Arbores in oriente sunt, ut dicit Iacobus, que poma pulcherrima ferunt colore citrina, in quibus quasi morsus hominis cum dentibus manifeste apparet; et idcirco poma Adam ab omnibus appellantur. Et hoc mirum, quod deus scelus primi hominis voluit adhuc in fructu pomi demonstrare mortalibus.
- Translation
- Vocabulary
- Notes
About trees of the East. There are trees in the East, as Iacobus says, which carry the most beautiful fruits yellow in color, in which as if the bite of a man with his teeth appears plainly; and therefore, the fruits are called Adam by all. And this (is) a remarkable (thing), because God still wished to point out the crime of the first man for mortal (ones) in the offspring of a fruit.
citrinus, a, um – lemon yellow, orange colored
demonstro, are, avi, atus, 1st conj – to point out, indicate, show, designate
dens, dentis, m. – tooth
idcirco – therefore, for that reason
manifeste – plainly, distinctly
mirus, a, um – remarkable, strange, wonderful
morsus, morsus, m. – bite
oriens, orientis, m. – the East
pomum, i, n. – fruit, apple
Iacobus: Iacobus de Vitriaco, a French theologian
que: actually quae
colore: ablative of quality
dentibus: ablative of origin or means
poma Adam: there is no evidence of an Adam fruit. Given that Iacobus is a theologian, it would make sense for this to be a reference to the forbidden fruit in Genesis.
deus: God rather than a god
primi hominis: Adam
voluit…demonstrare; take together
fructu: this word can be translated in a few different ways, but it seems to make most sense understanding it as a product or offspring. The seeds of the fruit allow it to keep reproducing the same said fruit, therefore reminding humanity of Adam’s greed to this day.