#ausonius

therinfal redoubt must get gnarly really quick if the inquisition chooses not to check on what's up with the templars. wonder if one might resent that decision after watching their friends turn to mindless creatures and having to cut their way out through them 👀

They wander in deep woods, in mournful light, / Amid long reeds and drowsy-headed poppies, / And lakes where no wave laps, and voiceless streams, / Upon whose banks in the dim light grow old / Flowers that were once bewailed names of kings.

“carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero.” - Odes 1.11 ("Seize the day, put very little trust in tomorrow“)

Some fun facts about carpe diem:

The first recorded instance of carpe diem occurs in the Epic of Gilgamesh and is the advice Siduri gives to Gilgamesh.

Related sayings include:

Collige, virgo, rosas ("gather, girl, the roses")

“Gather ye rosebuds while ye may"

memento mori (remember that you are mortal) 

and finally:

the notion of carpe diem is a philosophy that recognizes the brevity of life and, therefore, the need to live for and in the moment. The phrase originates in Horace's Ode 1.11.

John William Waterhouse, Gather Ye Rosebuds While Ye May, 1909, oil on canvas, 100 cm × 83 cm (39.5 in × 32.5 in)

Gather Ye Rosebuds While Ye May is an oil painting on canvas created in 1909 by British Pre-Raphaelite artist, John William Waterhouse. It is the second of two paintings inspired by Robert Herrick's poem "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time".

The opening line of the poem, "Gather ye rosebuds while ye may", echoes the Latin phrase collige, virgo, rosas ("gather, girl, the roses"), which appears at the end of the poem "De rosis nascentibus", also called "Idyllium de rosis", attributed to Ausonius or Virgil.

Since we missed out on #marblemonday while enjoying the Memorial Day holiday, today we’re bringing you a double feature in the form of this first edition French translation of Oeuvres d’Ausone by Roman poet Decimius Magnus Ausonius! 

This beautiful leather bound volume features marbled endsheets, gold tooling, and a woodcut title page--a perfect mash-up for this #titlepagetuesday (& belated #marbledmonday!)  

PS: In doing a little research about Decimius Magnus Ausonius I discovered that while his works were quite popular among his contemporaries, his writing when compared to other Latin poets of the period is considered a bit derivative and lacking in originality (shots fired!) However, much information has been discovered about the history of early winemaking from his native region of Bordeaux, France, through an examination of his writing. Cheers to that! 

Ausonius, Epigrammata de diversis rebus 42 “Ex Graeco traductum de statua Nemesis” Once the Persians brought me As a stone, to make me A trophy for their war; Now I am Nemesis. And just as I stand a trophy For the Greeks who conquered, So I punish the Persians Vain of boast – I, Nemesis. Me lapidem quondam Persae advexere, tropaeum     ut fierem bello; nunc ego sum Nemesis. ac sicut Graecis victoribus adsto tropaeum,     punio sic Persas vaniloquos Nemesis.