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PRUDENS MAGIS QUAM
loquax.
Wise head, close mouth.
Emblema. 19.
Noctua Cecropiis[1] insignia praestat Athenis,
Inter aves sani noctua consilii,
Armiferae merito obsequiis sacrata Minervae,
Garrula quo cornix cesserat ante loco.[2]
The owl provides the symbol for Athens, Cecrops’ city, for among the birds the owl is known for wise counsel. Deservedly was it dedicated to the service of weapon-bearing Minerva, in the place vacated by the chattering crow.
1. Cecrops was a legendary wise early king of Athens, a city renowned as a place of learning. See above, Emblem 5 ([A15a005]), line 7.
2. garrula quo cornix cesserat, ‘vacated by the chattering crow’. The crow was dismissed from Athena’s service for telling tales, and was replaced by the owl. See Ovid, Metamorphoses, 2.562-5. This story is represented in Aneau, ‘Periculum in terra, periculum in mari’ ([FANa029]).
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- sunrise [24A1] Search | Browse Iconclass
- owls (+ heraldic animals) [25F34(+12)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- trees (+ stem, trunk) [25G3(+21)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- rocks [25H112] Search | Browse Iconclass
- rocky coast [25H131] Search | Browse Iconclass
- sea (seascape) [25H23] Search | Browse Iconclass
- landscape with tower or castle [25I5] Search | Browse Iconclass
- clouds [26A] Search | Browse Iconclass
- coat of arms (as symbol of the state, etc.) (+ city; municipal) [44A1(+4)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- sailing-ship, sailing-boat (+ under way, at sea (~ travelling)) [46CC24(+63)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- names of cities and villages (with NAME) [61E(ATHENS)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- attributes of Minerva: owl [92C28(OWL)] Search | Browse Iconclass
Relating to the text:
- Prudence, 'Prudentia'; 'Prudenza' (Ripa) ~ one of the Four Cardinal Virtues [11M41] Search | Browse Iconclass
- song-birds (with NAME) [25F32(CROW)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Precaution (+ emblematical representation of concept) [52A24(+4)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Wisdom; 'Sapienza', 'Sapienza humana', 'Sapienza vera' (Ripa) [52A51] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Prolixity, Verbosity, Loquacity; 'Loquacità § (Ripa) (+ emblematical representation of concept) [52D4(+4)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Counsel; 'Consiglio' (Ripa) [52E3] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Carefulness, Diligence; 'Diligenza' (Ripa) (+ emblematical representation of concept) [54A2(+4)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Cecrops: half man - half serpent, first king of Attica [95A(CECROPS)] Search | Browse Iconclass
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