Chapter III: The Partridge1

Hȳrde ic secgan gēn bi sumum fugle
wundorlīcne[2]. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . fǣger
þæt word þe gecwæð wuldres Ealdor:
5 'In swā hwylce tiid swā gē mid trēowe tō mē
on hyge hweorfað, and gē hellfirena
sweartra geswīcað, swā ic symle tō ēow
mid siblufan sōna gecyrre
þurh milde mōd; gē bēoð mē siþþan

[Footnote 1: The partridge (like the cuckoo) broods the eggs of other birds. When they are hatched and grown, they fly off to their true parents. So men may turn from the devil, who has wrongfully gained possession of them, to their heavenly Father, who will receive them as his children.]

[Footnote 2: Gap in the manuscript, probably of considerable length.]

* * * * *

About another creature have I heard
A wondrous [tale.] [There is] a bird [men call
The partridge. Strange is she, unlike all birds
In field or wood who brood upon their eggs,
Hatching their young. The partridge lays no eggs,
Nor builds a dwelling; but instead, she steals
The well-wrought nests of others. There she sits,
Warming a stranger brood, until at last
The eggs are hatched. But when the stolen chicks
Are fledged, they straightway fly away to seek
Their proper kin, and leave the partridge there
Forsaken. In such wise the devil works
To steal the souls of those whose youthful minds
Or foolish hearts in vain resist his wiles.
But when they reach maturer age, they see
They are true children of the Lord of lords.
Then they desert the lying fiend, and seek
Their rightful Father, who with open arms
Receives them, as he long since promised them.[1]]
Fair is that word the Lord of glory spoke:
'In such time as you turn with faithful hearts
To me, and put away your hellish sins,
Abominable to me, then will I turn
To you in love for ever, for my heart
Is mild and gracious. Thenceforth you shall be

[Footnote 1: Conjecturally supplied, on the basis of other versions.]

* * * * *

So, too, I have heard tell a wondrous [tale[1]] about a certain bird.[2] ... fair the word[3] spoken by the King of glory: 'At whatsoever time ye turn to me with faith in your soul, and forsake the black iniquities of hell, I will turn straightway to you with love, in the gentleness of my heart; and thenceforth ye shall be reckoned to

[Footnote 1: Conjecturally supplied.]

[Footnote 2: Gap in the manuscript, probably of considerable length.]

[Footnote 3: Cf. 2 Cor. 6.17,18; Isa. 55.7; Heb. 2.10,11.]

* * * * *

10 torhte, tīrēadge, talade and rīmde,
beorhte gebrōþor on bearna stǣl.'
Uton wē þȳ geornor Gode ōliccan,
firene fēogan, friþes earnian,
duguðe tō Dryhtne, þenden ūs dæg scīne,
15 þæt swā æþelne eardwīca cyst
in wuldres wlite wunian mōtan.
Finit.

* * * * *

Refulgent, glorious, numbered with the host
Of heaven, and, instead of children, called
Bright brethren of the Lord.'
Let us by this
Be taught to please God better, hating sin,
And strive to earn salvation from the Lord,
His full deliverance, so long as day
Shall shine upon us, that we may at last
Inhabit heavenly mansions, nobler far
Than earthly dwellings, gloriously bright.

Finit.

* * * * *

me as glorious and renowned, as my illustrious brethren, yea, in the place of children.'

Let us therefore propitiate God with all zeal, abhor evil, and gain forgiveness and salvation from the Lord while for us the day still shines, so that thus we may, in glorious beauty, inhabit a dwelling excellent beyond compare. Finit.

End of Project Gutenberg's The Old English Physiologus, by Albert S. Cook