Single Emblem View

« Previous EmblemNext Emblem »
Link to an image of this page  Link to an image of this page  [B5v p26]

Non vulganda consilia.

Keep counsels secret.

VIII.

Roman army banner with letters SPQR showing a satyr (bearded man with goats legs)
[Click on image to enlarge]

Limine quod caeco, obscura & caligine monstrum[1]
Gnosiacis clausit Daedalus in latebris:
Depictum Romana phalanx in praelia gestat,
Semiviroque nitent signa superba[2] bove.
Nosque monent, debere ducum secreta[3] latere
Consilia, authori cognita techna nocet.

The monster that Daedalus imprisoned in its Cretan lair, with hidden entrance and obscuring darkness, the Roman phalanx carries painted into battle; the proud standards flash with the half-man bull. These remind us that the secret plans of leaders must stay hid. A ruse once known brings harm to its author.

Link to an image of this page  Link to an image of this page  [B6r p27]

Tenir encloz secret.

VIII.

Jadiz Romains firent portraire
Minotaurus en leur enseigne:
Dire en ce voulans, qu’on doibt taire
Secret de quelque part qu’il viegne:
Et affin que surce on compreigne
De telle paincture la raison,
Nul n’est vivant qui entrepreigne,
Tirer tel monstre hors sa maison.

Notes:

1.  ‘The monster that Daedalus imprisoned’, i.e. the Minotaur, the half-man, half-bull monster kept in the famous Labyrinth at Knossos, which Daedalus, the Athenian master-craftsman, constructed for King Minos.

2.  According to Pliny, Natural History 10.5.16, before the second consulship of Marius (104 BC) Roman standards bore variously eagles, wolves, minotaurs, horses and boars. Marius made the eagle universal.

3.  Cf. Festus, De verborum significatu (135 Lindsay): the Minotaur appears among the military standards, because the plans of leaders should be no less concealed than was the Minotaur’s lair, the Labyrinth.

« 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  [B5r p25]

Qu’el Amor es affecto potentissimo.

SONETO.

Cupid driving a chariot drawn by lions.
[Click on image to enlarge]

La fuerça del leon tiene vencida
Amor si no es de amor jamas vencido,
Que à solo amor ser quiso Amor rendido
A quien no ay cosa que no esté rendida.
Link to an image of this page  Link to an image of this page  [B5v p26] La rienda tiene en la siniestra assida,
Y el latigo en la diestra està esculpido,
Con este, el apetito es compelido,
Y la razon de aquella està opprimida.
Quien ternà el coraçon a’l sentimiento
Tan echo que no tema aqueste fuego
En ver dar á un leon tan gran tormento?
Dichoso aquel que á tal mal hallò luego
Remedio para echar d’l pensamiento
La pęna de tan gran desasosiego.[1]

Notes:

1.  The original Latin emblem is a translation of Anthologia graeca 9.221, an epigram about a seal carved with a representation of Eros driving a chariot drawn by lions. The theme is further developed here.

« 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