Finally, we have Geofroy Tory's device, or mark, definitively constituted in his 'Champ fleury,' thus:[90]—
'Behold,' he says, 'my declared device and mark, drawn as I have cogitated and conceived it, imparting moral meaning thereto, to give friendly admonition to the printers and booksellers beyond the mountains[91] to practise and employ themselves in goodly inventions and delectable execution, to show that their wits have not been always useless, but eager to serve the public weal by labouring to that end and living uprightly.'
Then follows his explanation of this mark,[92]—an explanation which does not invalidate that suggested above.[93] In truth, all that Tory says here in general terms may be applied to his daughter Agnes.
'In the first place, there is herein an ancient jar, which is broken, through which is passed a toret. This said broken jar signifies our body, which is an earthen jar. The toret signifies Fate, which pierces and passes through weak and strong. Beneath this broken jar there is a book secured by three chains and padlocks, which signifies that after our body is broken by death, its life is closed by the three fatal goddesses.[94] This book is so firmly closed that there is no man who may come to see anything therein, except he know the secret of the padlocks, and above all of the round padlock, which is locked and signed by letters. Even so, after the book of our life is closed, there is no man who may in any wise open it, except it be he who knows the secrets, and he is God, who alone knows, before and after our death, what has been, what is, and what will be our fate. The foliage and flowers in the said jar signify the virtues which our body may have in itself during its life. The sun-rays which are above and beside the toret and the jar signify the inspiration that God gives us by impelling us to virtue and worthy acts. Near the said broken jar it is written: "Non plvs," which are two monosyllabic words, as well in French as in Latin, signifying that which Pittacus said long since in Greek: ΜΗΔΕΝΑΓΑΝ,[95] "nihil nimis." Let us not say, let us not do aught beyond measure or beyond reason, except it be in the last necessity: "aduersus quā nec Dij quidē pugnant."[96] But let us say and let us do "Sic. vt. vel. vt." That is to say, as we ought, or as little wrongly as we may. If we seek to do well, God will aid us, and therefore have I written above: "Menti bonæ Deus occurrit," that is to say, God goes out to meet the desire to do good, and gives it aid.'
I believe that we should see in the toret an 'enseigne parlante,' alluding at once to Tory's name and to his various professions. The way in which the name of the instrument was pronounced, its shape, resembling that of a T, and, lastly, its use by the engravers, were doubtless the considerations that led Tory to adopt it. But let us not subtilize too far.
Tory was not content with giving us his symbol in 'Champ fleury': he engraved on the first page of that book, that is to say, in the place of honour, what would be called to-day the blazonry of his artistic acquirements,—in other words, a collection of all the tools that he used. Unfortunately, he did not feel called upon, as in the case of his mark, to supply an explanation, deeming the matter clear enough; whereas, in our day it has become rather difficult, because of the changes that have taken place in the customs of artists, to state the exact use of some of the tools. The order in which they are arranged, however, may assist us, to a certain extent, in identifying them. An exact reproduction of this engraving, the initial letter of the first page of the text of 'Champ fleury,' is given at the beginning of this section.[97]
The first series of tools, suspended in the first arabesque, embraces a pair of compasses, a rule, and a square: these are the fundamental instruments of art and of geometry. In the second arabesque, if I am not mistaken, we find an 'échoppe' and a burin, engravers' tools; in the third, a writing-case (or 'galimart'), a pencil, and a knife, above a book; these are the tools of the writer and the draughtsman. In the fourth, we find an object which I take to be a small box of colours, hanging from a case of brushes; these appertain to the painter. Tory was, in fact, draughtsman, painter and engraver.