Link to an image of this page [F1v f41v]Vis naturae.
The power of nature
Pana colunt gentes, (naturam hoc dicere rerum est)
Semicaprumque hominem, semivirumque Deum.
Vir tenus umblico est, hominum quòd propria virtus
[1]
Corde oriens celsa verticis arce sedet.
Hinc caper est, quia nos natura in saecla propagat
Concubitu, ut volucres, squamea, bruta, feras.
Quod commune aliis animantibus, est caper index
Luxuriae, Veneris, signaque aperta gerit.
Cordi alii sophien, alii tribuere cerebro.
Inferiora modus, nec ratio ulla tenet.
Pagans worship Pan, that is the force of nature, a man half-goat, a god half-man. Pan is a man down to the navel, because the power that is peculiar to men rises from the heart and has its seat in the high citadel of the head. Below this he is goat, because Nature perpetuates us down the ages by sexual intercourse, as she does birds, fish, brute beasts and wild. This is a thing shared with other living creatures. The goat is a sign of licentiousness, and carries Venus’ standards unconcealed. Wisdom some have assigned to the heart, others to the head. The lower parts neither restraint nor reason governs.
1. Variant reading, Est vir pube tenus, quod nobis insita virtus, ‘Pan is a man down to the loins, because the power that is naturally present in us men rises...’.
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Iconclass Keywords
Relating to the image:
- 'Natura' (allegorical figure or scene; or as Diana of Ephesus, with many breasts); 'Natura' (Ripa) [20] Search | Browse Iconclass
- trees (+ stem, trunk) [25G3(+21)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- (high) hill [25H113] Search | Browse Iconclass
- prospect of city, town panorama, silhouette of city [25I12] Search | Browse Iconclass
- landscape with tower or castle [25I5] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Human Being, Man in General [30] Search | Browse Iconclass
- chest, bust (+ nude human being) [31A222(+89)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- sitting on the ground [31A2351] Search | Browse Iconclass
- standing, leaning, sitting or lying with legs apart [31A26114] Search | Browse Iconclass
- monsters ~ domestic animals [31A4521] Search | Browse Iconclass
- beard [31A534] Search | Browse Iconclass
- goat (+ antlers; horn) [47I214(+9332)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- goat (+ limbs of an animal) [47I214(+934)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- panpipes [48C7353] Search | Browse Iconclass
- (story of) Pan [92L5] Search | Browse Iconclass
- attributes of Pan (with NAME) [92L58(SYRINX)] Search | Browse Iconclass
Relating to the text:
- Prudence, 'Prudentia'; 'Prudenza' (Ripa) ~ one of the Four Cardinal Virtues [11M41] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Licentiousness, Lasciviousness; 'Lascivia', 'Licenza' (Ripa) [57AA51] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Instinct, Natural Disposition; 'Instinto naturale' (Ripa) (+ emblematical representation of concept) [58B6(+4)] Search | Browse Iconclass
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