Single Emblem View

« Previous EmblemNext Emblem »
Link to an image of this page  Link to an image of this page  [B3v]

IN PARASITOS.

Professional spongers

River crab/lobster
[Click on image to enlarge]

Link to an image of this page  Link to an image of this page  [B4r]

Quos tibi donamus fluviales accipe cancros,
Munera conveniunt moribus ista tuis.
His oculi vigiles, & forfice plurimus ordo
Chelarum armatus, maximaque alvus adest.
Sic tibi propensus stat pingui abdomine venter,
Pernicesque pedes, spiculaque apta pedi,
Cum vagus in triviis, mensaeque sedilibus erras,
Inque alios mordax scommata salsa iacis.[1]

Receive these river crabs which we present to you. These gifts match your character. They have watchful eyes, and a great row of claws armed with a pincer, and a huge gut is there. You too have a protruding belly with fat paunch, scuttling feet and sharp weapons on them, as you hang about the crossroads or move among the seats at table, and maliciously shoot your stinging, witty jibes.

Notes:

1.  Variant reading, scommata falsa, ‘libellous witticisms’

« Previous EmblemNext Emblem »

Related Emblems

Show related emblems Show related emblems

Hint: You can set whether related emblems are displayed by default on the preferences page

Iconclass Keywords

Relating to the image:

Relating to the text:

Hint: You can turn translations and name underlining on or off using the preferences page.

Single Emblem View

« Previous EmblemNext Emblem »
Link to an image of this page  Link to an image of this page  [E1v p66]

Tumulus meretricis.

The courtesan’s tomb

XXV.

Corpse on tomb and lion holding on to hind quarters of ram
[Click on image to enlarge]

Quis tumulus? cuia urna? Ephyraeae est Laidos:[1] & non
Erubuit tantum perdere Parca[2] decus?
Nulla fuit tum forma, illam iam carpserat aetas,
Iam speculum Veneri cauta dicarat[3] anus.
Quid scalptus sibi vult aries[4], quem parte leaena
Unguibus apprensum posteriore tenet?
Non aliter captos quòd & ipsa teneret amantes,
Vir gregis est aries, clune tenetur amans.

What tomb, whose urn is this? - It belongs to Lais of Ephyre. - Ah, was not the goddess of Fate ashamed to destroy such loveliness? - She had no beauty then. Age had already worn it away. She had become an old woman and had already wisely dedicated her mirror to Venus. - What’s the meaning of the ram carved there, which a lioness holds tight, gripping its hind-quarters with her claws? - It is there because she too would hold her captive lovers in just this way. The male of the flock is the ram. The lover is held by the buttocks.

Link to an image of this page  Link to an image of this page  [E2r p67]

Einer huren begrebnuß.

XXV.

Lais die schoen huer von Corinth
Ligt hie begraben in der gstalt,
Wie si in lieb all welt macht blind,
Also stet hye ein widder gmalt,
Den bey dem arß ein Lewin halt:
Der widder ist der gantzen hert
Ein man, und wie im gschicht gewalt,
Ist manchem schad von huern beschert.

Notes:

1.  ‘Lais of Ephyre’. Ephyre is an old name for Corinth, the home of several famous courtesans called Lais.

2.  One of the Parcae or Fates, here presumably Atropos, the Fate who cut off the thread of the individual’s life.

3.  As a symbol of retirement, the tools of one’s trade were dedicated to the presiding deity. For Lais dedicating her mirror to Venus, see Anthologia graeca 6.1 and 18.

4.  Scalptus...aries, ‘the ram carved there’. Pausanias Periegesis 2.2.4 describes such a tomb of Lais at Corinth.

« Previous EmblemNext Emblem »

Related Emblems

Show related emblems Show related emblems

Hint: You can set whether related emblems are displayed by default on the preferences page

Iconclass Keywords

Relating to the image:

Relating to the text:

Hint: You can turn translations and name underlining on or off using the preferences page.

 

Back to top

Privacy notice
Terms and conditions