Fable 21: Equus et Asinus

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 21 in the book: De Equo et Asino. For more information Fable about this fable, see the Discussion Forum for this fable at the Aesopus Ning.

Equus phaleris sellaque ornatus cum ingenti hinnitu per viam currebat. Currenti onustus Asellus forte obstabat, cui Equus fremebundus: “Quid (inquit), ignave, obsistis Equo? Cede, inquam, aut te proculcabo pedibus!” Asellus, rudere non ausus, cedit tacitus. Equo provolanti crepat inguen. Tum, cursui inutilis, ornamentis spoliatur. Postea cum carro venientem Asinus affatur, “Heus mi Amice! Quis ille ornatus est? Ubi aurea sella? Ubi splendidum frenum? Sic, Amice, necesse fuit evenire superbienti.”

Equus phaleris sellaque ornatus
= The adjective takes an ablative complement (“outfitted with, adorned with”).

cum ingenti hinnitu per viam currebat.
= We say that horses "whinny," but as you can see in Latin, they "hinny" instead!

Currenti onustus Asellus forte obstabat,
= The verb takes a dative complement, with the dative participle referring to the horse: currenti (equo) asellus obstabat.

cui Equus fremebundus:
= The adjective modifies the subject of the verb, so you might want to translate it as an adverb: although the adjective modifies the noun grammatically, the meaning of this adjective relates more to the verbal action than it does to the actor. For the actual verb of speaking, see the horse's quoted words.

“Quid (inquit), ignave, obsistis Equo?
= Note the use of the postpositive inquit functioning like verbal quotation marks. The verb obsistis takes a dative complement, and the interrogative quid here means “why? for what reason?”

Cede, inquam, aut te proculcabo pedibus!”
= Both the imperative and the future are ways of expressing future possibilities: either the donkey is going to get out of the way or the horse is going to stomp him!

Asellus, rudere non ausus,
= The participle takes an infinitive complement.

cedit tacitus.
= Another case of the adjective modifying the subject of the verb in a way that is more like what we would use an adverb for in English: the donkey went away quietly.

Equo provolanti crepat inguen.
= The dative of possession is commonly used with regard to body parts: “the horse’s groin muscle snaps.”

Tum, cursui inutilis,
= The adjective takes a dative complement.

ornamentis spoliatur.
= The verb takes an ablative complement (“stripped of”).

Postea
= You can think of this adverb as a contraction of two words: post ea, "after these things..."

cum carro venientem Asinus affatur,
= The deponent verb is transitive and takes a direct object in the accusative, with the participle referring to the horse: (equum) cum carro venientem affatur.

“Heus mi Amice!
= The interjection heus is regularly accompanied by a vocative, as here: mi amice.

Quis ille ornatus est?
= Be careful to distinguish between the adjectival ornatus used earlier (phaleris sellaque ornatus) and the noun ornatus, which is what you have here.

Ubi aurea sella? Ubi splendidum frenum?
= Notice that, as often in Latin, forms of the verb "to be" are omitted. (The verb est was used in the previous sentence, so there is no need for it at all in these follow-up rhetorical questions.)

Sic, Amice, necesse fuit evenire superbienti.”
= The adverbial sic modifies the infinitive, meaning “to turn out this way.” It takes a dative complement: to turn out this way for someone boastful.

Here is the illustration of the fable by Francis Barlow:

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