Irenaeus 2. De duobus Adolescentibus et Coquo.

I'm embarking on a new Latin fable project here at the Latin Via Fables blog: digitizing the 300 fables in the Mithologica sacro-profana, seu florilegium fabularum by P. Irenaeus, published in 1666, which has recently become available at GoogleBooks. For a complete index of the fables in the book, with links to the fables I've digitized so far, check out the Aesopus wiki page at Aesopus.PBwiki.com.

Today's fable is De duobus Adolescentibus et Coquo, the story of two boys who used sneaky words to hide their crime. In Perry's indexing system, this is Perry 66.

To make reading the fable easier, I've provided a segmented version of the story below.

Duo Iuvenes Coqui officinam intraverant specie emendi aliquid carnium; re vera autem furandi, quod ederent. Ergo cum de pretio eduliorum agunt, et Coquus aliis supervenientibus intenderet, alter eorum caute surripit carnes et dat socio occultandas. Redit coquus ad eos, et advertens furtum, Iuvenes incusat, arguit, urget restitui. Sed qui abstulerat, iurat se non habere; qui habebat, non abstulisse. Ille nihil proficiens in malam sortem abire iussis ait, "Etsi quis vestrum sit fur: et periurus me latet; Deum tamen, cui omnia patent, non latet."

Duo Iuvenes
Coqui officinam intraverant
specie emendi aliquid carnium;
re vera autem furandi,
quod ederent.
Ergo cum de pretio eduliorum agunt,
et Coquus aliis supervenientibus intenderet,
alter eorum caute surripit carnes
et dat socio occultandas.
Redit coquus ad eos,
et advertens furtum,
Iuvenes incusat, arguit, urget restitui.
Sed qui abstulerat,
iurat se non habere;
qui habebat,
non abstulisse.
Ille nihil proficiens
in malam sortem abire iussis ait,
"Etsi quis vestrum sit fur:
et periurus me latet;
Deum tamen, cui omnia patent,
non latet."

Here's an illustration for the fable (image source) - Chef from South Park, of course!

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Aesop's Fables in Latin now available at Amazon.com.