Guillaume de La Perrièrre, Le Theatre Des Bons Engins (Lyon, 1545)
Emblem 22
A king holding a lion and a fox on a leash
A qui le Prince doibt ressembler.
Emblem 22. Whom the Prince ought to resemble.AI-generated
Description of the woodcutAI-generated
A woodcut landscape scene. In the centre stands a crowned, bearded king in a long robe and mantle, holding a sceptre in his raised right hand and a staff or cord in his left. On the viewer's left, beside him, stand two or three foxes; on the viewer's right crouch two lions. In the background at the left are ruined buildings and columns on a hill, at the right a large tree with leafy branches, and distant mountains along the horizon.
Subscriptio
TranscriptionAI-generated
LE Lyon est de cueur & de stature,Fort & puissant, noble, vaillant & preux.Le regnard est de sa propre natureEn tous endroictz, subtil & cauteleux.Le Prince doibt ressembler à tous deux,Si triumpher veult par mer & par terre,En ce faisant il peult grand bruit acquerre,Et meriter vn honneur non pareil:Monstrer se doibt (come vray chef de guerre)Lyon en force, & regnard en conseil.
TranslationAI-generated
The Lion is, in heart and in stature, strong and powerful, noble, valiant and brave. The fox is by his own nature, in all places, subtle and crafty. The Prince ought to resemble them both, if he wishes to triumph by sea and by land. In doing so he can win great renown, and deserve an honour without equal: he ought to show himself (as a true chief of war) a lion in strength, and a fox in counsel.
Iconclass
86(A QUI LE PRINCE DOIBT RESSEMBLER)proverbs, sayings, etc. (A QUI LE PRINCE DOIBT RESSEMBLER)44B113king25F23(FOX)(+82)beasts of prey, predatory animals: fox (+ domestic animals)25F23(LION)(+82)beasts of prey, predatory animals: lion (+ domestic animals)44B192sceptre, staff (symbol of sovereignty)44B10virtues of the ruler11M43Fortitude, 'Fortitudo' ~ one of the Four Cardinal Virtues11M41Prudence, 'Prudentia'; 'Prudenza' (Ripa) ~ one of the Four Cardinal Virtues
Suggested Iconclass codesAI-generated
Additional codes proposed for this emblem, not (yet) part of the indexing.
25F23(FOX)beasts of prey, predatory animals: foxhighThe correlate 'beasts of prey, predatory animals: fox' directly matches the two or three foxes standing beside the king in the woodcut.
Relationships to the Adagia of ErasmusAI-generated
Suggested relationships between this emblem and adages in Erasmus’ Adagia.
- I ix 19 Congregare cum leonibus vulpes – essay quotehigh
The emblem's closing line 'Lyon en force, & regnard en conseil' renders almost verbatim the Pindar passage Erasmus quotes in this adage's essay ('virum fortem leonem oportere praestare in exhauriendis certaminum laboribus, vulpem in consiliis'), and the woodcut's grouping of foxes and lions around the prince literalizes the adage's headword image.
- III v 81 Si leonina pellis non satis est, vulpina addenda – thematic inventiohigh
Erasmus' essay (Lysander, Sulla as fox and lion in one mind) states exactly the emblem's lesson that the ruler must supplement lion-like force with fox-like guile to triumph in war.
- III viii 76 Prudentia coniuncta cum viribus – thematic inventiomedium
The emblem's moral — that the prince must unite valour with cunning counsel to be a 'vray chef de guerre' — is the very commonplace of this adage ('both a good king and a strong spearman').
- III x 75 Imperator bonus et idem robustus miles – thematic inventiolow
Same loci communes 'Prudentia conjuncta viribus': the ideal prince-commander joins strength of arm with wisdom of counsel, as the subscriptio prescribes.
- III x 28 Consiliis simul et facto valens – thematic inventiolow
Homeric tag for the man excelling equally 'in counsel and in battle', matching the emblem's pairing of lion-strength and fox-counsel in the prince.
Sources
Record ID: embhab_162-3-eth-b_emblem022
This emblem on the Iconclass site: https://iconclass.org/view/embhab_162-3-eth-b_emblem022
Page in the digital copy of the Herzog August Bibliothek: http://diglib.hab.de/drucke/162-3-eth-b/start.htm?image=00035