Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Spes Alit Agricolas

Here is today's emblem and distich by Gabriel Rollenhagen, Book 1:94, with an English rendering by George Wither.

Spes Alit Agricolas
Spes alit agricolas messis Dea certa futurae,
illa iubet fidae credere semen humo.


The Husbandman, doth sowthe Seeds
And, then, on Hope, till Harvest, feeds.


Here is the vocabulary:

spes - hope
alo - nourish, foster
agricola - farmer
messis - harvest
dea - goddess
certus - certain, sure
futurus - future, yet to come
ille - that, that one
iubeo - command
fidus - faithful, trustworthy
credo - trust, entrust
semen - seed
humus - earth, ground