PIACENZA
69
PIACENZA
present qualities as examples to be imitated or avoided.
The book, originally written in Greek at Alexandria,
perhaps for purposes of instruction, appeared prob-
ably in the second century, though some place its date
at the end of the third or in the fourth century. In
later centuries it was ascribed to various celebrated
Fathers, especially St. Epiphanius, St. Basil, and St.
Peter of Alexandria. Origen, however, had cited it
under the title "Physiologus", while Clement of Alex-
andria and perhaps even Justin Martyr seem to have
known it. The assertion that the method of the
"Physiologus" presupposes the allegorical exegesis
developed by Origen is not correct; the so-called
"Letter of Barnabas" offers, before Origen, a suffi-
cient model, not only for the general character of the
"Physiologus" but also for many of its details. It
can hardly be asserted that the later recensions, in
which the Greek text has been preserved, present even
in the best and oldest manuscripts a perfectly rehable
transcription of the original, especially as this was an
anonymous and popular treatise. "Physiologus" is
not the original title; it was given to the book because
the author introduces his stories from natural history
with the phrase: "the physiologus says", that is, the
naturalist says, the natural philosophers, the author-
ities for natural history say. About 400 the "Physi-
ologus" was translated into Latin; in the fifth cen-
tury into iEthiopic [edited by Hommel with a German
translation (Leipzig, 1877), revTsed German transla-
tion in "Romanische Forschungen", V, 13-36]; into
Armenian [edited by Pitra in "Spicilegium Soles-
mense", III, 374-90; French translation by Cahier
in " Nouveaux Melanges d'archeologie, d'histoire et de
litterature" (Paris, 1874)]; into Syrian [edited by
Tychsen, "Physiologus Syrus" (Rostock, 1795), a
later Syrian and an .-Vrabic version edited by Land in
"AnecdotaSyriaca", IV (Leyden, 187.5)]. Numerous
quotations and references to the "Physiologus" in
the Greek and the Latin Fathers show that it was one
of the most generally known works of Christian antiq-
uity. \'arious translations and revisions were cur-
rent in the Middle Ages. The earliest translation into
Latin was followed by various recensions, among
them the "Dicta Johannis Chry.sostomi de naturis
bestiarum", edited by Hcider in "Archiv fiir Kunde
osterreichischer Gcschichtsquellcn" (II, 550 sqq.,
1850). A metrical Latin "Physiologus" was written
in the eleventh century by a certain Theobaldus, and
printed by Morris in "An Old English Miscellany"
(1872), 201 sqq.; it also appears among the works of
Hildebertus Cenomanensis in P. L., CLXXI, 1217-24.
To these should be added the literature of the "Bes-
tiaries" (q. v.), in which the material of "Physiologus"
was used; the "Tractatus de bestiis et alius rebus",
attributed to Hugo of St. Victor; and the "Speculum
naturale" of Vincent of Beauvais.
Translations and adaptations from the Latin intro- duced the "Physiologus" into almost all the languages of Western Europe. An eleventh-century German translation was printed by Miillenhoff and Scherer in "Denkmaler deutscher Poesie und Prosa" (No. LXXXI); a later translation (twelfth century) has been edited by Lauchcrt in "Geschichte des Physi- ologus" (pp. 280-99); and a rhymed version appears in Karajan, "Deutsche Sprachdenkmale des XII. Jahrhunderts" (pp. 73-106), both based on the Latin text known as " Dicta Chrysostomi". Fragments of a ninth-century Anglo-Saxon " Phy.siologus " , metrical in form, still exist; they are printed by Thorpe in "Codex Exonien.sis" (pp. 3.55-67), and by Grein in "Bibliothek der angelsiichischen Poesie" (I, 233-8). About the middle of the thirteenth century there ap- peared an English metrical "Bestiary", an adaptation of the Latin "Phj'.-iiologus Theobaldi"; this has been /■dited by Wright and Halliwcll in "Rcliquiie anti- quie" (I, 208-27), also by Morris in "An Old English Miscellany" (1-25). Icelandic literature includes a
"Physiologus" belonging to the early part of the
thirteenth century, edited by Dahlerup (Copcnliagen,
1889). In the twelfth and thirteenth century there
appeared the "Bestiaires" of Philippe de Thaun, a
metrical Old-French version, edited by Thomas
Wright in "Popular Treatises on Science Written
during the Middle Ages" (74-131), and by Walberg
(Lund and Paris, 1900) ; that by Guillaume, clerk of
Normandy, called "Bestiaire divin", and edited by
Cahier in his "Melanges d'archeologie" (II-IV), also
edited by Hippeau (Caen, 18.52), and by Reinsch
(Leipzig, 1890); the "Bestiaire" of Gervaise, edited
by Paul Meyer in "Romania" (I, 420-42); the "Bes-
tiaire" in prose of Pierre le Picard, edited by Cahier
in "Melanges" (II-IV). A singular adaptation is
found in the old Waldensian literature, and has been
edited by Alfons Mayer in "Romanische Forschun-
gen" (V, 392 sqq.). As to the Italian bestiaries, a
Tosco-Venetian "Bestiarius" has been edited (Gold-
staub and Wendriner, "Ein tosco-venezianischer Bes-
tiarius", Halle, 1892). Extracts from the "Physiol-
ogus" in Provencal have been edited by Bartsch,
" Provenzalisches Lesebuch" (162-66). The "Physi-
ologus" survived in the literatures of Eastern Europe
in books on animals written in Middle Greek, among
the Slavs to whom it came from the Byzantines, and
in a Roumanian translation from a Sla\nc original
(edited by Gaster with an Italian translation in
" Archivio glottologico italiano", X, 273-304). Medi-
eval poetical literature is full of allusions to the
"Physiologus", and it also exerted great influence on
the symbolism of medieval ecclesiastical art; symbols
like those of the phcenix and the pelican are still
well-known and popular.
Lauchert, Gesch. d. Physiologus(StTa3huTg, 1 889), supplemented in Romanische Forschungen, V, 3-12. and in Zeilschrifl fiir kath- otUche Theologie, XXXIII (1909), 177-79; Keppler, D. miltel- alterliche Physiologus in Archiv fUr christ. Kunst, IX (1891). n. 2-4, pp. 14-16, 23-4. 32-0; Michael, Gesch. d. deutschen Volkes, III (Freiburg, 1903). 413-17 ; Pitra in Spicilegium Solesmense, III (Paris, 1855), 338-73; Karnejev, D. Physiologus d. Moskauer Sunodalbibliolhek in Byzantinische Zeitsehrift. Ill (1894), 26-63; Peters, D. gricchische Physiologus u. seine orientalischen Ueber- setzungen (Berlin, 1898); the Latin text has been edited by Cahier and Martin, Melanges d'archeologie, d'hist. et de litt., II-IV (Paris, 1851-56); Goldstavb. D. Physiologus u, seine Weiterbitdung besonders in d. lateinischen u. byzanlinischen Lit. in Philologus, supplementary vol. VIII (1901), 337^04; Krum- BACHER, Gesch. d. byzanlinischen Lit. (2nd ed., Munich, 1897), 874-77; Strzygowski. D. Bilderkreis d. griechischen Physiologus in Byzanlinischen Archiv, II (Leipzig, 1899); Leitschch, Gesch. d. karolingischen Malerei (Berlin, 1894), 405 sq. ; Schmid. Christ. Symbole aus alter u. neuer Zeit (2nd ed., Freiberg. 1909); Dreves, D. Jagd d. Einhorns in Slimmen aus Maria-Loach, XLIII (1892), 66-76.
Friedrich Lauchert.
Piacenza, Diocese of (Placentinensis), in Emi- ha, central Italy. The city is situated on the right of the Po, near its junction with the Trebbia, in an im- portant strategic position. Agriculture is the chief in- dustry. The cathedral is of the ninth century; it was remodelled by Santa da Sambuceto and others (1 122- 1223) in beautiful Lombard style. The camp.anile, over 216 feet high, is surmounted by an angel, in brass; the cupola is a more recent part of the edifice; there are frescoes by Guercino and by Morazzone, Ludovico Caracci, Procaccino, and others. Its Cappella del Crocifisso has an arch with statues of Nero and of Vespasian; the Cappella di S. Corrado has an admi- rable Madonna by Zit to diTagliasacchi,and contained once a picture of St. Conrad by Lanfranco, but it was taken to France. Among the churches is S. Antonio (fourth centurj-), many times restored; until 877 it was the cathedral; in 1183 the preliminaries of the Peace of Constance were concluded in this church; here also are paintings by Procaccino, Mulinaretto, Novoloni etc.; the sacristy contains a triptych with the geala of S. Antonio. In the pastor's residence of S. .\ndrea there is an ancient mosaic. S. Bartolommeo, formerly a church of the Jesuits, contains besides its beautiful paintings two crucifixes, one very ancient,
