Folio 81r - the nature of man, continued.
from which all things spring. For the Greek word for 'earth' is ge.
Life, vita, is so called from vigor, 'active power', or because it has within it the force of birth and growth. As a result, trees are said to have life, because they spring from the earth and grow.
Man, homo, is so called because he is made from the soil, humus, as it says in the book of Genesis: 'And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground' (2:7).
It is said incorrectly that man in his entirety is formed from two substances, that is, from the union of a soul and a body. Strictly speaking, man, homo, comes from soil, humus.
The Greek word for man is antropos [anthropos], because he looks upwards, raised up from the ground to contemplate his creator. This is what the poet Ovid means, when he says: 'And though other animals are prone and fix
- Commentary
-
Commentary
Text
The etymology of man.
Illustration
Isidore sits on a chair, writing on a sloping desk the words '(ysid)oris (de) natu(ra) hominisI' Isidore, Concerning the Nature of Man.
Comment
on the desk is the colour indicator 'harie' = aerus= sky blue. James interprets this as hane. The picture is damaged, revealing the pink gesso below the gold leaf. Folio mark * bottom left.
Folio Attributes
- Transcription and Translation
-
Transcription
ex qua\ omnia\ gignuntur.\ Ge enim Grece terra dicitur.\ Vita dicta\ propter vigo\ rem vel\ quod vim\ teneat nas\cendi atque\ crescendi.\ Unde et ar\bores vi\tam habere\ dicuntur\ quia gignunt\ et crescunt.\ Homo dic\tus quia ex\ humo est\ factus, sicut et in Genesi dicitur: Et creavit deus hominem de humo terre. Abusi\ ve enim pronunciatur, ex utraque substantia totus homo, id est ex\ societate anime et corporis. Nam proprie homo ab humo. Gre\ci enim antropum appellaverunt eo quod sursum aspectet\ sublevatis [PL, sublevatus] ab humo ad contemplationem artificis sui. Quod\ Ovidius poeta designat cum dicit: Pronaque cum spectant animalia\Translation
from which all things spring. For the Greek word for 'earth' is ge. Life, vita, is so called from vigor, 'active power', or because it has within it the force of birth and growth. As a result, trees are said to have life, because they spring from the earth and grow. Man, homo, is so called because he is made from the soil, humus, as it says in the book of Genesis: 'And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground' (2:7). It is said incorrectly that man in his entirety is formed from two substances, that is, from the union of a soul and a body. Strictly speaking, man, homo, comes from soil, humus. The Greek word for man is antropos [anthropos], because he looks upwards, raised up from the ground to contemplate his creator. This is what the poet Ovid means, when he says: 'And though other animals are prone and fix
