A LITTLE BOOK OF EMBLEMS. 3

On Those Who Grow Rich Through Public Misfortune.

A rectangular woodcut illustration showing a man in a simple tunic standing in the middle of a flowing river. He holds a long pole with both hands, using it to stir or disturb the water. In the foreground, amidst the turbulent water, the thick body of an eel or large fish is visible. The background features a gnarled, leafless tree on the right bank, several smaller trees in the center, and a series of rolling, rocky hills on the left.

Whoever catches eels, if he drags through clear
Rivers, if he dares to approach untroubled lakes,
Will be in vain and will play his labor away. Therefore, if he stirs up
Much mud, and with a small paddle disturbs the glassy waters,
He will be rich. Thus, a troubled republic is for the profit of those
Who, in peace, constrained by laws, go hungry.