Adam, being the first man, gave to all living beings a name, a name in the tongue of all peoples before the Flood: Hebrew. Later, after Babel, the heathens named each and every beast, each and every one, in their own languages: Greek and Latin and Arabic, the tongues of the Celts and Saxons and Germans, the Northmen, Tuscans and all the barbarian peoples.

And so the names multiplied:

Yana, Daga, Achbar, Livyatan, Dvora, Kelev, Aryeh, Hirra, Dubb, Booma, Charfaferet, Y’ela, Zikit, Ez, Nami, Thaalab, Barboor, Bichra, Antholops, Lupus, Delphinus, Apa, Barvaz, Canis, Camellus, Aquila, Bulbul, Basiliskos, Hafoc, Pelikan, Gos, Khamaileon, Hwael, Beo, Camel, Monokoros, Mus, Beofor, Rhomus, Aes, Ass, Korax, Fisc, Frogga, Asino, Bonnacon, Mul, Sirena, Api, Hors, Uxi, Hraefn, Catt, Gatto, Leon, Viper, Barnacle, Hedgehog, Leucrota, Igel, Wulf, Amphisbaena, Coccodrillo, Ugla, Night-owl, Gos, Snaca, Blaka, Serpent, Bee, Dufa, Coot, Tiger, Quail, Salamander, Charadrius, Mule, Hoopoe, Crow, Elephant, Fox, Horned Serpent, Eagle, Panther, Svala, Peacock, Sparrowhawk, Antelope, Laculus, Phoenix, Hyena, Cinnomolgus, Scorpion, Heron, Hawk, Bat, Partridge, Perindens, Pard, Serra, Beaver, Lizard, Water-ouzel, Gryphon, Magpie, Weasel, Seps, Sheep, Vulture, Wyrm, Crow, Tragelaphus, Kite, Hawk, Manticore, Dragon

Thus Adam named the animals,
all the creatures of the world.
Adam, the first man, named them all!

To the brink of the water encircling the bright earth,
The swing of the waves in the roaring sea,
Both birds and beasts are scattered,
Multitudes moving all over the earth.

In India there is a beast called the manticore. It has a triple row of teeth, the face of a man, a lion’s body and a pointed tail with a sting like a scorpion, and a hissing voice. It delights in eating human flesh.

The lion fears the noise of wheels.

The lynx’s urine hardens into a valuable jewel.

A fox has supple feet and never runs in a straight line.

A sick bear will eat ants.

A parander can change its shape when it is frightened.

The weasel is very cunning. Some say it conceives through its ear and gives birth through its mouth.

If a unicorn sees a virgin girl it leaps into her lap and goes to sleep.

The amphisbaena has two heads, one in the right place, the other on its tail.

The gryphon has a face like an eagle, with the body of a lion; it hates the horse bitterly.

The monoceros is a monster with a horrible bray; it has the body of a horse, the feet of an elephant and a tail like that of a stag.

A dragon is larger than all other animals. It has a crest, a small mouth and narrow nostrils. Its homes are Ethiopia and India.

There is an animal called the hyena, which lives in the graves of dead men and feeds on their bodies.

In Ethiopia there are ants in the shape of dogs which root out grains of gold with their feet and guard them.

The panther is a mottled beast and very swift.

Fairest of creatures,
Glossy and bright.
Modest and meek,
Peaceful, kind,
Panther will not hurt anything—
Except the venomous dragon,
His oldest foe.

After eating,
He retires to his mountain cave.
The mighty warrior slumbers, heavy with weariness;
Rising on the third day,
A sweet sound streams forth,
Stronger, more pleasing
Than any forest blossom,
The most lovely of songs.

From royal lodges and fortresses and towns,
Men hurry along earth’s paths in company
Towards the music, drawn by the song.
That is a fair music.

Dolphins gather in shoals when music is played.
The crocodile is so called from the colour of crocuses.
There is a monster in the sea called the serra, or flying fish.

Hungry, the warden of the ocean
Opens his mouth,
Parts his vast lips.
A sweet scent streams out.
Fish of all sorts are seduced:
They swim to the source of the scent
And crowd in, a thoughtless throng,
Until that huge maw is full;
Suddenly the grim jaws snap around their prey.
At once Fastitocalon dives,
Dives to the depths of that bottomless swell,
Into the misty gloom.

For those who enter, there is no return, no escape.

Airborne, nearer to God,
Their movement free of constraint;
Gliding through the nothingness above the earth
The beasts of the air see further,
And feel deeper,
And know more.

Vultures conceive without mating. They can predict the death of a man.
Cranes submit to a kind of military discipline.
The ostrich has feathers but does not fly; its feet are like a camel’s.
The jackdaw is the most talkative of birds, with a grating voice.
The pelican loves its young excessively.
The partridge is a cunning and unclean bird.
No other creature can scent man so keenly as the goose.
I have seen them myself, with my own eyes, many times.

When the wind is asleep and the weather set fair,
When the clouds have dispersed
and the mighty deeps lie calm,
Then the phoenix fashions its nest.
When the scorching sun
Looks across the world,
The house of the phoenix
Swelters under the glowing sky.
The funeral pyre is kindled.
Furious the flames flicker,
The nest of the phoenix
Held in the fire’s fierce embrace.
The age-old bird is burnt.

In time its corpse grows cold,
Its body breaks apart;
The flames die away.

In the ashes of the pyre,
Is found an apple
From which grows a wondrous worm.
In the shadow it grows
In great joy, until it is like
An eagle come to maturity:
Adorned with brilliant plumage,
As it was in the beginning.

O man, make your chrysalis, and clothe yourself in the new man.