|
History:
Quintas Horatius Flaccus, born in 65 BC, whom we call Horace, is among the
greatest of the Roman poets. Of his vast corpus of work this short Latin
invocation to take action has almost entered the English language itself.
From the Odes Book I.II the complete quotation reads: “While we speak,
time has been running, seize the day, and trust as little as you may for
tomorrow.” The history of these symbols and their use is a fascinating
one. For example, Mercury’s Day, in Latin translates “mercurii,” the day
of the Roman Messenger God, and gave way to his Norse equivalent, Woden.
However, his name lived on in English as the symbol was used by
astrologers for the planet Mercury, and the medieval alchemists also used
the same symbol to denote the poisonous liquid metal, mercury. Today,
someone who is quick, alert or fast, may be said to be “mercurial”, no
doubt someone who “Seizes the Day.”
Each of the 7 symbols on the inside of the ring represents the
Roman days of the week:
You may also like: |
60 Day No-Hassle