Linkspagina --> Festina Lente :The meaning of the mottoDit motto komt uit het Latijn. Het betekent: "Haast je langzaam".
Gedurende de afgelopen twee eeuwen was het zeer gebruikelijk om Ons eerste schip droeg de naam "Festina Lente", we hebben ons zeilbedrijf steeds deze naam laten behouden. Nu varen we niet meer, maar de naam blijft. The Adage Festina Lente, Adage II i 1 (1001) carries as its title Festina lente which may be translated as make haste slowly. In its extensive commentary Erasmus discusses his experiences with printers in an aside which has contributed much its fame. Festina lente belongs to a class of proverbs characterized by enantiosis, or the contrast of opposites. Erasmus says that the proverb was derived from a line in the Knights of Aristophanes, Make haste with speed, a clear case of anadiplosis, or the forceful doubling of the same idea. Erasmus praises the proverb in the following way: This effective use of the contrast, and the neatness of the allusion, acquire not a little further grace from such apt and utter brevity, which seems to me somehow to have a special value of its own in adages, as in seal-rings, and makes them all the more admired and valued. If you consider the vigour and wealth of meaning embodied in these few brief words, so pregnant, so authoritative, so wholesome, so widely applicable to the whole range of human life, you will easily agree with me that in this great company of proverbs no other so richly deserved to be inscribed on every pillar, written up over the gate of every church (yes, and in letters of gold!), painted on the great doors of princes' courts, graven on the seal-rings of prelates and figured on the sceptres of kings ... He explains that to make haste slowly means: the right timing and the right degree, governed alike by vigilance and patience, so that nothing regrettable is done through haste, and nothing left undone through sloth ... If the adage contains a valuable exhortation for common men, it does so even stronger for princes, because the attitude it praises contributes to the well-being of the commonwealth, while at the same time rulers in particular run the risk of failing in either direction. Illustrating this, he points to Homer who gave Agamemnon a kind of soft-heartedness, the 'slowly' of the proverb, whereas he made Achilles too rash and head-strong, the 'make haste'-part. Alexander the Great follows Achilles, but Sardanapalus imitates Agamemnon. The adage strongly appealed to two Roman emperors, whom Erasmus counts among the rare examples of those who put it into practice: Octavius Augustus and Titus Vespasianus. Erasmus: Augustus in consequence was so devoted to this saying, as Aulus Gellius tells us in the Attic Nights, book 10 chapter 11, followed by Macrobius in book 6 of the Saturnalia, that he used it freely in his daily conversation and often included it in his letters, using these two words as a spur to encourage 'the concurrent application to business of rapid energy and meticulous care.' Gellius thinks this is expressed in Latin by a single word Matura, ripe. He continues with the discussion of a coin issued by Titus Vespasianus (supposedly) given to Aldus Manutius by Pietro Bembo. The coin showed on one side the head of Titus Vespasianus with an inscription, the other an anchor, the central shaft of which had a dolphin coiled around it. The meaning of the image, for which one can consult ancient texts on 'hieroglyphics' (among others Erasmus refers to Horapollo), is 'ever hasten slowly'. The coin itself is a circle and stands for eternity (has neither beginning nor end), the anchor (holds back and ties down a ship) stands for slowness, and the dolphin expresses speed (as the fastest and in its motions the most agile of living creatures). The pleasure given by this 'hieroglyphic' writing is experienced by those who have an insight into the qualities of things, which can be gained from a careful examination of things and their natural causes and from knowledge of the 'liberal disciplines'. Elaborating on the elements of Vespasianus's coin, Erasmus quotes Aristotle, Oppian, and Pliny. After this explication he starts off his laudatio of Aldus and the program of the Aldine press by saying, that after most ancient philosophy and the two most admirable Roman emperors, Aldus is the third to inherit the proverb. The praise of Aldus is followed by its opposite, the famous diatribe against those who fill the world with bad books, opening ... but first I must set out my grievance against certain printers ... After unburdening himself, Erasmus returns to the explanation of the proverb. It can be used, so he says, in three ways: The first is when we wish to point out that one should give prolonged thought to a piece of business before starting starting on it, but when one's mind is made up one should finish it with speed, so that the anchor symbolizes delay in considering and the dolphin speed in finishing [...] There will be another way of using this, when we wish to point out that the emotions must be reined in, as it were, by the reason [...] A third method of use will be when we wish to point out that in all business one should avoid the headlong haste which in some people is by nature a besetting fault and in everything makes them think a delay however short is too long. This interpretation of the threefold use of Festina lente he supports by quoting numerous classical authors who throw light on its various facets, as is part of both method and purpose of the Adagia. Summarizing: in the commentary of the adage Erasmus deals with a multitude of concepts. From these we may set aside the following for further use: The core of the adage consists, of course, of the opposition of Haste and Sloth. Whoever obeys the adage's appeal, will do things at the right time: kairos, and to the right degree: moderatio. If his actions are regulated by wisdom, Sapientia, Vigilance will prevent him from being too slow, and Patience from being too quick about things. When things are done neither prematurely, nor too late we call them ripe: Matura. Some rulers, such as the emperor Augustus, have indeed become shining examples of maturity and moderation by following the adage's suggestion. In De Copia Erasmus mentions or refers to Festina lente on four occasions. First, in Book 1, Abundance of Expression, in a paragraph entitled Slowness, it is one of a list of variations on the theme. Several of these, for example Paulatim, sensim infunde and cunctari are especially relevant for our subject, as we shall see in the next chapter. In Book 2, Abundance of Subject-Matter, Festina lente is referred to three times. In the section De exemplo fabuloso ('Fictional examples'), Erasmus argues that under all the inventions of the ancient poets there lies a hidden meaning, that can either be historical, theological, physical, or moral. Festina lente is here mentioned indirectly, so to speak, since among his many examples of hidden meaning we find that of Pallas Athene calling back Achilles to illustrate how a wise man ought to control his emotions by reason and judgement. In the section about comparisons in epideictic oratory, De contentione demonstrativa, Erasmus treats a general type of comparison between two persons, two things, etcetera. Here he says that to praise a ruler one should borrow other ruler's best features, for example urbanitas (affability) from Augustus and civilitas (courtesy) from the elder Titus. In both we hear an echo of Festina lente because the special meaning the theme had for both emperors. This might seem farfetched at first, but if we read Simeoni's comment on the issue of a coin associated with August, it becomes clear that urbanitas Augusti calls to the reader's mind qualities of August like maturity, suaveness, moderateness, which he developed by adhering to his own adage Festina lente. Finally, in the paragraph Quid utrobique vitandum ('A fault to be avoided on both sides') Erasmus mentions his own, rather lengthy, comment on Aldus' anchor in his adage Festina lente. In the editions of the Adagia Erasmus seems to have strived for variety. The adages are not grouped by theme, although occasionally we encounter small groups of related adages. In order to give the reader easy access to the adages Erasmus supplied two indices, an alphabetic one and a systematic one, where the adages are listed under appropriate subject headings or loci communes. The appearance of proverbs under several different subject headings implies the point made above, that a single proverb can be used to illustrate several morals . These loci communes are important because they are related to ways of thinking about or with the proverbs. They organize the material in such a way that it is convenient to work with. If someone had the wish to make an elegant and appropriate statement about justice, he could start with following the references to relevant adages under the subject heading Justitia in the alphabetical list of subject headings. Loci could be brought together in an index to material fundamentally ordered in a different way, as with the Adagia. They could also provide a foundation for the ordering of a whole book, as is exemplified by the editions of Alciatus's Emblematum libellus that appeared after circa 1550. Several authors have argued that the loci communes are important for memorization . We are interested in them because we can use them to track relations between adages. Festina lente, composed of two opposing forces, testifies to the ideal of balance: 'governed alike by Vigilance and Patience', 'we call things ripe that happen neither prematurly nor later than ...' This concept of balance leads us directly to discussions of ideas about conduct, strategies of life in the Renaissance . Not to our surprise, we find the adage mentioned under two loci communes: that of Festinatio praepropera and of Tarditatis et Cunctationis . There we find a list of the adages that exemplify the two extremes the fusion of which gives Festina lente its poignancy. Festina lente is alone in being listed under both headings. What is interesting to note, however, is that it also belongs to a small nucleus of five consecutive adages: Aestate penulam deteris (I x 100) Festina lente (II i 1) Pedetentim (II i 2), Placide bos (II i 3), and Tacito pede (II i 4). The first of these illustrates Festinatio praepropera, the last three illustrate Tarditas et Cunctatio, while Festina lente illustrates the combination of both. Seen together these five adages elaborate the theme of haste and slowness, with Festina lente as their pivot. Associated with this theme is the idea that one should do things at the proper time and to the right degree. This is accomplished through vigilance and patience. The concept of 'right timing', of seizing the opportunity is the essence of the concept of Kairos . Kairos, that is Occasio or Opportunity, is the subject of the adage Nosce tempus (I vii 70). In its turn this adage brings us, through the related examples Erasmus quotes, to interesting concepts or phrases like: Verum alia aestivo, atque hyberno tempore fiunt and Tempus pariter in omni re fastigium obtinet and via the sentence Occasionem arripere ('to seize the opportunity'), Erasmus arrives at the often quoted epigram of Posidippus that describes a statue of Kairos by Lysippus. Again, one could look up the locus under which Nosce tempus is sorted (Tempestiva), and from the fifteen adages found there select a host of words, sentences, objects, and concepts as a basis for querying the database of printer's devices. We don't intend to indulge in leapfrogging from one concept to another. Those associative jumps would throw up so much dust that we could easily lose sight of our subject. For now we limit ourselves to looking at those concepts that seem most closely related to Festina lente. When the little dust we nevertheless have thrown up, has settled, we know that when we are interested in the representation of concepts related to that of Festina lente, we cannot concentrate exclusively on our theme of 'slow haste'. We have to cast our net wider, and search for many other motives, for examples those that we find in the context of Maturity or Occasio. Before searching the corpus of printer's devices for these motives, we have to pay attention to another intermediate, namely emblematic literature. It has been observed more than once that from a certain point onwards we see printer's devices become more and more emblematic. To illustrate this for our main theme Festina lente, we shall discuss some imprese and emblems. Gabriele Simeoni's Imprese heroiche et morali includes two imprese with the motto Festina lente, one with a picture of a butterfly and a crab, and one with that of a dolphin coiled around an anchor. Simeoni's explication of the imprese emphasizes their suitability for royal use. This of course echoes Erasmus's remarks, as does his mention of the exemplary emperors Augustus and Titus Vespasianus. Augustus, says Simeoni, wanted everyone to know 'la temperanza e modestia del suo animo', and he had a gold medallion made with a butterfly and a crab. The butterfly obviously stands for speed and the crab for slowness. Together they express moderation. This, with hindsight, refers us again to De Copia, where under the heading De contentione demonstrativa the affability of Augustus was mentioned. Simeoni also repeats Erasmus's explanation of the coin of Titus with the anchor and dolphin. To Simeoni, as well as to those who translated and adapted his text, like Claude Paradin and Joost van Ravelingen, the visual synonimity of anchor/dolphin and crab/butterfly was self-evident. It is useful to keep this in mind while we proceed. The 'Imprese heroiche' contains other relevant variants of the theme of slowness and haste. The device of René d'Anjou which Simeoni discusses, shows an ox with the king's coat of arms around its neck, in combination with the motto `Pas à pas'. According to Simeoni the king thus expressed his hopes of slowly but surely becoming an even greater king than he already was. The image of the ox suits this idea very well because that animal never walks in haste, but in time reaches his goal. While Simeoni limits his explication to the case of René d'Anjou, van Ravelingen adds a moralizing comment of a more general nature . Of course, the slowness of the ox is also the central motif for the adage Placide bos (II ii 3). Simeoni says that René d'Anjou hoped to become a greater king poco à poco. The same words poco à poco are used by Paradin as the motto to a device that also stresses the benefits of the 'slowly-does-it approach'. The accompanying image depicts a container from which water pours on some plants. Paradin compares the inner growth (of virtues) of a person with the slow growth of plants. The comments van Ravelingen adds to this emphasize the need for slow and gradual intellectual development of young people . This links it to the adage Aestate penulam deteris (I x 100) which deals with the wasteful impulses of the young 'who foolishly dissipate their patrimony in early life ...'. The motif of the pitcher is also to be associated with the De Copia's section on Slowness, where we found the variant Paulatim, sensim infunde. Van Ravelingen offers an alternative interpretation for the poco à poco device when he refers to the expansion of the Roman empire as an example of slow growth . The association of the concept of slowness and patience to matters of military strategy, also a feature of René d'Anjou's impresa, characterises two more adages that were grouped under the locus Tarditatis et cunctationis. These are Caudae pilos equinae paulatim vellere (I viii 95) and Romanus sedendo vincit (I x 29) . To demonstrate to what extent the motifs used to transmit a particular message may be each other's equivalent and almost interchangeable, another one of the devices collected by Paradin is instructive. He says that Alessandro Farnese, pope Paul the Third, chose a device representing a chameleon carrying a dolphin, with the motto Maturè. This he did 'for the same reason that Titus Vespasianus selected the dolphin and anchor', namely to give expression to his conviction that 'slow haste' and maturity should guide us in all of life's affairs . Consequently we may add the chameleon and dolphin to our stock of images that signify Festina lente, and we have another confirmation of the interchangeability of this motto with Matura. Of course Alciatus also closely connected the two ideas in his emblem Maturandum, but he preferred to express this through a different image, namely that of an arrow with a fish - the echeneis or remora - twisted around it. This image brings our count of visual synonyms to four, and prompts the question whether by using the same form - the spiralling fish - to symbolize the opposite concept - slowness instead of speed - the (illustrator of) Alciatus consciously played with the elements of Aldus's device. This is all the more likely since in his commentary of Festina lente, Erasmus quotes Oppianus likening the dolphin to an arrow and he calls the remora a fitting symbol for slowness and delay . The cross-references begin to cause dizziness when in his explanation of the Maturandum emblem, Joannes Thuillius states that the device of pope Paul the Third combined the dolphin and remorae ... Of this we have not found visual confirmation. Alciatus cut yet another facet to the dolphin/anchor gem. This he does in his emblem Princeps subditorum incolumitatem procurans when he talks about dolphins helping sailors in distress by fixing their anchor more securely. The message here is that kings are to their people what anchors are to sailors. The security of the anchor, not its role as impediment, and the helpfulness of the dolphin rather than its speed are emphasized here. So after collecting variant images with the same meaning, we now see the opposite: different ideas expressed by the same visual symbol. The words used by Alciatus in the epigram of the Maturandum emblem to warn against precipitance and delay echo the adage Ne quid nimis (I vi 96), as was pointed out already by Thuillius. This commentator's gloss tells us to read Alciatus's verse as meaning that we should always try to do things to the right measure, stay in the middle, strike a balance between extremes. We should adhere, in a literal sense, to mediocritas, the middle position. Precisely there, in the middle between too soon and too late, lies Kairos, the Right Time, Opportunity, the subject of many printer's devices and also of many emblems, for example of Alciatus's emblem In occasionem. The pictura depicts a naked woman, wings at her feet, standing on a wheel in the sea, a garment around her shoulders, long hair at the front of the head, a scalpel in her right hand. The explanation is based on the epigram by Posidippus which Erasmus quoted and translated in the adage Nosce tempus. To add just one more emblematic variant to our list of representations of Speed and Sloth we refer to Hadrianus Junius's emblem XXXII Celeritatem mora, et haec illam vicissim temperet . This motto is combined with a representation of a woman, sitting on a stool with one foot firmly on the ground and the other one somewhat raised. Her attributes, a turtle and a pair of wings symbolize, to use Junius's terms, remora and velocitas: delay and speed. This so-called antithetical figure we also know from the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili by Francesco Colonna . There too the turtle calls to mind the concept of slowness, the wings that of haste. The Hypnerotomachia also contains a depiction of the dolphin curled around the anchor. Before we go over to the printer's devices, we do well to illustrate again, with the help of one of Alciatus's emblems, that in the emblematic game variation and riches are dominant features. The emblem that carries as its motto Paupertatem summis ingeniis obesse, ne provehantur has a picture of a man standing with one foot on the ground, and the other lifted upwards; a large stone tied to his right arm pulls it downwards, his left arm, with a pair of wings attached to it, stretches upwards. Here the imagery of speed and slowness assumes a different colouring: according to the epigram, the wings and stone signify that the man could have flown, meaning that he could have had a brilliant career because of all his talents, if poverty had not kept him in a humble position.
|
||
© festinalente 2010 |