Desbillons: Lacerta et Testudo

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 Desbillons (1711-1789).

Lacerta et Testudo

"Tui me miseret," aiebat Testudini

Lacerta, "quae, quocumque libeat vadere,

Tuam ipsa tecum ferre cogaris domum."

"Quod utile," inquit illa, "non grave est onus."

While this fable is, I believe, original to Desbillons (he provides no note regarding the source), but both the tortoise and the snail appears in Aesop's fables praising the advantage they gain from carrying their home with them wherever they go.

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

Lacerta aiebat Testudini

"Me miseret tui, 

quae, 

quocumque [tibi] libeat vadere,

ipsa cogaris ferre tuam domum tecum."

Illa inquit,

"[Hoc] 

quod utile [est]

non est grave onus."

And here's the meter marked:

Tui · me mise · ret, ai · ebat · Testu · dini

Lacer · ta, quae · quocum · que libe · at va · dere,

Tu~ ip · sa te · cum fer · re co · garis · domum.

Quod u · til~ in · quit il · la non · grav~ est · onus.

Because this fable is not part of the classical Aesopic tradition, I don't have an illustration for it, but here is a lovely picture of a Mexican mud-turtle from Wikipedia.

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