B. ANULI, ΣΦΡΑΓΊΔΙΟΝ.
ΑΙΏΝΙΟΝ, ΚΑῚ ΠΡΌΣΚΑΙΡΟΝ.[1]

THE DEVICE OF BARTHÉLEMY ANEAU, A RING ETERNAL AND TRANSIENT

Obscuri generis cùm sim: nullumque feratur
À Gentilitiis nobile stemma meis.
Et mihi cùm fuerit pater Anulus, & Rosa mater:
Ex utroque meum schema parente gero.
Anulus in sese revoluti circulus anguis,
Aeternum signans est Hieroglyphicon.
At Rosa, corporis est nota non obscura caduci:
Quae perit hoc eôdem, quo fuit orta, die.
Scilicet ut quoniam mortali corpore consto,
Aeternaque anima: Symbolon hoc habeam.

Because my parentage is obscure, and no noble lineage can be traced from my ancestors, and because my father was the Ring, my mother the Rose, I wear an image derived from both my parents. The RING, a snake returning unto himself, is the Hieroglyph of Eternity; while the ROSE, who perishes the very day that she is born, is a sign not obscure of the body’s ephemeral nature. Let this be my device: for clearly I am made of mortal body and eternal soul.