Saturday, December 3, 2011

Vita Tamen Superest

Here is today's emblem by Joachim Camerarius, 1:92. As you can see in the emblem, when a plant has a vital juice or sap, like an aloe plant for example, it can be kept in a house for years on end, and it still flourishes, vita tamen superest. Such a plant is something that we admire. The second line of the poem then makes the comparison: the same is true of people who have endowments of talent, something which keeps them ever-flourishing, just like the vital sap of that admirable plant.

Vita Tamen Superest
Vivacis succi ut plantam hanc mirantur et ornant,
Sic homines praestant dotibus ingenii.


Here is the vocabulary:

vita - life
tamen - yet, still, nevertheless
supersum - survive, remain
vivax - long-lived, vigorous, lively
succus - juice, sap
ut - as, so
planta - plant
hic - this, this one
miror - amaze, be amazed
et - and
orno - decorate, honor
sic - thus, in this way
homo - person, man
praesto - exhibit, perform
dos - dowry, quality, talent
ingenium - talent, genius