Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Officiosa Aliis, Exitiosa Suis

Here is today's emblem and distich by Joachim Camerarius, 4:23. In the note, Camerarius explains the use of a female salmon as a lure to entice the male fish so that the fishermen can easily capture them - hence the feminine adjectives in the emblem's title.

Officiosa Aliis, Exitiosa Suis
Hostis aperte, ast clam falsus, nos perdit amicus,
Nec quisquam est structis tutus ab insidiis.



Here is the vocabulary:

officiosus - attentive, dutiful
alius - other, another
exitiosus - deadly, destructive
suus - reflexive possessive
hostis - enemy
aperte - openly
ast - but, on the other hand
clam - secretly
falsus - lying, false
nos - we, us,
perdo - ruin, destroy
amicus - friend
nec - and not, nor
quisquam - anybody, anyone
sum - be, exist
struo - construct, build
tutus - safe, secure
ab - from
insidiae - ambush, trap