The concept of beast It has several uses. The first meaning mentioned in the dictionary of Royal Spanish Academy (RAE ) refers to a four legged animal .
If we focus on this definition, we could say that a dog , a cow or a cat They are beasts. However, it is more common for the notion to be used to refer to animals loading, like a horse or a ox . For example: "Poor beast, is already exhausted from pulling that carriage", "I need three or four beasts to move the materials to the shed", "Hold the plow to the beast to start work".
In the field it is very common to use animals for the jobs they demand more strength, endurance, power or speed than the human being is capable of or is willing to invest. This type of exploitation It is unfortunate and contradictory to our supposed intellectual superiority: what kind of superior being treats others unfairly, takes advantage of them for considering them inferior? Despite technological advances, which allow all agricultural tasks to be done with motorized machines, lack of resources and ignorance continue to result in the submission of innocent creatures.
The word beast is also used with respect to wild animals usually: "That beast wanted to eat me!", “On the safari we saw all kinds of beasts”, “The beasts that live in the jungle are not bad: they only seek to defend their territory and feed themselves”.
Beyond animals, creatures are called beasts mythological , the monsters and other beings of fantasy : “When I was a kid I thought that evil beasts were hiding under my bed”, “The minotaur was a beast that lived in a maze”, “The boy was scared to hear the story of the basement beast”.
Finally, the individual who is usually known as a beast it lacks education , which does not have good manners or acting with violence and aggressiveness : "You're a beast: I don't understand how you can make so many spelling mistakes", "Don't be a beast, tell the guests to pass", "Ramiro's beast pushed me and made me fall to the ground".
Another meaning of the word beast it refers to the person who has one or more unusual abilities, and who when he exhibits them makes him appear more than a human being, as if his capacity I had no limits. For example, before a singer like Patti LaBelle , which in its best recitals has displayed a powerful and agile voice, it is common for many to say "This woman is a beast". If we think that wild beasts are not inherently good or bad, this use is more reasonable than the negative one, expressed in the previous paragraphs.
This word also appears in one of the most famous traditional fairy tales in history, "Beauty and the Beast", originally from France. It is a history with different versions and with a very uncertain origin. Some believe it first appeared in the book titled "The golden ass"by the Roman writer Apuleyo, who was born in the first half of the second century; in that case, his original name would have been Cupid and Psyche.
Similarly, there is more than one publication that disputes the first place in popularity and even in antiquity, although here the dates are usually decisive. While Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Velleneuve and Gianfrancesco Straparola they came before the publishing world with their recreations of "Beauty and the Beast", the review of Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont , published in 1756, achieved more fame than the previous ones and has been translated into many languages since then.
