In this reading, the Physiologus goes back and forth between a description of the elephant and the allegorical interpretation. The description of the elephant involves some specific facts and two stories: the story of "the elephants, the mandrake root, and the dragon" and the story of "the fallen elephant."
| Intellectu et memoria multa vigent, gregatim incedunt, murem fugiunt, aversa coheunt. |
memoria multa: ablative murem: s.v. mus coheunt = coeunt (hypercorrection) |
| what abilities do elephants have? what are elephants afraid of? | |
| Biennio autem parturiunt, nec amplius quam semel gignunt, nec plures sed tantum unum. Vivunt autem annos trescentos. |
amplius: s.v. amplus plures: s.v. multus |
| how often do elephants give birth? how long do they live? | |
| Si autem voluerit facere filios, vadit ad orientem prope Paradisum, et est ibi arbor qui vocatur mandragora, |
mandragora: English "mandrake" |
| what plant do the elephants use in order to conceive children? | |
| et vadit cum femina sua, que prius accipiet de arbore et dat in masculo suo. |
prius: s.v. prior |
| who eats the fruit first? | |
| Et seducit eum donec manducet, statimque in utero concipit. |
donec manducet: donec + subjunctive |
| what happens after they eat the mandrake? | |
| Cum vero tempus pariendi venerit, exit in stagnum, et aqua venit usque ad ubera matris. |
pariendi: s.v. pario ubera: s.v. uber |
| where does the elephant go to give birth? | |
| Elephans autem custodit eam parturientem, quia draco inimicus est elephanti. |
elephanti: dative with inimicus |
 |
who is the enemy of the elephant? |
| Si autem invenerit serpentem, occidit eum, quem conculcat donec moriatur. |
donec moriatur: donec + subjunctive |
| what do elephants do if they find a snake? | |
| Est enim formidabilis tauris elephans, tamen murem timet. |
tauris: dative with formidabilis |
| what animal is afraid of the elephant? what animal is the elephant afraid of? | |
| Hec est natura eius, si ceciderit non potest surgere. |
ceciderit: s.v. cado |
| what happens if an elephant falls down? | |
| Cadit autem cum se inclinat in arborem ut dormiat (non enim habet iuncturas geniculorum). |
ut dormiat: ut + subjunctive |
 |
why does the elephant have to sleep standing up? |
| Venator autem incidit arborem modicum, ut elephans [in] eum se inclinaverit, similiter cum arbore cadat. |
modicum: adverbial elephans inclinaverit se [in] arborem |
| how does the hunter trap the elephant? | |
| Cadens autem fortiter clamat, et statim magnus elephans exit, et non potest eum levare. |
magnus elephants non potest levare eum [=elephantem qui cecidit] |
| can the big elephant rescue the elephant in the trap? | |
| Tunc clamant ambo et veniunt duodecim elephantes, et non possunt levare eum qui cecidit. |
ambo = ambo elephantes |
| who tries to rescue the trapped elephant next? | |
| Deinde clamant omnes, et statim venit pusillus elephans, et mittit os suum cum promuscide subtus magnum elephantem, et elevat eum. |
promuscide = proboscide (s.v. proboscis)
subtus: takes accusative |
| who is finally able to rescue the trapped elephant? | |
| Habet autem pusillus elefans hanc naturam, ubi incensum fuerit de capillis et ossibus eius, neque aliud mali accidit neque draco. |
incensum: s.v. incendeo |
| what can the hair and bones of the elephant be used for? | |
| Magnus elefans et mulier eius personam habent Adam et Eve. |
Adam et Eve: genitive singular (Hebrew names usually don't decline) |
| what do the elephants symbolize? | |
| Cum enim carne essent placentes deo, ante ipsorum privaricationem non sciebant coitum, necque intelligentiam peccati habebant. |
carne: s.v. caro |
| what were Adam and Eve like before the "Fall"? | |
| Quando autem mulier manducavit de ligno, hoc est intelligibilem mandragoram dedit viro suo, deinde pregnans facta est, propter quod exierunt de paradiso. |
exierunt: s.v. exeo |
| what happened when Adam and Eve ate from the fruit of the tree? | |
| Quamdiu enim fuerint in Paradiso, non cognovit eam Adam. Scriptum est enim: Cognovit Adam uxorem suam, et concipiens peperit ea super vituperabiles aquas. De quibus ait propheta: "Salvum me fac, dominus, quoniam intraverunt aque usque ad animam meam." |
scriptum est: s.v. scribo peperit: s.v. pario de quibus: rel. pronoun at "beginning" of sentence (de aquis vituperabilibus) Genesis 4.1: Adam vero cognovit Havam uxorem suam quae concepit et peperit Cain Psalm 68.2: salvum me fac Deus quoniam intraverunt aquae usque ad animam meam |
| why does the Physiologus choose these two Bible passages to interpret the story of the elephants? | |
| Et statim draco subvertit eos, et alienos fecit ab arce sua, hoc est non placere deo. |
ab arce sua: sua refers to God as "logical" subject
of sentence
[eos] non placere deo [fecit draco] |
 |
what does the dragon symbolize? what did the "dragon" do to Adam and Eve? |
| Tunc venit magnus elefans, hoc est lex, et non eum levavit, quomodo nec sacerdos eum qui incidit in latrones. |
lex = "vetus" testamentum
quomodo et sacerdos non [levavit] eum latrones: s.v. latro |
| now there will be a comparison between the fallen elephant story and the Good Samaritan parable: what does the "magnus elefans" symbolize? | |
| Nec duodecim elephantes elevaverunt eum, id est chorus prophetarum, sicut nec Levita illum vulneratum quem diximus, |
Levita: s.v. Levita (nominative singular)
illum vulneratum quem diximus = qui incidit |
| what does the group of twelve elephants symbolize? | |
| sed intelligibilis elephans, id est dominus noster Iesus Christus, cum omnibus maior sit omnium pusillus factus est, |
cum...sit: cum + subjunctive
maior: s.v. magnus |
| what does the small elephant symbolize? | |
| quia humiliavit se, factus obediens usque ad mortem, ut hominem elevaret, intelligibilis Samaritanus qui imposuit super iumentum. |
ut...elevaret: ut + subjunctive
imposuit: s.v. impono qui imposuit [vulneratum] super iumentum |
| why can the Physiologus conflate the Good Samaritan and Jesus Christ: what do they have in common? | |
| Ipse enim vulneratus tulit infirmitates nostras, et peccata nostra portavit. |
tulit: s.v. fero |
| what did Jesus "lift up" and "bear away"? | |
| Interpretatur autem Samaritanus custos de quo dicit David: Custodiens parvulos dominus. |
David = psalmista Psalm 114.6: custodiens parvulos Dominus humiliatus sum et liberavit me |
| why does the Physiologus include this particular verse in his explanation of the elephant story? | |
| Ubi autem est dominus presens, neque diabolus appropinquare poterit. |
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| what does the presence of the "elefans" do to the devil? | |
| Elefantes vero promuscide sua quicquid involuerint, frangunt; pede vero quicquid compresserint velud quodam lapsu ruine ingentis exanimant. |
promuscide sua: ablative
pede: s.v. pes compresserint: s.v. comprimo velud = velut |
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the Physiologus now returns to the natural features of the elephant: what do elephants do with their trunks? what happens if they step on something? |
| Propter feminas nunquam dimicant, nulla enim noverunt adulteria. |
nunquam = numquam |
| what kind of relations do the male elephants have with one another? | |
| Inest illis clementie bonum. Quippe si per deserta vagabundum hominem forte viderint ductus usque notas vias prebent. |
per [loca] deserta forte: s.v. fors ductus: masc. accusative plural |
| what happens if an elephant finds somebody wandering around in the wilderness? | |
| Vel si confertis pecoribus occursitent, itinera sic blanda et placida manu faciunt, ne qua tela obvium animal interimant. |
pecoribus: s.v. pecus itinera: s.v. iter ne... interimant: ut (ne) + subjunctive [ali]qua tela: (the "telum" is the elephant's tusk obvium: s.v. obvius |
| what happens if the elephants come across a flock of livestock? | |
| Conflictis fortuito si quando pugnantur non mediocrem habent curam sauciorum. Nam fessos vulneratosque in medium receptant. |
si [ali]quando mediocrem: s.v. mediocris |
| what happens if elephants are wounded in some kind of battle? |
