Single Emblem View

« Previous EmblemNext Emblem »
Link to an image of this page  Link to an image of this page  [Ss3v p646]

In vitam humanam.

On human life

EMBLEMA CLII.

Two figures sitting by a tree, one weeping, one laughing.
[Click on image to enlarge]

Link to an image of this page  Link to an image of this page  [Ss4r as S4r p647]

Plus solito humanae nunc defle incommoda vitae
Heraclite: scatet pluribus illa malis.
Tu rursus, si quando aliās, extolle cachinnum
Democrite: illa magis ludicra facta fuit.
Interea haec cernens meditor, qua denique tecum
Fine fleam, aut tecum quomodō splene iocer.[1]

Weep now, Heraclitus, even more than you did, for the ills of human life. It teems with far more woes. And you, Democritus, if ever you laughed before, raise your cackle now. Life has become more of a joke. Meanwhile, seeing all this, I consider just how far I can weep with you, how laugh bitterly with you.

Notes:

1.  This is a translation of Anthologia graeca 9.148. For Heraclitus, cf. [A21a016]. For the contrast between the despairing tears of Heraclitus (who withdrew from human society) and the sardonic laughter of Democritus when faced with the folly of men, see, among many sources, e.g. Juvenal, Satires 10, 28ff.

« Previous EmblemNext Emblem »

Related Emblems

Show related emblems Show related emblems

Hint: You can set whether related emblems are displayed by default on the preferences page

Iconclass Keywords

Relating to the image:

Relating to the text:

Hint: You can turn translations and name underlining on or off using the preferences page.

Single Facsimile View | View Transcribed Page

« Previous FacsimileNext Facsimile »
« Previous FacsimileNext Facsimile »

 

Back to top