Monday, March 5, 2012

Cursu Praetervehor Omnes

Here is today's emblem and distich by Joachim Camerarius, 3:17. I am glad to see this emblem which praises the ostrich: so often it gets mocked for being a flightless bird (as in this fable of the ostrich and the chicken), but here the speech of the ostrich's running allows it to be a symbol of lofty excellence, virtus alta, even if the ostrich is not a high-flying bird!

Cursu Praetervehor Omnes
Quantumvis humilis, cursu tamen anteit omnes
Struthio: sic virtus quolibet alta loco est.



Here is the vocabulary:

cursus - running, course, race
praeterveho - ride by, pass by
omnis - every, all
quantumvis - however great, however much
humilis - lowly, humble, slight
tamen - but, however
anteeo - go ahead, precede, surpass
struthio - ostrich
sic - thus
virtus - excellence, virtue
quilibet - whatsoever, any, every
altus - high, tall, lofty
locus - place
sum - be, exist