Transcription
non capiat catulis suis sed in longinquo. Quod si opus fuerit ut\
predam noctu querat, tanquam canis mansuetus passim ad ovi\le pergit,
et ne fortuitu sui flatus odorem senciant canes, et\ evigilent pastores,
contra ventum vadit. Et si ramus aut\ aliquid tangendo sub eius
pede sonaverit, ipsum pedem\ castigat morsu aperto. Oculi eius in
nocte lucent velud lucer\ne. Cuius natura talis est, ut si prior
hominem viderit, vocem eripet\ et despicit eum tanquam vircor [A:
victor] vocis ablate. Idem si se pre\visum senserit, deponit ferocitatem
et non potest currere.\ Solinus refert qui plura de naturis rerum
dicit, caude ani\malis huius vellus amatorium inesse perexiguum,
quod dentibus\ ipse evellit, si forte capi timuerit, non habet potenciam,
nisi\ illo vivente detrahatur. Lupi figuram diabolus portat,\ qui
semper humano generi invidet, ac iugiter circuit caulas\ ecclesie
fidelium, ut mactet et perdat eorum animas. Quod\ vero generat tonitruo
primo mensis May, significat dia\bolum, in primo superbie motu cecidisse
de celo. Quod autem\ in anterioribus membris vires habet, et non
in posterioribus eundem\ diabolum significat, prius in celo angelum
lucis fuisse nunc\ vero deorsum apostatum factum esse. Oculi eius
in nocte lucent,\ velud lucerne quia quedam diaboli opera cecis
et fatuis viris,\ videntur esse pulchra et salubria. Cum catulos
gignit, \ non nisi in longinquo predam capit, quia eos diabolus
bo\nis temporalibus fovet, de quibus certus est, in gehennalibus\
claustris secum penas perpeti. Illos autem omnino insequitur\ qui
bonis operibus ab eo elongantur, sicut de beato Iob legitur,\ cui
nomen substanciam, necnon filios et filias abstulit, ut a do\mino
recederet cor eius. Quod nunquam collum retro sine to\to corpore
valet flectere, significat diabolum ad peni\ |
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Translation
but far away. If it has to hunt its prey at night, it goes like
a tame dog here and there to a sheepfold, and lest the sheepdogs
catch its scent and wake the shepherds, it goes upwind. And if a
twig or anything, under the pressure of its paw, makes a noise,
it nips the the paw as a punishment. The wolf's eyes shine in the
night like lamps. It has this characteristic, that if it sees a
man first, it takes away his power of speech and looks at him with
scorn, as victor over the voiceless. If it senses that the man has
seen it first, it loses its fierceness and its power to run. Solinus,
who has a lot to say about the nature of things, says that on the
tail of this animal there is a tiny patch of hair which is a love-charm;
if the wolf fears that it may be captured, it tears the hair out
with its teeth; the charm has no power unless the the hair is taken
from the wolf while it is still alive. The Devil has the nature
of a wolf; he always looks with an evil eye upon mankind and continually
circles the sheepfold of the faithful of the Church, to ruin and
destroy their souls. The fact that the she-wolf gives birth when
the thunder first sounds in the month of May signifies the Devil,
who fell from heaven at the first display of his pride. The fact
that its strength lies in its forequarters and not in its hindquarters
also signfies the Devil, who was formerly the angel of light in
heaven, but has now been made an apostate below. The wolf's eyes
shine in the night like lamps because the works of the Devil seem
beautiful and wholesome to blind and foolish men. When the she-wolf
bears her young, she will only catch food for them far away from
her lair, because the Devil cherishes with wordly goods those he
is sure will suffer punishment with him in the confines of hell.
But he constantly pursues those who distance themselves from him
by good works; as we read of the blessed Job, whose name, substance,
sons and daughters the devil carried off to make him desert the
Lord in his heart. The fact that the wolf cannot turn his neck without
turning the whole of his body signifies that the Devil |
