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In fraudulentos.

Deceivers

IX.

Parva lacerta, atris stellatus corpora guttis
Stellio,[1] qui latebras, & cava busta colit,
Invidiae parvique doli fert symbola pictus,
Heu nimium nuribus cognita zelotypis.
Nam turpi obtegitur faciem lentigine quisquis.
Sit quibus immersus Stellio, vina bibat.[2]
Hinc vindicta frequens decepta pellice vino.
Quam formae amisso flore relinquit amans.

The little lizard, called the ‘starred’ gecko from the dark star-shaped marks sprinkled all over its body, a creature that lurks in holes and hollow tombs, is pictured here and presents symbols of resentment and wicked deception, known only too well to jealous wives. For anyone who drinks wine in which a spotted gecko has been soaked comes out in ugly spots all over the face. This is often a way of taking revenge - the husband’s fancy woman is tricked with wine, and, when the flower of her beauty is gone, her lover abandons her.

Notes:

1.  stellio, ‘the ‘starred’ gecko’. See Ovid, Metamorphoses, 5.461 for the explanation of the name stellio.

2.  Nam turpi...vina bibat, ‘anyone who drinks wine...all over the face’. See Pliny, Natural History, 29.22.73.

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    PRUDENS MAGIS QUAM
    loquax.

    Wise head, close mouth.

    Emblema. 19.

    A shield leaning against a tree, bearing the image of an owl
    [Click on image to enlarge]

    Noctua Cecropiis[1] insignia praestat Athenis,
    Inter aves sani noctua consilii,
    Armiferae merito obsequiis sacrata Minervae,
    Garrula quo cornix cesserat ante loco.[2]

    The owl provides the symbol for Athens, Cecrops’ city, for among the birds the owl is known for wise counsel. Deservedly was it dedicated to the service of weapon-bearing Minerva, in the place vacated by the chattering crow.

    Notes:

    1.  Cecrops was a legendary wise early king of Athens, a city renowned as a place of learning. See above, Emblem 5 ([A15a005]), line 7.

    2.  garrula quo cornix cesserat, ‘vacated by the chattering crow’. The crow was dismissed from Athena’s service for telling tales, and was replaced by the owl. See Ovid, Metamorphoses, 2.562-5. This story is represented in Aneau, ‘Periculum in terra, periculum in mari’ ([FANa029]).

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