Emblem 23

Emblem 23

A fisherman hauling in his net from a boatAI-generated

Par trop cuyder & esperer l'homme est deceu.

EMBLEM 23. Through too much presuming and hoping, man is deceived.AI-generated

Description of the woodcutAI-generated

A woodcut in a rectangular frame: a coastal scene with a small wooden rowing boat drawn up at the shore in the foreground. A fisherman wearing a cap and a belted tunic leans out over the side of the boat, pulling in a large meshed net that spills over the gunwale into the water. Rocks and reeds are in the foreground, open water with a distant sail and hilly shoreline behind, and clouds with flocks of birds in the sky above.

Subscriptio

Facsimile page of emblem 23 — Facsimile of the page (Herzog August Bibliothek); click to enlarge.

TranscriptionAI-generated

SOuuét Pescheurs cuydét prédre vne Perche,Qui soubz leurs retz treuuent vn Scorpion.Tel royne & roc por prédre (en iouãt) cherche,Lequel en fin n'empoigne qu'vn pion,Souuent on void vn foible champion,Qui cuyde bien vn Hercules combattre:Mais quand se vient sur le poinct de se battre,Tant s'esbahist que tout son sens luy fault.Tout bon esprit pour maint danger abatre,Ne doibt iamais cuyder plus qu'il ne fault.

TranslationAI-generated

Often fishermen think they are catching a perch, who beneath their nets find a scorpion-fish. Just so, one seeks (while playing) to take the queen and the rook, who in the end seizes nothing but a pawn. Often one sees a feeble champion who truly believes he can fight a Hercules; but when it comes to the point of fighting, he is so dismayed that all his wits fail him. Every good mind, in order to overcome many a danger, must never presume more than it ought.

Suggested Iconclass codesAI-generated

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

43C128 fishermanhigh

The central figure is a fisherman in a cap and belted tunic hauling his net, matching the correlate 'fisherman'.

47K42 fishing nethigh

A large meshed fishing net spilling over the gunwale into the water directly matches 'fishing net'.

46C232 rowing-boat, canoe, etc.high

The small wooden rowing boat drawn up at the shore corresponds to 'rowing-boat, canoe, etc.'.

46C24 sailing-ship, sailing-boatmedium

A distant sail on the open water in the background matches 'sailing-ship, sailing-boat'.

Relationships to the Adagia of ErasmusAI-generated

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

II vi 6 Pro perca scorpium – thematic inventiohigh

The subscriptio's opening image — fishermen who think they are landing a perch and find a scorpion-fish under their net — is precisely Erasmus's proverb 'a scorpion instead of a perch', used of those whose expectation of something good yields something worse; the woodcut of the fisherman hauling his net visualizes it.

IV iii 5 Inani spe flagrat – thematic inventiomedium

The motto 'Par trop cuyder & esperer l'homme est deceu' states exactly Erasmus's point about the man who 'futilely promises himself great things' and is ablaze with empty hopes, including the weak champion who fancies he can fight a Hercules.

I ix 45 Hic funis nihil attraxit – thematic inventiolow

The pictorial motif of the fisherman drawing in his net matches Erasmus's fishing metaphor for effort and hope frustrated ('the line has caught nothing'), the same locus of frustrata spes that governs the emblem.

III i 20 Murem ostendit pro leone – thematic inventiolow

Shares the emblem's structure of grand expectation delivering a paltry result (queen and rook sought, only a pawn taken; a Hercules challenged by a feeble champion).

IV v 20 Sequitur perca sepiam – thematic inventiolow

Erasmus's essay quotes Numenius' fish-catalogue pairing the perch with the red scorpion-fish, the two creatures named in the emblem's opening couplet, though the adage's own point differs.

Description of the woodcutAI-generated

Subscriptio

TranscriptionAI-generated

TranslationAI-generated

Iconclass

Suggested Iconclass codesAI-generated

Relationships to the Adagia of ErasmusAI-generated

Sources