Sunday, October 11, 2009

Lupus et Grus (Via Latina)

SOURCE: Via Latina. For more information and other versions, see the links list for Perry 156.

NoDictionaries.com: You can find the word list for this fable online, and use it interactively (here are some tips on how to make best use of the tool).

READ OUT LOUD. Choose which marked text you prefer to practice with - macrons or accent marks - and read the text out loud until you feel comfortable and confident. Then, try reading the unmarked text at the bottom. It should be easy for you after practicing with the marked texts. :-)


MACRONS. Here is the text with macrons:

In faucibus lupī os inhaeserat. Mercēde igitur condūcit gruem, quī illud extrahat. Hōc grūs longitūdine collī facile effēcit. Cum autem mercēdem postulāret, subridēns lupus et dentibus infrendēns, Num tibi, inquit, parva mercēs vidētur, quod caput incolume ex lupī faucibus extrāxistī?



ACCENT MARKS. Here is the text with ecclesiastical accents, plus some color-coding for the words of three or more syllables (blue: penultimate stress; red: antepenultimate stress):

In faúcibus lupi os inhaéserat. Mercéde ígitur condúcit gruem, qui illud éxtrahat. Hoc grus longitúdine colli fácile effécit. Cum autem mercédem postuláret, súbridens lupus et déntibus infréndens, Num tibi, inquit, parva merces vidétur, quod caput incólume ex lupi faúcibus extraxísti?



UNMARKED TEXT. Here is the unmarked text - after practicing with the marked text that you prefer, you should not have any trouble with the unmarked text:

In faucibus lupi
os inhaeserat.
Mercede igitur
conducit gruem,
qui illud extrahat.
Hoc
grus
longitudine colli
facile effecit.
Cum autem mercedem postularet,
subridens lupus
et dentibus infrendens,
"Num tibi (inquit)
parva merces videtur,
quod
caput incolume
ex lupi faucibus extraxisti?"



IMAGE. Here is an illustration from the Medici Aesop, which is online at the New York Public Library website.

Here is another illustration for the story (image source) from a 19th-century edition of Aesop: