Envy wounds virtue; ornamental knot and foliate studies
A red-chalk note that envy attacks virtue by slander, above interlaced knots and foliate motifs
At the top of the inverted leaf a short moral note states that envy injures with feigned infamy — that is, by detraction — which frightens virtue. Below it the leaf is filled with interlaced looped knots and feathery palmette-like foliate sprays drawn in red chalk. The moral belongs to the allegory of Envy and Virtue that recurs in these folios.
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Interlaced knots and foliate palmette sprays
The lower two-thirds of the leaf carries clusters of interlaced looped knots joined to feathery, palmette-like leaf sprays in red chalk. They read as decorative motif studies.
Envy assails virtue through slander
Envy offends with dense, feigned infamy — that is, by detraction — a thing which frightens virtue. The line forms part of the allegory of Envy set against Virtue.