Book Title: Spiegel van het menselyk bedrijf : in kleuren vertoond met honderd verbeeldingen, van ambachten, konsten, hanteeringen en bedryven, met verzen / Jan en Kasper Luiken.

Author: Luiken, Jan, 1649-1712

Image Title: The Optician: Not here and there, But to the point

Scripture Reference:

• Matthew 13 (further images / scripture text)

Description: In front of the optician’s store, a man tries out a pair of eyeglasses by reading a passage from a book. The optician stands next to him; several eyeglasses and telescopes are displayed on and from the opened shutters. The Dutch artist and poet, Jan Luiken (1649-1712), was responsible for drawing this emblem and for creating the motto and poem that follow. Jan Luiken and/or his son Casper Luiken (1672-1708) were responsible for its etching. The attendant scripture text is Matthew 13:13-17. Motto: Not here and there, / But to the point. Poem: The means brings the object in focus, /That otherwise could not be seen: /Did the spirit so keep the eye covered, / By means of the transitoriness, / Of all living beings,/Then eternity would be enlarged. (Translation by Josephine V. Brown, with editorial assistance from William G. Stryker).

Click here for additional images available from this book.

Request a high-resolution file (fees apply)

Rights Statement: The online edition of this work in the public domain, i.e., not protected by copyright, has been produced by Pitts Theology Library, Emory University.
Rights Status: No Copyright - United States
Pitts Theology Library provides copyright information as a courtesy and makes no representation about copyright or other legal status of materials in the Digital Image Archive.