Irenaeus Fable 91: Leo et Homo, De Fortiore

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 De Leone et Homine, the story of the lion and the man who debated about which of them was the stronger. In Perry's indexing system, this is Perry 284.

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

Leo et Homo, simul iter facientes, inter confabulandum in hanc incurrunt quaestionem, uter eorum altero esset fortior nobiliorque; quisque commendare se, certatimque allegare quae poterat in sua causa. Sed cum uterque vincere, neuter alteri cedere, vellet, venerunt in quemdam locum, in quo columnae marmoreae visebantur, et in eis prominenti opere pugna Hominis et Leonis insculpata, illius Leonem pedibus atterentis ac suffocantis. Ad quod erectus homo, ad Leonem: Haec sculptura (inquit) nostram litem apposite dirimit terminatque, ostenditque quanto Leonibus antistent Homines. Cui Leo: Ita est (inquit), si vobis creditur. Sculptura haec hominis opera est, sed si Leones artem scribendi aut effigiandi callerent, pingerent utique Homines Leonibus substratos. Haec indicant innatam cuique dominandi appetentiam, aliosque sibi subdendi.

Leo et Homo,
simul iter facientes,
inter confabulandum
in hanc incurrunt quaestionem,
uter eorum
altero esset fortior nobiliorque;
quisque commendare se,
certatimque allegare
quae poterat
in sua causa.
Sed
cum uterque vincere,
neuter alteri cedere,
vellet,
venerunt in quemdam locum,
in quo
columnae marmoreae visebantur,
et in eis
prominenti opere
pugna Hominis et Leonis
insculpata,
illius Leonem pedibus
atterentis ac suffocantis.
Ad quod
erectus homo,
ad Leonem:
Haec sculptura (inquit)
nostram litem
apposite dirimit terminatque,
ostenditque
quanto
Leonibus antistent Homines.
Cui Leo:
Ita est (inquit),
si vobis creditur.
Sculptura haec
hominis opera est,
sed
si Leones
artem scribendi aut effigiandi
callerent,
pingerent utique
Homines Leonibus substratos.
Haec indicant
innatam cuique
dominandi appetentiam,
aliosque sibi subdendi.

Here's an illustration for the fable (image source) from a Renaissance edition of Aesop:

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