Emblem 28

Emblem 28

Icarus falling into the sea

In AstrologosLatin

Against astrologers

Interpretation: Icarus falling (On Astrologers)
Interpretation (German): Torheit der Sterndeuterei

Description of the imageAI-generated

Within an ornate foliate woodcut border, a square scene: a naked youth (Icarus) falls headlong through the air, upside down, his arms outstretched and large feathered wings detaching from his shoulders, loose feathers scattering. At the upper left a radiant sun with a human face shines through rays; banks of clouds fill the middle of the sky. Below lies a sea with small sailing ships, and a coastline with land masses at either side.

Subscriptio

Facsimile page — Facsimile; click the page to enlarge

TranscriptionAI-generated

HEARE, ICARVS with mountinge vp alofte, Came headlonge downe, and fell into the Sea: His waxed winges, the sonne did make so softe, They melted straighte, and feathers fell awaie: So, whilste he flewe, and of no dowbte did care, He moouide his armes, but loe, the same were bare. Let suche beware, which paste theire reache doe mounte, Whoe seeke the thinges, to mortall men deny'de, And searche the Heauens, and all the starres accoumpte, And tell therebie, what after shall betyde: With blusshinge nowe, theire weakenesse rightlie weye, Least as they clime, they fall to theire decaye.

TranslationAI-generated

Here, Icarus, by mounting up aloft, came headlong down and fell into the sea: the sun made his waxed wings so soft that they melted straightway and the feathers fell away; so, while he flew and cared for no danger, he moved his arms, but behold, they were bare. Let such beware as climb beyond their reach, who seek the things denied to mortal men, and search the heavens and count up all the stars, and thereby foretell what shall come to pass: let them now with blushing rightly weigh their weakness, lest as they climb they fall to their ruin.

CommentaryAI-generated

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

Martial. 1. Illud quod medium est, atque inter vtrumque, probamus. Ouid. Trist. 3. Dum petit infirmis nimium sublimia pennis Icarus, Icariis nomina fecit aquis. Vitaret cælum Phaëton, si viueret, & quos Optauit stultè tangere, nollet equos.

Martial, book 1: That which is the middle way, and between both extremes, is what we approve. Ovid, Tristia 3: While Icarus sought the heights too high on feeble wings, he gave his name to the Icarian waters. Phaethon would shun the sky, if he were alive, and would not want the horses which he foolishly desired to touch.

Iconclass

14A0

24A6 sun represented as face, wheel, etc.

25F(+352) animals (+ feathers)

25H11 mountains

25H23 sea (seascape)

26A clouds

31A2764 falling through the air

31D12(+89) youth, young man, adolescent (+ nude human being)

31E2321(+0):31E225 violent death by heat (boiling lead, burning coal, etc.) (+ variant)❧dying from the effects of a fall

46CC24(+63)

52AA51(+4) Folly, Foolishness; 'Pazzia', 'Sciocchezza', 'Stoltitia' (Ripa) (+ emblematical representation of concept)

86(IN ASTROLOGOS) proverbs, sayings, etc. (IN ASTROLOGOS)

95A(ICARUS)681 death i.e. the fall of Icarus, without Daedalus

Suggested Iconclass codesAI-generated

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

95A(ICARUS)6 suffering, misfortune of Icarushigh

The correlate 'suffering, misfortune of Icarus' exactly matches the depicted fall of the naked youth whose wings detach as feathers scatter over the sea.

95A(ICARUS) (story of) Icarus, son of Daedalushigh

The scene and commentary explicitly treat the '(story of) Icarus, son of Daedalus', who gave his name to the Icarian sea shown below.

54A431 the Golden Mean; 'Mediocrità' (Ripa)medium

The motto 'that which is the middle way, between both extremes, we approve' is precisely the personified virtue 'the Golden Mean; Mediocrità'.

52BB4 Presumptionlow

'Presumption' is the vice exemplified by Icarus (and Phaethon) aiming too high, the moral the emblem condemns, though no personification is depicted.

92B391 Phaethonlow

The correlate 'Phaethon' corresponds to the commentary's parallel exemplum of Phaethon, although he is not shown in the picture.

83(OVID, Metamorphoses VIII:183-235) Daedalus and Icaruslow

The correlate 'Daedalus and Icarus' is the standard Ovidian text for the flight and fall depicted, though the quoted verses here come from the Tristia.

Relationships to the Adagia of ErasmusAI-generated

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

III i 65 Daedali alae – thematic inventiohigh

The emblem's picture and subscriptio depict exactly the Daedalus/Icarus wings story that Erasmus recounts under this adage; Icarus' waxed wings, borrowed 'new device' of flight, fail him because he is not suited to the undertaking.

I vi 69 Quae supra nos, nihil ad nos – thematic inventiomedium

The moral — 'Whoe seeke the thinges, to mortall men deny'de, / And searche the Heauens' — is precisely Erasmus' adage warning that what is above us is no concern of ours, the classic proverb cited against prying into celestial and astrological secrets.

III viii 87 Ultra vires nihil aggrediendum – thematic inventiomedium

The subscriptio's 'Let suche beware, which paste theire reache doe mounte' states the same lesson: nothing should be attempted beyond one's powers, as Icarus' 'infirmae pennae' show.

I vi 96 Ne quid nimis – thematic inventiomedium

The appended Martial tag 'Illud quod medium est, atque inter vtrumque, probamus' invokes the golden-mean doctrine that Erasmus expounds under 'Ne quid nimis'; Icarus perishes by excess, flying too high.

I vi 92 Intra tuam pelliculam te contine – thematic inventiomedium

Erasmus glosses this adage as a warning not to forget one's condition and attempt things beyond one's capacity — exactly the emblem's admonition that climbers past their reach should 'theire weakenesse rightlie weye'.

I vi 95 Nosce teipsum – thematic inventiolow

The closing exhortation to blush and 'theire weakenesse rightlie weye' is the self-knowledge/moderation lesson Erasmus attaches to 'Know thyself', which bids us not pursue objects too great for us.

II v 46 Ne supra pedem calceus – thematic inventiolow

Erasmus explains the adage as 'do not undertake tasks beyond your strength, nor bear yourself more grandly than your station', the same moral drawn from Icarus' fatal ascent.