Book Title: Andreae Alciati emblematvm libellvs.

Author: Alciati, Andrea, 1492-1550

Image Title: Sometimes Safety Is Ransomed with Coins

Description: The pictura of this emblem by the Italian jurist and writer Andrea Alciati (1492 – 1550 CE) features a beaver tearing off its testicles as hunting dogs stand over the discarded organs. Ancient bestiaries claim that beavers engaged in this behavior and did so in order to elude hunters, who pursued the animal based on the belief that its testicles had medicinal properties. The subscriptio treats of this scene as suggesting the lesson that one should be ready to part with one’s possession when dealing with those who threaten one’s life.

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