ABSTRACT
If only human beings had a window opening onto their hearts, said Vitruvius citing Socrates, then one’s soul could not be hidden and would be open to direct visual inspection. 1 This vital Vitruvian image inspired many Renaissance elaborations in emblem books as well as in texts on physiognomy, gestures, and even Giulio Camillo’s description of his memory theater: “Our artificial mind, this construction of ours … is so endowed with windows that Socrates himself could have not desired it to be more open.” 2 Apparently, the paradox of using allegory to illustrate “naked truth” was not a concern.
