Folio 54r - [De perdice]; Of the partridge
Of the partridge
The partridge gets its name from the sound it makes. It is a cunning and unclean bird. For one male mounts another and in their reckless lust they forget their sex.
The partridge is so deceitful that one will steal another's eggs. But the trick does not work. For when the young hear the cry of their real mother, their natural instinct is to leave the bird that is brooding them and return to the mother who produced them.
The Devil imitates their example, trying to rob the eternal Creator of those he has created; if he succeeds somehow in bringing together men who are foolish and lack any sense of their own inner strength, he cossets them with seductive pleasures of the flesh. But when they have heard the voice of Christ, growing spiritual wings, they wisely fly away and entrust themselves to Christ.
The nests built by partridges are skilfully fortified. For they cover their hiding-place with thorny bushes so that animals attacking them are kept at bay by the prickly branches. The partridge uses dust to cover its eggs and returns secretly to the place, which it has marked.
Frequent intercourse tires it.
The females often carry their young in order to deceive the males, who frequently attack the chicks, all the more impatiently when the chicks fawn on them.
The males fight over their choice of mate, and believe they can use the losers for sex in place of the females. The latter are so affected by lust, that if the wind blows towards them from the males, they become pregnant
- Commentary
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Commentary
Text
The partridge. These birds steal other birds' eggs.
Illustration
A partridge steals eggs from another's nest.
Comment
One picture of a partridge has been excised.The grey partridge lives in England, the rock, red-legged or Barbary partridge lives around the Mediterranean. The portrait is not very accurate of either type, but the text contains some truth. The rubric is missing. Pricking for pouncing around the lower picture. Initials type 2.
Folio Attributes
- Transcription and Translation
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Transcription
[De perdice] \ Perdix de voce nomen\ habet, avis dolosa et\ immunda. Nam masculus\ in masculum insurgit, et\ obliviscitur sexum libido\ preceps. Adeo autem frau\ dulenta, ut alter alterius\ ova diripiat. Verumptamen\ fraus fructum non habet. Nam dum pulli audiunt vocem\ proprie genitricis naturali quodam instinctu hanc que\ eos fovit relinqunt, et ad eam que eos genuit rever\ tuntur. Huius exemplum imitatus est diabolus qui ge\ nerationem eterni conditoris rapere contendit, et si quos\ insipientes et sensu proprii vigoris carentes aliquo modo\ poterit congregare, fovet illos illecebris corporalibus.\ Set ubi vox Christi audita fuerit ab eis, sumentes sibi alas\ spirituales provide evolant, et se Christo commendant.\ Concinnantur\ a perdicibus munitione sollerti.\ Spineis enim fruticibus receptus\ suos vestiunt, ut animalia que\ infestant arceantur asperis surcu\ lorum. Ovis stragulum pulvis\ est atque clanculo revertuntur in indicium loci, conver\ satio frequens fatigat, plerumque femine transvehunt par\ tus ut mares fallant, qui eos sepissime affligunt, impaci\ entius adulantes. Dimicant circa conubium, victosque cre\ dunt feminarum vice venerem sustinere. Ipsas libido sic\ agitat, ut si ventus a masculis flaverit, fiant pregnantes\Translation
Of the partridge The partridge gets its name from the sound it makes. It is a cunning and unclean bird. For one male mounts another and in their reckless lust they forget their sex. The partridge is so deceitful that one will steal another's eggs. But the trick does not work. For when the young hear the cry of their real mother, their natural instinct is to leave the bird that is brooding them and return to the mother who produced them. The Devil imitates their example, trying to rob the eternal Creator of those he has created; if he succeeds somehow in bringing together men who are foolish and lack any sense of their own inner strength, he cossets them with seductive pleasures of the flesh. But when they have heard the voice of Christ, growing spiritual wings, they wisely fly away and entrust themselves to Christ. The nests built by partridges are skilfully fortified. For they cover their hiding-place with thorny bushes so that animals attacking them are kept at bay by the prickly branches. The partridge uses dust to cover its eggs and returns secretly to the place, which it has marked. Frequent intercourse tires it. The females often carry their young in order to deceive the males, who frequently attack the chicks, all the more impatiently when the chicks fawn on them. The males fight over their choice of mate, and believe they can use the losers for sex in place of the females. The latter are so affected by lust, that if the wind blows towards them from the males, they become pregnant
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