Moral Emblems: Fire and Water

Engraving, part of a set of 20 moral emblems, each designated by a letter of the alphabet. The set was designed by Jean Delaune and engraved by his father, Étienne Delaune, in 1580. It explores the theme of vanity in mundane things, denouncing the artifices of the world (beauty, pleasure, luxury...), and praising virtue. This print represents a male philosopher standing on the left, seemingly denouncing the conduct of a group of men that are seen walking on a street towards a house, in the night time, holding fire torches on their hands, and following a jester and a musician. On the top right of the image is a halo, coming from the sky, while fire and water are coinhabiting the bottom right corner. Although the meaning of the picture is difficult to comprehend from this print, it might suggest that attaining salvation after leading a life of debauchery is as difficult as having fire and water exist together. The torches carried by the walking men would symbolize the artifices of the world, contrary to the divine heavenly light represented by the halo, unnoticed by the characters in the print, who are too focused on the darkness of their conduct, symbolized by the jester that guides them.