The Foolish Merchant
Author: Luiken, Jan, 1649-1712
Image Title: The Foolish Merchant
Scripture Reference:
- Isaiah 55 (further images / scripture text)
Description: On the quay of a busy harbor a merchant [Satan] is in the process of selling the World to a prospective buyer. The Dutch artist and poet Jan Luiken (1649-1712), whose initials are at the lower right, was responsible for drawing and etching this emblem and for the poem that accompanies it (below). The attendant scripture text is Isaiah 55:2.
Poem:
Oh Merchant after viewing thee,
Thou art not the wise Merchant:
Though thine nimble senses fly:
Hadst thou thine Merchant’s eyes ready,
Thou wouldst not select false merchandise,
With which the Seller will swindle thee.
Whoever earns such high profits,
Has paid far too dearly for them;
And in a few years time,
When the world’s heart trusts therein,
And builds on that basis her well-being,
The mischief will reveal itself.
Wisdom didst advise thee against that price,
But no, thou knewest better,
When thou madest fun of wise advice,
In thine arrogance too bold,
Until someday the business reveals itself,
Then repentance and complaints come.
Then thou shalt find, when it’s too late,
That thou didst reject the good advice,
From thoughtful and clear eyes,
When the goods, that glitter today,
Rusted, rotted, foul smelling,
Make obvious how one has been deceived.
(Translation by Josephine V. Brown, with editorial assistance from William G. Stryker)
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