According to Theophrastus (and his statement is confirmed by horticulturalists), if you step upon the crocus before it has bloomed and if you wear it down somewhat with your feet, it will grow back afterwards more beautifully and will put forth buds more abundantly. So too, those men who are strong and courageous and who have been prepared, both by birth and training, to take on and to accomplish great and exceptional deeds, will not be frightened away or broken down by difficult or adverse circumstances. To the contrary, these things will only make such men more ready and eager to undertake and complete any excellent deed that bravery requires. Seneca, therefore, is correct in saying: Courage withers if it faces no challengers. Only then do we realize how great a thing courage is—and how powerful and influential it can be—when some obstacle reveals what it is capable of. No less excellent is Thucydides’ remark: In the midst of disaster, whoever is least wounded in spirit, and most resilient in action, turns out to be the most powerful, both when it comes to men, and when it comes to communities.
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How could you not be curious about this emblem with a leg coming out of the clouds to crush a saffron plant? This emblem is about regeneration and triumph over adversity and teaches us that what is tread upon, grows back richer. The precious plant saffron which comes from the dried stigmas of the crocus has been used as a dye, flavoring, perfume, and medicine. Saffron, a symbol of wisdom, lends its bright golden hue to the color of Buddhist monks’ robes. This is the ancient version of “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”
Pulchrior Atrita Resurgo
I rise again more beautiful for being crushed. plants
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Saffron is crushed so it can rise more beautiful: O great madness, so it can rise more happily, crush it!
The fox, an animal otherwise baneful because of its cunning, is consulted when it is icy, and people do not cross frozen rivers unless they have done so. It is observed that they set their ear to the ground to attain the ice’s thickness. When people want to cross a river frozen with ice, they use a fox for testing the solidity of the ice. For they approach slowly and use their ear, and if they sense the water underneath flowing from the noise they hear, they decide that the water in the depths has not yet frozen, and therefore halt, and unless someone stops it, it goes back. If it perceives no sound, it crosses boldly. From this we extract a very useful precept for all our lives, that we should use a certain singular advisable caution in all things, which ensures that we do not heedlessly trust anything or anyone, and that contrarily we do not obstinately distrust everything.
Nothing is better for a wise man Than diffidence, nothing more useful to mortals
The strength and power of wisdom is not trusting rashly.
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The way this fox behaves on the ice indicates whether it is possible to trust the ice to be firm and solid. This emblem is about using caution and learning to trust wisely. The fox, a symbol of guile based on its cleverness and elusiveness, can hear through the earth about far-off events. This made him a diviner and a guide to intuitive intelligence.
Fide
Caution will save you in all things. Beware of attacking before exploring.
The chameleon is a small African animal, and not uncommon in India, the size of a large lizard, though its legs are straighter and taller. The proverb that says that someone is more changeable than a chameleon indicates that it can change into various colors. This is a suitable exemplar of a hypocrite and a fawner. Plutarch so explained this animal in his erudite essay ‘On Telling a Friend from a Sycophant:’ “The flatterer, like the chameleon, which puts on all colors but innocent white, being unable to reach those strokes of virtue which are worth his imitation, takes care that no failure or imperfection escape him.” It always holds its head upright and its mouth open. It is the only animal which receives nourishment neither by meat nor drink, nor anything else, but from the air alone. The nature of its colour, too, is very remarkable, for it is continually changing; its eyes, its tail, and its whole body always assuming the colour of whatever object is nearest, with the exception of white and red. This surely fits very well with fawners, who have the particular goal of imitating everything and agreeing with everything, except for what is far from their characters, namely a noble candor of simplicity and innocence, and a blush of modesty and shame.
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A colorful chameleon symbolizes false flattery by its ability to change color with its surroundings. Possessed of the art of escaping every dilemma, of deceiving with sweet talk, the ability to lie and wait patiently in ambush, the better to surprise one’s victims. The chameleon’s outer beauty doesn’t match any facet of its character. It is hypocritical, changeable, swayed by sordid interest, base intrigue and concealed greed. The only clue is the animal’s prehensile tail.
The disgraceful fawner transforms to many things, But a true mind is always like itself.
The “diver” gets its name from its constant diving. Now it often gathers the signs of the breezes under the waves with its head bent downwards towards the deep, and when it foresees a sea storm, it heads to the shore with a cry.” Ovid’s also says of the diver that it loves the sea, and its name remains, because it dives into it. This symbol especially fits those who never become despondent when troubled by difficult and harsh circumstances but withstand everything by themselves with a brave and constant heart, and at last struggle out of it. These are impossible to drown in the waves in adversity.
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In the midst of this waterfront scene are two loons: one swimming and the other one having dived down with only its feet above the water. The emblem shows us the importance of staying on course thru adversity and highlights the fact that perseverance though adversity furthers. The loon, who resembles a plump goose with seagull’s wings, is a solitary bird of the wilderness and possesses a haunting voice. It symbolizes tranquility, serenity, and reawakening of hopes and dreams. This bird is an impressive swimmer and an expert in the water: it can stay underwater for up to five minutes by slowing its heartbeat.
