Search results for 'devil'

The dragon, continued. De basilisco; Of the basilisk

COMMENTARY

The word 'devil' is omitted from several 2nd-family manuscripts, but it is found in Isidore, the source (Clark, 1992, 195, n

TRANSLATION

The Devil is like the dragon; he is the most monstrous serpent of all; he is often aroused from his cave and causes the air to shine because, emerging from the depths, he transforms himself into the angel of light and deceives the foolish with hopes of vainglory and worldly pleasure[...] The dragon is said to be crested, as the Devil wears the crown of the king of pride[...] The dragon's strength lies not in its teeth but its tail, as the Devil, deprived of his strength, deceives with lies those whom he draws to him[...] The dragon lurks around paths along which elephants pass, as the Devil entangles with the knots of sin the way of those bound for heaven and, like the dragon, kills them by suffocation; because anyone who dies fettered in the chains of his offences is condemned without doubt to hell

[PL, De aquilone et austro ventis]; [Of the north wind and the south wind]

COMMENTARY

However it is placed next to a text referring the the devil uplifted on wings of pride

TRANSLATION

It rests on flowing waters, so that by sighting the hawk's shadow it can avoid more swiftly the hawk's approach, as one studies the scriptures to avoid the plotting of the Devil, who comes without warning[...] The Devil fell because he sought to exalt himself; man is humbled when he desires to rise in the world

De pica; the magpie.

COMMENTARY

The scribe omitted the essential word 'devil' from the first sentence, added by the editor in the margin

TRANSLATION

In his book of Etymologies, Isidore says that the raven picks out the eyes in corpses first, as the Devil destroys the capacity for judgement in carnal men, and proceeds to extract the brain through the eye[...] The raven extracts the brain through the eye, as the Devil, when it has destroyed our capacity for judgement, destroys our mental faculties

Wolf, continued

TRANSLATION

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

Elephant, continued. De castore; the beaver. De animale qoud dicitur ibex; the ibex

TRANSLATION

Thus every man who heeds God's commandment and wishes to live chastely should cut off all his vices and shameless acts, and cast them from him into the face of the devil[...] Then the devil, seeing that the man has nothing belonging to him, retires in disorder[...] That man, however, lives in God and is not taken by the devil, who says: 'I will pursue, I will overtake them

The palm tree, continued.De cedro; Of cedars

TRANSLATION

The world, the flesh and the Devil[...] He conquers the Devil and forces him to submit when he banishes him from his life[...] It stands at the northern limit of Judaea, to prevent the Devil from entering by means of temptation the minds of those who are sincerely praising the Lord

The caladrius, continued. De coturnice ; Of the quail

TRANSLATION

The hawk, lying in wait, is the Devil, who tempts us by suggestion[...] Seeing the quail-mother approaching land, therefore, the hawk seizes it, as the Devil drags off with him those who seek earthly things[...] Let the churchman, therefore, who heads his flock, take careful heed of his purpose in seeking earthly things, whether he acquires them for his own use or seeks them to meet the need of his brothers, lest the hawk, that is, the Devil, should seize him, if he has neglected the things of the spirit and has not ceased to long for the things of this earth

Simie vocantur...; apes.

TRANSLATION

The Devil has the form of an ape, with a head but no tail[...] The Devil began as an angel in heaven

Leucrota, continued. De vulpe; the fox.

TRANSLATION

The Devil is of a similar nature[...] Those who wish to do the Devil's work will die, as the apostle says: 'For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die; but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live

Dogs, continued

TRANSLATION

In some ways preachers are like dogs: by their admonitions and righteous ways they are always driving off the ambushes laid by the Devil, lest he seize and carry off God's treasure - Christian souls[...] Indeed, there is no quicker way for the Devil, his enemy, to take possession of man than through his greedy gullet

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

TRANSLATION

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 goose, continued. [De ardea] ; Of the heron

TRANSLATION

the discerning brother sees evidence of negligence, his warning voice serves to repel the old enemy, the Devil[...] Rabanus says on this subject: 'This bird can signify the souls of the elect, who fear the disorder of this world, lest they be caught up by chance in the storms of persecution stirred up by the Devil, and raise their minds, reaching above all worldly things to the tranquility of their home in heaven, where the countenance of God is forever to be seen

[De balena]; Of the whale. De belua que dicitur serra; Of the monster called the flying-fish. De delfinibus; Of dolphins.

TRANSLATION

[Of the whale] [They suffer in the same way, those who are unbelievers and know nothing of the Devil's cunning, who place their hope in him,] bind themselves to do his work, together they will be plunged with him into the fires of Gehenna[...] They suffer in the same way, those who are of limited faith, who succumb to the food of desires and enticements, they are suddenly devoured by the Devil as if they had been overwhelmed by certain scents Again of the whale Whales are beasts of huge size, so called because of their habit of drawing in and spouting out water; for they make waves higher than other sea creatures; the Greek word balenim [balein] means 'to emit'

Lion, continued

TRANSLATION

Not knowing of his divine nature, the Devil, the enemy of mankind, dared to tempt him like an ordinary man

Pard, continued. De pantera; the panther

TRANSLATION

Thus our Lord Jesus Christ, the true panther, descending from Heaven, snatched us from the power of the devil

Elephant, continued

TRANSLATION

' [SOURCE] Where the Lord is present, the devil cannot draw near

De caprea; the wild goat

TRANSLATION

For as dittany drives out iron from a wound and heals it, so Christ through confession casts out the devil and pardons sin

Deer, continued

TRANSLATION

And if they find a place of sin, they leap over it at once, and after the incarnation of the Devil, that is, after committing a sin, they run, by their confession, to Christ, the true spring; drinking in his commandments, they are renewed, shedding their sin like old age

The magpie, continued. De corvo; the raven

TRANSLATION

In the Scriptures, the raven is perceived in a variety of ways; it is sometimes taken to mean a preacher, sometimes a sinner, sometimes the Devil

The vulture, continued.

TRANSLATION

The vulture follows the army to fill itself with corpses, as the sinner follows the evil men of the Devil's army, modelling himself on their ways

The perindens tree, continued.

TRANSLATION

that, after you have received the Holy Spirit, that is the spiritual, apprehensible dove, descending and remaining upon you, you are not caught outside eternity, set apart from the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit; and that the dragon, that is, the Devil, does not kill you

Wolf, continued

TRANSLATION

For what do we mean by the wolf if not the Devil? What by the man, if not sin? What by the stones, if not the apostles, or other saints of our Lord? For they are all called by the prophet 'stones of adamant'

De serpentibus; Of snakes. De draconibus; Of the dragon.

TRANSLATION

Be as careful as you can that you are not caught outside the doors of that house, that the dragon, the serpent of old, does not seize you and devour you, as Judas was at once devoured by the devil and perished, as soon as he had gone forth from the Lord and his brother apostles

De oculis columbe; Of the eyes of the dove. De colore reliqui corporis; Of the colour of the rest of the dove's body. De diversis proprietatibus columbe; Of the different characteristics of the dove.

TRANSLATION

The Church protects itself with the scriptures, in order to escape the deceits of the Devil who plots against it

The ostrich, continued.

TRANSLATION

The ostrich also forgets that the beast of the field will destroy its eggs, just as the hypocrite does not care at all if the Devil, raging in this world, snatches the young who are the product of edifying association

The ostrich, continued. De vulturibus; Of vultures

TRANSLATION

The foot crushes the eggs and the beast of the field tramples on them when they are left in the earth as, clearly, the hearts of men, when they devote themselves constantly to thoughts of earthly things and the basest deeds, fling themselves down to be crushed by the hooves of the beast of the field, that is, the Devil, so that, when they have long been degraded by base thoughts, they may at some time be destroyed by committing serious crimes

[De perdice]; Of the partridge

TRANSLATION

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

The peacock, continued.

TRANSLATION

The shields of gold are those who live chastely and defend others from the attacks of the Devil

The nature of snakes, continued.

TRANSLATION

of the darkness of this world, then the serpent, that is, the Devil, cannot attack you

The adamas stone, continued.

TRANSLATION

Our Lord came therefore and, taking up the light which the devil had extinguished, that is, the soul and the body, he lit it with the splendour of his glory, giving it new life and taking it back with him

The adamas stone, continued.

TRANSLATION

Nor is this stone affected by fire, meaning the devil who with his blazing darts burns the whole earth, its cities and its wanton, drunken and raging inhabitants; of these Isaiah says: 'Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire' (Isaiah, 1:7)