Alciato's Book of Emblems

Emblem 12

Plans ought not to be divulged

In the dark lairs of Cnossus with their hidden threshold and thick darkness, Daedalus shut up the monster. This image the Roman phalanx carries into battle, and these standards, with bull that's half a man, shine forth splendidly. They warn us too that the secret plans of leaders ought to lie hidden. A plan that's known harms its author.