Friday, February 24, 2012

Nec Incidi, Nec Evelli

Here is today's emblem and distich by Joachim Camerarius, 1:14. The olive tree is a traditional symbol of peace, even today (as in "extending the olive branch"). Peace should be cherished, not cut down with an ax and not rooted out with a hoe; instead, let the tree flourish in endless days of peace.

Nec Incidi, Nec Evelli
Dure facesse ligo, validae procul este bipennes,
Frondeat aeternos pacis alumna dies.



Here is the vocabulary:

nec - neither, nor, and not
incido - cut into, cut open
evello - pull out, root out
durus - hard, rough, tough
facesso - do, perpetrate
ligo - mattock, hoe
validus - strong, mighty
procul - at a distance, far off
sum - be, exist
bipennis - two-edged axe
frondeo - be in leaf, be leafy
aeternus - eternal
pax - peace
alumnus - nourished, native; nourishing
dies - day