Noli me tangere

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This article is about the Latin phrase. For the novel by Jose Rizal, see Noli Me Tangere (novel). For the movie, see Out 1.

Noli me Tangere by Hans Holbein the Younger

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

The words were a popular trope in Gregorian chant, and the moment in which they were spoken was a popular subject for paintings that relate to Resurrection appearances of Jesus.

It has been pointed out that the original phrase, Μή μου ἅπτου, 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 recognizing Jesus Christ after his resurrection became subject of a long, widespread and continuous iconographic tradition in Christian art from late antiquity onwards until the 20th century.^[2]

[edit] Other uses

Noli-me-tangere is a historical term for facial ulceration.

The plants known as touch me not are also sometimes called noli-me-tangere.

Noli Me Tangere is also the title of a novel written by Filipino writer and national hero José Rizal in the 19th century.

Sir Thomas Wyatt mentions this phrase in one of his sonnets, 'Whoso list to hunt', which is thought to be about Anne Boleyn.

Pablo Picasso used a painting by Correggio titled Noli me tangere as a source for the enigmatic gesture in the centre of his famous painting La Vie.^[3] Picasso must have seen Correggio's painting in the Prado when he was studying art in Madrid.

"Noli Me Tangere" is the motto of various military divisions, including US 3rd Infantry Regiment, the United States' oldest active infantry regiment.

The phrase is used in an episode of the X-Files, "Hollywood A.D.," featuring a legendary Lazarus Bowl which was able to raise the dead.

[edit] References

^ 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 The Elements of New Testament Greek by Jeremy Duff: 7.2.2. The difference between the Present and Aorist Imperatives.
^ See G. Schiller, Ikonographie der christlichen Kunst, vol. 3, Die 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.
^ G. Becht-Jördens & P. M. Wehmeier, Picasso und die christliche Ikonographie. Mutterbeziehung und künstlerische Position, Berlin 2003 (ISBN 3-496-01272-2), p. 40 ff.; pl. 1-4.