History of Monsters. 278

Nor are armored men excluded from emblems, as Alciati has depicted an armed man speaking with an unarmed one holding books. This image represents Diomedes and Ulysses, who are said to be symbols of strength and intellect respectively. From this we learn that in managing affairs, both physical vigor and mental prudence must be employed; on this matter, Alciati writes:

“One excels in strength, the other in mental sharpness, yet neither is without need of the other's help. When the two come together, victory is certain; mind or right hand alone leaves a man wanting.”

Similarly, Alciati depicted two armored men joining their right hands, with the title *Concord*. The theme seems to be taken from Cornelius Tacitus, who reported that right hands offered back and forth by armies were a sign of harmony. For this reason, it is rightly sung:

“...this is the sign of Concord, that those whom love joins, their hands join as well.”

Finally, Alciati presents a picture of armed men thrusting a trumpeter, who had sounded the call to battle, into prison. It is titled *The Guilt of the Offender and the Advisor is Equal*. The subject is drawn from an Aesopic fable mentioning a trumpeter captured in war who, having killed no one, declared himself innocent. However, it was judged that he, above all others, deserved death; for although he took no part in the fighting, he had incited others to war. Indeed, in the opinion of legal experts, those who act and those who provide consent—the offenders and the instigators—are to be punished equally. This emblem is directed especially at those who, through words and advice, urge princes toward war.

There remain several other emblems featuring various groups of men engaged in different activities. For instance, Alciati depicts men attending a sacrifice prepared at an altar, where a serpent devours little birds nesting in a tree, titled *From Hardships, an Everlasting Name*. This image represents the Greeks at sacrifice, and the figure of the serpent eating the birds signifies the ten years during which the Greeks besieged Troy.

Since we have touched upon sacrifices, we must not omit Pierre Coustau's illustration, showing men offering squills to Jupiter on an altar. With this image, the author intended to represent the people of Phaselis, who consecrated first-fruits of no value—mere cheap squills—to the gods. This applies to those who care only to be wealthy for themselves.

Again, in Alciati's work, we see figures of men with drums; one is being beaten while the other remains silent, titled *Formidable Even After Death*. Natural historians write that if a drum made from wolf skin is struck, another made from sheepskin will fall silent, as was recorded in our *History of Viviparous Quadrupeds*. Through this emblem, the author wished to suggest that there are some who, due to the sweetness of their character and the brilliance of their virtues, leave a memory of themselves to posterity; conversely, there are others whose memory is never extinguished by future generations because of the ferocity of their ways. It is said, for instance, that among the Turks there was a very brave commander named Hunyadi, whose name remained so terrifying even after his death that nurses would pretend Hunyadi was coming to stop children from crying.

Alciati also depicts men gathering the fruit of the lotus tree, with the inscription *Into Forgetfulness of the Homeland*. This picture represents the companions of Ulysses who, having traveled to the island of the Lotus-eaters and being lured by the sweetness of this fruit, could not be persuaded by any pleas to return to Ithaca, as we read in Homer. The emblem concerns those who, living in some pleasant land, erase their homeland from memory, or rather, it looks to those who, having reached the pinnacle of high office, become forgetful both of themselves and their kin.

Furthermore, Alciati portrays a blind man carrying a sighted man whose legs are broken, with the title *Mutual Aid*. The theme seems to be taken from the first book of Greek epigrams, where there is a four-line verse translated into Latin as follows: