Psalm 90 v13 - Trampling down the devil

Ravenna, c6th
Picture credit: José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro (Wiki Commons)

Super áspidem et basilíscum ambulábis: et conculcábis leónem et dracónem.

You shall walk upon the asp and the basilisk: and you shall trample under foot the lion and the dragon.

Verse 13 of Psalm 90 is particularly important, since, as St John Cassian pointed out, it is the one the devil deliberately omits in his debate with Christ in the desert:

For so the devil in the gospel when tempting the Lord said: If You are the Son of God, cast Yourself down. For it is written that He shall give His angels charge concerning You to keep You in all Your ways. And when he had said this, he left out the context and what belongs to it; viz., You shall walk upon the asp and the basilisk: and you shall trample under foot the lion and the dragon. Surely he cunningly quoted the previous verse and left out the latter: for he quoted the one to deceive Him: he held his tongue about the latter to avoid condemning himself. For he knew that he himself was signified by the asp and basilisk, the lion and dragon in the Prophet's words.  On the Incarnation, ch 16

Looking at the Latin

Key vocab:

aspis, idis, f a kind of small, venomous serpent, an asp, adder, viper.

basiliscus, i, m.  a basilisk, a kind of venomous serpent.

ambulo, avi, atum, are to walk, the manner in which one orders one's life

conculco, avi, atum, are  to trample upon, tread under foot; fig., to despise, treat with contempt.

leo, leonis, m. a lion; fig., a man of a cruel, bloodthirsty, or malevolent disposition

draco, onis, m. dragon

A word by word translation crib for the Vulgate is:

 Super (on/upon/over) áspidem (the asp) et (and) basilíscum (the basilisk) ambulábis (you shall walk): et (and) conculcábis (you shall trample/tread underfoot) leónem (the lion) et (and) dracónem (the dragon).

An asp (aspidem) is a small venomous serpent; a basilisk (basiliscum) another type of snake.  The Pian translation (and the Monastic Diurnal), makes it instead an asp and adder.

13	V/NV	Super áspidem et basilíscum ambulábis: et conculcábis leónem et dracónem.
	Pian	Super aspidem et viperam gradieris, Conculcabis leonem et draconem.
	JH	Super aspidem et basiliscum calcabis : conculcabis leonem et draconem.
		ὅτι ἐμὲ ἤλπισεν καὶ ῥύσομαι αὐτόν σκεπάσω αὐτόν ὅτι ἔγνω τὸ ὄνομά μου

There are also considerable variances in the English translations:

DR	You shall walk upon the asp and the basilisk: and you shall trample under foot the lion and the dragon.
MD	Thou shalt tread upon the asp and the adder, the lion and the dragon shalt though trample under foot.
Brenton	Thou shalt tread on the asp and basilisk: and thou shalt trample on the lion and dragon.
RSV	You will tread on the lion and the adder, the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot.
Coverdale	Thou shalt go upon the lion and adder; the young lion and the dragon shalt thou tread under thy feet.
Knox	Thou shalt tread safely on asp and adder, crush lion and serpent under thy feet.
Grail	On the lion and the viper you will tread and trample the young lion and the dragon.

The many faces of the devil

Whatever the selection though, asps, adders, basilisks, lions and dragons are all are used to designate the devil in various places of Scripture. 

The Fathers and Theologians offer an interesting variety of just which threats and dimensions of the devil they are intended to represent.

St Augustine, for example, saw the serpent references as to the attacks of the devil on the church collectively: the lion represents open attacks from outside the Church; the dragon the secret subversion attack of heresy within.

St Alphonsus Liguori, by contrast, pointed to various spiritual dangers to the individual:

In a spiritual sense, by the asp is understood the demon who inspires despair; by the basilisk, the demon who inspires presumption; by the lion, pride; and by the dragon, attachment to earthly goods.

Others, though, pointed to the various beasts as symbolizing the type of attack.  St Cassiodorus, for example, argued that:

He is the asp when he strikes covertly; the basilisk when he openly spreads poison; the lion when he attacks the innocent; the dragon when he devours with wicked greed those who are off their guard.

Similarly St Robert Bellarmine suggested that:

He calls Satan a serpent, by reason of his cunning, and a lion, by reason of his ferocity; and, as there are various sorts of serpents, he calls him an asp, a basilisk, and a dragon, for to the cunning that is common to all serpents, the asp unites obstinacy, the basilisk cruelty, and the dragon great strength and power, for all of which Satan is remarkable…

Christ trampling down the serpents and beasts

Whatever the form of the attack though, the key point of the verse is that Christ will overcome it, and there are obvious resonances with both Genesis and Revelation (see esp 20:2) in it.  One of the key allusions though is to Isaiah 11:

And there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up out of his root….The wolf shall dwell with the lamb: and the leopard shall lie down with the kid: the calf and the lion, and the sheep shall abide together, and a little child shall lead them. The calf and the bear shall feed: their young ones shall rest together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp: and the weaned child shall thrust his hand into the den of the basilisk.

As a result, Christ in triumph trampling down the beasts and serpents was a frequent subject of early iconography, as the picture above illustrates.  

The previous verse tells of the help of the good angels; this verse promises us that we – through the victory of Christ - will ultimately triumph over evil, and the fallen angels including Satan. 

St Iraenaeus of Lyon, for example, expounded the verse as follows:

But He set a bound to his [state of] sin, by interposing death, and thus causing sin to cease, putting an end to it by the dissolution of the flesh, which should take place in the earth, so that man, ceasing at length to live to sin, and dying to it, might begin to live to God. For this end did He put enmity between the serpent and the woman and her seed, they keeping it up mutually: He, the sole of whose foot should be bitten, having power also to tread upon the enemy’s head; but the other biting, killing, and impeding the steps of man, until the seed did come appointed to tread down his head, - which was born of Mary, of whom the prophet speaks: “Thou shalt tread upon the asp and the basilisk; thou shalt trample down the lion and the dragon;” - indicating that sin, which was set up and spread out against man, and which rendered him subject to death, should be deprived of its power, along with death, which rules [over men]; and that the lion, that is, antichrist, rampant against mankind in the latter days, should be trampled down by Him; and that He should bind “the dragon, that old serpent” and subject him to the power of man, who had been conquered so that all his might should be trodden down. Now Adam had been conquered, all life having been taken away from him: wherefore, when the foe was conquered in his turn, Adam received new life; and the last enemy, death, is destroyed, which at the first had taken possession of man. Against Heresies, 3.23.7 c180

   

Psalm 90: Qui habitat 

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Laus cantici David.	The praise of a canticle for David
Qui hábitat in adjutório Altíssimi, * in protectióne Dei cæli commorábitur.	He that dwells in the aid of the most High, shall abide under the protection of the God of Jacob.
2  Dicet Dómino : Suscéptor meus es tu, et refúgium meum: * Deus meus sperábo in eum.	He shall say to the Lord: You are my protector, and my refuge: my God, in him will I trust.
3 Quóniam ipse liberávit me de láqueo venántium, * et a verbo áspero.	For he has delivered me from the snare of the hunters: and from the sharp word.
4  Scápulis suis obumbrábit tibi: * et sub pennis ejus sperábis.	He will overshadow you with his shoulders: and under his wings you shall trust.
5  Scuto circúmdabit te véritas ejus: * non timébis a timóre noctúrno.	His truth shall compass you with a shield: you shall not be afraid of the terror of the night.
6  A sagítta volánte in die, a negótio perambulánte in ténebris: * ab incúrsu et dæmónio meridiáno.	Of the arrow that flies in the day, of the business that walks about in the dark: of invasion, or of the noonday devil.
7  Cadent a látere tuo mille, et decem míllia a dextris tuis: * ad te autem non appropinquábit.	A thousand shall fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand: but it shall not come near you.
8  Verúmtamen óculis tuis considerábis: * et retributiónem peccatórum vidébis.	But you shall consider with your eyes: and shall see the reward of the wicked.
9  Quóniam tu es, Dómine, spes mea: * Altíssimum posuísti refúgium tuum.	Because you, O Lord, are my hope: you have made the most High your refuge.
10  Non accédet ad te malum: * et flagéllum non appropinquábit tabernáculo tuo.	There shall no evil come to you: nor shall the scourge come near your dwelling.
11  Quóniam Angelis suis mandávit de te: * ut custódiant te in ómnibus viis tuis.	For he has given his angels charge over you; to keep you in all your ways.
12  In mánibus portábunt te: * ne forte offéndas ad lápidem pedem tuum.	In their hands they shall bear you up: lest you dash your foot against a stone.
13  Super áspidem et basilíscum ambulábis: * et conculcábis leónem et dracónem.	You shall walk upon the asp and the basilisk: and you shall trample under foot the lion and the dragon.
14  Quóniam in me sperávit, liberábo eum: * prótegam eum quóniam cognóvit nomen meum.	Because he hoped in me I will deliver him: I will protect him because he has known my name.
15  Clamábit ad me, et ego exáudiam eum : * cum ipso sum in tribulatióne : erípiam eum et glorificábo eum.	He shall cry to me, and I will hear him: I am with him in tribulation, I will deliver him, and I will glorify him.
16  Longitúdine diérum replébo eum: * et osténdam illi salutáre meum.	I will fill him with length of days; and I will show him my salvation.

You can find the next post in this series here.