Emblem 87

Emblem 87

A vine with grapes hidden beneath its leavesAI-generated

De tous les cas fault prendre le meilleur.

In all cases one must take the best.AI-generated

Description of the woodcutAI-generated

A small rectangular woodcut showing a sprawling grapevine growing low over the ground: broad lobed vine leaves and curling tendrils fill the upper part of the frame, while several heavy clusters of grapes hang beneath and among the leaves. The vine's woody stems run horizontally across the scene, rooted in tufts of grass along the bottom edge; the background is blank except for a few short hatching lines indicating the ground.

Subscriptio

Facsimile page of emblem 87 — Facsimile of the page (Herzog August Bibliothek); click to enlarge.

TranscriptionAI-generated

EN maint Poëte on treuue mainte fable,Ayant en soy merueilleuse doctrine,Prenons en donc le bon & profitable,Et le mauuais iectons le comme indigne.Poëtes ont vne fureur diuine,Leur Eloquence est en tous lieux famee:Si leur licence est vn peu diffamee,Pas n'en debuons pourtant estre faschez:Car soubz la fueille en vigne fort ramee,Les doulx raysins en leur temps sont cachez.

TranslationAI-generated

In many a poet one finds many a fable, having in itself a marvellous doctrine; let us therefore take from it what is good and profitable, and cast away the bad as unworthy. Poets have a divine frenzy, their eloquence is famous in all places: if their licence is somewhat ill-reputed, we ought not for that to be annoyed: for beneath the leaves of a thickly branching vine the sweet grapes are hidden in their season.

Iconclass

86(DE TOUS LES CAS FAULT PRENDRE LE MEILLEUR) proverbs, sayings, etc. (DE TOUS LES CAS FAULT PRENDRE LE MEILLEUR)

47I4223 grape

47I4222 bunch of grapes

47I4221 vine-tendril, leaf

48C901 symbolic representations, allegories and emblems ~ poetry; 'Poesia' (Ripa)

54B3 Utility, Usefulness; 'Utilità' (Ripa)

57B2 Respect, Reverence, Esteem

Suggested Iconclass codesAI-generated

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

47I4222 bunch of grapeshigh

Several heavy bunches of grapes hang from the vine, matching 'bunch of grapes'.

47I4221 vine-tendril, leafhigh

The woodcut is dominated by broad lobed vine leaves and curling tendrils, exactly the 'vine-tendril, leaf' correlate.

47I4223 grapelow

The individual fruit 'grape' is depicted, though the image shows them primarily in clusters.

Relationships to the Adagia of ErasmusAI-generated

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

II ix 35 Qui e nuce nucleum esse vult, frangit nucem – thematic inventiohigh

Erasmus' essay explicitly applies the nut-and-shell image to reading: 'he who seeks food for the mind in Holy Scripture should work out the mystery hidden in its allegorical wrappings' — exactly the emblem's point that a marvellous doctrine lies hidden in poets' fables, as the sweet grapes lie hidden beneath the vine's thick foliage.

III iii 1 Sileni Alcibiadis – thematic inventiomedium

Erasmus' famous adage on the Silenus figure — repellent or trivial on the outside, divine within — is his standard defence of the hidden wisdom in poets' fables and apparently licentious fictions, which is precisely the emblem's argument about taking the good doctrine from poets despite their ill-reputed 'licence'.

III i 87 Nihil est ab omni parte beatum – thematic inventiolow

The emblem's motto 'in all cases one must take the best' rests on the assumption that nothing (here, poetry) is good in every respect: one accepts the profitable and discards the bad, which echoes the commonplace that nought is blessed at all points.