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Monitio Amoris [19]


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38 ↓
Monitio Amoris.translation
XIX.
Ps.38.1 Eccl.41. Bernard.
LOcutus sum in linguâ meâ; notum fac mihi
Domine finem meum; Et numerum dierum
meorum, quis est, vt sciam quid desit mihi;
Ecce mensurabiles posuisti dies meos, & sub-
stantia mea tamquam nihilum ante te.
Veruntamen vniuersa vanitas omnis homo
viuens.
Veruntamen in imagine pertransit homo; sed
& frustra conturbatur.
Thesaurizat; & ignorat cui congregabit ea.
Et nunc quæ est exspectatio mea?
O Mors! quam amara est memoria tua, homini
habenti pacem in substantijs suis, viro quieto, &
cuius viæ directæ sunt in omnibus, & adhuc va-
lenti accipere cibum. quam horribilis est cogita-
tio tua Amatori luxurioso! non misereris inopiæ,
non reuereris diuitias: non parcis voluptatibus,
non sapientiæ; non nobilitati, non ætati.2 O homo,
vis vt prosit tibi hæc meditatio? cogita te iam
mortuum, quem scis necessitate moriturum. me-
morare iudicij tremendi discrimen, ardentis ge-
hennæ cruciatus; & fac nunc quod velles fecisse
tunc. sola hæc cogitatio menti tuæ seriò inculca-
ta, sufficit ad cunctas inordinati Amoris illece-
bras extinguendas.translation

[38a] ↓

Paucitas dierum meorum finietur breui. Iob 10. translation

Constituisti terminas3 qui præteriri non poterunt. Iob 14.4 translation

Las! peu de temps borne le cours,
De l'entresuitte de nos iours.

39 ↓
Aduis de l'Amour.
XIX.
L'Amour at beau, suggerer des desseins,
Veu que la mort les faict reussir vains,
Et qu' on ne scaict qui des deux est plus fort:
Car si la mort n'at rien qui ne luy cede,
Rien contre Amour, ne peut trouuer remede.
L'vn & l'autre est ineuitable sort.

Es tan poderoso Amor
Que obliga à la misma muerte
A confesiar que es mas fuerte.

In weynich tijts staen afghepaelt
Ons dagen loop/ en wat hier dwaelt.

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Facsimile Images


38

[38a]

39

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Translations

Admonishment of love.
Then I spoke with my tongue:
Lord, let me know my end,
and what is the measure of my days;
let me know how fleeting my life is.
You have made my days a few handbreadths,
and my lifetime is as nothing in your sight.
Surely everyone stands as a mere breath.
Surely everyone goes about like a shadow.
Surely for nothing they are in turmoil;
they heap up, and do not know who will gather.
And now, O Lord, what do I wait for?5
O death! how bitter the thought of you for the man at peace amid his possessions, For the man unruffled and always successful, who still can enjoy life's pleasures6. How terrible the thought of you is for the decadent lover! You do not have compassion for poverty, you have no respect for wealth, you spare not sensuality, nor wisdom, nor nobility, nor age.
Are not the days of my life few? RSV
Are not my days few? KJV
The few days of life granted to me will come to an end shortly. GH7
You have set limits that it will be impossible to pass. GH
Thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass. RSV

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Literature


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    Sources and parallels


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    References, across this site, to this page:


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    Iconclass

    Sacred love is pulling the soul away from Death, represented as a skeleton with a crown, an hourglass and a large arrow
    • Christ as youth [11D26] Search for this Iconclass notation
    • Christ and the Soul [11D51] Search for this Iconclass notation
    • hourglass [23U22] Search for this Iconclass notation
    • leading someone by the hand or wrist [31A25432] Search for this Iconclass notation
    • gripping someone by the shoulder [31A2545] Search for this Iconclass notation
    • index finger forwards, pointing, indicating [31A25552] Search for this Iconclass notation
    • life versus death [31E5] Search for this Iconclass notation
    • symbols of Death [31F1] Search for this Iconclass notation
    • Death as skeleton [31F26] Search for this Iconclass notation
    • crown (symbol of sovereignty) [44B191] Search for this Iconclass notation
    • archer's weapons: arrow [45C15(ARROW)] Search for this Iconclass notation
    • Strength, Power; 'Fortezza', 'Fortezza d'Animo e di corpo', 'Fortezza del corpo congiunta con la generosité dell'animo', 'Fortezza & valore del corpo congiunto con la prudenza & virtù del animo', 'Forza' (Ripa) (+ emblematical representation of concept) [54A7(+4)] Search for this Iconclass notation
    • Conflict; 'Contrasto' (Ripa) (+ emblematical representation of concept) [54EE3(+4)] Search for this Iconclass notation
    • (personifications and symbolic representations of) Love; 'Amore (secondo Seneca)' (Ripa) (+ emblematical representation of concept) [56F2(+4)] Search for this Iconclass notation
    • proverbs, sayings, etc. (with TEXT) [86(MONITIO AMORIS)] Search for this Iconclass notation

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    Comments

    commentary

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    Notes

    1
    Ps 38 = Ps 39:3-7 NRSV, KJV.
    2
    'quam horribilis est cogitatio ... non nobilitati, non aetati'. This does not belong to the quotation from Sir. 41:1-3. It is possible that it is from Sir. but it may also belong to the quotation from Bernardus.
    3
    Should read: terminos
    4
    Iob 14. = Job 14:5
    5
    The translation of the Latin text is from NRSV.
    6
    Sir. 41:1-3. Translation from The New American Bible.
    7
    Note that there is no indication that in this emblem this quotation is meant to be read as a question. The Vg. also has the interrogative 'numquid', here it is absent.