Aphorismi Urbigerani

Guide to the Emblem and Its Mottos

The engraving is part of the historical work. These four editorial guides return its motifs and inscriptions to the author’s own explanation before inviting further interpretation.

The Plate and Its Inscriptions

Begin with the whole engraving and the transcribed mottos. Read each banner as a local utterance before combining the phrases into an interpretation. The plurals in nothing without you and through us matter to the relationships. The signature belongs to the plate’s production rather than to one of its speaking figures.

The Dragon and the Serpent

The postscript identifies the Dragon with first undetermined matter and the Serpent with a subject requiring assistance. The lunar, solar, and cross signs are part of that explanation. Compare the image with the Dragon’s states, the first way and the Serpent’s conjunction. An editorial interpretation should first account for these stated correspondences.

Apollo and Diana in the River

Apollo and Diana are shown together below the tree and as a combined figure on the right. The author reads descent into the river as a reduction needed before rebirth and emergence as the finished Herculean works and the beginning of conjunction. Read the complete explanation, then compare prepared principles and their necessary union. The text explains the passage between states; it does not supply an independent biography of the figures.

Several Interpretations and Their Limits

The author expressly says that his figure admits many interpretations and represents his subjects and operations. He also places the teachings of faith within it. This supports more than one level of reading, while the specific explanation still gives each interpretation something to answer to. Compare the reason for explaining the figure, the material and religious account and the interpretive essay.