thought that not only contemplation, but also use and practice are necessary for a wise man; for this reason, practice is represented here by a figure with many hands, and the counsel of others by a figure with many ears.

There is also a monstrous man marked by the ears of a hare, whom Ripa uses to represent Theft: for a thief emulates the timid hare, being suspicious for even the slightest reason and fearing his theft will soon be discovered. The same author paints a woman with donkey ears for Arrogance, since the donkey is considered a stupid animal and a symbol of ignorance; for one filled with Arrogance, even if unfit for the task, never stops aspiring to public office. For this reason, Saint Thomas argued with excellent reasoning that an arrogant man is one who attributes to himself what he does not possess.

Furthermore, in another place, Ripa depicted a youth likewise adorned with donkey ears, holding a hoe and a broom in his hand, to signify the unlearned and ignoble common people, who do not distinguish good from evil and repeatedly change their minds. Different from this is another image of a woman equipped with many ears, representing Curiosity; for the curious person needs many ears to be able to grasp countless novelties. On this subject, Saint Bernard, describing a curious monk, said: "If you see a monk wandering, with his head held high and his ears pricked up, you will know he is curious." Additionally, many human figures with other things attached to their heads can be seen in Ripa, as he uses them to express Invention, to describe poetic Fury, and in the depiction of Science.

Monstrous images regarding the tongue must not be omitted. Ripa paints a monstrous woman with tongues hanging from every part of her body to represent Lying; for these varied tongues demonstrate the inconstancy of the liar, who departs from the truth in speech and describes only the appearance of truth in every matter. Likewise, a woman is painted with a tongue on the crown of her head to signify Persuasion, as the tongue is the instrument of persuasion and was said to be the hieroglyph for words among the Egyptians.

If we consider the monstrous hands of these figures, Manifest Action is declared by the image of a woman with open palms, in each of which an eye is seen. According to the mind of the ancients, the hand was the hieroglyph of action, and the eye demonstrated the quality of that action, which must always be manifest. One may also see a four-handed and two-headed man in Ripa, who represents Obligation to all: for a man who is obligated and bound takes on a double persona, as he must satisfy both himself and another.

Moving on to examine the monstrous lower parts of these figures, we encounter a painting of a woman from the waist down whose legs curve above her head to form a circle: this is how Ripa represents Eternity, which lacks both beginning and end. Elsewhere in his work, another human figure is seen whose thighs end in serpent tails to represent Deceit. Indeed, one who practices deception leads a person into a trap with a lure veiled by the appearance of integrity; thus, this figure has human upper parts while ending in serpents. Similarly, to designate Hypocrisy, a gaunt woman with wolf's feet is depicted: for hypocrites put on the outward kindness of a lamb, but possess a mind imbued with the habits of a predatory wolf. Finally, to represent the World, Ripa used the figure of a horned man with goat's feet; more will be said about this monstrous image in the section on Hieroglyphs.

Since we have fallen into a discussion of goats, it will not be out of place to recall the monstrous Chimera, which Hesiod described as a three-formed monster in these words: "A lion in front, a dragon behind, and a goat in the middle." Even Ovid, describing this monster in the *Metamorphoses*, sang: "And the Chimera had a goat on the middle part of its ridge, the breast and face of a lioness, and the tail of a serpent." Consequently, painters, relying on these fictions of the poets, have drawn the monstrous image of the Chimera integrated from the parts of a lion, a goat, and a dragon. However, we provide here an image taken from a certain statue inscribed with Etruscan letters, which was perhaps carved in this manner to represent the Chimera