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Link to an image of this page  Link to an image of this page  [l1r p161]

Ei qui semel sua prodegerit, aliena
credi non oportere.

Others’ property should not be entrusted to a person who has once squandered his own

XCVIII.

Statue of a woman killing her children
[Click on image to enlarge]

Colchidos in gremio nidum quid congeris? eheu
Nescia cur pullos tam malč credis avis.
Dira parens Medea suos saevissima natos
Perdidit, & speras parcat ut illa tuis?[1]

Why do you build your nest in the bosom of the woman from Colchis? Alas, ignorant bird, why do you entrust your nestlings so mistakenly? That frightful mother, Medea, in her savagery slew her own children. Do you expect her to spare yours?

COMMENTARIA.

Reprehendit aviculam (hirundinem ni fal-
lor) cur misera illa nidificet in sinu Colchi-
Link to an image of this page  Link to an image of this page  [l1v p162]dis, illius crudelissimae foeminae Medeae, quan-
do quidem sanguinaria illa mater propriis non
pepercerit filiis multo minus alienis misera-
bitur pullis. Fuit autem Medea filia Oetae re-
gis Colchorum, quae etiam Colchis vocatur
ą regione patriae (cuius meminimus & suprą
Embl. 44.[2]) Venefica & incantatrix maxima,
quae cłm Iasonem ex Thessalia venientem, per-
ditč amaret, illum adiuvit ut vellus aureum,
quod in templo ą Dracone custo diebatur ac-
quireret, & Draconem occideret, quo facto
uną cum Iasone cląm aufugit, ut prolixč scri-
bit Valerius Flaccus in Argonauticis & attingit
Ovidius lib. 7. Metamorphoseon in principe. Ob hoc pater
eam celerrimč prosequebatur: illa verņ fra-
trem suum parvulum quem secum abduxerat
occidit, & in frusta multa secavit, ac sparsim
in variis locis proiecit, ut scilicet pater perse-
quens in colligendis hinc inde dissipatis mem
bris retardaretur, ipsaque interim commodius
aufugere posset. Cłm verņ iam diu cum Ia-
sone vixisset & multos liberos procreasset,
tandem Iason pertaesus eam repudiavit, &
Creusam Corinthiorum Regis filiam uxo-
rem accepit, quamobrem illa indignata in
vindictam, omnes quos ex Iasone habuit fi-
lios, occidit: Creusam una cum domo Re-
gia exussit & aufugit. Hinc illud Ovidius lib. 1.
de arte amandi:

Link to an image of this page  Link to an image of this page  [l2r p163]

Cui non defleta est Ephyraeae flamma Creusae,
Et nece natorum sanguinolenta parens.

Notes:

1.  This is based on Anthologia graeca 9.346, a much-translated epigram, on the subject of a swallow that built her nest on a representation of Medea. Colchidos, ‘of the woman from Colchis’, refers to Medea, from Colchis on the Black Sea, who slew her children by Jason, leader of the Argonauts, to avenge his unfaithfulness. See further [A56a033].

2.  See [A56a044]

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  • Squandering, Extravagance, Prodigality, Waste; 'Prodigalitļæ½' (Ripa) (+ emblematical representation of concept) [55C11(+4)] Search | Browse Iconclass
  • Misplaced Trust, False Confidence, 'Pax Falsa'; 'Speranza fallace' (Ripa) (+ emblematical representation of concept) [56D29(+4)] Search | Browse Iconclass

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Link to an image of this page  Link to an image of this page  [O2v p212]

Doctos doctis obloqui nefas esse.

It is wicked for scholars to wrangle with other scholars

EMBLEMA CLXXIX.

Bird flying to its nest in a broken building with insect in its mouth.
[Click on image to enlarge]

Quid rapis heu Progne vocalem saeva cicadam,
Pignoribusque tuis fercula dira paras?[1]
Stridula stridentem, vernam verna, hospita laedis
Hospitam, & aligeram penniger ales avem?
Ergo abice hanc praedam: nam musica pectora summum est
Alterum ab alterius dente perire nefas.

Alas, Procne, why, cruel bird, do you sieze on the melodious cicada and prepare a dreadful banquet for your young? A whistler yourself, you harm the shrill singer; a summer visitor, you hurt another fine-weather caller; a guest, you harm a guest; a feathered bird, you hurt another winged creature. So let this prize go. It is the greatest sin for hearts devoted to the Muses to perish by one another’s tooth.

Notes:

1.  The reference is to the legend of Procne’s metamorphosis into a swallow. See [A91a070] and [A91a193]. For swallows catching cicadas, see Aelian, De natura animalium 8.6.

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Relating to the text:

  • discussion, dialogue, dispute ~ scholar, philosopher [49C40] Search | Browse Iconclass
  • scholar or scientist with muse [49L(+101)] Search | Browse Iconclass
  • Similarity, Likeness [51B2] Search | Browse Iconclass
  • Eloquence; 'Eloquenza', 'Fermezza & Gravitą dell'Oratione' (Ripa) [52D3] Search | Browse Iconclass
  • Disagreement, Discord; 'Discordia' (Ripa) (+ emblematical representation of concept) [54EE31(+4):51B3(+4)] Search | Browse Iconclass
  • Malevolence, Maliciousness; 'Malevolenza', 'Malignitą', 'Malvagitą' (Ripa) (+ emblematical representation of concept) [57AA7(+4)] Search | Browse Iconclass
  • (story of the) Muses; 'Muse' (Ripa) [92D4] Search | Browse Iconclass
  • Philomela, Procne and Tereus changed into nightingale, swallow, hoopoe (or hawk): Tereus seeks to kill Philomela and Procne for having slain his son; in their flight the two sisters are changed into a nightingale and a swallow; Tereus is changed into a ho [97DD23] Search | Browse Iconclass

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