
Mendici pera.
The begging-bowl.
In avaros.
Against the greedy.
Mendici peram vix unquam impleveris Iri,[1]
Multa licet dones uberiora petet.
Sit vel Tartarei praesens opulentia ditis,[2]
Vel loculus Croesi, semper avarus eget.
You’ll scarcely ever have put money in Irus the beggar’s bowl, But he asks for more - though you’ve given generously. Whether it’s the wealth of the rich man in Hell that’s on offer, or the purse of Croesus, the greedy man always wants something [more].

NARRATIO PHILOSOPHICA.
ETsi forsitan ab ea quae hominem homini
coniunxit natura, non mediocriter abesse iu-
dicari possit, qui alterum in rebus afflictis non iu-
verit: est tamen meo quidem iudicio de Evange-
lica illa pietate & officis philosophicis nonnihil
remittendum, cùm is benevolentia & iudicio tuen-
dus est, cui benignitas nostra parum profutura
esse videatur. Quo in genere accommodatè quis-
piam dixerit, religionem esse, si quis avarum ho-
minem, & eum in quo tantopere cupiditatis de-
sedit sit is, amicè & familiariter ad liberaliorem vi-
tam tentet deducere. Nam praeter id, quod amica
illa & homine digna oratio nihil momenti apud
illum habitura sit, non videtur aliorum obsequiis
ese adiuvandus, qui ipse sibi in tanta calamitate
non tantum desit, sed tam diuturni mali sibi non
invitus author esse velit. Itaque qui se totos ad lu-
crum & pecuniam faciendam accommodaverunt,
in eo plerunque sunt, ut neque cibum capiant, ne-
que ea sibi parent, quae ad usum victumque sunt
necessaria: in maxima rerum omnium copia, vo-
luntate egent: in summis divitiis pauperes sunt:
in tranquillitate cui esset inserviendum, habendi
desyderio cruciantur. Ambulant sordidati & squal-
lidi, domi fame & apud alios cruditate delectan-
tur: ita vivunt denique, ut sibi eos bellum prope
internecinum indixisse facilè existimes. Haec ut in
malis ponenda sunt, ita continuò Christianum homi-
nem, eumque qui in aliorum miseriis commoveri solet, mi-
sericordia impellant. Sed qui hominis avarissimi
Link to an image of this page [K5r p153]
sordes, infamiam & vitae indignitatem secum ipse
reputat, malit opinor illum in tanta calamitate
aequum placatumque dimittere, ut is tandem sce-
leri & cupiditati suae expensum ferat, quàm tan-
tam infelicitatem homini spurcissimo invidere.
Neque enim quicquam est, vel reipublicae mode-
rationi aptius, vel discipliae temporum conve-
nientius, quàm eos sibi diu noctuque poenam in-
fligere, quorum domestica vitae ratio ad publi-
cam vindictam legibus esset expetenda. Nam qui
iudicum sententiis poena coercentur, hoc ipso rei
publicae oneri sunt, quòd ipsis supplicium expen-
sa aerarii irrogari solet. Qui autem seipsos tor-
quent, seque inedia, labore, vigiliis & reliquis ani
mi aegrotationibus conficiunt, dum sibi utiles es-
se volunt, ipsi quoque fisco prosunt. Unde
sit ut neque haec eis calamitas, neque ta
lis sumptus levatio civitati
& publicis commo
dis inviden-
da sit.
1. Irus was a beggar in Ulysses’ house in Ithaca, hence, proverbially, a beggar (cf. Emblem 5, l.5, [FCPb005]). Pera, a rare word, literally means wallet or bag.
2. Presumably a reference to Luke 16, perhaps with a play on words between dis (contracted from dives), a rich man, and Dis (Hell).
Related Emblems
Iconclass Keywords
Relating to the image:
- adult man (+ two persons) [31D14(+72)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- beard [31A534] Search | Browse Iconclass
- beggar [46A151] Search | Browse Iconclass
- clothed in rags [41D29] Search | Browse Iconclass
- coat, cape [41D212] Search | Browse Iconclass
- container of textile material: bag, sack [41A777] Search | Browse Iconclass
- gear for legs and feet [41D233] Search | Browse Iconclass
- hand in the pocket [31A25191] Search | Browse Iconclass
- hand(s) bent towards the head [31A2531] Search | Browse Iconclass
- head-gear and clothing for the upper part of the body [41D22] Search | Browse Iconclass
- rocks [25H112] Search | Browse Iconclass
Relating to the text:
- Covetousness; 'Avaritia' (Ripa) ~ personification of one of the Seven Deadly Sins [11N34] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Giving [55C2] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Greed, Covetousness, Cupidity; 'Cupidità' (Ripa) [55CC11] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Hades, the Underworld [93E] Search | Browse Iconclass
- non-aggressive activities of Croesus [98B(CROESUS)5] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Ulysses' fight with Irus, the beggar (Homer, Odyssey XVIII) [94I532] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Wealth, Opulence; 'Opulenza', 'Richezza' (Ripa) [55B1] Search | Browse Iconclass
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