To the Learned and Honest Reader

[16] CLAUDIUS MINOS DIVIONENSIS,
LECTORI STUDIOSO ET CANDIDO.[1]

Protogenem pictorem sua aetate nobilem, tam improbo fuisse studio, tamque indefessa pingendi cura diligentiaque memoriae proditum est,[2] ut Apelli par in omnibus esse potuerit,[3] si manum de tabula tollere aliquando potuisset:[4] adeo utile in omni vitae humanae instituto vulgatum[5] illud, μηδὲν ἄγαν, ut Isocratea in compositione cura diligentior a plerisque reprehendatur. Quod ideo a me dictum putes,[6] amice lector, ut planum tibi faciam, quis meae commentationis in haec Emblemata modus a me sit adhibitus: in quo nimirum e multis quae facile cogere[7] citra negotium poteram, ea quae duntaxtat accommodatiora videbantur, magísque necessaria, suis quaeque locis contuli et digessi.[8] In quo malui, ut fas esse ducebam, brevius[9] omnia persequi,[10] et leviter attingere, quae nemini esse ignota quasi certo tenebam,[11] quam quasi ῥαψῳδεῖν, et locis quibusdam communibus[12] exspatiari. Sed ne te pluribus morer, non videbitur omnino alienum, si re ab ovo, quod aiunt, repetita,[13] huius meae lucubrationis consilium explicem, ut eadem via compertum habeas, quid quantumque in literis contenderim, quosque labores hactenus incredibili facultatum pene omnium inopia perpes-

[16] CLAUDE MIGNAULT OF DIJON,
TO THE LEARNED AND HONEST READER

Tradition has it that Protogenes, a famous painter of his times, was so fastidious and of such untiring care and thoroughness in his painting, that he could have been the equal of Apelles in everything, if he had been able to take his hand away from a picture.[1] The common saying 'Not too much of anything'[2] is so apt in every activity of human life, that a too scrupulous, Isocratean[3] care in composition is commonly a matter of reproach. This I have said, as you may think dear reader, so that I can make it clear to you what method I have followed in my study of these emblems. This method has been mainly to bring together and set out in their proper order, out of the many things which I could easily have dragged in before getting to the subject, only those which seemed more appropriate and more necessary. I have preferred in fact, as I judged right, to run through and touch lightly on all those things which I thought were certainly known to everyone, rather than to spread myself, as it were, in 'rhapsodies' and common-places. But to be brief, it will not seem irrelevant if I explain the plan of this midnight work of mine beginning at the beginning as they say, so that you may learn in the same way what a struggle I have had in my study of letters, and what labours I have endured hitherto in unbelievable deprivation of almost all resources.

[17] sus sim.[14] Ego cum sperarem aliquando[15] me liberatum iri difficultatibus, et pene dicam, miseriis, quibus exerceri et interdum obrui[16] pupillus solet omni parentum ope destitutus, ut nullis maiorum imaginibus insignis, neque adminiculo quodam meliore sustentatus,[17] manendum semper quasi aliqua in vigilia mihi statui, neque animum ita deieci,[18] ut a liberalium artium studio penitus avocarer: tametsi neque fortuna, neque alia melior occasio hunc mihi fructum, quem Dei beneficio videor consecutus, haudquaquam polliceri videretur. Quod non ideo dico, ut insolentius[19] me efferam, sed ut intelligas quam me mei diu multumque poenituerit,[20] quippe qui in aliis adolescentiae crepundiis,[21] temporis aliquam partem nescio quo modo triverim: nimirum quia duris et plusquam adamantinis illigatus vinculis, non potuerim ut summe cupiebam, nisi tarde admodum promoveri, eamque viam et vitae institutum consectari, quod ab ipsa pene pueritia mihi finxeram atque statueram.[22] Nam me (anno aetatis duodecimo) per septennium ferme ad miseram paedotribae conditionem relegatum,[23] et nodis, quibus me expedire non nisi sero admodum potui, detentum constrinxit inimica et certe molesta sortis conditio,[24] quae studia mea nescio quo veterno quasi sopita et ferme extincta reddidit. Quibus in miseris[25] sic animus occalluit, ut septem illi anni[26] citius elapsi sint, quam meum me otium tam male collocasse senserim. Quae quanquam vera sint, tamen[27] cum exantlatos a me labores in memoriam revoco, est certe quod summo et praepotenti Deo immortales habeam gratias, qui me hoc veluti gyro includi[28] voluerit: atque me

[17] Since I hoped at some time to be free of the difficulties and, I might almost say, miseries that torment and occasionally crush a dependant child deprived of any parental resources, not distinguished by a pedigree, nor sustained by any better support, my principle was to be always, as it were, on the watch; nor did I ever so lose courage that I was seriously distracted from the study of the liberal arts; and yet no good luck or more smiling fortune seemed to promise me in any way this fruit which, with God's blessing, I seem to have achieved. I do not say this to put myself forward brashly, but so that you may understand for how long and how much I was dissatisfied with myself, because I somehow consumed some part of my time with other adolescent trifles. Indeed, being bound with chains harder than steel, I could not until quite late free myself, as I ardently wished, and pursue that way and aim in life which almost from boyhood I had conceived and set for myself. For when I was twelve, I was reduced for seven long years to a wretched condition of childrens' slave, tied with knots that I could not release myself from until later, and constrained by a hostile and indeed injurious aspect of fate, which, by I know not what torpor, seemed to slow and indeed kill my studies. In this wretched state my mind became so dulled that those seven years passed before I was aware that I was using my leisure so badly. This is the truth; yet when I recall the labours I endured, I surely give eternal thanks to God Almighty, who willed that I should be detained in this coil, and

[18] quanquam ea aetate nimium rudem, nec dum satis confirmatum,[29] provinciam suscipere concessit, ad quam partim aetatis imbecillitate, partim etiam ingenioli modulo ac captu omnino eram ineptus. Postquam enim linguae latinae et Graecae, mathematum[30] et philosophiae peripateticae rudimenta delibassem, earumque disciplinarum cognitionem aliquam[31] percepissem in palaestra viri literatissimi L. Baëza, Hispani hominis (cuius[32] in logicis et arithmeticis commentationes in lucem editae certatim ab omnibus[33] doctis commendantur) opportunitatem aliquam sum nactus ea omnia recoquendi sedulius, quae per triennium et eo plus in philosophico stadio primum hauseram. In quo quidem diuturna certe, parumque utili meditatione[34] retexendo, haerendum mihi diutius fuit quam unquam cogitassem, ut quasi scopulum Sisyphium toto ferme septennio effractis pene viribus voluerem. Duram proculdubio et intolerabilem seruitutem.[35] Quae tamen a me dicta, nolim a quoquam ita[36] accipi,[37] ac si quas in studiis aerumnas pertuli, tam moleste ferre debeam:[38] nihil enim est quod tanti faciam labores nescio quos, aut spontaneas illas molestias,[39] quae studiosos comitari solent: quanquam tamen (ut id ingenue ac libere) dubius[40] sim an ratione aliqua conqueri mihi licitum sit,[41] quod fortunam non tam iniquam habuerim, quam ingenium inani admodum et rusticano quodam pudore praepeditum. Dei enim[42] optimi maximi beneficio (cuius munere ac dono[43] sum id quod sum) recreari paululum occepit ingenii mei languor: et ita hucusque perveni, ut nunquam me poenituerit tantillis laboribus adeptum

[18] allowed me, raw as I was at that age and hardly assured enough as yet to enter on a field of study for which, partly through the helplessness of my years and partly because of the measure and capacity of my talent, I was quite unfitted. For after I had tasted the rudiments of Latin and Greek, Mathematics and peripatetic Philosophy and had acquired some knowledge of these disciplines in the school of that most learned Spaniard Luís Baëza (whose published treatises on logic and arithmetic are enthusiastically commended by all scholars[4]), I found some advantage in revising more thoroughly everything that, for three years and more in the race for knowledge, I had at first swallowed at a gulp. In this process of rethinking, by prolonged but useful meditation, I had to be more determined than I would ever have thought, so that I could roll this rock of Sisyphus for seven whole years when my strength was almost broken. It was without doubt a hard, intolerable slavery. But I would not have these statements of mine understood by anyone as meaning that I must harbour such resentment for the tribulations I have born in studying; for there is no reason why I should make so much of a bit of work or of those willingly accepted inconveniences which are the usual companions of scholars. But, to be honest and frank, I doubt whether I would have any grounds to complain, because I had, not so much an unjust fortune, but a mind fettered with a quite useless and rustic timidity. For by the blessing of God Almighty, by whose grace and gift I am what I am, my listless mind began to be reinvigorated, and now I have reached the point that I have never repented of gaining, by such little labours,

[19] studiorum fructus uberiores quam unquam cogitassem: non quod ingenio me valere putem[44] (quod in me quam sit exiguum, plane sentio) sed quod mihi nasci contigerit tempore feliciore, quo inciderim in praeceptorem cordatissimum, multiplici rerum cognitione locupletem, et, quod in maximis duco, mihi benevolum.[45] Ex eo itaque cum excessi, quantum in me fuit, bonorum auctorum tam Graecorum quam Latinorum[46] pomoeria libero et quieto animo pervolutavi, fuit[47] enim mihi otii satis: bibliothecas[48] virorum aliquot eruditorum adii: quantum mihi concessum fuit, et eruditionis alicuius comparaandae instrumenta quamplurima perquisivi, eaque avide arripui, quasi diuturnam sitim explere cupiens, ut ea mihi nota essent, quorum postea usum aliquem, quanquam admodum mediocrem, sum diligentia et studio[49] consectatus. In his itaque cum mihi viderer aliquanto implicatus, deque multis multa consultarem, commode incidit in manus meas Alciati Liber emblematum, quem recens nobis Lugduno advectum, et aliquot annis ante, Parisiis excusum, noveram a philologis omnibus non minimum commendari. Quem cum de manibus fere non deponerem, et multa in eo perobscura deprehenderim, in quibus haerebam diutius, et in multis nitendo sudans, quod tunc inopia pressus[50] libros non haberem, sciscitabar ex Leodegario Agathochronio, Benedictino Divionensi, homine vere pio, et in Hebraea, Graeca, Latinaque lingua non mediocriter versato,[51] unde mihi omnes nodi et scrupi dissolvi possent. Ille quidem de nonnullis me libere admonuit, sed hoc maxime, ut fontem ipsum, si fieri pos-

[19] richer fruits of study than I had ever imagined. Not because I believe I have any intellectual worth (I am fully aware of how slight this is in me) but because I happened to be born in a fortunate age in which I found a very wise teacher, rich in varied knowledge of things, and, what I value most, well disposed towards me. And so when I left that time behind me I read freely and contentedly, as much as I could, through the works of good authors, Greek as well as Latin, for this was leisure enough for me. I visited the libraries of a number of learned men as often as I could. And I sought out every possible tool for acquiring any learning, seizing on them greedily as if to quench a long thirst, so that I came to know those that with care and study I made some regular use of later, however banal. And just when I found myself somewhat entangled in these studies and was asking many questions about many subjects, there fell opportunely into my hands Alciato's Liber Emblematum, recently brought to me from Lyon and also printed a few years before in Paris, which I had heard was highly commended by all lovers of letters. Since I could scarcely put this book down, and noticing in it many decidedly obscure points which detained me for some time and made me sweat with the effort -- because at the time, being constrained by poverty, I had no books -- I enquired of Léger Bontemps,[5] a Benedictine of Dijon, a truly pious man of no ordinary learning in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, where I could find the solution of all my problems and worries. He generously gave me indications about many of them, but said this especially, that, if possible,

[20] set, adirem, ex quo nimirum emblema quodque sumptum esse constaret: et Alciatum Alciato interprete, quoad eius maxime fieri posset, enarrarem: id est, Alciati scripta alia,[52] quo[53] id praestarem commodius, sedulo et accurate voluerem:[54] utque ingenii vires periclitari paterer, meque nihilo segnius exercerem, cum studia mihi alia graviora non suppeterent, ipsa omnia emblemata scholiis et commentariis illustrarem. Cuius viri consilio primum non leviter inflammatus, primas lineas (ut aetas adhuc tenella perferre poterat)[55] ducere incepi: in quo primo impetu satis mihi sum conscius, me non secus atque ursinum foetum inconditum plane et informem peperisse. Quod enim mihi hic auctor impensissime placeret, eum summa perlegi aviditate: cuius opes admirabiles ut accuratius et melius excuterem,[56] alios plerosque qui ad hoc argumentum tam plausibile facere viderentur,[57] devoravi: perque multas philologiae areas locupletissimas summa cum voluptate exspatiatus, ad extremum id mihi lucrifeci, quod numquam fuissem consecutus, nisi conatum et diligentiam aliquam in hac rerum difficultate adiecissem.[58] Qui vero mihi non placuisset emblematis ipsa ratio, quae praeter epigraphen, rei totius animam, duo admirabiliter inter se iuncta copulataque complectitur, picturam nimirum et poesim, artes germanas, et quae se ita explicent, ut altera sit alterius interpres? Nemo nescit picturam esse poema tacens, poesim vero picturam loquentem:[59] illa quidem refert animum, haec corpus, quo fit ut earum rerum tam multiplicium novitas, et ingeniosa priorum hominum adinventio non possit non esse grata, in

[20] I should go to the source itself from which it would appear each emblem was drawn, and as far as possible explain Alciato by using him as his own interpreter; that is, that I should bear constantly and carefully in mind Alciato's other writings where I might find convenient proof; and that, to allow a test of my intellectual abilities and to exercise myself no less actively, since I had no other more serious studies in hand, I should elucidate all these emblems with glosses and commentaries. Inspired at once in no small measure by the advice of this man, I began (as only such a youth could) to write the first lines; and I am well aware that in this first rush I did no more than bring forth a shapeless and utterly unformed bear cub.[6] For because this author pleased me mightily, I read him through with the greatest ardour; in order to examine more accurately and closely his admirable riches I devoured many others who seemed to be relevant to this worthy matter; and having ranged with the greatest delight through numerous fertile areas of philology, I gained for myself in the end what I never would have achieved if I had not made an effort and been conscientious in this difficult work. Indeed how could I not be delighted by this emblematic method, which besides the inscription, the soul[7] of the whole thing, embraces two elements marvellously joined and tied together -- picture and poetry of course, closely related arts, which explain each other in such a way that one is the interpreter of the other. Everyone knows that a picture is a silent poem and a poem is a talking picture, the poem expresses the spirit, the picture the body. Hence the novelty of these complex compositions and this ingenious invention of earlier men cannot be unpleasing,

[21] qua et aures dulci carminum numero delectentur, et oculi picturae lineis oblectationem capiant.[60] Non potuit itaque hic liber vel ob argumenti splendorem, vel[61] auctoris nomen clarissimum apud omnes qui non sunt alieni a Musarum amoeniorum choro, non gratissimus esse: cuius lepores et concinnitatem[62] eo pluris facio, quo video maiorem cum voluptate utilitatem in eo coniunctam, quam aliis pene innumerabilibus[63] qui quotidie manibus teruntur.[64] Quis igitur mihi iure succenseat, aut paulo etiam iniquius frontem corruget, quod aliquas horas in eo explanando[65] collocarim? Non enim meam qualemcunque industriam et studium ab hoc genere scriptionis putavi unquam alienum esse debere, quanquam non parum in eo viderem esse difficultatis,[66] quae nisi ab homine et otio et literis abundante, vix evinci[67] posse videretur. Quod si quis[68] animo reputet id nullo labore a nobis absolutum esse;[69] censeatque id operis quibuslibet aut etiam grammaticulis committi[70] non minus quam mihi potuisse, vehementer errat. Quotus enim quisque est (absit arrogantia dicto) qui vel ethicae disciplinae aut physiologiae ignarus, ne dicam historiae aut linguae Graecae prorsus inscium, qui unum aut alterum emblema pro dignitate enarrarit? At vero,[71] ut isthaec missa faciam, quis[72] noster in eo explicando et illustrando libello conatus fuerit et industria, ut eruditos non latuerit, ita imperitis non potest non esse perobscurum et valde ignotum, qui non plus ea de re quam caeci de coloribus iudicare possint.[73] In quo certe[74] si non ingenii dexteritas aliqua vel rerum peritia melior elucescat, at saltem diligentia quaedam observari non obscure poterit ab iis po-

[21] for in it the ear may be delighted by the sweet rhythm of verse, and the eye receive pleasure from the forms of a picture. And so this book, either by the brilliance of its matter or by the great reputation of its author among all those who are not strangers to the chorus of the sweet Muses, could not be anything but most pleasing; and I rate its charms and artistry all the higher because I see greater usefulness linked to pleasure in it than in almost infinite others which are worn out daily in people's hands. Who then can justly be angry with me, or even frown a little in disapproval, because I have given over a few hours to explaining it? For I did not think that any labour or study of mine could ever be irrelevant to this sort of composition, although I could see considerable difficulty in it which could hardly be overcome except by someone well endowed with leisure and education. For if anyone reckons that I carried this through with no effort, and believes that it could have been committed to any other profession or even to students of grammar[8] just as easily as to me, he is emphatically wrong. For how few are there (far be it from me to say this arrogantly) who are ignorant of either ethics or natural history, not to mention anyone totally unversed in history or the Greek language, and who could explain even one or two emblems as they deserve? But, to finish with this, just as my effort and labour in explaining and elucidating this book will not escape the learned, so it cannot be anything but unintelligible and quite unknown to the unlearned who cannot judge of this any more than the blind of colours. If no dexterity of intellect or better knowledge of things is visible here, at least a certain diligence may be clearly observed by those especially

[22] tissimum, qui fuerint aequi rerum aestimatores.[75] Id vero maxime, nisi fallor, perspicuum erit[76] in observando fonte et origine cuiuscunque emblematis, in comparandis utriusque linguae auctoribus, qui magnum videbantur adferre adiumentum ad singulas notas et explicationes, ut denique in cumulandis iis locis, qui sparsim apud Alciatum in scriptis aliis prolixissimis habeantur.[77] Quae cum dico, scio equidem quid mihi obiici hoc loco possit: Siccine tuam diligentiam ab omnibus ita cupis approbari, ut nihil omnino concedas iis qui in eo libello primum enarrando non modo elaborarunt, sed quodammodo suam nobis industriam probaverunt?[78] Certe[79] ut verum fatear, modestius de me sentio, quam ut velim incidere in minimam arrogantiae suspicionem: sed ut aliorum ingeniorum sum candidus aestimator, ita velim hoc mihi tribui concedique,[80] ut de me non falsa iactanti, sed vera dicenti mihi[81] credatur. Nec enim dissimulare videar,[82] scio ante annos octodecim,[83] Sebastianum Stokamerum Germanum in aliquot Alciati emblemata scripsisse commentariola (sic enim appellat) familiariter admodum et studio facili concinnata: sed an fuerit auctoris mentem, et argumenti splendorem secutus, aliorum esto iudicium. Loquor de Tornesii Lugdunensis typographi editione, non de alia quadam quam ante aliquot annos[84] adornavit Plantinus hac nostra aetate diligentissimus typographus: ea enim aliquot accessionibus longe alia est quam prior: quod non erit obscurum ei qui editionem utramque conferre volet. Sed[85] vel posterior, utut sit, ea est tamen, ut eruditorum oculis non satis digna videatur.[86] Sed esto,

[22] who are fair judges of these matters. This will be quite clear, if I am not mistaken, in the noting of the source and derivation of each emblem, in the assembling of authors of both languages who seemed to bring substantial support to the various notes and explanations, and finally in the accumulation of those passages which were to be found scattered in Alciato's other very extensive works. In saying this I know very well what objection can be made to me: 'Are you not so eager for your diligence to be approved by everyone, that you do not concede anything to those who were not only first to apply themselves to explaining this book, but thereby proved to us in a certain measure their industriousness?' Indeed, I am more modest than to want to fall into the least suspicion of arrogance: but, as I am an honest judge of other talents, so I would wish that this would be accorded and conceded to me that I should be trusted as someone who does not make false boasts about myself, but tells the truth. And let me not dissimulate; I know that eighteen years ago a German, Sebastian Stockhamer, wrote Commentariola, as he called them, put together in a quite familiar and straightforward style, on some of Alciato's emblems; but whether he matched the author's thought and the brilliance of the subject, the judgement must be for others. I am speaking of the edition by the Lyon printer Jean de Tournes[9] not of the other which Plantin,[10] the most diligent printer of our times, prepared a few years ago. The latter, by reason of several additions, is very different from the former; which will not be difficult to see for anyone who is willing to put the two editions side by side. But even this latter, as it is, may not seem worthy enough in the eyes of scholars. But let this be;

[23] scripsit Stokamerus ille in aliquot emblemata, non tamen attigit omnia:[87] siquidem forte divinare non potuit quid in aliis auctor sibi vellet, ita quaedam perobscura sunt, ut vel multa rerum cognitione vel Delio natatore sit opus ei qui ea commode velit explicare. Adhaec, etiamsi Bartholomaeus Anulus, vir eruditus, brevibus verbis, et Laconicis admodum, omnium[88] fere emblematum sententiam complexus sit, eum tamen non puduit aliquot intacta omnino praetermisisse, quam ob causam nescio, nisi quod verissimum esse video quod vulgo dicitur, docti est etiam quaedam ignorare: vel ut cum poeta, non omnia possumus omnes.[89] Nihil enim moror Iesuitanae familiae sodalem aliquem, quem accipio ante annos sex in hac academia publice interpretatum haec eadem emblemata: sed tamen quaedam, non omnia attigit: quamnam ob causam nescio, nec ut sciam sum admodum sollicitus: me tamen non fugit, si persecuturus esset quod inceperat, aliorum quorundam industria ei fuisse utendum,[90] aut certe vigilias maximas eum impensurum in explanandis rebus tam variis, tamque ingeniose ab ingeniosissimo iureconsulto excogitatis aut efformatis. Quod tamen dictum nolim,[91] ut Iesuitae illi quicquam detrahi velim (quandoquidem lubens faveam literatis omnibus, cuiuscunque professionis et instituti habeantur) non hoc dico, inquam, ut mihi canere videar, qui nihil aliud possim de me afferre, quam quod ingenio pene nullo sim: et si quid sit, illud diligentiae cuipiam velim tribui potius quam acumini aut dexteritati. At si[92] ad ampliorem expositionem multa deesse aut excidere obiecerit aliquis, est certe quod respondeam,[93] nihil esse

[23] this Stockhamer wrote about some of the emblems, but did not deal with all of them; perhaps because he could not guess what the author meant in the others, so obscure are some that either wide knowledge or a swimmer from Delos[11] are essential for anyone who would explain them properly. In addition to these, the learned Barthélemy Aneau, even if he did encompass the meaning of almost all the emblems in his brief and somewhat laconic words, was not loath to leave some quite untouched,[12] for what reason I do not know unless I see that it is most true what is commonly said that it is the lot of even a learned man to be ignorant of some things; or, to agree with the poet, 'We cannot all do everything'.[13] I have nothing to say against that member of the Society of Jesus, who, I gather, gave a public interpretation of these same emblems six years ago in this university;[14] but he dealt with some, not all, although I do not know why, nor do I particularly care to know. However, it does not escape me that if he had continued what he began, he would have had to make use of other people's work, or would certainly have spent long vigils in explaining such varied matters so ingeniously conceived and contrived by that most ingenious jurist. But I would not want what I have said here to be understood as meaning that I wish to disparage this Jesuit at all (for I willingly favour all men of letters, whatever their profession and institution). I do not say this, I repeat, so that I may seem to be singing my own praise, for I can allege nothing for myself except that I have hardly any ability at all; and if there is any here, I would rather attribute it to a measure of diligence than to acumen or dexterity. But if anyone were to object that for a full exposition much is lacking or has escaped attention, I could certainly answer

[24] quod omnibus numeris absolutum sit et perfectum, quid enim me ostentem, cum mearum omnium cogitationum testis conscientia mihi nequaquam imponere sustineret?[94] Sum equidem, ut vere dicam, quod potui, consecutus, nullumque unquam laborem in bonis auctoribus evolvendis, qui in hoc mihi possent esse commodiores, effugi, ut ipsam auctoris mentem elicerem: quam si nondum assecutus omni parte videar,[95] tamen quantum a me fieri potuit, conatus sum, ut eo nomine nostram qualemcunque diligentiam doctis aliquando[96] probatum iri confidam. Quam si gratam studiosis, ut utilem spero, et aliqua dignam approbatione intellexero, efficient profecto, ut industria nostra qualiscunque nescio quo veterno quasi sopita excitetur ad id non modo illustrandum, sed etiam[97] amplificandum.[98] Sed quid[99] desperem studium eiusmodi gratum fore, cum res per se iucunda et utilis[100] mirabiles amores in animis eorum qui sunt ingenui et liberales, excitet? Laudatur a nobis orator, poeta, historicus, philosophus, aut aliquis alius scriptor, si γνώμαις insignioribus tanquam stellulis effulgeat et splendescat: quae cum alicubi leguntur, digito aut transverso calamo notantur,[101] ut memoriae commodius infigantur, et citius occurrant, cum iis opus erit. Atqui has sententias non passim, nec semper, nec ubivis reperire est facile, cum nullum sit emblema, quod praeter sententiam non afficiat animum rei novitate, et egregia quadam antiquitatis cognitione. Adhaec γνῶμαι sunt interdum obscuriores, neque omnibus perviae esse possunt: emblema vero aut[102] subiectae picturae causa, aut carminis ἑρμηνείαͺ aut

[24] that nothing is ever finished and complete in every respect; for why should I boast of myself, since my conscience, the witness of all my meditations, maintained that it in no way deceived me? I have, of course, done what I could; I never shirked any effort in perusing the authorities who could be most opportune for me in this, in order to ascertain the author's precise intention. And if I do not seem to have achieved this yet at every point, I have tried as much as I could, so that on that account I may have confidence that whatever diligence I have will be approved one day by the learned. If I learn this is welcome to students, as I hope it is useful, and worthy of some approval, let them respond by all means so that, when my limited industry has been dulled by sluggishness, it may be aroused not only to make this study clearer but to amplify it. But why should I doubt that this sort of study will be agreable, since the matter, pleasant and useful in itself, arouses extraordinary liking in the minds of those who are refined and well-bred? We approve an orator, poet, historian, philosopher, or any other writer if he sparkles and shines with notable maxims like stars, which on being read somewhere are marked with the sign of a finger or horizontal pen so that they are more easily committed to memory, and come to mind more readily when they are needed. And yet these maxims are not easily found at random, or all the time, or everywhere, since there is no emblem which, in addition to the maxim, does not impress the mind with the novelty of the idea and some unusual knowledge of antiquity. Moreover maxims are sometimes rather obscure, and may not be accessible to everyone; but the emblem, either because of the picture which is the subject, or through the explanation given by the poem or through the inscription,

[25] ἐπιγραϕῇ, aliquam facilitatem habet, in qua possit animus conquiescere. Proinde non mirum videri debet, si hoc scribendi genus et Alciato, et viris plerisque gravibus impense[103] placuerit, ut aliquid eiusmodi ludis eruditis consequi possent, quod studia graviora dulci (ut ita dicam) lenimento recrearet.[104] Id enim simile praestitere post Alciatum Gulielmus Perrerius Tholosas,[105] qui Morosophiam centum Latinis et totidem Gallicis tetrastichis conscripsit. Hinc Pegma Costalii habuimus, hinc Bartholomaei Anuli Pictam poesim egregie et solerter elaboratam: mitto enim Bocchii laudatum ingenium, qui in hoc genere summum se artificem praestitit: postremoque omnium optime post Alciatum, si quid mihi credendum sit, Ioannes Sambucus, et Adrianus Iunius sua nobis Emblemata cuderunt, quibus nihil ingeniosius aut accuratius adinventum, nihil diligentius elucubratum aut absolutum videatur.[106] Sed ut superior aetate Alciatus fuit, ita, ni fallor, haberi etiam dignior et auctior honore debet: quem si[107] hoc in genere primas tenere dicam, quas suo iure mihi repetere videatur, non est quod quis suspicetur me nonnihil famae doctissimorum huius seculi virorum Iunii, Sambuci, Achillis Bocchii detraxisse. Quod[108] studii genus, nisi fuisset liberale censendum et docto homine dignum, noluissent ipsi profecto viri tanti suam[109] industriam contullisse, aut bonas interdum horas collocasse in iis quae nihili facienda esse duxissent. Sed de his iam satis. Superest ut breviter totam nostrae commentationis rationem explicem, iisque respondeam quos ad obtrectandum citius quam imitandum paratos

[25] has some facility in which the mind can be at ease. Thus it must be no surprise if this sort of writing was extremely agreable to Alciato and many serious people, since they could achieve with this sort of learned game something which would refresh their more serious studies with, so to say, a gentle relaxation. Following Alciato, others[15] took on something similar: Guillaume la Perrière of Toulouse, who wrote his Morosophie, with a hundred Latin quatrains and as many French. Hence we had Coustau's Pegma, hence Barthélemy Aneau's admirably and skilfully composed Picta poesis. I pass over, of course, the celebrated talent of Bocchi, who showed himself to be a supreme artist in this genre. And finally, most worthily of all after Alciato, if I am to be believed in anything, Johannes Sambucus and Hadrianus Iunius published for us their Emblems which seem to be cleverer, more studied inventions, more carefully thought out and executed than anything else. But, since Alciato was of an earlier period, so, if I am not mistaken, he must be considered more worthy and more honourable; and if I say that he has first place in this genre, which he seems to me to have a claim to in his own right, there is no cause for anyone to suspect that I have detracted in any way from the reputation of the most learned men of this century, Iunius, Sambucus, and Achille Bocchi.[16] If this type of study were not regarded as liberal and worthy of a learned person, indeed, so many of these same men would not have wanted to apply their energy or devote their valuable time to things which they counted as creations of no value. It remains for me to explain the general method of my study, and to respond to those who, it is most certain, are sooner ready to criticise than to imitate.

[26] esse certissimum est.[110] In hac tota iucunda ratione nihil magis observandum esse duxi, quam (quod non parum[111] utile futurum esset et necessarium) scrupos omnes et maeandros difficiliores, ut locos etiam obscuros enarrare, et emblematum pene omnium originem ex suo fonte ductam repetere, postremoque usum cuiusque loci et sententiae facilem pro virili parte adhibere.[112] Quam vero perspicue et commode id a nobis tentatum sit, non dico perfectum, alii viderint: aliquid certe laboris et diligentiae observari non obscure potest, si doctrinae parum et eruditionis esse videatur:[113] in quo tamen ab iis qui serio docti sunt et literis politioribus exculti, facilius aliquam gratiam impetrare mihi videbor, quam imperitis et quibusdam nebulonibus,[114] qui omnia non modo temere vellicant et improbant, sed quod habet comicus,[115] nisi quod ipsi faciunt, nihil rectum putant. Nullum adhuc scriptorem legi, qui cuilibet in omnibus satisfecerit. Nam in multis cura aut labor desideratur, in aliis ingenii dexteritas, aut Graecae linguae peritia, vel Latinae proprietas: in aliis denique multorum auctorum lectio, aut historiarum cognitio: quasi vero virtutes hae omnes singulae in singulis tam facile deprehendi possent. Non enim me latet in Vergilii poemate, Servii Grammatici diligentis et accurati operam saepenumero requiri:[116] quemadmodum nec desunt, qui itidem in Porphyrionis et Acronis commentariis in Horatium desiderent:[117] sed certe hi mihi videntur molestissimi censores, qui cum nihil faciant, nulloque se labore nobis commendent, importune tamen de aliorum scriptis conqueruntur. Non tamen ut mea quali-

[26] In this whole delightful subject, nothing was more important, I thought, than to elucidate all the doubtful points and more difficult twists, as well as the obscure passages (this would be very useful and necessary in itself), then to draw out the derivation of all the emblems from their source, and finally to show an easy application of each passage and maxim to personal life. How clearly and conveniently I have tried to do this (I do not say 'achieved'), others will have seen. Something of the effort and diligence will be visible without difficulty, even if there seems to be too little instruction and erudition. But in this respect I shall be seen to acquire some gratitude for myself more easily by those who have been seriously taught and are endowed with some refinement in letters, than by the inexperienced and certain good-for-nothings who not only denigrate and disapprove of everything at random, but, as the comic poet says, think nothing is right except what they do themselves. I have never yet read a writer who satisfied anyone in everything. For in many of these emblems what is required is care and effort, in others adroitness of talent, or skill in the Greek language, or purity in Latin; in others the perusal of many authors, or knowledge of histories; as if indeed all these virtues could be so easily found each in everyone. For I know very well that in a poem of Virgil's the work of the diligent and careful Servius Grammaticus is often needed; just as there are those who feel a similar need in Porphyrio's and Acro's commentaries on Horace;[17] but certainly these seem to me to be the most annoying sort of critics, who produce nothing and commend themselves by no hard work, but complain importunately about the writings of other people. Not however that I would want to impose a prejudgement on anyone about any study of mine,

[27] cunque commentatione praeiudicatum alicui velim,[1118] quasi mea tam unice probem, ut nolim aliquando vel emendari vel castigari. A qua suspicione quantum abhorream, et scriptis hoc tempore, et semper viva voce profiteri libere non desinam:[119] qui nihil aliud a doctis requiram, quam ut hasce minutias sua reprehensione in quibus erratum fuerit, aliquando dignentur: ut in iis recognoscendis parem diligentiam atque operam lubentius afferam.[120] Non enim nostros errores emendari feremus impatienter, neque nos ullo modo piguerit audire potiora suggerentem et meliora: ut nec molestum fuerit priorem sententiam commutare, si quid minus accurate traditum[121] aut expensum a nobis quispiam conqueratur. Quod dum facio, videri nolim in publica literarum causa praevaricari, et ea docere quae aliquando putem dedocenda. Quod tamen nec sine exemplis nec rationibus me praestare velle certo scient,[122] si modo adsit aliqua in iudicando aequitas, cum nemini dubium esse possit,[123] posteriores cogitationes meliores esse: et Hippocratem artis medicae principem accipiamus,[124] quaedam a se non satis diligenter tradita, primum emendasse, ne caeteri etiam in idem impingerent. Idem factum a M. Tullio legimus, qui,[125] cum rhetorici libri, quos adolescens admodum scripserat, non satis placerent, ut minus emunctos[126] damnare magna parte maluit, quam corrigere, scripsitque accuratius libros alios oratorios, quos tanti fieri a doctis agnoscimus. Sed et Fabius duos libros a se primum De arte dicendi scriptos, quod non satis probarentur, expunxit, et duodecim illos utilissimos nobis magno studiosorum omnium applausu de-

[27] as if I found my own things so singularly good, that I were unwilling at any time to make an emendation or correction. How averse I am to this suspicion I shall not cease to declare frankly both in my writings at this time and always in my speaking. I ask for nothing from the learned but that they should sometime judge those details, in which there may be some error, worthy of their censure, so that I may have the pleasure of giving equal attention and diligence to revising them. For I shall not be impatient if my mistakes are corrected, nor shall I be in any way displeased to hear someone suggest more likely or better readings; nor will it be a trouble to change my earlier idea if anyone complains that I have conveyed or judged anything with insufficient accuracy. In doing this, I would not want to appear to be deviating from the truth and to be teaching things which I may at another time think should be contradicted. But they will certainly know that I do not want to offer this without examples or reasons, if there is any fairness in the judgement, for no-one can doubt that second thoughts are better. We learn that Hippocrates, prince of medicine, corrected some things which he had not propounded carefully enough, lest others should rush into the same mistake. We read that Cicero did the same; being dissatisfied with the books on rhetoric which he had written when still a young man, he preferred on the whole to condemn them as being insufficiently refined, and wrote more fully the other books on oratory which we know are esteemed so much by the learned. But even Quintillian suppressed two books on The Art of Speaking, written at an early stage, because they did not meet with sufficient approval, and published, to the great applause of all students, those twelve most useful volumes

[28] dit,[127] in quibus videtur et priores emendasse, et perfectius aliquid reliquisse. Quod illis itaque[128] tantis viris laudi datum est in suis retractandis, non debet quidem nobis esse damno vel iacturae,[129] ut meminerint quorum maxime interest, doctiores permulta scire, non tamen omnia. Itaque ut severiorem omnem obiurgandi ansam praecludam, subinde Horatianum istuc apud eum qui sit reprehensurus, oppono, ut et seipsum norit, et errata mea me non deprecantem[130] sustineat:

Si quid novisti rectius istis,
Candidus imparti: si non, his utere mecum.[131]

[28] in which he can be seen both to have corrected the earlier ones and to have left something more complete. And so if all these men have been praised for retracting their works, there must be no cause for condemnation or detriment to me, as those most concerned will remember that learned people know a lot, but not everything. Therefore, so that I can preclude any more serious occasion for blame, I offer forthwith this saying of Horace to anyone who is about to criticise, both so that he may recognise himself and so that he may bear with me when I do not excuse my mistakes:

If you know anything better than these,
Be frank and share it; if not, make use of these with me.

1 This letter is virtually unchanged between 1573 and 1577, but has a large number of minor, mostly stylistic, emendations between 1577 and 1581, with a few more by 1583. From 1581 onwards it is dated 'Lutetiae M.D.LXXX'. [back]

2 1573 p. 13: diligentiaque legimus [back]

3 1583 *iv v: Apelli parem in omnibus futurum dicerent [back]

4 1583 *iv v: tollere potuisset. Pliny, Naturalis historia, 35.80. [back]

5 1573 p. 13: instituto pervulgatum [back]

6 1583 *iv v: a me dictum volo [back]

7 1583 *iv v: facile congerere [back]

8 1583 *iv v: ea duntaxat in suos locos contuli, quae ad rem praesentem magis accommodata viderentur [back]

9 1583 *iv v: malui, brevius [back]

10 1573 p. 13: ducebam, laconice omnia perstringere [back]

11 1583 *iv v: ignota suspicabar [back]

12 1583 *iv v: ῥαψῳδεῖν, perque locos communes identidem [back]

13 1573 p. 13: videbitur alienum, si re ab ovo [14] (quod aiunt) repetita. 1583 *iv v: non erit alienum, re ab ovo ducta, quod aiunt Cf. Erasmus, Adagia, II iv 86.[back]

14 1583 *iv v: inopia laborans in ipsis pueritiae meae rudimentis sum perpessus [back]

15 1583 *iv v: Quo tempore cum sperarem [back]

16 1573 p. 14: quibus impeti et quasi obrui [back]

17 1573 p. 14: imaginibus, neque adiumento alio insignis [back]

18 1583 *iv v: destitutus, manendum quasi aliqua in vigilia mihi statuebam, neque animum ita deiiciebam [back]

19 1573 p. 14: Quod ideo certe dixerim, non ut insolentius apud alios [back]

20 1573 p. 14: mei poenituerit hactenus [back]

21 1573 p. 14: in iis adolescentiae primordiis [back]

22 1573 p. 14: mihi delegeram. 1583 *iv v: The sentence "Quod non ideo ... statueram" is omitted. [back]

23 1573 p. 14: the bracket does not appear. 1583 *iv v: ad inferiores relegatum scholas [back]

24 1573 p. 14: inimica quaedam sors [back]

25 1583 [*v] r: Quibus tamen in aerumnis [back]

26 1583 [*v] r: septem anni [back]

27 1573 p. 15: senserim. Tamen [back]

28 1583 [*v] r: includi primum [back]

29 1573 p. 15: ea aetate impuberem [back]

30 1573 p. 15: Mathematicarum artium [back]

31 1583 [*v] r: aliquam certe mediocrem [back]

32 1573 p. 15: Baezae (cuius [back]

33 1583 [*v] r: editae a [back]

34 1573 p. 15: quidem multum diuque [back]

35 1583 [*v] r: The sentence "Duram ... seruitutem" is omitted. [back]

36 1583 [*v] r: quoquam sic [back]

37 1573 p. 16: Quod tamen non dixerim [back]

38 1573 p. 16: ferre deberem [back]

39 1573 p. 16: illas difficultates [back]

40 1573 p. 16: tamen dubius [back]

41 1583 [*v] r: mihi liceat [back]

42 1573 p. 16: Dei tamen [back]

43 1573 p. 16: cuius gratia [back]

44 1573 p. 16: ingenio valeam 1583 [*v] r: ingenio iactem [back]

45 1583 [*v] r: duco, cui meum studium probari haud dubie perciperem [back]

46 1583 [*v] r: Graecorum Latinorumque [back]

47 1583 [*v] r: erat [back]

48 1573 p. 16: pervolutavi, bibliothecas [back]

49 1573 p. 17: studio, ut potui [back]

50 1583 [*v] v: tunc quos vellem imprimis [back]

51 1573 p. 17: et apprime in Hebraicis, Graecis et Latinis literis erudito [back]

52 1573 p. 17: Alciati opera [back]

53 1583 [*v] v: quod [back]

54 1573 p. 18: peruolutarem [back]

55 1583 [*v] v: (quantum per aetatem certe tenellam et consilii inopem licebat) [back]

56 1583 [*v] v: melius aperirem mihi [back]

57 1583 [*v] v: videbantur [back]

58 1583 [*v] v: nisi animum ad hanc rerum explicandam difficultatem applicuissem [back]

59 Simonides, quoted by Plutarch, Moralia, 346F, On the fame of the Athenians, 3. [back]

60 1583: The two sentences from Quî vero ... capiant are omitted, and the words Et quidemadded to the following. [back]

61 1573 p. 19: vel propter argumenti splendorem, vel propter 1583 [*v] v: vel ob argumenti splendorem varietatumque vel [back]

62 1573 p. 19: cuius amplitudinem [back]

63 1573 p. 19: aliis infinitis [back]

64 1583 [*vi] r: manibus teri consueverunt [back]

65 1573 p. 19: in eo enarrando [back]

66 1583 [*vi] r: in eo esse difficultatis agnoscerem [back]

67 1583 [*vi] r: vix solui [back]

68 1573 p. 19: collocarim. At si quis [back]

69 1583 [*vi] r: Quod si quis, ut sunt varia et iniqua fere hominum iudicia, animo reputet commentarium nullo labore a nobis absolutum [back]

70 1573 p. 19: Grammaticulis delegari [back]

71 1583 [*vi] r: At [back]

72 1573 p. 19: At vero quis [back]

73 1583 [*vi] r: de coloribus iudicent. [back]

74 1583 [*vi] r: In quo [back]

75 1583 [*vi] r: elucescat, certe diligentia quaedam observari non obscure ab iis potest qui sunt aequi rerum aestimatores [back]

76 1573 p. 20: aestimatores: quod perspicuum erit [back]

77 1573 p. 20: in suis allis prolixissimis operibus habentur [back]

78 1583 [*vi] r: possit: quasi qui velim diligentiam ab omnibus approbari meam, ut nihil omnino concedam iis qui in eo libello primum enarrando elaborarunt, suamque nobis industriam probaverunt [back]

79 1573 p. 20: probaverunt? me Hercle [back]

80 1573 p. 20: hoc mihi concedi [back]

81 1583 [*vi] r: iactanti mihi [back]

82 1573 p. 20: credatur. ut enim redeam [back]

83 Sic in 1573, 1577, and 1583. [back]

84 1573 p. 21: ante tres aut quatuor annos [back]

85 1583 [*vi] v: volet: at [back]

86 1573 p. 21: conferre non gravabitur [back]

87 1573 p. 21: non tamen omnia [back]

88 1583 [*vi] v: verbis, omnium [back]

89 Virgil, Eclogues, 8.63. By 'the poet' Mignault may mean Homer, who is the ultimate source. See Erasmus, Adagia, II iii 94. [back]

90 1573 p. 22: quod incoeperat, eum aliorum quorundam industria usurum fuisse [back]

91 1573 p. 22: efformatis: quod non dico [back]

92 1573 p. 22: Si vero [back]

93 1583 [*vi] v: At si ad iustam carminum tam lepidorum explicationem multa deesse obiecerit aliquis, dico [back]

94 1583 [*vi] v: absolutum dici et perfectum possit. (The phrase "quid enim" to "sustineret" is omitted.) [back]

95 1573 p. 23: quam assequi si nondum videar [back]

96 1583 [*vi] v: doctis non nimium morosis [back]

97 1573 p. 23: sed et [back]

98 1583 [*vii] r: ut qualiscunque nostra industria excitetur ad eam commentationem non modo illustrandam, sed etiam locupletandam. [back]

99 1583 [*vii] r: Quid enim [back]

100 1573 p. 23: per se grata et utilis 1583 [*vii] r: iucunda et fructuosa [back]

101 1583 [*vii] r: calamo notari solent [back]

102 1583 [*vii] r: emblema aut [back]

103 1583 [*vii] r: gravibus admodum [back]

104 1583 [*vii] r: lenimento reficeret [back]

105 1573, p. 24: Gulielmus Perreius [sic] Tolosanus [back]

106 1583 [*vii] r: absolutum esse constat [back]

107 1583 [*vii] r: ni fallor, se priorem et ingenii solertia, et doctrinae laude praestitit: quem cum [back]

108 1573 p. 24: Iunii et Sambuci detraxisse. Quod 1583 [*vii] r: detraxisse. Id vero [back]

109 1573 p. 25: tanti, tamque celebres suam [back]

110 1573 p. 25: imitandum paratissimos esse me non fugit. 1583 [*vii] v: paratos fore praesentio [back]

111 1573 p. 25: non minimum 1583 [*vii] v: the parenthesis is omitted. [back]

112 1583 [*vii] v: parte adiicere [back]

113 1583 [*vii] v: potest, doctrinae nullam mihi tribui dari 've laudem postulo [back]

114 1573 p. 26: imperitis et iniquis rerum aestimatoribus [back]

115 1583 [*vii] v: vellicant, sed, quod ait comicus. Terence, Adelphoe, l. 99: Qui nisi quod ipse fecit nil rectum putat. [back]

116 1583 [*vii] v: saepenumero desiderari [back]

117 1573 p. 26: qui itidem causentur in Porphyrionis et Acronis commentariis in Horatium: 1583 [*vii] v: in Horatium observent [back]

118 1573 p. 26: Quod non dico ut cuiquam in hac qualicunque commentatione praeiudicatum esse velim [back]

119 1583 [*vii] v: abhorream, qui me proprius agnoverunt, facile liberabunt [back]

120 1573 p. 27: lubentius apponam. 1583 [*vii] v: operam impertiam [back]

121 1583, [*vii] v: accurate tractatum [back]

122 1583 [*vii] v: me praestaturum intelligent [back]

123 1583 [*vii] v: dubium sit [back]

124 1583 [*viii] r: et in monumentis veterum legamus, Hippocratem artis medicae principem [back]

125 1583 [*viii] r: Tullio meminimus, cui [back]

126 1583 [*viii] r: elucubratos [back]

127 1573 p. 27: applausu obtulit [back]

128 1583 [*viii] r: illis igitur [back]

129 1583 [*viii] r: non debet nobis esse damno vel fraudi [back]

130 1573, p. 28: me deprecantem [back]

131 Satires, 1.6.67-8 [back]

1 See Latin note 4. Translation by H. Rackham. Loeb Classical Library (hereafter 'Loeb'), IX, p. 321. Cf. Erasmus, Adagia, I iii 19. Mignault had edited the Adagia for Nicolas Chesneau (Paris, 1570, 1571, 1572).[back]

2 Erasmus, Adagia, I vi 96, quotes various attributions; Alciato, in the emblem 'Dicta septem sapientium' (1546, 32 r--v), attributes it to Pittacus. [back]

3 For Isocrates' notoriously scrupulous attention to matters of style, see Dionysius Halicarnassus, De verborum compositione, 23. [back]

4 One work of Baëza survives, entitled Numerandi doctrina praeclara methodo exposita (Paris, G. Cavellat, 1556). [back]

5 Cited by Du Verdier as author of several works of piety published between 1555 and 1568. Bibliothèque française (1772), vol.4, pp. 581-2, with a note by La Monnoye referring to the passage in Mignault. The BL catalogue describes the name as a pseudonym. This may be because we find 'Agathochronio' (Bontemps) in 1573 and 1577, but 'Agathochthonio' (Bonneterre) in 1581. Despite its perpetuation in all the later editions, the latter seems to be an error. [back]

6 A popular hieroglyph (Horapollo, Hieroglyphica, book 1, 'Imperfectum hominem ...,' no 25 in most editions) first used as an emblem by La Perrière (Théâtre des bons engins, no 98). [back]

7 See the 'Syntagma' English, note 30. [back]

8 That is, to elementary schoolboys, students of the first subject of the trivium. [back]

9 1556. Green, no 59 [back]

10 The first Plantin editions of 1565 and 1566 (Green, nos 72 and 73) reproduced Stockhamer's commentaries with 198 emblems, but only 113 pictures. The 1567 edition (Green, no 78) also had 198 emblems, and 131 pictures, but lacked the commentaries. It seems likely therefore that Mignault is referring here to the earlier ones. The order of the emblems in this edition is still that of the original two books, first brought together in 1547. [back]

11 I.e. some one extremely skilled. See Erasmus, Adagia, I vi 29. The Greek expression is Dëlios kolumbëtës which should translate as 'a diver from Delos'. Cf 'Syntagma', p. 41 and Alciato, De verborum significatione (1530), dedicatory letter, p. 4. [back]

12 In his French version of 1549 Aneau had attached 'briefues expositions Epimythiques' to all the emblems except no 6, 'Faincte Religion'. In 1564, when the Latin epimythia appear for the first time, the eleven emblems added in 1550 remain without commentaries, and one issue by Rouille omits or shortens a large number of epimythia, apparently for reasons of space. There is a similar issue in 1566. [back]

13 See Latin note 89. [back]

14 Since 1573 (p. 22) also has ante annos sex, the time referred to is presumably 1568 or 1569. [back]

15 The plural praestitere is taken to mean that Mignault had in mind all the following names, despite his punctuation. [back]

16 The list of emblem authors whom he names here has two interesting features. The first is that it omits the names of two writers whom one might expect him to have heard of - that is, Simon Goulart and Georgette de Montenay. (Corrozet is also missing, though in his case his title may account for the omission.) We can only speculate about whether this was due to lack of knowledge or to a desire not to mention two protestants. The second feature is that, despite the use he makes in the 'Syntagma' of Giovio, Domenichi, Simeoni, and Paradin, this list is confined to those subsequently recognised as emblematists: La Perrière, Coustau, Aneau, Bocchi, Sambucus, and Junius. In other words, although Simeoni (and de Montenay) may confuse the terms "devises" and "emblèmes" in French, Mignault, like most of the Italian theorists, is apparently quite clear about the distinction. [back]

17 Helenius Acro's work (2nd century AD) is lost, but is partly incorporated in Pomponius Porphyrio's (early 3rd century), still extant. This remark is possibly an indication that Mignault had already begun in 1573 the study for his edition of Horace's Epistolarum libri duo, published by Denis Du Val in 1584. The preface of that edition, addressed to Jean Fyot, is dated Paris 1578. See Acronis et Porphyrionis commentarii in Q. Horatium Flaccum. Ed. F. Hauthal. 2 vols (Berlin, 1864, repr. Amsterdam, 1966) [back]