![]() In spite of this, the engraving became a source for various adaptations over time. Given that Cock’s publishing company, Aux Quatre Vents, was primarily directed towards a well-educated crowd, the proverb within Big Fish Eat Little Fish would have been easily recognized and understood. This history includes myriad descriptions of marine diets, including the hierarchy of eels and crawfish, and the carnivorous tendencies of certain mollusks, like the giant clam clamped down on a fish’s back in Bruegel’s image. ![]() Here, Aristotle notes that, “As a general rule the larger fishes catch the smaller ones in their mouths”, and “all fishes devour their own species, with the single exception of the cestreus or mullet”. Yet while Erasmus may have played a role in cementing the proverb within a popular canon, the observation of same-species predation can be traced all the way back to Aristotle’s History of the Animals. This saying may owe its popularity to Erasmus’ Adagia, a compilation of Greek and Latin proverbs assembled in the early sixteenth-century, which includes: “Serpens ni edat serpentem, draco non fiet” (A serpent, unless it devours a serpent, will not become a dragon). The wealthy exploit the impoverished the powerful pummel the weak. ![]() In his depiction of chaotic consumption through Big Fish Eat Little Fish, the lesson of large fish devouring their miniatures might relate to a general sense of injustice, the feeling that predation is innately born and instinctive. The works of Bruegel often feature scenes of peasant lives, poised to represent various ancient proverbs. ![]()
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