What animal is pure? thou hast studied nature.' Again he says: 'Not many.' Again: 'Not many.' Again: 'Not many indeed.' Again: 'Not many.
Source material: Aberdeen Bestiary, a 12th century illuminated manuscript detailing short descriptions on various elements of the natural world including animals, trees, and mythical beings.
I gathered around half of the available translated bestiary from the University of Aberdeen website, this accumulated to be around 130kb of data, at least for this first attempt. There are probably better ways of scraping this data, but I wanted to ensure I only got the translated text and not the original that is provided on the website.
Asking the model questions trained on this data can provide insights to medieval culture, thinking, and values. Especially using keywords like evil, good, pure, etc. can bring up the immediate religious context and thinking of this particular time and location.
Examples: Note: I played around with length between these samples, shortening it from 250 -> 50 to try and gather some succinct thought. All other settings remain default.
Prompt: Is man good or evil?
Is man good or evil? We say rightly that he is good, because he is righteous, and we infer from his righteousness that it is his will that he should be, as we do, his blessed son, that he should be endowed with all the gifts which are assigned to the blessed in the law to perfection.
Prompt: What is an evil animal? 1.
What is an evil animal? A bull,' says the sage, 'a bullock; a mule, a bison, a lion, a frog, a boar, a leopard, a fox, a gazelle, a frog, and so on. For the Greeks call them gazelle; usu. (B. Gregory, Natural History, xlix). The bear is said to live in the forest. Others say it is in the mountains. Bears are armed only with mace or spear. They leap great distances to get at bulls or other wild animals. They do not run, however, like deer or hounds. They leap so high that they seem to be leaping at a high speed. Bears do not strike other bulls, either. Cattle come in three main kinds. The first is the wild boar, the second is the domestic cat, and the third is the domestic dog. Domestic dogs are swift and cunning; they take nothing for their food but boiling water. They bark loudly and leave nothing to chance. They also like to go out on their own accord, and if a hound or louse attacks them, it leaves them alone to lick their wounds. If a bear goes out riding, another animal comes
What is an evil animal? We say it as an animal denoting the preoccupations of its nature. It is said that birds of prey, when they find their prey, renounce it and flee, fearing lest they should be devoured by the Devil. In this sense, birds are also denoted 'beings of the past'. For as long as they do not live in peace with the present, they have not died out, but have remained in existence. Birds contain some of the preoccupations and desires of the Devil. When they despair of a meal, they turn to the East, where they have encountered less despair. East and West, then, are the paths to which the soul goes in seeking to escape the confines of temporal ignorance. Of the night's feeding-ground Birds feed by night on the marrow of beasts of the earth. They are those who have pre-eminently moral character, and who, by their good works and sacrifices, lead lives virtuous and open-mouthed. But the moral character of the night-beasts is that they are not only prelates and preachers, but also faithful, living prophets and masters of the mysteries. Although they are not alone among the faithful, observance of the law in particular
What is an evil animal? We do not say it has the body of a human, but considers itself rather like us. We say it has the strength of body and brain; the soul of Christ; the spirit of Christ, whom we call laypersons. We say it has the strength of eyes and nostrils, the will of God, which is wisdom; the will of the Almighty, which is love. We say it has desires, ideas and even carnal desires, among other things. Lastly, we say it has speech by nature, as much as by any other animal. But it has no eyes, no sin-crow, no false prophet, no other sort of animal at all. We say of all animals, its moral laws are the more complex. They are true what we say about them, and apply even to our own species. For we are told that lions, tigers and bonobos, as well as some leopards and guerrillas, are like animals of the earth. As from a philosopher, animals are subject to change, and things change; so a just man, who keeps his nature in mind, will keep both nature and the world in mind. Likewise, anyone who is set in his ways will always keep his nature in
What is an evil animal? A lion, for there is something evil in it and something evil in it. An ape has no head but a lion has no tail, cubs, but only the tail. An ass has neither a paw nor the tongue nor the tail. A goose has the hindquarters of a lion and the petticoats of a mole, the short limbs of a a mole. Likewise a mole has neither the feet nor the forequarters nor the tail, but only the wings. Of the bonnacon Who is the bonnacon? we learn from the NT. The text says: 'His tail is his bowels.' The Bible says that the bonnacon comes from the Greek word for 'off-guard', as it were, and from the community called tetram, 'telos'. For those who are off guard view the world from the north, and shun the world from the south, it says, because the righteous man should go into the north, because the devil is spread around the world. The bonnacon is highly religious, because it considers in the Scriptures the things that pertain to salvation and the good that comes from it. It also considers what the heavenly things will be like under the coming of Christ. It
What is an evil animal? A fox, for a long time. But it mellows out. It is as if you had felled the trees which had served as shelter for the fox since the fall. As a result, the fox has less of a grip on the elements; it does not feel bound by any obligation to men. For it has no sense of right and wrong. It has no affection for its own kind; it shuns the world and everything. The fox hides in trees because it will not be caught unless there is an abundance of food for it in Asia. For it has no desire to be near human beings nor to seek their help. In Asia it falls more easily than in Europe, because the resources of Europe are lessened. It is also easier to catch, for it has less labour involved in the harvest. For it has less to consume than is sated by riches. The fox is useful in the arable field, as heat causes the muscles in the limbs to warm, so that the more heated the body, the stronger it is. The fox eats ants; its prey is the tree. The ant is a harmful plant which the fox regards with suspicion. It is planted in the month of May, and grows very slowly. When
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Prompt: What is useful of the horse? 1.
What is useful of the horse? Let it be taught how to stroke, how to gallop, how to sing. Let it learn how to sing, how to singche, how to drive. Let it be fed and strong enough to go on living. Let it be strong enough ====================
What is useful of the horse? If it shuns the light and watches over the dead, what good is there in living ones soul? If it is led by example to virtuous conduct, what good is there in others? If it is led by the will of God, what good ====================
What is useful of the horse? What is the consequence? We should recognise the horse better as a teacher and not as a brute. For how can the teacher of a brute know what the man has learned? Or as Pliny says: 'He that keeps the commandments of the Lord ====================
What is useful of the horse? What is needed is something of the sort. For what is needed is something of the kind. The horse needs a shepherd, a sort, shepherd, for shepherds are the teachers of the good works of the Lord. As to the sort, ====================
What is useful of the horse? It is instructed in good works and virtuous conduct. It likes to fly, and if you want to fly, you must cross great swaths of forest. You must take to the air, by moving your feet or by turning your head, you bring ====================