Like a cedar I was exalted in Lebanon, and like a cypress on Mount Zion. Like a palm tree I was exalted
in Gades, and like a planting of roses in Jericho. Like a beautiful olive tree in the fields, and like a plane
tree I was exalted beside the water in the squares. Like cinnamon and fragrant balsam, I gave forth fra-
grance, and like choice myrrh I gave forth the sweetness of perfume.

This is biblical/ecclesiastical Latin, so some of the vocabulary has a more poetic sense than a strictly classical translation would suggest. The repeated
quasi (“like/as”) creates a sequence of similes.

1. Quasi cedrus exaltata sum in Libanon

“Like a cedar I was exalted in Lebanon.”

• quasi — “as if,” “as,” “like”; here introduces a comparison: “like a…”
• cedrus — “cedar” (feminine nominative singular)
• exaltata — “raised up,” “exalted,” “made high”; feminine perfect passive participle of exalto
• sum — “I am”; combined with exaltata → “I have been exalted / I was exalted”
• in — “in”
• Libanon — “Lebanon”

The cedar of Lebanon suggests exceptional height, grandeur, and nobility.

2. et quasi cupressus in monte Sion

“and like a cypress on Mount Zion.”

• et — “and”
• quasi — “like”
• cupressus — “cypress tree”
• in — “on/in”
• monte — “mountain,” ablative of mons
• Sion — “Zion”

The verb is understood from the preceding clause: “[I was exalted] like a cypress on Mount Zion.”

3. Quasi palma exaltata sum in Gades

“Like a palm tree I was exalted in Gades.”

• quasi — “like”
• palma — “palm tree” (also “palm of the hand,” but clearly the tree here)
• exaltata sum — “I was exalted / raised high”
• in Gades — “in Gades”

Gades is the ancient Latin name for Cádiz in Spain. There is a textual issue here, however: other versions of this biblical passage have Engaddi/En-Gedi rather than Gades.

4. et quasi plantatio rosae in Jericho

“and like a planting of roses in Jericho.”

• et — “and”
• quasi — “like”
• plantatio — “planting,” “plantation,” “cultivated growth”
• rosae — “of a rose / of roses”; genitive of rosa
• in Jericho — “in Jericho”

More idiomatically: “like a rose garden in Jericho.”

5. Quasi uliva speciosa in campis

“Like a beautiful olive tree in the fields.”

• quasi — “like”
• uliva — variant spelling of oliva, “olive” or “olive tree”
• speciosa — “beautiful,” “splendid,” “lovely,” “fine-looking”
• in — “in”
• campis — “fields,” ablative plural of campus

Again, the verb is omitted but understood: “[I was] like a beautiful olive tree in the fields.”

6. et quasi platanus exaltata sum juxta aquam in plateis

“and like a plane tree I was exalted beside the water in the squares.”

• et — “and”
• quasi — “like”
• platanus — “plane tree” (the Platanus tree, not a “flat” object)
• exaltata sum — “I was exalted / raised high”
• juxta (iuxta) — “beside,” “next to,” “near”
• aquam — “water,” accusative after juxta
• in — “in”
• plateis — “broad streets,” “squares,” “open public places”; ablative plural of platea

7. Sicut cinnamomum et balsamum aromatizans odorem dedi

“Like cinnamon and fragrant balsam, I gave forth fragrance.”

This is the most grammatically interesting part.

• sicut — “just as,” “like”; essentially another comparative marker, slightly more explicit than quasi
• cinnamomum — “cinnamon”
• et — “and”
• balsamum — “balsam,” an aromatic resin/perfume
• aromatizans — “making fragrant,” “giving off aroma,” “perfuming”; present participle of aromatizo
• odorem — “odor,” “scent,” “fragrance”; accusative singular
• dedi — “I gave,” “I gave forth”; perfect of do

Literally, this is approximately “Like cinnamon and balsam giving fragrance, I gave forth scent.” The repetition of the fragrance idea sounds awkward in English, so “Like cinnamon and fragrant balsam, I gave forth fragrance” captures the sense better.

8. et quasi myrrha electa dedi suavitatem odoris

“and like choice myrrh I gave forth the sweetness of perfume.”

• et — “and”
• quasi — “like”
• myrrha — “myrrh,” the fragrant resin
• electa — “chosen,” “choice,” “select,” “excellent”; from eligo, “choose”
• dedi — “I gave / gave forth”
• suavitatem — “sweetness,” “pleasantness,” “delightfulness”; accusative of suavitas
• odoris — “of scent/fragrance/perfume”; genitive of odor

suavitas is important here. It does not primarily mean sweetness in the modern sense of sugary taste. It can refer to something pleasant, delightful, agreeable, or sweet to the senses. Thus suavitatem odoris is literally “the pleasantness/sweetness of fragrance,” but poetically “the sweetness of perfume.”

The whole passage therefore moves from images of height and stateliness—cedar, cypress, palm, plane tree—to beauty and luxuriant growth—roses and olive—and finally to scent and sensory richness—cinnamon, balsam, and myrrh.