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| Aurora borealis in Alaska |
The Italian saying 'Il Mattino ha l'oro in Bocca' (literally translated: morning has gold in its mouth) is normally translated with expressions that have nothing to do with our original saying.
The most common translation is: 'early to be, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise' followed by: 'the early bird gets the worm' and translations such as: 'if you snooze you lose' which is actually closer to another famous Italian saying: 'chi dorme non piglia pesci' (literal translation: fisher asleep, no catches the fish). This saying in particular is pretty close as regards the subject of opportunities.
Let's go back to IL MATTINO HA L'ORO IN BOCCA and let's take the time to discover how the world of etymology can help us. First of all, we inherited this Italian saying from the Romans who used to say: 'Aurora aurum in ore habet'. Therefore we are narrowing down the word 'gold' to a specific morning time: aurora, which translates 'daybreak'. We know that daybreak takes place right after dawn and before sunrise. It is accompanied by purple beams. It's so beautiful. But what has gold to do with daybreak in particular?
The concept is that not only morning hours are a precious opportunity to take advantage of being full of energy after a healthy night's sleep. There is more to it: the Italian word 'aurora' is based on the word 'gold'. That's why morning has gold (Aurora) in its mouth (entrance).
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| Aurora in Venice, Italy |
As a consequence, this Italian saying makes complete sense now. Morning enters the day with a gold, shining moment, - daybreak - when light first appears.
Etymologically the word "Aurora" in Latin, Sanskrit, and Ancient Greek comes from: "shine", "glow", "light", "brightness", "gold". These words also give birth to: "Euro", "Gold", "Austria", "Heliacal". The word "Aurora" is therefore powerful, positive, lively, providing strength and hope.
Last but not least Roman mythology describes Aurora as a goddess. In Greek mythology, Aurora was called Eos. She is the goddess of dawn and renews herself every morning flying across the sky. That's how she announces the sun's arrival with Apollon in his chariot of fire. Aurora comes in glory and is surrounded by golden beams. She brings light to the day!
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| Guido Reni, Aurora, 1613-14 (click on image to enlarge): Aurora is the goddess on the upper right showing the way to the god of the sun in his chariot. |
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