Emblems: the ermine, Fortune, and the ostrich
Red-chalk devices paired with moral mottos, drawn upside-down
This inverted red-chalk (sanguigna) page belongs to Leonardo's series of emblems, pairing small allegorical sketches with terse moral mottos. The transcribed notes name the ermine with mud, Galeazzo set between calm weather and a figure of Fortune, and the ostrich that by patience brings its young to birth, adding that gold in ingots is refined in the fire. A further device beside an indistinct figure carries the reciprocal motto 'If you to me, and I to you.'
On this page
The ermine, Fortune, and the patient ostrich
Three emblematic devices are noted: the ermine with mud, Galeazzo shown between calm weather and a figure of Fortune, and the ostrich that by patience brings its young to birth. A closing motto adds that gold in ingots is refined in the fire.
Motto of mutual exchange
Beside an indistinct figure runs the reciprocal motto 'If you to me, and I to you.'