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BONIS A DIVITIBUS nihil
timendum.

The good have nothing to fear from the rich

Two figures of angels running from Harpy
[Click on image to enlarge]

Iunctus contiguo Marius, mihi pariete, nec non,
Subbardus[1] nostri nomina nota fori.[2]
Aedificant bene nummati, sattaguntque vel ultro,
Obstruere heu nostris undique luminibus.
Me miserum geminae, quem tamquam phinea restant [=raptant]
Harpyae,[3] ut propriis sedibus eiiciant.
Integritas vestra [=nostra] , atque animus quesitor honesti,[4]
His nisi sunt [=sisnt] Zetes, his nisi sint Calais.

Marius is joined to me by a connecting wall, and so is Subbardus, names well-known in our little community. Having plenty of cash, they are building, and what’s more, busily doing their best, without any provocation on my part, to block my windows, alas, on every side. What a plight I am in - I am like Phineus, attacked by two Harpies, trying to throw me out of my own home, unless my integrity, my mind that is a seeker of the right, act as my Zetes and my Calais against them.

Notes:

1.  Marius, the typical self-made man (referring to humble origins of Gaius Marius, the consul and general). Subbardus, possibly ‘Mr. Thick’.

2.  nostri...fori, ‘in our little community’, probably a reference to the forum in any Roman town as a centre of commercial and legal activities. So these are businessmen or lawyers, possibly the second, as they are acting illegally on several counts.

3.  The Harpies, symbols of injustice, were carrying off or soiling Phineus’ food so that he could not eat. He was delivered by Zetes and Calais, the winged sons of the North Wind and Oreithyia. See e.g. Ovid, Metamorphoses 6.711-7.4.

4.  Integritas...quaesitor. These words (‘integrity’, ‘seeker’) are probably a punning reference to supposed etymologies of Calais and Zetes as if derived from Greek kalos ‘beautiful, good’ and zetein ‘to seek’. For the sentiment of lines 7 - 8, cf. Horace, Odes 1.22.1-2: he whose life is blameless and who knows no sin has no need of Moorish weapons.

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CONSILIO ET VIRTUTE CHI-
meram superari id est fortiores
& deceptores.

Wisdom and courage defeat Chimaera (i.e. the powerful and deceivers).

Bellerophon ut fortis eques superare chimeram, [M]
Et licii potuit sternere monstra soli.[1]
Sic tu pegasei vectus petis aethera pennis,
Consilioque animi[2] monstra superba domas.

Bellerophon, that bold horseman, was able to overcome the Chimaera and lay low the monsters of the Lycian land. You likewise, borne on wings of Pegasus, seek the high heavens and, by the counsel of reason, tame proud monsters.

[Marginalia - link to text]Vide Fulgentium in Mithalogiis lib. 3. in principio.

Notes:

1.  The King of Lycia imposed on Bellerophon, among other tasks, that of killing the Chimaera, a fire-breathing monster with a lion’s head, serpent’s tail and goat’s body. He achieved this last with the aid of the winged horse Pegasus, which Athena, goddess of wisdom, helped him to catch.

2.  ‘by the counsel of reason’. The name Bellerophon was interpreted by some as ‘bringer of counsel’. The Chimaera symbolised various uncontrolled passions.

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    • mis-shapen animals; monsters [25F9] Search | Browse Iconclass
    • chimera (lion/goat/snake); 'Chimera' (Ripa) (+ fighting animals; aggressive relations) [25FF232(+751)] Search | Browse Iconclass
    • fabulous animals ~ hoofed animals (with NAME) [25FF24(WINGED HORSE)] Search | Browse Iconclass
    • Counsel; 'Consiglio' (Ripa) [52E3] Search | Browse Iconclass
    • Strength, Power; 'Fortezza', 'Fortezza d'Animo e di corpo', 'Fortezza del corpo congiunta con la generositą dell'animo', 'Fortezza & valore del corpo congiunto con la prudenza & virtł del animo', 'Forza' (Ripa) (+ emblematical representation of concept) [54A7(+4)] Search | Browse Iconclass
    • Virtuousness; 'Amor di Virtł', 'Attione virtuosa', 'Guida sicura de' veri honori', 'Virtł', 'Virtł insuperabile' (Ripa) (+ emblematical representation of concept) [57A6(+4)] Search | Browse Iconclass
    • Cheat, Deceit; 'Fraude', 'Inganno' (Ripa) (+ emblematical representation of concept) [57AA621(+4)] Search | Browse Iconclass
    • historical person (with NAME) [61B2(FULGENTIUS, FABIUS PLANCIADES)] Search | Browse Iconclass
    • Pegasus, the winged horse [93D1] Search | Browse Iconclass
    • Bellerophon, flying on Pegasus' back, kills the Chimera, a fire-breathing monster, with arrows or a spear [94S32] Search | Browse Iconclass

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