Link to an image of this page [F5r f45r]Opulenti haereditas.
The rich man’s legacy
Patroclum falsis rapiunt hinc Troes in armis,
Hic socii, atque omnis turba Pelasga vetat.
Obtinet exuvias Hector, Graecique cadaver.[1]
Haec fabella agitur, cum vir opimus obit.
Maxima rixa oritur, tandem sed transigit haeres,
Et corvis aliquid, vulturiisque sinit.[2]
On that side the Trojans are carrying off Patroclus in his deceptive armour, on this, his co-fighters and all the Greek host try to stop them. Hector obtains the spoils, the Greeks the body. This story is played out when a rich man dies. A great quarrelling arises, but eventually the heir brings the argument to an end and leaves something for crows and vultures.
1. For the death of Patroclus, see Homer, Iliad, 16.784ff. He borrowed Achilles’ armour to fight the Trojans when Achilles refused, and was killed by Hector, who took the armour.
2. ‘Vulture’ was a term used to refer to people who hang round rich persons, hoping for a legacy See Erasmus, Adagia, 614 (Si vultur es, cadaver exspecta).
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- the corpse [3.10E+04] Search | Browse Iconclass
- adult man (+ six persons) [31D14(+76)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Europeans (with NAME) [32B311(GREEKS)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- inheritance [42E5310] Search | Browse Iconclass
- hacking and thrusting weapons (with NAME) [45C13(SWORD)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- armour [45C22] Search | Browse Iconclass
- helmet [45C221] Search | Browse Iconclass
- suspension of hostilities in order to bury the dead (+ during the battle) [45I52(+1)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- the Trojan war (94C - 94H) [94C] Search | Browse Iconclass
- the fight over the body of Patroclus [94F821] Search | Browse Iconclass
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- the rich [46A160] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Impartiality (+ emblematical representation of concept) [59C22(+4)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- names of cities and villages (with NAME) [61E(TROY)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Menelaus carries Patroclus' body from the battle-field [94F822] Search | Browse Iconclass
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