Fable 39: Aquila et Testudo

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 39 in the book: De Aquila et Testudine. This is a very unusual fable which seems to have been inspired by a simple proverb in a fragment of Achaeus; so far, I have not found it in any other collection of Latin Aesop's fables - but I keep looking! For more information Fable about this fable, see the Discussion Forum for this fable at the Aesopus Ning.

Certamen inire voluit Testudo reptilis cum Aquila velocissima. Locus designatus est et, qui spatio trium dierum ad propositum locum prius venerat, victor salutaretur. Aquila tardigradam contempsit Testudinem, autumans se alarum impetu posse brevissime ad locum avolare. Negligens igitur secessit, aliis intenta, sed Testudo indefatigabili labore et sollertia infra tempus et ante Aquilam arrepsit ad locum et omnium calculis victor evasit.

Certamen inire voluit Testudo reptilis
= Here we meet one of the main characters of the fable: the tortoise. Notice that it is the tortoise who initiates the contest!

cum Aquila velocissima.
= Here we meet the other main character of the fable: the eagle. The superlative here implies the idea that the eagle is not just swift, but "swiftest (of all)."

Locus designatus est
= Notice that in English we get two different words (by two different routes) from the Latin designare: "design" and "designate." The word locus here refers to what is actually the finish line of the race.

et, qui spatio trium dierum ad propositum locum prius venerat,
= The use of the pluperfect indicative is rarely used in hypothetical situations. As you can see, it conveys the idea of what had to have happened first, before some other thing could have happened afterwards - as you will see in the next clause.

victor salutaretur.
= The subjunctive expresses the hypothetical result of what would happen to the one who had reached the finish line first within the allotted time: “he would be hailed (as) the winner."

Aquila
= We are going to learn about each of the two contestants now, beginning with the eagle.

tardigradam contempsit Testudinem,
= The phrase tardigradam testudinem wraps around the verb.

autumans
= The participle agrees with the subject of the main verb, the eagle.

se alarum impetu posse brevissime ad locum avolare.
= Accusative plus infinitive construction in indirect statement. The adverb brevissime is the superlative form of the adverb, breviter.

Negligens igitur secessit,
= The postpositive particle is in second position, as you would expect.

aliis intenta,
= The participle agrees with the subject of the main verb, which is a feminine noun, aquila, the eagle.

sed Testudo
= Now we will learn about the efforts of the other contestant: the tortoise!

indefatigabili labore et sollertia
= The phrase indefatigabili labore is unambiguously ablative, which allows you to safely guess that the ambiguous form sollertia is also an ablative.

infra tempus et ante Aquilam
= The phrase infra tempus means “within (under) the time limit.”

arrepsit ad locum
= The locus is the finish line, the place that the contestants in the race had to reach.

et omnium calculis victor evasit.
= The noun victor is part of the predicate: “turned out to be the winner,“ “emerged (as) the winner.”

There is no illustration for this fable in Barlow (that is, the illustration does not match the fable, but instead matches the more famous fable of the eagle who took the turtle flying at the turtle's own foolish request).

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Fable 38: Gallus Gallinaceus

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 38 in the book: De Gallo Gallinaceo. For more information Fable about this fable, see the Discussion Forum for this fable at the Aesopus Ning.

Gallus gallinaceus, dum armato pede sterquilinium dissipando disiicit, invenit gemmam: “Quid (inquiens) rem tam fulgurantem reperio? Si gemmarius invenisset, laetabundus exultaret, quippe qui scivit pretium. Mihi quidem nulli est usui, nec magni aestimo. Unum etenim hordei granum est mihi longe pretiosius quam omnes gemmae, quamvis ad invidiam micent diei opprobriumque solis.”

Gallus gallinaceus,
= Here we meet the main, and only, character in this fable: the barnyard rooster.

dum armato pede sterquilinium dissipando disiicit,
= The gerund is used here in the ablative case.

invenit gemmam:
= Although Latin sentences often put the verb in final position, here that emphatic position is instead given to the jewel, the surprising item that the rooster has found!

“Quid (inquiens) rem tam fulgurantem reperio?
= The interrogative quid here means “why? for what reason?”, with the present participle inquiens indicating a direct quotation.

Si gemmarius invenisset,
= The pluperfect subjunctive is able to introduce a contrary-to-fact hypothetical in the past: if a jeweler had found the jewel - but he did not; the rooster, instead, is the one who actually found the jewel.

laetabundus exultaret,
= The imperfect subjunctive expresses a contrary-to-fact hypothetical in the present: he would be jumping with joy - but our hypothetical jeweler is not jumping for joy, and the rooster is not very happy either!

quippe qui scivit pretium.
= The particle quippe is often used with the relative pronoun to mean “inasmuch as (he is) someone who . . .” For the perfect scivit here, you want the sense of the English perfect: "someone who has come to know, someone who has learned . . ."

Mihi quidem
= Notice the postpositive particle in second position, as you would expect.

nulli est usui,
= The predicate dative expresses the purpose the jewel serves for the rooster; it is nulli usui, “no use” to him.

nec magni aestimo.
= You can replace the word nec with the words et non, with the predicate genitive expressing a quantity of value: et non magni aestimo, “and I do not consider it to be of great value.”

Unum etenim hordei granum
= Normally etenim would begin the clause, but here the word unum has been placed in the emphatic first position.

est mihi longe pretiosius
= Note the neuter form of the comparative adjective, pretiosius, agreeing with granum.

quam omnes gemmae,
= The word quam coordinates a comparison introduced by pretiosius.

quamvis ad invidiam micent diei
= The phrase ad invidiam diei wraps around the verb; the subjunctive, introduced by quamvis, states a hypothetical possibility: “even if (the jewels) gleam to (the point that they are) the envy of the daylight.”

opprobriumque solis.”
= This construction parallels ad invidiam diei, with the preposition ad omitted: (quamvis micent ad) opprobrium solis, “and even if they gleam to the point that they are the sun’s shame (i.e., a source of shame for the sun).”

Here is the illustration of the fable by Francis Barlow:

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Fable 37: Leo et Mus

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 37 in the book: De Leone et Mure. For more information Fable about this fable, see the Discussion Forum for this fable at the Aesopus Ning.

Leo, laqueo captus, cum ita se irretitum videret ut nullis viribus sese explicare posset, Murem rogavit, ut, abroso laqueo, eum liberaret, promittens tanti beneficii se non futurum immemorem. Quod cum Mus prompte fecisset, Leonem rogavit ut filiam eius sibi traderet in uxorem. Nec abnuit Leo ut benefactori suo rem gratam faceret. Nova autem nupta, ad virum veniens, cum eum non videret, casu illum pede pressit et contrivit.

Leo, laqueo captus,
= Here we meet one of the main characters in the story: a lion.

cum ita se irretitum videret
= The subjunctive, introduced by cum, gives causal background information; this is why the lion had to ask the mouse for help. The verb videret introduces an indirect statement, accusative plus infinitive, with se as the accusative subject.

ut nullis viribus sese explicare posset,
= The ut clause expresses the result of being trapped in the snare: the lion cannot untangle himself.

Murem rogavit,
= Here we meet the other main character of the story: a tiny mouse.

ut, abroso laqueo, eum liberaret,
= In this statement, you can get a sense of how the ablative absolute evolved as a grammatical structure in Latin: the chewing through of the snare's ropes (ablative absolute, abroso laqueo) is the means by which the mouse could free the lion.

promittens
= The participle agrees with the subject of the main verb, rogavit, the lion.

tanti beneficii se non futurum immemorem.
= Accusative plus infinitive construction in indirect statement, with se as the accusative subject and immemorem as the predicate adjective: se non futurum (esse) immemorem. The adjective immemorem takes a genitive complement.

Quod cum Mus prompte fecisset,
= The relative pronoun connects back to the previous sentence, referring to the general situation described there, i.e. setting the lion free; the subjunctive, introduced by cum, gives causal background information as to why the mouse was able to ask the lion for a favor.

Leonem rogavit
= Can you guess what kind of reward the mouse is going to ask for?

ut filiam eius sibi traderet in uxorem.
= This idiom traderet in uxorem is roughly like the English phrase, “bestow in marriage.”

Nec abnuit Leo
= You can replace the word nec with the words et non to make the meaning of the sentence more clear: et non abnuit leo, “and the lion did not refuse.”

ut benefactori suo rem gratam faceret.
= As often, the English use of the infinitive ("to refuse to do something") is equivalent to an ut clause in Latin.

Nova autem nupta,
= Notice the placement of the postpositive particle in second position, as you would expect.

ad virum veniens,
= The vir here means "husband," not "man" (it refers to a mouse, after all!).

cum eum non videret,
= The subjunctive, introduced by cum, gives causal background information; this is why the lioness stepped on the mouse.

casu illum pede pressit et contrivit.
= The lioness brought about this tragedy "casually," so to speak - by chance, casu.

Here is the illustration of the fable by Francis Barlow:

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