This story is illustrated in the Aberdeen Bestiary.
| Est animal quod dicitur castor, mansuetum nimis, |
mansuetum nimis [est] |
| what kind of personality does the beaver have? | |
| cuius testiculi medicine sunt aptissimi, |
cuius: rel.
pronoun at "beginning" of sentence (castoris testiculi) [note regular substition of "e" for "ae" in this text] medicine: dative, with aptissimi |
| what can the beaver's testicles be used for? | |
| de quo dicit Phisiologus quia cum venatorem se insequentem cognovit, morsu testiculos sibi abscidit, et in faciem venatoris eos proicit et sic fugiens evadit. |
de quo: rel.
pronoun at "beginning" of sentence (de castore)
quia = quod (quod for indirect statement) se = refers back to subject of main verb, cognovit [castor] faciem: s.v. facies |
 |
what does the beaver do when it is hunted? |
| Si vero rursus contigerit ut alter venator eum prosequatur, erigit se et ostendit virilia sua venatori. |
contigerit: s.v. contingo
ut...prosequator: ut + subjunctive
|
 |
what happens if the beaver is hunted a second time? |
| Quem cum viderit testiculis carere, ab eo discedit. |
quem: rel.
pronoun at "beginning" of sentence (castorem viderit) quem...carere: indirect statement (accusative + infinitive) carere: s.v. careo (takes ablative) |
| why does the hunter leave the beaver alone? | |
| Sic omnis qui iuxta mandatum dei versatur et caste vult vivere, secat a se omnia vicia, et omnes impudicitie actus, et proicit eos a se in faciem diaboli. |
versatur: s.v. versor (in sense of "dwell, live, abide") vicia = vitia (s.v. vitium) actus: accusative plural |
 |
what is the symbolic meaning of the beaver's behavior? what does the beaver teach us to do? |
| Tunc ille videns eum nichil suorum habentem, confusus ab eo discedit. |
nichil = nihil
confusus: s.v. confundo |
| what will the devil do if you follow this strategy? | |
| Ille vero vivit in deo, et non capitur a diabolo, qui dicit: persequar, et comprehendam eos. |
persequar: s.v. persequor (deponent) |
| what does the devil say about his intentions towards mankind? | |
| Castor dicitur a castrando. |
castrando: s.v. castro |
| what is the etymology of "castor," according to the Physiologus? |
