Hic Dracones

Overheard while sitting in Regenstein Library, following the attack of the Snailox...


What the dragons are saying:

Praise the Lord from the heavens;
Praise him in the heights.
Praise him, all his angels;
Praise him, all his powers....
Let them praise the name of the Lord.
Because he spoke, and they were made.
He commanded, and they were created.
He established them in eternity, and for all ages....
Praise the Lord from the earth....

The answer to the last dragon's question is in the next line of the psalm: dragons are here, on earth!*

*At least, according to the Vulgate. Modern translations turn them into sea-monsters or whales. I'm pretty sure this is why the dragons came to Chicago this evening, along with the hail, snow, ice and stormy winds, thus keeping me from fencing practice so that I could finish this post. See Psalm 148:7-8.**

**And, yes, this is one of the reasons medieval Christians believed so firmly in dragons. They're in the Bible, after all.

[Image credit: all dragons from the University of Chicago, Special Collections Research Center, MS 343, fols. 13, 45, 47, 54, and 56v.]

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