Be uenatica, et auctoribus et speciehus eius
The Folly of the Hunt
The author critiques the origins and practice of hunting as a vain, frivolous, and morally suspect pursuit.
Both in lawful and unlawful exercise. If we are to believe history, the Thebans were the first to decide that it should be shared with everyone. And from the time that a people—foul with parricide, detestable for incest, notorious for fraud, and marked by perjury—became suspect to everyone, they were the first to gather the precepts of this craft, or rather this evil, which they later passed on to a soft, unwarlike, fickle, and shameless people (I am speaking of the Phrygians). The Athenians and the Lacedaemonians, more serious peoples, laughed at them, masking the deeds of history and the mysteries of nature and character in various veils of fiction; yet they did so in such a way that they might derive some utility from the knowledge of evils, or pleasure from the charm of poetry. And so they tell how the Dardanian hunter was snatched into the air by an eagle to serve the cups, from which he would pass on to illicit and unnatural embraces. It’s an elegant point, for the lightness of the mind can be carried off by a bird, and pleasure, ignorant of sobriety, doesn’t blush to prostitute itself to any lust whatsoever. The Theban leader, having seen the nakedness of the one he had always worshipped in the woods, was amazed as he drew his foot back from the error of his affection to find himself transformed under human consciousness into a beast; shaped like a stag, as he tried to drive away his own hunting dogs with his voice and face, he was exposed to their bites through the vice of a depraved habit and the loss of his entire substance. And perhaps they prefer the goddess to the hunters, because they didn’t want to defame their gods with such softness or malice. Venus mourns Adonis, who was killed by a boar's tusks, always having a connection to hunting or to robust commerce. When Virgil wrote playfully about the hospitality of high Carthage, he knew no way to bring the lovers' vows together except by opening the forest's hiding places to them through the opportunity of a hunt, once their companions had slipped away. Perhaps this is because such a pursuit, out of a conscience of its own shame, hates the light, just as, conversely, the joys of legitimate love prefer the torches that are the solemn light of their own. Which of the illustrious men will you name for me who has clung intensely to this pleasure? Even if the victorious Alcides pinned down the swift-footed deer or calmed the forests of Erymanthus, he wasn't looking out for his own pleasure, but for the public good. Meleager may have struck down the destructive Calydonian boar, but he didn't soothe his spirit with pleasure; rather, he freed his country from an enemy. If the founder of the Roman race slaughtered stags, he sought not the comfort of vain pleasure, but a means of life for himself and his companions. The deeds of individuals are colored by their outcome and their purpose; indeed, a thing is honorable if an honest cause has come first. Yet who among men has built up an army of hounds, only to be considered unworthy of the glory of the triumph, since it was won not so much by his own virtue as by another's? Furthermore, from the eighth degree of Capricorn up to Gemini, the excitement of the hunt and the chase dies down—unless a wolf or some more savage enemy, perhaps a lion, tiger, or leopard, happens to come into the prey, which is indeed a rare glory for our people, God willing; yet the entire length of the year is occupied by the various pursuits of hunters. The Albanians in Asia, for their part, possess hounds stronger than lions; they use the strength of these dogs and their own national skill to slaughter them as if they were harmless little beasts. For those dogs, no wild beast is stronger, none more spirited. Hercules brought these over from Italy to Asia after defeating the three-bodied Geryon, leaving behind for them, as if by inheritance, the virtue with which they might slaughter lions. Beyond this, the executioner demands their art and turns it into a craft; he has his own master, and you'll marvel at the hand-gestures of someone flying with a knife, now with a drawn dagger, now with a dulled blade, if you happen to attend their ceremonies. Take care, however, not to offend against the art of speaking with any word; for you'll either be beaten or condemned for ignorance of all the good things if you don't know the inventions of these people. These are the liberal studies of the nobility in our times. These are the first elements of virtue; this is the shortcut to the height of blessedness, a path our ancestors taught could only be climbed by the steps of laborious virtue. The Gauls mock the Aemilians and Ligurians, saying they draw up wills, call on their neighbors, and beg for armed protection if a tortoise threatens their borders—a creature that ought to be attacked. This comes from the fact that no turn of any struggle ever finds them unprepared. How, then, do our own people escape the mark of ridicule, when they think a formal war should be declared against beasts with greater tumult, more painful anxiety, and at greater expense? Yet they pursue more mildly those with whom the human race wages just enmity, as their malice demands. The wolf, the fox, the bear, and any beast more harmful than others rests at sunset and doesn't fear to practice its usual malice in the face of hunters. It is said that Hannibal killed a Roman who, at his command, had struck an elephant in single combat, saying he was unworthy of life because he could be forced to fight with beasts; though it is truer that out of envy he didn't want a captive to be glorified by the triumph of an unheard-of feat, nor for the beasts to be disgraced, by whose strength he had struck terror into nations. How, then, is he worthy of life who knows nothing else but to rage against beasts in a pursuit of vanity?
The Vanity of Air and Field
The critique extends to fowling and the corrupting influence of hunting on the character of the nobility.
As for those who enjoy hunting birds with other birds—if you can even call that hunting—they suffer from a milder form of insanity, but it’s no less frivolous. Hunting, whether on land or in the air, is only as fruitful as it is substantial. Ancient histories name Ulysses as the originator of this pursuit; they say that after Troy was razed, he was the first to bring trained birds to Greece, and that he stirred them up to destroy their own kind, to the sweet and pleasing wonder of those who watched. These people certainly defend themselves by citing a great judge—the man who saw the ways and cities of many people, whose prudence couldn't be tripped up by any trap, whose snares no enemy escaped unscathed, and whose bloodless warfare ultimately advanced the glory of the Greeks more than the armed force of a thousand ships. But he himself also praises Circe as the author of this practice; she is said to have changed human minds with her songs and potions, because by the art of her words and the charm of her things, she lured the minds of men and transformed them into whatever uses she wished, in accordance with her own will (or that of her fowling). And so, the poisons of suspect pleasure were offered to the Greeks; but when the prudent Ithacan tasted them, he refused to drink, lest he be forced to live a base and mindless life under a mistress who was a harlot. But because the wisdom of all things knows their proper use, that circumspect man, once his labors and wanderings were finished, provided for how he might compensate Greece for the loss of his companions—those whose deaths he had endured through the cost of such a long exile—even when the chaste Penelope and the affection of Telemachus did not recognize him upon his return. The loyalty of the dog was to be admired; in such a large household, it was the only one that twenty years of time could not strip of the memory of its master, so that it applauded him upon his return—unless, of course, the favor of hunters' dogs resulted in further praise for him. Yet he directed his own Telemachus to live free from this new pursuit, saying that the comforts of such a new pleasure were meant only for those who, having lost their parents, felt the losses of the Trojan War. From this, I conclude that the art is fruitless, given that such a great man was so eager to keep his only son away from it. You can infer this with me from the fact that the weaker sex is more skilled at bird-hunting. You might have blamed nature for this, had you not known that inferior things are always more prone to plunder. It is, in fact, empty and extremely laborious, and it never makes up for the loss of money with the benefit of any success. Although many practice hunting to use it as a pretext for spending less—staying home less often, eating more frequently at others' tables, and avoiding crowds while they roam through woods, thickets, and lakes, dressed in cheaper clothes and content with simpler food—they do so to console themselves with the image of pleasure, or rather, of vanity, while their companions and servants are worn down by the hunger of fasting, tormented by exposure, and exhausted by excessive labor. Finally, that was the time when Athens was first captured, the moment they decided that the edict forbidding hunting should be repealed and that the art of both kinds of hunting should be publicly permitted along with its practice. It is said that the Mantuan poet asked Marcellus, while he was working hard at slaughtering birds, whether he would prefer to be trained in catching birds or in exterminating flies. When he brought the question to his uncle Augustus, he chose on his advice to become a fly, so that he might drive the flies from Neapolis and free the city from an incurable plague. The choice was carried out; it's clear from this that the welfare of the many should be preferred to the private pleasure of any individual. In the cave of the half-human Chiron—if you believe everything the Greeks say—Achilles was taught to play the lyre and zither, and from there he was led into the woods, where, by getting used to slaughtering wild beasts, killing animals, and eating a foul diet, he cast off all reverence for nature and all fear of death. What about the fact that Bacchus had the same tutor? Indeed, those who persist in these pursuits or in idleness are half-beasts; having cast aside the better part of humanity, they conform themselves to the monstrosities of their own character. For they are drawn from frivolity to playfulness, from playfulness to pleasure, and when they have hardened, to shameful acts and every kind of illicit behavior. Leisure is sought after labor; the spark of cheerfulness is more welcome if hardships have come before, and things that were completely drained are refreshed more eagerly. All hunters still reek of the training of the Centaurs.
Scriptural Warnings Against the Hunter
The author invokes biblical figures like Nimrod and Esau to demonstrate that hunting is incompatible with a holy life.
It's rare to find any of them modest or serious, rarely self-controlled, and, I believe, never sober. After all, they learned these things in the home of Chiron. For we are warned to avoid the banquets of the Centaurs, from which no one returns without a scar. But if we withhold belief from the histories that poets have stained with their own inventions, we must certainly believe the one that, because it was written by the finger of God, has earned unquestionable authority among all nations. The first to be mentioned, therefore, is Nimrod, a mighty hunter against the Lord. You don't doubt that he was a reprobate, whom the entire crowd of teachers condemns. It's said that he erupted into such a madness of pride that he didn't fear to violate the laws of nature, since he condemned to slavery those who were his peers in condition and birth, whom nature had created free. The height of tyranny, therefore, beginning with the hunter in defiance of the Creator, finds no other author than the one who had learned contempt for the Lord in the slaughter of wild beasts and the wallowing in blood. For he began to be powerful on the earth. It is written this way: Because he didn't wait to receive power from the Lord. His kingdom began in Babylon and expanded into the land of Shinar, where—while the whole earth shared one language and the same speech—the tower of Babel was built toward heaven, using bricks for stones and bitumen for mortar, but lacking the Rock as its foundation, by whose singular solidity every structure built in the Lord grows strong. But wicked recklessness, cut off from the unity of languages, severed unity and was the first to merit confusion, for it preferred to boast in itself rather than in the Lord. The proverb arose from this: 'Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord,' perhaps because he stood so tall in his own pride that he couldn't be instructed even by the punishment of the recent flood, but instead acted arrogantly in the eyes of the Lord and stubbornly usurped the service owed by man to the Lord; even though it is certain that the flood preceded the confusion of languages. Babylon indeed intoxicates the whole world with a golden cup and builds camps against the Jerusalem that is above—camps that will undoubtedly perish—and whoever serves in their militia is condemned by the perpetual curse of the saints. Esau also practiced hunting, and he deserved to be defrauded of his father's blessing. In the woods he gathered hunger, so that in his immoderate heat, craving a bowl of lentils, he might sell the prerogative of his birthright for a small and cheap price; and he passed on the yoke of hereditary servitude to his descendants, so that they would bow their necks to the dominion of the younger brother who stayed at home. His hands were rough with bristling hair, for he couldn't be gentle in his actions; he was wild in his ways, and he had left behind at home the refined clothing of a gentleman, having cast off the garment of virtue through his constant hunting. He thirsted for his brother's blood, and he wasn't afraid to be worshipped by the very one whom he knew had been preferred before him by divine grace through their father's blessing, even though he had been appeased by gifts beforehand. They boast that the Maccabee was the one who started hunting in the air, though he was occupied with greater things and, as is believed, lived a life devoid of this pleasure. He fought wars remarkably well, restored liberty to his brothers, established laws, renewed ceremonies, cleansed the holy places, and decorated the face of the temple—from which he believed his victory had come—with golden crowns; no such pleasure as this ever crept into his actions, nor did it take any part in his life. Finally, having poured himself out in the air for the salvation of his brothers, he left behind heirs to a legitimate war. Look back to the first age, to which nature had prescribed the law of reason: examine the patriarchs, pass through the time of the law to the leaders, proceed to the judges, move on to the kings, run through the series of the prophets, and investigate the duties and pursuits of the faithful people—who among them in the Old Testament practiced the art of hunting? Certainly only the Idumeans, the Ishmaelites, and the nations that did not know the Lord. Where are they, asks the prophet—or if you prefer, while still in the Spirit, the prophet's scribe—who play with the birds of the air? It is as if he were declaring with a silent nod that those whose lives are a joke have vanished along with their birds, and he notes that they have descended to the underworld with bowed heads. Ask your fathers and they will tell you; ask your elders and they will say they have never read of a holy hunter. But if you try to flatter the name of hunters with a prophetic promise—where the Lord promises that he will send hunters to hunt the wayward from the shadows and the heights—you should know that it is the life of beasts that is being rebuked, not the vanity of hunters that is being commended. And do not let Placidus or the martyr Eustachius—a man of note, whom you claim was visited by the Lord while hunting, though you rely on pious rather than canonical scripture—soften you too much, unless perhaps you are praising the rage of those who persecuted the Church, just because Paul was called to the apostolate from that very state and became an outstanding preacher of the Gospel among the others. But let us grant that illustrious men, perhaps Alexanders or Caesars, were devoted to hunting; were there any philosophers or wise men among the people who were? Was Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Seneca, Soranus, or Archytas of Tarentum—who emptied out the wonders of not just the city but the whole world, turning everyone to admire him for his wisdom and virtue—a hunter? To return to our own people, who excel in the truth of their teaching, the example of their virtue, and the authority of their faith—did the madness of this obsession ever stir an Augustine, a Jerome, a Lawrence, a Vincent, or indeed anyone from the whole assembly of the Fathers? We are instructed by the sorrowful examples of our own times to refrain from this kind of restlessness, since divine indignation has struck down our own nobles while they were hunting with true and various wonders, and those who had lived like beasts while they could often met a beastly end to their lives. The hand of the Lord did not spare even kings themselves, and it exercised a fitting and glorious vengeance upon their malice.
The Tyranny of the Chase
The author laments the social injustice and legal oppression caused by the preservation of hunting grounds at the expense of the common good.
It’s not for lack of examples that I don’t name names—or perhaps it’s because there are so many—but rather to avoid reopening the wounds of those still grieving, and causing them even more pain by dwelling on such recent suffering. For most people, the examples are right at home. Some have been driven by such a sense of vanity that they’ve become enemies of nature, forgetting their own condition and ignoring God’s judgment, all while torturing the image of God in their pursuit of vengeance against wild beasts. They haven’t even feared destroying a human being—whom the only-begotten Son of God redeemed with His own blood—for the sake of some small animal. Human arrogance, with God watching, dares to claim for itself things that are wild by nature and belong by right to whoever captures them. They establish the same right over everything, wherever they may be, as if they had enclosed the whole world within their own private borders. And what is even more surprising is that setting traps for birds, weaving nets, luring them with calls or pipes, or using any kind of trickery to catch them is often treated as a crime by edict, punishable by the confiscation of property, or even by the loss of limbs or life. You had heard that the birds of the air and the fish of the sea were common to all, but these now belong to the treasury, claimed by the hunt wherever they fly. Hold back your hand and stay away from these things, or you too will fall into the hunters' trap and suffer the penalty for treason against the crown. Farmers are kept away from their own newly cleared land so that wild animals can roam freely. To increase grazing grounds for them, fields are taken from farmers, orchards from settlers, and common pastures from cattle-herders and shepherds; even beehives are barred from flower-filled meadows, and the bees themselves are barely allowed to enjoy their natural freedom. You're right to say that the powerful, for all their authority, cannot drive away the gadflies and other pests that harass not the wild animals, but the luxuries of the wealthy; yet a gnat, armed with its own sharp sting, rightly exercises its power against the wild animals in defense of man. If you stay here, you'll be forced year after year to either buy back your own crops or lose them entirely. Choose whichever you prefer under the very strict law of the citizens; in either case, you face the loss of your property or your safety. If any of the hunters passes through your land, offer him what you have at home promptly and respectfully, and buy whatever you don't have but your neighbor does for his use, so he doesn't take it from you against your will by the authority of an edict, and so you aren't forced to answer for treason in a local court, before a governor or proconsul, or perhaps even in a council. For the treasury's wealth grows whenever a household incurs expenses for any reason from a stranger.
Discerning the Proper Use of Time
The author concludes that while hunting may be indifferent in itself, it is often a dangerous distraction from one's true vocation and duty.
However, so that my writing doesn't seem to pursue hunting and other courtly trifles out of hatred rather than judgment, I readily and willingly agree that it should be counted among the indifferent things—except that it shakes the manly soul with an immoderate rush of pleasure and undermines the foundation of reason. Yet it won't be entirely blameworthy on this account, just as wine, which intoxicates, shifts the blame for the downfall onto the drinker, and an old man often shows a childish mind not so much because of his age as because of his own vice. Hunting can, therefore, be useful and honorable; but it depends on the place, time, manner, person, and cause. For a person graces their pursuit when they persist in their own duty and do not snatch at another's. And there is nothing that becomes anyone more than what is most appropriate to their own duty. The ethicist, in describing the proper conduct of individuals, says quite clearly: 'That becomes each person most which is most their own.' What, then, do you and I have to do with the profession of a hunter? For it is most shameful for anyone to neglect their own affairs and be overly busy with the affairs of others. What business does someone who shines with the marks of public authority have with a private and perhaps rustic pursuit? Let the people follow their leader, the teacher sow discipline, the judge restrain wrongdoers, and the authority reward the diligent with indulgence. Let private citizens occupy themselves with lesser things, the well-born with more honorable ones, and let those in servitude be bound to the baser tasks—for what is shameful for good men like Seius and Titius will be fitting for a Crispinus. Since there are many members of the same body, they don't all serve the same function; rather, each has its own duties. If you don't yield your own role to the hunter, why do you usurp his? Wouldn't you consider it unworthy if a hunter were to aspire to a kingdom or the pontificate? It is surely even more unworthy if you were to slide down from either of those heights into the butchery or filth of a hunter. For the innate love of the good always seeks to ascend; conversely, the fuel of vice naturally tends toward a decline. The cause, too, can ennoble an act, if it stands on necessity, thrives on utility, or shines with honesty, since the entire substance of an action can be colored by the affection of the mind. For your intention, as the wise man says, gives your work its name. Esau went hunting without blame at his holy father’s command, both to satisfy his father’s hunger and to obtain the promised blessing through the merit of his service. For if it could not be practiced without fault, such a great patriarch would never have sent his son to do that work—the very son he intended to establish as the head of nations by the grace of the blessing. Yet perhaps the delay brought danger, because he lingered too long in a work that was lawful, but did so out of bad habit and immoderate love. No one is at fault who is compelled to earn a living through a pursuit that isn't disapproved, when the sting of necessity urges them on. Those who avoid the inertia of idleness, who keep their limbs active by attending to business while growing accustomed to labor, and who flee the sluggishness of a body prone to vice—while maintaining the dignity of their station in all things—do not suffer the sting of just reproach. For a work becomes a crime not because of the act itself, but because of the motive. Nor does anything shine with the display of virtue if pleasure provides its origin; for pleasure is, in fact, the stepmother of virtue. I'm not talking about the kind of hunting born of peace, patience, kindness, long-suffering, and joy in the Holy Spirit; I mean the kind that’s a friend to feasts, drinking bouts, parties, music, games, and obsessively refined fashions, along with lewdness and various impurities—the kind that makes even serious men effeminate, and by a sort of mockery of nature, makes men softer and more corrupt than women. The timing of the hunt also lessens the fault or commends the act. But let this be the time for it, so that in as many places as possible, the opportunity for getting things done is found. Hunting therefore becomes untimely if it interferes with religious observance, the natural order of things, or the duties of your office, which shouldn't be neglected or put off for other activities. But enough of this; my intention isn't to teach hunting, but to trifle about the trifles of courtiers. One must also consider the location, so that hunting is practiced only in one's own territory, or on common or public land, provided that no injury is done to others and that the place isn't exempted from such disturbances by its own fame or reverence. For anyone who rushes into someone else's property with reckless usurpation is caught in the snares of the law and liable to a penalty. That way is truly praiseworthy when it's practiced with moderation, prudence, and, if possible, utility, so that you may agree with the comic poet's command: 'Nothing in excess.' Even a wise man will be called a fool, and a just man unjust, if he pursues virtue beyond what is reasonable. There is nothing more shameful than to cause onlookers to laugh because you are obsessively pursuing a skill you don't know, just as if you were to wittily attempt a language you haven't learned. However, there are people who are permanently removed not only from this, but from other, lighter and more self-indulgent pursuits—such as those in holy orders and those holding the highest magistracies. What would be a minor fault in others often becomes a crime in them. Indeed, actions that break established contracts are always more significant than those that merely prevent them from being made. Furthermore, hunting not only closes the path to virtue and the truth of the canons for its followers, but it even strips away the high priestly rank they have already attained. Themistocles is said to have made an excellent point, as he did on many occasions: magistrates should be kept away from games and lighter pursuits, lest the state appear to be playing and, having abandoned its gravity, signal its own decline. If, however, they happen to be occupied with greater matters—which is rare—during their youth, they are permitted by the dispensation of their age to withdraw somewhat from gravity and be more lenient with themselves, so that they may compensate for this with the benefit they bring to the state as they mature. That’s what he says, and I wish our own people would hear it, so that in their later years they’d prioritize the serious business of the state over their own trivial concerns. The entire body of the state will thrive in the integrity of its own strength, and it will be adorned with the beauty of an excellent composition and take on the grace of elegant splendor, if each individual part holds its place appropriately and if there is no confusion, but rather a proper distribution of duties. This is how it should be, provided we follow nature as the best guide for living. But now, what belongs to doctors is promised by craftsmen, doctors handle the tools of the trade, and the office of leadership is borrowed from hunters and lower-level jobs or even from criminal acts; and the recklessness of private individuals or their ignorance of discipline dares to meddle in public offices.
Read the original Latin
et eocercitio licito et illicito. Et primi quidem Thebani, si fidem sequamur historiae, eam commimicandam omnibus statuerunt. Et ex quo suspecta sit omnibus gens feda parricidiis, incestibus detestanda, insignis fraude, nota periuriis, huius artificii, uel potius maleficii, in primis praecepta congessit, quae postmodum ad gentem mollem imbellemque, leuem et impudicam (Frigios loquor) transmitteret. Riserunt eos Atheniend ses et Lacedemonii populi grauiores, historiarum gesta, naturae morumque mysteria uariis figmentorum inuolucris obtexentes; sic tamen ut ex cgjitjjla malorum utilitatem inducerent, aut ex lepore poematis uoluptatem. In auras itaque raptum tradunt ab aquila Dardanium uenatorem ad pocula, a quibus ad illicitos et innaturales transiret amplexus. Eleganter utique, cum et leuitas ferri possit ab alite, et uoluptas sobrietatis ignara cuiuscumque libidini prostitui non erubescit. Dux Thebanus uisa nuditate illius quam in siluis semper coluerat, cum ab errore pedem sui reuocaret afiectus, sub humano sensu se in bestiam stupuit a transformatum, ceruisque conformis, cum domesticos canes uoce et uultu niteretur abigere, uitio prauae consuetudinis, totius substantiae suae dispendio, eorundem morsibus patuit. Et forte deam uenatoribus praeferunt, quia mollitie hac uel malitia deos suos noluerint infamare.
Apri dentibus extinctum Adonidem deflet Venus, habens semper cum uenatione uel robusta commercium. Dum Maro Cartaginis altae iocaretur hospitium, amantium uota conciliare nesciuit, nisi eis ab opportunitate uenandi dilapsu comitum, siluarum latebras reseraret. Sic forte quia studium hoc a conscientia turpitudinis odit lucem, sicut e contra legitimi amoris gaudia solennes lucis suae praef erunt taedas. Quem michi dabis uirorum illustrium, qui huic uoluptati uehementer inhaeserit? Fixerit aeripedem ceruam licet, aut Erimanti placarit nemora uictor Alcides, non uoluptati suae, sed publicae prospexit utilitati. Aprum Calidoniae uastatorem strauerit Meleager, non mulsit animum uoluptate, sed hoste patriam liberauit. Fuderit auctor Romani generis ceruorum corpora, non uanae uoluptatis solatium, sed sibi et sociis quaesiuit suffragium uitae. Opera singulorum ex euentu et proposito colorantur; res quippe decora est, si honesta causa praecesserit.
Quis tamen hominum canumque construxit exercitum, ut non tam sua quam aliena uirtute triumphi gloria reputatur indignus. Praeterea ab oetauo gradu Capricomi usque ad Geminos tibieinum et eomieinum exultatio conquiescit; nisi lupus aut hostis immanior, leo forte uel tigris aut pardus in praedam uenerit, quae quidem nostratum, Deo propitiante, rara gloria est; cum tamen totius ahni prolixitas uariis uenantium studiis occupetur. Albani quidem in Asia canes habent leonibus fortiores: eos uirtute canum, et suo gentis artificio, quasi imbelles bestiolas populantur. Canibus quidem illis nulla feramm fortior, nulla animosior est. Hos Hercules tergemino Gerione uicto ab Italia traiecit in Asiam, eis uirtutem qua leones stemerent quasi hereditariam derelinquens. Ad haec camificium eorum artem exigit, et artem facit, suum habet opificem, chironomanta uolanti a cultello, nunc pugione stricto, nunc hebetata machaera miraberis, si te casu solenniis eomm contigerit interesse. Caue tamen ne in artem loquendi uerbo quouis ofiendas; quia aut uapulabis, aut condempnaberis inscitiae bonomm omnium, si eonmi figmenta non noueris. Haec sunt temporibus nostris liberalia nobilium studia.
Haec sunt prima elementa uirtutis, haec uia felices ad beatitudinis cumulum compendioso perducit tramite, quo maiores nostri non nisi laboriosae uirtutis gradibus docuerant ascendendum. Aemilianos et Ligures GaUi derident, dicentes eos testamenta conficere, uiciniam conuocare, armorum implorare praesidia, si finibus eorum testudo immineat, quam oporteat impugnari. Quod ex eo componitur, quod eos numquam cuiuscumque certaminis casus inuenit imparatos. Nostri quoque quomodo ludibrii notas efiugiunt, cum maiori tumultu et aegriori sollicitudine et ampliori sumptu, solenne bellum credant bestiis indicendum? Eas tamen mitius persequuntur, cum quibus humanum genus iustas, earum exigente malitia, exercet inimicitias. Lupus, uulpes, ursus, et quaecumque fera nocentior est, in aliarum quiescit occasu, et solitam exercere malitiam in uenatorum facie non ueretur. Fertur Hannibal occidisse Romanum, qui mandato eius singulari certamine percusserat elephantem, dicens eum indignum uita, qui cogi potuerat cum bestiis dimicare; licet uerius sit eum ex inuidia noluisse captiuum inauditi triumphi gloria illustrari, et infamari bestias, quarum uirtute gentibus terrorem incusserat. Quomodo ergo dignus est uita, qui iiichil aliud in uita nouit, nisi uanitatis studio saeuire in bestias?
Quos uero species illa uenationis oblectat, ut aues auibus insequantur, si tamen hoc genus aucupii uenationi censeas adnectendum, mitiori quidem uexantur insania, sed non impari leuitate. Venatica tam terrestris quam aeria quanto solidior, tanto fructuosior est. Auctorem occupationis suae ab antiquis historiis Vlixem proferunt, qui primus excisa Troia armatas aues attuht Graeciae, quas suaui quadam et grata admiratione uidentium, in cognati generis exitium animauit. Isti quidem magno se tuentur iudice, et qui mores hominum multorum uidit et urbes, cuius prudentia nullis potuit insidiis supplantari, cuius tendiculas nemo hostium indempnis euasit, cuius denique inermis militia ulterius promouit Graecorum gloriam, quam mille ratium armata multitudo. Sed et ipse huius exercitii Circem laudat auctorem, quae carminibus et pocuHs humanas mentes dicitur immutasse, eo quod arte uerborum, et rerum gratia alliceret mentes hominum, et suae uoluntati (uel aucupationis) conformes in usus quoslibet transformaret. Graecis itaque propinata sunt suspectae uenena uoluptatis; sed ea cum a prudens gustasset Ithacus, noluit bibere, ne sub domina meretrice turpis et excors uiuere cogeretur. Verum quia sapientia rerum omnium nouit usum, prouidit uir circumspectus, finitis laboribus et erroribus, cum eum pudica Penelope, et affectus Thelemachi non agnosceret reuertentem, quomodo dampna sociorum, quos tanti exilii dispendium tulerat, Graeciae compensaret. Admiranda fuerat fides canis, cui soli in tanta familia nec uiginti annorum curricula memoriam domini, quin redeunti applauderet, abstulerunt, nisi de lau'de eius canibus uenatorum gratia ulterius resultaret.
Noui tamen studii Thelemachum suum uiuere praecepit expertem, illis solis dicens allata esse nouae uoluptatis solatia, qui amissis parentibus Ti-oiani belli dampna sentirent. Vnde et artem infructuosam esse conicio, quam ab unico filio tantus uir studuit sequestrare. Quod uel ex eo mecum conicies, quod deterior sexus in auium uenatione potior est. In quo poteras naturam arguere, nisi nosses quia deteriora semper proniora sunt ad rapinam. Inanis etenim est et admodum laboriosa, et quae dampna sumptuum, numquam successuum utilitate compenset. Licet plurimi uenationem exerceant, ut sub eo praetextu sumptus faciant parciores, domi rarius, saepius in mensa aliena, multitudinem uitant, dum siluas saltus lacusque circumeunt, pannis induti uilioribus, frugalioribus contenti cibis, dum consortes et famulos, quos macerat ieiuniorum inedia, et tormenta nuditatis afiligunt, quosque labor immoderatus exhaurit, uoluptatis aut potius uanitatis imagine consolentur. Eo denique tempore primum captiuantur Athenae, quo interdictae uenationis edictum censuerunt esse soluendum, et artem utriusque uenationis cum exercitio publice admittendam. Fertur uates Mantuanus interrogasse Marcellum, cum depopulationi auium vehementius operam daret, an auem mallet instrui in capturam auium, an muscam informari in exterminationem muscarum.
Cum uero quaestionem ad auunculum retulisset Augustum, consilio eius praeelegit ut fieret musca, quae ab Eneapoli muscas abigeret, et ciuitatem a peste insanabili liberaret. Optio quidem impleta est; unde liquet privatae uoluptati cuiusuis praeferendam esse multorum uilitatem. In semiuiri Chironis antro (si Graecis per omnia creditur) est institutus Achilles lirae modis et citharae, et inde traductus ad siluas in strage ferarum, caedibus et fedo uictui assuescens, reuerentiam naturae timoremque mortis abiecit. Quid quod Bachus eundem habuit nutritorem? Nempe qui his studiis aut desidiis insistunt, semiferi sunt, et abiecta potiore humanitatis parte, ratione morum prodigiis conformantur. A leuitate siquidem ad lasciuiam, a lasciuia ad uoluptatem, et cum induruerint, ad flagitia et quaeuis illicita pertrahuntur. Quaeruntur otia post labores, fomes a hilaritatis gratior est, si dura praecesserint, reficiuntur auidius quae exinanita fuerant plurimum. Venatores omnes adhuc institutionem redolent Centaurorum.
Raro inuenitur quisquam eorum modestus aut grauis, raro continens, et, ut credo, sobrius numquam. Domi quippe Chironis habuenmt imde haec discerent. Caueri namque iubentur conuiuia Centaurorum, a quibus sine cicatrice nemo reuertitur. Quod si historiis, quas suis poetae decolorauere figmentis, fides subtrahitur, illi utique credi necesse est, quae ex eo quod scripta est digito Dei, irrefragabilem apud omnes gentes sortita est auctoritatem. Primus ergo ponitur Nembroth robustus uenator contra Dominum. Eum reprobum fuisse non ambigis, quem ommum doctorum turba condempnat. Traditur hic in tantam elationis erupisse uecordiam, ut non uereretur iura temerare naturae, cum consortes conditionis et generis, quos ingenuos illa creauerat, hic addiceret seruituti. Tyrannidis ergo fastigium in contumeliam creatoris a uenatore incipiens, alium non inuenit auctorem, quam eum qui in caede ferarum et uolutabro sanguinis Domini contemptum didicisset.
Coepit enim potens esse in terra. Sic namque scriptum est: Eo quod non expectauerit, ut acciperet a Domino potestatem. Principium regni eius Babylon, dilatatusque est in terram Sennaar, ubi cum tota terra esset unius labii eorundemque sermonum, in celum erecta est turris Babel, habens lateres pro lapidibus, bitumen pro caemento, non habens in fundamento petram, cuius singulari soliditate structa omnis aedificatio in Domino conualescit. At improba temeritas ab unitate praecisa linguarum succidit unitatem, et prima confusionem meruit, quae in se quam in Domino maluit gloriari. Exiuit ab hoc prouerbium, Quasi Nembroth robustus coram Domino, forte quia tantae elationis in se extitit, ut nec recentis pena diluuii posset instrui, quin in oculis Domini superbiret, et obsequium quod ab homine Domino debebatur, sibi contumaciter usurparet; cum constet quod confusionem linguarum diluuium antecessit. Babylon quidem calice aureo uniuersam camem inebriat, et aduersus lerusalem, quae sursum est, castra construit proculdubio peritura, quibus quisquis militiam praestat, perpetua sanctorum maledictione dampnatur. Esau quoque uenationem exercuit, et benedictione paterna meruit def raudari. In siluis collegit esuriem, ut immoderato aestu lenticulam concupiscens praerogatiuam primogenitorum exiguo pretio et uili distraheret; et iugum seruitutis haereditariae transmisit in posteros, ut ditioni minoris, qui domi degebat, colla supponerent.
Fruticantibus pilis horrebant manus, nec enim lenis esse poterat actu, siluestris moribus, cultumque uestis pretiosae domi reliquerat, qui assiduo uenatu uirtutis abiecerat indumentum. Fratemum asanguinem sitiebat, et se ab eo, quem sibi diuina gratia de paterna benedictione praelatum nouerat, placatus ante muneribus, non est ueritus adorari. Venationis aeriae auctorem iactitant fuisse Machabeum, qui maioribus occupatus, huius uoluptatis, ut creditur, uitam duxit exortem. Egregie siquidem bella gessit, fratribus restituit libertatem, leges erexit, cerimonias innouauit, mundauit sancta, templi faciem, unde sibi credebat prouenisse uictoriam, coronis aureis decorauit, nullosque illiua in actus surrepsit, partemque tulit sibi nata uoluptas. Postremo pro salute fratmm fusus in aeie, germanos legitimi belli reliquit heredes. Ab aetate prima cui rationis legem natura praescripserat, inspice patriarchas, data lege transi ad duces, procede ad iudices, ad reges progredere, percurre seriem prophetarum, fidelis populi officia et studia perscrutare, quos in serie ueteris instrumenti legis exercuisse uenaticam? Nempe Idumaeos et Ismaelitas et gentes quae Dominum nesciebant. Vbi sunt, inquit propheta, aut si mauis, dum tamen in Spiritu, notarius prophetae, qui in auibus celi ludunt?
Ac si tacita subiectione pronimtiet eos, quorum uita iocus est, suis euanuisse cum auibus, eosque subiecta pronuntiatione ad inferos descendisse commemorat. Interroga patres tuos, et annuntiabunt tibi, maiores tuos, et dicent se nusquam sanctum legisse uenatorem. Quod si nomini uenatorum de prophetica promissione blandiaris, qua se uenatores missurum Dominus pollicetur, qui de umbrosis et excelsis uenentur erroneos, bestialium uitam noueris increpari, non commendari uenantium uanitatem. Nec te Placidus uel Eustachius martyr quidem insignis, quem de pia non tamen canonica scriptura uenantem asseris a Domino uisitatum, nimis demulceat, nisi forte persecutorum ecclesiae rabiem laudas, eo quod inde ad apostolatum uocatus est Paulus, et inter alios factus egregius euangelii praedicator. Sed fuerint uiri illustres, Alexandri forte uel Cesares, uenatui dediti; numquid philosophi, aut aliqui sapientes in populo? Numquid Socrates, Plato, Aristotiles, Seneca, Soranus, aut qui totius non urbis sed orbis euacuauit miracula, omnium in se admirationem sapientia et uirtute conuertens, Archita Tarentinus? Vt redeamus ad nostros, qui et ueritate doctrinae, uirtutis exemplo, et fidei auctoritate praecellunt, quos Augustinos, leronimos, Laurentios, Vincentios, quos denique de toto cetu patrum uexationis huius agitauit insania 'i Nostrorum quoque temporum luctuosis instruimur exemplis ab huiusmodi inquietudine temperare, cuni proceres nostros inter uenandum ueris uariisque miraculis indignatio diuina percusserit, bestialemque saepe inuenerint exitum uitae qui dum licuit bestialiter uixerant. Regibus quoque ipsis manus Domini non pepercit, et in malitiam eorum condignam et gloriosam exercuit ultionem.
Non equidem eorum nomina uel exempla ex inopia reticentur, nisi ex ea forte a quam parit copia, sed ne mentes lugentium adhuc immoderato dolore sauciatas recentium refricatione uulnerum grauius ulceremus. Domestica namque sunt exempla quam plurimis. In tantam uero quidam huius uanitatis instinctu erupere uesaniam, nt hostes naturae fierent, conditionis suae immemores, diuini iudicii contemptores, dum in uindictam ferarum imaginem Dei exquisitis suppliciis subiugarent. Nec ueriti sunt hominem pro bestiola perdere, quem unigenitus Dei redemit sanguine suo. Quae ferae naturae sunt et de iure occupantium fiunt, sibi audet humana temeritas inspiciente Domino uendicare. et idem iuris in omnibus ubicumque sint statuit, ac si claustri sui indagine uniuersa cinxisset. Quodque magis mirere, pedicas parare auibus, laqueos texere, allicere modis uel fistula, ac quibuscumque insidiis supplantare, ex edicto saepe fit criminis, et uel proscriptione bonorum multatur, uel membrorum punitur salutisque dispendio. Volucres ceH et pisces maris communes esse audieras, sed hae fisci sunt, quas uenatica exigit ubicumque uolant.
Manum contine, istarum abstine, ne et tu in penam lesae maiestatis, uenantibus cadas in praedam. A noualibus suis arcentur agricolae, dum ferae habeant uagandi libertatem. Illis ut pascua augeantur, praedia subtrahuntur agricolis sationalia, insitiua colonis, compascua armentariis et gregariis, aluearia a floralibus excluduntur, ipsis quoque apibus uix naturali libertate uti permissum est. Dicis bene, quod oestrum et ceteras pestes, quae non feras sed delicias potentum exagitant, toto potentatu suo non possunt abigere, cum et culex in ultionem hominis armatus acrimoniae suae aculeos in feras recte exerceat. Sic si hic fueris, in annos cogeris sata redimere uel amittere. Elige utrum mauis de aequissimo iure Quiritum, rerum uel salutis utrobique dispendium imminet. Si uenatorum quispiam pertranseat fines tuos, ei quae domi habes incunctanter et reuerenter expone, quodque domi non est et habet uicinus, in usus illius eme, ne ex edicti licentia tua auferat uel inuito, et de irreuerentia et contemptu cogaris in centuria aut foro praesidis uel proconsuHs, aut fortasse in concilio, lesae maiestatis reddere rationem. Protenditur etenim patrimonium fisci, dum de aKeno quacumque ratione familia sumptum facit.
Verum ne uenaticam et alias curialium nugas non tam iudicio quam odio stilus persequi uideatur, eam indifierentibus connumerandam facile libensque consentio, nisi quia immoderato uoluptatis incursu uirilem animum concutit et fundamentum subuertit rationis. Non tamen ob hoc erit usquequaque culpabilis, cum et uinum quod inebriat subuersionis culpam retorqueat in bibentem, et senex saepe non tam aetatis quam suo uitio sensum proferat puerilem. Potest igitur uenatica esse utilis et honesta; sed ex loco, tempore, modo, persona, et causa. Persona namque uenustat studium, dum suo insistit officio et non praeripit alienum. Nec est quod quemquam magis deceat, quam a quod officio cuiusque magis accommodum est. Praeclare siquidem ait ethicus, singularum personarum decora describens, Id unumquemque decet maxime, quod est cuiusque maxime. Quid ergo michi et tibi cum uenatoris professione? Sua namque neglecta turpissimum est, quemque studiosius in aliena uersari.
Quid ei cum priuato et rusticano fortasse studio, qui publicae auctoritatis insignibus fulget? Ducem sequatur populus, doctor seminet disciplinam, iudex coherceat delinquentes, studiosos remuneret indulgentia potestatis, priuati minoribus occupentur, honestioribus ingenui, uilioribus seruilis conditio mancipetur; nam quod turpe bonis Seio Thitioque decebit Crispinum. Sic utique cum multa sint eiusdem corporis membra, non omnia eidem actui seruiunt, sed sua sunt officia singulorum. Qui ergo tuum uenatori non cedis, cur illius usurpas officium? Nonne reputabis indignum, si ad regnum uel ad pontificium uenator aspiret? Equidem indignius est, si ab alterutro fastigio ad uenatoris carnificium uel sordes prolabaris. Innatus etenim amor boni semper quaerit ascensum; contra fomes uitii sponte sua uergit ad occasum. Causa quoque actum poterit decorare, si aut necessitate subsistat aut uigeat utilitate aut honestate splendescat, cum ex afiectu mentis tota ualeat substantia operis colorari.
Afiectus etenim tuus, ut ait sapiens, operi tuo nomen imponit. Inculpabiliter ex sancti patris mandato uenatum profectus est Esau, ut et patris satiaret esuriem, et promissam benedictionem impensi merito obsequii obtineret. Si enim sine culpa exerceri non posset, (uel casum) nequaquam tantus patriarcha ad opus illius misisset filium, quem benedictionis gratia in caput gentium constituere disponebat. Sed forte mora traxit ad se periculum, quia diutius licito in opere tamen licito ex praua consuetudine et immoderato amore morabatur. Nulla uersatur in culpa, qui urgente stimulo necessitatis non reprobati studii exercitio uitam cogitur exhibere. Qui otii inertiam uitant, qui gerendis negotiis disponunt membra dum laboribus assuescunt, qui uitiosam corporis fugiunt molem, seruata in omnibus dignitate personae, iustae reprehensionis non patiuntur aculeos. Opus etenim non ex se sed ex causa fit crimen. Nec aliqua uirtutis ostentatione clarescit, cui uoluptas originem praebet; nouerca siquidem uirtutis est.
Non illam dico quam parit pax, patientia, benignitas, longanimitas, gaudium in Spiritu sancto; sed quae amica epulis, potationibus, conuiuiis, modulationibus et ludis, cultibus operosius exquisitis, stupris et uariis immunditiis, animos etiam grauiores efieminat, et quodam naturae ludibrio molliores et corruptiores facit esse uiros quam feminas. Tempus quoque uenandi culpam extenuat actumue commendat. Sit autem hic tempus, ut in locis quam pluribus, inuenitmex eo opportunitas gerendorum. Fit ergo intempestiua uenatio uel ex religionis cultu uel ex a natura rerum uel ex debito officii, quod uel praetermitti uel aliis occupationibus postponi non debet. Sed de his hactenus; quia non uenaticam tradere sed de curialium nugis nugari propositum est. Loci quoque ratio habenda est, scilicet ut in suo uel communi uel publico licita exerceatur uenatio, dum tamen consortibus non irrogetur iuiuria et locus celebritate sui aut reuerentia ab his inquietationibus non eximatur. Qui enim in aliena temeraria usurpatione irruit, laqueis iuris tenetur ad penam. Is uero modus laudabilis est, cum moderatione adhibita pnidenter et, si fieri potest, utiliter exercetur, ut mandato comici adquiescas, Ne quid nimis.
Nam et insani sapiens nomen feret, aequus iniqui, ultra quam satis est uirtutem si petit ipsam. Nichil autem turpius est quam in risum contuentium ora laxare, dum non discendi proposito uehementius insistis arti quam nescias, ut si linguam quam non noris facetus attemptes. Sunt uero personae, quae non modo ab hoc sed ab aliis quibusdam utpote leuioribus et uoluptuosis studiis in perpetuum summouentur, ut qui in sacris ordinibus constituti, et qui gerunt amplissimos magistratus. Quod enim in aliis futurum erat leuioris culpae, hoc in istis saepe fit criminis. Et quidem semper maiora sunt quae celebratos contractus rescindunt quam quae impediunt contrahendos. Porro de uirtute et ueritate canonum uenatica clientulis suis non modo claudit ascensum sed summi etiam sacerdotii gradum adimit iam adeptum. Praeclare illud, ut multa, fertur dixisse Themistocles: Magistratus a ludis et quibuscumque leuioribus esse arcendos, ne respublica ludere uideatur defectumque sui relicta grauitate pronuntiet. Si tamen maioribus, quod quidem rarum est, eos exoccupari contigerit, in annis adolescentiae ex dispensatione etatis permittuntur aliquid subtrahere grauitati et in se clementiores esse, quod maturitatis processu reipublicae utilitate compensent.
Haec ille: et utinam audiretur a nostris, ut in prouectiori etate nugis suis reipublicae seria anteferrent, Tunc etenim totum reipublicae corpus roboris sui integritate uigebit, tunc optimae compositionis specie uenustabitur et elegantis pulcritudinis decorem induet, si singula quaeque locum teneant sortita decenter, si fuerit officiorum non confusio sed distributio. Hoc ita, si optimam uiuendi ducem naturam sequimur. Sed nunc quod medicorum est, promittunt fabri, medici fabrilia tractant, et officium praesidendi a uenatoribus et humilioribus officiis aut etiam malefieiis mutuatur; et priuatorum temeritas aut disciplinae ignorantia se audet publicis officiis immiscere.
Policraticus companion
Study the argument weekly; pray the tradition daily
Pair the outline with the Chosen Portion app, which serves short daily portions from the same royal devotional tradition — free on iOS.
John of Salisbury argued that rulers must keep the law of God before their eyes daily; Chosen Portion gives modern readers that same daily discipline in five minutes a morning.
- 8 weeks, one book per week, with the 3-4 key chapters flagged in each
- Discussion questions usable for a reading group from week one
- A daily 5-minute companion portion in the app alongside your weekly study