274 Ulysses Aldrovandi

reeking of sulfur, and due to the constant handling of mercury, they gain nothing but incurable paralysis.

In the work of Camerarius, one can see the image of a man gazing at a heap of hay with the inscription: *Thus is All Flesh*. This is later explained by the following couplet:

"Whoever you are, who happens to look upon this bundle of hay, look at yourself: you are hay; put away your pride."

Florentius presents an icon of a man looking at the sun, with the heading: *Rejoice in God*. By this, the author strives to persuade us that just as the sun, though distant from the heavens, illuminates the globe with its own brilliance, so too can the human soul meditate upon God, even while enclosed within the body. In the work of Costalius, there is an image of a man showing a tight ring pulled from his finger, titled: *Liberty*. This is because a tight ring signifies the loss of freedom.

The same author depicts a man painting a human figure on a panel, a likeness representing the painter Protogenes, who almost never laid down his brushes. From a contrary perspective, the author warns that one must occasionally take a holiday, as the poet sang: "A burden carried with intervals feels less heavy."

Finally, Reusner painted Mercury in the middle of a circle with the title: *Many Things to be Read Often*, and one may see six hundred examples of this kind in his work. Now we must turn our attention to emblems featuring the figures of old men. Indeed, Florentius has a picture of an old man throwing away a cup, while a boy drinks water from a river with his cupped hand, bearing the inscription: *The Wise Man Neglects Superfluous Goods*. This figure represents Diogenes, who, upon observing children scooping water from a river with their hands to quench their thirst, immediately and indignantly threw away the wooden cup he carried as something extra. He intended to show that once superfluous wealth is cast aside, peace and tranquility will dwell with us.

An image of an old man appears in Costalius’s work; he seems to be learning letters from a schoolmaster like a young boy. The inscription reads: *Satiety in All Things, Except for Learning*. This picture represents that excellent orator, supreme senator, and most distinguished censor, Cato, who did not blush to learn Greek letters at the age of sixty; as a young man entangled in business, he had been unable to grasp them. From this, we should conclude that the study of learning should never be interrupted.

In a similar vein, Costalius proposes another emblem showing the image of an old man lying at the edge of a spring located at the foot of a mountain, with the title: *The Gods Sell All Things for Labor*. This picture refers to the ancient poet Hesiod, who, after spending much time at Helicon, suddenly emerged as a poet. From this, we gather that one must labor long to acquire knowledge, according to the common saying: "The Gods have decreed that virtue must be won through sweat."

Finally, Florentius depicts an old man with a bare, bald head sitting in a meadow, and a tortoise falling from the talons of an eagle onto his bald pate, with the title: *Future Things Lie Hidden*. Natural historians write that the eagle is so clever that it drops a captured tortoise onto a rock so that, the shell being broken, it may feed on the meat. Thus, thinking the bald head of the poet Aeschylus was a stone, the eagle dropped the tortoise and killed the poor man. Therefore, the unforeseen tragedy of Aeschylus warns us of the weakness and fragility of human life.

Emblems adorned with the likenesses of women should not be overlooked. Florentius presents an icon of a woman—specifically Diana, armed with a bow and arrows and pursuing a stag—with the inscription: *Labor is the Tamer of Love*. The poets of old feigned that Cupid had bound all the gods and goddesses in the chains of love except for Diana, because Diana, devoted to constant hunting, could in no way be ensnared. By this, they meant to signify that foul pleasure, which pollutes body and soul in shameful ways and is nourished by idleness and softness, is tamed by labor and a harsh life. Thus, it is aptly sung:

"If you take away idleness, insane lust perishes; it is conquered by constant labor and a hard life."

Junius also portrays a beautiful woman, namely Venus, with her head veiled, sitting in