Desbillons: Asellus Viridis

As part of this work on the Latin fables of Desbillons (see this post for more info), I'm reading some poems with Hector Tapia, and in this post I'll report on a poem we did yesterday from Desbillons plus the story in Abstemius that inspired the poem.

Here's the poem:

2.36 Asellus Viridis

Asellum quidam per vias urbis suum

Voluit colore viridi pictum incedere.

Ridicula primum visa res est omnibus,

viridemque Asellum feminae, pueri, senes

Certatim lepidis concelebrarunt jocis,

At mox ubi illi denique riserunt satis,

In Asello viridi, praeter Asellum, nil vident.

Mirari quidquam non valent homines diu.

Here is the poem written out in English prose order to help in reading:

Quidam voluit

suum Asellum 

incedere per vias urbis 

pictum viridi colore.

Primum

res visa est ridicula

omnibus,

et feminae, pueri, senes

certatim concelebrarunt viridem Asellum 

lepidis jocis,

at mox ubi denique 

illi riserunt satis,

in Asello viridi

vident nil praeter Asellum.

Homines

non diu valent mirari quidquam.

So the idea that novelty wears off is not just a product of modern consumer culture!

The meter is iambic, and here is some help with the meter (for more about iambic meter, see the post about Desbillons 1.1).

Asel·lum qui·dam per · vias · urbis · suum

Voluit · colo·re viri·di pict~ · ince·dere.

Ridicu·la pri·mum vis·a res · est om·nibus,

viridem·qu~ Asel·lum fe·minae · pueri · senes

Certa·tim lepi·dis con·cele·brarunt · jocis,

At mox · ub~ il·li de·nique ri·serunt · satis,

In asel·lo viri·di, prae·ter Asel·lum, nil · vident.

Mira·ri quid·quam non · valent · homines · diu.

IconsDB

And here's the actual story about that green donkey in Abstemius:

Vidua quaedam caelibatum exosa nubere cupiebat, sed non audebat, verita vulgi irrisiones, qui maledictis eas solet incessere, quae ad secundas transeunt nuptias. Sed commater eius quam contemnendae essent populi voces hac arte monstravit. Iussit enim asinum album, quem vidua habebat, viridi colore depingi, et per omnes urbis vicos circumduci. Quod dum fieret, tanta admiratio ab initio omnes invaserat, ut non solum pueri, verum etiam senes hac re insolita moti Asinum animi gratia comitarentur. Deinde quum huiusmodi animal cotidie per urbem duceretur desierunt admirari. "Itidem," inquit ad viduam commater, "eveniet tibi. Si enim virum acceperis per aliquot dies eris fabula vulgi. Deinde hic sermo conticescet." Haec fabula indicat nullam rem esse tanta dignam admiratione, quae diuturnitate temporis non desinat esse miraculum.

Desbillons does cite Abstemius in his notes as the source, but as you can see he has not actually told the story of the widow and her "gossip" (commater, godmother). I wonder if he found the idea of the widow wanting to get married again too scandalous for his purposes! Anyway, the "quidam" of Desbillons' poem started out as a lusty widow.

Since Roger L'Estrange included Abstemius in his Aesop, I can offer this fun 17th-century English rendering:

A Widow and a Green Ass. 

There was a Widow that had a Twittering toward a second Husband, and she took a Gossipping Companion of hers to her Assistance, how to Manage the Job. The Truth of it is, says she, I have a Dear Mind to Another Bedfellow; but the Devillish People would keep such a Snearing, and Pointing at me, they'd make me e'en Weary of my Life. You are a Fine Widow i' faith, says T'other, to Trouble your Head for the Talk of the People. Pray will ye Mind what I say to ye now. You have an Ass here in your Grounds; go your ways and get That Ass Printed Green, and then let him be carry'd up and down the Country for a Show. Do This, I say, without any more Words, for Talk does but Burn Daylight. The Thing was done accordingly; and for the first Four or Five Days, the Green Ass had the Whole Country at his Heels; Man, Woman, and Child, Staring and Hooting after him. In four or five Days More, the Humour was quite Spent, and the Ass might Travel from Morning to Night, and not One Creature to take Notice of him. now (says the friendly Adviser) A New Marry'd Widow is a kind of a Green Ass: Every bodies Mouth will be Full on't for the first four or five Days, and in four or five More, the Story will e'en Talk it self Asleep.

Meanwhile, for more Desbillons, here are the other poems I've posted so far here at the blog. :-)