Sunday, March 11, 2012

Ne Moveas

Here is today's emblem and distich by Joachim Camerarius, 1:18. This smelly plant, the anagyris, gave rise to a Greek proverb, ἀνάγυριν κινεῖς, "you're moving the anagyris," i.e. "you're stirring up shit." The scientific name of the plant, Anagyris foetida, means "stink bean."

Ne Moveas
Ad tua cur taceam dicteria foeda requiris?
Non anagyrin ego, spurce, movere volo.



Here is the vocabulary:

ne - so that no, lest, don't
moveo - move
ad - to, towards
tuus - your, yours
taceo - be silent, say nothing
dicterium - joke
foedus - foul, scurrilous
requiro - require, ask, seek
non - not, no
anagyris - bean plant (strong-smelling)
ego - I
spurcus - filthy
volo - want, wish, will