
Eloquence s’acquiert avec diffi-
culté.
XXII.
Pour Ulysse sauver de
l’enchanté bruvage
Mercure luy donna l’herbe moly sauvage,[1]
Ayant noire racine, & fleur blanche & pourprine,
Difficile à trouver, & à tirer de terre.
L’eloquence est aussi malaisee à acquerre:
Mais elle attrait chacun par sa douceur divine.
Commentaires.
Ciceron dit que l’eloquence est difficile à acquerir
sur toutes autres possessions: car pour y parvenir, il
faut avoir appris beaucoup de belles choses. L’herbe,
appellee moly, est fort malaisee à trouver, & plus mal-
aisee encor à arracher de terre. Sa fleur est belle &
aggreable. Ainsi il faut tuer & travailler beaucoup
pour acquerir eloquence: mais en fin elle rend des
fruicts fort plaisans & de bon goust.
1. See Homer, Odyssey, 10.270ff. for the story of the encounter of Ulysses (the man from Ithaca) and his crew with the sorceress Circe on the island of Aeaea. The plant moly is described ibid, 302-6. See Emblem 16 ([FALe016]), for the effect of Circe’s poisoned cup. Cf. Erasmus, De Copia (Loeb edition, 1.91 D), where moly is interpreted as wisdom rather than eloquence. Cf. Coustau, ‘In herbam Moly, ex Homero’ ([FCPb073]).
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Iconclass Keywords
Relating to the image:
Relating to the text:
- fabulous plants and herbs (with NAME) (+ flowers, blossom, blossoming) [25GG4(MOLY)(+32)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- 'Rhetorica', 'Eloquentia' (~ trivium); 'Rettorica' (Ripa) [49C113] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Eloquence; 'Eloquenza', 'Fermezza & Gravità ¤ell'Oratione' (Ripa) (+ emblematical representation of concept) [52D3(+4):54DD4(+4)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Industriousness, Assiduity; 'Assiduità', 'Industria', 'Zelo' (Ripa) [54A11] Search | Browse Iconclass
- attributes of Mercury: moly [92B58(MOLY)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Mercury gives Ulysses the magic herb 'moly', a countercharm [94I162] Search | Browse Iconclass
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