Today's fable is Perry 346, the story of the wolf who envied the dog - until he learned about the dog's collar. At del.icio.us, you can see a complete list of the versions of this fable type that I have collected. This is a story well-represented in the Latin tradition, beginning with Phaedrus, a poet who took a special interest in stories of slavery and freedom - not surprisingly, since Phaedrus himself was a freedman.
This is another of the fables you can find in Jacobs & Doering's Latin reader; here is their version of the story:
Lupus canem videns bene saginatum, Quanta est, inquit, felicitas tua! Tu, ut videtur, laute vivis, at ego fame enecor. Tum canis, Licet, inquit, mecum in urbem venias et eadem felicitate fruaris. Lupus conditionem accepit. Dum una eunt, animadvertit lupus in collo canis attritos pilos. Quid hoc est? inquit. Num iugum sustines? Cervix enim tua tota est glabra. Nihil est, canis respondit. Sed interdiu me alligant, ut noctu sim vigilantior; atque haec sunt vestigia collaris, quod cervici circumdari solet. Tum lupus, Vale, inquit, amice! nihil moror felicitatem servitute emptam! Haec fabula docet, liberis nullum commodum tanti esse quod servitutis calamitatem compensare possit.
Here it is written out in segmented style to make it easier to follow, while respecting the Latin word order:
Lupus
canem videns
bene saginatum,
Quanta est, inquit,
felicitas tua!
Tu, ut videtur,
laute vivis,
at ego fame enecor.
Tum canis,
Licet, inquit,
mecum in urbem venias
et eadem felicitate fruaris.
Lupus conditionem accepit.
Dum una eunt,
animadvertit lupus
in collo canis
attritos pilos.
Quid hoc est? inquit.
Num iugum sustines?
Cervix enim tua
tota est glabra.
Nihil est,
canis respondit.
Sed interdiu me alligant,
ut noctu sim vigilantior;
atque haec sunt
vestigia collaris,
quod
cervici circumdari solet.
Tum lupus,
Vale, inquit, amice!
nihil moror felicitatem
servitute emptam!
Haec fabula docet,
liberis
nullum commodum
tanti esse
quod
servitutis calamitatem
compensare possit.
I've created a slideshow of images for this story. You can view the album, or see a full-screen version of the slideshow. Here is a small version of the slideshow; to hide the captions, just click on the caption icon in the lower left-hand corner.
Some dynamic content may not display if you are reading this blog via RSS or through an email subscription. You can always visit the Bestiaria Latina blog to see the full content, and to find out how to subscribe to the latest posts.
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Monday, August 04, 2008
Perry 332: The Mischievous Dog
Today's fable is Perry 332, the story of the dog who was foolishly proud of his punishment for biting people. At del.icio.us, you can see a complete list of the versions of this fable type that I have collected. In some versions, the dog is hobbled with a clog, while in other versions he wears a bell.
I was pleased to find that this is one of the stories that was included in Jacobs & Doering's Latin reader! I especially like the accusative used with "O" (exclamatory accusative): O te stolidum!
Cani mordaci paterfamilias iussit tintinnabulum ex aere appendi, ut omnes eum cavere possent. Ille vero aeris tinnitu gaudebat, et, quasi virtutis suae praemium esset, alios canes prae se contemnere coepit. Cui unus senior, O te stolidum, inquit, qui ignorare videris isto tinnitu pravitatem morum tuorum indicari! Haec fabula scripta est in eos, qui sibi insignibus flagitiorum suorum placent.
Here it is written out in segmented style to make it easier to follow, while respecting the Latin word order:
Cani mordaci
paterfamilias iussit
tintinnabulum ex aere appendi,
ut omnes
eum cavere possent.
Ille vero
aeris tinnitu gaudebat,
et,
quasi virtutis suae praemium esset,
alios canes
prae se contemnere coepit.
Cui unus senior,
O te stolidum, inquit,
qui ignorare videris
isto tinnitu
pravitatem morum tuorum indicari!
Haec fabula scripta est
in eos,
qui
sibi insignibus flagitiorum suorum placent.
Here is a slideshow of illustrations (some show the dog with a clog, while others show a bell). Visit the album, or view a full-screen version of the slideshow. Here is a small version of the slideshow; to hide the captions, just click on the caption icon in the lower left-hand corner.
Some dynamic content may not display if you are reading this blog via RSS or through an email subscription. You can always visit the Bestiaria Latina blog to see the full content, and to find out how to subscribe to the latest posts.
I was pleased to find that this is one of the stories that was included in Jacobs & Doering's Latin reader! I especially like the accusative used with "O" (exclamatory accusative): O te stolidum!
Cani mordaci paterfamilias iussit tintinnabulum ex aere appendi, ut omnes eum cavere possent. Ille vero aeris tinnitu gaudebat, et, quasi virtutis suae praemium esset, alios canes prae se contemnere coepit. Cui unus senior, O te stolidum, inquit, qui ignorare videris isto tinnitu pravitatem morum tuorum indicari! Haec fabula scripta est in eos, qui sibi insignibus flagitiorum suorum placent.
Here it is written out in segmented style to make it easier to follow, while respecting the Latin word order:
Cani mordaci
paterfamilias iussit
tintinnabulum ex aere appendi,
ut omnes
eum cavere possent.
Ille vero
aeris tinnitu gaudebat,
et,
quasi virtutis suae praemium esset,
alios canes
prae se contemnere coepit.
Cui unus senior,
O te stolidum, inquit,
qui ignorare videris
isto tinnitu
pravitatem morum tuorum indicari!
Haec fabula scripta est
in eos,
qui
sibi insignibus flagitiorum suorum placent.
Here is a slideshow of illustrations (some show the dog with a clog, while others show a bell). Visit the album, or view a full-screen version of the slideshow. Here is a small version of the slideshow; to hide the captions, just click on the caption icon in the lower left-hand corner.
Some dynamic content may not display if you are reading this blog via RSS or through an email subscription. You can always visit the Bestiaria Latina blog to see the full content, and to find out how to subscribe to the latest posts.
Friday, August 01, 2008
Perry 291: The Driver and Hercules
Today's fable is Perry 291, the story of the man whose wagon was stuck in the mud. We may not drive wagons anymore, but it's still a story that is easy to relate to - and I definitely admire the moral, which, as you will see, is basically "God helps those who help themselves" (a saying which many people assume can be found in the Bible, but not so - the English version seems to derive from Ben Franklin). At del.icio.us, you can see a complete list of the versions of this fable type that I have collected.
Here is the version from the Renaissance poet Caspar von Barth. It's a comparatively easy bit of poetry (as poetry goes!), written in iambic meter:
Saxis onustum obhaeserat luto plaustrum,
Ibi bubulcus voce maxima Divos
Inclamitare, nil sed ipse conari,
Digito nec uno tangere arduam molem.
Olli supremus robore adstitit Divum
Manumque iussit applicare tormento.
Ita, fatus, auxilium invocato divinum,
Ignavia ne vota tute corrumpas.
Here it is written out in segmented style to make it easier to follow, with some adjustments to the word order. Be careful here of the so-called "future imperative," invocato - the future imperative often gets short shrift in Latin textbooks, but it is not that uncommon in Latin, especially the kind of Latin which features direct speech, as often in the fables. I also added in a dicitur to help explain the use of the infinitives inclamitare and conari.
Plaustrum
saxis onustum
luto obhaeserat;
ibi bubulcus
voce maxima
[dicitur] inclamitare Divos,
sed
ipse nil conari,
nec digito uno
tangere arduam molem.
Supremus robore Divum
olli adstitit
et iussit
manum applicare tormento,
fatus,
"invocato auxilium divinum
ita:
ne tute corrumpas vota
ignavia."
For an image, here is Walter Crane's illustration for the story (along with a version in limerick form):
Some dynamic content may not display if you are reading this blog via RSS or through an email subscription. You can always visit the Bestiaria Latina blog to see the full content, and to find out how to subscribe to the latest posts.
Here is the version from the Renaissance poet Caspar von Barth. It's a comparatively easy bit of poetry (as poetry goes!), written in iambic meter:
Saxis onustum obhaeserat luto plaustrum,
Ibi bubulcus voce maxima Divos
Inclamitare, nil sed ipse conari,
Digito nec uno tangere arduam molem.
Olli supremus robore adstitit Divum
Manumque iussit applicare tormento.
Ita, fatus, auxilium invocato divinum,
Ignavia ne vota tute corrumpas.
Here it is written out in segmented style to make it easier to follow, with some adjustments to the word order. Be careful here of the so-called "future imperative," invocato - the future imperative often gets short shrift in Latin textbooks, but it is not that uncommon in Latin, especially the kind of Latin which features direct speech, as often in the fables. I also added in a dicitur to help explain the use of the infinitives inclamitare and conari.
Plaustrum
saxis onustum
luto obhaeserat;
ibi bubulcus
voce maxima
[dicitur] inclamitare Divos,
sed
ipse nil conari,
nec digito uno
tangere arduam molem.
Supremus robore Divum
olli adstitit
et iussit
manum applicare tormento,
fatus,
"invocato auxilium divinum
ita:
ne tute corrumpas vota
ignavia."
For an image, here is Walter Crane's illustration for the story (along with a version in limerick form):
Some dynamic content may not display if you are reading this blog via RSS or through an email subscription. You can always visit the Bestiaria Latina blog to see the full content, and to find out how to subscribe to the latest posts.
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