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72 PETER A. ROLLANDbolorum et Emblematum... Centuria Altera. 9 Under the motto "CaecusAmor Sobolis" there is a plate depicting the following scene: a femalesimian sitting beneath a tree fondles an offspring who revels in the displayof affection; at the rear rests another young monkey who has turned hisback on this touching scene. The poem accompanying this device reads:Saepe et amare nocet. Suffocat simia, amandoSimiolum. Exemplum hoc o fugítote patres. 10When Simiaon's text is compared to that of Camerarius, it is evidentthere is a coincident central theme—the deadly effects of overzealousparental affection—and central image—the female monkey (Latin, simia;Polish, małpa) and her offspring (Latin, simiolum; Polish, małpiątko); fromthis we may conclude that the fledgling poet drew upon some similaremblem as inspiration. One detail of vocabulary suggests that Camerariusprobably did serve as Polacki's source. Both authors use the same verb 'suffocate,choke' (Camerarius: Latin, suffocat; Polacki: Polish, zadławią) toconvey the manner in which excessive affection causes the death of theoffspring. Furthermore, of the several emblematic texts treating this theme,only Camerarius's text is as succinct in its style and philosophy asPolacki's. We know that a copy of Camerarius's Symbolorum et Emblematumwas apparently in Polacki's library in Moscow, and individual poemsof the Vertograd mnogocvetnyj have been traced to this source. It is, therefore,most probable that "Caecus Amor Sobolis" from this collectioninspired Polacki's early quatrain. 11The influences of both Camerarius and Andreas Alciati are discernablein the poem "Roskosz" (Luxury), in which Polacki warns of the fatal allureof Luxury and Venery. He writes:9Henckel and Schöne, Emblemata, cols. 428-31, list six emblems that contain some variantof this theme. I have also consulted Joachim Camerarius, Symbolorum et Emblematum exAnimalibus Quadrupedibus Desumptorum Centuria Altera (Frankfurt, 1661), fol. 78 Г .10To love often kills. A mother ape suffocates the young ape [while] loving [him]/ Avoid thisexample, Parents. (Unless otherwise indicated, all translations are mine—P.A.R.)11Anthony R. Hippisley, "Simeon Polotsky's Library," Oxford Slavonic Papers, n.s., 16(1983):52-61, discusses the problems connected with assembling a tentative catalogue ofPolacki's library. On pages 60-61 he provides a "Short-title List," giving (p. 61) "Camerarius,J., Symbola et emblemata (1593-7)" among those volumes which Polacki had with him inMoscow. On page 58 Hippisley gives the text of a Slavonic version of "Pieszczota dziatek,"entitled "Laskanie," from Vertograd mnogocvetnyj. He notes that "Almost certainly Polotskytook this image [of deadly simian maternal affection] from the Symbola et emblemata of Camerarius..." and identifies the source as "Caecus Amor Sobolis." We can only agree. Furtherstudy will doubtless reveal other texts from Polacki's early period in the later compendia of hisworks.