Fable 15: Auceps et Palumbes

Here's the next fable with a kind of running commentary that is not entirely possible within the confines of the forthcoming book from Bolchazy-Carducci. This will be Fable 15 in the book: De Aucupe et Palumbe. For more information Fable about this fable, see the Discussion Forum for this fable at the Aesopus Ning.

It foras Auceps; videt nidulantem procul in altissima arbore Palumbem. Adproperat et, dum insidias molitur, premit forte calcibus Anguem, qui ex improviso mordebat. Auceps, subito exanimatus malo: “Me miserum! (inquit) Dum alteri insidior, ipse dispereo.”

It foras Auceps;
= Notice that Latin is quite happy to narrate stories using present tense verbs or past tense verbs, and to switch tenses during the telling of the story (usually considered a stylistic no-no in English).

videt
= The subject is implied but not stated; until we are given reason to conclude otherwise, we should assume that this it the subject of the previous verb, the birdcatcher.

nidulantem procul in altissima arbore Palumbem.
= The object of the verb, the ring-dove, is described with a participial phrase that includes both an adverb and a prepositional phrase.

Adproperat
= Again, in the absence of some indication as to change of subject, we can continue to assume that the subject is the birdcatcher.

et, dum insidias molitur,
= The deponent verb is transitive and takes a direct object in the accusative.

premit forte calcibus Anguem,
= Now the birdcatcher is in trouble: he has stepped by chance on what is literally a snake in the grass!

qui ex improviso mordebat.
= The referent of the relative pronoun is the snake, and the implied object of the verb is the birdcatcher: qui (anguis) modebat (aucupem).

Auceps, subito exanimatus malo:
= The ablative phrase wraps around the adjective.

“Me miserum! (inquit)
= An exclamation using the accusative.

Dum alteri insidior,
= The verb takes a dative complement.

ipse dispereo.”
= The word ipse refers to the implied subject: (ego) ipse dispereo.

Here is the illustration of the fable by Francis Barlow:

---

The Aesopus Ning is now open for business - so, for more fables and to share your questions and comments with others, come visit the Ning!

Fable 14: Rana et Bos

Here's the next fable with a kind of running commentary that is not entirely possible within the confines of the forthcoming book from Bolchazy-Carducci. This will be Fable 14 in the book: De Rana et Bove. For more information Fable about this fable, see the Discussion Forum for this fable at the Aesopus Ning.

Rana, cupida aequandi Bovem, se distendebat. Filius hortabatur Matrem coepto desistere; nihil enim esse Ranam ad Bovem. Illa autem, posthabito consilio, secundum intumuit. Clamitat Natus: “Crepes licet, Mater, Bovem nunquam vinces.” Tertium autem cum intumuisset, crepuit.

Rana, cupida aequandi Bovem,
= As often, the first words of the fable introduce us to the main characters: the frog and the ox. The adjective cupida (“desirous of”) takes a genitive complement, aequandi, a gerund which has bovem as its direct object.

se distendebat.
= Here is the main verb of the sentence. As often, Latin distinguishes between the transitive and intransitive forms of the verb using the reflexive pronoun, where English is more lackadaisical about make such distinctions (e.g., transitive expand, "I have to expand my belt a few notches" v. intransitive expand, "my waist is expanding!").

Filius hortabatur Matrem
= Note that even though frogs are grammatically feminine in Latin, they can have sons! The fact that animal gender names are usually either masculine or feminine, when the animals themselves come in both sexes, can cause some awkwardness in storytelling. Even if the frog is a feminine noun, there are frog mothers and fathers in frog families, and frog sons, as you can see here.

coepto desistere;
= The infinitive desistere (“cease from, give up on”) takes an ablative complement.

nihil enim esse Ranam ad Bovem.
= This is an accusative plus infinitive construction in indirect statement, with an implied verb of speaking, as the son addresses his mother. The prepositional phrase expresses the idea of comparison: “(in comparison) to an ox.”

Illa autem,
= The postpositive particle marks the beginning of a new sentence, and note the change in subject: it is no longer the son, but the mother frog who is now the subject.

posthabito consilio,
= An ablative absolute construction: the mother has disregarded her son's good advice!

secundum intumuit.
= Be careful with secundum: this is an adverb, meaning "a second time" (compare the similar use of tertium below).

Clamitat Natus:
= We are back to the warnings shouted by the son, this time with an intensive iterative form of the verb clamare -> clamitare.

“Crepes licet, Mater,
= The hypothetical force of the subjunctive is explained by licet, meaning “even if, although."

Bovem nunquam vinces.”
= As often, the subjective verb is pair here with a future verb. The subjunctive and the future indicative actually have a great deal in common - even though there are indicative forms used for the future tense, it definitely cannot ever be a statement of "fact" in quite the same way that a statement about the present or the past qualifies as fact.

Tertium autem cum intumuisset,
= The subjunctive, introduced by cum, gives causal background information; this is why the frog finally exploded. The adverb tertium is in the emphatic first position in the clause, with the postpositive particle autem in second position, followed by cum - which has been displaced from first position in its clause by these other words with greater claims to word order priority.

crepuit.
= So we have the final indicative verb which gives the grand finale of the story: the frog exploded!

Here is the illustration of the fable by Francis Barlow:

---

The Aesopus Ning is now open for business - so, for more fables and to share your questions and comments with others, come visit the Ning!

Fable 13: Lupi et Oves

Here's the next fable with a kind of running commentary that is not entirely possible within the confines of the forthcoming book from Bolchazy-Carducci. This will be Fable 13 in the book: De Lupis et Ovibus. For more information Fable about this fable, see the Discussion Forum for this fable at the Aesopus Ning.

Foedus aliquando fuit inter Lupos et Oves, quibus natura discordia est. Obsides utrimque tradebantur. Oves, in suam partem, vigilem canum custodiam, Lupi suos catulos tradiderunt. Quietis Ovibus ac pascentibus, lupuli matrum desiderio ululatus edunt. Tum Lupi irruentes foedus fidemque solutam clamitant, Ovesque, canum praesidio destitutas, laniant.

Foedus aliquando fuit
= Note the use of the verb "to be" used here in an existential sense: "There was a treaty..." The Latin adverb ali-quando is something like the English adverb we might have had if we said "some-when" - but while we say somewhere, someone, something in English, we do not say "somewhen" - unfortunately! It would be a very handy word to have in English.

inter Lupos et Oves,
= As often, the main characters in the fable are introduced right at the outset: the wolves and the sheep.

quibus natura discordia est.
= The relative pronoun has both the wolves and the sheep as its reference. There is by nature, natura (ablative), a lack of harmony among the wolves and sheep. The Latin dis-cordia means that their hearts (minds) are at odds with one another.

Obsides utrimque tradebantur.
= This business of trading hostages was a regular feature of Roman foreign policy, although it is not something that you expect to have happen nowadays when treaties are formed between nations! Note the word adverbial utrimque, "on each side, on both sides." Like many adverbs, it is based on an adjective: uterque, meaning "each (of two), both."

Oves,
= When you see this form at the beginning of the sentence, you cannot be sure yet if the sheep are the subject of the sentence (nominative plural) or the object (accusative plural), so you have to wait and see.

in suam partem,
= Since the adjective suus is reflexive, and refers back to the subject of the sentence, you cannot be sure yet just who suam refers to here, not until you find out who the subject of the sentence will be.

vigilem canum custodiam,
= The word custodiam is unambiguously accusative, so now you have the answer to the question: the sheep are the subject of the sentence, and the reflexive pronoun refers back to the sheep: in suam partem must mean, "for their part," since the sheep are plural.

Lupi
= This word is also ambiguous - perhaps genitive singular, perhaps nominative plural - but the parallel of the nominative plural sheep suggests strongly that this will be a nominative plural form.

suos catulos tradiderunt.
= At last, the verb - which serves two purposes here, in a parallel construction: oves custodiam (tradiderunt) . . . lupi catulos tradiderunt.

Quietis Ovibus ac pascentibus,
= This is an ablative absolute construction, with one noun, and two participles, quietis...ac pascentibus.

lupuli
= This is a diminutive of lupus, wolf, meaning the little wolves, or wolf cubs. The word could be nominative plural or genitive singular; in the absence of a subject for the sentence so far, the odds are in favor of it being nominative plural, supplying the subject of the sentence.

matrum desiderio
= The word matrum is an objective genitive, expressing the object of the longing in desiderio: “because of a longing for their mothers.”

ululatus edunt.
= We now have a verb to go with the plural subject: the wolf cubs are uttering howls! The word ululatus is an accusative plural form of a supine, a verbal noun which is always a fourth declension declension noun.

Tum Lupi
= We are now back to the wolves. Although this word could be genitive singular, the odds are strongly in favor of it being a nominative plural subject.

irruentes
= Sure enough, the plural participle here confirms that the wolves are the subject, and the participle provides information about what the wolves are doing: they rush in and...

foedus fidemque solutam
= Still no verb yet, but we can expect a verb that will introduce indirect statement, as what we have here is an accusative plus infinitive construction, with esse omitted, and the infinitive agreeing with the nearest of the two subjects: fidem solutam (esse).

clamitant,
= This is an intensive iterative verb form, based on the root verb clamare. This is the verb that introduces the indirect statement with the accusative plus infinitive construction.

Ovesque,
= Since the wolves were the subject of the preceding verb, it is possible that they might still be the subject, and these plural sheep the object - or the sheep could be the subject of a new verb. We will wait and see!

canum praesidio destitutas,
= The feminine plural accusative form lets us know that oves is probably also accusative, the object of a verb with the wolves continuing as the subject. The participle destitutas (“left without, bereft of”) takes an ablative complement.

laniant.
= Here is the verb: lupi oves laniant, a regular occurrence in the world of Aesop's fables!

Here is the illustration of the fable by Francis Barlow:

---

The Aesopus Ning is now open for business - so, for more fables and to share your questions and comments with others, come visit the Ning!

Fable 12: Pastoris Puer et Agricolae

Here's the next fable with a kind of running commentary that is not entirely possible within the confines of the forthcoming book from Bolchazy-Carducci. This will be Fable 12 in the book: De Pastoris Puero et Agricolis. For more information Fable about this fable, see the Discussion Forum for this fable at the Aesopus Ning.

Puer editiore prato oves pascebat atque, per iocum, lupum terque quaterque adesse clamitans, Agricolas undique exciebat. Illi, saepius illusi, dum auxilium imploranti non subveniunt, fiunt oves praeda lupo.

Puer
= As usual in the fables, we meet the main character in the story right away: this is the famous "boy," the one who cried 'wolf.'

editiore prato oves pascebat
= The use of the comparative adjective without an explicit comparison conveys the idea of "very" or "rather," the idea being that the boy was shepherding the sheep on "rather high meadow grass," or "meadow grass that was quite high up." That makes it all the more arduous for the people to come running to his aid, of course.

atque, per iocum,
= You can find this idiom, per iocum, "as a joke, for a joke," used already in the archaic Roman comic writers such as Plautus and Terence. Compare the prepositional phrase extra iocum, which means just the opposite: "all joking aside."

lupum terque quaterque adesse clamitans,
= The phrase lupum...adesse is an accusative plus infinitive construction, introduced by the participle clamitans. The boy does this thrice and four times - notice that Latin can continue the series indefinitely: ter, quater, quinquies, sexies and so on - but after "once, twice, thrice," English has no more numerical adverbs, and we have to use periphrastic phrases such as "four times," "five times," etc.

Agricolas undique exciebat.
= See the note about undique in Fable 3: Partus Montium.

Illi, saepius illusi,
= The pronoun refers to the farmers from the previous sentence. Again, the comparative form - this time of an adverb, not an adjective - expresses the idea of "rather" or "very." They had been fooled not just often, but very often. We have the nominative subject of a verb here, so now we are waiting for the verb.

dum auxilium imploranti non subveniunt,
= The dum leads us to the verb when we have been looking for, subveniunt. The verb takes a dative complement, expressed here by the participial phrase referring to the boy: (puero) auxilium imploranti.

fiunt oves praeda lupo.
= Now we discover what happens when the farmers do not come to the boy's aid: the sheep (oves, subject of the verb) become prey (praeda, predicate noun) for the wolf. Notice that while both the subject and predicate nouns must both be in the nominative case, they do not have to agree in gender or in number. The plural sheep can become the singular prey of the wolf.

Here is the illustration of the fable by Francis Barlow:

---

The Aesopus Ning is now open for business - so, for more fables and to share your questions and comments with others, come visit the Ning!

Fable 11: Rusticus et Aratrum Eius

Here's the next fable with a kind of running commentary that is not entirely possible within the confines of the forthcoming book from Bolchazy-Carducci. This will be Fable 11 in the book: De Rustico et Aratro Eius. For more information Fable about this fable, see the Discussion Forum for this fable at the Aesopus Ning.

Rustici aratrum haeret in profundo luto. Mox prostratus, Herculem implorat, cum statim vox a caelo auditur: “Inepte, flagellato equos et ipse totis viribus umerisque annitere rotis! Et deinde Herculem invocato! Tunc enim tibi propitius Hercules aderit.”

Rustici aratrum haeret
= You might at first think that rustici is a nominative plural, the subject standing at the head of the sentence, but when you reach the verb, you realize that a singular subject is called for, aratrum, with the word rustici a genitive singular form.

in profundo luto.
= The adjective profundus means "deep," as opposed to the adjective altus which can mean either deep OR tall, depending on the context. You can occasionally find poetic writers using profundus to mean lofty, like altus, but in general when you meet the word profundus, you can safely assume it means deep.

Mox prostratus,
= The masculine singular adjective conjures up the country man from the previous sentence; it is the country man who immediately lies down on the ground.

Herculem implorat,
= The country man is the implied subject of this verb, with the god Hercules as the object.

cum statim vox a caelo auditur:
= The conjunction cum with an indicative verb describes the incidents as they take place, emphasizing the temporal sequence of events. Notice that the prepositional phrase does not express agency, but instead location: the voice is heard coming a caelo, from the sky.

“Inepte,
= The god's address to the farmer begins with this highly expressive vocative form.

flagellato equos
= The form is a future imperative, second person singular.

et ipse totis viribus umerisque annitere rotis!
= Here you have a present imperative of a deponent verb: annitere. The form could be present active indicative, but the imperative form flagellato confirms that this is another imperative. The pronoun ipse agrees with the implied subject of the infinitive: tu. Note also the ablative phrase, totis viribus umerisque which you should not confuse with the dative rotis, which is a complement to the verb: lean against the wheels. The verb contains ad- as a prefix - ad+nitor - so you sometimes find it with the dative, as here, and sometimes with an amplifying prepositional ad.

Et deinde Herculem invocato!
= Another future imperative form: invocato.

Tunc enim
= The postpositive particle enim marks the beginning of a new sentence, with the word tunc in the very emphatic first position - then ... but not now!

tibi propitius Hercules aderit.”
= This is another compound verb formed with ad- which can take either a dative complement, as here, or which can take the amplifying preposition ad.

Here is the illustration of the fable by Francis Barlow:

---

The Aesopus Ning is now open for business - so, for more fables and to share your questions and comments with others, come visit the Ning!

Fable 10: Rusticus et Silva

Here's the next fable with a kind of running commentary that is not entirely possible within the confines of the forthcoming book from Bolchazy-Carducci. This will be Fable 10 in the book: De Rustico et Silva. For more information Fable about this fable, see the Discussion Forum for this fable at the Aesopus Ning.

Accedebat silvam Rusticus et rogabat Arbores ut sibi lignum concederent, ex quo ansam securis fabricaret. Concedebant lignum illi Arbores, quod ad domum deportabat. Quo mox ad securim adaptato, ad silvam redibat et omnes Arbores ad unum detruncabat.

Accedebat silvam Rusticus
= The verb ad-cedere can take a direct object in the accusative case, as here, but more often it is amplified with the preposition ad: accedere ad flammam, etc. It can also be found sometimes with a dative complement instead of the accusative.

et rogabat Arbores
= As often, we have met the main characters in the fable here in the opening words: the rustic man, and the trees of the forest.

ut sibi lignum concederent,
= The ut clause expresses what the man wishes for the trees to do.

ex quo ansam securis fabricaret.
= The relative pronoun refers back to the lignum in the preceding clause. Even though relative pronouns like to go first in their clause, the preposition has an even greater tendency to go first, hence the word order here: ex quo. The subjunctive verb carries on the man's expression of his wishes, what he hopes to be able to do, with the trees' help.

Concedebant lignum illi Arbores,
= Although Latin tends to follow a Subject-Object-Verb word order, there is considerable stylistic freedom, with the strongest emphasis being on the first word. Here, then, the verb comes first, emphasizing the big surprise: the trees actually agreed!

quod ad domum deportabat.
= The relative pronoun refers back to the lignum in the previous clause, and the subject of the verb, implied but not expressed, is the country man, referred to with the pronoun illi in the previous clause.

Quo mox ad securim adaptato,
= This is an ablative absolute expression, with a relative pronoun playing the role of the noun in the phrase. The form securim is much more commonly found than securem; compare other nouns that take -im, such as puppim, sitim, vim, etc.

ad silvam redibat
= Notice that when the prefix re- is added to a vowel-initial verb, a "d" is inserted: redeo, redire, redibat, etc. You can see this reflected in some English words derived from Latin: can you figure out the Latin roots of redaction, redemptions, redolent, redundate?

et omnes Arbores ad unum detruncabat.
= The phrase ad unum is fixed adverbial form, meaning "to the (last) one (thing)." The neuter form is the only form used in this phrase, even though the arbores are feminine.

Here is the illustration of the fable by Francis Barlow:

---

The Aesopus Ning is now open for business - so, for more fables and to share your questions and comments with others, come visit the Ning!

Fable 9: Vulpes et Pardus

Here's the next fable with a kind of running commentary that is not entirely possible within the confines of the forthcoming book from Bolchazy-Carducci. This will be Fable 9 in the book: De Vulpe et Pardo. For more information Fable about this fable, see the Discussion Forum for this fable at the Aesopus Ning.

Vulpes et Pardus de pulchritudine concertabant et, Pardo suam pellem versicolorem extollente, Vulpes, cum suam praeponere non possit, dicebat Pardo, “At quanto ego sum speciosior, et quam longe formosior, quae non corpus, sed animum versicolorem et variis notis insignem sortita sum?”

Vulpes et Pardus
= As often, we meet the main characters in the opening words of the fable.

de pulchritudine concertabant
= The root cert-, meaning to decide something by a contest or a debate, comes from the verb cernere, "to discere."

et, Pardo suam pellem versicolorem extollente,
= The conjunction et lets us know that there is another clause coming up, after the first clause about the fox and leopard debating - but first, we have an ablative absolute clause intervening. The reflexive pronoun, suam, is being used here non-classically, not referring back to the subject of the main clause, but instead to the subject of this ablative absolute clause, the leopard.

Vulpes, cum suam praeponere non possit,
= Remember that we are waiting for a subject-verb clause that was introduced earlier by et, and with the word vulpes we get the subject of that clause - but we are still going to have to wait a while, since there is a cum clause that has intervened. The cum clause here has a subjunctive verb, which means that is not just telling us about an event, but instead gives us some insight into what the fox is thinking, the reason why she is going to say what she does to the leopard. Notice the feminine form of the adjective, suam, which lets us supply the implied noun from the previous clause: suam (pellem).

dicebat Pardo,
= At last, the verb that completes the clause introduced by et so long ago! Vulpes et Pardus de pulchritudine concertabant et ... Vulpes ... dicebat Pardo.

“At quanto ego sum speciosior,
= The use of the personal pronoun is redundant with the verb sum, showing us that it is here for emphasis, highlighting the contrast between "you," the leopard, and "I," the fox. The ablative quanto is being used to express the degree of difference with the comparative adjective: "How much more beautiful I am!"

et quam longe formosior,
= The adverbial phrase quam longe also expresses the quality of the comparative adjective: "how far more beautiful." The literal sense of distance expressed by longe becomes metaphorically generalized to express extension in any distinction: time, quantity, quality, etc. In later Latin, you can even find this adverb longe used as a synonym for valde, meaning "very."

quae non corpus, sed animum versicolorem et variis notis insignem
= The relative pronoun, agreeing with ego (= vulpes, hence feminine singular), supplies the subject of the clause, with non corpus, sed animum as the object... but we are going to have to wait for the verb.

sortita sum?”
= At last, the verb we needed! It's a deponent verb with seemingly passive forms, but don't let that fool you: it is a transitive verb, and can take an object, which is what we are looking for. There is a pretty elaborate parallel structure at work here: non corpus (versicolor et variis notis insigne sortita sum), sed animum versicolorem et variis notis insignem sortita sum.

Here is the illustration of the fable by Francis Barlow:

---

The Aesopus Ning is now open for business - so, for more fables and to share your questions and comments with others, come visit the Ning!

Fable 8: Aves et Quadrupedes

Here's the next fable with a kind of running commentary that is not entirely possible within the confines of the forthcoming book from Bolchazy-Carducci. This will be Fable 8 in the book: De Avibus et Quadrupedibus. For more information Fable about this fable, see the Discussion Forum for this fable at the Aesopus Ning.

Avibus cum Bestiis asperrima pugna erat, utrimque spes, utrimque ingens metus, utrimque periculum, cum Vespertilio, relictis sociis, ad hostem defecit. Ad postremum vincunt Aves, duce et auspice Aquila. Transfugam vero Vespertilionem damnant, ut nunquam iterum inter Aves numeretur, nec amplius in luce videatur. Et haec causa est cur Vespertilio nunquam, nisi nocte, volat.

Avibus cum Bestiis asperrima pugna erat,
= The dative here expresses an idea that we would term "having" in English: the birds were having a fight. Since a "fight" is not an object you can actually hold in your hand, Latin uses the dative to express this idea, as opposed to the metaphorical sense of "having" that we rely on in English. Notice also the use of the superlative to express the extreme quality of something, with an explicit comparison: an extremely fierce battle, a battle most fierce.

utrimque spes, utrimque ingens metus, utrimque periculum,
= The dative utrimque is also being used to express something like possession in English. The pronoun refers to each of two - in this case, both birds and beasts. Notice the etymology of the Latin word neuter = ne - uter, "neither of two" - i.e., neither masculine, nor feminine.

cum Vespertilio,
= Be careful: vespertilio is a nominative form - don't let the final "o" make you think this is an ablative form with a preposition. Instead, what you have here is the conjunction cum, with the subject of a verb - although we are going to have to wait quite a while for the verb to complete the clause.

relictis sociis,
= As you may have noticed, Latin has an oddly unbalance participle system: there is a perfect passive participle, but no perfect active participle - and there is a present active participle, but no present passive participle. This means that when Latin wants to create an ablative absolute clause using a perfect verb form, it has no choice but to use a passive form. In English, you might want to change that to an active form: "The bat, after he had abandoned his allies..."

ad hostem defecit.
= This gives us the verb we wanted to complete the cum clause. Note also that it is an indicative verb, simply reporting on the temporal sequence of events.

Ad postremum vincunt Aves,
= You might be in doubt about whether the word aves supplies the subject or the object of the verb. Since the verb vincunt requires an object, but does not necessarily require an object, you can safely assume that aves is the subject of the verb: "At last the birds are victorious." The preposition phrase is used metaphorically, in a temporal sense: "at (the) last (thing)."

duce et auspice Aquila.
= This ablative absolute does not contain an explicit participle; just as forms of the verb "to be" can be safely omitted from Latin sentences, the same is true of participial forms of the verb "to be" in ablative absolutes. It is quite amusing to think of the eagle being an auspex, which literally means "bird-watcher," in the sense of the soothsayer whose job it was to watch the birds to take the omens. Over time, the meaning of the word auspex become more and more generalized, referring to anyone who authorized an undertaking, and eventually to the leader of that undertaking, as is the case with the eagle here, who is the chief leader and authority among the bird forces.

Transfugam vero Vespertilionem damnant,
= The postpositive particle marks the beginning of a new sentence, and the emphatic word in first position, transfugam, is part of the predicate: "they condemn the bat (as) a traitor."

ut nunquam iterum inter Aves numeretur,
= The ut clauses explains the results of the bat's condemnation.

nec amplius in luce videatur.
= This clause explains more about the results for the bat. Notice that nec can stand for et non with an indicative verb, or here as et ne, with a subjunctive verb. There is also a nice parallel construction between the two aspects of the bat's punishment:
nunquam iterum - inter Aves - numeretur
nec amplius - in luce - videatur
adverb - prepositional phrase - passive verb

Et haec causa est
= This phrase announces something like what you would expect from a Kipling "just-so" story! The technical term for this kind of story is an "aetiological" tale, a story that explains the reason why something exists (the Greek word "aetion" means "cause" or "origin").

cur Vespertilio nunquam, nisi nocte, volat.
= You might expect the subjunctive if this were an indirect question. Instead, with the indicative verb volat, you can consider it a direct question: "This is the reason! (And the question is:) Why does the bat never fly except at night?" In terms of subjunctive usage, the regular use of the subjunctive for all indirect questions, including questions of fact, is something you do not find in early Latin. The use of the subjunctive for all indirect questions, including questions of fact (as here), evolved over time, no doubt due in part to the influence of other subordinate clauses which, for their own reasons, used the subjunctive.

Here is the illustration of the fable by Francis Barlow:

---

The Aesopus Ning is now open for business - so, for more fables and to share your questions and comments with others, come visit the Ning!

Fable 7: Pavo et Grus

Here's the next fable with a kind of running commentary that is not entirely possible within the confines of the forthcoming book from Bolchazy-Carducci. This will be Fable 7 in the book: De Pavone et Grue. For more information Fable about this fable, see the Discussion Forum for this fable at the Aesopus Ning.

Pavo et Grus foedus inter se ineunt unaque cenant. Inter cenandum, Pavo nobilitatem suam iactat, formosam ostentat caudam, Gruemque hospitem contemnit. Grus fatetur Pavonem formosiorem esse pennis; se tamen, cum vix tectis supervolitat Pavo, animoso volatu penetrare nubes.

Pavo et Grus
= As often, the main protagonists of the fable are introduced in the opening words of the fable.

foedus inter se ineunt
= The verb inire, "to go into" can take a direct accusative object, as here: foedus ineunt, or it can sometimes be amplified with a preposition in which reinforces the verbal prefix in: (in) urbem inire, "to enter the city." Notice also that the pronoun se refers back to the subject of the verb, which is plural. So, if you were to parse the pronoun, it would be masculine accusative plural.

unaque cenant.
= The word una is used adverbially, meaning "in one and the same place, at the same time, in company, together." The final long "a' shows that this word is probably the remnant of what was an ablative phrase, una via, which involved a feminine noun.

Inter cenandum,
= The gerund is a verbal noun, and when used with the preposition inter, it is equivalent to the English expression "while ___ing." It's important not to be distracted by the similarity of the gerund to the future passive participle; there is nothing passive about the verbal action in the gerund: inter cenandum means that pavo et grus una cenant, very actively dining! Note that you can also find the preposition inter used with another verbal noun, the infinitive: Multum interest inter legere et intelligere, "There is a big difference between reading and understanding."

Pavo nobilitatem suam iactat,
= The reflexive possessive pronoun refers back to the subject of the verb, which is easy to identify here: pavo. The verb is a frequentative form, from the basic form iacere, "to toss." The verb iactare can be used literally to mean throwing, casting, hurling, etc., but it can also be used metaphorically to refer to throwing words about, brandishing claims, especially boastful claims, as the peacock does here.

formosam ostentat caudam,
= Notice the noun phrase wrapped around the verb of which it is the object. The verb ostentare is another frequentative verb form, from ostendere. We get the boastful sense of the Latin word in the English derivative, "ostentatious."

Gruemque hospitem contemnit.
= The noun hospitem, used here in apposition to gruem, suggests not only that peacock is vain, but also rude: even if what the peacock was saying might be true, it is not the kind of argument you want to start over dinner with a friend. It shows a lack of what we would call in English "hospitality" if you treat your hospes in this way.

Grus fatetur
= The verb is from an archaic Latin verb of speaking, and it conveys a sense of admitting or acknowledging something. In Latin grammatical terminology, the indicative mood is sometimes called fatendi modus, "the confessional mood," because the indicative mood is used to acknowledge of statements of fact.

Pavonem formosiorem esse pennis;
= The accusative plus infinitive construction is introduced by the verb fatetur, "confesses the peacock to be more beautiful." The ablative noun expresses the means by which the peacock manifests his beauty: by means of his feathers, because of his feathers.

se tamen,
= The postpositive tamen marks the beginning of a new clause. Its parallel structure, accusative plus infinitive, following the previous clause allows us to be patient and wait quite a long time for the infinitive that goes with this accusative subject of the infinitive. The reflexive pronoun refers back to the subject of the main verb, grus. So, eventually we are going to learn something about what the crane is able to do that counters the admission that the peacock is the more beautiful of the two.

cum vix tectis supervolitat Pavo,
= The cum clause here with an indicative verb expresses a statement of fact. Just as the crane makes a statement of fact about the peacock being more beautiful, the crane also makes a statement of fact about the peacock's limited flying ability using an indicative verb. The verb supervolitat is another frequentative verb from from volare.

animoso volatu penetrare nubes.
= At last we get the infinitive to go with our accusative subject se; in addition to its accusative subject, the infinitive also takes an accusative object, nubes. The noun phrase contains a verbal noun, volatus, which is called a supine.

Here is the illustration of the fable by Francis Barlow:

---

The Aesopus Ning is now open for business - so, for more fables and to share your questions and comments with others, come visit the Ning!

Fable 6: Accipiter et Luscinia

Here's the next fable with a kind of running commentary that is not entirely possible within the confines of the forthcoming book from Bolchazy-Carducci. This will be Fable 6 in the book: De Accipitre et Luscinia. For more information Fable about this fable, see the Discussion Forum for this fable at the Aesopus Ning.

Comprehenderat Lusciniam Accipiter, quae misere clamabat ut se captivam demitteret. Cui Accipiter: “Frustra clamosas cies querimonias, nam licet omnes silvarum commoveris aviculas, non ab unguibus meis liberabunt.”

Comprehenderat Lusciniam Accipiter,
= Although Latin often relies on Subject-Object-Verb for word order, this opening phrase shows the freedom of Latin word order, with Verb-Object-Subject. We are also introduced, as often, to the two leading characters of the fable right here in the opening words.

quae misere clamabat
= The gender difference between the the hawk and the nightingale makes it clear just who this relative pronoun refers to. In some editorial conventions, this relative pronoun might be capitalized and used as the beginning of a sentence. There is some grammatical support for doing just that, as you will see in the next comment.

ut se captivam demitteret.
= The purpose clause here takes a subjunctive verb as you would expect, and the subject of the verb - the hawk - is not expressed. It's obvious from context: if there is going to be any "letting go" that takes place, it will be the hawk who does it. What is interesting here here is the object phrase, se captivam, which you could translate using apposition in English if you want: she shouted for the hawk to let her, his captive, go. The rule for the use of reflexive pronouns (admittedly not always strictly observed in later Latin) is that the reflexive pronoun refers back to the subject of the main verb: that is, not to the subject of demitteret but instead to the subject of the main verb. Clearly, main verb here must be the verb clamabat - which would be an argument for capitalizing the relative pronoun and considering this to be a main verb in a "sentence" of its own, rather than a relative clause in a sentence whose main verb is comprehenderat, with the subject accipiter.

Cui Accipiter:
= As often, the nominative subject paired with a noun in the dative obviate the need for an explicit verb of speaking: "to which the hawk," in other words, "The hawk responded to the nightingale."

“Frustra clamosas cies querimonias,
= Notice the verb nice noun phrase, clamosas querimonias, which is wrappeda round the verb of which it is the object. The effect of this word order is to create an elegant predicate package, while putting a strong emphasis on both words of the noun phrase, with the strongest emphasis of all on the noisiness of those complaints, clamosas (very emphatic first position) cies querimonias (emphatic final position).

nam licet
= The word licet here is being used as a conjunction rather than as a true verb. It introduces a concessive hypothetical situation, much like quamvis (which also contains the remnants of a verb: vis) or etsi. You should expect a subjunctive verb, expressing the hypothetical situation.

omnes silvarum commoveris aviculas,
= Another noun phrase wrapped around its verb, which is indeed the subjunctive verb we were hoping for after licet. Notice also the disparaging use of the diminutive aviculas, which could be translated into English as "birdies," although the use of a diminutive forms in English always seems a bit awkward compared to the extremely widespread and productive use of diminutives in Latin.

non ab unguibus meis liberabunt.”
= The subject of this verb, not expressed, is supplied by the object of the previous verb: omnes aviculae.

Here is the illustration of the fable by Francis Barlow:

---

The Aesopus Ning is now open for business - so, for more fables and to share your questions and comments with others, come visit the Ning!