Switch to Dual Emblem Display

« Previous EmblemNext Emblem »
Link to an image of this page  Link to an image of this page  [B4v f12v]

Quà Dii vocant eundum.

Go where Heaven calls.

Emblema viii.

Mercury, holding his staff sits by the road sending a man on a journey
[Click on image to enlarge]

In trivio mons est lapidum: supereminet illi
Trunca Dei effigies, pectore facta tenus.
Mercurii est igitur tumulus.[1] Suspende viator
Serta Deo, rectum qui tibi monstret iter.[2]
Omnes in trivio sumus, atque hoc tramite vitae
Fallimur, ostendat ni Deus ipse viam.

At a parting of the ways, there is a hillock of stones. Rising above it is a half-statue of a god, fashioned as far down as the chest. So the hill is Mercury’s. Traveller, hang wreaths in honour of the god who will point out the road to you. We are all at the crossroads, and on this track of life we go wrong, unless God himself shows us the way.

Sequendum id vitae genus est, ad quod nos Deus &
natura vocat. Quod olim apud paganos signifi-
cavit Mercurius viae ductor, qui in triviis positus
viam cuique monstrabat. Docemur etiam hoc Emble-
mate, quodcunque vite genus eligamus, nihil nos
posse proficere, nisi doctorem aliquem probum do-
ctúmque nobis proponamus, qui sit instar cuiusdam
Ἐρμοῦ ἐνοδίου καὶ ἡγημονίου.

Link to an image of this page  Link to an image of this page  [C1r f13r]

Fault marcher par où Dieu nous appelle.

En un chemin couppé, mont-joye de pierre dure,
Où l’effigie sied representant Mercure,
Se monstre à tous passans. Sus donques viateur,
Pry’ de Dieu, qui t’enseigne un chemin qui soit seur
Car nous nous forvoyons perdans la cognoissance,
Si de Dieu nous n’avons la guide & assistance.

Il nous fault suivre la maniere de vivre,
à laquelle Dieu & nature nous appelle.
Ce que les Payens signifierent par leur Mer-
cure, duquel l’effigie sise aux grands che-
mins addressoit les passans. Par cest Emble-
me aussi nous sommes advertis, que quelque
genre & condition de vie que nous choisis-
sions, jamais nous ne pourrons en rien nous
advancer, si nous n’avons un maistre & do-
cteur, qui nous serve comme d’un Mercure
montre-chemin & conducteur.

Notes:

1.  Mercury was, among his many other functions, the god of travellers.

2.  Variant reading: Monstrat, ‘points out the road’.

« Previous EmblemNext Emblem »

Related Emblems

Iconclass Keywords

Relating to the image:

Relating to the text:

Hint: You can turn translations and name underlining on or off using the preferences page.

 

Back to top