100. De Delectore Militum (Irenaeus)]

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 Delectore Militum, the story of how appearances can be deceiving in military recruitment. This is not a fable I've seen anywhere else; it looks like a companion piece to the story about the unprepossessing race-horse story from yesterday.

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

Quidam, a Duce suo missus ut Milites conscriberet, attendebat maxime externam oris et corporis speciem in iis qui sese ipsi offerebant; quos inter unus eminebat, corporis habitudine et procera statura conspicuus, quem idcirco prae ceteris volebat deligere; et alium reiectare, minus bene natum, quem tamen omnes ut generosum et strenuum militem efferebant; et speciosum illum ut effeminatum et ignavum. Utriusque ergo nomen inscipsit, et effectu probavit quod dicebatur hominesque haud a specie externa iudicandos.

Quidam,
a Duce suo missus
ut Milites conscriberet,
attendebat maxime
externam oris et corporis speciem
in iis
qui sese ipsi offerebant;
quos inter
unus eminebat,
corporis habitudine
et procera statura
conspicuus,
quem idcirco
prae ceteris
volebat deligere;
et alium reiectare,
minus bene natum,
quem tamen
omnes
ut generosum et strenuum militem
efferebant;
et speciosum illum
ut effeminatum et ignavum.
Utriusque ergo nomen inscipsit,
et effectu probavit
quod dicebatur
hominesque
haud a specie externa
iudicandos.

Here's an illustration for the fable (image source):

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