Bestiary: the Crocodile (Hypocrisy) and the Toad
Two moralized animal emblems on hypocrisy and the enemies of virtue
A page of Leonardo's moralized bestiary, written in mirror script turned upside down on the leaf. The first entry casts the crocodile as an emblem of Hypocrisy, weeping over the man it has killed before devouring him. The second likens the toad, which flees and swells against the sun's light, to whoever is an enemy of clear and shining virtue.
On this page
The crocodile as Hypocrisy
The crocodile seizes a man and at once kills him, then weeps over the corpse with mournful voice and many tears before cruelly devouring it. So does the hypocrite, who fills his face with tears over every slight thing while hiding a tiger's heart and rejoicing at another's misfortune behind a pitying face.
The toad and the enemies of virtue
The toad flees the light of the sun, and if held in it by force swells so that it buries its head low and deprives itself of the rays. So acts whoever is an enemy of clear and shining virtue, who can only stand before it, under compulsion, with a deflated spirit.