Phaedrus: Appendix Perottina

Vulpem rogabat partem caudae simius,
contegere honeste posset ut nudas nates;
cui sic maligna: "Longior fiat licet,
tamen illam citius per lutum et spinas traham,
partem tibi quam quamuis paruam impartiar."

The monkey asked the fox for a portion of her tail,
so that he might decently be able to cover his naked buttocks;
to whom the malicious one thus: "Even if it be made longer,
still I would sooner drag it through mud and thorns
than share with you any part of it, however small."

II. [Auctor]
De his qui legunt libellum

Hoc qualecumque est Musa quod ludit mea,
nequitia pariter laudat et frugalitas,
sed haec simpliciter; illa tacite irascitur.

2. [Author]
On those who read the little book

Whatever this is that my Muse plays with,
it equally praises profligacy and frugality,
but this one simply; that one grows angry silently.

III. [Auctor]
Non esse plus aequo petendum

3. [Author]
That more than is equitable is not to be sought

Arbitrio si Natura fixisset meo
genus mortale, longe foret instructius.
Nam cuncta nobis attribuisset commoda
quae cui Fortuna indulgens animali dedit,
elephanti uires et leonis impetum,
cornicis aeuum, gloriam tauri trucis,
equi uelocis placidam mansuetudinem;
et adesset homini sua tamen sollertia.
Nimirum in caelo secum ridet Iuppiter,
haec qui negauit magno consilio hominibus,
ne sceptrum mundi raperet nostra audacia.
Ergo contenti munere inuicti Iouis
fatalis annos decurramus temporis,
nec plus conemur quam sinit mortalitas.

If by my arbitration Nature had fixed the mortal race,
it would be far more well-equipped.
For she would have attributed to us all the advantages
which indulgent Fortune has given to each animal:
the elephant’s strengths and the lion’s impetus,
the crow’s age, the glory of the savage bull,
the mild mansuetude of the swift horse;
and yet to man his own cleverness would be present.
Doubtless in heaven Jupiter laughs to himself,
he who denied these things to human beings by great counsel,
lest our audacity seize the scepter of the world.
Therefore, content with the gift of unconquered Jove,
let us run through the years of fated time,
nor attempt more than mortality allows.

IV. [Mercurius et mulieres duae]
De eodem alia fabula

Mercurium hospitio mulieres olim duae
inliberali et sordido receperant;
quarum una in cunis paruum habebat filium,
quaestus placebat alteri meretricius.
Ergo ut referret gratiam officiis parem,
abiturus et iam limen excedens ait:
"Deum uidetis; tribuam uobis protinus
quod quaeque optarit." Mater suppliciter rogat
barbatum ut uideat natum quam primum suum;
moecha ut sequatur sese quidquid tetigerit.
Volat Mercurius, intro redeunt mulieres.
Barbatus infans, ecce, uagitus ciet.
Id forte meretrix cum rideret ualidius,
nares repleuit umor ut fieri solet.
Emungere igitur se uolens predit manu
traxitque ad terram nasi longitudinem,
et aliam ridens ipsa ridenda extitit.

4. [Mercury and two women]
Another fable on the same

Mercury two women once had received with illiberal and sordid hospitality;
of whom one had a little son in the cradle,
the meretricious gain pleased the other.
Therefore, that he might repay a favor equal to their offices,
about to depart and now stepping over the threshold he said:
"You see a god; I will grant you forthwith
what each one shall have wished." The mother beseechingly asks
that she may see her own son bearded as soon as possible;
the adulteress that whatever she may touch follow her.
Mercury flies off, the women go back inside.
Lo, the bearded infant sets up a wailing.
At that, as the meretrix was laughing rather heartily,
moisture filled her nostrils, as is wont to happen.
Therefore wishing to blow her nose, putting forth her hand
she dragged the length of her nose to the ground,
and while laughing at another, she herself became laughable.

V/VI. [Prometheus et dolus]
De ueritate et mendacio

5/6. [Prometheus and deceit]
On truth and mendacity

Olim Prometheus saeculi figulus noui
cura subtili Veritatem fecerat,
ut iura posset inter homines reddere.
Subito accersitus nuntio magni Iouis
commendat officinam fallaci Dolo,
in disciplinam nuper quem receperat.
Hic studio accensus, facie simulacrum pari,
una statura, simile et membris omnibus,
dum tempus habuit callida finxit manu.
Quod prope iam totum mire cum positum foret,
lutum ad faciendos illi defecit pedes.
Redit magister, quo festinanter Dolus
metu turbatus in suo sedit loco.
Mirans Prometheus tantam similitudinem
propriae uideri uoluit gloriam.
Igitur fornaci pariter duo signa intulit;
quibus percoctis atque infuso spiritu
modesto gressu sancta incessit Veritas,
at trunca species haesit in uestigio.
Tunc falsa imago atque operis furtiui labor
Mendacium appellatum est, quod negantibus
pedes habere facile et ipse adsentio.
Simulata interdum initio prosunt hominibus,
sed tempore ipsa tamen apparet ueritas.

Once Prometheus, the potter of a new age,
with subtle care had made Truth,
so that he might render justice among men.
Suddenly, summoned by a message of great Jove,
he entrusts the workshop to deceitful Dolus,
whom he had recently received into training.
He, inflamed with zeal, an image with a matching face,
of equal stature, and like in all the limbs,
while he had time, fashioned with a cunning hand.
When this, now almost entirely, had been wondrously set in place,
the clay failed him for making the feet.
The master returns, whereupon Dolus,
troubled by fear, hastily sat in his own place.
Marveling, Prometheus wished so great a likeness
to be seen as the glory of his own work.
Therefore he brought the two figures alike into the furnace;
when these had been thoroughly baked and spirit infused,
holy Truth advanced with a modest step,
but the truncated form stuck fast in its track.
Then the false image and the labor of the furtive work
was called Mendacity, which they say
has no feet, and I myself readily assent.
Pretenses sometimes at the beginning profit men,
yet in time Truth herself appears.

VII. [Auctor]
Sensum aestimandum esse, non uerba

7. [Author]
Sense is to be esteemed, not words

Ixion quod uersari narratur rota,
uolubilem Fortunam iactari docet.
Aduersus altos Sisyphus montes agens
saxum labore summo, quod de uertice
sudore semper irrito reuoluitur,
ostendit hominum sine fine [esse] miserias.
Quod stans in amne Tantalus medio sitit,
auari describuntur, quos circumfluit
usus bonorum, sed nil possunt tangere.
urnis scelestae Danaides portant aquas,
pertusa nec complere possunt dolia;
immo luxuriae quicquid dederis perfluet.
Nouem porrectus Tityos est per iugera,
tristi renatum suggerens poenae iecur;
quo quis maiorem possidet terrae locum,
hoc demonstratur cura grauiore adfici.
Consulto inuoluit ueritatem antiquitas
ut sapiens intellegeret, erraret rudis.

Ixion, who is narrated to be whirled on a wheel,
teaches that rolling Fortune is tossed about.
Sisyphus, driving a stone against high mountains
with utmost labor, which from the summit
is always rolled back with unavailing sweat,
shows the miseries of men [to be] without end.
That Tantalus, standing in the middle of a river, thirsts,
portrays the avaricious, whom the use of goods flows around,
yet they can touch nothing.
The wicked Danaids carry waters in urns,
nor can they fill their pierced casks;
nay, whatever you give to luxury will flow through.
Tityos is stretched out across nine acres,
his liver reborn supplying a sad penalty;
the greater the tract of earth a man possesses,
the more he is shown to be afflicted with heavier care.
Antiquity deliberately enveloped the truth
so that the wise might understand, the untrained might err.

VIII. [Auctor]
De oraculo Apollinis

8. [Author]
On the oracle of Apollo

Vtilius nobis quid sit dic, Phoebe, obsecro,
qui Delphos et formosum Parnasum incolis.
Subito sacratae uatis horrescunt comae,
tripodes mouentur, mugit adytis Religio,
tremuntque lauri et ipse pallescit dies.
Voces resoluit icta Pytho numine:
"Audite, gentes, Delii monitus dei:
pietatem colite, uota superis reddite;
patriam, parentes, natos, castas coniuges
defendite armis, hostem ferro pellite;
amicos subleuate, miseris parcite;
bonis fauete, subdolis ite obuiam;
delicta uindicate, corripite impios,
punite turpi thalamos qui uiolant stupro;
malos cauete, nulli nimium credite."
Haec elocuta concidit uirgo furens;
furens profecto, nam quae dixit perdidit.

Tell us what is more useful for us, Phoebus, I beseech, you who inhabit Delphi and fair Parnassus.
Suddenly the sacred seer’s hair bristles,
the tripods are moved, Religion bellows in the adyta,
and the laurels tremble and the day itself grows pale.
Smitten by the Pythian numen she releases voices:
"Hear, peoples, the monitions of the Delian god:
cultivate piety, render vows back to the Supernal Ones;
defend with arms your fatherland, parents, offspring, chaste spouses;
drive the enemy off with iron;
uplift friends, spare the wretched;
favor the good, go to meet the wily;
vindicate delicts, chastise the impious,
punish those who violate marriage-beds with foul defilement;
beware the wicked, trust no one too much."
Having spoken these things, the maiden, frenzied, fell;
frenzied indeed, for she lost what she had said.

IX. [Aesopus et scriptor]
De malo scriptore se laudante

9. [Aesop and the writer]
On a bad writer praising himself

Aesopo quidam scripta recitarat mala,
in quis inepte multum se iactauerat.
Scire ergo cupiens quidnam sentiret senex,
"Numquid tibi" inquit "uisus sum superbior?"
Haud uana nobis ingeni fiducia est."
Confectus ille pessimo uolumine,
"Ego" inquit "quod te laudas uehementer probo;
namque hoc ab alio numquam contiget tibi."

Someone had recited to Aesop some bad writings,
in which he had ineptly vaunted himself a great deal.
Therefore, wishing to know what the old man thought,
he said, "Did I seem to you rather arrogant?
The confidence we have in our genius is not vain."
He, worn out by the very bad volume, said,
"I, for my part, strongly approve that you praise yourself;
for this will never befall you from another."

X. [Pompeius et miles]
Quam difficile sit hominem nosse

10. [Pompey and a soldier]
How difficult it is to know a man

Magni Pompeii mile uasti corporis
fracte loquendo et ambulando molliter
famam cinaedi traxerat certissimi.
Hic insidiatus nocte iumentis ducis
cum ueste et auro et magno argenti pondere
auertit mulos. Factum rumor dissipat;
arguitur miles, rapitur in praetorium.
Tum Magnus: "Quid ais? Tune me, commilito,
spoliare es ausus?" Ille continuo exscreat
sibi in sinistram et sputum digitis dissipat:
"Sic, imperator, oculi exstillescant mei,
si uidi aut tetigi." Tum uir animi simplicis
id dedecus castrorum propelli iubet,
nec cadere in illum credit tantam audaciam.
Breue tempus intercessit, et fidens manu
unum de nostris prouocabat barbarus.
Sibi quisque metuit; primi iam mussant duces.
Tandem cinaedus habitu, sed Mars uiribus,
adit sedentem pro tribunali ducem,
et uoce molli: "Licet?" eum uero eici,
ut in re atroci, Magnus stomachans imperat.
Tum quidam senior ex amicis principis:
"Hunc ego committi satius fortunae arbitror,
in quo iactura leuis est, quam fortem uirum,
qui casu uictus temeritatis te arguat."
Assensit Magnus et permisit militi
prodire contra; qui mirante exercitu
dicto celerius hostis abscidit caput,
uictorque rediit.

A soldier of great Pompey, of vast body,
by speaking affectedly and by walking softly
had drawn upon himself the reputation of a most certain catamite.
This man, having lain in wait at night for the beasts of burden of the leader,
with clothing and gold and a great weight of silver
drove off the mules. Rumor spreads the deed;
the soldier is accused, he is dragged into the praetorium.
Then Magnus: "What say you? Were you, fellow-soldier,
daring to despoil me?" He straightway spits
to his left and scatters the spittle with his fingers:
"Thus, imperator, may my eyes spill out,
if I saw or touched." Then the man of straightforward spirit
orders that disgrace of the camp to be driven off,
nor does he believe such great audacity could belong to him.
A short time intervened, and a barbarian, confident in his hand,
was challenging one of our men.
Each man fears for himself; already the leaders are muttering.
At last a catamite in dress, but a Mars in strength,
approaches the leader sitting before the tribunal,
and with a soft voice: "May it be permitted?" But Magnus, chafing,
orders him to be cast out, as in a dire matter.
Then a certain elder from the friends of the princeps:
"I judge it better to commit this one to fortune,
in whom the loss is light, than a brave man,
who, if overcome by chance, would charge you with rashness."
Magnus assented and permitted the soldier
to go forth against him; who, with the army marveling,
quicker than said, cut off the enemy’s head,
and returned victorious.

His tunc Pompeius super:
"Corona, miles, equidem te dono libens,
quia uindicasti laudem Romani imperi;
sed exstillescant oculi sic" inquit "mei,"
turpe illud imitans ius iurandum militis,
"nisi tu abstulisti sarcinas nuper meas."

Then Pompey upon this said:
"A crown, soldier, indeed I bestow on you gladly,
because you vindicated the laud of the Roman imperium;
but 'may my eyes ooze out thus,' he said,
imitating that shameful oath of the soldier,
'unless you carried off my baggage recently.'"

XI. [Iuno, Venus et gallina]
De mulierum libidine

11. [Juno, Venus and the hen]
On the libido of women

Cum castitatem Iuno laudaret suam,
iocunditatis causa non renuit Venus,
nullamque ut affirmaret esse illi parem
interrogasse sic gallinam dicitur:
"Dic, sodes, quanto possis satiari cibo?"
Respondit illa "Quidquid dederis, satis erit,
sic ut concedas pedibus aliquid scalpere."
"Ne scalpas" inquit "satis est modius tritici?
"Plane, immo nimium est, sed permitte scalpere."
"Ex toto ne quid scalpas, quid desideras?"
Tum denique illa fassa est naturae malum:
"Licet horreum mi pateat, ego scalpam tamen."
Risisse Iuno dicitur Veneris iocos,
quia per gallinam denotauit feminas.

While Juno was praising her own chastity,
Venus, for jocundity’s sake, did not refuse,
and, so that she might affirm that none was equal to her,
she is said to have questioned a hen thus:
"Tell me, pray, by how much food you can be satisfied?"
She answered, "Whatever you give will be enough,
provided that you allow me to scratch something with my feet."
"Do not scratch," she says, "is a modius of wheat enough?"
"Clearly, nay, it is too much, but permit the scratching."
"If entirely you are not to scratch anything, what do you desire?"
Then at last she confessed the evil of her nature:
"Even if the granary lies open to me, I will scratch nonetheless."
Juno is said to have laughed at the jests of Venus,
because through the hen she denoted women.

XII.Iuuencus et bos uetulus
Quomodo domanda sit ferox iuuentus

Paterfamilias saeuum habebat filium.
Hic, e conspectu cum patris recesserat,
uerberibus seruos afficiebat plurimis
et exercebat feruidam adulescentiam.
Aesopus ergo narrat hoc breuiter seni:
"Quidam iuuenco uetulum adiungebat bouem.
Is cum refugiens impari collo iugum
aetatis excusaret uires languidas,
'Non est quod timeas' inquit illi rusticus;
'non ut labores facio, sed ut istum domes,
qui calce et cornu multos reddit debiles.'
Et tu nisi istum tecum assidue retines,
feroxque ingenium comprimis clementia,
uide ne querela maior accrescat domus."
[Atrocitati mansuetudo est remedium.]

12. The Young Bullock and the Old Ox
How fierce youth ought to be tamed

The paterfamilias had a savage son.
When this one had withdrawn from his father’s sight,
he would afflict the slaves with very many beatings
and exercised his fervid adolescence.
Aesop therefore relates this briefly to the old man:
"A certain man was yoking an old ox to a young bullock.
He, shrinking back from the yoke with an ill-matched neck,
was excusing his enfeebled powers on account of age;
'There is no cause for you to fear,' said the rustic to him;
'I do this not that you may toil, but that you may tame that one,
who by kick and horn renders many debilitated.'
And you too, unless you keep that one constantly with you
and compress his ferocious temperament with clemency,
see lest a greater complaint accrue to the household."
[For atrocity, mansuetude is the remedy.]

XIII. [Aesopus et uictor gymnicus]
Quomodo comprimatur aliquando iactantia

13. [Aesop and the gymnic victor]
How boastfulness is sometimes restrained

Victorem forte gymnici certaminis
iactantiorem Phryx cum uidisset sophus,
interrogauit an plus aduersarius
ualuisset neruis. Ille: "Ne istud dixeris;
multo fuere uires maiores meae."
"Quod" inquit "ergo, stulte, meruisti decus,
minus ualentem se uicisti fortior?
Ferendus esses, arte si te diceres
superasse eum qui te esset melior uiribus."

Seeing by chance the victor of a gymnic contest
rather boastful, a Phrygian sage, when he had seen him,
asked whether the adversary
had prevailed more by sinews. He: "Do not say that;
by much my forces were greater."
"What honor, then, fool, have you earned,
that, being stronger, you defeated one less strong?
You would be bearable, if you said that by art you had
overcome him who was better than you in strength."

XIV. [Asinus ad lyram]
Quomodo ingenia saepe calamitate intercidant

14. [The Donkey to the Lyre]
How talents are often cut off by calamity

Asinus iacentem uidit in prato lyram;
accessit et temptauit chordas ungula.
Sonuere tactae. "Bella res mehercules
male cessit" inquit "artis quia sum nescius.
Si reperisset aliquis hanc prudentior,
diuinis aures oblectasset cantibus."
Sic saepe ingenia calamitate intercidunt.

A donkey saw a lyre lying in a meadow;
he approached and tried the strings with his hoof.
They sounded when touched. "A fine thing, by Hercules,
has turned out badly," he said, "because I am unknowing of the art.
If someone more prudent had found this,
he would have delighted ears with divine songs."
Thus often talents are cut off by calamity.

XV. [Vidua et miles]
Quanta sit inconstantia et libido mulierum

15. [The Widow and the Soldier]
How great is the inconstancy and libido of women

Per aliquot annos quaedam dilectum uirum
amisit et sarchphago corpus condidit;
a quo reuelli nullo cum posset modo
et in sepulchro lugens uitam degeret,
claram assecuta est famam castae coniugis.
Interea fanum qui compilarant Iouis,
cruci suffixi luerunt poenas numini.
Horum reliquias ne quis posset tollere,
custodes dantur milites cadauerum,
monumentum iuxta, mulier quo se incluserat.
Aliquando sitiens unus de custodibus
aquam rogauit media nocte ancillulam,
quae forte dominae tunc adsistebat suae
dormitum eunti; namque lucubrauerat
et usque in serum uigilias perduxerat.
Paulum reclusis foribus miles prospicit,
uidetque egregiam facie pulchra feminam.
Correptus animus ilico succenditur
oriturque sensim ut impotentis cupiditas.
sollers acumen mille causas inuenit,
per quas uidere posset uiduam saepius.
Cotidiana capta consuetudine
paulatim facta est aduenae submissior,
mox artior reuinxit animum copula.
Hic dum consumit noctes custos diligens,
desideratum est corpus ex una cruce.
Turbatus miles factum exponit mulieri.
At sancta mulier "Non est quod timeas" ait,
uirique corpus tradit figendum cruci,
ne subeat ille poenas neglegentiae.
Sic turpitudo laudis obsedit locum.

For several years a certain woman lost her beloved husband
and placed the body in a sarcophagus;
since she could by no means be torn away from him,
and, mourning in the sepulcher, she passed her life,
she attained a bright fame as a chaste spouse.
Meanwhile, those who had plundered the temple of Jupiter,
affixed to the cross, paid penalties to the divinity.
Lest anyone could remove the remains of these,
guards are assigned—soldiers—over the corpses,
next to the monument where the woman had enclosed herself.
At some point, one of the guards, thirsty,
in the middle of the night asked the little handmaid for water,
who by chance was then attending her mistress
as she went to sleep; for she had lucubrated
and had prolonged her vigils late.
With the doors opened a little, the soldier looks in,
and sees a distinguished woman, fair in face.
His seized mind is at once inflamed,
and gradually there arises that ungoverned lust.
Clever acumen finds a thousand causes
by which he might be able to see the widow more often.
Captured by daily familiarity,
gradually she became more submissive to the newcomer,
soon a tighter bond re-bound their spirit.
Here, while the diligent guard consumes the nights,
a body was missing from one cross.
The disturbed soldier explains the deed to the woman.
But the holy woman says, "There is nothing for you to fear,"
and she hands over her husband’s body to be fastened to the cross,
lest he undergo the penalties of negligence.
Thus turpitude besieged the place of praise.

XVI. [Duo proci]
Fortunam interdum praeter spem atque expectationem hominibus fauere

16. [Two suitors]
Fortune sometimes favors people beyond hope and expectation

Vnam expectebant uirginem iuuenes duo.
Vicit locuples genus et formam pauperis.
Vt nuptiarum dictus aduenit dies,
amans, dolorem quia non poterat perpeti,
maerens propinquos contulit se in hortulos,
quos ultra paulo uilla splendens diuitis
erat acceptura uirginem e matri sinu,
parum explicatur, turba concurrit frequens,
et coniugalem praefent Hymenaeus facem.
Asellus autem, qui solebat pauperi
quaestum deferre, stabat portae in limine.
Illum puellae casu conducunt sui,
uiae labores teneros ne laedant pedes.
Repente caelum, Veneris misericordia,
uentis mouetur, intonat mundi fragor
noctemque densis horridam nimbis parat.
Lux rapitur oculis, et simul uis grandinis
effusa trepidos passim comites dissipat,
sibi quemque cogens petere praesidium fuga.
Asellus notum proxime tectum subit,
et uoce magna sese uenisse indicat.
Procurrunt pueri, pulchram aspiciunt uirginem
et admirantur; deinde domino nuntiant.
Inter sodales ille paucos accubans
amorem crebris auocabat poculis.
Vbi nuntiatum est, recreatus gaudiis
hortante Baccho et Venere, dulcis perficit
aequalitatis inter plausus nuptias.
Quaerunt parentes per praeconem filiam;
Nouus maritus coniuge amissa dolet.
Quid esset actum postquam populo innotuit,
omnes fauorem comprobarunt caelitum.

Two youths were expecting one virgin.
The opulent birth prevailed over the poor man’s beauty.
When the said day of the nuptials arrived,
the lover, because he could not endure the pain,
grieving, betook himself to the neighboring little gardens,
beyond which, a little further, the splendid villa of the rich man
was about to receive the maiden from her mother’s bosom;
scarcely is it set out, a frequent crowd runs together,
and Hymenaeus presents the conjugal torch.
But the little donkey, which was accustomed to bring earnings for the poor man,
was standing on the threshold of the gate.
Her people, by chance, hire him,
lest the labors of the way injure her tender feet.
Suddenly the sky, by the mercy of Venus,
is moved with winds, the crash of the world thunders
and it prepares a dreadful night with dense rain-clouds.
Light is snatched from the eyes, and at the same time the force of hail,
poured out, scatters the fearful companions everywhere,
compelling each to seek protection for himself by flight.
The little donkey enters a nearby known roof,
and with a great voice indicates that he has come.
The boys run forth, they behold the beautiful maiden
and marvel; then they announce to the master.
He, reclining among a few companions,
was calling love away with frequent cups.
When it was announced, refreshed by joys,
with Bacchus and Venus urging on, he accomplishes sweet
nuptials of equality amid applause.
The parents seek their daughter by a public crier;
The new husband grieves with his spouse lost.
After it became known to the people what had been done,
all approved the favor of the celestials.

XVII. [Aesopus et domina]
Quam noceat saepe uerum dicere

17. [Aesop and mistress]
How harmful it often is to speak the truth

Aesopus turpi cum seruiret feminae,
quae se expingendo totum tricaret diem,
uestem uniones aurum argentum sumeret,
nec inueniret digito qui se tangeret,
"Licetne paucis?" inquit. "Dicas." "Censeo,
quiduis efficies, cultum se deposueris."
"Adeone per me uideor tibi meliuscula?"
"Immo, ni dederis, sponda cessabit tua."
"At non cessabunt latera" respondit "tua";
et obiurgari iussit ferulis garrulum.
Post paulo armillam tollit fur argenteam.
Eam non apparere ut dictum est mulieri,
omnes furore plena uocat, et uerbera
proponit grauia, uerum si non dixerint.
"Aliis minare; me" inquit "non falles, era;
flagris sum caesus , uerum quia dixi modo."

Aesop, when he was serving a foul woman,
who by painting herself would trifle away the whole day,
would take clothing, pearls, gold, silver,
and yet not find anyone who would touch her with a finger,
"May I with a few words?" he said. "Speak." "I judge
you will accomplish anything, if you lay aside your adornment."
"Do I, as I am, seem to you a little better?"
"Nay rather, unless you yield, your couch will stand idle."
"But your sides will not be idle," she replied;
and she ordered the garrulous one to be chastised with ferules.
After a little while a thief lifts a silver bracelet.
When it was said to the woman that it did not appear,
she summons everyone, full of fury, and
proposes severe beatings, if they do not tell the truth.
"Threaten others; me," he says, "you will not deceive, mistress;
I have been flogged with whips , because I just told the truth."

XVIII. [Gallus et feles lecticarii]
Nimiam securitatem saepe in periculum homines ducere

18. [The Rooster and the Sedan-bearer’s Cat]
That excessive security often leads men into peril

Feles habebat gallus lecticarios.
Hunc gloriose uulpes ut uidit uehi,
sic est locuta: "Moneo praecaueas dolum;
istorum uultus namque si consideres,
praedam portare iudices, non sarcinam."
Postquam esurire coepit felum societas,
discerpsit dominum et fecit partes funeris.

The rooster had cats as litter-bearers.
When the fox saw this one being carried gloriously,
she spoke thus: "I advise you to pre-beware a trick;
for if you consider the faces of those fellows,
you would judge them to be carrying prey, not a burden."
After the society of cats began to hunger,
it tore the master to pieces and made portions of a funeral.

XIX. [Scrofa parturiens et lupus]
Faciendum prius de homine periculum quam eius te committas fidei

19. [A Sow in labor and a wolf]
One must first make a trial of a man before you commit yourself to his good faith

Premente partu scrofa cum gemeret iacens.
Accurrit lupus et obstetricis partibus
se posse fungi dixit, promittens opem.
Quae uero nosset pectoris fraudem improbi,
suspectum officium repudiauit malefici
et "Satis est" inquit "si recedis longius."
Quodsi perfidiae se commisisset lupi,
pari dolore fata deflesset sua.

With birth pressing, as the sow lay groaning.
The wolf runs up and said that he could perform the obstetric offices,
promising aid.
But she, who indeed knew the fraud of the wicked heart,
repudiated the suspect office of the malefactor
and said, "It is enough if you withdraw farther away."
But if she had committed herself to the perfidy of the wolf,
she would have bewailed her fate with equal pain.

XX. [Aesopus et seruus profugus]
Non esse malo addendum malum

20. [Aesop and a runaway slave]
That evil is not to be added to evil

Seruus profugiens dominum naturae asperae
Aesopo occurrit, notus e uicinia.
"Quid tu confusus?" "Dicam tibi clare, pater,
hoc namque es dignus appellari nomine,
tuto querela quia apud te deponitur.
Plagae supersunt, desunt mihi cibaria.
Subinde ad uillam mittor sine uiatico.
Domi si cenat, totis persto noctibus;
siue est uocatus, iaceo ad lucem in semita.
emerui libertatem, canus seruio.
Vllius essem culpae mihi si conscius,
aequo animo ferrem. Nunquam sum factus satur,
et super infelix saeuum patior dominium.
Has propter causas et quas longum est promere
abire destinaui quo tulerint pedes."
"Ergo" inquit "audi: cum mali nil feceris,
haec experiris, ut refers, incommoda;
quid si peccaris? Quae te passurum putas?"
Tali consilio est a fuga deterritus.

A slave fleeing a master of harsh nature met Aesop, known from the vicinity.
"Why are you confounded?" "I will tell you clearly, father, for you are worthy to be addressed by this name, since a complaint is safely deposited with you.
Blows abound, provisions are lacking to me.
Repeatedly I am sent to the villa without viaticum.
If he dines at home, I stand through whole nights;
or if he is invited out, I lie till light on the footpath.
I have earned freedom; gray-headed, I serve.
If I were conscious to myself of any fault,
I would bear it with an even spirit. I have never been made sated,
and besides, unhappy, I endure a savage dominion.
For these causes, and those which it is long to set forth,
I have determined to depart wherever my feet carry me."
"Therefore," he says, "listen: when you have done nothing evil,
you experience, as you report, these inconveniences;
what if you should sin? What do you think you will suffer?"
By such counsel he was deterred from flight.

XXI. [Equus circensis]
Ferendum esse aequo animo quidquid acciderit

21. [Circus horse]
Whatever happens ought to be borne with equanimity

Equum e quadriga multis palmis nobilem
abegit quidam et in pistrinum uendidit.
Productus ad bibendum cum foret a molis,
incircum aequales ire conspexit suos,
ut grata ludis redderent certamina.
Lacrimis obortis "Ite felices," ait,
"celebrate sine me cursu sollemnem diem;
ego, quo scelesta furis attraxit manus,
ibi sorte tristi fata deflebo mea."

A horse, renowned from a quadriga by many palms,
someone drove off and sold into a mill.
When he had been led out from the millstones to drink,
he caught sight of his equals going into the Circus,
to render pleasing contests for the Games.
With tears welling up, he said, "Go, happy ones,
celebrate the solemn day with a race without me;
I, where the wicked hand of a thief has dragged me,
there with a sad lot shall bewail my fates."

XXII. [Vrsus esuriens]
Famam acuere animantibus ingenium

22. [A hungry bear]
Hunger sharpens the ingenuity in living beings

Si quando in siluis urso desunt copiae,
scopulosum ad litus currit et prendens petram
pilosa crura sensim demittit uado;
quorum inter uillos haeserunt cancri simul,
in terram adsiliens excutit praedam maris,
escaque fruitur passim collecta uafer.
Ergo etiam stultis acuit ingenium fames.

If ever in the woods supplies are lacking to a bear,
he runs to the craggy shore and, grasping a rock,
gradually lowers his hairy shanks into the shallows;
and among whose hairs the crabs at once got stuck,
leaping onto land he shakes out the prey of the sea,
and the crafty one enjoys the victuals gathered here and there.
Therefore hunger sharpens ingenuity even in fools.

XXIII. [Viator et coruus]
Verbis saepenumero homines decipi solere

23. [The Traveler and the Crow]
That people very often are deceived by words

Quidam per agros deuium carpens iter
AVE exaudiuit, et moratus paululum,
adesse ut uidit nullum, corripuit gradum.
Iterum salutat idem ex occulto sonus.
Voce hospitali confirmatus restitit,
ut, quisquis esset, par officium reciperet.
Cum circumspectans errore haesisset diu
et perdidisset tempus aliquot milium,
ostendit sese coruus et superuolans
AVE usque ingessit. Tum se lusum intelligens
"At male tibi sit" inquit, "ales pessime,
qui festinantis sic detinuisti pedes."

A certain man, taking a byway through the fields,
heard HAIL, and having lingered a little,
when he saw that no one was present, he quickened his pace.
Again the same sound from hiding gives greeting.
Encouraged by the hospitable voice, he halted,
so that, whoever it was, he might receive an equal courtesy.
When, looking around, he had long been stuck in error
and had lost the time of several miles,
a raven revealed itself and, flying overhead,
kept pressing HAIL again and again. Then, understanding himself to have been played with,
"But may it go badly for you," he said, "most wicked bird,
you who have thus held back the feet of one in haste."

XXIV. [Pastor et capella]
Nihil ita occultum esse quod non reuelatur

24. [The Shepherd and the She-goat]
Nothing is so occult that it is not revealed

Pastor capellae cornu baculo fregerat:
rogare coepit ne se domino proderet.
"Quamuis indigne laesa reticebo tamen;
sed res clamabit ipsa quid deliqueris."

The shepherd had broken the she-goat’s horn with his staff:
he began to beg that she not betray him to the master.
"Although injured undeservedly, I will keep silent nonetheless;
but the thing itself will cry out what you have done amiss."

XXV. [Serpens et lacerta]
Vbi leonis pellis deficit, uulpinam insuendam esse; hoc est, ubi
deficiunt uires astu utendum

Serpens lacertam forte auersam prenderat,
quam deuorare patula cum uellet gula,
arripuit illa prope iacentem surculum,
et pertinaci morsu transuersum tenens
auidum solleti rictum frenauit mora.
praedam dimisit ore serpens inritam.

25. [The Serpent and the Lizard]
Where the lion’s skin fails, a fox’s should be sewn on; that is, where
strength fails, one must use cunning
A serpent by chance had seized a lizard turned away,
and when he wanted to devour her with his gaping gullet,
she snatched a little switch lying nearby,
and, holding it crosswise with a stubborn bite,
checked the greedy, accustomed gape by delay.
the serpent let his prey go from his mouth, thwarted.

XXVI. [Cornix et ouis]
Multos lacessere debiles et cedere fortibus

26. [Crow and sheep]
The feeble provoke many and cede to the strong

Odiosa cornix super ouem consederat;
quam dorso cum tulisset inuita et diu,
"Hoc" inquit "si dentato fecisses cani,
poenas dedisses." Illa contra pessima:
"Despicio inermes, eadem cedo fortibus;
scio quem lacessam, cui dolosa blandiar.
ideo senectam mille in annos prorogo."

The odious crow had settled upon a sheep;
who, after she had borne her on her back, unwilling and for a long time, said,
"This, if you had done to a toothed dog, you would have paid the penalty." That most wicked one in reply:
"I despise the unarmed; likewise I yield to the strong;
I know whom I provoke, to whom I, deceitful, fawn.
therefore I prolong my old age into a thousand years."

XXVII. [Socrates et seruus nequam]
Nullum maledictum esse grauius conscientia

27. [Socrates and the worthless slave]
No malediction is graver than conscience

Cum seruus nequam Socrati male diceret,
uxorem domini qui corrupisset sui,
idque ille sciret notum circumstantibus,
"Places tibi" inquit "quia cui non debes places;
sed non impune, quia cui debes non places."

When a wicked slave was speaking ill to Socrates,
who had corrupted the wife of his own master,
and Socrates knew this, known to those standing around,
"You please yourself," he said, "because you please one whom you ought not;
but not with impunity, because you do not please the one whom you ought."

XXVIII. [Lepus et bubulcus]
Multos uerbis blandos esse, pectore infideles

Cum uenatorem celeri pede fugeret lepus
et a bubulco uisus ueprem inreperet:
"Per te oro superos perque spes omnes tuas,
ne me indices, bubulce; nihil umquam mali
huic agro feci." Et rusticus: "Ne timueris;
late securus." Iamque uenator sequens:
"Quaeso, bubulce, numquid huc uenit lepus?"
"Venit, sed abiit hac ad laeuam," et dexteram
demonstrat nutu partem. Venator citus
non intellexit seque e conspectu abstulit.
Tunc sic bubulcus: "Ecquid est gratum tibi,
quod te celaui?" "Linguae prorsus non nego
habere atque agere maximas me gratias;
uerum oculis ut priueris opto perfidis."

28. [Hare and oxherd]
Many are blandishing in words, faithless at heart

When the hare was fleeing the huntsman with swift foot
and, seen by an oxherd, crept into a briar-bush:
"By you I beg the gods above and by all your hopes,
do not betray me, oxherd; I have never done any harm
to this field." And the rustic: "Do not fear;
hide securely." And now the hunter following:
"I beg, oxherd, did the hare by any chance come here?"
"He came, but went off this way to the left," and with a nod
he points out the right-hand side. The swift hunter
did not understand and withdrew himself from sight.
Then thus the oxherd: "Is anything grateful to you,
that I concealed you?" "To your tongue I by no means deny
that I have the greatest thanks to have and to render;
but I wish that you be deprived of your perfidious eyes."

XXIX. [Meretrix et iuuenis]
Multa esse nobis iocunda quae tamen sunt incommoda

29. [Prostitute and young man]
Many things are pleasant to us which nevertheless are incommodious

Cum blandiretur iuueni meretrix perfida,
et ille laesus multis saepe iniuriis
tamen praeberet sese facilem mulieri,
sic insidiatrix: "Omnes muneribus licet
contendant, ego te plurimi facio tamen."
Iuuenis recordans quotiens deceptus foret:
"Lubenter," inquit, "mea lux, hanc uocem audio,
non quod fidelis, sed quod iucunda est mihi."

When a perfidious courtesan was flattering a youth,
and he, harmed often by many injuries,
nevertheless offered himself compliant to the woman,
thus the ambusher: "Though all may vie with gifts,
I, however, prize you most highly."
The young man, recalling how many times he had been deceived:
"Gladly," he says, "my light, I hear this word,
not because it is faithful, but because it is pleasant to me."

XXX. [Fiber]
Multi uiuerent se salutis gratia parui facerent fortunas

30. [Beaver]
Many would live if, for the sake of safety, they would reckon their fortunes of little account

Canes effugere cum iam non possit fiber
(Graeci loquaces quem dixerunt castorem
et indiderunt bestiae nomen dei,
illi qui iactant se uerborum copia),
abripere morsu fertur testiculos sibi,
quia propter illos sentiat sese peti.
Diuina quod ratione fieri non negem;
uenator namque simul inuenit remedium,
omittit ipsum persequi et reuocat canes.
Hoc si praestare possent homines, ut suo
uellent carere, tuti posthac uiuerent;
haud quisquam insidias nudo faceret corpori.

When the beaver can no longer escape the dogs
(the loquacious Greeks called it the castor and assigned to the beast the name of a god—those who vaunt themselves in a copiousness of words),
it is said to snatch off its testicles with a bite,
because on account of them it perceives itself to be sought.
Which I do not deny is done by a divine rationale;
for the hunter, as soon as he discovers the remedy,
desists from pursuing him and recalls the dogs.
If men could accomplish this—namely, be willing to do without what is their own—
they would live safe thereafter;
no one would set ambushes for a naked body.

XXXI. [Papilio et uespa]
Non praeteritam sed praesentem aspiciendam esse fortunam

31. [Butterfly and Wasp]
Not past but present fortune should be looked upon

Papilio uespam prope uolantem uiderat:
"O sortem iniquam! Dum uiuebant corpora,
quorum ex reliquiis animam nos accepimus,
ego eloquens in pace, fortis proeliis,
arte omni princeps inter aequalis fui;
en cuncta leuitas putris et uolito cinis.
Tu, qui fuisti mulus clitellarius,
quemcumque uisum est laedis infixo aculeo."
At uespa dignam memoria uocem edidit:
"Non qui fuerimus, sed qui nunc simus, uide."

The butterfly had seen a wasp flying nearby:
"O unequal lot! While the bodies lived,
from whose remains we have received our soul,
I—eloquent in peace, strong in battles,
by every art a prince among my equals I was;
lo, everything is putrid levity, and I flutter as ash.
You, who were a pack-saddle mule,
you wound whomever you please with your infixed sting."
But the wasp uttered a word worthy of memory:
"Look not at what we were, but at what we are now."

XXXII. [Terraneola et uulpes]
Prauis non esse fidem adhibendam

32. [Little earth-mouse and the fox]
That no trust is to be given to the wicked

Auis quam dicunt terraneolam rustici,
in terra nidum quia componit scilicet,
forte occucurrit improbae uulpeculae,
qua uisa pennis altius se sustulit.
"Salue," inquit illa, "cur me fugisti obsecro?
Quasi non abunde sit mihi in prato cibus,
grilli, scarabaei, locustarum copia;
nihil est quod metuas, ego te multum diligo
propter quietos mores et uitam probam."
Respondit cantrix: "Tu quidem bene praedicas,
in campo non par, [par] sum sublimis tibi.
Quin sequere; tibi salutem hic committo meam."

The bird which the rustics call the little earth-dweller,
because it composes its nest on the ground, to wit,
by chance ran into an impudent little vixen,
at the sight of whom it lifted itself higher with its wings.
"Hail," said that one, "why did you flee me, I beseech?
As if there were not in the meadow food for me in abundance,
a plenty of crickets, scarabs, locusts;
there is nothing for you to fear, I love you much
on account of your quiet manners and an upright life."
The songstress replied: "You indeed preach well,
on the field I am not a match, [a match] aloft I am to you.
Nay, follow; here I entrust my safety to you."