"Beaver - an ascetic? To a metaphorical motif from fable and Physiologus"

One of the few motifs that belongs to the tradition of the Aesopian fable as well as the animal allegoresis of Physiologus is about the beaver (castor, iber) being persecuted by hunters. According to this tradition, when the beaver can no longer escape the hunters or their dogs, it bites off its testicles and is then let go. The widespread story - and supported by the etymology castor a castrando - is based on the medicinal use of 'castoreum', a strong-smelling glandular secretion with which the beaver marks its territory. Although it is also produced in pairs of glandular sacs in female animals, these castor sacs were mistakenly thought to be testicles, which makes the term 'horny' understandable. In an otherwise hopeless situation, the beaver separates himself from what the hunter desires from him and in this way saves his life. The knowledge of the beaver's self-castration underlies a transformation in Apuleius; Likewise, Tertullian's insult of the marriage-hostile Marcion as a 'beaver' presupposes that it is known: Quis enirn tarn castrator castor quarn qui nuptias abstulit? Quis tarn cornesor rnus Ponticus quarn qui euangelia conrosit?. The fable warns us not to cling to earthly possessions when it comes to preserving life. - [Author]

Language: German