Faernus: Vulpes et Uva

This is a poem intended for my anthology of Latin Aesopic poetry. I'm accumulating the materials for the anthology in a Google Docs folder, including a document for this poem where you will find vocabulary and notes. Comments, questions, and suggestions are welcome! You can use the "comment" feature in the Google Doc, which I will be updating with revisions. Today's poem is by Faernus (Gabriele Faerno, 1510-1561).

Vulpes et Uva

Vulpes, esuriens, alta de vite racemos

Pendentes nulla cum prensare arte valeret

Nec pedibus tantum aut agili se tollere saltu,

Re infecta, abscedens, haec secum, "Age, desine!" dixit,

"Immatura uva est gustuque insuavis acerbo."

This famous Aesop's fable is the origin of the English saying, "Sour grapes." Faernus's version of the story is actually a single sentence! By making use of participles describing the fox (esuriens, abscedens), a very long cum clause, an ablative absolute (re infecta), along with quoted speech, he has managed to tell the story with just one indicative verb: dixit.

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

Esuriens vulpes,

cum non valeret 

ulla arte

prensare racemos

pendentes de alta vite,

et non [valeret] 

tollere se tantum

pedibus 

aut agili saltu,

re infecta,

abscedens, 

dixit haec secum,

"Age desine!

Uva est 

immatura

et insuavis,

gustu acerbo."

And here's the meter marked:

Vulpes · esuri·ens al·ta de · vite ra·cemos

Penden·tes nul·la cum·prensar~ · arte va·leret,

Nec pedi·bus tant~ · aut agi·li se · tollere · saltu,

R~ infec·t~ absce·dens, haec · sec~ "Age · desine!" · dixit,

"Imma·tur~ uv~ · est gus·tuqu~ in·suavis a·cerbo."

Here is the illustration from the scan at the Internet Archive:

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