The Latin of the Muses
Every card carries two Latin lines: a motto on the front and a blessing on the back. Here they are in full, with translations and sources.
Each card in the series carries a motto on the front and a blessing beside its number on the back. Some lines are quotations from Virgil and Horace; the rest are written in the workshop in classical Latin. Which is which is stated below for each card — a motto worth engraving is worth attributing correctly.
Urania — Muse of astronomy
Sic itur ad astra.
“Thus one journeys to the stars.”
On the back, beside the card's own number:
Urania favorem auxiliumque tibi praebet. Sint fines cognitionis tuae, o homo, infiniti.
“Urania grants you her favour and her aid. May the bounds of your knowledge, O human, be infinite.”
Sic itur ad astra is Virgil, Aeneid IX.641 — Apollo's words to Ascanius. The blessing on the back is written in the workshop.
Calliope — Muse of epic poetry
Vox memoriae. Carmen aeternum. Per verbum, tempus vincimus.
“The voice of memory. The eternal song. Through the word, we conquer time.”
On the back, beside the card's own number:
Assit tibi regina musarum. Quidquid incipies, o homo, ad gloriam ducat.
“May the queen of the Muses be at your side. Whatever you undertake, may it lead to glory.”
Both lines on this card are written in the workshop. Calliope is the Muse invoked at the opening of the Odyssey and, by inheritance, of the Aeneid.
Clio — Muse of history
Memoria rerum. Veritas temporis. Facta loquentur, nos testes erimus.
“The memory of deeds. The truth of time. The facts will speak — we shall be their witnesses.”
On the back, beside the card's own number:
Clio vestigia tua servet. Relinque, o homo, memoriam aere perenniorem.
“May Clio preserve your traces. Leave behind, O human, a memory more lasting than bronze.”
The blessing echoes Horace, Odes III.30.1 — exegi monumentum aere perennius, “I have raised a monument more lasting than bronze.” Horace meant his poetry. This one is aluminium.
Erato — Muse of love poetry
Vox amoris. Carmina coniugum corde canuntur, vincitque omnia levis poesis.
“The voice of love. The songs of the wedded are sung from the heart — and light poetry conquers all.”
On the back, beside the card's own number:
Erato ignem amoris accendat. Sit, o homo, cor tuum semper ardens.
“May Erato kindle the fire of love. May your heart, O human, be forever aflame.”
Vincitque omnia levis poesis answers Virgil, Eclogues X.69 — omnia vincit Amor, et nos cedamus Amori, “love conquers all; let us too yield to love.”
A note on attribution
Latin mottoes travel with the wrong author attached to them more often than not. Astra inclinant, sed non obligant — “the stars incline, they do not compel” — is sold everywhere as Ptolemy or Seneca; it is a mediaeval astrological maxim and appears in neither. We check before engraving, because a line cut into metal cannot be quietly corrected later.