CHAPTER XI

SUN-DIAL MOTTOES
'* A Sun-dial motto should be as short as the Posy on a Ring ; as Clear as the Sun that shines on the Dial's Face ; and as True as Christian Ethics."
NE thought cannot fail to come to all who read any consid- erable number of sun-dial mottoes, --a sense of their inherent refinement and grace. They cannot be coarse, nor
j J
clumsy, nor scarcely ungra- cious. Of course they vary in happiness of conception, but all seem refined. I suppose no one would in- scribe a motto on a sun-dial until he or she had given ample thought to the wording, and had indeed meditated deeply in order to seize or shape some poetic thought to be a fitting voice for the serious and dignified dial.
I shall not attempt to give a full list of dial mot- toes. The curious reader can find them in many languages to the number of sixteen hundred in Mrs. Gatty's Book of Sun-dials. Baron Edmund de Riviere published another long list. Early writers on dialling
252
Sun-dial Mottoes
253
give many suitable mottoes. I had collected sun-dial mottoes in various languages for many years before I saw Mrs. Gatty's book, but I found on comparison that she had nearly all that I had gathered, besides many more ; still, I will give here some of the inter-
Sun-dial on Bridge, Philadelphia. Pennsylvania.
esting ones from my collection. Many in the larger gatherings are valueless as a motto for use on ordi- nary dials.
One almost unvarying characteristic of the sun- dial motto may be noted, — its solemnity. A very
254 Sun-dials and Roses of Yesterday
few are jocose, a few are cheerful, nearly all are sol- emn, many are sad, even gloomy. They teach no light lesson of life, but a regard of the passing of every day, every hour, as a serious thing. Biblical texts offer a vast field for culling sun-dial mottoes. The very best to my mind — my favorite motto — is this solemn warning: —
Our days on earth are as a shadow, and there is none abid- ing,— i Chronicles xx. 15.
Opening the Bible wholly at random, after the fashion of the fortune-seekers of old, my eyes fall on these noble lines : —
Truly the light is sweet and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun. — Ecclesiastes xi. 7.
As a servant earnestly desireth the shadow. — Job vii. 2.
All the days of my appointed time will I wait till my change come. — Job xiv. 14.
Behold noiv is the accepted time. — 2 Corinthians vi. 2.
/ have considered the days of old and the years that are past. — Psalm Ixxvii. 5.
His time passeth away like a shadoiu. — Psalm cxliv. 4.
Lord teach us to number our days rightly and to apply our hearts to wisdom. — Psalm xc. 14.
While ye have light, believe in the light. — St. John xxii. 36.
Let there be light ; and there tuas light. — Genesis i. 3.
Man is like a thing of nought. His time passeth aivay like a shadoiu. — Psalm cxliv. 4.
Abide with us, O Lord, for it is toivard evening. — St. Luke xxiv. 29.
So teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. — Psalm xc. 12.
Oh, remember how short my time is. — Psalm Ixxxix. 47.
Sun-dial Mottoes
He brought back the shadow by degrees. — 2 Kings xx. II. The Lord's name is praised from the rising up of the sun to the going down of the same. — Psalms cxiii. 3.
This last text and parts of it are a favorite choice for mottoes ; and in Latin also. In Northampton, England, on t h-e Queen's Cross were four sun-dials, each bearing a few Latin words of this text. This cross is shown on this page in its present condition ; it was set up by Edward 1 in memory of his wife, Eleanor of Castile, and has been sadly tinkered with and the dials re- moved. It was a fre- quent motto on French churches. In Kircher's Ars Magna Lucis et Umbrae (1646) is a curious exposition of this verse. A great folding plate is given, having twenty-four dials set in the form of a tree, and four more at each corner. From this tree radi- ates this verse in thirty-four different languages. On a scroll is the text, Sicut oliva fructifora in domo Dei. This plate was intended to have been mounted
Cross at Northampton, England.
256 Sun-dials and Roses of Yesterday
on a board, and each dial was to have a gnomon affixed, which would then show the time of the day at the places named. The size and shape of each
Pillar-dial in Graveyard at Dean Row, Cheshire, England.
gnomon is carefully given. This would form a splendid triumph in gnomonics.
Some familiar mottoes are seen on many dials. They are certainly common, and some are common- place, but they are suited to their position.
I LABOR HERE WITH ALL MY MIGHT
TO TELL THE HOUR BY DAY AND NIGHT.
Sun-dial Mottoes 257
Sometimes these lines are added : -
AS CAREFUL, THEN, BE SURE THOU BE, TO SERVE THY GOD AS I SERVE THEE.
or
IF THOU WILT BE ADVISED BY ME, I'LL SERVE MY GOD AS I SERVE THEE.
Mrs. Gatty gives an old " clock-paper " which, neatly written and framed in colored paper, was placed under an ancient timepiece : -
HERE MY MRS. BIDS ME STAND
AND MARK. THE TIME WITH FAITHFUL HAND;
WHAT IS HER WILL IS MY DELIGHT,
TO TELL THE HOURS BY DAY AND NIGHT.
MRS. BE WISE AND LEARN OF ME
TO SERVE THY GOD AS I SERVE THEE.
A hundred and more years ago the works of a watch were entirely detached from the case, and cir- cular pieces of ornamental paper were placed within the case to protect the works. These discs of paper were known as watch-papers ; they were cut in tiny designs, pricked with a pin, painted in water- colors, and inscribed with verses, posies such as were found in posy-rings. One watch-paper which I have has a motto evidently adapted from the motto of the clock-paper : —
IT IS MY WILL AND MY DELIGHT
TO TELL THE HOURS OF DAY AND NIGHT ;
and in a manuscript collection of posies for watch- papers is this similar verse : —
258 Sun-dials and Roses of Yesterday
HEAR ME TICK AT YOUR COMMAND
AND MARK THE TIME WITH TRUTHFUL HAND
BE THOU WISE AND LEARN OF ME
TO SERVE THY GOD AS I SERVE THEE.
Other everyday mottoes on sun-dials are: —
A CLOCK THE TIME MAY WRONGLY TELL; I, NEVER, IF THE SUN SHINE WELL.
AS TIME AND HOURS DO PASS AWAY SO DOTH THE LIFE OF MAN DECAY.
TIME'S GLASS AND SCYTHE THY LIFE AND DEATH DECLARE. SPEND WELL THY TIME AND FOR DEATH PREPARE.
BE THE DAY WEARY, BE THE DAY LONG, SOON IT RINGS TO EVEN SONG.
AS TIME DOTH HASTE, SO LIFE DOTH WASTE.
LIGHT RULES ME THE SHADOW, THEE.
A very numerous " cou- sinry ' of mottoes is that
Which in Latin runs, Non Sun-dia' at Barncluith Cadzow
Forest, Scotland.
numero boras nisi serenas.
This was said to be the favorite dial motto of Ten- nyson. In its various forms it is doubtless the most popular of all the sun-dial mottoes. In this modification it was chosen by Queen Alexandra for the sun-dial at Sandringham (see page 259), the
Sun-dial Mottoes
259
home for so many years of Edward VII when Prince of Wales : —
LET OTHERS TELL OF STORMS AND SHOWERS, I'LL ONLY COUNT YOUR SUNNY HOURS.
LET OTHERS TELL OF STORMSxSHOWK IU. OMIY COUNT YOUR SUNNY HOURS
Vertical Dial at Sandringham, England, residence of King Edward Vll
of England.
260 Sun-dials and Roses of Yesterday
I COUNT THE BRIGHT HOURS ONLY
was on Prince Albert Victor's dial. This was an octagonal pillar with several dials which stood in front of the Exhibition Buildings in Edinburgh in 1886. The Exhibition was opened by the prince and the dial named for him. Other mottoes were : -
AS A SERVANT EARNESTLY DESIRETH THE SHADOW. LIGHT IS THE SHADOW OF GOD. TIME AND TIDE TARRY FOR NO MAN. TIME IS THE CHRYSALIS OF ETERNITY.
/ WELL ARRANGED TIME IS THE SUREST SIGN OF A WELL
ARRANGED MIND.
TIME AS HE PASSES US HAS A DOVE'S WING, UNSOILED AND SWIFT AND OF A SILKEN SOUND.
TAKE TENT O' TIME ERE TIME BE TENT.
On a fine dial in the Isle of Wight this reads :-
TAK TINT O' TIME ERE TIME TAK TINT o' THEE.
To return to our motto-group. The form on the sun-dial at the fort at Delhi reads : —
I COUNT NONE BUT SUNNY HOURS.
Others are : —
I COUNT THE SUNNY HOURS ; I MARK ONLY SUNNY HOURS; I MARK NONE BUT SUNNY HOURS; I NOTE THE BRIGHT HOURS OF DAY; I NUMBER NONE BUT SUNNY HOURS; I ONLY MARK BRIGHT HOURS.
Sun-dial Mottoes
261
On a slate-dial owned by the Duchess of Cleve- land, which was captured by the allied forces in 1854, is this motto : —
I MARK NOT THE HOURS UNLESS THEY BE BRIGHT, I MARK. NOT THE HOURS OF DARKNESS AND NIGHT. MY PROMISE IS SOLELY TO FOLLOW THE SUN AND POINT OUT THE COURSE HIS CHARIOT DOTH RUN.
A Latin variant is, Horas nullus nisi aureas — I count none but golden hours. This is exquisitely delineated on a vertical dial de- signed and set by A. G. Hum- phrey, Esq., at C r o w b o rough Cross, Sussex, on a pole in his garden. The motto and nu- merals are in open iron work on a semi-transparent gilt ground,
which shines OUt Sun-dial at Edwin Forrest Home, now
gloriously in the Mount St' Vincent Convent.
sunlight. Thus the motto has a double meaning. Another allied motto reads : —
THE HOURS, UNLESS THE HOURS BE BRIGHT,
IT IS NOT MINE TO MARK; I AM THE PROPHET OF THE LIGHT,
DUMB WHEN THE SUN IS DARK.
262 Sun-dials and Roses of Yesterday
In an old album there is written this poem by Professor Samuel Finley Breese Morse, with a note
The Lodge at Charlecote House, Stratford-on-Avon.
saying that he saw the motto on a sun-dial at
Worms : —
To A. G. E.
Horas Non Numero Nisi Serenas.
" The sun when it shines on a clear cloudless sky Marks the time on my disc in figures of light ; If clouds gather o'er me, unheeded they fly, I note not the hours except they be bright.
" So when I review all the scenes that have past
Between me and thee, be they dark, be they light,
Sun-dial Mottoes 263
I forget what was dark, the light I hold fast, I note not the hours except they be bright."
SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.
WASHINGTON, March, 1845.
A sun-dial motto may be simple in its wording and it must be lucid. Lucidity is often confounded with simplicity ; but the former is a quality of style, and the latter of thought. A straining after rhyme must not be permitted to make the thought of the motto obscure. For instance, this motto from Lucile is pretty, but it is not lucid ; in fact, it is not true : —
THE DIAL
RECEIVES MANY SHADES, AND EACH POINTS TO THE SUN, THE SHADOWS ARE MANY, THE SUNLIGHT IS ONE.
On the sun-dial of Thornby Church, North- amptonshire, are these serious lines: —
MARK. WELL MY SHADE, AND SERIOUSLY ATTEND THE COMMON LESSON OF A SILENT FRIEND, FOR TIME AND LIFE SPEED RAPIDLY AWAY ; NEITHER CAN YOU RECALL THE FORMER DAY. YOU ARE NOT ABLE TO RECALL THE PAST, BUT LIVE THOU THIS DAY AS IF THE LAST.
At Oxford there is a sun-dial bearing the arms of Thomas, Earl of Wharton, who was Lord-lieutenant of Oxfordshire from 1691 to 1702; it bears these clever lines : —
A MOMENT MARK HOW SMALL A SPACE
THE DIAL SHOWS UPON THE FACE ;
YET WASTE BUT ONE AND YOU WILL SEE
OF HOW GREAT MOMENT IT CAN BE.
264 Sun-dials and Roses of Yesterday
One of the most exquisite and perfect of all antique English sun-dials partakes of the lectern-shaped type. It is shown facing this page. This dial is at Moccas Court, Herefordshire, the seat of Rev. Sir George Cornewall, Bart. It has many fine mottoes;
\ !sMi . -1 \ >U .
Sun-dial at Brockenhurst Park, Hants.
in Latin is a verse of the Nineteenth Psalm, " The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handiwork." Also in Latin is a text from Deuteronomy sixth, " Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart." Other mottoes are : Instar globi stat machina mundi — Like a ball stands the frame-
^^,,-rr^v-- -r -.. .
Sun-dial at Moccas Court, Herefordshire.
Sun-dial Mottoes 265
work of the world ; Si culpare ve/is, culpabilis esse cavebis. Nemo sine crimine vivit : idcirco ne temere judicto — If thou wouldst blame, thou wilt beware of being blameworthy. No one lives without reproach, therefore judge not rashly ; Sol est lux et gloria mundi — The sun is the light and glory of the world. There is also this quaint English verse :-
TYME PASSETH AND SPEAKETH NOT, DETH COMETH AND WARNETH NOT, AMENDE TODAY AND SLACK NOT, TOMORROW THYSELF CANNOT.
This dial is thought to be of the time of Charles II.
Mr. Evans has a very interesting Manx dial made of marble, which has several fine inscriptions. One is most quaint and old-fashioned, and is a favorite of mine : —
WHILST PHCEBUS ON ME SHINES, THEN VIEW MY SHADE AND LINES.
There is a group of Latin mottoes which are often found : Sic transit hora — - Thus passes the hour ; Sic tempora labuntur — Thus glides time; Sic transit gloria mundi — Thus passes the glory of the world; Sic transimus omnes — Thus pass we all; Sic transit hora- -Thus passes the hour; Sic vita — So is life; Sic vita fug if — Thus life flies ; Sic vita transit — So life passes. With many variants these are seen on many English churches and houses, and on garden- dials in Scotland, England, France, Holland, and Italy. Sic transit glori mundi is upon a brass sun- dial at Matale, Ceylon, engraved in curious char- acters, the initials being shaped like animals.
266 Sun-dials and Roses of Yesterday
On the tower of Shillington Church, Bedford- shire, a clock and sun-dial were formerly found with two exceptionally happy mottoes. The sun-dial had this : Sine soleo sileo ; and the clock : Sine sole loquor.
A sun-dial may speak in solemn voice and yet not be offensively despairing. I particularly dislike such mottoes as this on the dial at Brougham Hall, West- moreland : —
O WRETCHED MAN REMEMBER THOU MUST DIE, SENCE ALL THINGS PASSE AND NOTHINGE CERTAIN BE.
The date cut on this dial is 1660, and at that time and in that condition of English history there were many to whom thoughts of death and solemn warnings and dread of hell were as the breath of life. A skull and hour-glass further decorate this dial. Fortunately it bears on another face the beautiful and appropriate words, Tempus ut umbra •preterit - • Time passes by as a shadow ; and also that dignified but most common of all dial mottoes, Ut hora sic vita — Life is as an hour.
I own a handsome brass sun-dial about a foot in diameter which bears the date 1748, and these lines, evidently added at a later date : —
HASTE, TRAVELLER, ON THY WAY, THE SUN IS SINKING LOW. HE SHALL RETURN AGAIN, BUT NEVER THOU.
This always seemed to me an ungracious and inhospitable answer to the chance passer-by, who sociably halted to learn the time o' the day ; but I
Sun-dial Mottoes
267
find a similar sentiment conveyed in many dial mottoes, --a request not to dawdle around, — and likewise a solemn warning to lose no time thus, since the return of the sun might not bring back the day to the dial reader as to the dial.
Vertical Sun-dial at Germantown, Pennsylvania.
E. V. B. in her book A Garden of Pleasure tells of a beautiful motto of allied thought upon a dial in a Riviera garden : —
" Io vade e vengo ogni glorno Ma tu audrai senza ritorno"
" I go and come every day, But thou shalt go without returning."
268 Sun-dials and Roses of Yesterday
A particularly fine motto is this : Transit umbra ; lux permanet — The shadow passes; light remains.
Sun-dial at Canon's Ashby, Northamptonshire ; Seat of Sir Henry
Dryden, Bart.
Its simplicity increases its force, and the sentiment is grateful to every one.
Sun-dial Mottoes 269
WHEN THOU DOST LOOK UPON MY FACE,
TO LEARN THE TIME OF DAY, THINK HOW MY SHADOW KEEPS ITS PACE,
AS THY LIFE FLIES AWAY. TAKE, MORTAL, THIS ADVICE FROM ME,
AND SO RESOLVE TO SPEND THY LIFE ON EARTH, THAT HEAVEN SHALL BE
THY HOME, WHEN TIME SHALL END.
This was taken from the sun-dial on or near Dromore Castle, County Kerry, Ireland ; its date is 1871.
A severe motto reads : —
I NOTE THE TIME THAT YOU WASTE.
A very spirited motto is in Latin : Horam sole nolente nego — I tell not the hour when the sun will not.
In the Ulster Journal of Archeology for Octo- ber, 1901, is a fine description of an interest- ing old sun-dial from the parish church at Bangor. It is of slate, elaborately carved on both sides, and was set in a sloping position with the outside circu- lar edge tending upward. It has several curious inscriptions, one being the old almanac rhyme, —
THIRTIE DAYES HATH SEPTEMBER, APRIL, JUNE, AND NOVEMBER ; FEBRUARIE HATH 28 ALONE, AND ALL THE REST 30 AND ONE. 1630. DEC.
On page 250 is an old sun-dial which now stands in the garden of the Logan Mansion, Stenton, the
270 Sun-dials and Roses of Yesterday
house now occupied by the Society of Colonial Dames. The dial was given to the Society by Hor- ace J. Smith, Esq., of Germantown, one of the few descendants of the Logan family. On one side are the incised words, WE MUST — (soil dial, i.e., die-all). This clumsy joke is common on English dials. It appears under a mural sun-dial in the engraving of Hogarth's picture of Chairing the Member. The painting had the fine motto, Pufois et umbra sumus — We are dust and shadows; well suited to the skull and cross-bones accompanying it. But the engraver evidently thought himself a better humorist than the painter, and replaced the Latin motto with WE MUST — . The joke is older than Hogarth. The Horologiograpbia Optica by one Morgan, published in 1652, ends with it. On a church dial is this verse : —
LIFE'S BUT A SHADOW,
MAN'S BUT DUST; THIS DIALL SAYS
DY ALL WE MUST.
There is a very quaint variant of this motto on a farm-house dial at Millrigy, near Penroth, in the form of a dialogue between the Sun-dial and the Passer-by : —
Dlall. STAIE PASSINGER.
TELL ME MY NAME, THY NATURE.
Pass. THY NAME IS DIE
ALL. I AM A MORTALL CREATURE.
Sun-dial at Ivy Lodge, Germantown, Pennsylvania ; Seat of Horace Jay Smith, Esq.
Sun-dial Mottoes 271
Dlall. SINCE MY NAME
AND THY NATURE
SOE AGREE, THINK ON THYSELF WHEN THOU LOOKEST
UPON ME.
Another beautiful dial, with musing figure point- ing to the dial-face, is at Ivy Lodge, the home of Horace J. Smith, Esq., Germantown, Pennsylvania. It is shown facing page 270.
On French dials there is a jocose motto which is not uncommon. A cock is painted on the dial-face and the words, Je chanterai quand tu sonneras ; or, Lorsque tu sonneras je chante. This is, of course, the challenge of the silent cock to the silent dial.
At Linburn, Midlothian, Scotland, Ebenezer Er- skine Scott, Esq., erected two very fine modern dials. One, shown facing page 172, is an obelisk-shaped dial of good proportions. The other, facing page 274, is a facet-headed dial of great beauty. Both are set on octagonal raised steps. The latter dial is nine feet in height, and was designed by Thomas Ross, Esq., F.S.A. On the upper step is engraved verse 3 of Psalm cxiii., " From the rising of the sun to the going down of the same, the Lord's name is to be praised." On the lower steps are graceful verses which have a curious story ; they run thus : -
AMIDDST YE FLOWRES I TELL YE HOWRES.
TIME WANES AW AYE AS FLOWRES DECAYE.
272 Sun-dials and Roses of Yesterday
BEYOND YE TOMBE
FFRESHE FFLOWERETS BLOOME.
SOE MAN SHALL RYSE ABOVE YE SKYES.
These mottoes were written by Rev. Greville J. Chester, and appear in his novel Aurelia^ in his de- scription of the bishop's garden, with " a double
Sun-dial in Mrs, Bell's Garden, Cheshire, England.
Sun-dial Mottoes 273
row of Hollyhock, spires of flame and rose-color, and white and crimson ; and bunches of Golden Aaron's Rod, and Canterbury Bells, and Bee Lark- spur, and Prince's Feathers ; and later on in the year tufts of purple golden-eyed Michaelmas Daisies : and at the end of all, upon a lump of turf, stood a gray time-tinged sun-dial, inscribed on its four sides with the quaint distiches devised by Bishop Edmund Redyngton, who set it up A.D. 1665."
So vivid was this description that many read- ers placed implicit confidence in the reality of the old sun-dial and its ancient verses, and the lines have been copied on others than the Linburn dial.
There are two old sun-dials in California. One is in the ancient Mission of San Juan Bautista, San Benito County ; it was brought by pious padres from Spain in 1794, and is the official clock of the Mission. The other was set up at Mare Island in 1854 by Admiral Farragut. Its motto runs, Como la sombra huye la hora — Like the shadow flies the hour.
Many English poets have had the writing of dial mottoes, and many verses of English poetry have served as mottoes. Dr. Watts wrote a characteris- tically gloomy verse for Lady Almy at Newington in 1735: —
SO ROLLS THE SUN, SO WEARS THE DAY AND MEASURES OUT LIFE'S PAINFUL WAY ; THROUGH SHIFTING SCENES OF SHADE AND LIGHT TO ENDLESS DAY OR ENDLESS NIGHT. T
274 Sun-dials and Roses of Yesterday
A favorite verse of mine was written by Walter Savage Landor, but I do not know whether it has ever been used on a dial.
IN HIS OWN IMAGE THE CREATOR MADE
HIS OWN PURE SUNBEAM QJJICKENED THEE O MAN!
THOU BREATHING DIAL ! SINCE THY NAME BEGAN THE PRESENT HOUR WAS EVER MARKED BY SHADE.
I wonder whether Chaucer's lines have been set on a dial : —
" For tho' we sleep, or wake, or rome, or ride, Ay fleeth the time, it will no man abide."
or Spenser's fine line : —
" None can call again the passed time."
Another line which suggests itself as appropriate for a sun-dial is Tennyson's line in The Ancient
Sage : —
" Make the passing shadow serve thy will."
How exquisite are the lines of the " Prince of Poets," Ronsard : —
" Le temps s"1 en va, le temps s1 en va, madam e ! Las ! le temps non : mats nous nous en aliens. ' '
Austin Dobson thus renders them : —
" Time goes, you say ? Ah, no ! Alas, Time stays, we go ! '
Hudibras furnishes this couplet for several Eng- lish dials : —
;-,- '*•,>*&.
Facet-headed Garden-dial at Linburn, Midlothian, Scotland.
Sun-dial Mottoes
275
AS TRUE AS THE DIAL TO THE SUN ALTHOUGH IT BE NOT SHONE UPON.
And Addison's Paraphrase of the Nineteenth Psalm gives these two lines : —
THOU ART, O LORD, THE
LIFE AND LIGHT OF ALL THIS WONDROUS
WORLD WE SEE.
From Shake- speare's seventy- seventh Sonnet are these lines : —
THOU BY THE DIAL'S SHADY STEALTH MAY KNOW
TIME'S THIEVISH PROG- RESS TO ETERNITY.
Quarles's Emblems furnish several whin- ing verses for mot- toes. Emblem Number 13, Book III, is a sun-dial. The Bible verse is from Job: " Are not my days few ? Cease then and let me alone, that I may bewail myself a little." These lines are his verses and are printed on an English dial : -
READ ON THIS DIAL HOW THE SHADES DEVOUR
MY SHORT-LIVED WINTER'S DAY. HOUR EATS UP HOUR
ALAS ! THE TOTAL'S BUT FROM EIGHT TO FOUR.
Sun-dial at Bramhall, Cheshire.
276 Sun-dials and Roses of Yesterday
Another stanza has also been used : —
NOR DO I BEG THIS SLENDER NICHE, TO WHILE MY TIME AWAY, OR SAFELY TO BEGUILE
MY THOUGHTS WITH JOY -- THERE'S NOTHING WORTH A
SMILE.
TIME FLIES. LINES RISE AND
SHADOWS FALL LET IT PASS BY LOVE REIGNS FOREVER OVER ALL.
These lines are on a sun- dial owned by Lord Ronald Gower ; they are the English rendering of the Latin verses which are on the dial at Old Place, Lindfield, Sussex, see page facing 226.
Far more beautiful are the lines by Dr. Henry Van Dyke given on page 223.
Mr. Evans gives me a group of sun-dial mottoes which are not published in Mrs. Gatty's book, nor in its latest edition by Mrs. Eden. I cannot give them all in full. Amour pour Amour^ on an ivory porta- ble quadrant dial, French,
Dial in Rose Garden at Broughton Castle.
in Mr. Evans's collection.
AS THE SUN RUNS SO DEATH COMES,
Sun-dial Mottoes 277
on a horizontal dial made by "Adam Stear, 1660," belonging now to Rev. G. W. W. Minnes, The Cliff, Weston, Southampton. Curriculum meum per- ficiam donee advenerint dominus — i WILL RUN MY COURSE UNTIL THE LORD SHALL COME, on a German dial of gilt-brass resembling an astrolabe, sixteenth century. Justum et tequum- -JUST AND FAIR, 1717, and lucet omnibus — IT SHINES FULLY, on a large French portable dial in Mr. Evans's collection. Non sibi soli vivere sed et aliis prqficire vu/f — IT
WISHES TO LIVE NOT FOR ITSELF ALONE, BUT ALSO
TO BE OF USE TO OTHERS, on a brass portable dial, probably Spanish, by F. Hieronimus de Arresse, 1598.
And on a German portable dial of brass, 1612, with a nocturnal dial at the back, are these German legends : —
" Der Zeiger sol gerucket sein Wo I auf der sonnen grad a lie in Das instrument salt hangen Ian Zeigt der scbat dir die dages stund an. ' '
On the back are these lines : —
" Dis schiblein mil dem lengsten zan Sol auf den tag des monats stan Durdis mittel loch den potu sibe Die regel auf den ' Kocbal' zibe Dan wirdt zu bandt Die nacbt stunt bebant."
When translated these run : —
" The pointer is to be adjusted To the degree of the sun alone ;
278 Sun-dials and Roses of Yesterday
(When) the instrument is hung
The shadow will indicate to thee the hour of the day.'
" The disc with the longest notch Should mark the day of the month, Observe the pole through the central opening, Draw the movable rod to the peep-hole, Then the hour of the night Will be immediately revealed to you."