Folio 26r - the dove continued. De columba et accipitre; Of the dove and the hawk.
but also to describe it in words, to reveal the picture through the text, so that the reader who is unimpressed with the simplicity of the picture may at least take pleasure in the moral content of the text.
To you, therefore, who have received the wings of a dove; to you who have fled far away, to stay and be at rest in solitude (see Psalms, 55:6); to you who do not seek deferment, croaking like the raven 'Cras, cras, Tomorrow tomorrow!' but express penitence in the mournful cry of the dove (see Isaiah, 38:14); to you, I say, I shall at this time depict not just the dove but also the hawk.
See, on the same perch sit a hawk and a dove. For both of us - I from the clergy, you from the military - have been converted, so that we should share the monastic life together, as if we sat on the same perch, and that you,who were in the habit of stealing domestic birds, should now attract wild birds to conversion, luring them with the hand of virtuous conduct; by 'wild birds', I mean worldly people.
Therefore let the dove mourn, let it mourn (see Isaiah, 59:11) and let the hawk utter cries of grief. For the call of the dove is one of sorrow; the cry of the hawk, a complaint. For that reason, at the beginning of this work, I placed the dove first, because the grace of the holy spirit is always made ready for anyone who repents, and no-one will attain forgiveness except through this grace.
The account of the hawk comes after that of the dove; it signifies members of the nobility. For when anyone of the nobility is converted, he furnishes an example of virtuous conduct to the poor.
Of the dove and the hawk
As I have to write for people who have no education, the attentive reader should not be surprised if, for their improvement, I speak in a simple way of complex subjects. He should not ascribe to triviality the fact that I depict the hawk or the dove, since the blessed Job and the prophet David left us examples of birds of that kind to illustrate their teaching. For what the written word means to teachers, a picture means to the uneducated; just as the wise take pleasure in the complexity of a text, so the mind of ordinary people is captivated by the simplicity
- Commentary
-
Commentary
Text
The dove continued.
Illustration
The dove and hawk sit on a perch under a twin-domed edicule. They represent the clergy and the military, converted and sharing a monastic life together.
Comment
Editorial correction 2 lines above illustration. Below the illustration, on the last 5 lines of the page, the lettering changes. A broader quill was introduced, the letters are larger but less steady or uniform. Initial type 2, and folio mark of two 'match sticks', bottom right.
Folio Attributes
- Transcription and Translation
-
Transcription
sed etiam dictando describere, ut per scripturam, demonstrare picturam, \vel [PL, ut] cui non placuerit simplicitas picture, placeat saltem mora\litas scripture. Tibi igitur cui date sunt penne columbe, qui elongasti \fugiens ut in solitudine maneres et requiesceres, qui non queris \dilationem in voce corvine cras cras, sed contricionem in gemitu \columbino, tibi inquam non tamen ad presens columbam, sed etiam accipi\trem pingam. Ecce in eadem pertica sedent accipiter et columba. \Ego enim de clero tu de militia ad conversionem venimus, ut in re\gulari vita quasi in pertica sedeamus, et qui rapere consueveras dome\sticas aves, nunc bone operationis manu silvestres ad conversio\nem trahas, id est seculares. Gemat igitur columba gemat, et accipiter vocem \doloris emittat. Vox enim columbe gemitus, vox accipitris questus. \In principio huius operis iccirco columbam preposui, quia sancti spiritus gratia semper \preparatur cuilibet penitenti, nec nisi per gratiam pervenitur ad veniam. \De accipitre vero post columbam subiungitur, per quem nobilium perso\ne designantur. Cum enim aliquis nobilium convertitur, \per exemplum bone operationis pauperibus presentatus. \ De columba et accipitre \ Cum scribere illiterato \debeam non miretur diligens \lector, si ad edificationem il\literati de subtilibus simplicia \dicam. Nec imputet levitati \quod accipitrem vel columbam \pingam, cum beatus Job, et \propheta David huiusmodi volucres nobis reliquerint ad \doctrinam. Quod enim doctoribus innuit scriptura, hoc \simplicibus pictura, sicut enim sapiens delectatur subtili\tate scripture, sic simplicium animus detinetur simplicitate \Translation
but also to describe it in words, to reveal the picture through the text, so that the reader who is unimpressed with the simplicity of the picture may at least take pleasure in the moral content of the text. To you, therefore, who have received the wings of a dove; to you who have fled far away, to stay and be at rest in solitude (see Psalms, 55:6); to you who do not seek deferment, croaking like the raven 'Cras, cras, Tomorrow tomorrow!' but express penitence in the mournful cry of the dove (see Isaiah, 38:14); to you, I say, I shall at this time depict not just the dove but also the hawk. See, on the same perch sit a hawk and a dove. For both of us - I from the clergy, you from the military - have been converted, so that we should share the monastic life together, as if we sat on the same perch, and that you,who were in the habit of stealing domestic birds, should now attract wild birds to conversion, luring them with the hand of virtuous conduct; by 'wild birds', I mean worldly people. Therefore let the dove mourn, let it mourn (see Isaiah, 59:11) and let the hawk utter cries of grief. For the call of the dove is one of sorrow; the cry of the hawk, a complaint. For that reason, at the beginning of this work, I placed the dove first, because the grace of the holy spirit is always made ready for anyone who repents, and no-one will attain forgiveness except through this grace. The account of the hawk comes after that of the dove; it signifies members of the nobility. For when anyone of the nobility is converted, he furnishes an example of virtuous conduct to the poor. Of the dove and the hawk As I have to write for people who have no education, the attentive reader should not be surprised if, for their improvement, I speak in a simple way of complex subjects. He should not ascribe to triviality the fact that I depict the hawk or the dove, since the blessed Job and the prophet David left us examples of birds of that kind to illustrate their teaching. For what the written word means to teachers, a picture means to the uneducated; just as the wise take pleasure in the complexity of a text, so the mind of ordinary people is captivated by the simplicity
