Jacob Cats, Spiegel (The Hague, 1632)
Emblem 30
A father points at a bird who shares food with an owl, while overhead a falcon is pierced by the beak of a heron(?)
Beter by den uyl geseten, als met den valck gevlogenLatin
Better to have sat with the owl than to have flown with the falcon.AI-generated
Description of the imageAI-generated
Within an oval frame set in a square border with decorative corner spandrels, a landscape scene. In the sky at upper left a falcon with spread wings has seized a larger long-necked bird (a heron) in flight, gripping its head and body. In the left foreground a man in a cloak and plumed, wide-brimmed hat stands with his arm around a young woman in a wide standing lace collar and full gown; both look outward, the woman's hand extended. At the right rise crumbling brick walls and ruined masonry overgrown with weeds; on a broken wall three owls perch together. In the middle distance small figures walk along a road toward a distant village. At the bottom a scrolled banderole carries the motto in script: 'Beter als byden Uyl geseten metten Valck gevlogen.'
Subscriptio
TranscriptionAI-generated
Hoort eens vrijsters, hoort gesellen, Want het gaet u beyden aen, Ick moet u een streeck vertellen Die ick onlancx heb verstaen. Twederhande jonge lieden Quamen met gelijcken vlijt Hare minn' en trouwe bieden, Aen een vrijster onser tijt, D'eerste scheen een groote joncker, Hy droegh pluymen opten hoet, Maer het was een rechte proncker Alsser heden menigh doet; D'ander was een goet geselle, Niet te prachtich, of te breet, Schapen had hy op de stelle, Efter gingh hy slecht gekleet; D'eerste was vol soete grillen, Dan hy quiste wat te veel; D'ander, niet gesint te spillen, Hielt de panne by de steel. 'tMeysje, dat de grage gasten, Meer als met gemeenen praet, Sach nae haer wel happigh tasten, Nam het stuck in haer beraet: Maer hoe sy het overleyde Van het eerste tot het lest, Wat haer d'een of d'ander seyde, Hoofs en moy dat dacht haer best; Dat had haer de ziel ontstolen, Dat verhief sy boven al, Sy wou met den ruyter dolen Hoe het is of worden sal. D'ander met sijn koele seden, Docht haer tam en al te stil, Want sy sprack met klare reden, 'Tis een Lansert, dien ick wil. Laet een deune quesel leven By een kluts, een tammen bloet; Ick wil vry wat ruymer sweven, Ick heb al een hooger moet. Maer als sy ten langen lesten Hier op met haer vader sprack, Sey de man, tot haren besten, Wat hem in den boesem stack: Kint, dit houft ghy wel te weten, Iae te schrijven aen den balck, » Beter by den uyl geseten » Als gevlogen metten valck.
TranslationAI-generated
Listen once, young women, listen, young men, for it concerns you both; I must tell you a trick that I lately came to understand. Two young men came with equal eagerness to offer their love and troth to a girl of our time. The first seemed a great gentleman, he wore plumes on his hat, but he was a real show-off, as many are nowadays. The other was a good fellow, not too splendid or too grand; he had sheep in the stall, yet he went plainly dressed. The first was full of sweet whims, except that he squandered a bit too much; the other, not inclined to waste, held the pan by the handle. The girl, who saw the eager suitors reaching greedily after her with more than ordinary talk, took the matter into her consideration; but however she weighed it, from first to last, whatever the one or the other said to her, courtly and pretty seemed best to her; that had stolen away her soul, that she exalted above all; she wanted to roam with the cavalier, come what may. The other, with his cool manners, seemed to her tame and far too quiet, for she said in plain words: 'It is a dashing fellow that I want. Let a prim prude live with a dullard, a tame milksop; I want to soar freely and more widely, I already have a higher spirit.' But when at long last she spoke about this with her father, the man said, for her own good, what lay in his breast: 'Child, you ought well to know this, yes, to write it on the beam: Better to have sat with the owl than to have flown with the falcon.'
CommentaryAI-generated
1 passages · original left, translation right (click to fold)
Nederd. Soo een vryer mocht ghy kiesen Ghy soudt jeugt en vreugt verliesen.
Ital. Più val mestier, che sparavier .i. Mieux vaut mestier qu'esprevier.
Engels. Better sit stil, then rise and fall.
Franç. Mieux seul que mal accompagné.
Nederd. Al te scherp maeckt schaerdigh. Hoe meerder vis hoe droever water. By den wal langs seylt men sekerst. Houdt het midde-water. Beter bloo Jan als doo Jan.
Lat. Facilior currentibus quam repentibus lapsus.
Nederd. Al te wijs kan niet beginnen / Al te sot kan niet versinnen / Daerom tusschen wijs en vroet Wintmen wel het meeste goet. Goede ghesellen sijn quade huys-houwers. Maet houdt staet / te veel is quaet.
Lat. Medio tutissimus ibis.
Franç. Bon compagnon mauvais mary.
Nederd. Mans die buyten vrolijck zijn Zijn in huys wel dickmael pijn.
Engels. It is better to be a oldmans dearling / as a jongmans wearling.
Dutch: If you should choose such a suitor, you would lose your youth and your joy. — Italian: A trade is worth more than a sparrowhawk, that is, French: A trade is better than a sparrowhawk. — English: Better sit still, than rise and fall. — French: Better alone than in bad company. — Dutch: Too sharp makes notched (jagged). The more fish, the muddier the water. Sailing close along the shore is safest. Keep to the middle of the water. Better a cowardly John than a dead John. — Latin: Falling is easier for those who run than for those who creep. — Dutch: Too wise cannot begin, too foolish cannot devise; therefore between wise and prudent one wins the most good. Good companions are bad householders. Moderation maintains estate; too much is bad. — Latin: In the middle you will go most safely. — French: A good companion makes a bad husband. — Dutch: Men who are merry abroad are often a pain at home. — English: It is better to be an old man's darling than a young man's wearling.
Iconclass
86(BETER BY DEN UYL GESETEN, ALS MET DEN VALCK GEVLOGEN)proverbs, sayings, etc. (BETER BY DEN UYL GESETEN, ALS MET DEN VALCK GEVLOGEN)
Suggested Iconclass codesAI-generated
Additional codes proposed for this emblem, not (yet) part of the indexing.
86proverbs, sayings, etc.highThe emblem's banderole motto 'Beter als byden Uyl geseten metten Valck gevlogen' and the commentary's string of multilingual adages make this a straightforward depiction of proverbs and sayings.
86(...)proverbs, sayings, etc. (with TEXT)highThe specific proverb text is inscribed on the scrolled banderole, so the 'proverbs, sayings, etc. (with TEXT)' form applies.
54A431the Golden Mean; 'Mediocrità' (Ripa)mediumThe commentary explicitly invokes the Golden Mean ('In the middle course you will go most safely', 'between wise and prudent one gains the most good'), which matches 'Mediocrità'.
54A43Temperance, Moderation; 'Misura' (Ripa)medium'Moderation preserves estate; too much is bad' and 'Keep to the middle of the water' express the virtue of Temperance/Moderation.
42Dbetrothal and marriagelowThe foreground couple and the commentary about choosing a suitor and 'a good companion, a bad husband' touch on betrothal and marriage, though no ceremony is shown.
Relationships to the Adagia of ErasmusAI-generated
Suggested relationships between this emblem and adages in Erasmus’ Adagia.
- IV ii 66 In terra pauperem – thematic inventiomedium
Erasmus' adage ('Better to be needy on dry land than a rich man ploughing the waves' – 'satius est paululum habere tuto, quam multum cum periculo') states exactly the emblem's moral: the modest, secure choice (sitting with the owl, the plain shepherd-suitor) is preferable to the risky, glamorous one (flying with the falcon, the plumed cavalier). The accompanying Dutch proverbs 'By den wal langs seylt men sekerst' and 'Beter bloo Jan als doo Jan' echo the same preference for secure modesty.
- IV vi 12 Timidi mater non flet – thematic inventiomedium
The commentary's Dutch proverb 'Beter bloo Jan als doo Jan' (better a timid John than a dead John) is the vernacular counterpart of Erasmus' 'A cautious man's mother sheds no tears': caution preserves life, while bold contempt of danger brings ruin — the same warning the father gives his daughter.
- I vi 96 Ne quid nimis – thematic inventiomedium
The emblem's cluster of glosses — 'Maet houdt staet / te veel is quaet', 'Al te scherp maeckt schaerdigh', 'Houdt het midde-water' and the Latin 'Medio tutissimus ibis' — all restate the classic maxim of moderation that Erasmus treats under 'Ne quid nimis'.
- I vi 88 Messe tenus propria vive – thematic inventiomedium
The rejected lover 'quiste wat te veel' (squandered too much) while the good fellow 'hielt de panne by de steel'; Erasmus' adage urges spending only within one's harvest and mocks the ptochalazon, the 'beggar-bully' who joins pomp with poverty — precisely the plumed 'proncker' of the subscriptio.
- I vi 92 Intra tuam pelliculam te contine – thematic inventiomedium
The girl who wants to 'sweve wat ruymer' with a dashing cavalier because she has 'een hooger moet' is aspiring beyond her station; Erasmus' adage (with the ass in the lion's skin) warns against forgetting one's condition and attempting what is above one's means.
- I ix 95 Dimidium plus toto – thematic inventiolow
Erasmus' riddling praise of the golden mean ('the half is more than the whole', moderate is better than excessive) underlies the emblem's middle-way proverbs 'Houdt het midde-water' and 'tusschen wijs en vroet wintmen wel het meeste goet'.
- II v 46 Ne supra pedem calceus – thematic inventiolow
'Do not live more grandly than suits your station' matches the emblem's censure of the showy suitor with plumes on his hat and of the girl's ambition to soar higher than her condition permits.
- I ii 91 Jucundissima navigatio iuxta terram, ambulatio iuxta mare – thematic inventiolow
The Dutch gloss 'By den wal langs seylt men sekerst' (one sails most safely along the shore) is verbally close to Erasmus' 'navigatio iuxta terram', though Erasmus applies it to pleasant variety rather than to safety.
Sources
Record ID: embstma_1288_emblem030
This emblem on the Iconclass site: https://iconclass.org/view/embstma_1288_emblem030
Copy: University Library, Glasgow, Stirling Maxwell 1288