Desbillons: Gallus et Vultur

I've gotten behind on posting the Latin fables of Desbillons that Hector and I have been reading together (see this post for more info), so here is one of the poems that we've done:

9.23 Gallus et Vultur

Imperium late gentem in gallinaceam

Sibi asseruerat victo Gallus aemulo;

Hinc se superbus tollit ad culmen domus,

Suam ipse cantu celebret ut victoriam.

At Vultur audit, et advolans illum rapit.

Impune victor nullus insolens fuit.

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

Gallus sibi asseruerat imperium

late in gentem gallinaceam,

aemulo victo;

superbus,

se tollit hinc

ad culmen domus,

ut ipse celebret suam victoriam

cantu.

At Vultur audit 

et, advolans,

rapit illum.

Nullus victor

fuit insolens

impune.

This is a classic Aesop's fable; in the Perry index, it is number 281. It's usually an eagle that carries off the boasting victor, but I like the idea of it being a vulture as here in Desbillons' poem.

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

Imperi · um la · te gen · t~ in gal · lina · ceam

Sib~ as · serue · rat vic · to Gal · lus ae · mulo;

Hinc se · super · bus tol · lit ad · culmen · domus,

Su~ ip · se can · tu cele · bret ut · victo · riam.

At Vul · tur au · dit, et ad · volans · illum · rapit.

Impu · ne vic · tor nul · lus in · solens · fuit.

You can find illustrations for the fable here. Here is Tenniel's illustration:

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

Desbillons: Bos Philosophus

Hector and I did something really different as part of our ongoing work on the Latin fables of Desbillons (see this post for more info); we've been focusing on the super-short poems, but this week we worked on a longer poem because it is really relevant to the kind of research Hector is doing in animal studies. Plus, it's just a great poem, a fable that is original to Desbillons and really well told!

12.7 Bos Philosophus

Philosophus olim fama erat celeberrimus 

Bos; Magna quid, ait, cornua ista me juvant 

Ad consequendam quam volo sapientiam?

Supervacua sunt; immo plurimum nocent, 

Per nemora namque quoties et silentibus 

Sub umbris ambulo, sapientes ut solent,

Densis fruticibus arborumque ramulis 

Retenta saepe turbant, et totus mihi 

Multa meditanti adesse ne possim vetant, 

Etiamque cogunt, saepius quam nos decet, 

Meminisse nobis ipsa haec a Superis data, 

Injurias possemus ut refellere, 

Quibus adjumentis philosophi minime indigent.

Rogat ergo lanium cornua revellat sibi; 

Monet ille videat porro prudens quid roget; 

Id sine doloris sensu vix tolerabili 

Non posse fieri. Falleris, bone vir, ait 

Bos obstinatus: haec propago cornea 

Sensum ipsa nec habet nec potest progignere 

Neque illa nostro multum adhaeret vertici;

Labare visa nuper est, cum paululum 

Obnixus inter mutuum nexas vepres 

Arbusculasque mihi patefacerem viam; 

Age modo propera. Lanius ergo paruit, 

Sed cum ille tandem jussum quod fuerat opus

Efficere summis niteretur viribus, 

Dolore victus repulit odiosam manum, 

Immugiensque philosophus fugit procul. 

Plerique facile dimissum iri quae putant 

Ubi venit hora posse dimitti negant.

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

Olim philosophus erat,

celeberrimus fama,

bos!

Ait,

"Quid magna cornua ista

juvant me

ad consequendam sapientiam

quam volo? 

Sunt supervacua; 

immo 

plurimum nocent 

namque 

quoties ambulo

per nemora   

et sub silentibus umbris,

ut sapientes solent,

(cornua), 

retenta densis fruticibus 

et ramulis arborum,

saepe turbant 

et vetant

ne possim 

totus adesse mihi, 

multa meditanti,

etiamque 

cogunt meminisse,

saepius quam nos decet, 

ipsa haec 

a superis data (esse) nobis

ut possemus refellere injurias,

quibus adjumentis 

philosophi minime indigent.

rogat ergo lanium 

revellat sibi cornua;

ille (lanius) monet porro

(ut bos) videat, prudens, quid roget;

id non posse fieri 

sine sensu doloris, 

vix tolerabili. 

Bos ait, obstinatus,

"Falleris, bone vir!

Haec cornea propago 

ipsa nec habet sensum,

nec potest progignere (sensum),

neque illa multum adhaeret nostro vertici;

nuper 

visa est labare 

cum patefacerem mihi viam,

paululum obnixus

inter vepres et arbusculas mutuum nexas.

Age modo! Propera!"

Ergo lanius paruit 

sed,

cum tandem 

ille niteretur summis viribus

efficere opus 

quod fuerat jussum,

philosophus,

dolore victus,

repulit odiosam manum 

et fugit procul, 

immugiens.

Plerique,

ubi hora venit,

negant 

(haec) posse dimitti 

quae facile dimissum iri 

putant.

In ancient times and modern, philosophers have considered the question of animal consciousness, and in this fable, the animal himself has become a philosopher, and he is even giving the butcher orders! Yes, in the end, this "bos philosophus" is a fool whom Desbillons mocks, but not as a stupid animal; the ox is being mocked as a pretentious philosopher. The pretentious philosopher is often the butt of Aesopic humor, both in the fables and also in the Life of Aesop where, for a time, Aesop is the slave of a philosopher whom he outwits repeatedly.

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

Philoso·phus o·lim fam~ · erat · celeber·rimus 

Bos; Mag·na quid a·it cor·nu~ is·ta me · juvant 

Ad con·sequen·dam quam · volo · sapien·tiam?

Super·vacua · sunt; im·mo plu·rimum · nocent 

Per nemo·ra nam·que quoti·es et · silen·tibus 

Sub um·bris am·bulo, · sapien·tes ut · solent,

Densis · frutici·bus ar·borum·que ra·mulis 

Reten·ta sae·pe tur·bant et · totus · mihi 

Multa me·ditant~ · ades·se ne · possim · vetant 

Etiam· que co·gunt sae·pius · quam nos · decet 

Meminis·se no·bis ips~ · haec a · Superis · data 

Inju·rias · posse·mus ut · refel·lere 

Quibus ad·jumen·tis philo·sophi · minim~ in·digent.

Rogat er·go lani·um cor·nua re·vellat · sibi 

Monet il·le vide·at por·ro pru·dens quid · roget 

Id sine · dolo·ris sen·su vix · tolera·bili 

Non pos·se fie·ri; Fal·leris, · bone vir, · ait 

Bos ob·stina·tus: haec · propa·go cor·nea 

Sens~ ip·sa nec ha·bet nec · potest · progig·nere 

Nequ~ il·la nos·tro mult~ · adhae·ret ver·tici;

Laba·re vi·sa nu·per est · cum pau·lulum 

Obnix·us in·ter mu·tuum · nexas · vepres 

Arbus·culas·que mihi · patefa·cerem · viam 

Age mo·do prope·ra. Lani·us er·go pa·ruit 

Sed c~ il·le tan·dem jus·sum quod · fuerat · opus

Effice·re sum·mis ni·tere·tur vi·ribus 

Dolo·re vic·tus repu·lit odi·osam · manum 

Immu·giens·que philo·sophus · fugit · procul 

Pleri·que faci·le di·miss~ i·ri quae · putant 

Ubi ve·nit ho·ra pos·se di·mitti · negant.

And here's an ox from a medieval bestiary who's looking very philosophical, and who also has some serious horns:

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

Aesopic "One-Liners"

As part of our ongoing work on the Latin fables of Desbillons (see this post for more info), Hector picked out a really interesting pair of fables to read together, one by Desbillons and one from Phaedrus. They are a quintessential type of Aesopic fable, the "one-liner," where there really isn't a plot at all, but instead just a witty put-down, as you'll see:

Desbillons 4.1 Sus et Leaena

Fecunda Sus Leaenae vertebat probro,

Catulum quod unum quolibet partu ederet.

"Unum, at Leonem," retulit indignans fera.

Res dignitate praevalent, non copia.

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

Fecunda Sus 

vertebat Leaenae

probro,

quod 

quolibet partu

ederet unum Catulum.

Indignans fera retulit,

"Unum, at Leonem."

Res praevalent

dignitate,

non copia.

This is a fable that comes from the Greco-Roman Aesopic tradition, although it is sometimes a fox who addresses the lioness, rather than a pig. Given how many piglets a pig can have, however, that seems like the better choice, as well as heightening the lowly status of the mother-animal compared to the regal lioness.

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

Fecun · da Sus · Leae · nae ver · tebat · probro,

Catulum · quod u · num quo · libet · part~ e · deret.

Un~ at · Leo · nem re · tulit in · dignans · fera.

Res dig · nita · te prae · valent · non co · pia.

The other "one-liner" fable we read is from Phaedrus:

Phaedrus 1.7 Vulpes ad Personam Tragicam

Personam tragicam forte vulpes viderat;

quam postquam huc illuc semel atque iterum verterat,

'O quanta species' inquit 'cerebrum non habet!'

Hoc illis dictum est quibus honorem et gloriam

Fortuna tribuit, sensum communem abstulit.

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

Forte

Vulpes viderat

tragicam personam;

postquam

verterat hanc (personam) 

huc illuc

semel atque iterum,

inquit,

"O quanta species...

non habet cerebrum!"

Hoc dictum est illis

quibus 

Fortuna tribuit

honorem et gloriam  

(et) abstulit communem sensum.

The use of the tragic mask in this poem marks it as clearly Roman, and you can see illustrations here; I like the version in the Medici Aesop:

In some versions, it's a wolf rather than a fox... and just look what happens to the story in Caxton, where it's about "the wulf and of the dede mans hede," although the illustration shows a dead woman:

This 15th-century version has a wolf and the head of a statue:

The meter is iambic:

Perso·nam tragi·cam for·te vul·pes vi·derat;

quam post·qu~ huc il·luc semel · atqu~ ite·rum ver·terat,

'O quan·ta speci·es' in·quit 'cere·brum non · habet!'

Hoc il·lis dict~ · est quibus · honor~ · et glo·riam

Fortu·na tribu·it, sen·sum com·mun~ ab·stulit.

Meanwhile, for more Desbillons, here are the other Desbillons poems I've posted so far here at the blog, and here is more from Phaedrus, plus some reconstructed Phaedrus poems.

Phaedrus (Extra): Pulex et Camelus 2

Since Hector and I read the Zander version of this Phaedrus poem (reconstructed), I thought I would share this version by Gudius (Marquand Gude), another one of Phaedrus's editors. You can read more about Phaedrus at Wikipedia, and here are all the Phaedrus poems I have posted at this blog, plus all the "extra" Phaedrus poems too. 

31. Pulex et Camelus

Pulex cameli dorso forte considens,

Gravatus multis qui incedebat sarcinis,

Sibi placebat, longe visus altior.

Iter cum longum facerent, vespera simul

Ad stabulum venerunt; pulex leviter statim

Ad terram saliens: ecce, dixit, ocius

Descendo, attritum ne gravem diutius.

At ille: gratum est, inquit; sed nec pondere,

Te imposito, me gravari sentire potui,

nec, te deiecto, habere quid levaminis.

Qui se sublimis, nullo cum sit ordine,

Iactat, notatus in despectum devenit.

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

Forte

pulex 

considens dorso cameli

qui incedebat gravatus multis sarcinis,

sibi placebat,

visus longe altior.

Cum facerent longum iter

vespera 

simul venerunt ad stabulum; 

statim

pulex dixit,

leviter saliens ad terram,

"Ecce, descendo ocius

ne gravem (te) attritum diutius."

At ille (camelus) inquit,

"Gratum est, 

sed, te imposito,

non potui sentire 

me gravari pondere,

et, te deiecto, 

non (potui sentire) 

(me) habere quid levaminis."

Is,

qui iactat se sublimis

cum sit nullo ordine,

notatus devenit in despectum.

The meter is iambic:

Pulex · Came·li dor·so for·te con·sidens,

Grava·tus mul·tis qu~  in·cede·bat sar·cinis,

Sibi · place·bat, lon·ge vi·sus al·tior.

Iter · cum lon·gum face·rent, ves·pera · simul

Ad stabu·lum ve·nerunt; · pulex · leviter · statim

Ad ter·ram sali·ens: ec·ce, dix·it, o·cius

Des·cend~ at·tritum · ne gra·vem diu·tius.

At il·le: gra·t~ est, in·quit; sed · nec pon·dere,

T~ imposi·to, me · grava·ri sen·tire po·tui,

nec, te · deiec·t~ habe·re quid · leva·minis.

Here is an illustration from Steinhowel's Aesop because, thanks to the medieval tradition, this fable was part of the Aesop that Steinhowel inherited, and so also Caxton:

De pulice et camelo
Caxton: Of the camel / and of the flee
He that hath no myght ought not to gloryfye ne preyse hym self of no thynge / As reherceth to vs this presente fable of a camele / whiche bare a grete charge or burden It happed that a flee by cause of the camels here lepte to the back of the camel / and made her to be borne of hym all the day And whanne they had made a grete way / And that the camel came at euen to the lodgys / and was put in the stable / the flee lepte fro hym to the ground besyde the foote of the camel / And after she sayd to the camel / I haue pyte of the / and am comen doune fro thy back by cause that I wylle nomore greue ne trauaylle the by the berynge of me / And the camel sayd to the flee / I thanke the / how be it that I am not sore laden of the /
And therfore of hym which may neyther helpe ne lette men nede not make grete estymacion of
[more info]

De vulture et aviculis (iterum!)

I promised Hector a prose version of the Vulture's Birthday Party, and here it is. Actually, here they are; two prose versions! First, Irenaeus's version from his wonderful Mithologia Sacro-profana... a hard-to-find 17th-century book, but it is at Google Books and at the Munich MDZ.

I haven't changed the word order, but I've put in some line breaks to help with the syntactical pauses:

15. De vulture et aviculis

Vultur,

volens laute prandere 

et ventrem suum delicatis cibis infercire, 

invitavit aviculas ad convivium, 

Natalem suum, 

ut dicebat, 

celebraturus. 

Haec fama exiit inter eas, 

et hoc aucupio incautas fefellit. 

Veniunt igitur undique, 

existimantes 

invenire mensas 

omnis generis deliciarum refertas, 

non de suo paraturas. 

Sed ubi 

adventatis ac coactis omnibus 

fores occlusae sunt, 

et Vultur rapere, 

et mactare, 

et occidere coepit. 

"O insanas nos, 

et vecordes," 

inquiunt, 

"quae Vulturi, inimico nostro, 

fidimus, 

et apud eum 

putantes 

reperfire escas, 

ipsae 

eius escae

factae sumus."

Here's an illustration from Salomon's 16th-century Aesop:

And for a simpler prose version, here's one from a 19th-century Latin schoolbook (hence the macrons), Jacobs' and Döring's Elementarbuch.

Vultur 

aliquando 

aviculās invītāvit ad convīvium, 

quod 

illīs datūrus esset 

diē nātālī suō. 

Quae cum ad tempus adessent, 

eās carpere et occīdere, 

epulāsque sibi dē invītātis 

īnstruere

coepit.

illustration a Spanish Steinhowel:

Phaedrus (Extra): Vultur et Aliae Aves

You can read more about Phaedrus at Wikipedia, and here are all the Phaedrus poems I have posted at this blog, plus the reconstructed Phaedrus poems too. This reconstruction comes from the work of Petrus Burmannus, a.k.a. Pieter Burman the Elder.

This fable appears in the classical Greek Aesop with a predatory cat instead of a predatory bird; then, in the medieval Latin tradition, it is told about a predatory bird, and in Caxton it is a hawk:

And here is the reconstructed poem:

7. Vultur et Aliae Aves

Vultur, natalem simulans se celebrare, aves

Domum invitavit. Deinde ingressus ostium

Occlusit atque caedere coepit singulas.

Sic spem tribuentes saepe struunt contraria.

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

Vultur, 

simulans se celebrare natalem, 

invitavit aves domum. 

Deinde ingressus 

occlusit ostium

atque coepit caedere singulas.

Sic 

tribuentes spem 

saepe struunt contraria.

The meter is iambic:

Vultur, · nata·lem simu·lans se · celebrar~ · aves

Dom~ in·vita·vit. Deind~ · ingres·sus os·tium

Occlu·sit at·que cae·dere coe·pit sin·gulas.

Sic spem · tribuen·tes sae·pe struunt · contra·ria.

Here's an illustration from Salomon's 16th-century Aesop:

Desbillons: Vulpecula / Vulpis

Last week, Hector came up with a really good pair of fables to read together for our ongoing work on the Latin fables of Desbillons (see this post for more info), one with direct speech, and one with indirect speech only. Needless to say, I like the one with direct speech so much better; I will never understand why, given a choice, storytellers ever use indirect speech. 

So, let's start off with the fable with direct speech:

2.4 Vulpecula et Gallina

Vulpecula domum ingressa gallinariam,

Solamque languentemque Gallinam videns,

Exclamat "O mea soror salvane es satis?

"Aegroto," ait illa "tu recedas hinc tamen,

Mea soror et me habebo iam meliuscule."

Bonos juvare cum abeunt incipiunt mali.

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

Vulpecula,

ingressa gallinariam domum,

et videns Gallinam,

solam et languentem,

exclamat, 

"O mea soror,

satisne 

es salva?

Illa (Gallina) ait,

"Aegroto,

mea soror;

tamen 

(si) tu recedas hinc,

et iam me habebo 

meliuscule."

Mali,

cum abeunt,

incipiunt juvare bonos.

I really like the diminutives in this one also: the -cul- suffix on vulpecula is common, but turning melius into a diminutive, meliucule, is really cool! Desbillons cites Babrius as his source, although in Babrius, it is a cat who is being solicitous of the sick chicken; the fable works just as nicely with a fox.

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

Vulpe · cula dom~ · ingres · sa gal · lina · riam,

Solam · que lan · guentem · que Gal · linam · videns,

Excla · mat, "O · mea so · ror, sal · van~ es · satis?

Aegrot~ · ait il · la tu · rece · das hinc · tamen,

Mea so · ror, et · m~ habe · bo iam · melius · cule.

Bonos · juva · re, c~ abe · unt, in · cipiunt · mali.

Now, for comparison, here is a different fable, this time with indirect speech only:

9.15 Vulpis

Vulpis dum furtim villici chortem subit,

Queritur, meatus quod sit angustus nimis,

Sed insequentem posthac dum refugit canem,

Queritur, meatus quod sit multo laxior.

Humana saepe ratio secum dissidet.

Dum Vulpis 

subit chortem villici furtim,

queritur 

quod meatus sit nimis angustus,

sed posthac,

dum refugit insequentem canem,

queritur

quod meatus sit multo laxior.

Humana ratio

saepe dissidet secum.

Now wouldn't that have been better if we had the fox's actual complaint, with some real personality like the dialogue in the fable about the fox and the chicken? Don't give me quod-this and quod-that... I want direct speech!

Here is some help with the meter:

Vulpis · dum fur · tim vil · lici · chortem · subit,

Queritur · mea · tus quod · sit an · gustus · nimis,

Sed in · sequen · tem post · hac dum · refugit · canem,

Queritur · mea · tus quod · sit mul · to lax · ior.

Huma · na sae · pe rati · o se · cum dis · sidet.

Desbillons' source for this fable is Faernus, and when I checked, he also just uses indirect speech! Argh! We'll be getting to the fables of Faernus later, but you can read that poem online here if you are curious, and this is the illustration that goes with it. Poor chicken! And yes, Faernus mentions that the fox got away with a chicken: subreptam ore gallinam efferens.

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