Noli me tangere

Noli me tangere
Noli me Tangere by Antonio da Correggio, circa 1534

Noli me tangere, meaning "don't touch me" / "touch me not", is the Latin version of words spoken, according to John 20:17, by Jesus to Mary Magdalene when she recognizes him after his resurrection.

The original phrase, Μή μου ἅπτου (mê mou haptou), in the Gospel of John, which was written in Greek, is better represented in translation as "cease holding on to me" or "stop clinging to me".[1] The biblical scene of Mary Magdalene's recognizing Jesus Christ after his resurrection became the subject of a long, widespread and continuous iconographic tradition in Christian art from late antiquity to the present.[2] So Pablo Picasso for example used the painting Noli me tangere by Antonio da Correggio, stored in the Museo del Prado, as an iconographic source for his famous painting La Vie (Cleveland Museum of Art) from the so-called Blue Period.[3]

The phrase also appears in the sensual poem Whoso list to hunt by Sir Thomas Wyatt, where it refers to the elusive lover.

According to Solinus, white stags found 300 years after Caesar's death had their collars inscribed with: "Noli me tangere, Caesaris sum", meaning "Do not touch me, I am Caesar's".[4]

Contents

Liturgical use

The words were a popular trope in Gregorian chant. The supposed moment in which they were spoken was a popular subject for paintings in cycles of the Life of Christ and as single subjects, for which the phrase is the usual title.

In the Eastern Orthodox Church the Gospel lesson on Noli me tangere is one of the Twelve Matins Gospels read during the All Night Vigil on Sunday mornings.

Gallery

See also

References

  1. ^ See, for instance, "Touch Me Not" by Gary F. Zeolla or Greek Verbs. In fact the form of the verb used is not the aorist imperative, which would indicate momentary or point action, but the present, which indicates an action in progress (Lesson Five - Greek Verbs). When, later in the same chapter, Jesus invites Thomas to touch his side, the aorist imperative is used to indicate the proposed momentary action (John 20:27). See also Jeremy Duff, The Elements of New Testament Greek, 7.2.2. "The difference between the Present and Aorist Imperatives".
  2. ^ See G. Schiller, "Ikonographie der christlichen Kunst", vol. 3, Auferstehung und Erhöhung Christi, Gütersloh 2 1986 (ISBN 3-579-04137-1), p. 95-98, pl. 275-297; Art. Noli me tangere, in: "Lexikon der christlichen Ikonographie", vol. 3 Allgemeine Ikonographie L-R, Rom Freiburg Basel Wien 1971 (ISBN 3-451-22568-9), col. 332-336.
  3. ^ Gereon Becht-Jördens, Peter M. Wehmeier: Picasso und die christliche Ikonographie. Mutterbeziehung und künstlerische Position. Reimer, Berlin 2003, esp. p. 39-42, fig. 1-4 ISBN 3-496-01272-2
  4. ^ Rumens, Carol. "Poem of the week: Whoso List to Hunt by Thomas Wyatt". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2009/aug/10/poem-of-the-week-thomas-wyatt. Retrieved 26 May 2011. 

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Noli me tangere — (deutsch: Rühre mich nicht an!) bezeichnet: Noli me tangere (lateinische Phrase), Ausspruch Jesu im Johannesevangelium Noli me tangere (Kästchen), ehemaliger Teil des Aachener Domschatzes Noli me tangere (Drama), Dramas von Georg Kaiser (1922)… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • noli me tangere — ⇒NOLI ME TANGERE, subst. masc. inv. A. BOT. Balsamine des bois dont les capsules, parvenues à maturité, éclatent dès qu on les touche. (Dict. XIXe et XXe s.). Synon. impatiente. B. MÉD., vx. Lésion cutanée de la face, trop sensible pour pouvoir… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Noli Me Tangere — par Hans Holbein le Jeune …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Noli me tangere — (pronunc. [nóli mé tánguere]) 1 Frase latina que traduce la dicha por Jesús a la Magdalena, que significa «abstente de tocarme». ⊚ Se emplea como comentario, generalmente irónico, para aludir a la prohibición de tocar o tratar cierta cosa o… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Noli me tangĕre — (lat., »rühre mich nicht an«), Name der Sinnpflanze oder Sensitive (s. Mimosa); auch soviel wie Impatiens noli tangere (s. Impatiens) In der Malerei (nach Joh. 20, 17) die Darstellung der Szene, wo Christus nach der Auferstehung der Magdalena… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • noli-me-tangere — ● noli me tangere nom masculin invariable (latin noli me tangere, ne me touche pas) Nom donné aux balsamines, dont les capsules mûres s ouvrent brusquement au moindre attouchement. Vieux. Lésion de la peau qu il ne faut ni gratter, ni irriter, ni …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Noli me tangere! —   Im 20. Kapitel des Johannesevangeliums wird berichtet, dass Jesus nach der Auferstehung der weinenden Maria Magdalena am leeren Grab erschienen ist. Er, den sie zunächst für einen Gärtner gehalten hatte, spricht sie mit den Worten an: »Rühre… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • noli me tangere — late 14c., type of facial ulcer, lupus, Latin, lit. touch me not, from noli, imperative of nolle to be unwilling + me (see ME (Cf. me)) + tangere to touch (see TANGENT (Cf. tangent)). Used over the years of various persons or things that must not …   Etymology dictionary

  • Noli-me-tangere — No li me tan ge*re, n. [L., touch me not.] 1. (Bot.) (a) Any plant of a genus of herbs ({Impatiens}) having capsules which, if touched when ripe, discharge their seeds. See {Impatiens}. (b) The squirting cucumber. See under {Cucumber}. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • noli me tangere — лат. (ноли мэ тангэрэ) не тронь меня. В Евангелии от Иоанна (20:17) слова Христа, обращенные к Марии Магдалине. Толковый словарь иностранных слов Л. П. Крысина. М: Русский язык, 1998 …   Словарь иностранных слов русского языка

  • Noli me tangĕre — (lat., rühre mich nicht an), 1) Art der Pflanzengattung Impatiens; 2) auch andere Pflanzen, deren Blätter bei Berührung sich zusammen legen, wie mehre Mimosenarten; 3) (Med.), der offene Krebs, auch Hautkrebs, so v.w. Lupus (Med.); 4) der… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

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