Irenaeus Fabula 46. Hinnulus

I've embarked 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 Hinnulus, the story of the story of the fawn questioning his father. In Perry's indexing system, this is Perry 351.

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

Dicebat aliquando Hinnulus Cervo patri suo: Miror, pater, quid causae fit, quod cum tu canibus longe praestes, cursu ac celeritate pedum, insuper corporis proceritate, et caput tuum nobile ramorum pondus exornet armetque; tu tamen ita eos timeas, ut contra ipsos solius fugae praesidium sumas. Tunc Cervus: Verum dicis, O fili, et ipse aliam huius rei causam nescio, praeter Naturam, quae me adeo pavidum fecit, ut, ad odorem aut latratum canum, protinus in fugam vertar. Sic pusillanimes timidosque nulla ratio firmat.

Dicebat aliquando Hinnulus
Cervo patri suo:
Miror, pater, quid causae fit,
quod cum tu canibus longe praestes,
cursu ac celeritate pedum,
insuper corporis proceritate,
et caput tuum
nobile ramorum pondus
exornet armetque;
tu tamen ita eos timeas,
ut contra ipsos
solius fugae praesidium sumas.
Tunc Cervus:
Verum dicis, O fili,
et ipse
aliam huius rei causam nescio,
praeter Naturam,
quae
me adeo pavidum fecit,
ut, ad odorem aut latratum canum,
protinus in fugam vertar.
Sic pusillanimes timidosque
nulla ratio firmat.


Here's an illustration for the fable (image source), which shows a deer in flight:

---

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