Henry Peacham and Ripa were experts in conveying allegorical stories, and both touched on the subject of deceit. These allegories told stories that teach a lesson, and they used symbolic animals and objects that helped portray the important moral truth. Both of these emblematic writers warned us against the dishonesty of people.

Peacham's allegorical emblem about deceit tells us to be wary of the true intentions of people. A man is pictured with a grin in this image, and doesn't have a human lower body, but instead has two twisting snakes coming from his hips. On his right is a panther curling around him and holding its head very low. This man's expression is described as "simple" (Peachem, Minerva Britanna, 1st edition) and "demure" (47:1). He is also wearing a fur coat that is described as "golden" (47:2), which makes us more comfortable with this man's presence. After all, we are more at ease with people that are well dressed. The verse, however, takes a sudden turn as it reveals this man's true intentions: "here deceit doth stand" (47:2), and this man looks to heaven as if he were pure. This man is indeed a scoundrel, and this is shown in his "fearful serpent" (47:6) legs. These serpent legs represent trickery and deception. His upper body is only concealing his real personality. The panther to this man's right is shown to compare this man's deceit to the way a panther catches its prey. When a panther is having a tough time catching food: "(the panther) Doth hide head, and face, with either knee (47:9), And show his back, with spots be speckled gay" (47:10). The panther shows other animals its beautiful skin to bring it near, and then makes the animal its prey. The panther is very sly in his hunting tactics, and this sneakiness is similar to this man personality. The last two lines are a warning to other animals: "they gaze upon, Are unawares, surprised everyone" (47:11-12), and thus they can strike when you least expect it from their hiding technique.

Ripa's emblem about deceit is similar to Peacham's, but some key details that differ are the man's expression and what he is holding. Unlike Peacham's, this man's face in Ripa's is covered with hair and has a much more threatening expression. The major difference is that Ripa's man is holding fishhooks in his right hand and a bag of fish in his left. The coat in Ripa's is "the skin of a goat" (Ripa, 166:1). The goat symbolizes lust, which applies to this man's personality. The panther next to him "shows that fish are caught by deceiving them" (166:2-3). The panther again catches his prey, just like in Peachem, by showing its skin and enticing the fish. The last line of the verse tells us "the two serpent tails shows deceit" (166:5-6). This is the same as Peachem's emblem, although one has to infer this instead of having it written out.

These allegories tell the lesson of deceit. It is very easy to be tricked by people that look harmless. Just as fish are lured into biting a hook from the bait, people can deceive us in the same conniving manner. This old man at first may seems trustworthy in both of these emblems, but the snake legs and panther reveal his true personality. This emblem is saying that deceit wears many faces.

-Scott McDonald

Bibliography

Peachem, Henry. Minerva Britanna, 1612.

Ripa, Iconologia, 1603.

http://f01.middlebury.edu/FS010A/ripa/