Emblem 60

Emblem 60

A man trying to frighten a lion with a large maskAI-generated

Vn homme hardy point ne craint les menasses.

Emblem 60. A bold man is not at all afraid of threats.AI-generated

Description of the woodcutAI-generated

A woodcut in a rectangular frame. In a landscape with a large leafy tree at the left and a rocky outcrop at the right, a lion stands at the left facing right, its mouth open and tail raised. At the centre and right a man dressed in a short doublet and hose, leaning forward with legs braced, holds up with both arms an enormous bearded human face-mask (a hollow grotesque head with staring eye, large nose and curling beard) which he thrusts towards the lion. The ground is indicated by wavy hatching.

Subscriptio

Facsimile page of emblem 60 — Facsimile of the page (Herzog August Bibliothek); click to enlarge.

TranscriptionAI-generated

Qvi d'vne Masque entreprend faire peurAu fier Lyon, bien petit il aduance:Car le Lyon ha, si hault & gros cueur,Qu'a l'estonner, fault bien autre puissance.Semblablement aucuns par insolence,Pensent les gens estonner de parolle:Mais tout soubdain est acheué leur rolle:Car leurs effectz, ne consonnent aux dictz,Vaine Iactance, & Menace friuole,N'esbahyront iamais les cueurs hardiz.

TranslationAI-generated

Whoever undertakes to frighten the fierce lion with a mask gains very little by it: for the lion has so lofty and great a heart that to astonish it quite another power is needed. In like manner some, out of insolence, think to astound people with words; but all at once their part is played out, for their deeds do not agree with their sayings. Vain boasting and frivolous threatening will never dismay bold hearts.

Iconclass

86(VN HOMME HARDY POINT NE CRAINT LES MENASSES) proverbs, sayings, etc. (VN HOMME HARDY POINT NE CRAINT LES MENASSES)

25F23(LION)(+49) beasts of prey, predatory animals: lion (+ audible means of communication of animal(s): roaring, crying, singing, barking, mewing, neighing, chirping, etc.)

31D14(+933) adult man (+ holding something)

41D283 mask

57AA645 Boast; 'Iattanza' (Ripa)

51CC19 No Result, Lack of Result, Inefficacy, Futility

Suggested Iconclass codesAI-generated

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

41D283 maskhigh

The correlate 'mask' directly matches the enormous hollow bearded face-mask the man holds up with both arms.

43C1112321 hunter fighting a lionlow

The correlate 'hunter fighting a lion' loosely matches a man confronting a lion face to face, though he carries a mask rather than hunting weapons.

Relationships to the Adagia of ErasmusAI-generated

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

I vi 40 Leonem larva terres – thematic inventiohigh

The woodcut shows a man thrusting a huge grotesque mask at a lion, and the subscriptio states that whoever tries to frighten the fierce lion with a mask gains nothing — exactly Erasmus's Μορμολυκίοις ἐκφοβεῖς τὸν λέοντα, applied (as Erasmus says) 'de minis inanibus, ac terriculis deridendis', which is the emblem's moral about vain threats failing to dismay bold hearts.

I x 88 Complurium thriorum ego strepitum audivi – thematic inventiolow

Erasmus explains this adage as expressing contempt for threats and empty bluster (the crackling of fig-leaves), the same point as the emblem's 'Vaine Iactance, & Menace friuole, N'esbahyront iamais les cueurs hardiz'; no textual borrowing, only a shared commonplace of the loci 'Minantis'.

III iv 38 Ψευδόπυρα. – thematic inventiolow

Erasmus glosses 'false fires' as being said 'de minis ac terriculis inanibus' — of counterfeit danger used to frighten by a smokescreen of words — which matches the emblem's insolent men who think to astound others with words unsupported by deeds.