Emblem 103

Emblem 103

Stulto ne permittas digitumLatin

Do not offer your finger to a fool.AI-generated

Description of the imageAI-generated

Within an oval frame set in a rectangular border with hatched corner spandrels, two men stand full-length in the open air. On the left a stout peasant or burgher in a broad soft hat, open doublet showing a large belly, baggy breeches, boots and a purse and knife at his belt; he shouts with open mouth, raises his left hand with spread fingers near his head, and stretches his right arm out so that his finger reaches the mouth of the figure beside him. On the right stands a jester in a fool's hood with cockscomb, ass's ears and feathers, wearing a long fringed and belled motley gown with a large medallion-like clasp at the chest and bells hanging from the hem and sleeves; he bites or seizes the peasant's extended finger in his mouth while resting his other hand on his hip. In the background at left are the gabled houses and a tall tower of a town; at right an open flat landscape with distant trees, water and birds in the sky. Below the oval is an empty cartouche or scroll.

Suggested Iconclass codesAI-generated

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

86 proverbs, sayings, etc.high

The scene of a man putting his finger into a fool's mouth and being bitten is the visualization of a proverbial saying, matching 'proverbs, sayings, etc.'

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

The emblem illustrates a specific proverb (not putting one's finger in a fool's mouth), which would be recorded under 'proverbs, sayings, etc. (with TEXT)'.

44B1524 court jester, court foolmedium

The right-hand figure is a classic fool in cockscomb hood with ass's ears and belled motley gown, i.e. the jester/fool type covered by 'court jester, court fool'.

44B15241 attributes of court jesterlow

The fool's hood with cockscomb, ass's ears, feathers and bells are the standard 'attributes of court jester' prominently depicted here.

52AA51 Folly, Foolishness; 'Pazzia', 'Sciocchezza', 'Stoltitia' (Ripa)low

The fool figure can be read as an embodiment of Folly/Foolishness, though he is shown as a genre figure rather than as Ripa's personification.

Relationships to the Adagia of ErasmusAI-generated

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

III v 5 Stulto ne permittas digitum – direct mottohigh

The emblem's motto is verbatim Erasmus's adage III v 5, and the picture literalizes the adage's own explanation (Εὐήθει δάκτυλον μὴ δείξῃς... 'lest he devour your whole hand'), with the fool biting the finger the peasant extends — echoed in the German subscriptio 'offer the fool a finger, he wants the whole fist.'

II i 14 Nemini fidas, nisi cum quo prius modium salis absumpseris – direct mottohigh

One of the Latin subscriptio lines quotes this adage headword almost word for word ('Nemini fidas nisi cum quo modium salis absumpseris'), supplying the emblem's secondary theme of cautious trust.

III iii 55 Fiducia pecunias amisi – thematic inventiomedium

The emblem's proverb cluster on misplaced trust ('Fide, sed cui vide'; 'Chi troppo fida, spesso grida'; 'Trevv ist mißlich') restates Erasmus's point that most men are ruined by trusting, and his maxim that trusting everyone is foolish while trusting no one is inhuman.

I i 70 Homo homini lupus – thematic inventiolow

Erasmus glosses this adage as a warning 'not to trust ourselves to an unknown person,' which matches the emblem's Italian line 'From him whom I trust may God guard me,' though there is no verbal or visual borrowing.

Description of the imageAI-generated

Subscriptio

TranscriptionAI-generated

TranslationAI-generated

Iconclass

Suggested Iconclass codesAI-generated

Relationships to the Adagia of ErasmusAI-generated

Sources