The Universal Art of Music, Volume II

A full page copperplate engraving shows the god Apollo standing on a classical pedestal. Apollo is a youthful, idealized figure with curly hair, draped in a cloak that hangs from his left shoulder. He holds and plays an ornate cithara, which is an ancient Greek stringed instrument similar to a lyre. At his feet sits Cerberus, the three headed dog that guards the underworld, looking up toward the deity. The figure stands on a circular stone pedestal decorated with a relief. This relief shows a laurel wreath draped over various musical instruments, including a harp, a viol, and organ pipes, alongside several books. A small grotesque face or mask is centered at the top of the relief. The scene is set on a stone terrace with a massive fluted column and architectural ruins to the right. In the background, a sprawling landscape is visible. On the left, a fortified city with a large domed structure sits on a high hill. On the right, a coastal town overlooks a sea with a distant sailing ship. A Latin couplet is inscribed in a curved band around the base of the pedestal.

original: "Mundanam dexter Cytharam tenet, aptat acutum flectit APOLLO lyram. Sic bona mista malis." The "cithara of the world" refers to the Pythagorean concept of musica mundana, or the music of the spheres, where the universe itself is an instrument. The mention of good mixed with evil, combined with the presence of Cerberus, suggests that musical harmony has the power to reconcile or tame the chaotic and lower forces of nature.