Fable 78: Rana et Vulpes

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 78 in the book: Rana et Vulpes. For more information about this fable, see the Discussion Forum for this fable at the Aesopus Ning.

Rana, paludibus valedicens, novo vivendi genere acquisito, in silvam gloriabunda sese tulit et, bestiarum coronis circumstipata, medicinae artem publice profitebatur, et in herbis, quae ad corpora curanda pertinent, nobiliorem se vel Galeno vel Hippocrate esse clamitabat. Credula bestiarum gens fidem facile adhibebat, Vulpe solummodo excepta, quae sic glorianti irridebat: “Insulsum vagumque animal! Quid tam vana blatteras? Quid artem nobilem prae te fers, quam minime calles? Livida pallidaque illa tua labra respice! Quin domi abi et teipsum cura, medice! Deinde ad nos redeas, meliora forsan de te speraturos.” Nihil respondente Rana sed tacitis secum gemente suspiriis, tota bestiarum cachinnis resonabat silva.

Rana, paludibus valedicens,
= As usual, we meet one of the main characters of the story here in the opening words: the frog, who is saying goodbye to her usual haunts.

novo vivendi genere acquisito,
= Ablative absolute construction, with the ablative noun phrase novo genere wrapping around the gerund which is in the genitive case.

in silvam gloriabunda sese tulit
= The reflexive pronoun sese (= se) refers back to the subject of the main verb, the frog.

et, bestiarum coronis circumstipata,
= The participle circumstipata agrees with the subject of the verb, rana.

medicinae artem publice profitebatur,
= The deponent verb profitebatur is transitive and takes a direct object in the accusative.

et in herbis, quae ad corpora curanda pertinent,
= The gerundive with the preposition ad expresses purpose, with corpora as the accusative complement of the preposition, and the gerundive agreeing in case, number and gender (as any adjective does!).

nobiliorem se vel Galeno vel Hippocrate esse
= Accusative plus infinitive construction in indirect statement, with se as the accusative subject, and nobiliorem as a predicate adjective. The names Galen and Hippocrates ablatives of comparison, and the double use of vel is equivalent to the English correlative conjunctions, “either . . . or . . .”

clamitabat.
= The verb is a frequentative form of the verb clamare.

Credula bestiarum gens fidem facile adhibebat,
= The fides here refers to the trust they were willing to give to the frog and her claims.

Vulpe solummodo excepta,
= Ablative absolute construction.

quae sic glorianti irridebat:
= The referent of the relative pronoun is the fox, and the participle glorianti agrees with the frog: quae (vulpes) sic glorianti (ranae) irridebat.

“Insulsum vagumque animal!
= The word insulsum uses the negating prefix in- with the word salsus, which literally means "salted," but which has the metaphorical meaning of "witty, sharp." The word sal, "salt," also has the metaphorical meaning in Latin of "shrewdness, cunning, wit," etc.

Quid tam vana blatteras?
= The interrogative quid here means “why? for what reason?”

Quid artem nobilem prae te fers,
= The idiom prae se ferre means “to profess, proclaim.”

quam minime calles?
= The referent of the relative pronoun is artem.

Livida pallidaque illa tua labra respice!
= In other words: if the frog takes a look at herself, she will see that she is not very healthy-looking!

Quin domi abi et teipsum cura, medice!
= The word quin plus the imperative expresses the so-called interrogative imperative: “Why don’t you go home and heal yourself?” (the pronoun teipsum is a compound, te + ipsum).

Deinde ad nos redeas,
= The subjunctive states a hypothetical possibility: the frog could come back again as a doctor - if she cures her own ailments first!

meliora forsan de te speraturos.”
= The future active participle speraturos agrees with nos, and meliora (“better things”) is the accusative object of the participle.

Nihil respondente Rana
= Ablative absolute construction, with nihil as the object of the participle.

sed tacitis secum gemente suspiriis,
= The phrase tacitis suspiriis wraps around the participle, gemente, which is part of an ablative absolute construction (parallel to nihil respondente rana).The word secum is a compound, in inverted order: secum = cum + se (“with herself, to herself”).

tota bestiarum cachinnis resonabat silva.
= The noun phrase tota silva wraps around the verb.

Here is the illustration of the fable by Francis Barlow:

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