Fable 16: Cicada et Formica

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 16 in the book: De Cicada et Formica. For more information Fable about this fable, see the Discussion Forum for this fable at the Aesopus Ning.

Dum per aestatem Cicada cantat, Formica suam exercet messem, trahendo in antra grana et in hiemem reponendo. Saeviente autem bruma, famelica Cicada venit ad Formicam et mendicat victum; renuebat autem Formica, dictitans sese laborasse, dum illa cantabat.

Dum per aestatem Cicada cantat,
= The first sentence introduces one of the two main characters in the story: the cricket.

Formica suam exercet messem,
= Here is the other main character in the story: the ant. Note that the noun phrase wraps around the verb.

trahendo in antra grana
= Note the use of the gerund in the ablative case; as a verbal noun, the gerund can take a direct object, as it does here. The ablative here expresses the activity going on in order to carry out the harvest: the grains have to be brought into the ant's hole.

et in hiemem reponendo.
= Another gerund in the ablative case, explaining more of what happens during the harvest. Note the metaphorical use of in here; instead of expressing space, it expresses time. (Most expressions of location in space can also be used as metaphorical expressions of time.)

Saeviente autem bruma,
= Ablative absolute construction, with the postpositive particle in second position, as you would expect.

famelica Cicada
= The adjective explains the cricket's situation when there is no longer food for the taking out there in the field!

venit ad Formicam
= Although it is unclear whether the verb here should be taken as present or perfect, it does not matter for the purposes of storytelling (Latin freely intermingles present and past tense verbs in telling a story); as you read on, you will see that the verb probably should be taken as present tense.

et mendicat victum;
= The present tense verb here confirms that venit should probably also be considered present tense. Careful with victum - this is the accusative of the fourth-declension noun, victus, a verbal noun or supine from the verb vivere. (Because this verb is not transitive, its supine is a bit harder to recognize, since you are not used to seeing a perfect participle for this verb.) The root of this word is the same as in the word vivere, "to live," because you need food to live (it is NOT from the word vincere, "to defeat," although the perfect participle of that verb is, indeed, victus).

renuebat autem Formica,
= Note the postpositive participle in second position, just as you would expect.

dictitans
= This is an intensifed iterative form of the verb dicere -> dictitare.

sese laborasse,
= Accusative plus infinitive construction in indirect statement; sese is an alternate form of se (referring back to the main subject of the sentence, the ant), and laborasse is an alternate form of laboravisse.

dum illa cantabat.
= The pronoun here refers to the cricket, who was indeed singing, as we learned in the very opening words of the fable.

Here is the illustration of the fable by Francis Barlow:

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The Aesopus Ning is now open for business - so, for more fables and to share your questions and comments with others, come visit the Ning!

Fable 15: Auceps et Palumbes

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 15 in the book: De Aucupe et Palumbe. For more information Fable about this fable, see the Discussion Forum for this fable at the Aesopus Ning.

It foras Auceps; videt nidulantem procul in altissima arbore Palumbem. Adproperat et, dum insidias molitur, premit forte calcibus Anguem, qui ex improviso mordebat. Auceps, subito exanimatus malo: “Me miserum! (inquit) Dum alteri insidior, ipse dispereo.”

It foras Auceps;
= Notice that Latin is quite happy to narrate stories using present tense verbs or past tense verbs, and to switch tenses during the telling of the story (usually considered a stylistic no-no in English).

videt
= The subject is implied but not stated; until we are given reason to conclude otherwise, we should assume that this it the subject of the previous verb, the birdcatcher.

nidulantem procul in altissima arbore Palumbem.
= The object of the verb, the ring-dove, is described with a participial phrase that includes both an adverb and a prepositional phrase.

Adproperat
= Again, in the absence of some indication as to change of subject, we can continue to assume that the subject is the birdcatcher.

et, dum insidias molitur,
= The deponent verb is transitive and takes a direct object in the accusative.

premit forte calcibus Anguem,
= Now the birdcatcher is in trouble: he has stepped by chance on what is literally a snake in the grass!

qui ex improviso mordebat.
= The referent of the relative pronoun is the snake, and the implied object of the verb is the birdcatcher: qui (anguis) modebat (aucupem).

Auceps, subito exanimatus malo:
= The ablative phrase wraps around the adjective.

“Me miserum! (inquit)
= An exclamation using the accusative.

Dum alteri insidior,
= The verb takes a dative complement.

ipse dispereo.”
= The word ipse refers to the implied subject: (ego) ipse dispereo.

Here is the illustration of the fable by Francis Barlow:

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The Aesopus Ning is now open for business - so, for more fables and to share your questions and comments with others, come visit the Ning!

Fable 14: Rana et Bos

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 14 in the book: De Rana et Bove. For more information Fable about this fable, see the Discussion Forum for this fable at the Aesopus Ning.

Rana, cupida aequandi Bovem, se distendebat. Filius hortabatur Matrem coepto desistere; nihil enim esse Ranam ad Bovem. Illa autem, posthabito consilio, secundum intumuit. Clamitat Natus: “Crepes licet, Mater, Bovem nunquam vinces.” Tertium autem cum intumuisset, crepuit.

Rana, cupida aequandi Bovem,
= As often, the first words of the fable introduce us to the main characters: the frog and the ox. The adjective cupida (“desirous of”) takes a genitive complement, aequandi, a gerund which has bovem as its direct object.

se distendebat.
= Here is the main verb of the sentence. As often, Latin distinguishes between the transitive and intransitive forms of the verb using the reflexive pronoun, where English is more lackadaisical about make such distinctions (e.g., transitive expand, "I have to expand my belt a few notches" v. intransitive expand, "my waist is expanding!").

Filius hortabatur Matrem
= Note that even though frogs are grammatically feminine in Latin, they can have sons! The fact that animal gender names are usually either masculine or feminine, when the animals themselves come in both sexes, can cause some awkwardness in storytelling. Even if the frog is a feminine noun, there are frog mothers and fathers in frog families, and frog sons, as you can see here.

coepto desistere;
= The infinitive desistere (“cease from, give up on”) takes an ablative complement.

nihil enim esse Ranam ad Bovem.
= This is an accusative plus infinitive construction in indirect statement, with an implied verb of speaking, as the son addresses his mother. The prepositional phrase expresses the idea of comparison: “(in comparison) to an ox.”

Illa autem,
= The postpositive particle marks the beginning of a new sentence, and note the change in subject: it is no longer the son, but the mother frog who is now the subject.

posthabito consilio,
= An ablative absolute construction: the mother has disregarded her son's good advice!

secundum intumuit.
= Be careful with secundum: this is an adverb, meaning "a second time" (compare the similar use of tertium below).

Clamitat Natus:
= We are back to the warnings shouted by the son, this time with an intensive iterative form of the verb clamare -> clamitare.

“Crepes licet, Mater,
= The hypothetical force of the subjunctive is explained by licet, meaning “even if, although."

Bovem nunquam vinces.”
= As often, the subjective verb is pair here with a future verb. The subjunctive and the future indicative actually have a great deal in common - even though there are indicative forms used for the future tense, it definitely cannot ever be a statement of "fact" in quite the same way that a statement about the present or the past qualifies as fact.

Tertium autem cum intumuisset,
= The subjunctive, introduced by cum, gives causal background information; this is why the frog finally exploded. The adverb tertium is in the emphatic first position in the clause, with the postpositive particle autem in second position, followed by cum - which has been displaced from first position in its clause by these other words with greater claims to word order priority.

crepuit.
= So we have the final indicative verb which gives the grand finale of the story: the frog exploded!

Here is the illustration of the fable by Francis Barlow:

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The Aesopus Ning is now open for business - so, for more fables and to share your questions and comments with others, come visit the Ning!