Emblem 63

Emblem 63

Occasio with forelock, razor and winged heelsAI-generated

Ne refusons Fortune, quand à nous se presente.

Emblem 63. Let us not refuse Fortune when she presents herself to us.AI-generated

Description of the woodcutAI-generated

A woodcut in a rectangular frame. In the centre a nude female figure strides forward over rocky ground, her long hair streaming forward over her face and one raised hand, the other hand holding a razor or blade; small wings are attached to her heels and she appears to stand on or beside a round hoop or wheel. At the left is a large billowing cloud; at the right a stretch of water with a distant shore and sky; rocks and stones lie scattered in the foreground.

Subscriptio

Facsimile page of emblem 63 — Facsimile of the page (Herzog August Bibliothek); click to enlarge.

TranscriptionAI-generated

Qvel est le nom de la presente ymage?Occasion, se nomme pour certain.Qui fut l'Autheur? Lysipus feit l'ouurage:Et que tient elle? vn rasoir en sa main.Pourquoy? pourtant que tout tranche soubdain.Elle ha cheueulx deuant, & non derriere?C'est pour monstrer qu'elle tourne en arriere,S'on fault le coup, quand on la doibt tenir:Aux talons ha des æsles? car barriere(Quelle que soit) ne la peult retenir.

TranslationAI-generated

What is the name of the present image? Occasion, she is certainly called. Who was the maker? Lysippus made the work. And what does she hold? A razor in her hand. Why? Because it cuts everything in an instant. She has hair in front and none behind? That is to show that she turns away if one misses the stroke when one ought to seize her. Does she have wings on her heels? Yes, for no barrier, whatever it may be, can hold her back.

Iconclass

86(NE REFUSONS FORTUNE, QUAND À NOUS SE PRESENTE) proverbs, sayings, etc. (NE REFUSONS FORTUNE, QUAND À NOUS SE PRESENTE)

25H13 coast

54B121 'Occasio', 'Kairos'; 'Occasione' (Ripa)

31AA5334 lock of hair - AA - ~ women

31AA5332 shaven head - AA - ~ women

31A5351 razor

54B12 Opportunity, Opportuneness, Seasonableness

Suggested Iconclass codesAI-generated

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

54B121 'Occasio', 'Kairos'; 'Occasione' (Ripa)high

The nude woman with forelock streaming over her face, razor, winged heels and a wheel/ball underfoot is the standard personification 'Occasio'/'Kairos'.

96A5(OCCASIO) Occasio as Roman personificationmedium

The figure corresponds to Occasio as a Roman personification, matching her classical attributes of forelock, razor, wings and sphere/wheel.

54B12 Opportunity, Opportuneness, Seasonablenessmedium

The image embodies the broader concept of Opportunity/Seasonableness of which Occasio is the personification.

31AA5351 razor - AA - ~ womenmedium

The female figure explicitly holds a razor, matching 'razor ~ women'.

31A5351 razorlow

A razor is depicted as the object in the figure's hand, though the gender-specific variant is more precise.

Relationships to the Adagia of ErasmusAI-generated

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

I vii 70 Nosce tempus – essay quotehigh

Erasmus' essay on Γνῶθι καιρόν is the locus classicus in the Adagia for Kairos/Occasio, where he describes and quotes the epigram on Lysippus' statue (hair in front, bald behind, winged feet, razor). The emblem's subscriptio is essentially a French verse rendering of that same dialogue-epigram transmitted in this essay.

IV x 39 Capere crines – thematic inventiohigh

The essay explains the phrase by reference to 'the god the Greeks call καιρός, who is represented with hair on the front of his head but bald at the back' — precisely the figure depicted and explicated in the emblem's picture and subscriptio ('cheveulx devant, & non derriere').

III ix 67 Premenda occasio – thematic inventiomedium

The adage's point — that an opportunity once offered must not be allowed to slip through one's hands — is exactly the moral of the motto 'Ne refusons Fortune, quand à nous se presente' and of the warning that she turns away 'si on fault le coup'.

I ii 42 Talaria induere – thematic inventiolow

The winged heels of the figure ('Aux talons ha des æsles'), signifying that nothing can hold her back, echo the proverbial talaria of Mercury discussed in this adage as the emblem of unstoppable swift flight.