This inscription is a eulogy to the Virgin Mary assembled from the texts of Holy Scripture. In addition, each _lemma_, contained within asterisks, carries out the chronogram 1764, the year the clock was completed. Each _lemma_ is translated and identified from the Douay-Rheims version of the Bible:
This woman: a great sign appeared in Heaven (Apocalypse 12:1) * The Holy Mother of God clothed with the sun (Apocalypse 12:1) * And with unharmed foot crushing the black horns of the moon (Apocalypse 12:1) and the serpent (Genesis 3:15) * Most beautifully crowned with twice-six (Apocalypse 12:1) * A garden [_Tempe_[15]] enclosed, sealed with a fountain [spring of water] (Song of Songs 4:12) * Like a cedar in Lebanon, and a cypress tree on Mount Zion; (Ecclesiasticus 24:17) * Mother of pure love and of holy hope: Beloved daughter of the Eternal Father, Mother of the Word, Spouse of the Holy Spirit: (Ecclesiasticus 24:24) * Surrounded with a diversity of grace and glory (Psalms 44:10).
[Illustration: Figure 14.--THE BOTTOM RIGHT CORNER of the dial plate, showing two noblemen contemplating an orb, with the inscription "Diligit Avdaces Trepidos Fortvna Repellet." (Fortune favors the daring and rejects the timid.)]
At the lower left corner below the figure of Atlas upholding the world is the phrase, _Assidvo proni donant di cvncta labori_. (The favorable gods willingly grant all things to the assiduous laborer.) The same phrase is quoted by Father Borghesi in the text of his second volume. The last inscription appears at the lower right corner under the figures of the two noblemen, _Diligit avdaces trepidos fortvna repellet_. (Fortune favors the daring and rejects the timid.) The last two inscriptions are in dactylic hexameter. They appear to be original compositions inasmuch as no classical prototypes have been identified.
[Illustration: Figure 15.--THE BOTTOM LEFT CORNER of the dial plate, showing the engraving of Atlas, with the inscription "Assidvo proni donant di cvncta labori." (The favorable gods willingly grant all things to the assiduous laborer.)]
[Illustration: Figure 16.--DETAIL OF FRONTISPIECE of the Borghesi clock, showing the apertures for calendar indicators and the details of the engraving.]