Perry 35: The Satyr and the Traveler (Avianus)

As I'm gearing up for the publication of Aesop’s Fables in Latin: Ancient Wit and Wisdom from the Animal Kingdom (coming soon from Bolchazy-Carducci!), I'm reviewing the different Perry numbers that will be included in that book. For each of the fables, I'm posting here a Latin version of the fable along with an illustration that can be compared/contrasted with the version in Barlow's book.

Today's fable is Perry #35, the story of the satyr who rescued the man in the snow. At the Aesopus wiki, you can see a complete list of the versions of this fable that I have collected. This is a fable that is attested in both the Greek tradition and also in the Latin tradition, beginning with the version in Avianus.

Here is Avianus's version of the story:

Horrida congestis cum staret bruma pruinis,
Cunctaque durato stringeret arva gelu,
Haesit in adversa nimborum mole viator;
Perdita nam prohibet semita ferre gradum.
Hunc nemorum custos fertur miseratus in antro
Exceptum Satirus continuisse suo.
Quem simul adspiciens ruris miratur alumnus
Vimque homini tantam protinus esse pavet
Nam gelidos artus vitae ut revocaret in usum,
Afflatas calido solverat ore manus.
Sed cum depulso coepisset frigore laetus
Hospitis eximia sedulitate frui,
Namque illi agrestem cupiens ostendere vitam,
Silvarum referens optima quaeque dabat,
Obtulit et calido plenum cratera Liaeo,
Laxet ut infusus frigida membra tepor,
Ille ubi ferventem labris contingere testam
Horruit, algenti rursus ab ore reflat.
Obstipuit duplici monstro perterritus hospes,
Et pulsum silvis longius ire iubet:
Nolo, ait, ut nostris umquam succederet antris,
Tam diversa duo qui simul ora ferat.

Here it is written out in segmented style to make it easier to follow, rearranging the Latin word as necessary to make the syntax more clear:

Cum bruma
horrida staret congestis pruinis,
et stringeret arva cuncta durato gelu,
haesit viator
in adversa nimborum mole,
nam perdita semita
prohibet ferre gradum.
Satirus, nemorum custos,
miseratus
fertur
hunc continuisse
exceptum in suo antro.
Quem simul adspiciens
miratur alumnus ruris
et protinus pavet
vim homini tantam esse
nam
ut revocaret gelidos artus in usum vitae,
solverat manus afflatas calido ore.
Sed
cum laetus
depulso frigore
coepisset
frui hospitis eximia sedulitate,
namque,
cupiens illi ostendere agrestem vitam,
dabat referens optima quaeque silvarum
et obtulit cratera plenum calido Liaeo,
ut tepor infusus
laxet membra frigida,
ubi ille
horruit contingere labris testam ferventem, rursus reflat ab ore algenti.
Perterritus hospes
obstipuit duplici monstro,
et iubet
longius ire pulsum silvis:
nolo, ait,
ut nostris antris umquam succederet,
qui simul ferat ora duo tam diversa.

As often, Avianus is a bit awkward, but the meaning of the story comes through very clearly! The story gained a new fame through being included in Erasmus's Adagia, under the heading: Ex eodem calidum, et frigidum efflare. Here is Erasmus's version of the story:

Satyrus quidam, cum vehementer algeret, hiberno gelu supra modum saeviente, a rustico quodam inductus est in hospitium. Admiratus autem, cur homo inflaret in manus ori admotas, rogavit, cur ita faceret: is respondit, ut frigidas manus halitus tepore calefaceret. Deinde, ubi exstructo foco, apposita mensa, in pultem fervidam rursum inflaret, magis etiam admiratus, sciscitatus est, quid hoc sibi vellet: ut pultem, inquit, nimium ferventem halitu refrigerem. Tum Satyrus, surgens a mensa: Quid ego audio? inquit. Tun' eodem ex ore pariter et calidum, et frigidum efflas? Valebis, neque enim mihi ratio est, cum eiusmodi homine commune habere hospitium.

For an illustration, here is a lovely illustration by Walter Crane which also includes Crane's little poem (click on the image for a larger view):

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