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Link to an image of this page  Link to an image of this page  [Aa3v f187v]

FATUITAS.

Stupidity.

Emblema. 65.

Man with eared and plumed helmet trying to catch an owl.
[Click on image to enlarge]

Miraris nostro quod carmine diceris Otus,[1]
Sit vetus a proavis cum tibi nomen Otho.[2]
Aurita est, similes & habet ceu noctua plumas,[3]
Saltantemque auceps mancipat aptus avem.[4]
Hinc fatuos captu & faciles, nos dicimus Otos,
Hoc tibi conveniens tu quoque nomen habe.

You are surprised that in my poem you are called Otus, when your ancient family name, handed down for generations, is Otho. The otus is eared and has feathers like the little owl. The skilful birdcatcher gets the bird into his power as it dances. For this reason we call stupid people, easy to catch, oti. You too can have this name, which suits you.

Notes:

1.  Otus, the long-eared owl.

2.  It is unclear exactly what Alciato is referring to here. As is made clearer by Mignault in the commentary in other editions, it is not the Emperor Otho, but the bustard (otis in Latin, otide in French), a large tufted bird that has interesting mating habits, which (following the commentary in the 1615 edition) consists of strutting and preening to such an extent that the bird is easy to catch. It is there likened to a man named Otho known for his haughty manner, who came from an ancient lineage, in which instance Alciato could originally have been referring in a punning manner to Lucius Roscius Otho, a Roman tribune who authored the law that the knights should occupy the premier seats in a theatre and was much abused for it.

3.  See Pliny, Natural History, 11.50.137: only the eagle-owl and the long-eared owl have feathers like ears (the little owl - noctua - does not in fact have ear-tufts).

4.  See Pliny, Natural History, 10.33.68: ‘The otus is an imitator of other birds and a hanger-on, performing a kind of dance; like the little owl, it is easily caught, when its attention is fixed on one person while another person circles round it’. See also Plutarch, Moralia, Bruta animalia ratione uti, 951E.

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Link to an image of this page  Link to an image of this page  [N2v]

In eum qui sibi ipsi[1] damnum
apparat.

One who brings about his own downfall

A wolf cub being suckled by a goat.
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Capra lupum non sponte meo nunc ubere lacto,
Quod malč pastoris provida cura iubet.[2]
Creverit ille simul, mea me post ubera pascet,
Inprobitas nullo flectitur obsequio.[3]

I am a goat giving suck against my will - to a wolf. The improvident kindness of the shepherd makes me do this. Once the wolf has grown, after feeding at my teats, he will then eat me. Wickedness is never deterred by services rendered.

Link to an image of this page  Link to an image of this page  [N3r]

A ceulx qui saprestent dommage.

Voyez moy povre & simple chievre,
Qui laisse ung loup mon pis teter.
Jen suis dolente, & pis que en fievre.
Car mal men sentiray traicter.
Mon maistre deust bien regretter
Cest acte: sil fust lhomme expert:
Veu quon dit yver & este,
Que en tous meschans plaisir se perd.

Notes:

1.  Textual variant - ipsi is omitted in 1550

2.  This is a translation of Anthologia graeca 9.47. For the content cf. Aesop, Fables 313-5.

3.  ‘Wickedness is never deterred by services rendered’. See Erasmus, Adagia 1086, Ale luporum catulos.

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