Emily Owen
Peacham's emblem 145 "Ex utroque Immortalitis" (Every Way Immortal) was directly inspired by King James I's Basilicon Doron and is even dedicated to James ("Ad puissimoum Jacobum magnae Britannieae Regem"), praising his rule and goodness toward his people. The relatively simple image is comprised of two olive branches crossed in the center with an illuminating star hovering above them. In opposition to this simple picture, the verses that accompany the illustration are much more complex and detailed.
Peacham elaborates greatly on this picture by writing a set of verses that glorify the reign of King James and the continued effect he will have on his subjects after he dies. The first line describes James' "goodness, Pietie, and Zeale," which led him to win the adoration of his people (Peacham 145, ln. 1). Peacham indicates the future death of King James in lines 3 and 4-"(When envious Fates, shall robbe the Common weale,/Of such a Father)" (145). In Greek and Roman mythology, the Fates were the beings who cut a person's thread of life, causing that individual's death. Peacham asserts, however, that, due to James' wondrousness, he will continue to be glorified past his death. In line 5, "Not turn'd as Caesar, to a fained starre" (145), Peacham refers to the story in Ovid's Metamorphoses when Caesar undergoes a certain apotheosis and is transformed into a star (Ovid Book 15). Peacham claims that instead of actually becoming a sacred star, King James will instead have the greater honor of achieving sainthood.
The importance of peace during James' rule is emphasized by the crossed olive branches that appear in the illustration, for the olive branch is a symbol of peace. Peacham writes that James' peaceful reign and wisdom will die with him, but in his eternal life, he shall "Live afresh, in after ages praise:/Or be the Loade-starre, of thy glorious North,/Drawing all eies, to wonder at thy worth" (Peacham 145, ln. 10-12). Peacham's refers to the "load-starre," which is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as "the star that shows the way, esp. the pole star" and "a 'guiding star'; that on which one's attention or hopes are fixed." Peacham is suggesting that, after his death, King James will remain a guiding moral force to his subjects. Peacham mentions Caesar's transformation into a star in a metaphorical sense, for he discounts this fate for James, emphasizing that as a saint he will be a beacon for people. In fact, the star in the emblem is reminiscent of depictions of the star that appeared over Bethlehem to guide the three wise men to the newly-born Jesus Christ, a distinctly religious connotation that reaffirms Peacham's Christian values. Likewise, King James will provide an example for his subjects and guide them through their lives. The Latin lines underneath the verses are similar to Peacham's verses in English, but the Latin mentions the people's patriotism and justice while the English does not.
A passage that is thematically similar to Emblem 145 can be found in Basilicon Doron, where James describes a king as the "naturall father and kindly Master [of his subjects]" (18), notably using the word "father" in the same context as Peacham applied it in line 4. King James later writes,
"And according to their actions, so receiue they their reward: For a good King (after a happie and famous reigne) dieth in peace, lamented by his subiects, and admired by his neighbours; and leauing a reuerent renowne behinde him in earth, obtaineth the Crowne of eternall felicitie in heauen" (19).
This passage draws a direct correlation between James' instruction to his son Henry and Peacham's construction of the emblem. James writes that if a king's reign is "happie and famous," the peaceful death of the king will be "lamented by his subjects and admitted by his neighbours" (19), just as the emblem exalts James' rule and how the king will be "to all eternitie admired" (145). Emblem 145 differs from other emblems influenced by Basilicon Doron in that Peacham incorporates James' ideas by basing the emblem on the character of James himself through the dedication, demonstrating that the king embodies his own advice to Henry.
-Emily Owen
Icon Class
98B(Caesar)69(Star)
25G(22)
46C21(Ships)
Works Cited
Peacham, Henry. Minerva Britanna. London: Walter Dight, 1612.
Ovid. Metamorphoses. Brookes More (ed.). Boston: Cornhill Publishing Co., 1922.
James I. Basilicon Doron. London: John Norton, 1603.
