
Dolus inevitabilis.
The unavoidable trap
Quamvis centum oculos habeas, totidemque ministros,
Ā specie veri fallimur, arsque capit.
Fraudibus obscuras poteris removere latebras,
Nilque adeo firmum quin violare queas.
Quām vigil est Argus? sepelitur carmine blando,
Callidus ingreditur pectora Mercurius.
Quis sibi ab insidiis caveat si fraude tegantur?
Non ficta quantum praestat amicus ope.
Sed tales (mirum) paucos haec protulit aetas:
Quisque sibi vivit, cuncta regitque dolus.
Dic simul occisum custodem, nam solet osor,
Link to an image of this page [D6r p59]Sint oculi ignavûm quotlibet, esse Deus.
Denique segnitie mota, & torpore reciso,
Aeternis certat gloria sideribus.
Inde suam ornavit caudam Iunonius ales,[1]
Perpetuus tristi splendor ab ense venit.
Although you have a hundred eyes, and as many servants, you are fooled by the appearance of truth, and taken by trickery. With cunning you can remove the dark hiding-places, and there is nothing so certain that you cannot violate it. How great a watcher is Argus! But he lies is buried in seductive song, and clever Mercury steals into his breast. How can anybody protect himself against ambushes if they are cunningly hidden? How much real help does a friend give! But this age of ours does not, alas, give such friends in quantity: it’s every man for himself, and trickery rules all. Say “the guard is cut down”, for the hater is usually God, no matter how many eyes people off their guard have. But in the end, when laziness is gone and turpitude pruned back, glory competes with the eternal stars. Whence Juno’s bird adorned his tail: perpetual splendour comes from the merciless sword.
1. Argus had many eyes, and according to tradition on his death they were added to the peacock’s tail (Ovid, Metamorphoses, 1.722).
Related Emblems
Iconclass Keywords
Relating to the image:
- adult man (+ two persons) [31D14(+72)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- arm or hand held in front of the body (+ holding something) [31A2516(+933)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- arm or hand held in front of the body - AA - both arms or hands (+ other neutral connotations) [31AA2516(+939)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- boulder, stone [25H1124] Search | Browse Iconclass
- bovine cattle [47I211] Search | Browse Iconclass
- caduceus (staff with two snakes, attribute of Mercury) [92B58(CADUCEUS)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- clouds [26A] Search | Browse Iconclass
- coat, cape [41D212] Search | Browse Iconclass
- flute, aulos, tibia [48C7351] Search | Browse Iconclass
- groups of plants (herbs) [25G13] Search | Browse Iconclass
- head held in the hand(s), with elbows leaning on an elevation or on the knees (+ lying) [31A25312(+56)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- head turned to the left [31A2421] Search | Browse Iconclass
- herding, herdsman, herdswoman, shepherd, shepherdess, cowherd, etc. [47I221] Search | Browse Iconclass
- hoofed animals (with NAME) [25F24(DEER)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- lying on the back with uplifted upper part of the body [31A2361] Search | Browse Iconclass
- man (showing himself) undressed, quasi-nude [41D91] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Mercury lulls Argus into sleep by making music [97CC64] Search | Browse Iconclass
- mountains [25H11] Search | Browse Iconclass
- one leg in front of the other (+ sitting) [31A2621(+53)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- one person playing wind instrument - CC - out of doors [48CC7525] Search | Browse Iconclass
- sceptre, staff (symbol of sovereignty) [44B192] Search | Browse Iconclass
- sitting on an elevation (+ sitting on the ground) [31A2352(+55)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- sitting or lying with one leg stretched forward and the other leg drawn up (+ lying) [31A2626(+56)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- sleeping on the ground - BB - out of doors [31BB13] Search | Browse Iconclass
- snakes (+ symmetrically placed ornamental animals, divided by a (human) figure or an object) [25F42(+154)] Search | Browse Iconclass
Relating to the text:
- Argus' eyes changed into peacock's 'eyes' (ocelli): Juno sets Argus' eyes on her peacock, after Argus, while watching Io, has been slain by Mercury (Ovid, Metamorphoses I 723) [97D12] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Bad, Evil, Oddslot, Wrong [52B5112] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Cheat, Deceit; 'Fraude', 'Inganno' (Ripa) [57AA621] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Exterior, Exteriority [51AA51] Search | Browse Iconclass
- eyes [31A2212] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Friendship; 'Amicitia' (Ripa) [56F23] Search | Browse Iconclass
- hacking and thrusting weapons (with NAME) [45C13(SWORD)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Honour, Glory; 'Ampiezza della Gloria', 'Gloria', 'Gloria de prencipi', 'Gloria & Honore', 'Honore', 'Sublimatā della Gloria' (Ripa) [59B31] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Intrinsic Nature, Essence, Idea (according to Plato) [51A5] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Mortality, Extinction of Life [58BB1] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Necessity, Inevitability; 'Necessitā' (Ripa) [51C2] Search | Browse Iconclass
- ornamental birds (with NAME) [25F35(PEACOCK)] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Secrecy, Latency, Concealment; 'Secretezza' (Ripa) [52DD1] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Selfishness; 'Interesse', 'Interesse proprio' (Ripa) [57AA65] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Sluggishness, Inertia; 'Dapocaggine', 'Pigritia' (Ripa) [54AA11] Search | Browse Iconclass
- Truth; 'Veritā' (Ripa) [52A6] Search | Browse Iconclass
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