Folio 30r - the wind, continued. Item de accipitre; Of the hawk. Beatus Gregorius de acciptre quomodo plumescat; The blessed Gregory on the hawk and how it moults
Folio 30r Translation
is the flame of love. From there comes the purity of truth.
The south wind blows from a tranquil quarter, because God reposes in tranquility of character. There he finds nourishment; there he finds rest. There is to be found peace of mind; there, too, the refreshment of contemplation.
The south wind signifies the grace of the Holy Spirit. The breath of the wind represents the beneficence of the Holy Spirit; its heat represents love. It comes therefore, whenever the grace of the Holy Spirit grows within in a man's mind. It rises whenever that grace withdraws from the mind.
God, it is said, will come from the south. The Devil from the north; God from the south. The Devil lives in the darkness of ignorance; God delights in the tranquility born of love of one's fellow-man.
The cold of the north wind causes the pores of the flesh to close tightly; the heat of the south wind opens them up again. For what cold avarice holds back in a tight fist, bountiful charity offers as alms in open hands.
If old wings carry the soul down to hell, new wings carry it up to the heavenly things it longs for. For the sins of the soul weigh it down; its virtues raise it up.
Next, of the hawk
The hawk is a bird armed rather with spirit than with claws, having great courage in its small body.
It gets its name, accipiter, from accipiendo, accepting - that is, a capiendo, taking to itself. For it greedily seizes other birds. For that reason it is called accipite, meaning one who seizes by force. Therefore Paul says: 'You suffer if a man take of you' (Corinthians 2, 11:20); but while he means to say 'siquis rapit, if any man seizes something from you by force', he says 'siquis accipit, if any man take'.
It is said that the hawk is lacking in parental care towards its young, for when it sees that they are able and trying to fly, it does not feed them but beats them with its wings, throws them from the nest and forces them from a tender age to catch prey for themselves lest, when they are fully grown, they should become lazy. It takes care lest in their childhood they grow idle, or are given up to pleasure, or grow weak from inactivity, or learn to expect food rather than to seek it for themselves, or abandon their natural vigour. Hawks stop bothering to feed their young in order to make them bold enough to seize food for themselves.
The blessed Gregory on the hawk and how it moults
- Commentary
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Commentary
Text
The south wind continued; the hawk.
Illustration
The hawk grips its frame and twists backwards aggressively.
Comment
The gilding of the initial 'A' overlaps the frame of the illustration, indicating that in this case the letter was gilded after the picture.
Folio Attributes
- Transcription and Translation
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Transcription
dilectionis ardor. Inde sinceritas veritatis. Auster a serena regione \procedit, quia deus in serenitate morum requiescit. Ibi pascit. Ibi \cubat. Ibi quies mentis. Ibi contemplationis refectio. Auster \sancti spiritus graciam designat. Flatus austri benignitatem spiritus sancti. Calor \amor. Auster igitur venit, quociens gracia sancti spiritus mentem cuiuslibet \ascendit. Surgit, quociens a mente gracia recedit. [A, D]eus \inquit ab austro veniet. Ab aquilone diabolus, a austro deus. \Ille tenebras ignorantie inhabitat, iste serenitatem caritatis \amat. Frigus aquilonis, poros carnis restringit, calor austri, \clausos aperit. Quod enim frigus avaricie stringendo retinet, \apertis elemosine manibus caritas larga prebet. Penna siquidem \vetus in infernum mergit, nova vero, animum ad celestia desi\deranda sustollit. Peccata enim gravant, virtutes vero sublevant. \ Item de accipitre \ Accipiter avis animo \plus armata quam ungulis virtu\tem maiorem in minore corpore gestans. \Hic accipiendo, id est, a capiendo nomen sump\sit. Est autem rapiendis aliis avibus \avida. Ideo vocatur accipiter hoc est raptor. \Unde et Paulus dicit: Sustinetis enim, siquis accipiat vos. \Ut enim diceret: Siquis rapit, dixit: Siquis accipit. Fertur autem \accipiter circa pullos suos impius esse, nam dum viderit eos posse \temptare volatus, nullas eis prebet escas, sed verberat pennis \et a nido precipitat, atque a tenero compellit ad predam, ne \adulti pigrescant. Cavet ne in tenera etate pigrescant, ne sol\vantur deliciis, ne marcescant ocio, ne discant cibum magis \expectare quam querere, ne nature sue deponant vigorem, inter\mittunt studium nutriendi, ut in usum [i]rapiendi audere \compellant. Beatus Gregorius de acciptre quomodo plumescat.Translation
Folio 30r Translation is the flame of love. From there comes the purity of truth. The south wind blows from a tranquil quarter, because God reposes in tranquility of character. There he finds nourishment; there he finds rest. There is to be found peace of mind; there, too, the refreshment of contemplation. The south wind signifies the grace of the Holy Spirit. The breath of the wind represents the beneficence of the Holy Spirit; its heat represents love. It comes therefore, whenever the grace of the Holy Spirit grows within in a man's mind. It rises whenever that grace withdraws from the mind. God, it is said, will come from the south. The Devil from the north; God from the south. The Devil lives in the darkness of ignorance; God delights in the tranquility born of love of one's fellow-man. The cold of the north wind causes the pores of the flesh to close tightly; the heat of the south wind opens them up again. For what cold avarice holds back in a tight fist, bountiful charity offers as alms in open hands. If old wings carry the soul down to hell, new wings carry it up to the heavenly things it longs for. For the sins of the soul weigh it down; its virtues raise it up. Next, of the hawk The hawk is a bird armed rather with spirit than with claws, having great courage in its small body. It gets its name, accipiter, from accipiendo, accepting - that is, a capiendo, taking to itself. For it greedily seizes other birds. For that reason it is called accipite, meaning one who seizes by force. Therefore Paul says: 'You suffer if a man take of you' (Corinthians 2, 11:20); but while he means to say 'siquis rapit, if any man seizes something from you by force', he says 'siquis accipit, if any man take'. It is said that the hawk is lacking in parental care towards its young, for when it sees that they are able and trying to fly, it does not feed them but beats them with its wings, throws them from the nest and forces them from a tender age to catch prey for themselves lest, when they are fully grown, they should become lazy. It takes care lest in their childhood they grow idle, or are given up to pleasure, or grow weak from inactivity, or learn to expect food rather than to seek it for themselves, or abandon their natural vigour. Hawks stop bothering to feed their young in order to make them bold enough to seize food for themselves. The blessed Gregory on the hawk and how it moults
