Jacob Cats, Spiegel (The Hague, 1632)
Emblem 39
A woman is addressing the man next to her while she is pointing at a cat that licks a spit
A gatto che lecca spiedo, non gli fidate arrostoItalian
To a cat that licks the spit, do not entrust the roast.AI-generated
Description of the imageAI-generated
An oval medallion set in a rectangular frame with hatched corner triangles shows an interior kitchen/hearth scene. At the left a large open fireplace burns with high flames and smoke; a roast lies on a grill or dripping-pan at the hearth, and a long spit rests slanting against the wall. A cat with striped fur stands on the tiled floor in front of the fire, head raised, licking the end of the spit. At the right, before the fire, stands a woman in a ruff and long gown, her hair up, pointing with her right hand toward the cat and the roast. Beside her stands a young gentleman in a broad plumed hat, short cape, slashed and embroidered breeches and shoes with rosettes, holding a cane, turned toward her and looking down. A curtain is draped above at the right, and a chair or stool stands in the right background. Below the oval a scroll/banderole carries the motto in script.
Subscriptio
TranscriptionAI-generated
DE katte leckt het spit; wat souse niet bedrijven Indiense slechts alleen mocht in de keucken blijven? Ghy daerom, snege meyt, siet dat ghy by 'tgebraet Geen katte sonder wacht, geen gragen kater laet. 'Ken mach, ô Rosemont, geen snode linckers velen Die met u kamer-maeght soo los en dertel spelen: Ey! wat ick bidden mach, betroutse niet te veel, Een rat die semels eet, en dient niet by het meel.
TranslationAI-generated
The cat licks the spit; what would she not get up to if only she were allowed to stay alone in the kitchen? Therefore you, clever maid, see to it that near the roast you leave no cat unwatched, no greedy tomcat. I cannot, O Rosemont, endure those wicked rascals who play so loosely and wantonly with your chambermaid: alas, what I may beg of you, do not trust her too much — a rat that eats the bran must not be put near the flour.
CommentaryAI-generated
1 passages · original left, translation right (click to fold)
Claud. 4. hon. --- præmissa futuris Dant exempla fidem.
Nederl. Door 'tvertrouwen verloor 'tmeysje haer maegdom. Niemant wort lichter bedrogen / als die veel vertrout.
Lat. Fide sed cui vide.
Nederl. De katte die 'tspit leckt en moetmen 'tgebraet niet vertrouwen. Die licht vertrout wort licht bedrogen.
Hoogd. Traw wol / reit das pferd hinweg. Sihe für dich / trewe is mißlich.
Lat. Nusquam tuta fides.
Ital. Chi troppo fida, spesso grida. Chi tosto crede, tardi si pente. A gatto che lecca spiedo, non gli fidar arresto. A can che lecca cenere, non gli fidar farina.
Turcks. Etick hat itme khimseie, madamkhi khueleile tusin almajassin. .i.
Lat. Nemini fidas nisi cum quo modium salis absumpseris.
Ital. Innanzi che si conosca un amico, besogna mangiar un moggio di sale. Pazzo è, che si fida in finti visi. Chi è reo, & buono è tenuto Può fare il male, & non è creduto.
Nederl. Sulcken vrient mocht ghy betrouwen 'tSoud' u al u leven rouwen. Houdt dan vast dat yeder vrient Niet altijt betrout en dient.
Lat. Nervi & artus sunt sapientiæ, non temerè credere.
Ital. Non ti fidar, che non sarai gabbato, Non è ingannato, se non chi si fida. Da chi mi fido, mi guardi Dio Da chi non mi fido, mi guarderò io.
Cic. Nemo credat, nisi ei quem fidelem putat.
Claudian, On the Fourth Consulship of Honorius: 'Examples set before us give assurance for things to come.' — Dutch: 'Through trusting, the girl lost her maidenhead.' 'No one is more easily deceived than he who trusts much.' — Latin: 'Trust, but see whom.' — Dutch: 'The cat that licks the spit must not be trusted with the roast.' 'He who trusts easily is easily deceived.' — High German: 'Trust well — the horse rides away.' 'Look out for yourself; fidelity is doubtful.' — Latin: 'Nowhere is good faith safe.' — Italian: 'He who trusts too much often cries out.' 'He who believes quickly repents late.' 'To a cat that licks the spit, do not entrust the roast.' 'To a dog that licks the ashes, do not entrust the flour.' — Turkish (that is): Latin: 'Trust no one except him with whom you have consumed a bushel of salt.' — Italian: 'Before one knows a friend, one must eat a bushel of salt.' 'He is a fool who trusts in feigned faces.' 'He who is wicked and is held to be good may do evil and not be believed.' — Dutch: 'Such a friend you might trust: it would grieve you all your life. Hold fast then that not every friend should always be trusted and used.' — Latin: 'The sinews and limbs of wisdom are: not to believe rashly.' — Italian: 'Do not trust, and you will not be cheated.' 'No one is deceived except he who trusts.' 'From him whom I trust, may God guard me; from him whom I do not trust, I will guard myself.' — Cicero: 'Let no one believe anyone except him whom he thinks faithful.'
Iconclass
86(A GATTO CHE LECCA SPIEDO, NON GLI FIDATE ARROSTO)proverbs, sayings, etc. (A GATTO CHE LECCA SPIEDO, NON GLI FIDATE ARROSTO)
Suggested Iconclass codesAI-generated
Additional codes proposed for this emblem, not (yet) part of the indexing.
41B21open hearth, fire-placehighThe scene centres on a large open hearth with high flames where the roast is cooking, matching 'open hearth, fire-place'.
41C211kitchen-interiorhighThe medallion shows a kitchen interior with hearth, spit, grill and roast, matching 'kitchen-interior'.
41C2111kitchen-interior with foodstuffs in foreground (Dutch: 'keukenstuk')lowThe roast and cooking gear lie prominently in the foreground before the fire, loosely fitting a 'keukenstuk' with foodstuffs in the foreground.
56D29Misplaced Trust, False Confidence, 'Pax Falsa'; 'Speranza fallace' (Ripa)highThe emblem's lesson that the spit-licking cat must not be trusted with the roast is precisely an allegory of Misplaced Trust/False Confidence.
56D2TrustmediumThe motto and commentary revolve entirely around the concept of Trust ('Trust, but see whom').
56DD2Distrust, Suspicion; 'Sospitione' (Ripa)mediumThe repeated admonitions ('Do not trust, and you will not be cheated') advocate Distrust/Suspicion as the prudent attitude.
52B21Credulitymedium'He who trusts easily is easily deceived' and 'he who believes quickly repents late' make Credulity the vice warned against.
57AA621Cheat, Deceit; 'Fraude', 'Inganno' (Ripa)lowThe commentary's insistence that the trusting are deceived ('No one is deceived except he who trusts') invokes Deceit/Inganno, though no personification is shown.
11M41Prudence, 'Prudentia'; 'Prudenza' (Ripa) ~ one of the Four Cardinal VirtueslowThe maxim 'the sinews and joints of wisdom are: not to believe rashly' presents the warning as an exercise of Prudence, though Prudentia is not personified.
Relationships to the Adagia of ErasmusAI-generated
Suggested relationships between this emblem and adages in Erasmus’ Adagia.
- II i 14 Nemini fidas, nisi cum quo prius modium salis absumpseris – essay quotehigh
The emblem's commentary quotes the adage verbatim in Latin ('Nemini fidas nisi cum quo modium salis absumpseris') together with its Italian equivalent ('Innanzi che si conosca un amico, besogna mangiar un moggio di sale') and a Turkish version, using it as the classical authority for the motto's warning against misplaced trust.
- II iv 22 Periculosum est canem intestina gustasse – thematic inventiomedium
Erasmus' adage (with Lucian's 'nor will a dog stop that has once learned to gnaw leather') makes exactly the emblem's point: an animal that has tasted the forbidden food cannot be trusted near it again — the cat licking the spit, and the parallel proverb 'A can che lecca cenere, non gli fidar farina' in the commentary.
- III iii 55 Fiducia pecunias amisi – thematic inventiomedium
Erasmus' essay ('By trust I lost my money, by mistrust I saved it'; 'to trust everybody is foolish') is the exact moral of Cats's commentary strings 'Die licht vertrout wort licht bedrogen', 'Non è ingannato, se non chi si fida' and 'Door 'tvertrouwen verloor 'tmeysje haer maegdom'.
- I i 70 Homo homini lupus – thematic inventiolow
Erasmus glosses the adage as a warning 'not to trust ourselves to an unknown person, but to beware of him as of a wolf', which matches the emblem's injunction not to entrust the maid (or the roast) to greedy 'linckers' and tomcats.
- III viii 51 Cavendum ab eo, qui semel imposuit – thematic inventiolow
The adage's lesson — never deal again with one who has already cheated — parallels the emblem's rule that a cat already caught licking the spit must never be left with the roast, and the commentary's 'Pazzo è, che si fida in finti visi'.
Sources
Record ID: embstma_1288_emblem039
This emblem on the Iconclass site: https://iconclass.org/view/embstma_1288_emblem039
Copy: University Library, Glasgow, Stirling Maxwell 1288