si fueris Rōmae, Rōmānō vīvitō mōre; si fueris alibī, vīvitō sicut ibi

ST. SAVIOUR, LIMERICK.

 

FOUNDED in 1227. According to the ancient calendar of the abbey, from which Father Quirke, prior of the community, took extracts in 1627, the founder was Donough Carbreagh O'Brien, King ot Munster. On the other hand, as we shall see later on, Edward I. claimed that his own ancestors were the founders. The ancient calendar of Limerick is corroborated by the ancient Registry of the Friars Preachers of Athenry, which also states that Donough Carbreagh O'Brien was the founder of our abbey in Limerick. Father Quirke's account, which we shall have occasion to quote several times, is embodied in two MSS. in the British Museum. It was probably written, judging from the phrase ut antea ad dominationem vestram scripsi and other internal evidence, for Sir James Ware, who was then making his researches into the monastic antiquities of Ireland. Though most of it is confessedly taken from the ancient calendar of the Dominican house in Limerick, other items of information regarding the abbeys of Tralee, Cashel, Youghal and Cork, are added, evidently from other sources.

 

The following is the translation of Father Quirke's account, as far as regards Limerick :

 

" 1227. The first founder of the Dominican abbey in Limerick was Donough Carbreagh O'Brien, who asked St. Dominic himself for some friars for the purpose of preaching among the Irish. This Donough O'Brien, as appears from the old calendar of the martyr ology of the said abbey, died on the eighth of May, 1241.

" So that, between the confirmation of the Dominican Order (which was confirmed by Honorius III., the supreme pontiff, in 1216), and the death of the said founder, there were twenty-five years.

" Regarding the founder, the following lines were inscribed in the margin after the last day of the aforesaid month :

" Here lies Donogh Carbreagh O'Brien, a valiant Leader in arms, Prince of Thomond, made a Knight by the King of England, who built the Church of the Friars of the Order of Preachers, who died on the eighth day of March, 1241. On whose soul may the Lord have mercy. Amen. Let each devoutly say a Pater and Ave."

 

The assertion made by Edward I., that his ancestors were the founders may be reconciled with the foregoing, on the supposition that O'Brien built the church and the King (Henry III.), the abbey; or O'Brien may have built all and the Kingjnay have given the site. The site was probably given by the King, as O'Brien, though Lord of Thomond, had no jurisdiction within the city, which, having no charter at the time, was governed by an English provost for the King. It is also probable that the King built the abbey, both from, the use of the word "house" and also because the inscription on O'Brien's tomb mentions merely the building of the church.

 

The abbey, unlike most of the other foundations, was situated within the city walls. It was to the east side, not far from King John's Castle, adjoining the city wall.

 

The abbey, in ancient times, was a favourite place of burial, and, amongst others, eight bishops were buried here, viz., Hubert de Burgh, bishop of Limerick, in 1250; Donald O'Kennedy, bishop of Killaloe, in 1252; Christian, bishop of Kilfenora, in 1254; Matthew O'Hogan, bishop of Killaloe, in 1281; Simon O'Currin, bishop of Kilfenora, in 1303 ; Maurice O'Brien, bishop of Kilfenora, in 1321 ; Maurice O'Grady, archbishop of Cashel, in 1345 ; Matthew Magrath, bishop of Kilfenora, in 1391.

 

Six of these prelates are commemorated in the following Latin verses, inscribed on their sepulchral monument formerly existing in the church, and translated by Father Quirke from the old calendar, in which he found them placed after the Rule of St. Augustine :

 

Senos pontifices in se locus claudit iste,

Illis multiplices, Te posco, prsemia, Christe.

Omnes hi fuerant Fratrum Laris hujus amici ;

Hubertus de Burgo, prsesul quondam Limerici ;

Donaldus, Matthseus, pastores Laonenses ;

Christianus, Mauritius, Simon quoque Fenaborenses.

Ergo, benigne Pater, locus hos non comprimat ater.

Qui legas ista, PATER dicas et AVE reboa ter,

Centum namque dies quisquis rogitando meretur

Detur ut his requies, si pura mente precetur.

Qui legis hos versus, ad te quandoque reversus,

Quid sis et quid eris animo vigili mediteris ;

Si minor his fueris seu major eorumve sodalis,

Tandem pulvis eris, nee fallit regula talis.

 

Harris, the historian, gives the following translation : "

Six prelates here do lie, and in their favour, I beg your friendly prayers to Christ our Saviour ; Who in their lifetime for this House did work, The first of whom I name was Hubert Burke Who graced the See of Limerick, and Matthew, With Donald, bishops both of Killaloe ; Christian and Maurice I should name before, And Simon, bishops late of Fenabore. Therefore, kind Father, let not any soul Of these good men be lodged in the Black Hole. You, who read this, kneel down in humble posture, Bellow three AVES, say one PATER NOSTER. Whoever for their souls sincerely prays, Merits indulgence for an hundred days ; And you, who read the verses on this stone, Bethink yourself and make the case your own. Then seriously reflect on what you see, And think what you are now and what you'll be. Whether you're greater, equal, less, you must, As well as these, be crumbled into dust."

 

The absence of any mention in the verses, of the last two bishops who were buried in St. Saviour's, leads us to conclude that the inscription belonged to the early part of the fourteenth century. Father Quirke shows from the old calendar that the O'Briens had their place of sepulture in the abbey, as well as several other families, such as the Macnamaras, the Ryans and the Roches. Many also of the Geraldines were buried here, and the friars were bound to an anniversary mass for James Fitz-John, earl of Desmond, who died in 1462 and was buried here, and whom they regarded as their second founder.

 

Provincial chapters were held here in 1279, 1294, an d 1310.

 

1285, June 30. The King to his Justiciary of Ireland and the treasurer of Dublin for the time being.

Having, ere he assumed the reins of government, granted to the Dominican friars of Dublin, Cork, Waterford, Limerick and Drogheda, 25 marks a year, at the exchequer of Dublin, the King, for the affection which he bears to the friars of Limerick, which house was founded by the King's ancestors, wishes himself to amplify this grace to them and to the friars aforesaid of Dublin, Cork, Waterford and Drogheda. He therefore grants to the use of the friars of Limerick 10 marks (a year), beyond the 25 marks a year, to be received at the exchequer, etc.

 

These royal alms were made from this time forward for the next two centuries, and " liberates" were issued from time to time when they got into arrears.

 

About the middle of the fourteenth century, Martin Arthur built a splendid peristyle of marble to the church. -Arthur MSS.

 

In 1369, the city of Limerick was burnt by the Men of Thomond (Annals of Ulster}, and in the following year, great efforts were made by the citizens to rebuild the city. For this purpose 1,050 ash-trees were bought by the Corporation from the friars. Payment, however, was delayed and, in 1385, a "liberate" was issued for /i7 us. 8d., arrears due to the friars for " 1,050 ash-trees, for repair ing and rebuilding the city of Limerick, after it had been burnt by McFinan and his accomplices." Close Rolls, 8 Ric. II. Not long after the fire, the Corporation received from Edward III. the lands of Moyneter, Corbally, for the purpose of putting the fortifi cations of the city in repair. Now although the abbey, which adjoined the city walls, forming in fact a part of the encircling fortifi cation, was then almost in ruins, the Corporation were unwilling to allow them any part of the grant. The friars thereupon appealed to Parliament with the result that on Feb. i, 1377, Edward III. issued a mandate to the mayor and bailiffs of the city, enjoining them to pay the friars forty shillings yearly out of the grant.

 

1399. In the month of September, an annual pension of thirty marks was granted to the friars.

 

In 1504, this community accepted the Regular Observance and in 1509, was formed with the communities of Youghal, Cork and Cole raine, into a "Congregation of Regular Observance." From this time forward they were usually known by the name of the "Black Friars Observant of Limerick."

 

1541. Father Edmond was prior at the time of the general suppress ion, when he was found in possession of a church, steeple, dormitory, three chambers, a cemetery, sundry closes containing an acre and a half, etc., etc. The site was valued at two shillings and the garden and land at five and twopence, yearly.

 

1542, Feb. 13. There was taken from the Black Friars of Limerick, three showes [reliquaries], weighing ten ounces, with divers stones, the value of which the Commissioners state they could not tell, four stones of crystal, bound with silver, weighing ten ounces, and four score pound weight of wax, being in the said church, and iron to the sum of twenty stone and above.

 

1543, June 7. Grant to James Fitzgerald, earl of Desmond, of the site of the monastery of Friars Preachers Observant, or Black Friars of Limerick, with land called Corlbrekke and other appurtenances. The abbey at the time of the suppression was in possession of the fishery of the salmon-weir, and St. Thomas's Island and the land near Parteen, called Monabrahir, belonged to it.

 

Early in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, the earl forfeited the abbey to the Crown, on account of having given it back to the friars in Queen Mary's time, as shown by the following :

 

1569 " Also to entitle the Queen to St. Dominick's Abbey, in the city of Limerick, there being no ground belonging to it but garden rooms. It was given to the Earl of Desmond, but he gave it to the friars in Queen Mary's time, and therefore to be now entituled to the Queen's Majesty's use. It is the only meet place for the Lord President in that city.

This suggested forfeiture was evidently made soon after, for, in 1572, when a list was made out of Desmond's lands and possessions, the abbey itself was excepted from them, though its appurtenances were still considered part of his inheritance.

 

1589. Oct. 22. Grant to Robert Ansley, Esq., of the Dominican Friary in Limerick.

 

1600. James Gould, who died this year, was in possession of the abbey.

 

It is difficult to form an opinion from the scant records that remain as to whether the succession of fathers was kept up in Limerick, after the suppression in the sixteenth century. The possession by the fathers in 1627 of the old calendar of the abbey inclines us to the opinion that it was. Father Quirke speaks of a Father David Browne, doctor of divinity, in this convent, who had been sent by Henry VIII. to Italy as his envoy on State affairs, and he adds that after the suppression he returned to Limerick and peacefully ended his life amongst his brethren. We know from the registers of the Order that he was Provincial in 1548, for in that year he received faculties from the General for receiving apostates back to the Order.

 

We have no record from this time till the beginning of the seventeenth century, when we find that Sir John Bourke of Brittas, who was executed for the faith in 1607, had been received into the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary by a Father Halaghan and that the feast of Rosary Sunday was kept at his castle. In 1622, there were six fathers living in community under Father Bernard O'Brien, the prior, uncle of Dr. Terence Albert O'Brien, the martyr. In 1629, there were three fathers there, with four students and two laybrothers.

 

In 1644, it was ordered by the provincial chapter, that this house should be made into a general house of studies. Terence Albert O'Brien, who was martyred in 1651, after the siege of Limerick, was twice prior of the community. During the Cromwellian regime, we find that the fathers still remained in the city, for, in 1652, Father Thadeus O'Cahessy and Fathers William and John Fitzgerald died of the plague there. In the same year, Father John Cullen, O.P., according to the White MSS., was put to death for the faith in Limerick, and we learn from the Rinuccini MSS. that Father David Roche was sent as a slave to the Barbadoes. An inscription on a chalice .of this period still in use runs thus : Orate, fro anima Patritii Sarsfield et Elenora White qui hunc calicem fieri fecerunt 1640. Spectat ad conventum Sti. Salvatoris Lims. Ord. Praed.

 

Some of the fathers remained in Limerick after 1698, in spite of the edict of expulsion, and in the early part of the eighteenth century began to form a community. Local tradition says that they used a large room in a house as an oratory.

 

Some Augustinians came to Limerick later on and opened a chapel, but the Dominicans and Franciscans, previously established there, were displeased with the admission of a new Order, which deprived themselves of their scanty means of support. On Jan. 14, 1734, they besought Dr. O'Keeffe, the bishop, to institute an inquiry to ascertain if the Augustinians could prove they had ever had formerly an establishment in the city.

 

There is a great discrepancy between Ferrar and Dr. Carbery, regarding the date of the opening of the Dominican chapel in Fish Lane. The former gives the date in his History of Limerick, pub lished a few years later, as 1780, while Dr. Carberry in his Chrono logical Account, etc., puts the opening of the chapel as far back as 1735

 

We take the following entries from the Chronological Account of the Dominican Convent, Limerick, compiled by Dr. Carbery, O.P., late bishop of Hamilton, Canada :

" About 1735, they settled down immediately at the refe of a house belonging to the Roche family, in Mary Street. Here they built a chapel, over which they made a dwelling, or small convent, the entrance to which was in Fish Lane. It was called the Friary of Fish Lane. This chapel was erected immediately behind Mr. Roche's house, and as it were, under cover of the same, as can be seen at the present day. Doubtless this was arranged for the purpose of escaping the rigour of the penal laws, at that time in full force. The chapel was a parallelogram about sixty feet long, and thirty broad. It was decorated in rather good taste. There were galleries all round, supported by accurately elaborated Corinthian pillars. The altar consisted of an entablature supported by columns of the same style. The painting over the altar was a crucifixion.

 

"The only article of furniture belonging to the original church of St. Saviour that was to be found in this chapel, was the oak statue of the Virgin and Child, which was made in Flanders in the early part of the seventeenth century, and which, after the final destruction of that church, was buried in the ground for nearly a century. As soon as the fathers had their new place of worship completed, they brought in their dear old statue of our Lady, and set it up in a shrine prepared at the Epistle side of the altar, where it continued to be an object of tender devotion to the faithful, who were ever alive to the pious traditions of the Fathers of the Rosary, as the Dominicans were then frequently called. It is said that many great graces were obtained from God by the pious clients of Mary, who made their devotions before this shrine.

 

" 1765. Father M. P. M-cMahon, master in theology, and a son of this house, made his studies in Lisbon, and having returned to Ireland, discharged the duties of Apostolic Missionary for many years with great fruit in his native city. He had been prior frequently. He was appointed by Pope Clement XIII. to the bishopric of Killaloe, in place of Right Rev. William O'Meara, lately deceased. Dr. McMahon was consecrated in the parish chapel of Thurles, on the 4th of August, 1765, by the Most Rev. James Butler, archbishop of Cashel, assisted by Dr. O'Kearney, of Limerick, and Dr. de Burgo, O.P., of Ossory.

 

" 1814. Father Joseph Harrigan was made prior at this time. The new prior, finding the old chapel in Fish Lane insufficient for the 'wants of the increasing congregation, and at the same time showing great signs of decaj', got from Edmond Henry, Earl of Limerick, on a lease of lives, renewable for ever, at the yearly rent of 54 173. 8d., the plot of ground on which the present church is built, and which in those days was called South Prior Lands. Here Father Harrigan began the work of building the present church, which at that time was considered a marvel of architectural splendour.

 

" 1815. On the 27th of March (Easter Monday), the first stone of the new church was blessed and placed by the Right Rev. Dr. Tuohy, bishop of Limerick, attended by the clergy, and by the Mayor, John Vereker, Esq., with Sheriffs and Corporation in' regalia.

 

" 1816. The church was solemnly consecrated by the Right Rev. Dr. Tuohy, on the 6th of July this year, with the unctions and blessings of the Pontifical, He was assisted in the solemn rite by the bishops of the province, the warden of Galway, Dr. French, O.P., afterwards bishop of Kilfenora, and a vast number of the clergy. The consecration sermon was preached by the Very Rev. Father John A. Ryan, prior of Cork. Father Ryan was a native of Limerick, and a son of this convent.

 

" The anniversary of this solemn consecration is celebrated each year on the 6th of July by an office and Mass and Octave. Father Harrigan and his community brought their dear old statue of our Lady to the new church, where it still remains, to the great delight of the faithful.

 

" 1837. On the 27th of August, of this year, the Rev. Father P. R. Griffith, a son of this convent, was consecrated as vicar-apostolic of the Cape of Good Hope, by the Most Rev. Dr. Murray, arch bishop of Dublin. The consecration took place in Townsend Street chapel, Dublin. Father Griffith was born in Limerick, on the 18th October, 1798 ; at the age of sixteen he went to the novitiate in Lisbon ; after making his profession, he proceeded to Rome, where he made his studies at San Clemente. Being ordained priest, he returned to his native convent where he soon became distinguished as a preacher, and after some time was assigned to Dublin, where he remained until his consecration. His zeal was specially remark able in the awful years of the cholera, 1830 and 1831. He arrived in Cape Town in April, 1,838. He was accompanied by two priests, Father Bourke, O.S.F , and Father Connolly, O.P., good and zealous missionaries, who did much in the cause of religion in the infant church of South Africa."

 

1859. Father James Joseph Carbery, from whose annals we have taken the preceding entries was elected prior this year, and soon after his installation began the work of improvement in the church which was almost equivalent to rebuilding.,

 

1874. Father William O'Carroll, formerly a member of this community, was appointed coadjutor to the archbishop of Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, where he died in 1880.

 

1883. Dr. Carbery, who did so much for the improvement of the church, was appointed bishop of Hamilton, Canada. While paying a visit to Ireland in 1887, he died in Cork on December 19th, and was buried in the little convent cemetery in Limerick.

     

This is page 2 of a bifolium from a university or school text book containing the end of "Disticha Catonis" and the beginning of a commentary of the "Egloga Theodoli" Thought to be Italian, it was probably produced in the fourteenth century. See bifolia for full details.

 

On page 2 the couplets are 44. 45, 46 and 47 as follows: -

 

44. Cum fueris proprios servos mercatus in usus, (this line is worn away)

Et famulos dicas, homines tamen esse memento.

(“When you own slaves, they are bbought to use. It should be remembered that slaves are people.”).

 

45. Quam primum rapienda tibi est occasio prima,

Ne rursus quaeras quae iam neglexeris ante.

(“The first opportunity should be taken as soon as possible. You may not seek those things that you have previously neglected.”).

 

46. Morte repentina noli gaudere malorum:

Felices obeunt quorum sine crimine vita est.

(“Do not enjoy the sudden death of the wicked. Enjoy a happy life without guilt.”).

 

47.Cum tibi sit coniux, ne res et fama laboret,

Vitandum ducas inimicum nomen amici.

(“As you have a wife, you do not have a reputation about working. No efforts must be lost in making your enemy your friend.”).

 

This is a bifolium from a university or school text book containing the end of "Disticha Catonis" and the beginning of a commentary of the "Egloga Theodoli" Thought to be Italian, it was probably produced in the fourteenth century.

 

The text on pages 1,2 and 3 contain the last ten “closed couplets” of Liber IV of the Distichs of Cato, a Latin collection of proverbial wisdom and morality. The heading to Liberr IV is : -

“Semotam a curis si uis producers uitam

Nec uitiis haerere animi, quae moribus obsunt,

Haec praecepta tibi saepe esse legenda memento.

Inuenies, quo te possis mutare, magistrum.

 

Which translates to something like: -

“Be concerned if you want to live a productive life and have no faults that cling to you that may injure your character. These rules must be read often and remembered and you will find that you are able to transform yourself into the master.”

 

On page 1 are couplets 40, 41, 42 and 43 as follows: -

 

40. Cum quid peccaris, castiga te ipse subinde;

Vulnera dum sanas, dolor est medicina doloris.

(“When something is wrong, you will from time to time correct it. Whilst the wounds heal, the pain is the pain of the medicine.”).

 

41. Damnaris nunquam post longum tempus amicum,

Mutavit mores, sed pignora prima memento.

(“Never lose a long time friend. He changes his character, but remember the first impresion.”).

 

42. Gratior officiis, quo sis mage carior, esto,

Ne nomen subeas quod dicitur offici perdi.

(“More pleasing are tasks that are nobler, possibly. Do not undertake lost causes.”).

 

43. Suspectus caveas ne sis miser omnibus horis,

Nam timidis et suspectis aptissima mors est.

(“He is expected to take good care of you lest you be miserable at any time. For the fearful and suspicious are the most suitable for death.”).

 

On page 2 the couplets are 44. 45, 46 and 47 as follows: -

 

44. Cum fueris proprios servos mercatus in usus, (this line is worn away)

Et famulos dicas, homines tamen esse memento.

(“When you own slaves, they are bbought to use. It should be remembered that slaves are people.”).

 

45. Quam primum rapienda tibi est occasio prima,

Ne rursus quaeras quae iam neglexeris ante.

(“The first opportunity should be taken as soon as possible. You may not seek those things that you have previously neglected.”).

 

46. Morte repentina noli gaudere malorum:

Felices obeunt quorum sine crimine vita est.

(“Do not enjoy the sudden death of the wicked. Enjoy a happy life without guilt.”).

 

47. Cum tibi sit coniux, ne res et fama laboret,

Vitandum ducas inimicum nomen amici.

(“As you have a wife, you do not have a reputation about working. No efforts must be lost in making your enemy your friend.”).

 

On page 3 the couplets are 48 and 49 as follows: -

 

48. Cum tibi contigerit studio cognoscere multa,

Fac discas multa, vita nil discere velle.

(“When you had attained much learning, you learn so much that there is nothing left to learn”.).

 

49. Miraris verbis nudis me scribere versus?

Hoc brevitas fecit, sensus coniungere binos.

(“Are you surprised by my nakedness to write poetry? This made the brevity of two lines to make sense.”).

 

Around and underneath each couplet is “gloss” giving explanation and meaning to it.

 

Below the last couplet there is a further line in the larger script. It is a colophon and reads “scripsit scripta sua dextra sit benedicta”, which translates to something like “He who wrote these lines by his own right hand be blessed”.

 

On page 4 there is a different text. It is the beginning of what I have been advised is probably the commentary of Alexander Neckam on the “Egloga Theodoli”.

 

The size of the bifolium is approximately 240mm x 128mm (9 9/20ins. x 5 1/20ins.).

 

OVERALL CONDITION: -

The bifolium does have condition issues. First of all it is not complete as there is at least a single line of text and the upper border missing from the top of the bifolium. Also, there are several creases where the bifolium has been wrapped round a book cover, there are several holes within the text, pages 4 and 1 are very browned because of the use of glue, and whilst pages 2 and 3 are reasonably bright, having been on the outside of the book cover the text on them is a little worn.

 

GENERAL COMMENTS: -

Not withstanding its condition this is an interesting bifolium at several levels. The two texts that are included on it are seldom to be found available to purchase and I have been fortunate to be able to obtain this manuscript which has survived quite by chance. The fact that the bifolium is from a text book for use in a school or university makes it unusual that to have been written on velum. More often than not such books were written on paper. The quality of the script is such that it was probably not written by a professional scribe but by the person who was going to be using the book. Finally, colophons are infrequently found but there is one here and it is the writer asking for a blessing.

 

DISTICHA CATONIS OR THE DISTICHS OF CATO: -

This is a Latin collection of proverbial wisdom and morality originally assumed to have been written by Cato the Elder or even Cato the Younger but eventually attributed to an unknown author named Dionysius Cato from the 3rd or 4th century AD. The Cato was the most popular medieval schoolbook for teaching Latin, prized not only as a Latin textbook, but as a moral compass.

“Distich” means closed couplets, a style of writing with two-liners. It is a collection of moral advice, each consisting of hexameters, in four books. Cato is not particularly Christian in character, but it is monotheistic.

 

ALEXANDER NECKAM AND THE “EGLOGA THEODOLI”: -

Alexander Neckam (1157-1217) was an English scholar, teacher, theologian and abbof of cirencester Abbey. He was a prolific writer and his works included a commentary on the “Egloga Theodoli”'. This is a composition of bucolic poetry in a dialogical form, with an allegorical meaning and a celebration of rural life. It was probably written in the 9th. or 10th. Century and the name Theodolus is considered probably to be a pseudonym. The work is attributed by some authors to Gottschalk of Orbais (805-869). The Latin theodolus corresponds to the German translation of the name Gottschalk ( Godescalc : servant or slave of God).

This is a bifolium from a university or school text book containing the end of "Disticha Catonis" and the beginning of a commentary of the "Egloga Theodoli" Thought to be Italian, it was probably produced in the fourteenth century.

 

The text on pages 1,2 and 3 contain the last ten “closed couplets” of Liber IV of the Distichs of Cato, a Latin collection of proverbial wisdom and morality. The heading to Liberr IV is : -

“Semotam a curis si uis producers uitam

Nec uitiis haerere animi, quae moribus obsunt,

Haec praecepta tibi saepe esse legenda memento.

Inuenies, quo te possis mutare, magistrum.

 

Which translates to something like: -

“Be concerned if you want to live a productive life and have no faults that cling to you that may injure your character. These rules must be read often and remembered and you will find that you are able to transform yourself into the master.”

 

On page 1 are couplets 40, 41, 42 and 43 as follows: -

 

40. Cum quid peccaris, castiga te ipse subinde;

Vulnera dum sanas, dolor est medicina doloris.

(“When something is wrong, you will from time to time correct it. Whilst the wounds heal, the pain is the pain of the medicine.”).

 

41. Damnaris nunquam post longum tempus amicum,

Mutavit mores, sed pignora prima memento.

(“Never lose a long time friend. He changes his character, but remember the first impresion.”).

 

42. Gratior officiis, quo sis mage carior, esto,

Ne nomen subeas quod dicitur offici perdi.

(“More pleasing are tasks that are nobler, possibly. Do not undertake lost causes.”).

 

43. Suspectus caveas ne sis miser omnibus horis,

Nam timidis et suspectis aptissima mors est.

(“He is expected to take good care of you lest you be miserable at any time. For the fearful and suspicious are the most suitable for death.”).

 

On page 2 the couplets are 44. 45, 46 and 47 as follows: -

 

44. Cum fueris proprios servos mercatus in usus, (this line is worn away)

Et famulos dicas, homines tamen esse memento.

(“When you own slaves, they are bbought to use. It should be remembered that slaves are people.”).

 

45. Quam primum rapienda tibi est occasio prima,

Ne rursus quaeras quae iam neglexeris ante.

(“The first opportunity should be taken as soon as possible. You may not seek those things that you have previously neglected.”).

 

46. Morte repentina noli gaudere malorum:

Felices obeunt quorum sine crimine vita est.

(“Do not enjoy the sudden death of the wicked. Enjoy a happy life without guilt.”).

 

47. (“As you have a wife, you do not have a reputation about working. No efforts must be lost in making your enemy your friend.”).

 

On page 3 the couplets are 48 and 49 as follows: -

 

48. Cum tibi contigerit studio cognoscere multa,

Fac discas multa, vita nil discere velle.

(“When you had attained much learning, you learn so much that there is nothing left to learn”.).

 

49. Miraris verbis nudis me scribere versus?

Hoc brevitas fecit, sensus coniungere binos.

(“Are you surprised by my nakedness to write poetry? This made the brevity of two lines to make sense.”).

 

Around and underneath each couplet is “gloss” giving explanation and meaning to it.

 

Below the last couplet there is a further line in the larger script. It is a colophon and reads “scripsit scripta sua dextra sit benedicta”, which translates to something like “He who wrote these lines by his own right hand be blessed”.

 

On page 4 there is a different text. It is the beginning of what I have been advised is probably the commentary of Alexander Neckam on the “Egloga Theodoli”.

 

The size of the bifolium is approximately 240mm x 128mm (9 9/20ins. x 5 1/20ins.).

 

OVERALL CONDITION: -

The bifolium does have condition issues. First of all it is not complete as there is at least a single line of text and the upper border missing from the top of the bifolium. Also, there are several creases where the bifolium has been wrapped round a book cover, there are several holes within the text, pages 4 and 1 are very browned because of the use of glue, and whilst pages 2 and 3 are reasonably bright, having been on the outside of the book cover the text on them is a little worn.

 

GENERAL COMMENTS: -

Not withstanding its condition this is an interesting bifolium at several levels. The two texts that are included on it are seldom to be found available to purchase and I have been fortunate to be able to obtain this manuscript which has survived quite by chance. The fact that the bifolium is from a text book for use in a school or university makes it unusual that to have been written on velum. More often than not such books were written on paper. The quality of the script is such that it was probably not written by a professional scribe but by the person who was going to be using the book. Finally, colophons are infrequently found but there is one here and it is the writer asking for a blessing.

 

DISTICHA CATONIS OR THE DISTICHS OF CATO: -

This is a Latin collection of proverbial wisdom and morality originally assumed to have been written by Cato the Elder or even Cato the Younger but eventually attributed to an unknown author named Dionysius Cato from the 3rd or 4th century AD. The Cato was the most popular medieval schoolbook for teaching Latin, prized not only as a Latin textbook, but as a moral compass.

“Distich” means closed couplets, a style of writing with two-liners. It is a collection of moral advice, each consisting of hexameters, in four books. Cato is not particularly Christian in character, but it is monotheistic.

 

ALEXANDER NECKAM AND THE “EGLOGA THEODOLI”: -

Alexander Neckam (1157-1217) was an English scholar, teacher, theologian and abbof of cirencester Abbey. He was a prolific writer and his works included a commentary on the “Egloga Theodoli”'. This is a composition of bucolic poetry in a dialogical form, with an allegorical meaning and a celebration of rural life. It was probably written in the 9th. or 10th. Century and the name Theodolus is considered probably to be a pseudonym. The work is attributed by some authors to Gottschalk of Orbais (805-869). The Latin theodolus corresponds to the German translation of the name Gottschalk ( Godescalc : servant or slave of God).

Portuguese - deixa-te guiar pela criança que foste

Albanian - lëre të drejtojë fëmija që ke tek vetvetja

Aragones - díxate menar por o nino que has estato

Asturian - déxate llevar pol neñu que fuisti

Basque - utz iezaiozu gida zaitzan izan zaren haurrari

Bolognese - lâset guidèr da cal fangén t î stè

Brazilian Portuguese - deixa-te guiar pela criança que foste

Bresciano - lasèt guidà dal popo che ta set stat

Breton - en em lez da vezañ renet gant ar bugel ma voes

Calabrese - lassati guidà dallu guagliuni ca si statu

Catalan - deixa't guiar pel nen que has sigut

Cornish - gas dhys dhe vos hembronkys gans an flogh a veus-jy

Croatian - dopusti da te vodi dijete koje si bio

Danish - lad dig lede af det barn, du var

Dutch - laat je leiden door het kind dat je ooit was

English - let yourself be guided by the child you were

Esperanto - lasu vin gvdi de la enfano, kiu vi estis

Estonian - las sind juhib laps, kes sa kunagi olid

Finnish - anna sisälläsi olleen lapsen ohjata sinua

Flemish - laat je leiden door het kind dat je bent geweest

Furlan - lassiti condusi dal frut che tu sês stât

Galician - déixate levar polo neno que fuches

German - lass dich von dem Kind leiten, das du gewesen bist

Griko Salentino - afi na ise permèno atto petàci pu ìsone

Hungarian - engedd, hogy egykori gyermekéned vezessen

Italian - lasciati guidare dal bambino che sei stato

Judeo Spanish - deshate giyar por la kriyatura ke fuites

Ladin - lascete arvene dal mut che te foves n iade

Latin - fac ut puer qui fueris te ducat

Latvian - ieklausies berna kads tu reiz biji

Leonese - déixate giare pul niñu que fuisti

Limburgian - lot dich leeë dér 't kènd daste wors

Mantuan - lasat guidar dal putin ch’at sè sta

Mapunzugun - fey ti püchike zugu ta inafe ta mi püchichegemum

Mudnés - lâsa che al putêin ch t'êr 'na vôlta at fâga decìder csà fêr

Neapolitan - fatte purtà r'ô criaturo ca sì stato

Papiamentu - lagabo wòrdu guía dor di e mucha ku bo tabata ta

Parmigiano - läsot guidär dal putén ch'a t'é sté' na volta

Piemontese - lass-te mné da la masnà ch'it l'ere

Polish - pozwól kierowac sie przez dziecko którym byles

Portuguese - deixa-te guiar pela criança que foste

Romagnolo - lass c'at suspènz e' burdèl c'at ci sté

Roman - lassete guida´ dar regazzino che già sei stato

Sicilian - lassa ca u picciriddu chi eri 'na vota ti pirmetta ri dicìdiri chiddu chi fari

Spanish - déjate guiar por el niño que has sido

Swedish - låt dig själv bli vägledd av barnet du var

Umbro-Sabino - da' tienza a ru fantiju que siè statu

Venetian - dassate menare dal bocia che te si sta'

Wallon - lèyèz-vos mwinrner pa l' èfant k' vos avèz stî

Welsh - gad iti gael dy arwain gan y plentyn fuost ti

Zeneize - làscite ghiâ da-o figgeu che t'ê stæto

 

(Josè Saramago)

 

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. An eum locum libenter invisit, ubi Demosthenes et Aeschines inter se decertare soliti sunt? Cum enim summum bonum in voluptate ponat, negat infinito tempore aetatis voluptatem fieri maiorem quam finito atque modico. Sunt autem, qui dicant foedus esse quoddam sapientium, ut ne minus amicos quam se ipsos diligant. Duo Reges: constructio interrete. Qua ex cognitione facilior facta est investigatio rerum occultissimarum. Minime vero istorum quidem, inquit. Qui autem esse poteris, nisi te amor ipse ceperit? Tubulo putas dicere? Age nunc isti doceant, vel tu potius quis enim ista melius?

 

Nihilne te delectat umquam -video, quicum loquar-, te igitur, Torquate, ipsum per se nihil delectat?

 

Nullum inveniri verbum potest quod magis idem declaret Latine, quod Graece, quam declarat voluptas.

 

Ex ea difficultate illae fallaciloquae, ut ait Accius, malitiae natae sunt.

 

In qua si nihil est praeter rationem, sit in una virtute finis bonorum;

 

Honestum igitur id intellegimus, quod tale est, ut detracta

omni utilitate sine ullis praemiis fructibusve per se ipsum

possit iure laudari.

 

Aliam vero vim voluptatis esse, aliam nihil dolendi, nisi

valde pertinax fueris, concedas necesse est.

 

Quicquid porro animo cernimus, id omne oritur a sensibus; Non potes, nisi retexueris illa. Ad eos igitur converte te, quaeso. Ergo omni animali illud, quod appetiti positum est in eo, quod naturae est accommodatum. Color egregius, integra valitudo, summa gratia, vita denique conferta voluptatum omnium varietate. Istic sum, inquit. Si qua in iis corrigere voluit, deteriora fecit. His similes sunt omnes, qui virtuti student levantur vitiis, levantur erroribus, nisi forte censes Ti.

 

Cur iustitia laudatur? Quis est enim aut quotus quisque, cui, mora cum adpropinquet, non refugiat timido sanguen átque exalbescát metu? Graecis hoc modicum est: Leonidas, Epaminondas, tres aliqui aut quattuor; Id Sextilius factum negabat. Omnia peccata paria dicitis. Quid ergo? Atque omnia quidem scire, cuiuscumque modi sint, cupere curiosorum, duci vero maiorum rerum contemplatione ad cupiditatem scientiae summorum virorum est putandum. Nos autem non solum beatae vitae istam esse oblectationem videmus, sed etiam levamentum miseriarum.

 

Dicet pro me ipsa virtus nec dubitabit isti vestro beato M. Ut placet, inquit, etsi enim illud erat aptius, aequum cuique concedere. Ergo in bestiis erunt secreta e voluptate humanarum quaedam simulacra virtutum, in ipsis hominibus virtus nisi voluptatis causa nulla erit? Illa enim, quae prosunt aut quae nocent, aut bona sunt aut mala, quae sint paria necesse est. Ab his oratores, ab his imperatores ac rerum publicarum principes extiterunt. Non potes, nisi retexueris illa. Iam insipientes alios ita esse, ut nullo modo ad sapientiam possent pervenire, alios, qui possent, si id egissent, sapientiam consequi. Si in ipso corpore multa voluptati praeponenda sunt, ut vires, valitudo, velocitas, pulchritudo, quid tandem in animis censes? Levatio igitur vitiorum magna fit in iis, qui habent ad virtutem progressionis aliquantum. Graece donan, Latine voluptatem vocant. Sedulo, inquam, faciam. Tecum optime, deinde etiam cum mediocri amico. Si ad corpus pertinentibus, rationes tuas te video compensare cum istis doloribus, non memoriam corpore perceptarum voluptatum; Si longus, levis. Nam diligi et carum esse iucundum est propterea, quia tutiorem vitam et voluptatem pleniorem efficit. Quid enim dicis omne animal, simul atque sit ortum, applicatum esse ad se diligendum esseque in se conservando occupatum?

 

In qua quid est boni praeter summam voluptatem, et eam sempiternam?

 

Sed nonne merninisti licere mihi ista probare, quae sunt a te dicta?

 

Si longus, levis;

 

Habent enim et bene longam et satis litigiosam disputationem.

 

Verum hoc loco sumo verbis his eandem certe vim voluptatis Epicurum nosse quam ceteros. Nescio quo modo praetervolavit oratio. Sed haec in pueris; Sed quid attinet de rebus tam apertis plura requirere? Cuius ad naturam apta ratio vera illa et summa lex a philosophis dicitur. An eum discere ea mavis, quae cum plane perdidiceriti nihil sciat? At cum tuis cum disseras, multa sunt audienda etiam de obscenis voluptatibus, de quibus ab Epicuro saepissime dicitur. Tu quidem reddes;

 

Quae est enim, quae se umquam deserat aut partem aliquam sui aut eius partis habitum aut vini aut ullius earum rerum, quae secundum naturam sunt, aut motum aut statum?

 

(via WordPress ift.tt/1rDGc68)

St Dunstan, Stepney

 

The monument to Robert Clarke and his daughter, is some height above the Chancel floor in the North Wall. A cornice of marble and two large pilasters enclose a recess in which are the figures of Robert Clarke and his wife kneeling facing one another on either side of an altar. The back is freely embellished with the usual strap ornament, fruit & flowers, all round a central panel which bears the inscription given below. The pilasters contain panels of black marble. Below is the English inscription which is divided into two parts by small pilasters, and beneath this the marble is of various colours. Two heads, floral ornament and a central boss complete the memorial. The arms are placed upon a corbel under the cornice and their description in Lysons runs thus—they are his own parentheses: Barry of 4 gu. & vert, 3 pellets (they should be plates), impaling sa. (it should be az.) 2 pales engrailed between 3 fleur-de-lis in chief or—Langton." The former is repeated above upon a shield surmounted by a cherub and on each side an urn. The monument is heavily gilt in parts, and the inner faces of the pilasters are ornamented with a gilt network of lines.

 

Inscription:—

 

IN OBITUM ROBERTE CLARKE GENEROSI

QUI EX VITA HAC MIGRAVIT

DIE MENSIS

 

IN CLERICI TUMULO SPECTRUM VIDE FRAGILITATIS

VANA VIRI EST VIRTUS VITA CADUCA CARO

FLOS SICUT EST FUERIS SPIRANS FUIT HIC SICUT IPSE

AST CELERI RAPUIT MORS VIOLENTA PEDE

VTQ CADAT FLORES IN GERMINE MESSIS IN HERBA

TURBINE COMOTUS SIC CLERICUS PERIIT

VITA LICET BREVIS EST CŒLIS ÆTERNE MORATUR

QUEM COLIT OMNIPOTENS TOLLITER HUIC CITIUS

LAUDIBUS EXIGUIS DECORANS MAJORE MERENTEM

DIMINUO LAUDES PIUS SIBI FAMA REFERT

SI PIETAS CHARITAS BONITASQ IN MENTE REFULGENT

HÆC UBI CORDE VIRENT OMNIA RECTA PUTES

 

Here resteth the bodie of Robert Clarke Esq.

Sonne of Roger Clarke Esquire, late Alderman of the Citty

of London, A man humble in prosperity, a liberall distribu

ter to the poore, curteous & affable to all—an upright

And a just dealer in this worlde and a devoute and most

relligious seeker for the worlde to come.

He had to wife Margaretta daughter to Iohn Langton Esq.

Sometyme Governor of the English Company in Sprucia un

der the Kinge of Polonia: whoe lived together in great love

And integritie almost six yeeres

He had by her one onely daughter named Frances

Who lived one yeere and three quarters and here

lyeth interred with her most deere and loving father.

Whose memory the said Margaretta to express

her true love and affeccon hath cavsed this

Monument to be erected

He dyed the xxxth day of May Ano Dni 1610

Having lived xxxv yeeres

 

Burial register.—June 12, 1610. Robert Clarke of Bednal greene, Gent. sonne to Alderman Clarke of London, deceased. he gave 36 mourninge gownes beside cloakes, and was buried the 12 of June.

St Dunstan, Stepney

 

The monument to Robert Clarke and his daughter, is some height above the Chancel floor in the North Wall. A cornice of marble and two large pilasters enclose a recess in which are the figures of Robert Clarke and his wife kneeling facing one another on either side of an altar. The back is freely embellished with the usual strap ornament, fruit & flowers, all round a central panel which bears the inscription given below. The pilasters contain panels of black marble. Below is the English inscription which is divided into two parts by small pilasters, and beneath this the marble is of various colours. Two heads, floral ornament and a central boss complete the memorial. The arms are placed upon a corbel under the cornice and their description in Lysons runs thus—they are his own parentheses: Barry of 4 gu. & vert, 3 pellets (they should be plates), impaling sa. (it should be az.) 2 pales engrailed between 3 fleur-de-lis in chief or—Langton." The former is repeated above upon a shield surmounted by a cherub and on each side an urn. The monument is heavily gilt in parts, and the inner faces of the pilasters are ornamented with a gilt network of lines.

 

Inscription:—

 

IN OBITUM ROBERTE CLARKE GENEROSI

QUI EX VITA HAC MIGRAVIT

DIE MENSIS

 

IN CLERICI TUMULO SPECTRUM VIDE FRAGILITATIS

VANA VIRI EST VIRTUS VITA CADUCA CARO

FLOS SICUT EST FUERIS SPIRANS FUIT HIC SICUT IPSE

AST CELERI RAPUIT MORS VIOLENTA PEDE

VTQ CADAT FLORES IN GERMINE MESSIS IN HERBA

TURBINE COMOTUS SIC CLERICUS PERIIT

VITA LICET BREVIS EST CŒLIS ÆTERNE MORATUR

QUEM COLIT OMNIPOTENS TOLLITER HUIC CITIUS

LAUDIBUS EXIGUIS DECORANS MAJORE MERENTEM

DIMINUO LAUDES PIUS SIBI FAMA REFERT

SI PIETAS CHARITAS BONITASQ IN MENTE REFULGENT

HÆC UBI CORDE VIRENT OMNIA RECTA PUTES

 

Here resteth the bodie of Robert Clarke Esq.

Sonne of Roger Clarke Esquire, late Alderman of the Citty

of London, A man humble in prosperity, a liberall distribu

ter to the poore, curteous & affable to all—an upright

And a just dealer in this worlde and a devoute and most

relligious seeker for the worlde to come.

He had to wife Margaretta daughter to Iohn Langton Esq.

Sometyme Governor of the English Company in Sprucia un

der the Kinge of Polonia: whoe lived together in great love

And integritie almost six yeeres

He had by her one onely daughter named Frances

Who lived one yeere and three quarters and here

lyeth interred with her most deere and loving father.

Whose memory the said Margaretta to express

her true love and affeccon hath cavsed this

Monument to be erected

He dyed the xxxth day of May Ano Dni 1610

Having lived xxxv yeeres

 

Burial register.—June 12, 1610. Robert Clarke of Bednal greene, Gent. sonne to Alderman Clarke of London, deceased. he gave 36 mourninge gownes beside cloakes, and was buried the 12 of June.

Expo Dacia Felix - plaque avec un extrait de la loi municipale de Troesmis, 177-180 PCN

 

ZPE-200-565 = Tyche-2017-151 = AE 2015, 01252 = AE 2015, 01252a = AE 2015, +01253 = AE 2015, +01254 = AE 2015, 01255

 

K(aput) XI de legatis mittendis excusationib{omnib}usq(ue) accipiendis / cum legatum unum pluresve rei communis municipum / munic(ipii) M(arci) Aurel(i) Antonini Aug(usti) Troesmens(ium) causa aliquo mit/ti opus erit um duumvir i(ure) d(icundo) p(rae)erunt ambo alterve ad decur//i//on(es) / conscriptosve referto quot legatos et quo mitti quoque / die eos exire oporteat cum ita relatum erit quot legos / {in} quam in rem quoque die exire oportre eos qui legati sunt / dec(uriones) conscriptive censuerint dum quot ad (!) diem quo eund(u)m / legatis sit pertinebit ita censri possit non minus quam an/te im quintum i(i)s qui delegationem ituri erunt procuratoribus/ve eorum aut at domum denuntiar(i) vel in contione pronun/tiari nisi si ea res erit propter quam sine dilatione exundum / sit et erunt qui extra ordine(m) munere legationis fungi vel/{l}int tot legatos in eam rem primo quoque tempore mittito leg/atosq(ue) eos qui um munere legationis vice sua fungi debebunt / i(i)sq(ue) aut procuratoribus eorum aut at domum denuntiato / aut in contione pronuntiato ne minus quam ante diem / quintum quo die eos ex{s}ire oportere dec(uriones) conscriptive / censuerint dum ne quem mittat legatum qui um aut / proximo anno in eo municipio IIvir q(uin)q(uennalis) aedilis quaestor/ve sit fuerit neque duoviratus act(i) aedilitatis quaestu/r(a)eve actae rationem exposuerit reddi(de)ritve et adproba/verit dec(urionibus) conscriptisve quive pecuniam quae communis / municipum (!) municipi(i) sacra sancta religiosa sst fueri{n}t / pens se habueri{n}t (!) rations negotiave municipum eius / municipi(i) gesserit tractaverit confecerit neque dum eam / pecuniam in commune{m} {eius} municipum eius municipi(i) re/t(t)ulerit rationes reddiderit {aut} probaveritque // [decurionibus conscriptisve // cuius qui 3] petet patri avove paterno proavove paterni / avi patri cuius in potestate sit minores sint quam / ut eum (!) adlegendum numero dec(urionum) conscriptorumve esse / {inve eum numero legi} oporteat eum qui sacerdotium petet / quot minor ann(orum) {X}XXV sit a{t}ioem annorum habend(u)m / quae utiq(ue) legis Iuliae de maritandis ordinibus lata(e) kap(ite) VI / cauta coprehensaque sunt quaeq(ue) utiq(ue) commentari(i) ex / quo lex P(apia) P(oppaea) lata est propositi Cn(aeo) Cinna Magno Vol(eso) Val(erio) / co(n)s(ulibus) IIII Kal(endas) Iulias kap(ite) XLVIIII cauta coprehensaque / sunt et confirmata legis P(apiae) P(oppaeae) k(apite) XLIIII conservanda qui quaeq(ue) / comitia habebit curato qui aliter quam hac lege licebit / creatus erit is neque annu(u)s IIvir neque q(uin)q(uennalis) neque aedilis / neque quaestor neque sacerdos esto quique eorum quem / scie(n)s d(olo) m(alo) creaverit is (!) singulas res s(upra) s(criptas) X(milia) n(ummum) munici(pi)bus / municipi(i) M(arci) Aureli Antonini et L(uci) Aureli Commodi / Aug(usti) Troesm(ensium) d(are) d(amnas) esto eiusque pecuniae deque ea pecu/nia munici(pi)bus municipi(i) eius qui volet cuique per hac / lege licebit actio petitio persecutio esto / k(aput) XXVIII de munici(pi)bus ad suffragium vocandis custodi/busque ternis ponendis ad singulas cistas quae suffragiorum / causa posit(a)e erunt item si quis in alia ca quam sua in/ter custode(s) suffragium tulerit u{EI}t(i) valeat et de poena / eius qui duas pluresve ta(b)ellas in cistam deiecerit item eius / qui falsam rationem ret(t)ulerit qui comitia hac lege / habebit is munic(i)p(e)s municipi(i) M(arci) Aureli Antonini et [L(uci)] / Aureli Commodi Aug(usti) Troesm(ensium) eosque quibus in h[oc mu]/nicipio hac lege suffragi latio erit curiati[m ad suf]/fragium ferendum vocat{i}o ita ut convoc[et omnes] / curia(s) in suffragium voc[atu uno eaeque singulae] / in singulis cons(a)ep[tis suffragium per tabellam ferant.

St Dunstan, Stepney

 

The monument to Robert Clarke and his daughter, is some height above the Chancel floor in the North Wall. A cornice of marble and two large pilasters enclose a recess in which are the figures of Robert Clarke and his wife kneeling facing one another on either side of an altar. The back is freely embellished with the usual strap ornament, fruit & flowers, all round a central panel which bears the inscription given below. The pilasters contain panels of black marble. Below is the English inscription which is divided into two parts by small pilasters, and beneath this the marble is of various colours. Two heads, floral ornament and a central boss complete the memorial. The arms are placed upon a corbel under the cornice and their description in Lysons runs thus—they are his own parentheses: Barry of 4 gu. & vert, 3 pellets (they should be plates), impaling sa. (it should be az.) 2 pales engrailed between 3 fleur-de-lis in chief or—Langton." The former is repeated above upon a shield surmounted by a cherub and on each side an urn. The monument is heavily gilt in parts, and the inner faces of the pilasters are ornamented with a gilt network of lines.

 

Inscription:—

 

IN OBITUM ROBERTE CLARKE GENEROSI

QUI EX VITA HAC MIGRAVIT

DIE MENSIS

 

IN CLERICI TUMULO SPECTRUM VIDE FRAGILITATIS

VANA VIRI EST VIRTUS VITA CADUCA CARO

FLOS SICUT EST FUERIS SPIRANS FUIT HIC SICUT IPSE

AST CELERI RAPUIT MORS VIOLENTA PEDE

VTQ CADAT FLORES IN GERMINE MESSIS IN HERBA

TURBINE COMOTUS SIC CLERICUS PERIIT

VITA LICET BREVIS EST CŒLIS ÆTERNE MORATUR

QUEM COLIT OMNIPOTENS TOLLITER HUIC CITIUS

LAUDIBUS EXIGUIS DECORANS MAJORE MERENTEM

DIMINUO LAUDES PIUS SIBI FAMA REFERT

SI PIETAS CHARITAS BONITASQ IN MENTE REFULGENT

HÆC UBI CORDE VIRENT OMNIA RECTA PUTES

 

Here resteth the bodie of Robert Clarke Esq.

Sonne of Roger Clarke Esquire, late Alderman of the Citty

of London, A man humble in prosperity, a liberall distribu

ter to the poore, curteous & affable to all—an upright

And a just dealer in this worlde and a devoute and most

relligious seeker for the worlde to come.

He had to wife Margaretta daughter to Iohn Langton Esq.

Sometyme Governor of the English Company in Sprucia un

der the Kinge of Polonia: whoe lived together in great love

And integritie almost six yeeres

He had by her one onely daughter named Frances

Who lived one yeere and three quarters and here

lyeth interred with her most deere and loving father.

Whose memory the said Margaretta to express

her true love and affeccon hath cavsed this

Monument to be erected

He dyed the xxxth day of May Ano Dni 1610

Having lived xxxv yeeres

 

Burial register.—June 12, 1610. Robert Clarke of Bednal greene, Gent. sonne to Alderman Clarke of London, deceased. he gave 36 mourninge gownes beside cloakes, and was buried the 12 of June.

Vanitas Research – Symbolism

October 11, 2016 ~ charlotteowst

Vanitas paintings are historic and symbolic works of art. All of the objects/elements of a vanitas painting have a certain meaning or symbolise something such as love, wealth, religion etc. Here I have looked into what elements usually make up a Vanitas painting and what each of the things symbolise.Vanitas[a] is a genre of memento mori symbolizing the transience of life, the futility of pleasure, and the certainty of death, and thus the vanity of ambition and all worldly desires. The paintings involved still life imagery of transitory items. The genre began in the 16th century and continued into the 17th century. Vanitas art is a type of allegorical art representing a higher ideal. It was a sub-genre of painting heavily employed by Dutch painters during the Baroque period (c.1585–1730).[1] Spanish painters working at the end of the Spanish Golden Age also created vanitas paintings. The word vanitas comes from Latin and means vanity. In this context, vanity means pointlessness, or futility, not to be confused with the other definition of vanity. Vanity is referenced in the Hebrew Bible in Ecclesiastes 1:2, "Vanity of Vanities, saith the preacher, all is vanity". In some versions vanity is translated as "meaningless" to avoid the confusion with the other definition of vanity, that being inflated pride in oneself or one's appearance.[2] The message is that human action is temporary and faith is forever.[3] Memento mori is a similar theme which when translated from Latin means, "remember that you will die."A group of painters in Leiden began to produce vanitas paintings in the beginning of the 16th century and they continued into the 17th century. Vanitas art is an allegorical art representing a higher ideal or containing hidden meanings.[5] Vanitas are formulaic and use literary and traditional symbols to convey mortality. Vanitas often have a message that is rooted in religion or the Christian Bible.[6]

 

In the 17th century, the vanitas genre was popular among Dutch painters. The paintings often have symbolic imagery which attempts to convey the message that all people die, encouraging the viewer to think about the futility of earthly pursuits.[1] The well-known Spanish vanitas refer to Spain's rulers and the politics of Spain.[4] It was popular to include skulls in vanitas paintings as a symbol of the ephemeral nature of life.

The symbolism of Vanitas objects

The objects in this painting have been chosen to communicate the ‘Vanitas’ message which is summarized in the Gospel of Matthew 6:18-21:

 

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven… For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

 

Vanitas themes originate from medieval funerary art and include symbols such as death or transience (skulls, clocks, burning candles, flowers), soap bubbles (representing the brevity and fragility of life), wealth (jewels, expensive cloth) and the vain pursuits of mankind (sheet music, quill).

 

Looking back at the ‘Memento Mori’ painting tradition, Vanitas is a macabre genre of symbolic still-life that prospered in the Netherlands in the early 17th century reminding the viewer of their mortality.

 

The word ‘vanitas’ is Latin for vanity, or ’emptiness’, and signifies the meaningless of earthly life. The purpose of Vanitas’ paintings was to caution the viewer to be careful about placing too much importance in the pleasures of this life as they could become an obstacle on the path to salvation.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the concept. For other uses, see Memento mori (disambiguation).

 

The outer panels of Rogier van der Weyden's Braque Triptych (c. 1452) show the skull of the patron displayed on the inner panels. The bones rest on a brick, a symbol of his former industry and achievement.[1]

 

Memento mori. Gravestone inscription (1746). Edinburgh. St. Cuthbert's Churchyard.

Memento mori (Latin for "remember (that you have) to die")[2] is an artistic symbol or trope acting as a reminder of the inevitability of death.[2] The concept has its roots in the philosophers of classical antiquity and Christianity, and appeared in funerary art and architecture from the medieval period onwards.

 

The most common motif is a skull, often accompanied by bones. Often, this alone is enough to evoke the trope, but other motifs include a coffin, hourglass, or wilting flowers to signify the impermanence of life. Often, these would accompany a different central subject within a wider work, such as portraiture; however, the concept includes standalone genres such as the vanitas and Danse Macabre in visual art and cadaver monuments in sculpture.

 

Pronunciation and translation

In English, the phrase is typically pronounced /məˈmɛntoʊ ˈmɔːri/, mə-MEN-toh MOR-ee.

 

Memento is the second-person singular active future imperative of meminī, 'to remember, to bear in mind', usually serving as a warning: "remember!" Morī is the present infinitive of the deponent verb morior 'to die'.[3] Thus, the phrase literally translates as "you must remember to die" but may be loosely rendered as "remember death" or "remember that you die".[4]

 

History of the concept

In classical antiquity

The philosopher Democritus trained himself by going into solitude and frequenting tombs.[5] Plato's Phaedo, where the death of Socrates is recounted, introduces the idea that the proper practice of philosophy is "about nothing else but dying and being dead".[6]

 

The Stoics of classical antiquity were particularly prominent in their use of this discipline, and Seneca's letters are full of injunctions to meditate on death.[7] The Stoic Epictetus told his students that when kissing their child, brother, or friend, they should remind themselves that they are mortal, curbing their pleasure, as do "those who stand behind men in their triumphs and remind them that they are mortal".[8] The Stoic Marcus Aurelius invited the reader (himself) to "consider how ephemeral and mean all mortal things are" in his Meditations.[9][10]

 

In some accounts of the Roman triumph, a companion or public slave would stand behind or near the triumphant general during the procession and remind him from time to time of his own mortality or prompt him to "look behind".[11] A version of this warning is often rendered into English as "Remember, Caesar, thou art mortal", for example in Fahrenheit 451.[12]

 

In Judaism and early Christianity

Several passages in the Old Testament urge a remembrance of death. In Gen. 3:19b, it is written, "By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return." In Psalm 90, Moses prays that God would teach his people "to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom" (Ps. 90:12). In Ecclesiastes, the Preacher insists that "It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart" (Eccl. 7:2). In Isaiah, the lifespan of human beings is compared to the short lifespan of grass: "The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows on it; surely the people are grass" (Is. 40:7).

 

The expression memento mori developed with the growth of Christianity, which emphasized Heaven, Hell, Hades and salvation of the soul in the afterlife.[13]

 

In Europe from the medieval era to the Victorian era

 

Dance of Death (replica of 15th-century fresco; National Gallery of Slovenia); Representing the universality of death regardless of class or job

Christian Theology

The thought was then utilized in Christianity, whose strong emphasis on divine judgment, heaven, hell, and the salvation of the soul brought death to the forefront of consciousness.[14] In the Christian context, the memento mori acquires a moralizing purpose quite opposed to the nunc est bibendum ("now is the time to drink") theme of classical antiquity. To the Christian, the prospect of death serves to emphasize the emptiness and fleetingness of earthly pleasures, luxuries, and achievements, and thus also as an invitation to focus one's thoughts on the prospect of the afterlife. A biblical injunction often associated with the memento mori in this context is In omnibus operibus tuis memorare novissima tua, et in aeternum non peccabis (the Vulgate's Latin rendering of Ecclesiasticus 7:40, "in all thy works be mindful of thy last end and thou wilt never sin.") This finds ritual expression in the rites of Ash Wednesday, when ashes are placed upon the worshipers' heads with the words, "Remember, Man, that you are dust and unto dust, you shall return."

 

Memento mori has been an important part of ascetic disciplines as a means of perfecting the character by cultivating detachment and other virtues, and by turning the attention towards the immortality of the soul and the afterlife.[15]

 

Architecture

 

Unshrouded skeleton on Diana Warburton's tomb (dated 1693) in St John the Baptist Church, Chester

The most obvious places to look for memento mori meditations are in funeral art and architecture. Perhaps the most striking to contemporary minds is the transi or cadaver tomb, a tomb that depicts the decayed corpse of the deceased. This became a fashion in the tombs of the wealthy in the fifteenth century, and surviving examples still offer a stark reminder of the vanity of earthly riches. Later, Puritan tomb stones in the colonial United States frequently depicted winged skulls, skeletons, or angels snuffing out candles. These are among the numerous themes associated with skull imagery.

 

Another example of memento mori is provided by the chapels of bones, such as the Capela dos Ossos in Évora or the Capuchin Crypt in Rome. These are chapels where the walls are totally or partially covered by human remains, mostly bones. The entrance to the Capela dos Ossos has the following sentence: "We bones, lying here bare, await yours."

 

Visual art

 

Philippe de Champaigne's Vanitas (c. 1671) is reduced to three essentials: Life, Death, and Time

Timepieces have been used to illustrate that the time of the living on Earth grows shorter with each passing minute. Public clocks would be decorated with mottos such as ultima forsan ("perhaps the last" [hour]) or vulnerant omnes, ultima necat ("they all wound, and the last kills"). Clocks have carried the motto tempus fugit ("time flies"). Old striking clocks often sported automata who would appear and strike the hour; some of the celebrated automaton clocks from Augsburg, Germany, had Death striking the hour. In the private sphere, some people carried smaller reminders of their own mortality. For example, Mary, Queen of Scots, owned a large watch carved in the form of a silver skull, embellished with the lines of Horace, "Pale death knocks with the same tempo upon the huts of the poor and the towers of Kings."

 

In the late 16th and through the 17th century, memento mori jewelry was popular. Items included mourning rings,[16] pendants, lockets, and brooches.[17] These pieces depicted tiny motifs of skulls, bones, and coffins, in addition to messages and names of the departed, picked out in precious metals and enamel.[17][18]

 

During the same period, there emerged the artistic genre known as vanitas, Latin for "emptiness" or "vanity". Especially popular in Holland and then spreading to other European nations, vanitas paintings typically represented assemblages of numerous symbolic objects such as human skulls, guttering candles, wilting flowers, soap bubbles, butterflies, and hourglasses. In combination, vanitas assemblies conveyed the impermanence of human endeavours and of the decay that is inevitable with the passage of time. See also the themes associated with the image of the skull. The 2007 screenprint by the street-artist Banksy "Grin Reaper" features the Grim Reaper with acid-house smiley face sitting on a clock demonstrating death awaiting us all.[19]

 

Literature

Memento mori is also an important literary theme. Well-known literary meditations on death in English prose include Sir Thomas Browne's Hydriotaphia, Urn Burial and Jeremy Taylor's Holy Living and Holy Dying. These works were part of a Jacobean cult of melancholia that marked the end of the Elizabethan era. In the late eighteenth century, literary elegies were a common genre; Thomas Gray's Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard and Edward Young's Night Thoughts are typical members of the genre.

 

In the European devotional literature of the Renaissance, the Ars Moriendi, memento mori had moral value by reminding individuals of their mortality.[20]

 

Music

Apart from the genre of requiem and funeral music, there is also a rich tradition of memento mori in the Early Music of Europe. Especially those facing the ever-present death during the recurring bubonic plague pandemics from the 1340s onward tried to toughen themselves by anticipating the inevitable in chants, from the simple Geisslerlieder of the Flagellant movement to the more refined cloistral or courtly songs. The lyrics often looked at life as a necessary and God-given vale of tears with death as a ransom, and they reminded people to lead sinless lives to stand a chance at Judgment Day. The following two Latin stanzas (with their English translations) are typical of memento mori in medieval music; they are from the virelai Ad Mortem Festinamus of the Llibre Vermell de Montserrat from 1399:

 

Vita brevis breviter in brevi finietur,

Mors venit velociter quae neminem veretur,

Omnia mors perimit et nulli miseretur.

Ad mortem festinamus peccare desistamus.

 

Ni conversus fueris et sicut puer factus

Et vitam mutaveris in meliores actus,

Intrare non poteris regnum Dei beatus.

Ad mortem festinamus peccare desistamus.

 

Life is short, and shortly it will end;

Death comes quickly and respects no one,

Death destroys everything and takes pity on no one.

To death we are hastening, let us refrain from sinning.

 

If you do not turn back and become like a child,

And change your life for the better,

You will not be able to enter, blessed, the Kingdom of God.

To death we are hastening, let us refrain from sinning.

 

Danse macabre

The danse macabre is another well-known example of the memento mori theme, with its dancing depiction of the Grim Reaper carrying off rich and poor alike. This and similar depictions of Death decorated many European churches.

 

Gallery

Roman mosaic representing the Wheel of Fortune which, as it turns, can make the rich poor and the poor rich; in effect, both states are very precarious, with death never far and life hanging by a thread: when it breaks, the soul flies off. And thus all are made equal. (Collezioni pompeiane. Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli)

Roman mosaic representing the Wheel of Fortune which, as it turns, can make the rich poor and the poor rich; in effect, both states are very precarious, with death never far and life hanging by a thread: when it breaks, the soul flies off. And thus all are made equal. (Collezioni pompeiane. Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli)

 

Prince of Orange René of Châlon died in 1544 at age 25. His widow commissioned sculptor Ligier Richier to represent him in the Cadaver Tomb of René of Chalon, which shows him offering his heart to God, set against the painted splendour of his former worldly estate. (Church of Saint-Étienne, Bar-le-Duc)

Prince of Orange René of Châlon died in 1544 at age 25. His widow commissioned sculptor Ligier Richier to represent him in the Cadaver Tomb of René of Chalon, which shows him offering his heart to God, set against the painted splendour of his former worldly estate. (Church of Saint-Étienne, Bar-le-Duc)

 

French 16th/17th-century ivory pendant, Monk and Death, recalling mortality and the certainty of death (Walters Art Museum)

French 16th/17th-century ivory pendant, Monk and Death, recalling mortality and the certainty of death (Walters Art Museum)

 

Memento mori ring, with enameled skull and "Die to Live" message (between 1500 and 1650, British Museum, London)

Memento mori ring, with enameled skull and "Die to Live" message (between 1500 and 1650, British Museum, London)

 

Frans Hals, Young Man with a Skull, c. 1626–1628

Frans Hals, Young Man with a Skull, c. 1626–1628

 

Memento mori in the form of a small coffin, 1700s, wax figure on silk in a wooden coffin (Museum Schnütgen, Cologne, Germany)

Memento mori in the form of a small coffin, 1700s, wax figure on silk in a wooden coffin (Museum Schnütgen, Cologne, Germany)

 

Mourning brooch with plaited hair, 1843 (Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira, New Zealand)

Mourning brooch with plaited hair, 1843 (Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira, New Zealand)

 

Alarm clock, mounted on model of coffin, probably English, 1840–1900 (Science Museum, London)

Alarm clock, mounted on model of coffin, probably English, 1840–1900 (Science Museum, London)

 

Still Life: An Allegory of the Vanities of Human Life is a Dutch vanitas which follows the memento mori theme.

Still Life: An Allegory of the Vanities of Human Life is a Dutch vanitas which follows the memento mori theme.

 

Hans Holbein's The Ambassadors includes a distorted image of a skull across the bottom of the painting.

Hans Holbein's The Ambassadors includes a distorted image of a skull across the bottom of the painting.

The salutation of the Hermits of St. Paul of France

Memento mori was the salutation used by the Hermits of St. Paul of France (1620–1633), also known as the Brothers of Death.[21] It is sometimes claimed that the Trappists use this salutation, but this is not true.[22]

 

In Puritan America

 

Thomas Smith's Self-Portrait

Colonial American art saw a large number of memento mori images due to Puritan influence. The Puritan community in 17th-century North America looked down upon art because they believed that it drew the faithful away from God and, if away from God, then it could only lead to the devil. However, portraits were considered historical records and, as such, they were allowed. Thomas Smith, a 17th-century Puritan, fought in many naval battles and also painted. In his self-portrait, we see these pursuits represented alongside a typical Puritan memento mori with a skull, suggesting his awareness of imminent death.

 

The poem underneath the skull emphasizes Thomas Smith's acceptance of death and of turning away from the world of the living:

 

Why why should I the World be minding, Therein a World of Evils Finding. Then Farwell World: Farwell thy jarres, thy Joies thy Toies thy Wiles thy Warrs. Truth Sounds Retreat: I am not sorye. The Eternall Drawes to him my heart, By Faith (which can thy Force Subvert) To Crowne me (after Grace) with Glory.

 

Mexico's Day of the Dead

 

Posada's 1910 La Calavera Catrina

Main article: Day of the Dead

Much memento mori art is associated with the Mexican festival Day of the Dead, including skull-shaped candies and bread loaves adorned with bread "bones".

 

This theme was also famously expressed in the works of the Mexican engraver José Guadalupe Posada, in which people from various walks of life are depicted as skeletons.

 

Another manifestation of memento mori is found in the Mexican "Calavera", a literary composition in verse form normally written in honour of a person who is still alive, but written as if that person were dead. These compositions have a comedic tone and are often offered from one friend to another during Day of the Dead.[23]

 

Contemporary culture

Roman Krznaric suggests memento mori is an important topic to bring back into our thoughts and belief system; "Philosophers have come up with lots of what I call 'death tasters' – thought experiments for seizing the day."

 

These thought experiments are powerful to get us re-oriented back to death into current awareness and living with spontaneity. Albert Camus stated "Come to terms with death, thereafter anything is possible." Jean-Paul Sartre expressed that life is given to us early, and is shortened at the end, all the while taken away at every step of the way, emphasizing that the end is only the beginning every day.[24]

 

Similar concepts across cultures

In Buddhism

The Buddhist practice maraṇasati meditates on death. The word is a Pāli compound of maraṇa 'death' (an Indo-European cognate of Latin mori) and sati 'awareness', so very close to memento mori. It is first used in early Buddhist texts, the suttapiṭaka of the Pāli Canon, with parallels in the āgamas of the "Northern" Schools.

 

In Japanese Zen and samurai culture

In Japan, the influence of Zen Buddhist contemplation of death on indigenous culture can be gauged by the following quotation from the classic treatise on samurai ethics, Hagakure:[25]

 

The Way of the Samurai is, morning after morning, the practice of death, considering whether it will be here or be there, imagining the most sightly way of dying, and putting one's mind firmly in death. Although this may be a most difficult thing, if one will do it, it can be done. There is nothing that one should suppose cannot be done.[26]

 

In the annual appreciation of cherry blossom and fall colors, hanami and momijigari, it was philosophized that things are most splendid at the moment before their fall, and to aim to live and die in a similar fashion.[citation needed]

 

In Tibetan Buddhism

 

Tibetan Citipati mask depicting Mahākāla. The skull mask of Citipati is a reminder of the impermanence of life and the eternal cycle of life and death.

In Tibetan Buddhism, there is a mind training practice known as Lojong. The initial stages of the classic Lojong begin with 'The Four Thoughts that Turn the Mind', or, more literally, 'Four Contemplations to Cause a Revolution in the Mind'.[citation needed] The second of these four is the contemplation on impermanence and death. In particular, one contemplates that;

 

All compounded things are impermanent.

The human body is a compounded thing.

Therefore, death of the body is certain.

The time of death is uncertain and beyond our control.

There are a number of classic verse formulations of these contemplations meant for daily reflection to overcome our strong habitual tendency to live as though we will certainly not die today.

 

Lalitavistara Sutra

The following is from the Lalitavistara Sūtra, a major work in the classical Sanskrit canon:

 

ज्वलितं त्रिभवं जरव्याधिदुखैः मरणाग्निप्रदीप्तमनाथमिदम्।

भवनि शरणे सद मूढ जगत् भ्रमती भ्रमरो यथ कुम्भगतो॥

 

अध्रुवं त्रिभवं शरदभ्रनिभं नटरङ्गसमा जगिर् ऊर्मिच्युती।

गिरिनद्यसमं लघुशीघ्रजवं व्रजतायु जगे यथ विद्यु नभे॥

 

Beings are ablaze with the sufferings of sickness and old age,

And with no defence against the conflagration of Death

The bewildered, seeking refuge in worldly existence

Spin round and round, like bees trapped in a jar.

 

The three worlds are fleeting like autumn clouds.

Like a staged performance, beings come and go.

In tumultuous waves, rushing by, like rapids over a cliff.

Like lightning, wanderers in samsara burst into existence, and are gone in a flash.[27]

 

The Udānavarga

A very well-known verse in the Pali, Sanskrit and Tibetan canons states [this is from the Sanskrit version, the Udānavarga]:

 

सर्वे क्षयान्ता निचयाः पतनान्ताः समुच्छ्रयाः |

सम्योगा विप्रयोगान्ता मरणान्तं हि जीवितम् |1,22|

 

All that is acquired will be lost

What rises will fall

Where there is meeting there will be separation

What is born will surely die.[28]

 

Shantideva, Bodhicaryavatara

Shantideva, in the Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra 'Bodhisattva's Way of Life' reflects at length:

 

कृताकृतापरीक्षोऽयं मृत्युर्विश्रम्भघातकः।

स्वस्थास्वस्थैरविश्वास्य आकमिस्मकमहाशनि:॥

२/३४॥

 

अप्रिया न भविष्यन्ति प्रियो मे न भविष्यति।

अहं च न भविष्यामि सर्वं च न भविष्यति॥

२/३७॥

 

तत्तत्स्मरणताम याति यद्यद्वस्त्वनुभयते।

स्वप्नानुभूतवत्सर्वं गतं न पूनरीक्ष्यते॥

२/३६॥

 

रात्रिन्दिवमविश्राममायुषो वर्धते व्ययः।

आयस्य चागमो नास्ति न मरिष्यामि किं न्वहम्॥

२/४०

 

यमदूतैर्गृहीतस्य कुतो बन्धुः कुतः सुह्रत्। पुण्यमेकं तदा त्राणं मया तच्च न सेवितम्॥

२/४१॥

 

Death does not differentiate between tasks done and undone.

This traitor is not to be trusted by the healthy or the ill,

for it is like an unexpected, great thunderbolt.

BCA 2.33

 

My enemies will not remain, nor will my friends remain.

I shall not remain. Nothing will remain.

BCA 2:35

 

Whatever is experienced will fade to a memory.

Like an experience in a dream,

everything that has passed will not be seen again.

BCA 2:36

 

Day and night, a life span unceasingly diminishes,

and there is no adding onto it. Shall I not die then?

BCA 2:39

 

For a person seized by the messengers of Death,

what good is a relative and what good is a friend?

At that time, merit alone is a protection,

and I have not applied myself to it.

BCA 2:41

 

In more modern Tibetan Buddhist works

In a practice text written by the 19th-century Tibetan master Dudjom Lingpa for serious meditators, he formulates the second contemplation in this way:[29][30]

 

On this occasion when you have such a bounty of opportunities in terms of your body, environment, friends, spiritual mentors, time, and practical instructions, without procrastinating until tomorrow and the next day, arouse a sense of urgency, as if a spark landed on your body or a grain of sand fell in your eye. If you have not swiftly applied yourself to practice, examine the births and deaths of other beings and reflect again and again on the unpredictability of your lifespan and the time of your death, and on the uncertainty of your own situation. Meditate on this until you have definitively integrated it with your mind... The appearances of this life, including your surroundings and friends, are like last night's dream, and this life passes more swiftly than a flash of lightning in the sky. There is no end to this meaningless work. What a joke to prepare to live forever! Wherever you are born in the heights or depths of saṃsāra, the great noose of suffering will hold you tight. Acquiring freedom for yourself is as rare as a star in the daytime, so how is it possible to practice and achieve liberation? The root of all mind training and practical instructions is planted by knowing the nature of existence. There is no other way. I, an old vagabond, have shaken my beggar's satchel, and this is what came out.

 

The contemporary Tibetan master, Yangthang Rinpoche, in his short text 'Summary of the View, Meditation, and Conduct':[31]

 

།ཁྱེད་རྙེད་དཀའ་བ་མི་ཡི་ལུས་རྟེན་རྙེད། །སྐྱེ་དཀའ་བའི་ངེས་འབྱུང་གི་བསམ་པ་སྐྱེས། །མཇལ་དཀའ་བའི་མཚན་ལྡན་གྱི་བླ་མ་མཇལ། །འཕྲད་དཀའ་བ་དམ་པའི་ཆོས་དང་འཕྲད།

འདི་འདྲ་བའི་ལུས་རྟེན་བཟང་པོ་འདི། །ཐོབ་དཀའ་བའི་ཚུལ་ལ་ཡང་ཡང་སོམ། རྙེད་པ་འདི་དོན་ཡོད་མ་བྱས་ན། །འདི་མི་རྟག་རླུང་གསེབ་མར་མེ་འདྲ།

ཡུན་རིང་པོའི་བློ་གཏད་འདི་ལ་མེད། །ཤི་བར་དོར་གྲོལ་བའི་གདེངས་མེད་ན། །ཚེ་ཕྱི་མའི་སྡུག་བསྔལ་ཨ་རེ་འཇིགས། །མཐའ་མེད་པའི་འཁོར་བར་འཁྱམས་དགོས་ཚེ།

།འདིའི་རང་བཞིན་བསམ་ན་སེམས་རེ་སྐྱོ། །ཚེ་འདི་ལ་བློ་གདེངས་ཐོབ་པ་ཞིག །ཅི་ནས་ཀྱང་མཛད་རྒྱུ་བཀའ་དྲིན་ཆེ། །འདི་བདག་གིས་ཁྱོད་ལ་རེ་བ་ཡིན།

 

You have obtained a human life, which is difficult to find,

Have aroused an intention of a spirit of emergence, which is difficult to arouse,

Have met a qualified guru, who is difficult to meet,

And you have encountered the sublime Dharma, which is difficult to encounter.

Reflect again and again on the difficulty Of obtaining such a fine human life.

If you do not make this meaningful,

It will be like a butter lamp in the wind of impermanence.

Do not count on this lasting a long time.

 

The Tibetan Canon also includes copious materials on the meditative preparation for the death process and intermediate period bardo between death and rebirth. Amongst them are the famous "Tibetan Book of the Dead", in Tibetan Bardo Thodol, the "Natural Liberation through Hearing in the Bardo".

 

In Islam

The "remembrance of death" (Arabic: تذكرة الموت, Tadhkirat al-Mawt; deriving from تذكرة, tadhkirah, Arabic for memorandum or admonition), has been a major topic of Islamic spirituality since the time of the Islamic prophet Muhammad in Medina. It is grounded in the Qur'an, where there are recurring injunctions to pay heed to the fate of previous generations.[32] The hadith literature, which preserves the teachings of Muhammad, records advice for believers to "remember often death, the destroyer of pleasures."[33] Some Sufis have been called "ahl al-qubur," the "people of the graves," because of their practice of frequenting graveyards to ponder on mortality and the vanity of life, based on the teaching of Muhammad to visit graves.[34] Al-Ghazali devotes to this topic the last book of his "The Revival of the Religious Sciences".[35]

 

Iceland

The Hávamál ("Sayings of the High One"), a 13th-century Icelandic compilation poetically attributed to the god Odin, includes two sections – the Gestaþáttr and the Loddfáfnismál – offering many gnomic proverbs expressing the memento mori philosophy, most famously Gestaþáttr number 77:

 

Deyr fé,

deyja frændur,

deyr sjálfur ið sama;

ek veit einn at aldri deyr,

dómr um dauðan hvern.

 

Animals die,

friends die,

and thyself, too, shall die;

but one thing I know that never dies

the tales of the one who died.

 

See also

Gerascophobia (fear of aging)

Gerontophobia (fear of elderly people)

Carpe diem

La Calavera Catrina

Mono no aware

Nine stages of decay

Mortality salience

Sic transit gloria mundi

Tempus fugit

Terror management theory

Ubi sunt

Vanitas

YOLO (aphorism)

References

Campbell, Lorne. Van der Weyden. London: Chaucer Press, 2004. 89. ISBN 1904449247

Literally 'remember (that you have) to die', Oxford English Dictionary, Third Edition, June 2001.

Charlton T. Lewis, Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary, ss.vv.

Oxford English Dictionary, Third Edition, s.v.

Diogenes Laertius Lives of the Eminent Philosophers, Book IX, Chapter 7, Section 38 Archived 5 January 2017 at the Wayback Machine

Phaedo, 64a4.

See his Moral Letters to Lucilius.

Discourses of Epictetus, 3.24.

Henry Albert Fischel, Rabbinic Literature and Greco-Roman Philosophy: A Study of Epicurea and Rhetorica in Early Midrashic Writings, E. J. Brill, 1973, p. 95.

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations IV. 48.2.

Beard, Mary: The Roman Triumph, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass., and London, England, 2007. (hardcover), pp. 85–92.

"Fahrenheit 451 Allusions". SparkNotes, LLC. Retrieved 24 December 2024. This is an allusion to the play Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare.

"Final Farewell: The Culture of Death and the Afterlife". Museum of Art and Archaeology, University of Missouri. Archived from the original on 6 June 2010. Retrieved 13 January 2015.

Christian Dogmatics, Volume 2 (Carl E. Braaten, Robert W. Jenson), p. 583

See Jeremy Taylor, Holy Living and Holy Dying.

Taylor, Gerald; Scarisbrick, Diana (1978). Finger Rings From Ancient Egypt to the Present Day. Ashmolean Museum. p. 76. ISBN 0900090545.

"Memento Mori". Antique Jewelry University. Lang Antiques. n.d. Archived from the original on 24 September 2020. Retrieved 11 August 2020.

Bond, Charlotte (5 December 2018). "Somber "Memento Mori" Jewelry Commissioned to Help People Mourn". The Vintage News. Archived from the original on 18 August 2020. Retrieved 11 August 2020.

"Banksy Grin Reaper | Meaning & History". Andipa Editions. Archived from the original on 1 September 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2023.

Michael John Brennan, ed., The A–Z of Death and Dying: Social, Medical, and Cultural Aspects, ISBN 1440803447, s.v. "Memento Mori", p. 307f and s.v. "Ars Moriendi", p. 44

F. McGahan, "Paulists", The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1912, s.v. Paulists

E. Obrecht, "Trappists", The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1912, s.v. Trappists

Stanley Brandes. "Skulls to the Living, Bread to the Dead: The Day of the Dead in Mexico and Beyond". Chapter 5: The Poetics of Death. John Wiley & Sons, 2009

Macdonald, Fiona (17 May 2017). "What it really means to 'Seize the day'". BBC. Archived from the original on 17 June 2019. Retrieved 16 June 2019.

"Hagakure: Book of the Samurai". www.themathesontrust.org. 5 March 2013. Archived from the original on 28 February 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022.

"A Buddhist Guide to Death, Dying and Suffering". www.urbandharma.org. Archived from the original on 4 August 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2022.

"84000 Reading Room | The Play in Full". 84000 Translating The Words of The Buddha. Archived from the original on 1 March 2022. Retrieved 10 May 2020.

Udānavarga, 1:22.

"Foolish Dharma of an Idiot Clothed in Mud and Feathers, in 'Dujdom Lingpa's Visions of the Great Perfection, Volume 1', B. Alan Wallace (translator), Wisdom Publications".

An oral commentary by the translator is available on YouTube Archived 23 November 2022 at the Wayback Machine

"Natural Liberation | Wisdom Publications". Archived from the original on 31 March 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2022.

The English text is available here. Archived 2018-05-14 at the Wayback Machine The Tibetan text is available here. Archived 30 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine Oral Commentary by a student of Rinpoche, B. Alan Wallace, is available here. Archived 2 September 2018 at the Wayback Machine

For instance, sura "Yasin", 36:31, "Have they not seen how many generations We destroyed before them, which indeed returned not unto them?".

"Riyad as-Salihin 579 – The Book of Miscellany – Sunnah.com – Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم)". sunnah.com. Archived from the original on 28 February 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022.

"Sunan Abi Dawud 3235 – Funerals (Kitab Al-Jana'iz) – Sunnah.com – Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم)". sunnah.com. Archived from the original on 28 February 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022.

Al-Ghazali on Death and the Afterlife, tr. by T.J. Winter. Cambridge, Islamic Texts Society, 1989.

External links

Media related to Memento mori at Wikimedia Commons

vte

Death and mortality in art

vte

Death

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memento_mori

 

St Mary, Walsham-le-Willows, Suffolk

 

The north of Suffolk has several notably large villages. Walsham-le-Willows is one, and nearby are Rickinghall, Botesdale and Stanton. So often in the east of the county, you cycle for miles through parish after parish, the village centres fleeting and ephemeral. You are more conscious of the pattern beneath the plough. Up here, villages are more substantial, with shops and pubs, schools and even factories. To all intents and purposes, the village is the parish.

 

The church sits in a huge graveyard at a junction, you couldn't possibly miss it, or think of anything else as being the heart of the village. Longways to the street, St Mary looks like a great ship. Barmy old Arthur Mee called the exterior 'full of dignity', and in this case he is about right. Few Suffolk clerestories are more impressive, with flushwork picked out between the windows. The size of the church is probably, as Mortlock explains, because it was gifted to Ixworth Priory, who rebuilt it at the same time, and in pretty much the same style, as Ixworth. The chequerwork porch is dated by internal inscriptions on the wood panelling at 1541, a fascinating moment in the fever of the Reformation.

 

As you might expect, the interior was lavishly restored by the Victorians, and St Mary would not be out of place as a town church in Norwich or Ipswich, but it was a happy restoration, because much that is medieval has survived. Walsham-le-Willows' most famous treasure, however, is not medieval at all. this is the medallion from a maiden's crants, a flower garland, which once hung above it from the south arcade. It remembers Mary Boyce, who, they will still tell you here, died of a broken heart on the 15th November 1685. The garland was a symbol of her virginity. Such things are more common in the West Country than here, but perhaps East Anglia did not have so many virgins.

 

The greatest medieval survival at Walsham is the roof. It is unusual in that it is supported by alternating tie-beams and hammer-beams, and the original paint is still visible. It must have been quite something when it was new. The contemporary screen also survives, restored and regilded sympathetically. Most of the medieval glass which would have illuminated the roof and the screen has been lost, but fragments have been collected into octagonal lozenges in the east window, including angels at the top of the tracery leaning over the now-lost subjects below, as at Salle and on the screen at Ranworth. The 14th century font which saw all this come and go remains today, set in a sea of Victorian tiles, but still calling the children of the parish to baptism.

 

In the 1950s and 1960s, one of the best-loved stained glass artists of the 20th century lived in this parish, and worshipped in this church. Rosemary Rutherford was the sister of the rector, and in her studio here she created her familiar swirling, graceful designs which continue to fill naves and chancels with kaleidoscopic light. Some of her best work can be seen at Boxford and Hinderclay in Suffolk, and at Tendring and Bradfield St Lawrence in Essex, but there is a memorial window to her here, on the north side of the chancel. Although it is her design, she did not live to see it completed, dying at a tragically young age in 1972. In her memorial, a simple St Dorothy stands in unashamedly vivid pinks and greens, garlanded with flowers.

My new kitchen knife, made in Australia, extremly sharp and good to handle with the special Gusto-Grip .

 

Mein neues Küchenmesser, Made in Australien aus deutschem Stahl, sehr scharf und handlich durch den speziell geformten Griff.

 

Info: www.furitechnics.com.au/products_gg_eu.html

Vista de la puerta occidental.

Había golondrinas volando por allí...

Debajo de la ventana abierta en el tímpano, una inscripción reza: "ISTA ECCLESIA FUNDATA FUIT ERA MCCII.IIII NONAS IUN. CUM FUERIS FELIX QUE SUNT ADVERSSA CAVETO" (*)

 

(*) Según "Gran Enciclopedia Gallega". Vol. 44, p.224

‘Capture and Release’ (CARE): a Faster and Cheaper Way of Protein Purification

Robert K. Brown*, Melanie L. Talaga, Ashli L. Fueri, Ni Fan and Tarun K. Dam

Laboratory of Mechanistic Glycobiology, Department of Chemistry

 

Graduate Research Colloquium 2014 at Michigan Technological University

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

PLEASE NOTE: -

“MUDA” is a singular word relating to one of the mercantile convoys sailing out of Venice each year.

“MUDE” is a plural word relating to several, or all, of the mercantile convoys sailing out of Venice each year.

 

27 leaves, leaf size 249mm x172mm (9 3/4ins. X 6 8/10ins.) with a text block of 172mm x 98mm (6 8/10ins. x 3 17/20ins.).

Single column, 29 lines in a superb, elegant, humanistic cursive minuscule script in black, probably all written by the same scribe. Many ascenders on the top line, and descenders on the bottom line, have been embellished.

 

This manuscript include two texts, the first being the Regulations of the Muda of Venice to Alexandria, and the second being the Journal of the Muda to Alexandria that set sail from Venice on 21st. May, 1504. The manuscript was probably written in that city in that year.

  

A FULL DESCRIPTION IS ATTACHED TO THE OVERVIEW.

 

Folio 3 recto (Original Folio 4 recto)

 

TRANSCRIPTION

 

(21)

pntare condemnationes per te factas in tua capitanearia, ut exi -

gantur per officiales ad quos spectant. Verum de omnibus condem -

nationibus quas facies in tua capitanearid, non potes postquam eas

feceris te impedire in remittendo vel revocando in totum vel in pet -

ullo ingenio sue forma, postquam autem fueris Venetiiis non potes aliquem

condemnare sub pretextu Capitanearie predicte.

(22)Bona morientium ab intestato que sunt vel essent sub tua Capitane -

aria debes intromittere, et infra . xx . dies postquam Venetias appli -

curis legi debeas pntare.

(23)OMnia qui ad manus tuas pervenerint nostro communi spectan -

tia custodies, et saluabis bona fide, de quibus reddes rationem illis

qui presuerint rationibus recipiendis.

(24)Teneris partire, et partiri facere equaliter inter omnes Galeas tibi

commissas oia dona et strinas que quicunq; tibi fient.

(25)Et quia galee multum impediuntur super Cooperta de barilibus galeoto -

rum, & aliis quod inducit periculum armatis relinquimus in liber -

tate tua si de hoc fuerit facta querella de faciendo poni de dictis

baribus et aliis in terram vel etiam proiici in aquam sicut tibi

melius videbitur, faciendo tamen hoc cum minori damno pote -

ris hominum galearum.

(26)CAptum est in maiori Consilio, & si observabis q si Capitaneus

preceperit, q supra comiti, & alii de galies debeant ferire inter

inimicos, & non ferierint. Et si ferierint, et aliqua galearum di -

scesserit a prelio, prelio non finito. Supra comiti : Comiti. Nauclerii

& hii qui essent ad Temones debeant perdere capita, ET si non

possent reperiri debeant perpetuo forbanniri de Venetiis, et omnibus

terris, et locis ubi commune venet habet Dominium Et oia

sua bona veniant in commune, illis tamen exceptis, & exemptis

qui manifeste nos reperirentur culpabiles : Te similem penam

 

Folio 3 recto (Original Folio 4 recto)

 

POSSIBLE ENGLISH TRANSLATION

 

21. ….......... quickly the condemnation of the things you have done in your command, in order to compel the officials to be concerned. He shall act as if you in truth were not in command , as you cannot be after they have hindered impeeded his ability to be returned or changed, by revoking, as a whole or in part the form of his life, and when it cannot make any of you Venetians condem under the pretexe of your said command.

22. The goods which are or were under the intestacy of your command from those who have died you should admit and put below for twenty days after Venice and the law should be applied quickly.

23. All those things that come into your hands should belong to our community, and saved in good faith, and of thich we give an account of the reasons for that which is protected.

24. You are required to share, and divide equally among all gallies committed and to make gifts and draw together what is wanted, and you will be saved.

25. And because the galley greatly impeded the elected of the barilibue(?) galley, and others that lead to the danger of armed men relinquishing the freedom if this has caused the blame to be placed on the said baribus(?) be cast into the water, or even as you were in the the land of the other, and the better it will be seen that by making the construction of ships, there is less chance that you will be able men.

26. Taken by the majority of the council, and if the captain was observed, that if the command , which is above the committee, and the others of the galleys should be the fiercest among his enemies, and not cowardly. And if some galleys are cowards they will depart from the battle and the battle is not ended. Above the committee, the owner. To the pole where they ought to lose their heads, and who they were, and if they could not be found to be constantly forbidden(?) in Venice, and in all the countries, their goods, and in all other places, that are overlorded by Venice and may not come into the community, with the exception of those, however, and to the exempt that we found clearly guilty. We would like …..............

   

Fragments found in the catacombs beneath the Church of San Lorenzo Fueri le Murfa; now in the church cloister. Usually the Greek texts are older -- late 2nd century, early 3rd century.

(c) Jen Ripper

(c) Jen Ripper

Anker 1831-1910, Albert, Bern, Switzerland Der Dorfschneider Schneider Fueri

thousandwords.ch/2014/08/05/gondola-ride/

Si fueris Romae, Romano vivito more:)

    

“Hanc tibi, Fronto pater, genetrix Flaccilla, puellam

oscula commendo deliciasque meas,

parvola ne nigras horrescat Erotion umbras

oraque Tartarei prodigiosa canis.

Impletura fuit sextae modo frigora brumae,

vixisset totidem ni minus illa dies.

Inter tam veteres ludat lasciva patronos

et nomen blaeso garriat ore meum.

Mollia non rigidus caespes tegat ossa nec illi,

terra, gravis fueris: non fuit illa tibi”

Juan Antonio Letamendiak 1976an Garaia aldizkarian egindako marrazkia, foruak zirela-eta.

(c) Jen Ripper

Christopher Randes 1639 - At the top are the arms — Azure, on a chevron or 3 roses gules [Rands]

Below the inscription:

"Tu quisquis fueris dives sapiens generosus | Sis patiens clemenssis Uberalis amans | Dona tot hoc uno tumulo sunt clausaviator. | Ara fuit miseris area et aperta bonis | Quid tua deliquit pietas non conscia culpae |Hoc nisi culpa fuit te potuisse mori".

In the second column :

"En quam terra sinu defunctum laeta recepit j et tumet adventu facta superba suo | Tu Rosa Christe Rosis ciypeo nil aptius Umam | Christopheri suavem nomen honosque dabunt. |

Friend I desire noe needless Prayers of thee | But prayse God for his Saints and soe doe wee".

 

Expo Dacia Felix - plaque avec un extrait de la loi municipale de Troesmis, 177-180 PCN

 

censuerint dum ne quem mittat legatum qui um aut / proximo anno in eo municipio IIvir q(uin)q(uennalis) aedilis quaestor/ve sit fuerit neque duoviratus act(i) aedilitatis quaestu/r(a)eve actae rationem exposuerit reddi(de)ritve et adproba/verit dec(urionibus) conscriptisve quive pecuniam quae communis / municipum (!) municipi(i) sacra sancta religiosa sst fueri{n}t / pens se habueri{n}t (!) rations negotiave municipum eius / municipi(i) gesserit tractaverit confecerit neque dum eam / pecuniam in commune{m} {eius} municipum eius municipi(i) re/t(t)ulerit rationes reddiderit {aut} probaveritque

(c) Jen Ripper

Inscription - Christopher Randes 1639 - :

"Tu quisquis fueris dives sapiens generosus | Sis patiens clemenssis Uberalis amans | Dona tot hoc uno tumulo sunt clausaviator. | Ara fuit miseris area et aperta bonis | Quid tua deliquit pietas non conscia culpae |Hoc nisi culpa fuit te potuisse mori".

In the second column :

"En quam terra sinu defunctum laeta recepit j et tumet adventu facta superba suo | Tu Rosa Christe Rosis ciypeo nil aptius Umam | Christopheri suavem nomen honosque dabunt. |

Friend I desire noe needless Prayers of thee | But prayse God for his Saints and soe doe wee".

 

(c) Jen Ripper

Vita brevis breviter in brevi finietur, Mors venit velociter quae neminem veretur, Omnia mors perimit et nulli miseretur. Ad mortem festinamus peccare desistamus. Ni conversus fueris et sicut puer factus Et vitam mutaveris in meliores actus, Intrare non poteris regnum Dei beatus. Ad mortem festinamus peccare desistamus. Life is short and shortly it will end Death comes quicker than you think It takes everything away, but takes pity on no one We hasten towards death, we shall refrain from sinning If you don’t repent and become pure as a child And if you don’t change your life by doing better, You cannot enter the Kingdom of God. We hasten towards death, we shall refrain from sinning.

VIDEO: MXGP of Patagonia 2022 – Round 3– GoPro Onboard TIM GAJSER! 💪💪💪

 

#Dirtbike #Fueri #GlennGoldenkoff #GoProOnBoard #InfrontRacing #JeremySeewer #MotocrossWeltmeisterschaft #MX #MX2 #MXGPofLombardia #MXGPofLombardia2022 #mxgp2022 #mxgpofargentina #MXGPofpatagonia #mxwm #Pradojorge #RenauxMaxime #Round1 #SimoLangenfelder #TimGajser #TomVialle #Track #Valk

 

offroadcracks.com/?p=32440

"DEFESSUS STUDIIS NEGOTIISQUE

SIQUANDO FUERIS LABORE FRANGI

NI VELIS NIMIO LOCA HAEC ADITO

ET MENTEM RECREA AMBULATIONE

INSCRIPTION ON THE PINCIAN HILL AT ROME"

  

Fueri ....Fueri....

Como quisiera encontrar mi agua de ultramar, navegarme despacio para volver a mojar y asi despertar, asustarme con mi fueria especial, que no conozco por tan solo no mirar atras.

Viejo roble que llora al hablar, muere por su sangre como si fuera un humano mas, y se esconde talando su ser, esperando un milagro para volver a nacer.

Purifica mi cuerpo, mi alma y mi vida, ten paciencia nose comprender las salidas, tengo miedo de encontrarme con mi nuevos motivos para pedir vivir otra vez.

🎥 VIDEO: MXGP of Great Britain 2022 – Round 1 – VIDEO Highlights + Standings + GoPro Onboard! 💪MXGP of Great Britain 2022

 

#Dirtbike #EMX125 #Fueri #GlennGoldenkoff #infronracing #JeremySeewer #MotocrossWeltmeisterschaft #MX #MX2 #MXGPmatterlybasin #MXGPofGreatBritain #mxgp2022 #mxwm #Pradojorge #RenauxMaxime #Round1 #SimoLangenfelder #TimGajser #TomVialle #Track #Valk

 

📷 @mxgp (copyright)

 

offroadcracks.com/video-mxgp-of-great-britain-2022-round-...

Tempora vis Media? In veris hic inde require, si recte usus fueris prospera fata fluent.

  

Ville de Valdivia, pres de la Fueria Fluvial (marche aux poissons).

Les Otaries ont compris que chasser etait plus fatiguant aue d'attendre aue les vendeurs balancent les restes des decoupes de poissons dans le fleuve...

 

Ceux de tailles moyennes se contentent d'une barge flottante et sont un peu plus loins de l'endroit ou les morceaux de poissons sont jetes.

 

Les Otaries restent la toute la sainte journee (et la nuit), le soir on en voit nager dans la riviere.

Ville de Valdivia, pres de la Fueria Fluvial (marche aux poissons).

Les Otaries ont compris que chasser etait plus fatiguant aue d'attendre aue les vendeurs balancent les restes des decoupes de poissons dans du fleuve...

 

Voici le plus gros, qui s'est octroye cette dalle de beton. Si une morceau de poisson tombe a plus d'un mettre de sa gueule, il ne daigne meme pas se deplacer...

Ici il avait un peu bouge pour en attraper un morceau au vol...

Ville de Valdivia, pres de la Fueria Fluvial (marche aux poissons).

Les Otaries ont compris que chasser etait plus fatiguant aue d'attendre aue les vendeurs balancent les restes des decoupes de poissons dans le fleuve...

 

Les jeunes nagent autour pour attraper les morceaux aue les autres laissent filer (par paresse la plupart du temps):