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

Emblem 38

A horseman breaking a horse with a strong bit

Non locus virum, sed vir locum ornatLatin

Not the place the man, but the man adorns the place

To the Honorable Sir PHILLIP SIDNEY Knight, Governour of the Garrison and towne of Vlissing.

Interpretation (German): Kraftvolle Herrschaft über ein mutiges Volk

Subscriptio

Facsimile page — Facsimile; click the page to enlarge

TranscriptionAI-generated

THE Poëttes faine, that DANAVS daughters deare, Inioyned are to fill the fatall tonne: Where, thowghe they toile, yet are they not the neare, But as they powre, the water forthe dothe runne: No paine will serue, to fill it to the toppe, For, still at holes the same doth runne, and droppe. Which reprehendes, three sortes of wretches vaine, The blabbe, th'ingrate, and those that couet still, As first, the blabbe, no secretts can retaine. Th'ingrate, not knowes to vse his frendes good will. The couetous man, thowghe he abounde with store Is not suffis'de, but couetts more and more.

TranslationAI-generated

The poets tell that Danaus' dear daughters are enjoined to fill the fatal tun (cask): where, though they toil, they are none the nearer, but as they pour, the water runs out again; no labour will serve to fill it to the top, for still the same runs and drips out at the holes. This reproves three sorts of empty wretches: the blabber, the ungrateful man, and those who covet continually. First, the blabber can keep no secrets. The ungrateful man does not know how to use his friend's goodwill. The covetous man, though he abounds with wealth, is not satisfied, but covets more and more.

CommentaryAI-generated

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

Superbia

Pride [catchword for the next emblem]

Notes and related emblems

In Alciatus' Emblemata the emblem has the motto: "Non locus virum, sed vir locum ornat"
Related emblem in another book: embstma_1667_emblem038

Iconclass

25H11 mountains
25I12 prospect of city, town panorama, silhouette of city
26A clouds
31A2352 sitting on an elevation
31A2512(+933) arm stretched forward (+ holding something)
31A2515(+933) arm held downwards (+ holding something)
31D14 adult man
34A21 breaking to saddle, bridle, etc. ~ wild horses
41D221(+81) head-gear (+ men's clothes)
41D233(+81) gear for legs and feet (+ men's clothes)
41D27 drapery, draped garment, 'Gewandgebung'
44B10 virtues of the ruler
45C22 armour
46C131 riding a horse, ass, or mule; rider, horseman
46C131612 bit
46C131613 reins
46C13185 rearing (horse in motion)
46C1461 prick, goad
54A3(+4) Competence (+ emblematical representation of concept)
54A7(+4) Strength, Power; 'Fortezza', 'Fortezza d'Animo e di corpo', 'Fortezza del corpo congiunta con la generosità dell'animo', 'Fortezza & valore del corpo congiunto con la prudenza & virtù del animo', 'Forza' (Ripa) (+ emblematical representation of concept)
59B4(+4) Dignity; 'Dignità' (Ripa) (+ emblematical representation of concept)
61B2(SIDNEY, Philip)3 historical person (SIDNEY, Philip) - other representations to which the NAME of a historical person may be attached (SIDNEY, Philip)
86(NON LOCUS VIRUM, SED VIR LOCUM ORNAT) proverbs, sayings, etc. (NON LOCUS VIRUM, SED VIR LOCUM ORNAT)

Suggested Iconclass codesAI-generated

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

41A775 wooden container: barrel, caskhigh
The correlate 'wooden container: barrel, cask' exactly matches the large stave-and-hoop wooden cask that is the sole subject of the image.
11N31 Pride; 'Superbia' (Ripa) ~ personification of one of the Seven Deadly Sinslow
The correlate 'Pride; Superbia ~ personification of one of the Seven Deadly Sins' corresponds to the word 'Pride' in the text, though here it is only a catchword for the following emblem and no personification is depicted.

Relationships to the Adagia of ErasmusAI-generated

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

I x 33 Inexplebile dolium – thematic inventiohigh
The emblem's picture is precisely Erasmus's 'jar that cannot be filled' / 'dolium pertusum' (Plautus, 'In pertusum ingerimus dolium, operam ludimus'), and Erasmus applies it exactly to the emblem's targets: the insatiably greedy, and the forgetful man who lets everything he hears run straight out again (Whitney's 'blabbe' who can keep no secret).
I iv 60 Cribro aquam haurire – thematic inventiomedium
Erasmus's adage on drawing water in a sieve is the standard locus for the myth of the Danaids endlessly pouring water into a leaking vessel, which is the explicit subject of Whitney's subscriptio ('DANAVS daughters ... Inioyned are to fill the fatall tonne').
II v 24 Mendici pero non impletur – thematic inventiolow
Erasmus glosses the never-filled beggar's satchel as applying to the rich who are never satisfied and to those whose desires grow the more they indulge them, matching the emblem's covetous man who 'thowghe he abounde with store / Is not suffis'de, but couetts more and more'.
I iv 53 In aqua sementem facis – thematic inventiolow
Erasmus explains this proverb of vain labour precisely as 'those who confer a benefit on ungrateful men', which is the emblem's second wretch, the ingrate who cannot use his friend's goodwill; the image of effort lost in water also matches the leaking cask.
I iv 51 Arare littus – thematic inventiolow
Belongs to the same 'Inanis opera' cluster underlying the motto 'Frustrà', and Erasmus specifies its special use for kindness bestowed 'on an ungrateful person' from whom no return will ever come, as in the emblem's ingrate.

Sources

Record ID: embstma_1667_emblem038
This emblem on the Iconclass site: https://iconclass.org/view/embstma_1667_emblem038
Copy: University Library, Glasgow, Stirling Maxwell 1667