Emblem 24

Emblem 24

A snake coiled around a strawberry plant

Latet anguis in herbaLatin

The snake hides in the grass

Interpretation: Snake and Strawberry plant (A snake lies hid in the grass)

Description of the imageAI-generated

Within an ornate woodcut frame of foliate scrollwork, a strawberry plant grows from a low mound of earth, bearing lobed and serrated leaves, blossoms and ripe berries on arching stems. A long snake is coiled in several loops around the base and the main stalk of the plant, its head raised among the upper leaves.

Subscriptio

Facsimile page — Facsimile; click the page to enlarge

TranscriptionAI-generated

OF flattringe speeche, with sugred wordes beware, Suspect the harte, whose face doth fawne, and smile, With trusting theise, the worlde is clog'de with care, And fewe there bee can scape theise vipers vile: With pleasinge speeche they promise, and protest, When hatefull hartes lie hidd within their brest. The faithfull wight, dothe neede no collours braue, But those that truste, in time his truthe shall trie, Where fawning mates, can not theire credit saue, Without a cloake, to flatter, faine, and lye: No foe so fell, nor yet soe harde to scape, As is the foe, that fawnes with freindlie shape.

TranslationAI-generated

Of flattering speech, with sugared words beware; suspect the heart whose face does fawn and smile. By trusting these, the world is clogged with care, and few there be that can escape these vile vipers: with pleasing speech they promise and protest, when hateful hearts lie hidden within their breast. The faithful man needs no brave colours, but those who trust him shall in time prove his truth; whereas fawning companions cannot save their credit without a cloak, to flatter, feign, and lie: no foe so fierce, nor yet so hard to escape, as is the foe that fawns with a friendly shape.

CommentaryAI-generated

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

Ouid. 1. Art. Idem 1. Fast.

Tuta, frequensq́ue via est, per amici fallere nomen.

Sic iterum, sic sæpe cadunt, vbi vincere apertè Non datur: insidias, armaq́ue tecta parant.

Ovid, Art of Love, book 1. The same, Fasti, book 1.

Safe and well-trodden is the road of deceiving under the name of friend.

So again, so often they fall, where open victory is not granted: they prepare ambushes and concealed weapons.

Iconclass

25F42(+57321) snakes (+ animal with tongue stuck out)

25F42(+55) snakes (+ postures of forelegs, forepaws, claws of animal(s))

25G4(STRAWBERRY)(+34) plants and herbs: strawberry (+ bearing fruit)

49M320

54DD51(+4):51GG5(+4) Danger; 'Pericolo' (Ripa) (+ emblematical representation of concept)❧Invisibility (+ emblematical representation of concept)

86(LATET ANGUIS IN HERBA) proverbs, sayings, etc. (LATET ANGUIS IN HERBA)

Suggested Iconclass codesAI-generated

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

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

The correlate 'Cheat, Deceit; Fraude, Inganno' matches the emblem's core theme of the snake hidden in the plant as the safe, well-trodden road of deceiving under the name of friend.

57AA6131 Guile, Artfulness, Craftiness, Deceitfulnessmedium

'Guile, Artfulness, Craftiness, Deceitfulness' fits the commentary's ambushes and concealed weapons used when open victory is impossible, embodied by the serpent lurking among the strawberry leaves.

Relationships to the Adagia of ErasmusAI-generated

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

I iv 34 Sub omni lapide scorpius dormit – thematic inventiomedium

Erasmus' adage of the venomous creature concealed beneath an innocuous surface ('nothing is safe, everything demands caution') is the exact proverbial analogue of the snake hidden in the grass/strawberry plant, warning against unseen harm among apparently harmless things.

III x 53 Verbo tenus amicus – thematic inventiomedium

Erasmus' adage, glossed 'she beguiled his mind with gentle words but her thoughts were on other things,' matches the subscriptio's 'With pleasinge speeche they promise, and protest, / When hatefull hartes lie hidd within their brest.'

IV iii 76 Praestat habere acerbos – thematic inventiomedium

Cato's sentiment that bitter enemies serve one better than seemingly sweet friends is the moral of the closing couplet: 'No foe so fell, nor yet soe harde to scape, / As is the foe, that fawnes with freindlie shape.'

I x 54 Χρηστολόγος – thematic inventiomedium

The adage describes those whose words are good but deeds bad, who 'by fair speech and smooth words beguile the hearts of the innocent' — precisely Whitney's warning against 'flattringe speeche, with sugred wordes.'

I viii 58 Letale mulsum – thematic inventiomedium

Erasmus applies the 'deadly honey-brew' and 'poisoned honey' to flattery that delights with sweetness while it kills; the emblem's 'sugred wordes' concealing venomous 'vipers vile' is the same conceit of sweetness hiding poison.

IV ii 40 Colubrum in sinu fovere – thematic inventiomedium

The snake-as-treacherous-intimate image of the viper warmed in the bosom is the nearest serpentine adage to the emblem's lesson that the hidden snake is the false friend who will strike when opportunity comes.

IV ii 25 Benignior pellace vulpe – thematic inventiolow

Erasmus' adage for one who 'pretends to be kind for his own advantage' corresponds to the emblem's fawning face that smiles while the heart is hateful.

IV vii 61 Cuniculis oppugnare – thematic inventiolow

The adage distinguishes covert tunnelling from open assault, matching the Ovidian commentary quoted on the page: 'where open victory is not granted, they prepare ambushes and hidden weapons.'