Emblem 31

Emblem 31

A man striking a sword on an anvilAI-generated

Presser ne fault son amy follement.

One must not press one's friend foolishly.AI-generated

Description of the woodcutAI-generated

A woodcut set inside a vaulted workshop or smithy. At the right stands a bearded man in a feathered cap, slashed doublet and hose, a long cloak or scarf blowing behind him; his left hand holds a long sword point-down beside him while his right hand presses or strikes a blade laid across the horn of an anvil. The anvil rests on a cylindrical block or stump at the centre-left; on the floor beside it lie smith's tools (tongs and a hammer or wedge) and a small jug or vessel. Behind, hatched walls, a bench and a window-like opening fill the background.

Subscriptio

Facsimile page of emblem 31 — Facsimile of the page (Herzog August Bibliothek); click to enlarge.

TranscriptionAI-generated

EN danger est de rompre son espee,Qui sur l'enclume en frappe rudement.Aussi l'amour est bien tost sincopeeQuand son amy on presse follement.Qui le fera, perdra subitement,Ce qu'il deuroit bien cherement garder.De tel abus, se fault contregarder,Comme en ce lieu ha doctrines expresses.A tel effort, ne te fault hazarder,De perdre amy, quand souuent tu le presses.

TranslationAI-generated

He is in danger of breaking his sword who strikes with it roughly upon the anvil. Likewise love is very soon cut short when one presses one's friend foolishly. Whoever does so will suddenly lose what he ought to guard most dearly. From such abuse one must guard oneself, as this place sets forth in express teachings. To such a strain you must not risk yourself, of losing a friend, when you press him too often.

Iconclass

86(PRESSER NE FAULT SON AMY FOLLEMENT) proverbs, sayings, etc. (PRESSER NE FAULT SON AMY FOLLEMENT)

47A21 workshop-interior

47D8(ANVIL) tools, aids, implements ~ crafts and industries: anvil

45C13(SWORD)(+69) hacking and thrusting weapons: sword (+ destruction of weapons)

31D14 adult man

56F232 Infidelity in Friendship; 'Amicitia senza giovamento' (Ripa)

Suggested Iconclass codesAI-generated

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

47D8(ANVIL) tools, aids, implements ~ crafts and industries: anvilhigh

The correlate 'tools, aids, implements ~ crafts and industries: anvil' matches the prominent anvil on its block at the centre of the scene.

45C13(SWORD) hacking and thrusting weapons: swordhigh

The correlate 'hacking and thrusting weapons: sword' matches the long sword held point-down and the blade being worked on the anvil.

47B111 smith, blacksmithmedium

The correlate 'smith, blacksmith' fits the figure working a blade on an anvil in a smithy with tongs and hammer at his feet, though he is dressed as a courtier rather than a craftsman.

Relationships to the Adagia of ErasmusAI-generated

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

I v 67 Funem abrumpere nimium tendendo – thematic inventiomedium

Erasmus explains the taut rope that snaps as said of those who, by pressing matters to extremes, 'alienant à se eos cum quibus agunt' and lose everything; the emblem's moral — pressing a friend too hard snaps the friendship as a sword snapped on the anvil — is the same lesson with a substituted image of over-strained material.

IV v 77 Arcus tensus rumpitur – thematic inventiomedium

The adage's image of the bow that breaks when strung too tight is the same mechanical metaphor as the sword broken by too rude a blow on the anvil, teaching that excessive strain destroys what one values.

II v 96 Mores amici noveris, non oderis – thematic inventiolow

Erasmus warns that being too severe and exacting with a friend's faults 'subvertas amicitiam' — the same counsel of restraint toward friends that the French motto 'Presser ne fault son amy follement' gives.

I vi 96 Ne quid nimis – thematic inventiolow

The emblem's general lesson of moderation in dealing with a friend (do not press him 'souuent' or 'follement') reflects the classic adage of excess being self-destructive.