Emblem 13

Emblem 13

A heavy, well-fed donkey standing in a landscapeAI-generated

Ignorance esleuee, & Science abbaissee.

Emblem XIII. Ignorance raised up, and Knowledge brought low.AI-generated

Description of the woodcutAI-generated

A woodcut in a rectangular frame showing a donkey standing in profile, facing left, in an open landscape. The animal is heavy-bodied with large ears and a shaggy mane; it stands among tufts of grass, plants and rocks or stones in the foreground. Behind it a flat plain stretches to the horizon, with a small building or tower at the right edge, and above, a sky with hatched clouds and a few birds in flight.

Subscriptio

Facsimile page of emblem 13 — Facsimile of the page (Herzog August Bibliothek); click to enlarge.

TranscriptionAI-generated

EN Thessalie on void communement,Asnes refaictz & de grand corpulence,Qui toutesfois sont lourdz au mouuement,Et n'ont en eulx que du corps l'excellence:Ores en ha par tout en abondance:Car maintz lourdaultz, asniers à testes grosses,En plusieurs lieux portent mitres & crosses:Et les cheuaulx, helas, portent les bastz:Puis qu'asnerie & dignité font nopces,O' gens lettrez cherchez ailleurs esbatz.

TranslationAI-generated

In Thessaly one commonly sees asses, well-fed and of great bulk, which nevertheless are heavy in their movement, and have nothing excellent in them but the body. Now there are such everywhere in abundance: for many a dolt, ass-driver with a thick head, in many places wears the mitre and carries the crozier; and the horses, alas, carry the pack-saddles. Since asininity and high office are wedded, O you lettered folk, seek your pleasures elsewhere.

Iconclass

86(IGNORANCE ESLEUEE, & SCIENCE ABBAISSEE) proverbs, sayings, etc. (IGNORANCE ESLEUEE, & SCIENCE ABBAISSEE)

25H13 coast

25G4(THISTLE) plants and herbs: thistle

46C13142(+7524) ass, donkey (+ movement of animal(s) in relation to an other animal, human figure, or object)

46C13142(+7531) ass, donkey (+ standing animal)

41A7632 pillow

52AA1 Stupidity, Poverty of Intellect; 'Stupidità overo Stolidità' (Ripa)

52AA55 Bluntness, Obtuseness, Dullness

Suggested Iconclass codesAI-generated

Additional codes proposed for this emblem, not (yet) part of the indexing.

46C13142 ass, donkeyhigh

The correlate text 'ass, donkey' directly names the single animal depicted standing in profile in the woodcut.

25H landscapesmedium

The correlate 'landscapes' matches the open plain with grass, rocks, horizon and clouded sky forming the setting of the image.

Relationships to the Adagia of ErasmusAI-generated

Suggested relationships between this emblem and adages in Erasmus’ Adagia.

II ii 4 Asinus portans mysteria – thematic inventiomedium

Erasmus' adage of the ass carrying the sacred objects is the classic proverbial figure for a dolt who enjoys reverence only because of the office/burden he bears; the emblem's picture of a bare donkey and its complaint that 'asniers à testes grosses... portent mitres & crosses' is precisely this commonplace applied to churchmen.

I vii 10 Simia in purpura – thematic inventiomedium

Erasmus explains the ape in purple as applying 'to those who have some inappropriate dignity thrust upon them' — exactly the emblem's 'Ignorance esleuée', the thick-headed ass wearing mitre and crozier while nothing in him is excellent but the body.

II viii 95 Tragica simia – thematic inventiomedium

The 'tragical ape' is proverbially the man who 'held high office and was rich and powerful, though in other ways undeserving' — the same satire of unworthy dignitaries that the emblem directs at the mitred asses.

I vii 24 Anulus aureus in naribus suis – thematic inventiomedium

Erasmus applies the gold ring in the pig's snout to cases where 'public office [falls] to a man with no experience', the ornament only making the bearer more ridiculous — the moral of the ass in mitre and crozier.

I iii 66 Induitis me leonis exuvium – thematic inventiolow

The essay's Lucianic fable of the Cumaean donkey that dressed itself in a lion's skin is the ass-pretending-to-greatness story behind the emblem's beast decked in episcopal insignia; Erasmus notes it is said of those 'who bear themselves with more pride than their rank warrants'.

I x 63 Septimus bos – thematic inventiolow

The 'seventh ox', a lifeless dough image proverbial for stupidity and classed by Erasmus under honos indigno habitus, parallels the emblem's bulky beast that 'n'a en luy que du corps l'excellence'.

IV i 22 Decernetur equa Thessalica – thematic inventiolow

The emblem's Thessalian setting inverts the proverbial excellence of Thessalian horses: in Thessaly now the asses are prized and 'les cheuaulx, helas, portent les bastz'.

V i 44 Strumam dibapho tegere – thematic inventiolow

Erasmus ends this adage on disguising unworthiness with office by remarking that some strive 'ad mitras' (for mitres); the emblem makes the same jibe that dolts in many places 'portent mitres & crosses'.