Emblem 74

Emblem 74

A hunter trying to catch two hares or rabbits simultaneously

Qui duos sequitur lepores neutrum capitLatin

He who chases two hares catches neither.AI-generated

Description of the imageAI-generated

Within a circular frame set in a square border (with an empty ribbon banderole beneath), a hunter strides across a landscape. He wears a plumed cap, a short belted coat with a sword at his side, and boots; he carries a long hunting spear over his right shoulder and reaches out with his left hand. He is turned toward the right. Two hares flee in opposite directions: one runs off to the left beyond a stream, another bounds away to the right. A hound runs in the lower left foreground, its head turned up and away from the hunter. In the background are large trees at the left, a winding stream, open fields, a farmhouse or small castle at the right, and birds in the sky.

Subscriptio

Facsimile page — Facsimile, page 1 of 4; click a thumbnail to change page; click the page to enlarge

Facsimile, page 1 of 4; click a thumbnail to change page; click the page to enlarge

TranscriptionAI-generated

de Iager spreeckt. VVaer ick vernoegt met eene jacht, Soo hadt ick wilt-braet t'huys gebracht; Maer t'wijl ick liep, gelijck een dwaes, Nae desen, en nae geenen haes, En dat mijn honden zijn verdeylt, Soo heb ick over al gefeylt, Soo heb ick maer een holle maegh, En 'tis om niet al wat ick jaegh. Siet! die veel dingen t'samen doet Die neemt gewis een quaden voet, Want groot beslagh is groot verdriet, Die veel om-helst vangt veel-tijts niet; Waerom soo veel, soo ras, soo vroegh? Een saecke wel, en 'tis genoegh.

TranslationAI-generated

The hunter speaks. Had I been content with one chase, Then I would have brought game home; But while I ran, like a fool, After this hare and after that one, And my dogs were divided, So I have failed everywhere, So I have only an empty stomach, And all that I hunt is for nothing. See! he who does many things at once Certainly takes a bad step, For great busy-ness is great grief, He who embraces much often catches nothing; Why so much, so fast, so early? One thing done well, and that is enough.

CommentaryAI-generated

37 passages · original left, translation right (click to fold)

Ital. Chi lascia la via vecchia per la nova Spesse volte ingannato se trova.

Italian. He who leaves the old road for the new often finds himself deceived.

Franç. Mieux vaut la vielle voye, que la la novelle sente.

French. The old road is worth more than the new path.

Nederl. Te willen t'samen suppen en blasen/ Dat is een daedt van rechte dwasen.

Dutch. To want to sip and blow at the same time, that is the deed of real fools.

Ital. Non si può insieme bere & fischiare.

Italian. One cannot drink and whistle at the same time.

Chi due lepri caccia Una non piglia & l'altra lascia.

He who hunts two hares takes neither one and lets the other go.

Lat. Qui binos lepores una sectabitur hora is neutrum capiet.

Latin. He who will chase two hares in one hour will catch neither.

Il Beccaio gratta il porco con la mano, per dar gli della mazza su' il capo.

The butcher scratches the pig with his hand, in order to give it a blow of the club on the head.

Het beeldt kan zijn een Slager, die met de eene handt een vercken in de necke kraeut, ende met d'ander hant een slagh geeft.

Siet wat een slim bedrijf! De slager streelt het vercken Op dat het sijn bedrogh niet eens en soude mercken, Hy troetelt (soo het schijnt) het beest van desen kant, Maer siet een stale bijl is in sijn ander hant. Noyt isser slimmer streeck in al het landt gevonden Als die met schijn van gunst van buyten is bewonden, Want die een vrient betrout, en niet als vrientschap wacht Die wort ter neer gevelt eer hy het eens bedacht. O mijdt u, lieve, mijdt van die geslepen gasten Die streelen (soo het schijnt) en nae de bijle tasten; » Geen mensch die lichter valt, en die men eer bedriegt, » Als die met soeten schijn wort in den slaep gewiegt.

The picture may be a butcher, who with one hand scratches a pig on the neck, and with the other hand gives it a blow.

See what a cunning business! The butcher strokes the pig So that it should not at all notice his deceit, He pets (so it seems) the beast on this side, But look, a steel axe is in his other hand. Never was a slyer trick found in all the land Than that which is wrapped on the outside with a show of favour, For he who trusts a friend and expects nothing but friendship Is struck down before he has even thought of it. O beware, dear one, beware of those crafty fellows Who stroke (so it seems) and reach for the axe; » No man falls more easily, and is sooner deceived, » Than he who is rocked to sleep with a sweet appearance.

Lat. Insidiatur qui admodum blanditur.

Latin. He who flatters excessively lies in wait.

Nederl. Honigh in den mondt / en 'tscheermes aen den riem.

Dutch. Honey in the mouth and the razor on the strap.

Franç. En beau semblant gist faussetè.

French. In a fair appearance lies falsehood.

Lat. Aliud in titulo, aliud in pixide.

Latin. One thing on the label, another in the box.

Ital. Pazzo è colui chi si fida in finti visi.

Italian. He is a fool who trusts in feigned faces.

Ital. A chi ha due cuori, due lingue. E duo volti non si puo credere.

Italian. He who has two hearts, two tongues and two faces cannot be believed.

'tZijn slimme katzen / Die van voren lecken/ en achter kratzen. Nederl.

They are sly cats that lick in front and scratch behind. Dutch.

Chi ti fa piu carezze che ne sole O tradito t'ha, ò tradir ti vuole. Ital.

He who caresses you more than he is used to has either betrayed you or wants to betray you. Italian.

Non è piu cattiva carne da conoscer che quella dell' huomo.

There is no flesh harder to know than that of man.

Chi innanzi mi pinge Dietro mi tinge.

He who paints me in front, stains me behind.

Chi ti fa meglio che non suole Ingannato ti ha ò ingannar te vuole.

He who treats you better than he is wont has deceived you or wants to deceive you.

Franç. Si la pilule avoit bon goust on ne la doreroit pas par dehors.

French. If the pill tasted good one would not gild it on the outside.

Nederl. Als de vos de passy preeckt / boeren wachtje gansen.

Dutch. When the fox preaches the Passion, peasants, watch your geese.

Ital. Dio mi guardi da quella gutta, che dinanzi mi lecca è di dietro mi graffia.

Italian. God keep me from that drop (cat) which licks me in front and scratches me behind.

Franç. La fortune est coustumiere pinser en flattant.

French. Fortune is accustomed to pinch while flattering.

Ital. Chi me fa piu de ben che suole Il me trahit à trahir me vuole.

Italian. He who does me more good than he is used to, betrays me or wishes to betray me.

Lat. Nemo tutius malus est quam sub pietatis infula.

Latin. No one is more safely wicked than under the headband of piety.

Franç. Qui me faict plus de bien qu'il ne souloit Il me trahit ou trahir me voudroit.

French. He who does me more good than he used to, either betrays me or would wish to betray me.

Reniego del amigo, qui cubre con las alas, y muerde con el pico. Spaens.

I renounce the friend who covers with his wings and bites with his beak. Spanish.

Ie renie l'amy qui couvre avec des aisles & mord avec le becq. Franç.

I renounce the friend who covers with his wings and bites with his beak. French.

Besser ein sawrschender freund / denn ein lachender feind. Hoogd.

Better a sour-looking friend than a laughing enemy. High German.

Impia sub dulci melle venena latent. Lat.

Wicked poisons lie hidden under sweet honey. Latin.

In una mano il pomo, nel' altra il bastone. Ital.

In one hand the apple, in the other the stick. Italian.

Chi è reo è buono è tenuto Può fare il mal è non è creduto.

He who is wicked but held to be good can do evil and not be believed (to have done it).

Da una banda egli ni unge Dall' altra me punge.

On one side he anoints me, on the other he pricks me.

Belle parole & cattivi fatti Ingannano i savij è matti.

Fine words and wicked deeds deceive the wise and the mad.

Prov. 27. 6. De kussen des haters zijn bedriegelijck.

Proverbs 27:6. The kisses of the hater are deceitful.

Prov. 26. 26. Wanneer hy sijn stemme vriendelijck maeckt / soo en ghelooft hem niet / want seven grouwelen zijn in sijn herte.

Proverbs 26:26. When he makes his voice friendly, do not believe him, for seven abominations are in his heart.

Ovid. Tuta frequensque via est per amici lædere nomen, Tuta frequensque licet sit via, crimen habet.

Ovid. It is a safe and common way to do harm under the name of a friend; though the way be safe and common, it holds a crime.

Iconclass

25F26(HARE) rodents: hare

25H1 landscapes in the temperate zone

34B11 dog

43C111261 hare-hunting, rabbit-hunting

43C114 hunter

43C114(+4111) hunter (+ spear)

43C1147 hunting dogs

43C11482 hunting horn

83(ERASMUS, Adagiorum chiliades III iii 36) (ERASMUS, Adagiorum chiliades III iii 36) specific works of literature (with AUTHOR, Title)

86(DUOS INSEQUENS LEPORES NEUTRUM CAPIT)(+0) proverbs, sayings, etc. (DUOS INSEQUENS LEPORES NEUTRUM CAPIT) (+ variant)

86(QUI DUOS SEQUITUR LEPORES NEUTRUM CAPIT) proverbs, sayings, etc. (QUI DUOS SEQUITUR LEPORES NEUTRUM CAPIT)

Suggested Iconclass codesAI-generated

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

43C111261 hare-hunting, rabbit-huntinghigh

The scene shows a hunter with spear and hound pursuing hares, which is literally 'hare-hunting'.

25F26(HARE) rodents: harehigh

Two hares are explicitly depicted fleeing in opposite directions, matching 'rodents: hare'.

43C1147 hunting dogshigh

A hound runs in the lower left foreground as part of the hunt, matching 'hunting dogs'.

86 proverbs, sayings, etc.high

The emblem illustrates proverbial sayings ('he who hunts two hares catches neither', 'honey in the mouth and the razor on the strap'), i.e. 'proverbs, sayings, etc.'

86(...) proverbs, sayings, etc. (with TEXT)medium

The image serves as the visualization of specific quoted proverbs, which can be recorded with the proverb text in 'proverbs, sayings, etc. (with TEXT)'.

57AA621 Cheat, Deceit; 'Fraude', 'Inganno' (Ripa)medium

The commentary's central theme is 'Deceit/Fraude' — being deceived by taking the new road, by feigned friendship and false appearance.

57AA6121 Flattery; 'Adulatione' (Ripa)medium

The accompanying verses warn against the flatterer who strokes while hiding an axe, matching 'Flattery'.

57AA611 Dissimulation, Hypocrisy; 'Hippocresia', 'Simulatione' (Ripa)medium

The repeated motifs of 'honey in the mouth, razor on the strap' and the fox preaching correspond to 'Dissimulation, Hypocrisy'.

57AA6131 Guile, Artfulness, Craftiness, Deceitfulnesslow

The 'sly trick', 'crafty fellows' and cunning business described fit 'Guile, Craftiness', though it overlaps with the deceit concept.

86(BEWARE THE GEESE WHEN THE FOX PREACHES) proverbs, sayings, etc.: Beware the geese when the fox preacheslow

This exact proverb is quoted in the commentary ('When the fox preaches the Passion, peasants, watch your geese'), though it is not what is depicted.

Relationships to the Adagia of ErasmusAI-generated

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

III iii 36 Duos insequens lepores neutrum capit – direct mottohigh

The emblem's motto 'Qui duos sequitur lepores neutrum capit' is a direct Latin form of this adage (Erasmus: 'Qui duos insectatur lepores, neutrum capit'), and the picture literally shows a hunter failing to catch two fleeing hares; the subscriptio spells out the adage's sense that whoever grasps at double advantage loses both.

I viii 29 Altera manu fert lapidem, altera panem ostentat – thematic inventiomedium

The second (butcher) commentary — one hand scratching the pig's neck, the other holding the axe — and its Italian parallel 'In una mano il pomo, nel' altra il bastone' reproduce exactly the image of Erasmus's adage of the man who shows bread with one hand while carrying a stone in the other, the classic emblem of feigned friendship.

I viii 57 Melle litus gladius – thematic inventiomedium

The commentary's 'Impia sub dulci melle venena latent' and the Dutch 'Honigh in den mondt / en 'tscheermes aen den riem' render precisely Erasmus's adage of the honey-smeared sword, applied (as he says) to 'perniciosa adulatio' — flattery that conceals a deadly wound.

I viii 58 Letale mulsum – thematic inventiolow

Erasmus's 'deadly honey-brew' (of anything so sweet that it is destructive, especially flattery) matches the emblem's maxim that poison hides under sweet honey and that the man rocked to sleep by a sweet appearance is most easily destroyed.

I x 54 Χρηστολόγος – thematic inventiomedium

Erasmus defines chrestologoi as those 'who speak well and act badly,' beguiling the innocent with fair speech — the exact point of the emblem's 'Insidiatur qui admodum blanditur', 'En beau semblant gist faussetè' and the Proverbs citations on the friendly voice hiding seven abominations.

III i 37 Demulcere caput – thematic inventiolow

The butcher who strokes the pig's neck with one hand while raising the axe enacts Erasmus's proverbial gesture of 'stroking the head' as the typical action of flatterers (he also cites Lucilius' 'caput scabit').

IV ii 25 Benignior pellace vulpe – thematic inventiolow

Erasmus's adage is said 'of one who pretends to be kind for his own advantage', which is the burden of the emblem's Italian sayings ('Chi ti fa piu carezze che ne sole / O tradito t'ha...') and of the Dutch fox-preaching-the-Passion proverb.

IV i 32 Cauda blandiri – thematic inventiolow

The emblem's 'slimme katzen / Die van voren lecken en achter kratzen' and 'quella gatta che dinanzi mi lecca è di dietro mi graffia' echo Erasmus's animal image of fawning with the tail for the sake of gain.