Guillaume de La Perrièrre, Le Theatre Des Bons Engins (Lyon, 1545)
Emblem 44
A man muddying the water with a pole to catch eelsAI-generated
Guerre & debat temps propice aux meschants.
Emblem 44. War and strife, a time favourable to the wicked.AI-generated
Description of the woodcutAI-generated
A woodcut in a rectangular frame showing a man standing in a shallow pond or stream, water up to his calves, his breeches rolled up and his shirt sleeves rolled. He wears a soft cap and holds a long pole or staff with which he stirs/muddies the water, which is shown in ripples around his legs. On the left bank are bushes and trees, on the right tall reeds and rushes; in the background are the far bank, clouds and small birds flying in the sky.
Subscriptio
TranscriptionAI-generated
Communemét lon ne prend les anguilles,Que parauant n'ayt esté l'eaue troublee.Semblablement en querelles Ciuiles,Les fins Larrons se font riches d'emblee:Lors que par bruyt se faict mainte assemblee,Pour meschans gens le temps est plus propice:Sedition estiment sacrifice,Au monde n'est chose qui plus leur plaise.En temps de paix, de concorde & Iustice,L'homme meschant ne faict pas à son ayse.
TranslationAI-generated
Commonly one does not catch eels unless the water has first been muddied. Likewise in civil quarrels the crafty thieves make themselves rich at a stroke: when through uproar many a gathering is made, the time is most favourable for wicked people; they reckon sedition a sacrifice, there is nothing in the world that pleases them more. In a time of peace, of concord and justice, the wicked man is not at his ease.
Iconclass
86(GUERRE & DEBAT TEMPS PROPICE AUX MESCHANTS)proverbs, sayings, etc. (GUERRE & DEBAT TEMPS PROPICE AUX MESCHANTS)25H213river25G4(REED)plants and herbs: reed43C128fisherman41D263walking-stick, staff, cane25F63(EEL)eels: eel52B5112Bad, Evil, Wrong44F5revolutionary activities
Suggested Iconclass codesAI-generated
Additional codes proposed for this emblem, not (yet) part of the indexing.
25H2143pond, poolhighThe correlate 'pond, pool' matches the shallow pond/stream in which the man is standing and stirring the water.
25G4(REED)plants and herbs: reedhighThe correlate 'plants and herbs: reed' matches the tall reeds and rushes depicted on the right bank.
54EE31Disagreement, Discord; 'Discordia' (Ripa)mediumThe correlate 'Disagreement, Discord' matches the commentary's theme of discord/troubling the waters that the muddying of the pond allegorizes.
Relationships to the Adagia of ErasmusAI-generated
Suggested relationships between this emblem and adages in Erasmus’ Adagia.
- III vi 79 Anguillas captare – essay quotehigh
The woodcut (a man stirring up muddy water with a pole to catch eels) and the opening lines of the subscriptio ('one does not catch eels unless the water has first been muddied') render exactly Erasmus' explanation of ἐγχέλεις θηρᾶσθαι, and the moral — that those who gain nothing in a peaceful state rejoice in sedition and turn public disaster to private profit — closely paraphrases the essay's 'Quadrabit in eos, quibus tranquillo Rei pub. statu, nihil est emolumenti. Proinde seditiones gaudent exoriri...'.
- II ii 91 In seditione vel Androclides belli ducem agit – thematic inventiomedium
Erasmus' essay makes the same point as the emblem's motto: in times of civil disturbance the worst and lowest sorts prosper, and wicked men deliberately stir up trouble because 'in time of peace they have less power in the state' — the emblem's 'En temps de paix... l'homme meschant ne faict pas à son ayse.'
Sources
Record ID: embhab_162-3-eth-b_emblem044
This emblem on the Iconclass site: https://iconclass.org/view/embhab_162-3-eth-b_emblem044
Page in the digital copy of the Herzog August Bibliothek: http://diglib.hab.de/drucke/162-3-eth-b/start.htm?image=00057