The Worthy Transformation
Author: Luiken, Jan, 1649-1712
Image Title: The Worthy Transformation
Scripture Reference:
- Ephesians 4 (further images / scripture text)
Description: The Soul, portrayed as a youth with wings, sheds his old covering, which stays as a snake skin behind in front of a narrow opening in a tree, next to Satan. A number of joyful angels look on from the clouds. The Dutch artist and poet Jan Luiken (1649-1712), whose initials are at the lower right, was responsible for drawing and etching this emblem and for the poem that accompanies it (below). The attendant scripture text is Ephesians 4:22-24.
Poem:
Oh Welcome lovely sight,
Declared so beautiful in the bright light,
Crawled from such a Monster,
Called evil and sinful life,
Repugnant, to whoever examines it,
To fear and to flee from.
How beautiful is newly born Virtue,
In which the Angel rejoices,
A joy that surpasses any other!
He who earlier, in the evil course,
Crawled in the dirt, like a snake,
May now elevate his flight to God.
It’s indeed precious, go on crawling so,
Out of the old skin, through the narrow gate,
Unto loveliness and pleasure,
From the Holy eye, and all those
Who travel along the path of wisdom,
So as to carry away the best portion.
What a huge question it is,
To be an Angel, or a Dragon!
Oh! Abhorrent beast of sinful life,
How ugly thou art, compared to the beauty,
Of such a pleasing person,
Surrounded with all loveliness!
Oh! Ah! All thou who dost see this,
Does this change not please thee?
(Translation by Josephine V. Brown, with editorial assistance from William G. Stryker)
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