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Link to an image of this page  Link to an image of this page  [B2v]

EX ARDUIS PERPETUUM nomen.

Lasting renown won through tribulation

Dragon eating nest of young birds
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Link to an image of this page  Link to an image of this page  [B3r]

Crediderat platani ramis sua pignora passer,
Et bene in [=ni] saevo visa dracone forent.
Glutiit hic pullos omnes miseramque parentem,
Saxeus, & tali dignus obire nece,
Haec nisi mentitur chalchas monumenta laboris,
Sunt longi, cuius fama perennis eat.[1]

A sparrow had entrusted her young to the branches of a plane-tree, and all would have been well, if they had not been observed by a merciless snake. This creature devoured all the chicks and the hapless parent too, a stony-hearted beast, turned to stone as it deserved. Unless Calchas speaks falsely, these are the tokens of long toil, the fame of which will go on through all the years.

Notes:

1.  See Homer, Iliad 2.299ff. for this portent which occurred at Aulis, where the Greek fleet was waiting to sail for Troy. Calchas the seer interpreted the eating of the eight chicks and their mother, followed by the death of the snake, as foretelling the nine-year battle for Troy, followed by success.

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  • Industriousness, Assiduity; 'AssiduitĂƒÂ ', 'Industria', 'Zelo' (Ripa) [54A11] Search | Browse Iconclass
  • Difficulty (+ emblematical representation of concept) [54DD4(+4)] Search | Browse Iconclass
  • Punishment; 'Castigo', 'Pena', 'Punitione' (Ripa) [57BB13] Search | Browse Iconclass
  • Fame; 'Fama', 'Fama buona', 'Fama chiara' (Ripa) (+ emblematical representation of concept) [59B32(+4)] Search | Browse Iconclass
  • sacrifice to Jupiter and Apollo: a snake swallows a nest of eight young birds and their mother; the augur Calchas explains the portent [94D12] Search | Browse Iconclass

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Link to an image of this page  Link to an image of this page  [D3v p54]

Obdurandum adversus urgentia.

Stand firm against pressure.

EMBLEMA XXXVI.

Naked boy hangs from palm fronds
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Nititur in pondus palma, & consurgit in arcum;
Qụ magis & premitur, hoc mage tollit onus:[1]
Fert & odoratas, bellaria dulcia, glandes,[2]
Queis mensas inter primus habetur honos.
I puer, & reptans ramis has collige: mentis
Qui constantis erit, praemia digna feret.

The wood of the palm-tree counteracts a weight and rises up into an arch. The heavier the burden pressing it down, the more it lifts it up. The palm-tree also bears fragrant dates, sweet dainties much valued when served at table. Go, boy, edge your way along the branches and gather them. The man who shows a resolute spirit will receive an appropriate reward.

Notes:

1.  The reaction of palm to a heavy weight is mentioned in various ancient sources, e.g. Pliny, Natural History 16.81.223; Aulus Gellius, Noctes Atticae 3.6. See also Erasmus, Parabolae p.263. It probably refers to a plank of palm-wood, rather than a branch of the living tree.

2.  See Erasmus, Parabolae p.241: ‘the palm-tree, having bark with knife-sharp edges, is difficult to climb, but it bears delicious fruit’.

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