Book Title: Pia desideria : emblematis elegiis & affectibus SS. Patrum illustrata / authore Hermanno Hugone Societatis Iesu ; ad Vrbanum VIII, Pont. Max.

Author: Hugo, Herman, 1588-1629

Image Title: Book I, Emblem xiv

Description: The pictura of this emblem by the Jesuit priest Herman Hugo (1588 – 1629 CE) allegorically figures thematic elements of its ensuing scripture citation and poem. Through her looking-glass, a woman peers out at the apocalyptic theophany appearing at the opposite end of the garden. God. An image of God flanked by seraphim rests on an orb, the Trinitarian triangle shining from above. Below this one finds an image of Hades, a skeletal figure standing in midst of Hellfire and bearing a sword. The woman’s gazing at this scene through a looking-glass represents the soul’s foresight in its regard for its eternal destination, a disposition which the poem commends to the reader.

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