Alciato's Book of Emblems

Emblem 205

The ivy

Since it never shows signs of withering, the ivy is the plant which they say Bacchus gave to the boy Cissus as a gift; restless, provocative, tawny with its golden berries, verdant on the outside, it is pale elsewhere. From it are shaped garlands to crown the poets' temples -- poets become pale from their exertions, though their fame flourishes for a long time.