After she performed in our local symphony concert Saturday night, our friend Lois showed us her "new" violin - which I htink is about 300 years old. The moment I saw it, my impression was that this insturment was something precious and wonderful. I have never seen such a beautiful and delicate instrument.

Inlaid on the back was this inscription:

In silvis viva silui
Suaviter
Jam mortua cano

Which I translated as "In the forest, I lived in silence; now in death I sing sweetly."

Lois wondered about the genesis of this inscription, and whether it would give any hint as to the origin of the inscription. My research didn't lead to the exact wording of the inscription, but I found that a quote with one word different is found quite commonly on violins.

Google led me to the following excerpt from Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1894)

Cremona

Violins of the greatest excellence; so called from Cremona, where for many years lived some makers of them who have gained a world-wide notoriety, such as Andrea Amati and Antonio his son, Antonius Stradivarius his pupil, and Giuseppe Guarnerius the pupil of Stradivarius. Cremona has long since lost its reputation for this manufacture.
"In silvis viva silui; canora jam mortua cano."
A motto on a Cremona.
Speechless, alive, I heard the feathered throng;
Now, being dead, I emulate their song.
E. C. B.
Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894

Literally, neither version of the Latin text says anything about birds. I'm not sure how exactly to translate "silui" and "canora," and I haven't found a word that gives an adequate translation for "suaviter" - but I think my translation is far closer to the Latin than Brewer's. Note that the Brewer book cites this as an inscription on just one violin from Cremona - I don't think that it's safe to assume that this is a particular trademark on violins from Cremona, but maybe that's the case.


Anyhow, can anybody tell us more about this passage and where it comes from, and can anybody attempt a more authoritative translation?

-Joe-