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Link to an image of this page  Link to an image of this page  [O6r p219]

Firmissima convelli non posse.

The firmest things cannot be uprooted.

EMBLEMA XLII.

A tree being blown by winds (heads in clouds) and losing its leaves
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Link to an image of this page  Link to an image of this page  [O6v p220]

Oceanus quamvis fluctus pater excitet omnes,[1]
Danubiumque omnem, barbare Turca, bibas:[2]
Non tamen irrumpes perfracto limite, Caesar
Dum Carolus populis bellica signa dabit.[3]
Sic sacrae quercus[4] firmis radicibus adstant,
Sicca licet venti concutiant folia.

Though Father Ocean rouses all his waves, though, barbarous Turk, you drink the Danube dry, yet you shall not break through the boundary and burst in, while Emperor Charles shall give to his peoples the signal for war. Even so, holy oaks stand firm with tenacious roots, though the winds rattle the dry leaves.

Notes:

1.  This poem is based on Anthologia graeca 9.291, which refers to a threat to ancient Rome from invading German tribes.

2.  The Turks invaded along the Danube and reached Hungary, winning the battle of Mohacs in 1526. When Alciato was writing, they continued to threaten Vienna and Central Europe.

3.   Caesar...Charlus, i.e. Emperor Charles V, led the charge to recover the lost territory.

4.  ‘holy oaks’. Oaks were holy because sacred to Zeus, especially at his sanctuary at Dodona in Greece. See [A21a200]. The image of the dry leaves is already present in the Greek poem, but see also Vergil, Aeneid 4.441-4.

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  • Asiatic races and peoples: Turks [32B33(TURKS)] Search | Browse Iconclass
  • Constancy, Tenacity; 'Costanza', 'Tenacità' (Ripa) (+ emblematical representation of concept) [53A21(+4)] Search | Browse Iconclass
  • Stability, Firmness; 'Fermezza', 'Stabilimento', 'Stabilità' (Ripa) (+ emblematical representation of concept) [53A22(+4)] Search | Browse Iconclass
  • Invincibility (+ emblematical representation of concept) [54A71(+4)] Search | Browse Iconclass
  • historical person (with NAME) other representations to which the NAME of a historical person may be attached (with NAME of person) [61B2(CHARLES V [of Holy Roman Empire])3] Search | Browse Iconclass
  • geographical names of countries, regions, mountains, rivers, etc. (names of cities and villages excepted) (with NAME) [61D(DANUBE)] Search | Browse Iconclass
  • (story of) Oceanus [91B112] Search | Browse Iconclass

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Link to an image of this page  Link to an image of this page  [D1v]

IN DEPRENSUM.

Caught!

Link to an image of this page  Link to an image of this page  [D2r]

Figure holding an eel with leaves
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Iam dudum quacunque fugis te persequor at nunc
Cassibus in nostris denique captus ades.
Amplius haud poteris vires eludere nostras,
Ficulno anguillam strinximus in folio.[1]

For a long time now I have been pursuing you wherever you flee; but now you are here, at long last caught in our net. You will no longer be able to elude our power - we have gripped the eel tight in a fig-leaf.

Notes:

1.  The rough surface of the fig-leaf made it suitable for gripping slippery objects. See Erasmus, Adagia 395, Folio ficulno tenes anguillam.

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