The Old English Physiologus/The Partridge

III
The Partridge^[1]

Hȳrde ic secgan gēn bi sumum fuglewundorlīcne[2] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . fǣgerþæt word þe gecwæð wuldres Ealdor:5 ‘In swā hwylce tiid swā gē mid trēowe tō mēon hyge hweorfað, and gē hellfirenasweartra geswīcað, swā ic symle tō ēowmid siblufan sōna gecyrreþurh milde mōd; gē bēoð mē siþþan 10 torhte, tīrēadge, talade and rīmde,beorhte gebrōþor on bearna stǣl.'	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.[3]] 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 Refulgent, glorious, numbered with the host Of heaven, and, instead of children, called Bright brethren of the Lord.'
So, too, I have heard tell a wondrous [tale[4]] about a certain bird.[2] . . . fair the word[5] 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 me as glorious and renowned, as my illustrious brethren, yea, in the place of children.
Uton wē þȳ geornor Gode ōliccan,firene fēogan, friþes earnian,duguðe tō Dryhtne, þenden ūs dæg scīne,15 þæt swā æþelne eardwīca cystin wuldres wlite wunian mōtan.Finit.	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.
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.

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.
2. Gap in the manuscript, probably of considerable length.
3. Conjecturally supplied, on the basis of other versions.
4. Conjecturally supplied.
5. Cf. 2 Cor. 6. 17, 18; Isa. 55. 7; Heb. 2. 10, 11.