Guillaume de La Perrièrre, Le Theatre Des Bons Engins (Lyon, 1545)
Emblem 71
A winged clock on a rockAI-generated
Au monde n'est rien plus cher, que le temps.
Emblem 71. In the world there is nothing more precious than time.AI-generated
Description of the woodcutAI-generated
A woodcut in a rectangular frame showing a large winged clock standing on a rocky outcrop in an open landscape. The clock is housed in a columned case with an arched top surmounted by a bell and striking hammer; its dial, with a radiating hand and numerals, faces the viewer. Two large outspread bird wings are attached to the sides of the clock-case. Beneath the clock, in the open space between the supporting columns, a seated figure crouches with hands raised as if supporting or reaching toward the clock. In the background are low hills, a stretch of water with a small boat or shapes, and birds flying in the sky.
Subscriptio
TranscriptionAI-generated
ADuise bien que le Temps ne t'eschappe:Il ha bonne æsle, & vole agilement.L'homme rusé subitement l'attrappe,Et ne le laisse eschapper sottement:Donc employer le fault honnestement:Car s'il s'enfuyt, l'attaindre est impossible,Et pense aussi, qu'il ne t'est pas loysible,Le consumer en faisant grosse chere:Si tu le perdz, ne te sera possibleDe recouurer vne chose si chere.
TranslationAI-generated
Take good care that Time does not escape you: it has a good wing, and flies nimbly. The cunning man catches it at once, and does not foolishly let it slip away: so it must be employed honourably; for if it flees, it is impossible to overtake it. And consider too that you are not permitted to consume it in feasting and good living: if you lose it, it will not be possible for you to recover so precious a thing.
Iconclass
86(AU MONDE N'EST RIEN PLUS CHER, QUE LE TEMPS)proverbs, sayings, etc. (AU MONDE N'EST RIEN PLUS CHER, QUE LE TEMPS)23U24clock25F3(+342)birds (+ wings of an animal)31A2745grasping something31D14adult man25H13coast23A44fugacity of Time54C1Purposefulness23time
Suggested Iconclass codesAI-generated
Additional codes proposed for this emblem, not (yet) part of the indexing.
23U24clockhighThe emblem's central object is literally a clock, with dial, numerals, hand and striking bell, matching the correlate 'clock'.
Relationships to the Adagia of ErasmusAI-generated
Suggested relationships between this emblem and adages in Erasmus’ Adagia.
- I vii 70 Nosce tempus – thematic inventiomedium
Erasmus' essay on Γνῶθι καιρόν is the locus classicus for the doctrine that opportunity/time must be recognized and used while it lasts, and it describes Kairos as winged and impossible to catch once past — exactly the emblem's winged clock and its warning that 'if it flees, it is impossible to overtake it.'
- IV x 39 Capere crines – thematic inventiomedium
The adage explains seizing the forelock of the god Kairos (hairy in front, bald behind) as grasping the fleeting occasion; the emblem's 'homme rusé' who catches Time at once and will not let it slip conveys the same proverbial image of catching fugitive time.
- III ix 67 Premenda occasio – thematic inventiolow
Erasmus' maxim that an opportunity once offered must not be let slip through one's hands matches the subscriptio's injunction not foolishly to let Time escape.
- IV iii 86 Non semper erit aestas – thematic inventiolow
The adage's moral — time does not last, so do not idle it away but acquire goods, learning and virtue while you can (the cicada who sang all summer) — parallels the emblem's warning against consuming time 'en faisant grosse chere'.
Sources
Record ID: embhab_162-3-eth-b_emblem071
This emblem on the Iconclass site: https://iconclass.org/view/embhab_162-3-eth-b_emblem071
Page in the digital copy of the Herzog August Bibliothek: http://diglib.hab.de/drucke/162-3-eth-b/start.htm?image=00084