Thursday, February 2, 2012

Sustinuere Diem

Here is today's emblem and distich by Joachim Camerarius, 3:9. This emblem refers to the belief that the eagle, whose amazing eyesight allows it to stare directly at the sun, would test the legitimacy of its offspring by compelling the chick to look at the sun. If the chick could endure the light, then it was indeed an eagle chick!

Sustinuere Diem
Ut sobolem ingenuam ad solem Iovis aestimat ales
Cernitur adversis rebus amica fides.



Here is the vocabulary:

sustineo - support, hold up, sustain
dies - day, daylight
ut - as, so, so as to
soboles - offshoot, offspring
ingenuus - natural, noble, free-born
ad - to, towards
sol - sun
Iuppiter - Jupiter
aestimo - reckon, consider, estimate
ales - winged; bird
cerno - perceive, discern, see
adversus-adj - opposite, opposed, hostile
res - thing, business, affair
amicus - friendly; friend
fides-ei - faith, trust, reliability, credibility