Fable 45: Leo Senex

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 45 in the book: De Leone Sene. For more information Fable about this fable, see the Discussion Forum for this fable at the Aesopus Ning.

Leo, longaevae senectutis laborans vitio et viribus deprivatus, odio et contemptui fuit omnium ferarum. In quarum numero Asinus (omnium animantium vilissimus) apparebat, et Leoni imbelli calce minitatus est. Quod cum vidisset Leo, suspirans inquit iustum fuisse ut tandem iniurias suas ferae ulciscerentur, et ut iam odio haberetur, qui olim omnibus metum intulisset.

Leo,
= We meet one of the main characters here in the first word: the lion.

longaevae senectutis laborans vitio
= The phrase longaevae senectutis vitio wraps around the participle.

et viribus deprivatus,
= The participle deprivatus takes an ablative complement (“deprived of”).

odio et contemptui fuit omnium ferarum.
= The predicate datives express the lion’s function; he has become the object of all the animals’ hatred and contempt.

In quarum numero
= The referent of the relative pronoun quarum is ferarum in the previous sentence: in quarum (ferarum) numero.

Asinus (omnium animantium vilissimus) apparebat,
= Here we meet the other main character: the donkey.

et Leoni imbelli calce minitatus est.
= The verb minitatus est takes a dative complement.

Quod cum vidisset Leo,
= The relative pronoun quod connects back to the previous sentence, referring to the general situation described there, i.e. the donkey making threats; the subjunctive, introduced by cum, gives causal background information as to why the lion sighed.

suspirans inquit
= You are used to seeing inquit used postpositively, as a kind of verbal quotation mark, but here it introduces indirect statement.

iustum fuisse
= Accusative plus infinitive construction in indirect statement; the subject is impersonal (you can consider the following ut clauses to be the subject if you want), and iustum supplies the predicate: “it was right.”

ut tandem iniurias suas ferae ulciscerentur,
= The deponent verb ulciscerentur is transitive and takes a direct object in the accusative; suas refers back to ferae, the subject of the verb, i.e. the animals are avenging the wrongs they suffered in the past.

et ut iam odio haberetur,
= The passive form of habere means “to be held to be, to be thought of.”

qui olim omnibus metum intulisset.
= The referent of the relative pronoun qui is the lion and the subjunctive, introduced by the relative pronoun, provides causal background information; according to the lion, this is the cause of his present condition.

Here is the illustration of the fable by Francis Barlow:

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