
La lettre occit: L’esprit vivifie.[1]
Quand Cadmus heut dens de serpens semées
En terre Graecque: incontinent armées
D’hommes divers sortirent de la terre:
S’entretuans par mutuelle guerre.[2]
Ceulx qui saulvéz par Pallas demourerent,
Armes jectans, la paix en main jurerent.
Cadmus premier les lettres apporta,[3]
Et bonnes ars par icelles nota. Link to an image of this page [P3r p229]Les professeurs desquelles s’entremordent,
Et point (sinon par Pallas) ne s’accordent.
Cadmus Phoenicien filz du Roy Agenor
fut le premier qui apporta les lettres d’A-
sie en Europe, & les espandit par toute la
Graece, D’ond est sortie la fable, qu’il sema
les dens d’ung serpent, desquelles sortirent
hommes arméz, se combatans, & entretuans
les ungz, les aultres, jusque à cinq restantz,
pacifiéz par Pallas, & depuys multipliéz en
grand peuple. Le serpent est Prudence, les
dens semées sont les lettres agues, & subti-
les dispersées par la Graece, Les hommes
arméz, sortans de telle semence sont les gens
literéz, & savans es ars, & sciences, Lesquelz
par envie mutuelle se defont l’ung l’aul-
tre, sinon qu’ilz soient reduictz en paix par
Pallas, qui est Sapience, & multiplient crois
sans tous les jours en nombre infiny: Tant
qu’a la fin y en aura trop.
1. 2 Corinthians 3:6.
2. For the story of Cadmus, founder of Thebes (in Aonia, or less correctly in the French, in Thessaly), and the dragon’s teeth, see Ovid, Metamorphoses, 3.99ff. Athena, goddess of wisdom - here called Tritonia, from the place of her birth in North Africa - brought the internecine struggle between the earth-born warriors to an end.
3. Cadmus supposedly introduced writing to Greece. The scattering of the dragon’s teeth was interpreted as the invention of the alphabet.
Related Emblems
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Relating to the image:
- adult man [31D14] Search | Browse Iconclass
- agricultural implements: plough [47I15(PLOUGH)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- arm stretched forward - AA - both arms or hands (+ holding something) [31AA2512(+933)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- beard [31A534] Search | Browse Iconclass
- boulder, stone [25H1124] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Cadmus slays the dragon [95A(CADMUS)34] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Cadmus' companions, sent to fetch water, are slain by the dragon which guarded the spring [95A(CADMUS)33] Search | Browse Iconclass
- casting weapons: spear [45C11(SPEAR)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- clothes covering the entire body (+ men's clothes) [41D213(+81)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- clouds [26A] Search | Browse Iconclass
- container of ceramics: jar, jug, pot, vase [41A773] Search | Browse Iconclass
- dragon (large fabulous serpent, sometimes with wings and legs) (+ anatomy of animals) [25FF422(+73):31A2363] Search | Browse Iconclass
- dragon (large fabulous serpent, sometimes with wings and legs) (+ dying animal; death of animal; dead animal) [25FF422(+763)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- gear for legs and feet (+ men's clothes) [41D233(+81)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- groups of trees [25G11] Search | Browse Iconclass
- hacking and thrusting weapons: sword [45C13(SWORD)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- looking over the shoulder [31A247] Search | Browse Iconclass
- low hill country [25H114] Search | Browse Iconclass
- lying on the back with uplifted upper part of the body [31A2361] Search | Browse Iconclass
- man killing animal [34F12] Search | Browse Iconclass
- on Minerva's advice, Cadmus sows the dragon's teeth; a host of armed men springs up [95A(CADMUS)35] Search | Browse Iconclass
- one leg in front of the other (+ standing) [31A2621(+51)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- ox [47I21111] Search | Browse Iconclass
- ploughing [47I123] Search | Browse Iconclass
- protective weapons: shield [45C19(SHIELD)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- standing, leaning, sitting or lying with legs crossed (+ lying) [31A2627(+56)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- the corpse [3.10E+04] Search | Browse Iconclass
- trees (+ stem, trunk) [25G3(+21)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- walking [31A2711] Search | Browse Iconclass
Relating to the text:
- 'litterae', symbolic representations, allegories and emblems ~ literature; 'Lettere' (Ripa) [48C90] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Accord, Accordance (+ emblematical representation of concept) [54E3(+4)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- discussion, dialogue, dispute ~ scholar, philosopher [49C40] Search | Browse Iconclass
- geographical names of countries, regions, mountains, rivers, etc. (names of cities and villages excepted) (with NAME) [61D(GREECE)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- invention of letters [49L10] Search | Browse Iconclass
- professor [49B43] Search | Browse Iconclass
- proverbs, sayings, etc. (with TEXT) [86(LA LETTRE OCCIT: L'ESPRIT VIVIFIE)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- symbolic representations, allegories and emblems ~ science, 'Scientia'; 'Scienza', 'Studio' (Ripa) [49C0] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Wisdom; 'Sapienza', 'Sapienza humana', 'Sapienza vera' (Ripa) (+ emblematical representation of concept) [52A51(+4)] Search | Browse Iconclass
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