
La santé publique.
XLVI.
Esculape seant sur l’autel,[1] se fait
voir
En forme de dragon, quoy qu’il soit
Dieu benit:
Les Rommains le vont voir, & obtiennent en fin,
Que Romme il secourra, & fera tout devoir.

Commentaires.
Valere le grand, Pline, S. Augustin, Lactance, &
autres, ont descrit au long ceste fable. Mais nous
nous arresterons au sens moral que Minos en tire.
Sous cest enveloppement de serpent n’est nulle autre
chose signifiee plus vraye & plus expresse, que no-
stre Seigneur Jesus Christ, le vray Esculape de nos
ames, & celuy
qui apporte le vray salut au genre hu-
main, & qui avoit esté figuré par
Moise le legisla-
teur au desert par un serpent
eslevé, lequel guerissoit
toutes les maladies & infirmités des enfans d’Israel:
& lequel en fin en croix a payé & expie toutes les
fautes & pechés des
eslus.
1. Aesculapius, son of Phoebus [Apollo] and god of medicine and healing. His main sanctuary and centre of healing was near Epidaurus in Greece. The god’s epiphany and symbol was a snake, and a number of sacred snakes were kept at the sanctuary. One of these was brought to Rome in 293 BC in hopes of stopping an outbreak of plague. The snake made its home on the Island in the Tiber, where a shrine and medical centre was subsequently built. See Ovid, Metamorphoses, 15.626ff.
Related Emblems
Iconclass Keywords
Relating to the image:
- (high) hill [25H113] Search | Browse Iconclass
- adult man (+ six persons) [31D14(+76)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- beach [25H133] Search | Browse Iconclass
- clouds [26A] Search | Browse Iconclass
- coast [25H13] Search | Browse Iconclass
- dragon (large fabulous serpent, sometimes with wings and legs) [25FF422] Search | Browse Iconclass
- kneeling figure [31A233] Search | Browse Iconclass
- kneeling on both knees [31A2331] Search | Browse Iconclass
- landscape with tower or castle [25I5] Search | Browse Iconclass
- sailing-ship, sailing-boat [46C24] Search | Browse Iconclass
- sea (seascape) [25H23] Search | Browse Iconclass
- snakes (+ animal with tongue stuck out) [25F42(+57321)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- temple servants ~ Roman religion [12F513] Search | Browse Iconclass
- tongue of an animal [25FF(+7336)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- winds [26C] Search | Browse Iconclass
Relating to the text:
- Aesculapius in the shape of a serpent (or dragon) arrives at Rome and hides himself among the reeds of the Tiber island (+ variant) [92F27913(+0)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- altar ~ Greek religion - EE - in the open air [12EE62] Search | Browse Iconclass
- healing of sick person [49G230] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Health, 'Sanitas'; 'Sanit�' (Ripa) [31A4690] Search | Browse Iconclass
- veneration of Aesculapius [92F279] Search | Browse Iconclass
- worship and devotion (in general) ~ Greek religion [1.20E+212] Search | Browse Iconclass
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