De Navi

Quae D. Martham, & Socios Massiliam advexit.¹

Aspicis ut certo puppis secat aequora cursu,       Et duce divino flamine carpit iter? Aether² pelle tuis audacem ex orbibus Argon,³       Haec auro Phryxi⁴ nobiliora vehit

¹ This poem concerns the New Testament apostles and siblings Mary, Martha, and Lazarus of Bethany. Following church tradition, the siblings were set adrift in the Mediterannean in a boat which lacked oars, rudder, or sails. A divine wind carried them to Marseilles, where they proceeded to convert the local population. ² Vocative. ³ A reference to the Argo, the famous ship of the mythological Jason and the Argonauts. ⁴ A reference to the Golden Fleece sought by Jason and the Argonauts. According to Greek mythology, Phrixus and his sister Helle escaped from Thessaly by riding on the back of a golden ram. Helle fell off, giving her name to the Hellespont, but Phrixus arrived safely in Colchis. He proceeded to sacrifice the ram and keep its fleece.