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DULCIA QUANDO-
que amara fieri.

Sweetness turns at times to bitterness

Young child (Cupid?) being stung by bees, running to his mother.
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Link to an image of this page  Link to an image of this page  [E5r]

Matre procul licta paulum secesserat infans,
Lydius[1], hunc dirae sed rapuistis apes.
Venerat hic ad vos placidas ratus esse volucres,
Cum nec ita imitis vipera saeva foret.
Que [=Quae] datis ah dulci stimulos pro munere mellis,
Proh dolor, heu sine te gratia nulla datur.[2]

A Lydian babe had strayed some way off, leaving his mother at a distance, but you made away with him, you dreadful bees. He had come to you, thinking you harmless winged creatures, yet a merciless viper would not be as savage as you. Instead of the sweet gift of honey, ah me, you give stings. Ah pain, without you, alas, no delight is granted.

Notes:

1.  This is based on Anthologia graeca 9.548 , where a baby, called Hermonax, is stung to death. See also Anthologia graeca 9.302 for another epigram treating the same incident.

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AD IDEM

On the same thing

Alveolis dum mella legit, percussit amorem,
Furacem mala apes, & summis spicula liquit,
In digitis, tumido gemit at puer ungue[1]
Et quatit errabundus humum, Venerique dolorem,
Indicat et graviter queritur, quod apicula parvum
Ipsa inferre animal tam noxia vulnera possit.
Cui ridens Venus, hanc imitaris tu quoque dixit
Nate feram, qui das tot noxia vulnera parvus.[2]

While he was taking honey from the hives, a vicious bee stung thieving Amor, and left its sting in the end of his finger. The boy in distress cried out as his finger-end swelled up. He ran about, stamping his foot, showed his hurt to Venus, and complained bitterly that a little bee, that tiny creature, could inflict such grievous wounds. Venus smiled at him and said, “You are like this creature, my son; small as you are you deal many a grievous wound”.

Notes:

1.  anxius is added here from the 1534 Paris/Wechel edition onwards. Omission upsets the scansion.

2.  In later editions, this becomes clearly a separate emblem, but here should perhaps more properly be regarded as a second subscriptio for the previous emblem.

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