Quis obsecro [185] tam vecors, tam communis sensus expers, ut sic cogitet Gallos perpetuo Romani nominis hostes nomen sibi, vel accipere, vel retinere voluisse, quod hostium contumelia imposuisset? Quod si tamen quis ita sentiat, ego eum non testiculis profecto, sed cerebro carere dixerim. Neminem interim latere existimo, Gallos Europae populos a candore dictos a Gala, quae vox lac Latinis dicitur. Nam montes, et rigor Caeli ab ea parte Solis ardorem excludunt, ut eorum corpora non {colerentur} <colorentur>[1].

Please, who is so silly, so devoid of common sense, as to suppose that Gauls, always enemies of the Roman people, should have wished either to accept or to retain a name that had attached to them an insult by enemies? If somebody is however thinking in such a way, I should take the liberty of saying that without any doubt he is lacking not testicles, but brain. Anyway I think that no one is in ignorance of the fact that European peoples of Gauls are so called from the snowy whiteness, from gála, a word which in Latin is said lac - milk. For the mountains and the harsh climate keep away the fierce heat of the sun from those regions, so that their bodies don’t get tanned.

Persarum milites Cares Gallos nuncupabant[2], ob conos, quibus galeas ornatas habebant, eaque de causa {Artoxerses} <Artaxerses> hominem e Caria, qui {Cirum} <Cyrum> iaculo vulnerasse creditus est, eo cohonestavit praemio, ut Gallum aureum in lancea praefixum ante aciem ferret. Verum Athenaeus[3] Gallos scribit in Perside primum ortos, ideoque fortasse cognomentum id Persae acceperint, vel ab Alectryone, quem eis primum imperasse paulo ante diximus[4]: Unde et Aristophanes, ut eius est mos omnes illudere, Gallum ait Persis olim praefuisse, atque hinc cristatos adhuc gerere cassides: verba Aristophanis alias citabo.

Persian soldiers called roosters the Carians because of the crests by which their helmets were adorned, and for this reason Artaxerxes II honored a Carian man, believed to have wounded Cyrus the Younger with a javelin, by such a reward that he was carrying in front of the battle line a golden cock stuck on the top of a staff. On the contrary Athenaeus writes that the cocks first originated in Persis and thus perhaps the Persians got that nickname, or from Alectryon, who, as I said shortly before, has been their first ruler: whence Aristophanes, as it is his custom to mock everyone, says that once a cock ruled Persians, and that's why they are still wearing crested helmets: I shall quote Aristophanes words another time.

Gallus item quidam Centaurus fuit, a quo secundum Pincernam regium eximie amatum fuisse author est {Nicander}[5] <Aelianus>. Nunquid autem Centaurus idem fuerit cum Centoarato, de quo sic meminit Aelianus[6]: Antiochi equus, ut dominum suum ulcisceretur, Gallo nomine Centoarati, qui Antiochum in pugna interfecerat, necem intulit, difficile est iudicare. Est etiam Gallus Imperatoris nomen, cui Constantius magni Constantini filius Caesaris dignitatem concessit. Sed cum comperisset, hunc regnum adfectare, ad tyrannidem proruere, nihil non moliri, quo voti compos fieret, omni conatu eius anteverso, caput ei praecidi curavit: deinde Galli fratrem, porcum illum foetidum, Iulianum corona Cesarea cohonestavit, ut narrat Constanti<n>us Manasses[7]. Alii vero Gallum illum longe antiquiorem faciunt, et simul cum Volusiano Decio in imperio successisse scribunt, imperioque biennium et menses octo potitum fuisse.

Alike there was a cock called Centaur, by which, according to Nicander Aelian, a servant royal cup bearer was uncommonly loved. On the other hand it is difficult to judge whether the Centaur was corresponding to Centoarates mentioned by Aelian as follows: the horse of Antiochus I Soter, in order to avenge his master, slew a Gaul - a Galatian - named Centoarates who had killed Antiochus in battle. Gallus Constantius is also the name of an emperor, to whom Constantius II, son of Constantine the Great, bestowed the Caesar’s dignity. But when he learned that he was endeavoring in order to achieve the supremacy and that he was throwing himself into the tyranny, that anything was plotting in order to see his aspirations realized, Constantius, after he got the upper hand over any attempt of him, arranged his head cut off: then he honored with the Caesar’s crown the brother of Gallus, that stinking pig Julian Apostate, as Constantinus Manasses relates. To tell the truth others are thinking that that Gallus was far more ancient - Trebonianus - and write that he succeeded to the empire together with Volusianus Decius [?] and that he seized power for two years and eight months.

Quidam cognomento Milo Gallus dicebatur, qui Caroli Calvi temporibus floruit, et ad eum ipsum quae de sobrietate carmina conscripsit, misit. Condidit et Sancti Amandi{s} vitam, cuius caenobii ipse Antistes fuit anno post partum salutiferum 880. Est et Gallus Sancti Confessoris nomen, ut refert Beda[8], cuius vita plena virtutibus conscripta habeatur. Erat autem beati martiris Ignatii diaconus, qui episcopus factus viam magistri pius imitator sequutus, pro commendato grege, Christi amato<r> occubuit. Fuit et Gallus alius Columbani abbatis discipulus. Hic et Hildeboldus diaconus pisciculos, quos de flumine reticulo traxerant in solitudine assaturi, ignem concinnabant, cum interim ursus mirae magnitudinis <qui> propius accedens diaconum quidem terruisset, iubente Gallo, ut ligna igni inferret, obedivit, ut Marcus Marulus Spalatensis[9] memoriae prodidit. Quod sane hic referendum duximus, ut qui praepositis suis reniti audent, tali exemplo magis confundantur, quando, et sylvestres ferae iussa sanctorum revereantur, et observent.

Someone, who stood out in the time of Charles the Bald, was named Milo Gallus and just to him he dedicated the poetry he had written on sobriety. He also wrote a life of Saint Amandus, of whose monastery he himself was prior in the year 880[?] after the rescuer delivery - of Mary. As Bede tells us, Gallus is also the name of a holy confessor, whose biography would be overflowing of virtuous acts. In fact – Heron - was deacon of the blessed martyr Ignatius, and when became bishop he followed the way of his master as a scrupulous imitator, and being fond of Christ he fell for the flock entrusted to him. And another Gallus was pupil of abbot Columbanus. He and the deacon Hildebold were building the fire in a lonely place to roast some little fish they had pulled out from a river by a small net; at that moment a bear of uncommon size, who in approaching frightened the deacon, obeyed Gallus who was ordering to him to add wood to the fire, as Marcus Marulus from Spalato has recorded. We have referred that just at this point, in order that those who dare to set themselves against their superiors should more be troubled by such an event, since also wild animals observe the biddings of saints and follow them.

Hermolaus[10] iubas, et capillos Graecis alectoridas dici asserit. Et mola matricis Sylvatico[11] Gallus matricis dicitur, forte ob similitudinem. Nam et Amatus Lusitanus[12] meminit cuiusdam mulieris, quae geminos utero gestans quinto mense abortivit, et tertia a primo abortu die frustum quoddam carnis emisit, Galli cristae cum rostro Gallinaceo simile.

Hermolaus Barbarus asserts that manes and hair are called alectorídas by Greeks. Also the uterine mole - maternal mole - is called uterine cock - maternal cock - by Matthaeus Sylvaticus, perhaps because of a similarity. For also Amatus Lusitanus - alias João Rodriguez do Castelo Branco - mentioned a certain woman who aborted in the fifth month while pregnant with twins, and on the third day after the first abortion she brought forth a piece of flesh resembling a cock's comb with a chicken's beak.

Piscis quidam ad oceanum Germanicum Gobiis congener, Germanis ut audio Seehan [13], id est, Gallus marinus dicitur. Verum et bina alia aquatilia animantia eiusdem nominis reperio, piscem nempe alium, et quoddam genus e crustaceis. Piscis enim Plinio[14] Z<a>eus dictus, et Faber, Hispanis, et Monspeliensibus, teste doctissimo Rondoletio, Gal appellatur, Santonibus, et Baionensibus Iau, id est, Gallus a dorsi {pennis} <pinnis> surrectis, quemadmodum Gallorum Gallinaceorum cristae erigi solent. Romani hodie citulam dicunt et piscem Sancti Petri, quia iubente Christo D. Petrus hunc piscem ceperit, et in eius ore numisma pro tributo repererit: unde digitorum impressorum vestigia in medio corpore relicta fuerint. Recentioribus item Graecis χρυσόφρυς dicitur, aiuntque D. Christophorum, dum Christum humeris gestans mare traijceret, piscem hunc apprehendisse et impressa digitorum vestigia reliquisse. Est autem piscis iste ex sententia Rondoletii {χαλκείς} <χαλκίς> Athenaei[15] a Chalcide dissidens, ut Deo dante suo loco aliquando docebimus. Donavit mihi nuperrime hunc piscem exiccatum admodum Rever. P. Ambr. Morandus Bonon. sacrae Theol. doctor eximius, Congreg. S. Salvatoris Gener. mihique amicissimus. Praetera Gallum marinum idem Rondoletius, et Petrus Bellonius vocari asserunt illud animal crustaceum, quod, Aristoteles ἄρκτον[16], Latini similiter ursum ab actionibus, et moribus, quos exercet, appellant: ut nonnulli existimant: alii vero a figura ita dici volunt, nimirum, quod exterior forficis pars Galli Gallinacei figuram referat[17].

As I hear, a certain fish of the same genus of the gobies and living in the neighborhood of Germanic Ocean - North Sea, is called Seehahn by Germans, i.e., sea cock. However I’m finding also two other aquatic animals of the same name, and precisely one of them is a fish, and - the other - a certain genus of crustaceans. Well, the fish called zaeus by Pliny, as well as faber - smith, according to the very learned testimony of Guillaume Rondelet is called gal by the Spaniards and the people of Montpellier, and by the Santones and the people of Bayonne it is called iau, i.e. cock, from the – fore - dorsal fin sticking up like the roosters’ combs are used to stand up. Today the Romans call citula also the fish of Saint Peter, because at Christ’s bidding Saint Peter would have caught this fish and found in its mouth a coin for tribute: hence have been left the prints of fingers’ pressure in the middle of its body. And furthermore it is called chrysóphrys - gilthead - by modern Greeks, and they assert that Saint Christopher, while crossing the sea carrying Christ on his shoulders, caught this fish and there left fingerprints impressed. In the opinion of Rondelet this fish is the pilchard of Athenaeus which is not corresponding to the chalcis - chalcis, fish - as sooner or later I shall show in its proper place, God willing. Very recently the Very Reverend Father Ambrosio Morando [Morandi?] from Bologna, distinguished doctor of theology, General of the Congregation of the Saint Saviour and a very good friend of mine, gave me as a gift this dried fish. Furthermore Guillaume Rondelet and Pierre Belon are stating that is called sea cock that crustacean animal which Aristotle calls árkton - bear, and the Latins likewise call bear from movements and behaviour: as some people think: on the contrary others claim that it is so called from the shape, because the extremity of its claw just reminds the shape of a rooster.

Hesychius, et Varinus[18] Upupam ἀλεκτρυόνα vocarunt, haud dubio ob cristam, quam in capite gerit, ob quam etiam a Liguribus Gallus Martii dicitur, eo quod illo mense apud ipsos primum appareat.

Hesychius and Varinus called the hoopoe alektryóna - cock, no doubt because of the crest it bears on head, owing to which it is called rooster of March also by Ligurians, because it first appears among them in that month.