Folio 21v - the he-goat, continued. De apro; the boar.De iuvenco; the bullock
The he-goat is a wanton and frisky animal, always longing for sex; as a result of its lustfulness its eyes look sideways - from which it has has derived its name. For, according to Suetonius, hirci are the corners of the eyes. Its nature is so very heated that its blood alone will dissolve a diamond, against which the properties of neither fire nor iron can prevail. Kids, hedi, take their name from the word for eating, edendum, for the young ones are very fat and taste delicious. As a result their name means 'eat' and 'eatable'. Of the boar The boar gets its name, aper, from its wildness, a feritate, the letter f being replaced by a p; for the same reason, it is called by the Greeks suagros, meaning wild. For everything which is untamed and savage we call, loosely, agreste, wild. Of the bullock The bullock is called iuvencus because it undertakes to help man in his work of tilling the ground, or because among pagans it was always a bullock which was sacrificed to Jove - never a bull. For in selecting sacrificial victims, age also was a consideration. The word for bull, taurus, is Greek, as the word for ox, bos. The bulls of India are tawny in hue and so swift-footed that they seem to fly. Their hair grows against the nap of their coat, their mouth opens to the size of their head. They also move their horns in whatever direction they wish, and the toughness of their hides turns aside all weapons. So fierce and savage are they ...
Folio 21v - the he-goat, continued. De apro; the boar.De iuvenco; the bullock | The Aberdeen Bestiary | The University of Aberdeen