere spatio unius diei.

Sol et Tempus
Sol celer est, at sole tamen velocior hora:
Hora stetit nunquam, sol aliquando stetit.


THE SUN, AND TIME
The Sun is swift, but th’ Hour’s more swift: The Sun
Sometime stood still, but th’ Hour that time did run.

The vocabulary is keyed to the DCC Latin Vocabulary list. There is only one word in this poem that is not on the DCC list:

vēlox, vēlōcis - swift, quick, speedy

aliquandō: at some time, at length
at: but, but yet
celer -is -e: swift; adv. celeriter
et: and
hōra -ae f.: hour
numquam: never
sōl sōlis m.: sun
stō stāre stetī statum: stand
sum, esse, fuī: be, exist
tamen: nevertheless, still
tempus -oris n.: time



(Bible illustration by Gustave Doré)