Folio 20v - Dogs, continued. De ove; the sheep
will it be presented before its maker? The man who undertakes to order and array his soul, must clothe it decently and fittingly, therefore, so that he can present it in a praiseworthy fashion before the angels in heaven. The first garment in which the soul should be clad is purity. For no soul can be presented in the court of heaven, which now or in the future is not pure. Other garments are piety, charity and other virtues in which it should be attired.
Clad in such raiment, with the three guides, purity of thought, chasteness of speech and perfection in deeds, the soul can be presented honourably in the glory of heaven, where it will be rewarded by that blessed state which the angels enjoy, for which God created man, assigning him three counsellors, spiritual understanding, the capacity for doing good, and wisdom; if man accedes to them, he will not lose his heavenly kingdom; because man did not accede to them, he lost his inheritance.
Of the sheep
The sheep, a gentle animal, its body clad in wool, harmless, placid by nature, gets its name from oblatio, an offering, because men of old offered as a sacrifice not bulls but sheep. Some are called 'bidents', having two teeth among their eight which are more prominent than the others; the pagans dedicated these, in particular, as a sacrifice.
As winter approaches, the sheep is ravenous for food and devours grass insatiably, because it senses the coming severity of the season and seeks to stuff itself
- Commentary
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Commentary
Text
The sermon on virtue; Sheep. The gentle animal made for sacrifice.
Comment
The illustration of the sheep is excised. Initial type 2.
- Transcription and Translation
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Transcription
coram factore suo presentaretur. Oportet ergo ut homo qui ad \regendum et induendum eam suscepit its honeste etc com\petenter induat ut laudabiliter coram angelis eam in celo \presentare valeat. Primum indumentum unde anima vesti\ri debet, est mundicia. Nulla enim in celesti curia presentatur, \que vel hic vel in futuro non mundetur. Alia vero indumen\ta sunt, pietas, misericordia, cetereque virtutes quibus debet ve\stiri. Vera vero talibus indumentis cum tribus conductis, id est cogi\tatione pura, verbo bono, opere perfecto, in celesti gloria honeste potest \presentari, ubi remunerabitur illa beatudine, quam optinent \angeli ad quam optinendum hominem deus creavit, et tres \consiliatores ei attribuit, scilicet spiritualem intellectum, \potestatem bene agendi, et sapientiam, quibus si adquiesce\ret, regnum celeste non amitteret, sed quia illis non adquie\vit hereditatem suam amisit. \ De ove\ Quis molle pecus lanis corpore in erme, animo placidum, ab oblatione dictum, eo quod apud veteres in inicio non tauri, sed oves in sacrificio mactarentur. Ex his quibusdam videntes vocant, easque inter octo dentes duos altiores habent, quos maxime \gentiles in sacrificium offerebant. Ovis sub adventu hye \mis inexplebilis ad escam, insaciabiliter herbam rapit, eo \quod presentiat asperitatem hyemis affuturam, ut se prius herbe \Translation
will it be presented before its maker? The man who undertakes to order and array his soul, must clothe it decently and fittingly, therefore, so that he can present it in a praiseworthy fashion before the angels in heaven. The first garment in which the soul should be clad is purity. For no soul can be presented in the court of heaven, which now or in the future is not pure. Other garments are piety, charity and other virtues in which it should be attired. Clad in such raiment, with the three guides, purity of thought, chasteness of speech and perfection in deeds, the soul can be presented honourably in the glory of heaven, where it will be rewarded by that blessed state which the angels enjoy, for which God created man, assigning him three counsellors, spiritual understanding, the capacity for doing good, and wisdom; if man accedes to them, he will not lose his heavenly kingdom; because man did not accede to them, he lost his inheritance. Of the sheep The sheep, a gentle animal, its body clad in wool, harmless, placid by nature, gets its name from oblatio, an offering, because men of old offered as a sacrifice not bulls but sheep. Some are called 'bidents', having two teeth among their eight which are more prominent than the others; the pagans dedicated these, in particular, as a sacrifice. As winter approaches, the sheep is ravenous for food and devours grass insatiably, because it senses the coming severity of the season and seeks to stuff itself
