A lion, for instance, which in nature is not a very distinctive object, was portrayed, for greater distinction, with its leonine attributes, its fierce expression, frightful claws, lithe and ,lissom body all vastly exaggerated, so that indeed it looked more like a lion than did ever any lion of nature. In this wise, by turning away from true representation and adopting a character all its own, was the 'heraldic lion' born, and with it came also the manner of depictin all the other beasts and forms and patterns which is so peculiarly heraldic.
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