
Ex literarum studiis immorta-
litatem acquiri.
Immortality won through literary pursuits
XLI.
Neptuni tubicen, cuius pars ultima cetum,
Aequoreum facies indicat esse Deum:
Serpentis medio Triton comprenditur orbe,
Qui caudam inserto mordicus ore tenet.
Fama viros animo insignes, praeclaraque gesta
Prosequitur, toto mandat & orbe legi.[1]
Triton, Neptune’s trumpeter, whose tail shows him as a sea-monster, his face as a god of the sea, is surrounded by an encircling snake which bites on its own tail, gripped fast in its mouth. Fame follows after men of outstanding intellect and their noble achievements, and bids them be read throughout all the world.
COMMENTARIA.
Triton Deus Marinus & Neptuni tubi- Link to an image of this page [e5r p73]cen fingitur. Virgilius lib. 1. & 5. Aeneidos perso-
nat autem (ut ille inquit) & circumtonat aequor
tuba sonora, ciens omnes & excitans, ut Clau
dianus in libro de nuptiis Honorii, & Mariae
habet autem parte superiori hominis effi-
giem, inferiori verò piscis Delphini formam,
de quo plura Leonicus de varia historia lib. 2. cap.
84. Comprehenditur is in medio circulo ser-
pentis. Triton viros praeclaros doctos, ca-
nentesque Poëtas denotat, Serpens autem apud
antiquos, propriam devorans caudam, de-
pingi solebat, annum significans seu perpe-
tuum tempus, ut apud Ioannem de Sacrobusto[2]
in libello de anni ratione, sic annotatum est,
Serpens annus ego sum sol sic circinat in quo
Qui fluxit pridem status est nunc temporis idem
Orbem etiam totum circuli. figura de-
monstrari (ut omnes alios omittam) pulchrè
Plinius lib. 2. cap. 2. naturalis historiae. Ostenditur
ergo tali pictura, doctissimos litera-
rumve studiosissimos quosque fa-
ma per totum orbem terra-
rum nomineque per-
pertuo celebres
fieri.
1. The trumpet represents fame, the encircling serpent eternity.
2. Joannes de Sacrobosco (John of Holywood), 13th-century English scholar and astonomer, taught in Paris, wrote the authoritative medieval treatise on astronomy (De Sphaera); he was also one of the first to introduce Arabic numerals, and criticised the Julian calendar.
Related Emblems

Hint: You can set whether related emblems are displayed by default on the preferences page
Iconclass Keywords
Relating to the image:
- arm stretched forward - AA - both arms or hands (+ holding something) [31AA2512(+933)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- beard [31A534] Search | Browse Iconclass
- chest, bust (+ nude human being) [31A222(+89)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- clouds [26A] Search | Browse Iconclass
- floating (movement in water) [31A2774] Search | Browse Iconclass
- groups of birds (+ flying animal(s)) [25F31(+5262)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- head slanting to the right [31A246] Search | Browse Iconclass
- merman [31A4561] Search | Browse Iconclass
- molluscs (+ shell, snail-shell etc.) [25F72(+36)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- monsters ~ swimming mammals (+ tail) [31A4527(+23)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- one person playing wind instrument - CC - out of doors [48CC7525] Search | Browse Iconclass
- other wind instruments (with NAME) [48CC7356(SEA SHELL)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- sailing-ship, sailing-boat (+ under way, at sea (~ travelling)) [46C24(+63)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- sea (seascape) [25H23] Search | Browse Iconclass
- serpent Ouroboros [23A21] Search | Browse Iconclass
- snakes (+ animal rotating, twisting) [25F42(+5253)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- snakes (+ animal(s) floating in water) [25F42(+5274)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- snakes (+ animals used symbolically) [25F42(+1):49D36] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Triton blows on a twisted sea shell to raise or calm the waves [92H331] Search | Browse Iconclass
- wave [25H2311] Search | Browse Iconclass
Relating to the text:
- 'litterae', symbolic representations, allegories and emblems ~ literature; 'Lettere' (Ripa) [48C90] Search | Browse Iconclass
- education, science and learning [49] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Fame; 'Fama', 'Fama buona', 'Fama chiara' (Ripa) (+ emblematical representation of concept) [59B32(+4)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Immortality, Imperishableness; 'Immortalit�' (Ripa) [58B3] Search | Browse Iconclass
Hint: You can turn translations and name underlining on or off using the preferences page.