Phaedrus: FABVLARVM AESOPIARVM LIBRI QVINQVE

Cum destinassem terminum operi statuere,
in hoc ut aliis asset materiae satis,
consilium tacito corde damnaui [meum]
Nam si quis etiam talis est tituli [appetens],
quo pacto diuinabit quidnam omiserim,
ut illud ipse incipiat famae tradere,
sua cuique cum sit animi cogitatio
colorque proprius? Ergo non leuitas mihi,
sed certa ratio causam scribendi dedit.
Quare, Particulo, quoniam caperis fabulis,
(quas Aesopias, non Aesopi, nomino,
quia paucas ille ostendit, ego plures sero,
usus uetusto genere sed rebus nouis,)
quartum libellum cum uacaris perleges.
Hunc obtrectare si uolet malignitas,
imitari dum non possit, obtrectet licet.
Mihi parta laus est quod tu, quod similes tui
uestra in chartas uerba transfertis mea,
dignumque longa iudicatis memoria.
Inlitteratum plausum nec desidero.

When I had appointed a limit and been resolved to set an end to the work,
in this, that there be at least enough matter left for others,
I condemned my design in my silent heart.
For if there is even anyone so desirous of a title,
by what means will he divine what I have omitted,
that he himself may begin to hand it down to fame,
each man having his own thought of the mind
and his own proper hue? Therefore it was not levity that gave me cause to write,
but a certain reason.
Wherefore, Particulo, since you are taken with fables,
(which I call Aesopic, not of Aesop,
for he showed few, I, late, show more,
the old kind used but with new matters,)
when you have leisure you will read through the fourth little book.
If malice would like to disparage this,
since it cannot imitate, let it disparage if it will.
Praise has been won me in that you, and those like you,
transfer my words into your papers,
and judge them worthy of long remembrance.
I do not desire illiterate applause.

I. Asinus et Galli

1. The Donkey and the Gauls

Qui natus est infelix, non uitam modo
tristem decurrit, uerum post obitum quoque
persequitur illum dura fati miseria.
Galli Cybebes circum in questus ducere
asinum solebant, baiulantem sarcinas.
Is cum labore et plagis esset mortuus,
detracta pelle sibi fecerunt tympana.
Rogati mox a quodam, delicio suo
quidnam fecissent, hoc locuti sunt modo:
"Putabat se post mortem securum fore:
ecce aliae plagae congeruntur mortuo!"

He who is born unlucky not only runs through a sad life,
but even after death the hard misery of fate pursues him.
The Galli of Cybebes were accustomed to lead an ass about in laments,
bearing his panniers. When he had died from labor and blows,
with his hide stripped off they made drums for themselves.
Soon, asked by a certain man, their darling, what they had done, they replied thus:
" He thought himself secure after death:
behold, other wounds are heaped upon the dead!"

II. Poeta

2. Poet

Ioculare tibi uidemur: et sane leui,
dum nil habemus maius, calamo ludimus.
Sed diligenter intuere has nenias;
quantum in pusillis utilitatem reperies!
Non semper ea sunt quae uidentur: decipit
frons prima multos, rara mens intellegit
quod interiore condidit cura angulo.
Hoc ne locutus sine mercede existimer,
fabellam adiciam de mustela et muribus.
Mustela, cum annis et senecta debilis
mures ueloces non ualeret adsequi,
inuoluit se farina et obscuro loco
abiecit neclegenter. Mus, escam putans,
adsiluit et comprensus occubuit neci;
alter similiter, deinde perit et tertius.
post aliquot uenit saeculis retorridus,
qui saepe laqueos et muscipula effugerat;
proculque insidias cernens hostis callidi,
"Sic ualeas," inquit, "ut farina es, quae iaces!"

We may seem to jest to you: and truly with a light touch,
while we have nothing greater, we sport with the pen.
But look carefully at these trite things;
how much utility you will find in small matters!
Not always are things what they seem: the first face deceives many, a rare mind understands
what care has hidden in an inner corner.
Think not that I have spoken this without reward,
I will add a little tale of a weasel and of mice.
The weasel, grown weak with years and infirm old age,
was not able to overtake the swift mice;
she wrapped herself in flour and, in a dark place,
threw herself down carelessly. A mouse, thinking it food,
leapt on and, seized, fell dead to death;
another likewise, then a third perished.
After many generations came a hale old survivor,
who had often escaped snares and the mousetrap;
from afar seeing the ambush of the crafty enemy,
"So fare you well," he said, "as you are flour that lies there!"

III. De Vulpe et Uva

3. Of the Fox and the Grapes

Fame coacta uulpes alta in uinea
uuam adpetebat, summis saliens uiribus.
Quam tangere ut non potuit, discedens ait:
"Nondum matura es; nolo acerbam sumere."
Qui, facere quae non possunt, uerbis eleuant,
adscribere hoc debebunt exemplum sibi.

By hunger compelled the fox sought a grape high in the vineyard,
leaping with her greatest strength.
When she could not touch it, departing she said:
"Nondum matura es; I will not take a sour one."
Those who, by words, exalt what they cannot do
will have to ascribe this example to themselves.

IV. Equus et Aper

CHAPTER 4. Equus and the Boar

Equus sedare solitus quo fuerat sitim,
dum sese aper uolutat turbauit uadum.
Hinc orta lis est. Sonipes, iratus fero,
auxilium petiit hominis; quem dorso leuans
rediit ad hostem laetus. Hunc telis eques
postquam interfecit, sic locutus traditur:
"Laetor tulisse auxilium me precibus tuis;
nam praedam cepi et didici quam sis utilis."
Atque ita coegit frenos inuitum pati.
Tum maestus ille: "Paruae uindictam rei
dum quaero demens, seruitutem repperi."
Haec iracundos admonebit fabula
inpune potius laedi quam dedi alteri.

The horse, wont to slake his thirst where he had been,
while the boar rolled himself about, disturbed the ford.
From this there arose a quarrel. The swift-hoofed horse, furious at the beast,
sought the aid of a man; lifting him on his back
he returned, joyful, against the foe. After the rider
had slain him with weapons, he is said to have spoken thus:
"I rejoice to have received aid by your prayers;
for I took the spoil and learned how useful you are."
And so he compelled the unwilling to bear the reins.
Then that man, sorrowful: "While madly I seek small vengeance for a thing,
I have found servitude."
This fable will admonish the angry
that it is better to be wronged with impunity than to have given oneself as another's slave.

V. Poeta

5. POET

Plus esse in uno saepe quam in turba boni
narratione posteris tradam breui.
Quidam decedens tres reliquit filias,
unam formosam et oculis uenantem uiros,
at alteram lanificam et frugi rusticam,
deuotam uino tertiam et turpissimam.
Harum autem matrem fecit heredem senex
sub condicione, totam ut fortunam tribus
aequaliter distribuat, sed tali modo:
"Ni data possideant aut fruantur"; tum "simul
habere res desierint quas acceperint,
centena matri conferant sestertia."
Athenas rumor implet, mater sedula
iuris peritos consulit; nemo expedit
quo pacto ni possideant quod fuerit datum,
fructumue capiant; deinde quae tulerint nihil
quanam ratione conferant pecuniam.
Postquam consumpta est temporis longi mora,
nec testamenti potuit sensus colligi,
fidem aduocauit iure neglecto parens.
Seponit moechae uestem, mundum muliebrem,
lauationem argenteam, eunuchos glabros;
lanificae agellos, pecora, uillam, operarios,
boues, iumenta et instrumentum rusticum;
potrici plenam antiquis apothecam cadis,
domum politam et delicatos hortulos.
Sic destinata dare cum uellet singulis
et adprobaret populus, qui illas nouerat,
Aesopus media subito in turba constitit:
"O si maneret condito sensus patri,
quam grauiter ferret quod uoluntatem suam
interpretari non potuissent Attici!"
Rogatus deinde soluit errorem omnium:
"Domum et ornamenta cum uenustis hortulis
et uina uetera date lanificae rusticae;
uestem, uniones, pedisequos et cetera
illi adsignate uitam quae luxu trahit;
agros et uillam et pecora cum pastoribus
donate moechae. Nulla poterit perpeti
ut moribus quid teneat alienum suis.
Deformis cultum uendet ut uinum paret;
agros abiciet moecha ut ornatum paret;
at illa gaudens pecore et lanae dedita
quacumque summa tradet luxuriam domus.
Sic nulla possidebit quod fuerit datum,
et dictam matri conferent pecuniam
ex pretio rerum quas uendiderint singulae."
Ita quod multorum fugit inprudentiam
unius hominis repperit sollertia.

Better to be one good in a single person than many — I will hand down the tale to posterity briefly.
A certain man, dying, left three daughters behind,
one beautiful and by her eyes attracting husbands,
another a wool-worker, frugal and rustic,
the third devoted to wine and most shameful.
Their mother the old man made heir on condition that she
distribute the entire fortune equally among the three, but in this way:
"If they do not possess or enjoy what has been given"; then "if they shall have ceased
to have the things they received, let them pay the mother a hundred sesterces for each hundred."
Rumor fills Athens, the industrious mother consults jurists;
no one finds by what means, if they do not possess what was given,
they might yet take the fruit; nor by what method to confer money for what they have taken.
After the long delay of time was consumed,
and the sense of the will could not be gathered,
the parent summoned Aesop, the law having been neglected.
She lays aside the mistress’s garment, the womanly dress,
the silver washing, the smooth-faced eunuchs;
to the wool-worker, the little fields, the flocks, the villa, the laborers,
oxen, beasts of burden and rustic implements;
to the mistress a pantry full with old casks,
a polished house and delicate little gardens.
Thus, when she wished to give the things as destined to each
and the people, who knew them, approved, suddenly Aesop stood in the midst of the crowd:
"O if the testator’s mind had remained as written,
how bitterly would the Athenians bear that they could not interpret his will's intention!"
Then, asked, he solved the error of all:
"Give the house and furnishings with the charming gardens
and the old wines to the wool-worker, rustic lanifica;
assign the dress, the liaisons, the attendants and other things
to her who leads a life dragged by luxury;
give fields and villa and flocks with shepherds
to the adulteress. She will never be able to endure
to hold what is alien to her habits.
The misshapen one will sell her clothing so that she may procure wine;
the adulteress will abandon the fields so that she may procure finery;
but that one, rejoicing in flock and wool assigned to her,
will hand over every sum to the house’s luxury.
Thus none will possess what was given,
and they will pay the money named to the mother
from the price of the things which each shall have sold."
So by the craft of one man he discovered the imprudence
that had escaped many.

VI. Pugna Murium et Mustelarum

CHAPTER 6. THE BATTLE OF THE MICE AND THE WEASELS

Cum uicti mures mustelarum exercitu
(historia, quot sunt, in tabernis pingitur)
fugerent et artos circum trepidarent cauos,
aegre recepti, tamen euaserunt necem:
duces eorum, qui capitibus cornua
suis ligarant ut conspicuum in proelio
haberent signum quod sequerentur milites,
haesere in portis suntque capti ab hostibus;
quos immolatos uictor auidis dentibus
capacis alui mersit tartareo specu.
Quemcumque populum tristis euentus premit,
periclitatur magnitudo principium,
minuta plebes facili praesidio latet.

When the mice, defeated by the army of the weasels
(the tale, how many there are, is painted in the taverns)
fled and trembled around the narrow hollow places,
scarcely received, yet they escaped death:
their leaders, who had bound horns to their heads
that they might have a conspicuous sign in battle
to be followed by the soldiers,
stuck fast at the gates and were seized by the enemies;
whom, sacrificed, the victor drowned in his greedy, capacious jaws
and swallowed into a Tartarean pit.
Whichever people a grim event overwhelms,
the greatness of its leaders is endangered,

VII. Phaedrus

CHAPTER 7. Phaedrus

Tu qui nasute scripta destringis mea,
et hoc iocurum legere fastidis genus,
parua libellum sustine patientia,
seueritatem frontis dum placo tuae
et in coturnis prodit Aesopus nouis:
"Vtinam nec umquam Pelii in nemoris iugo
pinus bipenni concidisset Thessala,
nec ad professae mortis audacem uiam
fabricasset Argus opere Palladio ratem,
inhospitalis prima quae Ponti sinus
patefecit in perniciem Graium et Barbarum.
Namque et superbi luget Aeetae domus,
et regna Peliae scelere Medeae iacent,
quae, saeuum ingenium uariis inuoluens modis,
illinc per artus fratris explicuit fugam,
hic caede patris Peliadum infecit manus."
Quid tibi uidetur? "Hoc quoque insulsum est", ait
"falsoque dictum, longe quia uetustior
Aegea Minos classe predomuit freta,
iustique uindicauit exemplum imperi."
Quid ergo possum facere tibi, lector Cato,
si nec fabellae et iuuant nec fabulae?
Noli molestus esse ominino litteris,
maiorem exhibeant ne tibi molestiam.
Hoc illis dictum est, qui stultitia nauseant
et, ut putentur sapere, caelum uituperant

You who by birth strip off my writings,
and disdain even to read this jocund kind,
bear this small little booklet with patience,
while I soothe the severity of your brow
and Aesop appears upon the new buskins:
"Were that never the Pelian pine on the ridge
of that wood with a two-axe had fallen, O Thessalian,
nor had Argus with Pallas' craft devised
a raft to brave the open road of death,
which first laid open the inhospitable gulfs
of the Pontus to the ruin of Greek and Barbarian.
For both the house of proud Aeetes laments,
and the realms of Pelias lie by Medea's crime,
who, folding a savage nature in various guises,
thence through the limbs spread her brother's flight,
here by the slaughter of the father stained the hands of the Peliads."
What do you think? "This too is dull," he says,
"and falsely told, for far earlier
Minos subdued the Aegean straits with his fleet,
and vindicated by example the rule of justice."
What then can I do for you, reader Cato,
if neither little tale delights nor fable helps?
Do not be troublesome in the least to letters,
lest they display to you a greater vexation.
This is said to those who loathe folly
and, that they may seem wise, blaspheme the heavens

VIII. Serpens ad Fabrum Ferrarium

CHAPTER 8. The Serpent to the Blacksmith

Mordaciorem qui improbo dente adpetit,
hoc argumento se describi sentiat.
In officinam fabri uenit uipera.
Haec, cum temptaret si qua res esset cibi,
limam momordit. Illa contra contumax,
"Quid me," inquit, "stulta, dente captas laedere,
omne adsueui ferrum quae conrodere?"

Let him who attacks with a biting, wicked tooth
feel himself described by this proof.
A viper came into the smith's officina.
She, when she tried whether any thing might be food,
bit the file. That one, obstinate, however,
said, "Why, foolish one, do you seek to wound me with the tooth you have fastened?
I am accustomed to gnaw every iron which I can corrode?"

IX. Vulpis et Caper

9. The Fox and the Goat

Homo in periclum simul ac uenit callidus,
reperire effugium quaerit alterius malo.
Cum decidisset uulpes in puteum inscia
et altiore clauderetur margine,
deuenit hircus sitiens in eundem locum.
Simul rogauit, esset an dulcis liquor
et copiosus, illa fraudem moliens:
"Descende, amice; tanta bonitas est aquae,
uoluptas ut satiari non possit mea."
Immisit se barbatus. Tum uulpecula
euasit puteo, nixa celsis cornibus,
hircumque clauso liquit haerentem uado.

As soon as a crafty man comes into peril,
he seeks to find an escape in another’s misfortune.
When the fox, unknowing, had fallen into a well
and was enclosed by a higher rim,
a thirsty he-goat came to that same place.
At once he asked whether the liquid was sweet
and copious, she plotting deceit replied:
"Come down, friend; so great the goodness of the water,
my pleasure could not be sated."
The bearded one plunged himself in. Then the little vixen
escaped from the well, bracing on the lofty horns,
and left the goat, shut in, stuck in the ford.

X. De Vitiis Hominum

CHAPTER 10. ON THE VICES OF MEN

Peras imposuit Iuppiter nobis duas:
propriis repletam uitiis post tergum dedit,
alienis ante pectus suspendit grauem.
Hac re uidere nostra mala non possumus;
alii simul delinquunt, censores sumus.

Jupiter has placed two sacks upon us:
one, filled with our own vices, he set behind our back,
another, heavy with others', he suspended before our breast.
By this we cannot see our own evils;
while others sin at the same time, we are censors.

XI. Fur et Lucerna

11. The Thief and the Lamp

Lucernam fur accendit ex ara Iouis
ipsumque compilauit ad lumen suum.
Onustus qui sacrilegio cum discederet,
repente uocem sancta misit Religio:
"Malorum quamuis ista fuerint munera
mihique inuisa, ut non offendar subripi,
tamen, sceleste, spiritu culpam lues,
olim cum adscriptus uenerit poenae dies.
Sed ne ignis noster facinori praeluceat,
per quem uerendos excolit pietas deos,
ueto esse tale luminis commercium."
Itaque hodie nec lucernam de flamma deum
nec de lucerna fas est accendi sacrum.
Quot res contineat hoc argumentum utiles
non explicabit alius quam qui repperit.
Significat primum saepe quos ipse alueris
tibi inueniri maxime contrarios;
secundum ostendit scelera non ira deum,
Fatorum dicto sed puniri tempore;
nouissime interdicit ne cum melefico
usum bonus consociet ullius rei.

A thief lit a lamp from Jupiter’s altar
and even purloined Jupiter himself for his light.
He, laden who departed with sacrilege,
suddenly heard a voice sent by holy Religion:
"Although these gifts have been of evils
and hateful to me, so that I am not offended at their being snatched,
yet, wretch, you shall expiate the sin with your spirit,
when at last the day of added punishment shall come.
But that our fire may not shine forth for the deed
through whom piety cultivates the gods to be revered,
I forbid such commerce of light."
Therefore today neither is it lawful that a lamp be kindled from the gods’ flame
nor that the sacred flame be kindled from a lamp.
How many things this argument contains of use
no one will explicate except he who discovered them.
First it signifies that often those whom you yourself have nourished
are found most hostile to you;
second it shows that crimes are punished not by the anger of the gods,
but by the decree of the Fates, yet punished in due time;
finally it forbids that a good man join in the use of any thing
with something baleful."

XII. Malas Esse Diuitias

12. That Riches Are Evil

Opes inuisae merito sunt forti uiro,
quia diues arca ueram laudem intercipit.
Caelo receptus propter uirtutem Hercules,
cum gratulantes persalutasset deos,
ueniente Pluto, qui Fortunae est filius,
auertit oculos. Causam quaesiuit Pater.
"Odi" inquit "illum quia malis amicus est
simulque obiecto cunctaa corrumpit lucro."

Wealths, being hateful, are rightly for a brave man,
for a rich chest intercepts true praise.
Hercules, received into heaven because of his virtue,
when he had heartily greeted the congratulating gods,
with Pluto coming, who is the son of Fortune,
turned away his eyes. The Father sought the cause.
"I hate" he said "that man, because he is a friend to evils
and, with profit set before him, corrupts all things at once."

XIII. Simius Tyrannus

13. The Ape Tyrant

"Vtilius homini nil est quam recte loqui."
Probanda cunctis est quidem sententia;
sed ad perniciem solet agi sinceritas,
[ubi ueritate plus ualet mendacium.]
Duo homines, unus fallax et alter uerax, iter simul agebant. Et cum ambularent, uenerunt inprouinciam simiarum. Quos ut uidit una ex multitudine simiarum, ipse qui prior esse uidebatur,iussit eos teneri, ut interrogaret quid de illo homines dicerent.

"Nothing is more useful to a man than to speak rightly."
The maxim is indeed one to be approved by all;
but sincerity is wont to work to ruin,
[where a lie prevails more than truth.]
Two men, one deceitful and the other truthful, were making a journey together. And as they walked, they came into the province of the monkeys. When one of the multitude of monkeys saw them, he, he who seemed to be the foremost, ordered them to be seized, that he might ask what men said about him.

Iussitque omnes sibi similes adstareante se ordine longo, dextra laeuaque, et sibi sedile parari; sicut uiderat imperatorem aliquando,taliter sibi adstare fecit. Iubentur homines adduci in medio. Ait maior: "Quis sum ego?" Fallaxdixit: "Tu es imperator." Iterum interrogat: "Et isti quos uides ante me stare?"Respondit: "Hi suntcomites tui, primicerii, campidoctores, militares officii." Et quia mendacio laudatus est cum turbasua, iubet illum munerari, et quia adulatus est, omnes illos fefellit.

And he ordered all those like himself to stand before him in a long line, to the right and to the left, and that a seat be prepared for him; just as he had once seen an emperor, so he caused them to stand for him. Men are ordered to be brought into the middle. The elder says, "Who am I?" The Deceitful said, "You are emperor." He asks again, "And those whom you see standing before me?" He answered, "These are your comites, primicerii, campidoctores, officers of the military office." And because he was praised by the lie with his crowd, he commands that he be rewarded, and because he was flattered, he duped all those men.

Verax autem apud se cogitabar:"Si iste mendax, qui omnia mentitur, sic accepit, si uerum dixero, magis munerabor." Tunc aitmaior simia: "Dic et tu, quis sum ego, et hi quos ante me uides?" At ille, qui semper ueritatemamabat et loqui consueuerat, respondit: "Tu es uere simia, et omnes hi similes tui simiae sempersunt." Iubentur continuo lacerari dentibus et unguibus, eo quod uerum dixisset.
Malis hominibus, qui fallaciam et malitiam amant, honestatem et ueritatem lacerant.

But the truthful man was thinking to himself: "If that mendacious one, who lies about everything, has been received thus, if I tell the truth I shall be the more rewarded." Then the greater simian said: "Speak also you: who am I, and those whom you see before me?" But he, who always loved verity and had grown accustomed to speak, answered: "You are truly an ape, and all these your like are apes forever." They are ordered at once to be torn by teeth and claws, because he had spoken the truth.
To wicked men, who love fallacy and malice, they rend honesty and truth.

XIV. De Leone Regnante

14. On the Reigning Lion

Tacere [ubi] tormentum, [par] poenast loqui.

Where silence is torment, to speak is an equal punishment.

Cum se ferarum regem fecisset leo,
et aequitatis uellet famam consequi,
a pristina deflexit consuetudine,
atque inter illas tenui contentus cibo
sancta incorrupta iura reddebat fide.
Postquam labare coepit paenitentia,

When the lion had made himself king of the beasts,
and wished to win a fame for equity,
he turned away from his former custom,
and, content among them with meagre food,
with holy incorrupt laws he rendered faithful observance.
After penitence began to falter,

(et mutare non posset naturam, coepit aliquos ducere in secretum et fallacia quaerere si ei osputeret. Illos qui dicebant "putet," et qui dicebant "non putet," omnes tamen laniabat, ita utsaturaretur sanguine. Cum multis hoc fecisset, postea simium interrogabat si putorem haberet inore.

(and, since he could not change his nature, he began to lead some into secrecy and by deceit to ask whether their mouth would stink. Those who said "let it stink," and those who said "let it not stink," nevertheless he tore all to pieces, so that he might be saturated with blood. When he had done this to many, afterwards he questioned the ape whether it had a putridness in its mouth.)

Ille quasi cinnamomum dixit fragrare et quasi deorum altaria. Leo erubuit laudatorem, sed, utdeciperet, mutauit fidem et quaesiuit fraudem, atque languere se simulabat. Continuo ueneruntmedici; qui, ut uenas serunt ei sumere cibum aliquem qui leuis esset et tolleret fastidium prodigestione, ut regibus omnia licent.

He said he smelled like cinnamon and like the altars of the gods. The lion blushed at the flatterer, but, in order to deceive him, changed his fidelity and sought fraud, and feigned languor. Immediately the physicians came; who, so that he might be led to take some food that would be light and would remove his loathing by aiding digestion — for to kings all things are permitted — prescribed accordingly.

"Ignota est" inquit "mihi caro simii; uellem illam probare." Vtest locutus, statim necatur beniloquus simius, ut eius carnem cito escam sumeret.
[Vna enim est poena loquentis et no loquentis).]

"The monkey's flesh is unknown to me," he says; "I would like to try it." Having thus spoken, immediately the glib-tongued monkey is killed, that his flesh might quickly be taken as food.
[For there is one punishment of the speaking and of the not-speaking).]

XV. Prometheus

15. Prometheus

[tum materia eadem usus formauit recens]

[then, using the same material, he fashioned it anew]

a fictione ueretri linguam mulieris.
Adfinitatem traxit inde obscaenitas.

by a fiction he fashioned the woman's tongue.
from that obscenity thence drew its affinity.

XVI.Idem

16. The same

Rogauit alter tribadas et molles mares
quae ratio procreasset, exposuit senex:
"Idem Prometheus, auctor uulgi fictilis
qui, simul offendit ad fortunam, frangitur,
naturae partes ueste quas celat pudor
cum separatim toto finxisset die,
aptare mox ut posset corporibus suis,
ad cenam est inuitatus subito a Libero;
ubi inrigatus multo uenas nectare
sero domum est reuersus titubanti pede.
Tum semisomno corde et errore ebrio
adplicuit uirginale generi masculo,
et masculina membra adposuit feminis.
Ita nunc libido prauo fruitur gaudio."

Another asked about tribades and soft males
what rationale had begotten them, the old man explained:
"The same Prometheus, the clay author of the populace,
who, as soon as he encounters fortune, is broken,
when, with a garment, modesty hid those parts of nature
which he had fashioned separately throughout the whole day,
that he might soon fit them to his bodies,
was suddenly invited to dinner by Liber;
where, watered with much nectar, he returned home late with a tottering foot.
Then half-asleep in heart and drunk with error
he applied the virginal to the male sex,
and set masculine members to females.
Thus now lust enjoys perverse delight."

XVII. De Capris Barbatis

CHAPTER 17. OF THE BEARDED GOATS

Barbam capellae cum impetrassent ab Ioue,
hirci maerentes indignari coeperunt
quod dignitatem feminae aequassent suam.
"Sinite," inquit, "illas gloria uana frui
et usurpare uestri ornatum muneris,
pares dum non sint uestrae fortitudini."
Hoc argumentum monet ut sustineas tibi
habitu esse similes qui sunt uirtute impares.

When they had obtained a beard for the she-goat from Jove,
the grieving he-goats began to be indignant
that they had equalled their own dignity to that of a female.
"Allow," he said, "that they enjoy vain glory
and usurp the ornament of your gift,
so long as they are not equals to your fortitude."
This argument advises that you endure to be, in attire, like those
who are unequal in virtue.

XVIII. De Fortunis Hominum

CHAPTER 18. ON THE FORTUNES OF MEN

Cum de fortunis quidam quereretur suis,
Aesopus finxit consolandi hoc gratia.
"Vexata saeuis nauis tempestatibus
inter uectorum lacrimas et mortis metum,
faciem ad serenam ut subito mutatur dies,
ferri secundis tuta coepit flatibus
nimiaque nautas hilaritate extollere.
Factus periclo sic gubernator sophus:
"Parce gaudere oportet et sensim queri,
totam quia uitam miscet dolor et gaudium."

When someone complained about his fortunes,
Aesop fashioned this for the sake of consoling.
"A ship, buffeted by savage storms
among the tears of those carried and the fear of death,
when suddenly the day’s face is changed to calm,
began to be borne safe on favorable breezes
and to lift the sailors too much with hilarity.
Thus the shrewd helmsman made by peril said:
"You ought to spare your rejoicing and complain little by little,
for sorrow and joy mingle through the whole life."

XIX. Canes Legatos Miserunt ad Iouem

19. Dogs Sent Legates to Jupiter

Canes legatos olim misere ad Iouem
meliora uitae tempora oratum suae,
ut sese eriperet hominum contumeliis,
furfuribus sibi consparsum quod panem darent
fimoque turpi maxime explerent famem.
Profecti sunt legati non celeri pede;
dum naribus scrutantur escam in stercore,
citati non respondent. Vix tandem inuenit
eos Mercurius et turbatos adtrahit.
Tum uero uultum magni ut uiderunt Iouis,
totam timentes concacarunt regiam.
Vetat dimitti magnus illos Iuppiter;
propulsi uero fustibus uadunt foras.
....................................
mirari sibi legatos non reuertier;
turpe aestimantes aliquid commissum a suis,
post aliquod tempus alios ascribi iubent.
Rumor cacatus superiores prodidit;
timentes rursus aliquid ne simile accidat,
odore canibus anum, sed multo, replent.
Mandata dant; legati mittuntur; statim
abeunt; rogantes aditum continuo impetrant.
Consedit genitor tum deorum maximus
quassatque fulmen; tremere coepere omnia.
Canes confusi, subitus quod fuerat fragor,
repente, odore mixto cum merdis, cacant.
Di clamant omnes uindicandam iniuriam.
Sic est locutus ante poenam Iuppiter:
"Non est legatos regis non dimittere,
nec est difficile poenas culpae imponere.
Sed hoc feretur pro ludibrio praemium:
non ueto dimitti, uerum cruciari fame,
ne uentrem continere non possint suum.
Illi autem qui miserunt bis tam futtiles
numquam carebunt hominum contumelia."
Ita nunc legatos expectantes posteri,
nouum ut uenire quis uidet culum olfacit.

Dogs once sent envoys to Jupiter
to pray for better seasons of their life,
that he might snatch them away from human insults,
because they were besmeared with bran when given bread
and filled their hunger chiefly with foul dung.
They set out as envoys not with a swift foot;
while they sniff for food in filth with their nostrils,
they do not answer when called. Hardly at last
Mercury found them and drew them, confused.
Then when they saw the face of great Jupiter,
all fearing, they soiled the palace with excrement.
Great Jupiter forbids that they be sent away;
but driven off with rods they go outside.
....................................
they wonder that the envoys do not return to themselves;
deeming shameful something committed by their own,
after some time they order others to be enrolled.
Rumor, defiled, betrayed the former ones;
fearing again that something similar might happen,
they fill the scent of dogs with anus, but much more.
They give commands; envoys are sent; immediately
they depart; begging, they at once obtain access.
Then the father, greatest of the gods, sat down
and shook a thunderbolt; all things began to tremble.
The dogs, confused because of the sudden crash,
suddenly, with odor mixed with dung, defecate.
All the gods cry out that the injury must be avenged.
Thus Jupiter spoke before the punishment:
"It is not fitting to dismiss the king's envoys,
nor is it difficult to impose penalties for their fault.
But this will be borne as a mockery's reward:
I do not forbid them to be sent back, but to be tormented by hunger,
so that they cannot hold in their belly their own.
But those who sent such worthless ones twice
will never be free from the contempt of men."
So now the descendants awaiting envoys,
when anyone sees a new one coming, scent the ass.

XX. Serpens Misericordi Nociua

CHAPTER 20. SERPENT MERCIFUL YET NOXIOUS

Qui fert malis auxilium, post tempus dolet.
Gelu rigentem quidam colubram sustulit
sinuque fouit, contra se ipse misericors;
namque, ut refecta est, necuit hominem protinus.
Hanc alia cum rogaret causam facinoris,
respondit: "Ne quis discat prodesse improbis."

He who brings auxilium to evils repents after the time.
One took up a snake rigid with gelu and cherished it in his sinu, merciful against himself;
for, as it was refecta, it straightaway necuit the man.
When another asked the cause of the facinus, she answered: "Lest anyone learn to prodesse the improbi."

XXI. Vulpis et Draco

21. The Fox and the Dragon

Vulpes cubile fodiens dum terram eruit
agitque pluris altius cuniculos,
peruenit ad draconis speluncam ultimam,
custodiebat qui thesauros abditos.
Hunc simul aspexit: "Oro ut inprudentiae
des primum ueniam; deinde si pulchre uides
quam non conueniens aurum sit uitae meae,
respondeas clementer: quem fructum capis
hoc ex labore, quodue tantum est praemium
ut careas somno et aeuum in tenebris exigas?"
"Nullum" inquit ille, "uerum hoc ab summo mihi
Ioue adtributum est." "Ergo nec sumis tibi
nec ulli donas quidquam?" "Sic Fatis placet."
"Nolo irascaris, libere si dixero:
dis est iratis natus qui est similis tibi."
Abiturus illuc quo priores abierunt,
quid mente caeca miserum torques spiritum?
Tibi dico, auare, gaudium heredis tui,
qui ture superos, ipsum te fraudas cibo,
qui tristis audis musicum citharae sonum,
quem tibiarum macerat iucunditas,
obsoniorum pretia cui gemitum exprimunt,
qui dum quadrantes aggeras patrimonio
caelum fatigas sordido periurio,
qui circumcidis omnem inpensam funeris,
Libitina ne quid de tuo faciat lucri.

While the fox, digging a den, uproots the earth
and drives her burrows deeper and more precious,
she came to the dragon’s ultimate cavern,
which kept hidden treasures guarded.
She saw him at once: "I beg that first you grant pardon to my imprudence; then, if you see clearly
how ill‑suited gold is to my life, answer kindly: what fruit do you gain
from this toil, and what so great a reward
that you forgo sleep and spend your life in darkness?"
"None," he said, "yet this indeed is assigned to me
by highest Jove." "Then you neither take for yourself
nor give anything to anyone?" "Thus it pleases the Fates."
"I do not wish you to be angry; if I may speak freely:
to the gods of wrath one is born who is like you."
About to go where those before you went,
why with blind mind do you torture your wretched spirit?
I tell you, avarice, the joy of your heir,
who with incense honors the gods above, you cheat yourself of the very food,
who sadly hear the musical sound of the cithara,
whose delight the pleasures of the pipes consume,
for whom the prices of provisions force forth a groan,
who while you pile up farthings for an inheritance
trouble heaven with sordid perjury,
who slash away every funeral expense,
so that Libitina may take no profit from your estate.

XXII. Phaedrus

22. Phaedrus

Quid iudicare cogitas, Liuor, modo?
Licet dissimulet, pulchre tamen intellego.
Quicquid putabit esse dignum memoria,
Aesopi dicet; si quid minus adriserit,
a me contendet fictum quouis pignore.
Quem uolo refelli iam nunc responso meo:
siue hoc ineptum siue laudandum est opus,
inuenit ille, nostra perfecit manus.
Sed exsequamur coepti propositum ordinem.

What do you mean to judge now, Liuor?
He may dissemble, yet I perceive it clearly.
Whatever he shall deem worthy of memory
he will ascribe to Aesop; if he shall have touched on anything less,
he will maintain it was a fiction of mine for any wager.
Whom I wish to refute even now with my answer:
whether this work is foolish or to be praised,
he finds it and says our hand completed it.
But let us follow out the begun, the proposed order.

XXIII. De Simonide

23. On Simonides

Homo doctus in se semper diuitias habet.
Simonides, qui scripsit egregium melos,
quo paupertatem sustineret facilius,
circum ire coepit urbes Asiae nobiles,
mercede accepta laudem uictorum canens.
Hoc genere quaestus postquam locuples factus est,
redire in patriam uoluit cursu pelagio;
erat autem, ut aiunt, natus in Cia insula.
ascendit nauem; quam tempestas horrida
simul et uetustas medio dissoluit mari.
Hi zonas, illi res pretiosas colligunt,
subsidium uitae. Quidam curiosior:
"Simonide, tu ex opibus nil sumis tuis?"
"Mecum" inquit "mea sunt cuncta."Tunc pauci enatant,
quia plures onere degrauati perierant.
Praedones adsunt, rapiunt quod quisque extulit,
nudos relinquunt. Forte Clazomenae prope
antiqua fuit urbs, quam petierunt naufragi.
Hic litterarum quidam studio deditus,
Simonidis qui saepe uersus legerat,
eratque absentis admirator maximus,
sermone ab ipso cognitum cupidissime
ad se recepit; ueste, nummis, familia
hominem exornauit.

A learned man always has riches within himself.
Simonides, who wrote an excellent melody,
by which he could more easily endure poverty,
began to go around the noble cities of Asia,
receiving pay and singing the praise of the conquered.
After he was made wealthy by this kind of gain,
he wished to return to his fatherland by a sea voyage;
he was, as they say, born on the island of Chios.
He boarded a ship; a dreadful storm
and age together broke it apart on the open sea.
Some gather zones, others precious things,
as provision for life. One man, more inquisitive:
"Simonides, do you take nothing from your possessions?"
"All my things are with me," he says. Then a few swim ashore,
because many had perished crushed by the burden.
Pirates arrive, seize whatever each had carried off,
and leave them naked. By chance, near Clazomenae
there was an old city which the shipwrecked sought.
Here a certain man, devoted to the study of letters,
who had often read the verses of Simonides,
and was the greatest admirer of the absent man,
having learned from the poet's speech most eagerly
took him in; with clothing, coin, and a household
he adorned the man.

Ceteri tabulam suam
portant, rogantes uictum. Quos casu obuios
Simonides ut uidit: "Dixi" inquit "mea
mecum esse cuncta; uos quod rapuistis perit."

The others carry their tablet
begging for sustenance. When Simonides saw those whom chance brought before him,
he said, "I have said all my things are with me;
what you have seized is perished."

XXIV. Mons Parturiens

24. Mountain in Labor

Mons parturibat, gemitus immanes ciens,
eratque in terris maxima expectatio.
At ille murem peperit. Hoc scriptum est tibi,
qui, magna cum minaris, extricas nihil.

The mountain was in labor, causing immense groans,
and there was the greatest expectation on the lands.
But it brought forth a mouse. This is written for you,
who, with great threatenings, bring forth nothing.

XXV. Formica et Musca

25. The Ant and the Fly

[Nihil agere quod non prosit fabella indicat.]
Formica et musca contendebant acriter,
quae pluris esset. Musca sic coepit prior:
"Conferre nostris tu potes te laudibus?
Moror inter aras, templa perlustro deum;
ubi immolatur, exta praegusto omnia;
in capite regis sedeo cum uisum est mihi,
et matronarum casta delibo oscula;
laboro nihil atque optimis rebus fruor.
Quid horum simile tibi contingit, rustica?"
"Est gloriosus sane conuictus deum,
sed illi qui inuitatur, non qui inuisus est.
Aras frequentas? Nempe abigeris quom uenis.
Reges commemoras et matronarum oscula?
Super etiam iactas tegere quod debet pudor.
Nihil laboras?

[nothing to do that does not profit, the little tale shows.]
Ant and fly contested fiercely,
which was worth more. The fly first thus began:
"Can you match me with your praises?
I pause among the altars, I traverse the temples of the gods;
where sacrifice is made, I taste all the entrails;
I sit on the king's head when it pleases me,
and I sip the chaste kisses of matrons;
I labor not at all and enjoy the best things.
What similar fortune befalls you, rustic?"
"A glorious fellowship of gods indeed is yours,
but to him who is invited, not to him who is hated.
You frequent altars? Surely you are driven off when you come.
You speak of kings and kisses of matrons?
You even vaunt covering what modesty ought to hide.
You labor nothing?

Ideo, cum opus est, nihil habes.
Ego grana in hiemem cum studiose congero,
te circa murum pasci uideo stercore;
mori contractam cum te cogunt frigora,
me copiosa recipit incolumem domus.
aestate me lacessis; cum bruma est siles.
Satis profecto rettudi superbiam."
Fabella talis hominum discernit notas,
eorum qui se falsis ornant laudibus,
et quorum uirtus exhibet solidum decus.

Therefore, when need is, you have nothing.
I diligently heap grain for the winter,
I see you fed around the wall on dung;
when the cold forces you, shrunk, toward death,
a bountiful house receives me safe.
You reproach me in summer; when winter is, you are silent.
Enough indeed to crush your arrogance."
Such a little fable discerns the traits of men,
those who adorn themselves with false praises,
and those whose virtue displays a solid honour.

XXVI. Poeta

26. Poet

Quantum ualerent inter homines litterae
dixi superius; quantus nunc illis honos
a superis sit tributus tradam memoriae.
Simonides idem ille de quo rettuli,
uictori laudem cuidam pyctae ut scriberet
certo conductus pretio, secretum petit.
Exigua cum frenaret materia impetum,
usus poetae more est et licentia
atque interposuit gemina Ledae sidera,
auctoritatem similis referens gloriae.
Opus adprobauit; sed mercedis tertiam
accepit partem. Cum relicuas posceret:
"Illi" inquit "reddent quorum sunt laudis duae.
Verum, ut ne irate te dimissum sentiant,
ad cenam mihi promitte; cognatos uolo
hodie inuitare, quorum es in numero mihi."
Fraudatus quamuis et dolens iniuria,
ne male dimissus gratiam corrumperet,
promisit. Rediit hora dicta, recubuit.
Splendebat hilare poculis conuiuium,
magno apparatu laeta resonabat domus,
repente duo cum iuuenes, sparsi puluere,
sudore multo diffluentes, corpore
humanam supra formam, cuidam seruolo
mandant ut ad se prouocet Simonidem;
illius interesse ne faciat moram.
Homo perturbatus excitat Simonidem.
Vnum promorat uix pedem triclinio,
ruina camarae subito oppressit ceteros;
nec ulli iuuenes sunt reperti ad ianuam.
Vt est uulgatus ordo narratae rei
omnes scierunt numinum praesentiam
uati dedisse uitam mercedis loco.

How much letters among men were worth I said above; what great honor
is now allotted to them by the supernal ones I will consign to memory.
Simonides, that same one of whom I narrated before,
having been hired at a fixed price to write praise for a certain victor,
sought secrecy. When scant material checked his impulse,
by the custom and licence of the poet he made use
and interposed the twin stars of Leda,
as if adding authority to the glory. The patron approved the work; but he took
a third part of the wage. When he demanded the remainder:
“They,” he said, “will pay them whose are the two praises.
But, so that they not feel you dismissed angrily,
promise me to supper; I wish to invite relatives today
among whom you are numbered.” Deceived though and grieving the injury,
lest, sent away ill, he spoil his favor,
he promised. The appointed hour returned, he reclined.
The banquet gleamed joyfully with cups,
the house rang with happy great display,
when suddenly two young men, sprinkled with dust,
flowing down with much sweat, beyond human in form,
command a certain slave to summon Simonides to them;
that his presence cause no delay there. The man, disturbed, rouses Simonides.
He scarcely set one foot into the triclinium,
when the chamber’s collapse suddenly crushed the others;
nor were any youths found at the door. As the common order of the told tale is,
all knew that the presence of the numina
had given the poet his life in place of the wage.

Epilogus: Poeta ad Particulonem

Epilogue: Poet to Particulonem

Adhuc supersunt multa quae possim loqui,
et copiosa abundat rerum uarietas;
sed temperatae suaues sunt argutiae,
immodicae offendunt. Quare, uir sanctissime,
ep.,Particulo, chartis nomen uicturum meis,
Latinis dum manebit pretium litteris,
si non ingenium, certe breuitatem adproba;
quae commendari tanto debet iustius,
quanto cantores sunt molesti ualidius.

Many things still remain which I could speak,
and abundant variety of matters overflows;
but tempered witticisms are sweet,
excessive jests offend. Wherefore, most holy man,
O Particulus, let the name live on my sheets,
so long as value shall remain in Latin letters,by as much as singers are more troublesome with greater force.