
Eloquentia fortitudine praestantior.[1]
Eloquence superior to strength
EMBLEMA CLXXXI.
Arcum laeva tenet, rigidam fert dextera clavam,
Contegit & Nemees corpora nuda leo.
Herculis haec igitur facies? Non convenit illud
Qụd vetus, & senio tempora cana gerit.
Quid qụd lingua illi levibus traiecta catenis,
Queis fissa facileis allicit aure viros?
Anne qụd Alciden lingua, non robore Galli
Praestantem populis iura dedisse ferunt?
Cedunt arma togae,[2] & quamvis durissima corda
Eloquio pollens ad sua vota trahit.
His left hand holds a bow, his right hand a stout club, the lion of Nemea clothes his bare body. So this is a figure of Hercules. But he is old and his temples grizzled with age - that does not fit. What of the fact that his tongue has light chains passing through it, which are attached to men’s pierced ears, and by them he draws them unresisting along? The reason is surely that the Gauls say that Alceus’ descendant excelled in eloquence rather than might and gave laws to the nations. - Weapons yield to the arts of peace, and even the hardest of hearts the skilled speaker can lead where he will.
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Relating to the image:
- beasts of prey, predatory animals: lion (+ skin, fleece, hide, fur, leather) [25F23(LION)(+351)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- tongue [31A22141] Search | Browse Iconclass
- arm stretched sidewards (+ holding something) [31A2513(+933)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- arm held downwards (+ holding something) [31A2515(+933)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- walking [31A2711] Search | Browse Iconclass
- mutilated person [31A419:31A22141] Search | Browse Iconclass
- beard [31A534] Search | Browse Iconclass
- adult man (+ three persons) [31D14(+73)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- old man [31D16] Search | Browse Iconclass
- dress, gown (+ men's clothes) [41D211(+81)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- trousers, breeches [41D231] Search | Browse Iconclass
- barefoot [41D2339] Search | Browse Iconclass
- man (showing himself) undressed, quasi-nude [41D91] Search | Browse Iconclass
- weapons for striking a blow: club [45C12(CLUB)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- archer's weapons: bow [45C15(BOW)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- prisoners chained to the victor's chariot (+ variant) [45I612(+0)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- tools, aids, implements ~ crafts and industries (with NAME) [47D8(CHAIN)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Hercules Gallicus: he captivates his audience with a golden chain going from his mouth to their ears [94L73] Search | Browse Iconclass
- attributes of Hercules (with NAME) [94L8(CLUB)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- attributes of Hercules (with NAME) [94L8(LION'S SKIN)] Search | Browse Iconclass
Relating to the text:
- extinct, 'historical' peoples (with NAME) [32B2(GAULS)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- 'litterae', symbolic representations, allegories and emblems ~ literature; 'Lettere' (Ripa) [48C90] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Power of Eloquence; 'Forza sottoposta all'Eloquenza' (Ripa) (+ emblematical representation of concept) [52D31(+4)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Strength, Power; 'Fortezza', 'Fortezza d'Animo e di corpo', 'Fortezza del corpo congiunta con la generosità dell'animo', 'Fortezza & valore del corpo congiunto con la prudenza & virtù del animo', 'Forza' (Ripa) [54A7] Search | Browse Iconclass
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