Bestiary: Lying, Fortitude and Fear
The hidden mole, the fearless lion, and the ever-fearful hare
A text-only page of Leonardo's moralized bestiary in mirror script, with no diagrams. Lying is the mole with its tiny eyes, which lives only while it stays hidden underground and dies the moment it comes to light and is made known — so too the lie. Fortitude is the lion, which never fears but fights fiercely against a multitude of hunters, always seeking to strike back at the first that wounded it; Fear or cowardice is the hare, kept in perpetual dread and flight even by the leaves that fall from the trees in autumn.
On this page
Lying — the mole that dies in the light
Lying is the mole, which has very small eyes and lives always underground: it lives only so long as it stays hidden, and as soon as it comes to the light it dies, because it is made known. So too the lie.
Fortitude — the lion that never fears the hunters
Fortitude is the lion, which never fears but with a strong spirit fights a fierce battle against the multitude of hunters, always seeking to strike the first that struck it.
Fear — the hare frightened by falling leaves
Fear, or cowardice, is the hare, which is always afraid; even the leaves that fall from the plants in autumn keep it in perpetual dread and, most often, in flight.