The Scale
Author: Luiken, Jan, 1649-1712
Image Title: The Scale
Scripture Reference:
- 1 John 5 (further images / scripture text)
Description: A set of scales, with Eternal written on the left arm and Temporary written on the right arm. On the first arm hangs a youth [the Soul] with a cross, an anchor [Belief and Hope for Eternal life] and a ring attached to his tied feet, while the angels spread a cloth under him on which he will land. At the other arm hangs a man [the Flesh], pulled down by the World and about to fall in the net put under him by the Devil. In the middle under the scale an hourglass with bat wings with the inscription: This hourglass runs rapidly. 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 1 John 5:4-5.
Poem:
Who of the Two shall weigh heaviest,
The Body, or the Noble Soul,
So that the end will be attained,
After the result is in?
Here hangs the beam between both,
While life’s Hourglass runs,
In which direction the leaning will tip,
For each one who hopes to receive it.
The flesh is heavy from objects
That are tangible, and visible,
And (before they perish as smoke)
Weigh much, from false splendor:
But if the Soul wants to prevail;
Then weighs the vast Eternity,
Enclosed, neither by measure nor borders,
Much heaver than the swift Time.
The World with her desires and honors,
Which for a time are indeed heavy as lead:
But in the end become feathers
And disperse before fierce Death;
Thus the body remains distraught,
With its defeated Soul,
Which has not withheld its force,
And has feared to gain weight.
But for the Soul to attain success,
It is necessary that he abstain from such,
And weigh himself down with such a heavy load,
That the scale will tip in his direction.
Belief and Hope for Eternal life,
(The Cross and Anchor) are made of gold,
The World, and what she can give,
However is only made of straw and wood.
(Translation by Josephine V. Brown, with editorial assistance from William G. Stryker)
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