s the body, and the motto, the soul of a
device. With long, and, we must acknowledge, to us at least, not very
intelligible argument, he maintains, that 'the motto is the _major_
part of a syllogism, and the emblem the _minor_; from the conjunction
of which the conclusion is drawn.' Unprofitable and uninteresting are
these discussions. We shall, in preference, mention the canons of
device-criticism, which were of most general prevalence.

Comparison was considered an essential property of a perfect device.
Thus the Pillars of Hercules, with the motto, _Plus ultra_ (More
beyond), adopted by Charles V., in allusion to the Spanish discoveries
and conquests in America, and still to be seen on the coin of that
nation, was, by the connoisseurs, termed a mere conceit. The scholar's
two pens, with _His ad aethera_ (By these fame), being also devoid of
comparison, was equally inferior. Not more than three figures were
permissible in the emblem, unless the greater number were of the same
species. A device portraying an elephant, with a flock of sheep
grazing quietly around, the motto, _Infestus infestis_ (Hostile only
to the wicked), was strictly correct, as the sheep, being all of one
species, were recognised merely as one figure. Metaphor was not
allowed in the motto: a device faulty in this respect, represented a
ball of crystal, the motto, from Plautus, _Intus et in cute_ (The same
within and without); crystal being devoid of skin (_cutis_), the
expression was metaphorical. The introduction of negatives into the
motto was considered good: as a sundial, with _Ne aspiciatur non
aspicitur_ (Unless looked upon--by the sun--it is not esteemed, or is
of no use), a good device for a king's favourite; a flame of fire,
with _Nunquam deorsum_ (Never downwards); a gourd floating on a
stream, with _Jactor non mergor_ (Abandoned, but not sunk.) When the
motto was taken from a well-known classic, fewer words were required:
thus in a device representing a flame blown upon by the wind, with
_Lenis alit flammas, grandior aura necat_ (A gentle wind nourishes
flame, a stronger, extinguishes), the words, _grandior necat_ (a
stronger, extinguishes) would have been sufficient. Nice
discrimination was required in selecting the most suitable language
for a motto. According to Contile, the Spanish was most suitable for
love-matters; the Italian, for pleasant conceits; the Greek, for
fiction; and the Latin, for majesty. Household furniture, and
imple