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Cavendum à meretricibus.
Beware of whores
XVI.
Sole satae Circes tam magna potentia fertur,
Verterit ut multos in nova monstra viros.
Testis equus domitor Picus,[1] tum Scylla biformis,[2]
Atque Ithaci postquam vina bibere sues.[3]
Indicat illustri meretricem nomine Circe,
[4]
Et rationem animi perdere, quisquis amat.
So great, we are told, was the power of Circe, daughter of the Sun, that she turned many persons into new monstrous shapes. A witness to this is Picus, tamer of horses, and Scylla with her double form, and the Ithacans who became pigs after drinking the wine. Circe with her famous name indicates a whore and shows that any man who loves such a one loses his reason.
1. Picus, an Italian king, a breeder of horses, turned into a woodpecker by Circe. See Ovid, Metamorphoses, 14.320ff.
2. Scylla was transformed into a figure that was half girl, half barking dogs. See Ovid, Metamorphoses, 14.51ff. Cf. Emblem 68 ([A50a068]).
3. Ithacans: See Homer, Odyssey, 10.229ff. for the story of Ulysses’ sailors (from the island of Ithaca), who were turned into pigs by Circe with a magic potion of wine.
4. Indicat...meretricem: ‘indicates a whore’. See Anthologia Graeca, 10.50 for this rationalisation of the Circe story.
Related Emblems
Hide related emblems- Declaracion magistral sobre las Emblemas de Andres Alciato (1615), Najera: CAVENDUM A MERETRICIbus. | Open in other pane
- Emblemata (1621), Padua: Cavendum à meretricibus. | Open in other pane
- Emblematum libellus (1546), Venice: Cavendum à meretricibus. | Open in other pane
- Los Emblemas (1549), Lyon: Que nos emos de guardar de las malas mugeres. | Open in other pane
- Emblemata (1550), Lyon: Cavendum à meretricibus. | Open in other pane
- Emblemata (1551), Lyon: Cavendum à meretricibus. | Open in other pane
- Toutes les emblemes (1558), Lyon: Garder se faut des paillardes. | Open in other pane
- Liber emblematum ... Kunstbuch (1567), Franckfurt am Main: Cavendum à meretricibus. Vor den Huren sol man sich hüten. | Open in other pane
- Emblemata (1591), Leiden: Cavendum à meretricibus. | Open in other pane
- Diverse imprese (1551), Lyon: Che lhuom si dee guardar dalle meretrice. | Open in other pane
- Emblemes (1549), Lyons: Garder se fault des Paillardes. | Open in other pane
- Emblemata / Les emblemes (1584), Paris: Cavendum à meretricibus. Qu'il se faut donner garde des putains. | Open in other pane
- Les emblemes (1615), Geneva/Cologny: Il faut fuïr les courtisanes. | Open in other pane
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Iconclass Keywords
Relating to the image:
Relating to the text:
- enchantment ~ potion or herbs [13D4] Search | Browse Iconclass
- mis-shapen animals; monsters [25F9] Search | Browse Iconclass
- monsters of mixed human and animal shape; 'Mostri' (Ripa) [31A45] Search | Browse Iconclass
- whore, prostitute [33C520] Search | Browse Iconclass
- courtesan, hetaera [33C521] Search | Browse Iconclass
- pig [47I212] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Reason versus Amorous Lust; 'Combattimento della ragione con l'appetito' (Ripa) (+ emblematical representation of concept) [52B513(+4)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Danger; 'Pericolo' (Ripa) (+ emblematical representation of concept) [54DD51(+4)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Ulysses' companions are changed into all kinds of animals (+ variant) [97C81(+0)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Picus changed into a woodpecker: Circe changes Picus into a woodpecker because, faithful to his wife Canens, he spurns the love of the goddess (Ovid, Metamorphoses XIV 386) (+ variant) [97D28(+0)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Scylla changed into a sea-monster: Circe, to whom Glaucus has applied for aid in his love suit, changes Scylla the sea-nymph into a sea-monster (Ovid, Metamorphoses XIV 59) (+ variant) [97EE3(+0)] Search | Browse Iconclass
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