Latijns gedicht 1605

This anonymous Latin poem, found within the pages of a book at the Rijksmuseum, speaks “to the students of calligraphy”. Observe how the initial letter ‘P’ is ornately decorated, a symbol of the written word's elevated status. This kind of emphasis reminds one of illuminated manuscripts, where similar letterforms signified not just the beginning of a text, but also the entrance into a sacred space of knowledge. The pen, 'Penna loquitur', declares its purpose: to transcend earthly bounds and achieve immortality through words. This ambition echoes through history, with images of the feather as a symbol of lightness, flight, and divine inspiration appearing again and again. Think of the winged sandals of Hermes, or the feathered robes of angels. Each use reinvents the feather, a symbol of humanity's aspirations to surpass its earthly limits. The very act of writing, therefore, becomes a symbolic act of transcendence. It embodies the perpetual psychological quest to conquer mortality through creative expression.