Perry 15: LaFontaine's Fox and Grapes in Latin

One of the greatest finds I made in the past couple of weeks at Google Books is an old Latin textbook: Porta Latina: A Reading Method, for the Second Year; Fables of LaFontaine in a Latin Version, by Frank Gardner Moore (Professor of Classical Philology at Columbia University), published in 1915. It is a fabulous little book! Next summer I think I may attempt to republish it with Lulu.com. There are many public domain books that have been reprinted and are available for sale at Amazon and other online booksellers, but it does not look like any of the re-publishers have made this one available yet. I think it would be a wonderful book to have available to teachers and students in printed form!

There are so many things I like about this book. First, the fables as adapted from LaFontaine are fun and lively. LaFontaine was one of the most gifted storytellers in the Aesopic tradition, and turning his French poetry into Latin prose yields some excellent reading material for students, which can then be connected with classical, medieval, and Renaissance Latin versions of the same stories which LaFontaine has told. Moore has chosen 50 fables for the book, some of which are classical Aesop's fables, and some of which represent the eastern fables which LaFontaine helped to popularize in the European tradition. You can see the contents of the book listed here, with links to the individual fables.

The fables are presented with macrons for the long vowels and some very helpful raised dots to help students find the natural pauses when they read. This is an economical way to achieve the same thing I try to achieve with my "segmented" way of presenting Latin texts (anyone who has been reading this blog is familiar with the way I do that). There is a glossary in the back of the book, and there are also notes for each fable, plus an introduction that outlines some good strategies for reading Latin prose. My only disappointment with the book is that the notes do not take a systematic approach to some admittedly challenging Latin constructions. If I do get around to republishing the book, I would probably want to supplement the notes, just to make sure students get all the help they need if they are stymied in their understanding of the Latin.

Anyway, to give you a sense of this delightful book, here is one of the first fables it includes, a very short one: the story of the fox and the grapes, a classical Aesop's fable which actually gives us the modern catch-phrase "Sour grapes," although few people know anymore that the story comes from Aesop. Here is Moore's Latin prose version of the story - I've tried to reproduce here his elegant solution to including the pauses in the story (although I have not included the macrons):

Vulpes quaedam · fame confecta, uvas · de pergula pendentes · maturas, ut videbatur, et purpureas · conspicata, eas · quamvis cupida · attingere non poterat. Itaque · "Acerbae" · inquit · "adhuc sunt, calonibus tantum · maturae!" Num melius fuisset · gemere ac lamentari?

The two unusual words here are glossed as follows in the complete glossary provided in the back of the book. As you can see, the glossary make some effort to promote an etymological understanding of Latin word derivation by referencing the verb pergo for the noun pergula. Nice!

calo, calonis (m.): camp-follower, servant
pergula, pergulae (pergo): projection, shed, arbor, trellis, pergola

You can see that as he has rendered LaFontaine in Latin prose, Moore has still managed to convey some of the spirit of LaFontaine's original French verse (with Moore's calones standing in for LaFontaine's goujats, for example):

Certain Renard Gascon, d'autres disent Normand,
Mourant presque de faim, vit au haut d'une treille
Des Raisins mûrs apparemment,
Et couverts d'une peau vermeille.
Le galand en eût fait volontiers un repas ;
Mais comme il n'y pouvait atteindre :
"Ils sont trop verts, dit-il, et bons pour des goujats. "
Fit-il pas mieux que de se plaindre ?

As you can see, LaFontaine takes the approach to this story that you see also in Steinhowel's version, suggesting that it might be psychologically positive for someone to just say "sour grapes," as the fox does, rather than to torture themselves with regret and remorse for something they cannot have. Other versions of the story, of course, criticize the fox for being a hypocrite, someone who criticizes the grapes only because they are out of reach. Those grapes look very good indeed, after all, something not just suitable for Latin calones and French goujats!

For a complete list of the version of this fable that I have found, see del.icio.us/aesopus/perry015. (Yes, I've decided to start cataloging the fables with del.icio.us tags - I'll be explaining more about that in future posts!)

For an illustration, here is the fox leaping at some very tempting-looking grapes in Osius's Aesop:

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Perry 169: Young Man and Swallow

With the growing number of fables, I've decided I need a more automated tagging system to keep up with all the content, so I've decided to start using del.icio.us again in order to keep track of the fables! I've created a user account, aesopus, so here you can see all the fable items I have tagged with today's selection, Perry 169: Young Man and Swallow.

This is not found in an ancient Latin source, so it enters the tradition only as the Greek fables begin to be translated in the Renaissance and later. As a sample of the fable in Latin, I've chosen a version from the 16th-century poet, Candidus Pantaleon. The poem is in iambic meter, and you will want to watch out for a few unfamiliar lexical items: heluo (helluo) is a glutton; paenula is a hooded cloak; abligurio (abligurire) is to squander; Caurus is the northwest wind.

Vestes suas quidam abligurivit heluo,
Brumae sub horam, et una restebat modo
Paenula. sed ille veris indicem videns
Hirundinem, decoxit illam et paenulam,
Aestate ea quasi esset indigus parum.
Sed falsus est? nam Caurus acri frigore
Spirans inhorruit grave. ille ibi, heu, miser,
Frigens, dolensque semi oberrat mortuus.
Torpore confectam deinde hirundinem
Cum cerneret iacere: ibi exsultans ait:
Infausta avis; non veris es, sed frigoris
Praenuntia, et poenas merito luis tuas.
Me teque noxa hac perdidisti pessima.
Non una ver hirundo fulgens efficit.
Non bolus unus improbam sidat famem,
Res una iuste quaeque fiat tempore.

Here is the poem rewritten in a more prose-like word order to help you see how it fits together:

heluo quidam
vestes suas abligurivit,
sub horam brumae,
et restebat modo
una paenula.
sed ille
videns hirundinem, veris indicem,
decoxit et illam paenulam,
quasi esset parum indigus
ea aestate.
sed falsus est?
nam Caurus
acri frigore spirans
inhorruit grave.
ille ibi, heu,
miser frigens dolensque,
oberrat semi mortuus.
deinde,
cum cerneret
iacere hirundinem
torpore confectam,
ibi exsultans ait:
infausta avis;
non veris,
sed frigoris praenuntia es,
et poenas tuas merito luis.
me teque
perdidisti
pessima hac noxa.
non hirundo una
fulgens ver efficit.
non bolus unus
improbam famem sidat,
res una quaeque
iuste fiat tempore.

I really like the comparison of the hirundo una to the bolus unus at the end - that definitely reminds us of how the young man has gambled away all his wealth.

For an illustration, here is an image from Thomas Bewick's Aesop, published in 1818 - although this is an ancient Aesop's fable, you can see the young man dressed in early 19th-century clothes; the young man who gambles away all he has is, unfortunately, one of those timeless stories:

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Perry 158: Wolf and Nurse

With the growing number of fables, I've decided I need a more automated tagging system to keep up with all the content, so I've decided to start using del.icio.us again in order to keep track of the fables! I've created a user account, aesopus, so here you can see all the fable items I have tagged with today's selection, Perry 158: Wolf and Nurse.

This fable enters the Latin tradition through Avianus, not through Phaedrus, so you will not find many Latin examples prior to the Renaissance, when the Greek fables began to be translated into Latin. As a sample of the fable in Latin, I've chosen a version from an 18th-century schoolbook prepared for the boys of Eton (the book contains the fables in both Greek and Latin). Here is that Latin version of today's story, Lupus et Vetula:

Lupus esuriens circuibat, quaerens cibum. Profectus autem ad locum quendam, audivit puerulum lugentem, et anum dicentem ei: Desine plorare; sin minus, hac hora tradam te Lupo. Ratus igitur Lupus quod serios loquitur anicula, stetit multam expectans horam. Sed cum oppressisset vespera, audit rursus anum blandientem puerulo ac dicentem ei: Si venerit Lupus huc, interficiemus, O fili, eum. His auditis, Lupus abivit, dicens: In hoc tugurio aliud dicunt, aliud vero faciunt. Affabulatio. Fabula in homines, qui facta verbis non habent similia.

For easier reading, here is a segmented version:

Lupus esuriens
circuibat,
quaerens cibum.
Profectus autem
ad locum quendam,
audivit puerulum lugentem,
et anum dicentem ei:
Desine plorare;
sin minus,
hac hora tradam te Lupo.
Ratus igitur Lupus
quod serios loquitur anicula,
stetit
multam expectans horam.
Sed cum oppressisset vespera,
audit rursus anum
blandientem puerulo
ac dicentem ei:
Si venerit Lupus huc,
interficiemus, O fili, eum.
His auditis,
Lupus abivit,
dicens:
In hoc tugurio
aliud dicunt,
aliud vero faciunt.
Affabulatio.
Fabula in homines,
qui
facta verbis non habent similia.

I especially like the balance in this story between the old woman's harsh words to the boy at first, and then the soothing words, about how they are going to kill that nasty old wolf! In many versions of the story, the moral is explicitly misogynistic, about how it is women who cannot be trusted. This fable neatly avoids that trap, and draws a more general moral about hypocrites of either gender!

For an illustration, here is an image from Steinhowel's Aesop:

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Gesta Romanorum: The Grateful Lion

Another one of the medieval texts which I have prepared and added to the Aesopus wiki is the Gesta Romanorum, where you will find many fables with animal motifs, including a few items from the traditional Aesopic corpus. As an example, here is the story of Androcles and the Lion, which is Perry 563, a fable attested in a variety of Latin Aesop collections. This is the version of that story as told in the Gesta, De milite, quem leo liberavit a morte:

Quidam miles erat, qui super omnia venari dilexit. Accidit die una quod, cum ad venandum perrexisset, occurrit ei leo claudicans, qui pedem suum ei ostendit. Miles vero de equo descendit et spinam acutam de pede eius extraxit atque unguentum vulneri eius apposuit. Sanatus leo est et ad nemora perrexit. Post haec vero rex illius regni venatus est in eodem nemore. A casu eundem leonem cepit et nutrivit annis multis. Miles vero ille contra regem surrexit et in eandem forestam se posuit et omnes transeuntes spoliavit ac occidit. Rex vero exploratores habebat, qui eum apprehenderunt et ante regem eum duxerunt. Rex vero dedit sententiam, ut leoni daretur ad devorandum, et nullus cibus leoni daretur (et hoc, ut eum devoraret). Miles vero, cum ad eum in foveam esset proiectus, ultra quam credi potest timuit exspectavitque horam quando devoraretur. Leo, cum eum vidisset, appropinquavit, et, cum eius notitiam haberet, eum - in quantum potuit - protexit nec alios permisit, qui in fovea cum eo erant, ut eum attingerent. Et sic leo sine cibo septem diebus remansit, et miles illaesus. Rex, cum hoc audisset, admirabatur fecitque militem de fovea extrahi, et ait ei: "Dic mihi, carissime, quomodo potest esse?" Qui ait: "Domine mi, semel per silvam equitavi, leo iste mihi occurrebat claudicando; ego vero spinam de pede eius extraxi et vulnus sanavi, et ideo propter illud, ut credo, mihi pepercit." Ait rex: "Ex quo leo, animal irrationabile, tibi parcebat, amodo studeas vitam tuam corrigere! Tibi remitto quidquid usque huc commisisti." Ille vero regi gratias egit et post haec vitam suam correxit diesque suos in pace finivit.

Here is a version of the story written out in segmented style to make it easier to read:

Quidam miles erat,
qui
super omnia
venari dilexit.
Accidit die una quod,
cum ad venandum perrexisset,
occurrit ei leo claudicans,
qui pedem suum ei ostendit.
Miles vero
de equo descendit
et spinam acutam
de pede eius extraxit
atque unguentum
vulneri eius apposuit.
Sanatus leo est
et ad nemora perrexit.
Post haec vero
rex illius regni
venatus est in eodem nemore.
A casu
eundem leonem cepit
et nutrivit annis multis.
Miles vero ille
contra regem surrexit
et in eandem forestam se posuit
et omnes transeuntes
spoliavit ac occidit.
Rex vero
exploratores habebat,
qui eum apprehenderunt
et ante regem
eum duxerunt.
Rex vero
dedit sententiam,
ut leoni daretur ad devorandum,
et nullus cibus leoni daretur
(et hoc, ut eum devoraret).
Miles vero,
cum ad eum in foveam esset proiectus,
ultra quam credi potest
timuit
exspectavitque horam
quando devoraretur.
Leo,
cum eum vidisset,
appropinquavit,
et, cum eius notitiam haberet,
eum - in quantum potuit - protexit
nec alios permisit,
qui in fovea cum eo erant,
ut eum attingerent.
Et sic leo
sine cibo
septem diebus remansit,
et miles illaesus.
Rex,
cum hoc audisset,
admirabatur
fecitque
militem de fovea extrahi,
et ait ei:
"Dic mihi, carissime,
quomodo potest esse?"
Qui ait:
"Domine mi,
semel per silvam equitavi,
leo iste mihi occurrebat claudicando;
ego vero
spinam de pede eius extraxi
et vulnus sanavi,
et ideo
propter illud, ut credo,
mihi pepercit."
Ait rex:
"Ex quo
leo, animal irrationabile,
tibi parcebat,
amodo studeas
vitam tuam corrigere!
Tibi remitto
quidquid usque huc commisisti."
Ille vero
regi gratias egit
et post haec
vitam suam correxit
diesque suos in pace finivit.

For an image, here is an illustration from Steinhowel's Aesop, where you can see that the man is portrayed as a shepherd, while in the Gesta version, as you have seen, the man was a hunter, not a shepherd! Notice also that in this illustration, the man is punished by being thrown to face wild elephants in addition to the lion, while in the Gesta version there is no mention of elephants (although there are lots of lions!).

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Kalila et Dimna: The Camel and The Lion-King

If you read the Bestiaria Latina blog round-ups, you know that for the past week I've been working on harvesting all the Latin Aesopic fables I could find at Google Books and other online sources... finally telling myself to stop when I reached 4000 fables! You can see the results of those efforts at the Latin Aesopus wiki. I'll be using this blog to share and comment on some of the items I've added to that collection, including materials from some unusual sources - like the Liber Kalilae et Dimnae, a medieval Latin translation of the ancient Indian and Arabic story collection that goes under various names such as the Panchatantra, the Hitopadesha, Kalila-wa-Dimna, or the Fables of Bidpai.

The story I've decided to start with is about The Camel and the Courtiers of the Lion King, a familiar topic from Aesop's fables, although this particular story is not one that is found in Aesop (the closest would be the story the lion-king's illness). I absolutely love this story, where the poor camel's good nature proves his ruin! If you read the frametale of the story into which this tale is inserted, it parallels the plight of the poor bull in the court of the lion-king as well, whose life is put into jeopardy by the conniving courtiers Kalila and Dimna, for whom the entire collection of stories is named (see illustration below). If you have not read some of the medieval Latin tales, you will be surprised and delighted I think at how easy this is to read! So, don't be put off by the length of the story - it's an easy read, and very funny and sad at the same time... the poor camel!

Dicitur quod leo quidam erat in quadam amoena foresta iuxta quam erat via parva, et erant ibi tres ferae se adinvicem multum diligentes, scilicet lupus, corvus et ursus. Contigit autem ut negotiatores quodam tempore illic transirent quorum camelus unus ibi remansit. Qui ingrediens ad leonem adoravit eum et annuntiavit ei omnia de se. Dixit ei leo: "Si vis in curia mea conversari, concedimus tibi pacem et diu vives sine cogitatione et omnibus diebus vitae tuae eris in tranquillitate." Et mansit ibi camelus. Una autem die exiens leo ad venandum obviavit elephanti et cum eo pugnans fortiter leo vulneratus est et reversus iacebat occupatus in infirmitate, non valens se movere de uno loco ad alium. Defecerunt sibi cibaria et leo famescens dixit feris: "Ut puto, derelicti sumus." Responderunt ei: "Nos quidem de nobis ipsis possumus cogitare; sed tamen de te maximum habemus dolorem et non possumus invenire viam qualiter tibi auxiliaremur, etiamsi nos ipsos laedere deberemus." Dixit leo: "De fidelitate vestra certus sum; sed per diversa loca segregatim pergite: forsitan vobis et nobis necessaria invenietis." Illi autem hoc audientes abierunt et consiliati sunt inter se, dicentes: "Quid est inter nos et camelum herbis pascentem et alterius naturae? Sed si bonum vobis videtur, dividamus camelum a nobis et demus eum leoni ad comedendum." Ait licopantherus: "Durum est hoc dicere leoni prae multis promissionibus ab eo camelo factis." Ait corvus: "Manete vos hic; ego vadam ad leonem." Et ut vidit eum leo, dixit: "Forte invenisti aliquid aut paenituit te ire?" Respondit corvus: "Quomodo me penituit, cum sim paratus pro te mori? Sed si placet te nos audire, libenter refocillamus te." Leo dixit: "Quomodo?" Corvus ait: "Comede camelum qui inter nos conversatur." Et leo furibundus ait: "De pravitate et crudelitate tui corporis haec procedunt. An nescis pacta et conventiones quas cum camelo feci? Non debes mihi talia dicere, cum mihi imperiale non sit." Ait corvus: "O imperator, recte iudicasti; sed expedit unam animam dare pro tota domo et domum pro civitate et civitatem pro provincia et provinciam pro regno. Et tu et nos hodie debilitamur in instanti necessitate, et nos inveniemus tibi viam qualiter a nemine reprehendaris." Et haec dicens rediit ad socios et anuntiavit eis quae dixerat leoni et quae ab ipso audierat. Et illi talem intellectum invenerunt ut communiter omnes veniant cum camelo ad leonem, ut unusquisque offerat se in cibum leoni, et unus pro altero respondebit, excepto camelo. Et sic venerunt ad leonem et ait corvus: "Prorsus, o imperator, videmus te plurimum infirmitate gravatum et fame occupatum, et nos dei gratia bonis tuis factis fortunati sumus et ego non habeo quid offeram tibi nisi memetipsum: rogo te, comede me." Responderunt alii: "Quiesce, quia es parvus corpore et non talis abundans." Et ursus dixit: "O imperator, ego ero hodie tibi cibus sufficiens." Respondit lupus: "Sile et tu, nam fetens est corpus tuum et cibus indecens; ego autem ad haec paratus sum et voluntarius." Et ait corvus: "Quid est hoc? Faciat de vobis quid voluerit." Existimans camelus oportere respondere sicut alii ait: "O imperator, ego sum in carnibus abundans et cibus dulcis cupienti." Et omnes una voce dixerunt: "O camele, vere bene dixisti." Et occidentes diviserunt eum.

Here is a segmented version to make it easier to read:

Dicitur quod
leo quidam
erat in quadam amoena foresta
iuxta quam erat via parva,
et erant ibi tres ferae
se adinvicem multum diligentes,
scilicet lupus, corvus et ursus.
Contigit autem
ut negotiatores
quodam tempore illic transirent
quorum camelus unus
ibi remansit.
Qui ingrediens ad leonem
adoravit eum
et annuntiavit ei omnia de se.
Dixit ei leo:
"Si vis in curia mea conversari,
concedimus tibi pacem
et diu vives sine cogitatione
et omnibus diebus vitae tuae
eris in tranquillitate."
Et mansit ibi camelus.
Una autem die
exiens leo ad venandum
obviavit elephanti
et cum eo pugnans fortiter
leo vulneratus est
et reversus
iacebat occupatus in infirmitate,
non valens se movere
de uno loco ad alium.
Defecerunt sibi cibaria
et leo famescens dixit feris:
"Ut puto, derelicti sumus."
Responderunt ei:
"Nos quidem
de nobis ipsis possumus cogitare;
sed tamen de te
maximum habemus dolorem
et non possumus invenire viam
qualiter tibi auxiliaremur,
etiamsi nos ipsos laedere deberemus."
Dixit leo:
"De fidelitate vestra
certus sum;
sed per diversa loca
segregatim pergite:
forsitan vobis et nobis
necessaria invenietis."
Illi autem
hoc audientes
abierunt
et consiliati sunt inter se,
dicentes:
"Quid est
inter nos
et camelum
herbis pascentem et alterius naturae?
Sed si bonum vobis videtur,
dividamus camelum a nobis
et demus eum leoni ad comedendum."
Ait licopantherus:
"Durum est
hoc dicere leoni
prae multis promissionibus
ab eo camelo factis."
Ait corvus:
"Manete vos hic;
ego vadam ad leonem."
Et ut vidit eum leo,
dixit:
"Forte invenisti aliquid
aut paenituit te ire?"
Respondit corvus:
"Quomodo me penituit,
cum sim paratus pro te mori?
Sed si placet te nos audire,
libenter refocillamus te."
Leo dixit: "Quomodo?"
Corvus ait:
"Comede camelum
qui inter nos conversatur."
Et leo furibundus ait:
"De pravitate et crudelitate tui corporis
haec procedunt.
An nescis pacta et conventiones
quas cum camelo feci?
Non debes mihi talia dicere,
cum mihi imperiale non sit."
Ait corvus:
"O imperator, recte iudicasti;
sed expedit
unam animam dare
pro tota domo
et domum pro civitate
et civitatem pro provincia
et provinciam pro regno.
Et tu et nos hodie debilitamur
in instanti necessitate,
et nos inveniemus tibi viam
qualiter a nemine reprehendaris."
Et haec dicens
rediit ad socios
et anuntiavit eis
quae dixerat leoni
et quae ab ipso audierat.
Et illi talem intellectum invenerunt
ut communiter omnes
veniant cum camelo ad leonem,
ut unusquisque
offerat se in cibum leoni,
et unus pro altero respondebit,
excepto camelo.
Et sic venerunt ad leonem
et ait corvus:
"Prorsus, o imperator,
videmus te
plurimum infirmitate gravatum
et fame occupatum,
et nos
dei gratia
bonis tuis factis
fortunati sumus
et ego non habeo
quid offeram tibi
nisi memetipsum:
rogo te,
comede me."
Responderunt alii:
"Quiesce,
quia es parvus corpore
et non talis abundans."
Et ursus dixit:
"O imperator,
ego ero hodie tibi
cibus sufficiens."
Respondit lupus:
"Sile et tu,
nam fetens est
corpus tuum
et cibus indecens;
ego autem
ad haec paratus sum et voluntarius."
Et ait corvus:
"Quid est hoc?
Faciat de vobis
quid voluerit."
Existimans camelus
oportere respondere sicut alii
ait: "O imperator,
ego sum
in carnibus abundans
et cibus dulcis cupienti."
Et omnes
una voce dixerunt:
"O camele, vere bene dixisti."
Et occidentes diviserunt eum.

I could not find an image of this story in particular, but here is an illustration from a 15th century Timurid manuscript that shows the lion-king from the frametale of the story who is attacking his innocent friend, the bull, as a result of the tricky intrigue cooked up by the two jackals Kalila and Dimna (you can see the jackals there in the illustration as well):

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Perry 150: Lion and Mouse (Ademar)

Today's fable is Perry 150, the story of the mouse and the lion. At the Aesopus wiki, you can see a complete list of the versions of this fable type that I have collected.

Here is the version from the medieval prose version by Ademar:

Dormiente Leone in silva, Mures agrarii ludebant; unus ex eis super Leonem non voluntate transiit. Experrectus Leo celeri manu miserum Murem apprehendit. Ille rogabat veniam sibi dari, quia non voluntate fecerat. Leo cogitabat; si occideret, crimen esset, et non gloria. Ignovit et dimisit. Post paucos dies Leo in foveam cecidit; captus mugire coepit. Mus, ut audivit, cucurrit. Ubi captum cognovit, ait : Non sum immemor beneficii tui. Tunc illius ligaturas lustrare coepit, nervos secare, et laxare illius artis ingenia. Sic Mus Leonem captum liberum silvis restituit. Ne quis minimos laedere praesumat.

Here it is written out in segmented style to make it easier to follow, while respecting the Latin word order:

Dormiente Leone in silva,
Mures agrarii ludebant;
unus ex eis
super Leonem
non voluntate transiit.
Experrectus Leo
celeri manu
miserum Murem apprehendit.
Ille rogabat
veniam sibi dari,
quia non voluntate fecerat.
Leo cogitabat;
si occideret,
crimen esset,
et non gloria.
Ignovit et dimisit.
Post paucos dies
Leo
in foveam cecidit;
captus
mugire coepit.
Mus,
ut audivit,
cucurrit.
Ubi captum cognovit,
ait :
Non sum immemor beneficii tui.
Tunc illius ligaturas lustrare
coepit,
nervos secare,
et laxare illius artis ingenia.
Sic Mus
Leonem captum
liberum silvis restituit.
Ne quis minimos laedere praesumat.

My favorite thing about this story is the follow-up by Abstemius! Look what happens when the mouse decides to claim the favor owed to him by the lion:

Leo laqueo captus in silva, cum se ita irretitum videret ut nullis viribus se inde posse explicare confideret, murem rogavit ut, abroso laqueo, eum liberaret, promittens tanti beneficii non immemorem futurum. Quod cum mus prompte fecisset, leonem rogavit ut filiam eius sibi traderet in uxorem. Nec abnuit leo ut benefactori suo gratum faceret. Nova autem nupta ad virum veniens eum, cum non videret casu illum, pressit atque contrivit. Haec indicat fabula matrimonia et cetera consortia improbanda quae ab imparibus contrahuntur.

In segmented style:

Leo
laqueo captus in silva,
cum
se ita irretitum
videret
ut
nullis viribus
se inde posse explicare
confideret,
murem rogavit
ut,
abroso laqueo,
eum liberaret,
promittens
tanti beneficii non immemorem
futurum.
Quod
cum mus prompte fecisset,
leonem rogavit
ut filiam eius sibi traderet
in uxorem.
Nec abnuit leo
ut benefactori suo
gratum faceret.
Nova autem nupta
ad virum veniens eum,
cum non videret casu illum,
pressit atque contrivit.
Haec indicat fabula
matrimonia et cetera consortia
improbanda
quae ab imparibus contrahuntur.

For an image of the first story, here is an illustration from Steinhowel's Aesop which shows both scenes at once: the lion capturing the mouse, and then the mouse freeing the lion:


For an image of the first story combined with the second story, here is an illustration by Walter Crane - if you can look closely, you can see the poor squished mouse! (Click on the image for a larger view.)

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Perry 142: Lion, Fox, and Footsteps

Today's fable is Perry 142, the story (made famous by Horace) of the lion who pretended to be sick in order to lure his loyal subjects into his cave. The fox, not surprisingly, does not fall for this trick! At the Aesopus wiki, you can see a complete list of the versions of this fable type that I have collected.

Here is the version from Steinhowel's Aesop. What is interesting about this version is that it tells that the foxes, plural, came to stand outside the lion's cave, although it is just one fox - una - who talks with the lion and supplies the witty comeback:

Leo, iam deficiens, languorem fingebat et per eam fallaciam ceterae bestiae ad visitandum regem introibant; leo vero continuo occidebat eas. Vulpes autem, venientes ante speluncam, steterunt, salutantes eum. Una a leone interrogata: Quare non intrasti? Respondit: Quoniam video introeuntium vestigia, exeuntium vero non video. Sic quorundam pericula doctrinae nobis esse debent nostrae salutis. Quia in domum potentis facile intrat quisquam, exire autem tarde est.

Here it is written out in segmented style to make it easier to follow, while respecting the Latin word order:

Leo,
iam deficiens,
languorem fingebat
et per eam fallaciam
ceterae bestiae
ad visitandum regem
introibant;
leo vero
continuo occidebat eas.
Vulpes autem,
venientes ante speluncam,
steterunt,
salutantes eum.
Una
a leone interrogata:
Quare non intrasti?
Respondit:
Quoniam video
introeuntium vestigia,
exeuntium vero
non video.
Sic
quorundam pericula
doctrinae nobis esse debent
nostrae salutis.
Quia
in domum potentis
facile intrat quisquam,
exire autem
tarde est.

For an image of the story, here is an illustration from Milo Winter's Aesop showing a not-very-happy-looking lion!

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Perry 133: Dog and Reflection

Today's fable is Perry #133, the story of the dog carrying a piece of food in his mouth as he crossed a stream. At the Aesopus wiki, you can see a complete list of the versions of this fable that I have collected. This is an extremely well-attested fable in both the Latin and Greek traditions. Just for fun, I have decided to include a rhyming medieval version in the blog today. Unlike most classical poetry, this poem relies on the rhyme for its effect, with word order that is actually very easy to follow! The meter is Goliardic, with four lines in each stanza. The fourth line is a dactylic hexameter, but the first three lines are like the English song "Yankee Doodle went to town ~ riding on a pony." It is also the meter of the Christmas carol, "Good King Wenceslas."

Canis carnis avidus ~ trans flumen meavit,
Et frustum cadaveris ~ in ore portavit.
Unde carnis speciem ~ mox representavit.
Carnis imago fuit frustum, quod inesse putavit.

Ille fame tenuis ~ os aperiebat,
Ut umbram prehenderet ~ quam carnem credebat,
Qui dum fauces aperit, ~ frustum decidebat.
Perdidit utrumque, quod sic utrumque petebat.

Moralitas.
Sic fraudantur cupidi ~ totum cupientes.
Cum magis sunt divites, ~ magis sunt egentes,
Nec sibi nec aliis ~ sunt sufficientes.
Dum totum cupiunt, toto sunt iure carentes.

Rhyme is a feature commonly found in medieval Latin poetry, although it is something the classical Roman poets avoided in their poetry. Personally, I really like rhyming poetry, so medieval poetry is my own preference! I hope you enjoyed this example of medieval rhyming Latin!

For an image of the story, here is an illustration from an Aesop book published in 1521 - you can see the piece of meat reflected there in the water, big and tempting!

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Perry 140: The Lion in Love

Today's fable is Perry #140, the story of the lion who fell in love with a woman and who foolishly agreed to be de-fanged and de-clawed in order to marry her. As you can guess, things do not turn out well for the lion! At the Aesopus wiki, you can see a complete list of the versions of this fable that I have collected. This is a fable from the Greek tradition, not well attested in the Latin tradition. Luckily, however, I was able to find this simple prose version in de Furia's Latin Aesop:

Leo, Agricolae cuiusdam filiae amore correptus, eam uxorem ducere cupiebat. Patrem itaque, ut illam sibi concedere vellet, enixe rogavit. Is vero filiam suam immani beluae tradere omnino recusabat, quapropter Leo ferociter minitabatur. Pater, metu perculsus, cum ipsum a se abigere non posset, callido consilio usus, ita Leonem alloquitur: Filiam tibi meam tradere non possum, Leo, nisi prius tibi dentes et ungues evellas, quos puella summopere exhorret. Ita ni gesseris, eam tibi nequaquam concedam. Ille, amore deperiens, iussa alacriter ac prompte exsequitur, posteaque reversus, puellam poscit. Sed Agricola, eum despiciens, fustibus percussum a se longe reiecit. Fabula demonstrat eos, qui se hostibus credunt, ab iisdem facile profligari.

Here it is written out in segmented style to make it easier to follow, while respecting the Latin word order:

Leo,
Agricolae cuiusdam
filiae amore correptus,
eam uxorem ducere cupiebat.
Patrem itaque,
ut illam sibi concedere vellet,
enixe rogavit.
Is vero
filiam suam
immani beluae tradere
omnino recusabat,
quapropter Leo ferociter minitabatur.
Pater,
metu perculsus,
cum ipsum a se abigere non posset,
callido consilio usus,
ita Leonem alloquitur:
Filiam tibi meam
tradere non possum, Leo,
nisi prius
tibi dentes et ungues evellas,
quos puella summopere exhorret.
Ita ni gesseris,
eam tibi nequaquam concedam.
Ille,
amore deperiens,
iussa alacriter ac prompte exsequitur,
posteaque reversus,
puellam poscit.
Sed Agricola,
eum despiciens,
fustibus percussum
a se longe reiecit.
Fabula demonstrat
eos,
qui se hostibus credunt,
ab iisdem facile profligari.

This version of the story is notable for including the detail that the lion first tried to obtain what he wanted by making threats! This is not a feature of the plot that you will find in all versions of the story.

For an image of the story, here is an illustration from Walter Crane's Aesop - and it is a perfect example of why Crane is one of my very favorite book illustrators! Click on the image to see a larger version - what a fabulous illustration! I've also put a jumbo-sized version to make the details more clear. For example, you can see the clippers the father is using, and the claws which have already fallen to the ground after being clipped, while the daughter piously proceeds to spin, and Cupid looks on as well!

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Perry 115: Birdcatcher and Snake

Today's fable is Perry #115, the story of the man who was laying a trap for a bird and accidentally stepped on a snake, which proceeded to bite him - a story of the hunter hunted! At the Aesopus wiki, you can see a complete list of the versions of this fable that I have collected. This is a fable from the Greek tradition, not well attested in the Latin tradition. Luckily, however, I was able to find this simple prose version in de Furia's Latin Aesop:

Venator quidam, sumpto visco et arundinibus, venatum exiit. Cum autem turdum procera in arbore considentem vidisset, calamis inter se in longitudinem iunctis, oculos ad eum levabat, ipsum capere exoptans. Interim vero contigit, ut Viperam sub pedibus iacentem nescius premeret. Quae cum exasperata ipsum momordisset, iam iam ille deficiens, Me miserum, inquit, qui cum alium venari vellem, ab alio ad mortem raptus sum. Haec fabula docet quod qui amicis insidias parant, saepe ab aliis inopinato insidiis opprimuntur.

Here it is written out in segmented style to make it easier to follow, while respecting the Latin word order:

Venator quidam,
sumpto visco et arundinibus,
venatum exiit.
Cum autem
turdum
procera in arbore considentem
vidisset,
calamis
inter se in longitudinem iunctis,
oculos ad eum levabat,
ipsum capere exoptans.
Interim vero contigit,
ut Viperam
sub pedibus iacentem
nescius premeret.
Quae cum exasperata
ipsum momordisset,
iam iam ille deficiens,
Me miserum (inquit),
qui
cum alium venari vellem,
ab alio
ad mortem raptus sum.
Haec fabula docet
quod
qui amicis insidias parant,
saepe ab aliis
inopinato
insidiis opprimuntur.

For an image of the story, here is an illustration from Osius's Aesop - look closely, and you'll see the snake!

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Perry 113: Tuna and Dolphin

Today's fable is Perry #113, the story of the dolphin who chased the tuna fish. At the Aesopus wiki, you can see a complete list of the versions of this fable that I have collected. This is a fable from the Greek tradition, not well attested in the Latin tradition. Luckily, however, I was able to find this simple prose version in de Furia's Latin Aesop:

Thynnus, a Delphino agitatus, magnaque vi actus, cum ab eo iam iam caperetur, in quamdam insulam, ex vehementi, quo ferebatur, impetu, imprudens desiluit, in eamdemque et ipse Delphinus, qui illum pari vi insequebatur, eiectus est. Tum Thunnus conversus, eumque efflantem animam conspicatus, Non amplius (inquit) molesta mihi mors est, cum meae necis auctorem mecum una pereuntem videam. Fabula innuit quod facile homines calamitates sustinent, cum earum auctores infelicitatibus pressos aspiciant.

Here it is written out in segmented style to make it easier to follow, while respecting the Latin word order:

Thynnus,
a Delphino agitatus,
magnaque vi actus,
cum ab eo iam iam caperetur,
in quamdam insulam,
ex vehementi, quo ferebatur, impetu, imprudens desiluit,
in eamdemque
et ipse Delphinus,
qui illum pari vi insequebatur,
eiectus est.
Tum Thunnus conversus,
eumque efflantem animam conspicatus,
Non amplius (inquit)
molesta mihi mors est,
cum meae necis auctorem
mecum una pereuntem videam.
Fabula innuit
quod
facile homines calamitates sustinent,
cum earum auctores
infelicitatibus pressos aspiciant.

For an image of the story, here is an illustration from Barlow's Aesop which shows the traditional depiction of a dolphin (very un-Flipper-esque) that became established in Renaissance art and which Barlow still follows:

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Perry 82: Rooster, Donkey and Lion

Today's fable is Perry #82, the story of the rooster who scared away the lion and the donkey who fatally misunderstood the entire situation! At the Aesopus wiki, you can see a complete list of the versions of this fable that I have collected. This is a fable from the Greek tradition, not well attested in the Latin tradition. Luckily, however, I was able to find this simple prose version in de Furia's Latin Aesop:

In stabulo quodam gallus et Asinus commorabantur. Leo, fame actus, ut Asinum vidit, extemplo ingressus, eum iam iam erat devoraturus. Verum ad Galli cantum metu correptus (aiunt enim leones ad gallorum vocem perterrefieri), in fugam repente se vertit. Tum Asinus, animo elatus, quod Leo nimirum vel Gallum pertimuisset, confestim ad eum insequendum egreditur. Sed ubi longius praecessit, a leone devoratus fuit. Ita nonnulli homines, inimicos suos depressos videntes atque propterea audaciores facti, saepe ab illis ex improviso opprimuntur.

Here it is written out in segmented style to make it easier to follow, while respecting the Latin word order:

In stabulo quodam
gallus et Asinus commorabantur.
Leo, fame actus,
ut Asinum vidit,
extemplo ingressus,
eum iam iam erat devoraturus.
Verum ad Galli cantum metu correptus
(aiunt enim leones
ad gallorum vocem perterrefieri),
in fugam repente se vertit.
Tum Asinus, animo elatus,
quod Leo nimirum vel Gallum pertimuisset,
confestim ad eum insequendum egreditur.
Sed ubi longius praecessit,
a leone devoratus fuit.
Ita nonnulli homines,
inimicos suos depressos videntes
atque propterea audaciores facti,
saepe ab illis ex improviso opprimuntur.
For an image of the story, here is an illustration from Walter Crane's Aesop which shows the donkey braying loudly as the rooster crows:

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De Furia's Aesop at GoogleBooks - WOW!

I've made some amazing discoveries at GoogleBooks over the past couple of years - sometimes quite by accident since the Latin and Greek books are often mislabeled and difficult to discover by traditional searching. Well, through a series of coincidences, I discovered three volumes which, taken as a whole, give me access to the Aesop's fables published by Franciscus de Furia - the complete Greek corpus of prose fables, plus translations of those fables into Latin. WOW.

Here's a link to the three books which I've labeled "Furia" in my GoogleBooks Library. I believe that link is public - I've never tried creating a link based on a GoogleBooks label, but it seems to work and not be limited to my own use. As you can see from the notes I've added to the books, the two volumes of the facing text Greek-Latin edition has been mislabeled - GoogleBooks thinks that they are the same book, when they are in fact the two volumes of a single book. They have even given the PDF file the same name so if you want to download the books as I did, you'll have to make sure you manually change the file name of the PDF for the second volume.

I've also created a GoogleSpreadsheet which lists the titles of the fables in Latin, their numbering in de Furia, and the page number in the PDF where you can find them. The non-facing-text edition is easier to use if you want to consult only the Latin, but there are a few pages missing, for which I've had to use the facing-text Greek-Latin edition instead.

I've been in the habit of simply downloading books from GoogleBooks - but now that they are making is so easy to add notes and labels to the items saved in "My Library," I am going to have to start making better use of that. What a treasure trove!

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Perry 79 and 511: Cat (or Weasel) and Mice

Today's fable is actually a pair of related fables. In Perry 79, a cat (or a weasel) pretends to be a bag hanging from a hook in order to try to catch the mice, but one of the mice sees through the trick. In Perry 511, the cat tries to trick the mice by rolling the flour and playing dead, but this trick also fails. At the Aesopus wiki, you can see a complete list of the versions of this fable type that I have collected.

Both fables appear in Steinhowel's Aesop. Here is the version about the weasel who rolled in the flour and then lay in wait for the mice:

Ingenio quemquam facere, quod viribus non potest, instruit nos haec fabula. Mustela, quae fuerat senex et mures amplius insequi non poterat, involvit se in farinam et in loco obscuro se abscondit, volens de innocentibus sine suo labore praedam facere. Veniens miser ignarusque mus quandam herbam putabat, periit noxius et innoxius, alter similiter capitur, deinde sic et tertius. Postea venit maior annis et cautus mus, qui omnia iam noverat ingenia, muscipulas, caveas, laqueos, serpentes, et ceteras deceptiones machinas, cumque hostis insidias videret, dixisse fertur ad illam: Inducis quidem mures et devoras innocentes. Me tamen non capies, improba, qui omnia ingenia novi.

Here it is written out in segmented style to make it easier to follow, while respecting the Latin word order:

Ingenio
quemquam facere,
quod viribus non potest,
instruit nos
haec fabula.
Mustela,
quae fuerat senex
et mures
amplius insequi non poterat,
involvit se in farinam
et in loco obscuro se abscondit,
volens
de innocentibus
sine suo labore
praedam facere.
Veniens
miser ignarusque mus
quandam herbam putabat,
periit noxius et innoxius,
alter similiter capitur,
deinde sic et tertius.
Postea venit
maior annis et cautus mus,
qui
omnia iam noverat ingenia,
muscipulas, caveas,
laqueos, serpentes,
et ceteras deceptiones machinas, cumque hostis insidias videret,
dixisse fertur ad illam:
Inducis quidem mures
et devoras innocentes.
Me tamen
non capies, improba,
qui omnia ingenia novi.

Here is the version of the story with a cat this time, who hangs himself from a hook like a sack, hoping to fool the mice:

Vir prudens, semel si fallitur, fictis et simulatis hominibus non amplius fidit. De hoc audi fabulam. Domo quapiam quod per plures forent mures cattus persentiens illuc accessit atque nunc unum, nunc alium capiens quamplures interimendo comedit. Verum mures, cum se in diem consummi perciperent, ad unum coacti inquiunt secum: Decetero inferius non esse descendendum, si nolumus perditum iri omnes, sed hic superius manendum, quo cattus ascendere non potest. At cattus, consilio murium precepto, simulans se mortuum esse, posterioribus pedibus se ad palum suspendit, qui fixus parieti erat. E muribus quispiam deorsum acute prospiciens ut cattum esse cognovit non infacete ait: Heus amice, et si te follem certo scirem, deorsum minime descenderem. Significat ergo fabula quod semel deceptus simulatoribus amplius credere non debet.

Here it is written out in segmented style to make it easier to follow, while respecting the Latin word order:

Vir prudens,
semel si fallitur,
fictis et simulatis hominibus
non amplius fidit.
De hoc audi fabulam.
Domo quapiam
quod per plures forent mures
cattus persentiens
illuc accessit
atque
nunc unum, nunc alium capiens
quamplures interimendo comedit.
Verum mures,
cum
se in diem consummi
perciperent,
ad unum coacti
inquiunt secum:
Decetero
inferius non esse descendendum,
si nolumus
perditum iri omnes,
sed hic superius manendum,
quo cattus ascendere non potest.
At cattus,
consilio murium precepto,
simulans
se mortuum esse,
posterioribus pedibus
se ad palum suspendit,
qui fixus parieti erat.
E muribus quispiam
deorsum acute prospiciens
ut cattum esse cognovit
non infacete ait:
Heus amice,
et si te follem certo scirem,
deorsum minime descenderem.
Significat ergo fabula
quod semel deceptus
simulatoribus
amplius credere non debet.

For an image of the story, here is an Townsend's Aesop showing the cat disguised as a bag - and if you look closely, you can see a mouse, too:

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Perry 87: The Goose who Laid the Golden Eggs (Avianus)

Today's fable is Perry #87, the famous story of the goose who laid the golden eggs. Although this is still a very well-known story, I'm guessing it is not a story people immediately recognize as an Aesop's fable. 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 well-attested in the Greek tradition, but much less so in Latin. Aside from the version in Barlow's Aesop, I could only find a version in Avianus. It's perhaps also worth noting a quite similar Buddhist jataka tale, the bird with the golden feathers.

Here is the version in Avianus:

Anser erat cuidam pretioso germine feta,
Ovaque quae nidis aurea saepe daret.
Fixerat hanc volucri legem natura superbae,
Ne liceat pariter munera ferre duo.
Sed dominus, cupidum sperans vanescere votum,
Non tulit exosas in sua lucra moras,
Grande ratus pretium volucris de morte referre,
Quae tam continuo munere dives erat.
Postquam nuda minax egit per viscera ferrum,
Et vacuam solitis fetibus esse videt,
Ingemuit tantae deceptus crimine fraudis;
Nam poenam meritis rettulit inde suis.
Sic qui cuncta deos uno male tempore poscunt,
Iustius his etiam vota diurna negant.

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:

cuidam
anser erat
pretioso germine feta
et quae
saepe nidis daret
ova aurea.
natura
fixerat hanc legem
volucri superbae,
ne liceat
ferre munera duo pariter.
sed dominus,
sperans
augescere cupidum votum,
non tulit exosas moras
in sua lucra,
ratus
grande pretium
referre de morte volucris,
quae tam dives erat
continuo munere.
postquam
minax egit ferrum
per nuda viscera,
et videt
vacuam esse
solitis fetibus,
ingemuit,
deceptus
crimine tantae fraudis;
nam inde
rettulit poenam
meritis suis.
sic
qui
male poscunt deos cuncta
uno tempore,
iustius
negant his
etiam vota diurna.

Notice that Avianus says simply that somebody, cuidam had this marvelous goose - the owner could be a man or a woman; the pronoun does not declare the gender. As you read through various versions of this story, you will see that sometimes a man is the owner, sometimes a woman, and sometimes a husband and a wife together.

For an illustration, here is an image from Steinhowel's Aesop, where you can see the man slicing into the poor goose with his knife:

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Perry 74: The Stag's Reflection

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 #74, the story of the stag who disdained his skinny legs, even though those legs could have rescued him from the hunter's attack! Instead, the stag praised his beautiful horns - and as you will see, it is the stag's horns which proved his undoing. At the Aesopus wiki, you can see a complete list of the versions of this fable that I have collected. You can even hear echoes of this Aesopic fable in the famous Christian collection of animal allegories referred to as the Physiologus, which is a core component of the later European bestiary tradition (this story, in fact, is one of the few Aesopic motifs that you will find in the Physiologus).

Here is the Latin version of the fable in Steinhowel's Aesop:

Aliquando laudamus inutilia et vituperamus bona, ut haec testatur Aesopi fabula. Cervus, bibens de fonte, sua cornua magna ut vidit, nimium laudare coepit. Crura vero tenuia vituperavit; cum haec cervus ad fontem videret, venatoris vocem audivit et canes repente latrare. Fuga cervus per campum dicitur evasisse inimicos, at ubi silva eum suscepit, magnitudo cornuum venatibus eum retinuit. Tunc mortem suam videns, ait: Quae mihi fuerunt utilia vituperavi, et deceptiosa laudavi. Laudemus ergo utilia.

Here it is written out in segmented style to make it easier to follow, while respecting the Latin word order:

Aliquando laudamus inutilia
et vituperamus bona,
ut haec testatur Aesopi fabula.
Cervus,
bibens de fonte,
sua cornua magna ut vidit,
nimium laudare coepit.
Crura vero tenuia vituperavit;
cum haec cervus ad fontem videret,
venatoris vocem
audivit
et canes repente latrare.
Fuga cervus per campum
dicitur
evasisse inimicos,
at
ubi silva eum suscepit,
magnitudo cornuum
venatibus eum retinuit.
Tunc mortem suam videns,
ait:
Quae mihi fuerunt utilia
vituperavi,
et deceptiosa laudavi.
Laudemus ergo utilia.

For an image of the story, here is an illustration from Steinhowel's Aesop published in 1479. Notice how two dogs have already sunk their teeth into the poor creature!

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Perry 70: Tree and Reed

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 #70, the story of the oak tree who defied the powerful winds and was toppled as a result, while a reed yielded to the winds and was still standing at the end of the storm. At the Aesopus wiki, you can see a complete list of the versions of this fable that I have collected. Usually this is a story where the moral is firmly on the side of the pliant reed, but I found an unusual version in Thomas Bewick's fables where the oak still insists on his superiority, even after he has been toppled:

The courage of meeting death in an honorable cause is more commendable than any address or artifice we can make use of to evade it. A conceited Willow had cone the vanity to challenge his mighty neighbor the Oak to a trial of strength. It was to be determined by the next storm; and Aeolus was addressed by both parties to exert his most powerful efforts. This was no sooner asked than granted; and a violent hurricane arose, when the pliant Willow, bending from the blast, or shrinking under her, evaded all its force, while the generous Oak, disdaining to give way, opposed its fury, and was torn up by the roots. Immediately the Willow began to exult, and to claim the victory, when thus the fallen Oak interrupted his exultation: Callest thou this a trial of strength? Poor wretch! not to thy strength, but weakness; not to thy boldly facing danger, but meanly skulking from it, thou owest thy present safety. I am an Oak, though fallen; thou still a Willow, though unhurt: but who, except so mean a wretch as thyself, would prefer an ignominious life, preserved by craft or cowardice, to the glory of meeting death in an honourable cause?

Bewick's moral here, however, is an unusual item. The typical interpretation of the story reads the oak as being foolishly defiant, as opposed to the wise, pliant reed (or willow). Here is that more typical version of the fable from Steinhowel's Aesop:

Qui superbo et duro corde sunt et nolunt se subdere domino suo, solet eis evenire sicut arbori abietis, quae vento veniente noluit se flectere, stetit autem iuxta eam arundo, quae vento veniente flectebat se in quacumque parte ventus eam movebat. Et dixit ad eam abies: Quare non stas firmiter, sicut et ego? Respondit arundo: Non est virtus mea, ut tua. Et dixit ad eam abies: Et ideo scire potes quia fortior sum tibi. Venit autem ventus validus et abietem proiecit in terram, arundinem vero dimisit. Sic saepe elati proiiciuntur, dum humiles maneant erecti.

Here it is written out in segmented style to make it easier to follow, while respecting the Latin word order:

Qui
superbo et duro corde sunt
et nolunt
se subdere domino suo,
solet eis evenire
sicut arbori abietis,
quae
vento veniente
noluit se flectere,
stetit autem iuxta eam
arundo,
quae
vento veniente
flectebat se
in quacumque parte
ventus eam movebat.
Et dixit ad eam abies:
Quare non stas firmiter,
sicut et ego?
Respondit arundo:
Non est virtus mea,
ut tua.
Et dixit ad eam abies:
Et ideo scire potes
quia fortior sum tibi.
Venit autem ventus validus
et abietem proiecit in terram,
arundinem vero dimisit.
Sic saepe elati proiiciuntur,
dum humiles maneant erecti.

For an image of the story, here is an illustration from Steinhowel's Aesop published in 1479:

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Some dynamic content may not display if you are reading this blog via RSS or through an email subscription. You can always visit the Bestiaria Latina blog to see the full content, and to find out how to subscribe to the latest posts.

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