Resolves: Divine, Moral, Political

1661

De Beer Ec 1661 F

London: Printed for Peter Dring

Merchant and poet, Owen Feltham (c.1602-68) wrote the first part of his ethical and religious musings, Resolves, while still a teenager; it was first published in 1623. The frontispiece to this 1661 edition, albeit on the right hand side, is a reworking of that which appeared in the 1628 edition. The poem, to the left, provides an explanation for the symbolism in the engraving by Robert Vaughn (c.1600-64). Opinion and Ignorance have been anthropomorphised and are trying to pull the world down while Wisdom (Sapientia) and Truth (Veritas) pull it towards Heaven, and therefore Enlightenment. As Saenger (2006) states ‘The frontispiece emblematizes the spiritual dynamics with which the text is meant to engage the reader.'