Geffrey Whitney, A choice of emblemes (Leiden, 1586)

Emblem 35

A beaver bites off its own testicles when pursued by two hunting dogs and a hunter

A beaver bites off its own testicles when pursued by two hunting dogs and a hunter
Engraving · click to enlarge

Aere quandoque salutem redimendamLatin

Safety must sometimes be bought with money

Interpretation (German)
Opfer für die Erhaltung des Lebens

Description of the imageAI-generated

Within an oval frame with hatched corner spandrels and an empty scroll-banderole below, an outdoor landscape: at the left an old bearded peasant in a broad-brimmed hat and loose jacket strides forward carrying a long-handled hay-fork over his shoulder; he bends slightly and stretches out his right hand, pointing down at a young man who lies sprawled on the ground, leaning back against an earthen bank, legs stretched out and one shoe fallen off, wearing a flat cap and holding a stick. At the right rises a large gnarled, nearly leafless tree with twisted roots. On the bare ground in the right foreground a long trail of ants is seen crawling. In the left distance is a flat landscape with a village and a church spire, with birds in the clouded sky.

Facsimile

Facsimile page
Facsimile; click the page to enlarge

The text of this emblem has not yet been transcribed.

Notes and related emblems

Iconclass

Sources

Record ID: embstma_1667_emblem035
This emblem on the Iconclass site: https://iconclass.org/view/embstma_1667_emblem035
Copy: University Library, Glasgow, Stirling Maxwell 1667