
Contre les brocardeurs.
Petite fascheuse Arondelle,[1]
Avez vous assez caqueté?
Gaignez au pied tirez de l’aelle,
Fuyez vous en d’aultre costé.

LE brocadeur qui est trop importun,
Doibt estre mis de toutes gens arriere,
Impossible est qu’il n’en fasche quelqu’un,
Tant en ses dictz qu’en facon & maniere,
Car sans garder bon ordre en sa matiere,
Cause tousjours tant qu’il en est confus,
Et bien souvent on s’en mocque en derriere,
De l’escouter sages font refus.
★ Tant caqueter, tant parler sans propos,
Est maintesfoys espece de folie,
C’est signe aussi d’ung cerveau mal dispos,
Auquel prudence est quasi abolie,
Tel jargonneur engendre fascherie,
Aux auditeurs tout ainsi que L’aronde
Fache aux gens, quand si longuement crie,
Car en son chant n’y a plaisir du monde.
★ Le babillard à grand difficulté,
Pourroit garder la loy Pythagoricque,
Qui du parler ostoit la faculté,
Cinq ans entiers, est le terme olimpique.
Silence est donc plaisante & pacifique,
Seur de Prudence & dame des secretz.
Taire ou bien dire est ung proverbe antique,[2]
Qui est gardé des sages & discretz.
1. Cf. Aesop, Fables, no. 347; Erasmus, Adagia, 2.2.2 (Hirundinum musea). Alciato also used the sparrow as a symbol of those who chattered too much (‘Garrulitas’, [FALc070]; and ‘Doctos doctis obloqui nefas esse’, [FALa099]).
2. Proverb, ‘Mieux vaut se taire que mal parler’ (Cotgrave, s.v. ‘taire’).
Iconclass Keywords
Relating to the image:
- adult man [31D14] Search | Browse Iconclass
- audible means of communication of animal(s): roaring, crying, singing, etc. [34(+949)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- boulder, stone [25H1124] Search | Browse Iconclass
- clouds [26A] Search | Browse Iconclass
- dove-cote [34B2311] Search | Browse Iconclass
- farm or solitary house in landscape [25I3] Search | Browse Iconclass
- groups of plants (herbs) [25G13] Search | Browse Iconclass
- low hill country [25H114] Search | Browse Iconclass
- running [31A27112] Search | Browse Iconclass
- rural housing, e.g. country-house, villa, cottage [41A16] Search | Browse Iconclass
- song-birds (with NAME) [25F32(SWALLOW)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- throwing something [31A2741] Search | Browse Iconclass
- trees (with NAME) [25G3(PALM-TREE)] Search | Browse Iconclass
Relating to the text:
- Agreement, Unity; 'Concordia', 'Concordia insuperabile', 'Concordia militare', 'Concordia di Pace', 'Unione civile' (Ripa) [54E31] Search | Browse Iconclass
- brains [31A22151] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Folly, Foolishness; 'Pazzia', 'Sciocchezza', 'Stoltitia' (Ripa) [52AA51] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Insult; 'Ingiuria', 'Offesa' (Ripa) [57BB22] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Joke; 'Giuoco (dall'antico)' (Ripa) [56B131] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Judgement, Discrimination; 'Giuditio' (Ripa) [52A52] Search | Browse Iconclass
- mocking, insulting; teasing [33B11] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Olympic games, in honour of Zeus [12E92(OLYMPIC GAMES)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Prolixity, Verbosity, Loquacity; 'Loquacità' (Ripa) [52D4] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Pythagoras, the philosopher [98B(PYTHAGORAS)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Stupidity, Poverty of Intellect; 'Stupidità overo Stolidità' (Ripa) [52AA1] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Taciturnity; 'Secretezza', 'Secretezza overo Taciturnità' (Ripa) [52DD3] Search | Browse Iconclass
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