Hrabanus Maurus on Lynx

Patrologia Latina Cursus Completus LXIII, 222B – 222C
Linx dictus, quia in luporum genere numeratur, bestia maculis terga disctincta, ut pardus, sed similis lupo. Hujus urinam convertere se in #222C# duritiam lapidis pretiosi dicunt, qui ligurius appellatur : quod et ipsos lynces sentire hoc documento probatur. Nam egestum liquorem arenis, inquantum potuerint, contegunt, invidia quadam naturali, ne talis egestio transeat in usum humanum. Lynces dicit Plinius secundus extra unum non admittere fetum. Similiter et ista bestia typum tenet invidorum hominum atque dolosorum, qui magis cupiunt nocere quam prodesse, et terrenis cupiditatibus intenti ea quæ superflua sibi sunt, et cæteris prodesse poterant, inutiliter servant.

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Paraphrase and commentary

The lynx is so called because it is counted among the specie of the wolf. It is a beast with spots on its back just as the pard but it looks like a wolf. They say that their urine is transformed into hard pretious stone, which are called ligurius (literary “urine of a lynx”).ⁱ The fact that the lynxes themselves understand that [that it is pretious] is proven by this evidence. For, when they poor down the liquid on the sand, they conseal it as much as they can driven by some natural envy, so that the liquid will not pass in the possession of a man.ⁱⁱ Pliny says that lynces do not receive more than one bearing.

In the same manner this animal has the character of invidious and deceitful people who want to inflict injury more than they want to help. Drivven by earthly desires they are aiming at and keeping things which are of no use for them, but which could benefit others.

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Footnotes
i Pliny also mentioned this legend adding that it has a red colour (igneo colore). See Pliny, Natural History, book 8, 57. This description inclined people to believe that this urine-stone is probably the one that we call now amber.
ii For example see the illumination in MS Copenhagen, Kongelige Bibliotek, Gl. kgl. S. 1633 4º, fol. 6r. (Bestiary of Ann Walsh, 15th century, England).