Wikimedia Commons · CC0 1.0 · Hover to magnify, click for fullscreen
Original fileBona indoles recte culta / Fidei Tirocinia / Modestia Probata / Virtus ultro incitata
About This Work
This engraving consists of four numbered panels illustrating the moral development of David. In the first panel, he is a pastoral musician playing a lyre for his flock; the second shows him heroically wrestling a lion while a dead bear lies nearby; the third depicts him being chosen from among his brothers by the prophet Samuel; and the fourth shows him as a young man among armored soldiers. Each scene is accompanied by a Latin title and a four-line verse reflecting on virtues like faith, modesty, and industry.
Aegidius Sadeler was the court engraver for Emperor Rudolf II in Prague, a center for Mannerist art and Hermetic philosophy. These scenes use David as a 'Christian Orpheus,' whose musical harmony and physical trials represent the Neoplatonic ideal of the soul's cultivation (Bona Indoles) and its triumph over the lower animal passions.
Inscriptions(Latin)
1. BONA INDOLES RECTE CVLTA. Jessiadæ laudes puero meditante, paternum Et pecus, et volucres, et stupuere feræ; Ipse pater superum dixit, meus hic, meus esto; Hic pascat nostros instituatque greges. 1. 2. FIDEI TIROCINIA. Qui puer immanes ursos rabidosque leones Strauit, securum iussit et ire gregem, Quæ sibi pro patrijs adeunda pericula sacris Viribus, et quantis exuperanda putet? 2. 3. MODESTIA PROBATA. Despicitur dignus, quauis neglectior ipse, Despectus quamuis sit sibi, sitque suis; In tenebris iaceat vulgo non agnita virtus Extabit tandem vindice fulta Deo. 3. 4. VIRTVS VLTRO INCITATA. Cum primu monstrata petens subit ardua virtus Difficilem fortis sustinet invidiam. Nec satis est sentire hostes aliena professos Infensam propriam sentit et illa domum. 4.
Translation
1. A GOOD DISPOSITION, RIGHTLY CULTIVATED. While the son of Jesse pondered the praises of the boy, his father’s Flocks, and the birds, and the wild beasts stood amazed; The Father of the gods himself said, "He is mine, let him be mine; Let him shepherd our flocks and instruct them." 1. 2. THE BEGINNINGS OF FAITH. He who as a boy laid low huge bears and rabid lions, And commanded the flock to go safely, What dangers must he think he must encounter for his fatherland’s sacred rites, And by what great forces must he think they are to be overcome? 2. 3. PROVEN MODESTY. The worthy man is despised, however neglected he may be himself, However despised he may be by himself, and by his own people; Though virtue may lie in darkness, unrecognized by the common crowd, It will stand out at last, supported by God the avenger. 3. 4. VIRTUE SPONTANEOUSLY INCITED. When virtue first seeks and undertakes arduous tasks, The brave soul endures difficult envy. Nor is it enough to feel enemies who profess to be outsiders, For it also feels its own household to be hostile. 4.
Connected Texts
Marsilio Ficino
Ficino's theories on the 'spiritus' and the power of music to align the soul with celestial harmony often used David and Orpheus as primary examples.
Robert Fludd
Fludd's later works on the 'Temple of Music' and cosmic harmony draw on the Davidic archetype of the divine musician who masters the natural world through sound.
Provenance & Source
Object
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
paper
height 110 mm x width 137 mm x height 107 mm x width 137 mm x height 107 mm x width 138 mm x height 107 mm x width 138 mm
religious
Linked Data
AI AI-cataloged fields generated by gemini-3-flash-preview on April 2, 2026. Getty identifiers are AI-inferred and may require verification.