Single Emblem View

« Previous EmblemNext Emblem »
Link to an image of this page  Link to an image of this page  [B7r]

IN ILLAUDATA LAU-
DANTES.

Praising the wrong things

Link to an image of this page  Link to an image of this page  [B7v]

Armour hanging on tree and elephant
[Click on image to enlarge]

Ingentes Galatum semerini [=semermi] milite turmas,
Spem praeter trepidus fuderat Antiochus.[1]
Lucarum cum saeva boum vis,[2] ira proboscis,
Tum primum[3] hostiles corripuisset equos.
Ergo trophea locans Elephantis imagine pinxit,
Insuper & sociis occideramus ait.
Bellua servasset ni nos foedissima barrus,
Ut superasse iuvat, sic superasse pudet.

Antiochus, in spite of his fears, had beyond all expectation routed the huge squadrons of Galatians with his light-armed troops, when the savage might of elephants, their raging and their trunks, for the first time ever fell upon the enemy’s cavalry. So when he set up the trophy, he adorned it with the picture of an elephant and furthermore said to his troops: “We would have fallen, if this revolting beast, the elephant, had not preserved us. Pleasing as it is to conquer, it is galling to conquer like this”.

Notes:

1.  For this incident, see Lucian, Zeuxis sive Antiochus 8-11. In 276 BC Antiochus I won against fearful odds by directing his sixteen elephants against the Galatian horsemen and scythed chariots. Not only did the horses turn in panic and cause chaos among their own infantry, but the elephants came on behind, tossing, goring and trampling. Although he had won an overwhelming victory, Antiochus did not consider it a matter for congratulation.

2.  ‘Might of elephants’, lit. ‘might of Lucanian cattle’, supposedly so called by the Romans because they first saw these strange beasts in Lucania in south Italy, when King Pyrrhus of Epirus made use of them in his defeat of the Romans at the battle of Heraclea in 280 BC. See Pliny, Natural History 8.6.16.

3.  ‘For the first time ever’. The Galatians, Celtic tribes who had invaded Asia Minor, had never seen elephants before. Elephants had often been used in battle on other occasions.

« 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  [D4r p55]

Juste vengeance.

XXXVII.

Ulysses spears Cyclops in the eye. There are sheep in the foreground.
[Click on image to enlarge]

Le Cyclope ayant un seul oeil,
Chantoit en gardant ses moutons:
Moutons mangez blette, ou cerfeuil,
Je mangeray les valetons
D’Ulysses, qui oyant ces tons,
Luy creva l’oeil d’une grand’ perche:
Ainsi ce fier Roy des gloutons
Reçoit le mal qu’à autruy cherche[1].[2]

commentaires.

Cyclops, autrement dit Polypheme, fut un geans
Link to an image of this page  Link to an image of this page  [D4v p56] extremement grand, qui habitoit aupres du mont Etna.
Ce cruel & inhumain massacra & devora quelques
uns des compagnons d’Ulysses. Ulysses, comme il estoit
caut & rusé, tant pour venger la mort de ses compa-
gnons, que pour faciliter sa fuite, bailla à boire à ce
mangegents du vin fort généreux, dont le goulu s’eny-
vra & s’endormit fort profondement. Ce que voyant
Ulysses, ayant assemblé ses compagnons, avec une lon-
gue perche ferree au bout d’un fer fort aigu, il luy
creva son oeil, & par ce moyen luy & ses compagnons
se sauverent. Par ceste histoire se void que la force ne
le gaigne pas tousjours: bien souvent la prudence &
la dexterité l’emporte.

Notes:

1.  A proverbial sentiment: cf. Erasmus, Adagia 3091, Di tibi dent tuam mentem.

2.  For the story of Ulysses (the man from Ithaca) in the Cyclops’ cave and his escape by blinding the Cyclops, see Homer, Odyssey 9.177 ff. Ulysses had told the Cyclops his name was No-man. (Utis l. 4).

« 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