Folio 7v - Lion, continued
Not knowing of his divine nature, the Devil, the enemy of mankind, dared to tempt him like an ordinary man. Even the angels on high did not know of his divinity and said to those who were with him when he ascended to his father: 'Who is this king of glory?'
The second characteristic of the lion is that when it sleeps, it seems to have its eyes open. Thus our Lord, falling asleep in death, physically, on the cross, was buried, yet his divine nature remained awake; as it says in the Song of Songs: 'I sleep but my heart waketh' (5:2); and in the psalm: 'Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep' (121: 4).
The third characteristic of the lion is that when a lioness gives birth to her cubs, she produces them dead and watches over them for three days, until their father comes on the third day and breathes into their faces and restores them to life. Thus the Almighty Father awakened our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead on the third day; as Jacob says: 'He will fall asleep as a lion, and as a lion's whelp he will be revived' (see Genesis, 49:9).
Where men are concerned, it is the nature of lions not to grow angry unless they are harmed. An example which thoughtful men should heed; for men grow angry even when they have not been harmed, and they oppress the innocent, although Christian law bids them set even the guilty free. The compassion of lions is apparent from endless examples. They spare those whom they have brought down. They allow captives whom they encounter to return home. They vent their rage on men rather than women. They do not kill children except in time of great hunger.
Equally, lions refrain from over-feeding. First, because they drink and feed on alternate days; and often, if their food remains undigested, they postpone the Next feed. Then, because they feel uncomfortable when they have devoured more meat than they should, they insert their paws in their mouth and pull the food out, of their own accord. And when they have to take flight, they do exactly the same thing if they are full. Missing teeth show that a lion is old.
Lions mate face to face; and not only lions, but lynxes, and camels, and elephants, and rhinoceroses, and tigers. [Lionesses, when] they first give birth, bear five cubs.
- Commentary
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Commentary
Text
Characteristics of the lion.
Comment
Pricking and ruling visible.
Folio Attributes
- Transcription and Translation
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Transcription
Et hoc ignorans diabolus scilicet humani generis inimicus, quasi pu\rum hominem ausus est temptare. Etiam hoc ignorantes qui sur\sum erant angeli, eo ascendente ad patrem, dicebant ad eos qui\ cum eo ascendebant: Quis est iste rex glorie? Secunda natura eius est quod\ cum dormit, oculos apertos habere videtur. Sic et dominus noster cor\poraliter obdormiens in cruce, sepultus est, et deitas eius vigilibat, \ sic dicitur in canticis canticorum: Ego dormio, et cor meum vi\gilat. Et in psalmo: Ecce non dormitabit neque dormiet, qui\ custodit Israel. Tertia natura eius est, cum leena parit catulos\ suos generat, eos mortuos, et custodit eos tribus diebus donec\ veniens pater eorum tertia die insufflat in faciem eorum et\ vivificat eos. Sic omnipotens pater dominum nostrum Iesum Christum, tertia die\ suscitavit a mortuis, dicente Iacob: Dormitabit tanquam\ leo, et sicut catulus leonis suscitabitur. Circa hominem leonum\ natura est ut nisi lesi nequant irasci. Ad cuius exemplum rationabiles\ homines respicere debent, qui non lesi irascuntur, et innocentes op\primunt, cum iubeat Christiana lex noxios dimittere liberos.\ Patet enim leonum misericordia exemplis assiduis, prostratis\ enim parcunt, captivos obvios repatriare permittunt. In vi\ros potius quam in feminas seviunt. Infantes non nisi in magna\ fame perimunt. Pariter omnes parcunt a sagina. Primum quod al\ternis diebus potum, alternis cibum capiunt. Ac frequenter si\ digestio non est insecuta, solite cibationi superponunt diem.\ Tunc quod carnes iusto amplius devoratas congravantur,\ insertis in hora unguibus sponte pertrahunt. Sane et\ cum fugiendum est, in sacietate idem faciunt. Senectam leo\num defectio probat dentium. Adversi coheunt. Nec hii tan\tum, sed et linces, et cameli, et elephanti, et rinocerontes,\ et tygrides, et leene. Fetu primo catulos quinque educant. De\Translation
Not knowing of his divine nature, the Devil, the enemy of mankind, dared to tempt him like an ordinary man. Even the angels on high did not know of his divinity and said to those who were with him when he ascended to his father: 'Who is this king of glory?' The second characteristic of the lion is that when it sleeps, it seems to have its eyes open. Thus our Lord, falling asleep in death, physically, on the cross, was buried, yet his divine nature remained awake; as it says in the Song of Songs: 'I sleep but my heart waketh' (5:2); and in the psalm: 'Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep' (121: 4). The third characteristic of the lion is that when a lioness gives birth to her cubs, she produces them dead and watches over them for three days, until their father comes on the third day and breathes into their faces and restores them to life. Thus the Almighty Father awakened our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead on the third day; as Jacob says: 'He will fall asleep as a lion, and as a lion's whelp he will be revived' (see Genesis, 49:9). Where men are concerned, it is the nature of lions not to grow angry unless they are harmed. An example which thoughtful men should heed; for men grow angry even when they have not been harmed, and they oppress the innocent, although Christian law bids them set even the guilty free. The compassion of lions is apparent from endless examples. They spare those whom they have brought down. They allow captives whom they encounter to return home. They vent their rage on men rather than women. They do not kill children except in time of great hunger. Equally, lions refrain from over-feeding. First, because they drink and feed on alternate days; and often, if their food remains undigested, they postpone the Next feed. Then, because they feel uncomfortable when they have devoured more meat than they should, they insert their paws in their mouth and pull the food out, of their own accord. And when they have to take flight, they do exactly the same thing if they are full. Missing teeth show that a lion is old. Lions mate face to face; and not only lions, but lynxes, and camels, and elephants, and rhinoceroses, and tigers. [Lionesses, when] they first give birth, bear five cubs.
