Dear John and all the rest................ Herewith some translations kindly supplied to me by my former classics teacher, Michael Bishop, now in his 80's but who thoroughly enjoys a puzzle or three. 1) OMNIA FERT AETAS SECUM, AUFERT OMNIA SECUM [I suspect the comma should follow the first 'secum']; lit: time/ brings/ all things/ with itself, takes away/ all things/ with itself . sc.: Time brings everything in its train, and with its train sweeps everything away. 2) MINUTA SUNT QUAE SPECTAS, NON QUAE PERDIS: lit: minutes are what you look at, not what you lose. sc: think of the passing moments as gifts experienced rather than fleeting things lost. [This reminds me of the derivation of 'minute' from 'minuere', to divide up: the ' hora minuta' being the hour divided into sixty, the 'second' being the 'hora minuta secunda' (from 'sequi', to follow), the subsequent division of the already divided hour. It also reminds me of the mynah birds in Aldous Huxley's utopian 'Island', trained to sing 'Here and now, boys!'] 3) TENERE NON POTES [the shortest and hardest!) Lit: you can't keep hold. sc.viz [I suppose]: Time doesn't stand still - i.e tempus fugit (flees, eludes you ,rather than 'flies'). What deep philosophical musings sundials arouse! David Brown, Somerton, Somerset, UK
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