Thursday, January 28, 2010

Asinus qui res Sacras portabat (Porta Latina)

SOURCE: The text is taken from the Latin textbook Porta Latina: Fables of La Fontaine by Frank Gardner Moore, available at GoogleBooks. You can consult the textbook for vocabulary and also for notes on each fable. For more information and other versions of this fable, see Perry 182. In LaFontaine, the fable is 5.14, L' Ane portant des reliques.

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:

Asinus quīdam rēs sacrās portābat, ratus sēsē venerārī hominēs. Itaque ērēctus incēdēbat, tamquam sibi tūs illud atque carmina acciperet. Cuius errōrem cum mox vīdit aliquis, "Mī asine" inquit "istam vānitātem tibi excute. Nōn tē, sed istās rēs sacrās caerimōniīs colunt; istī dīvō haec religiō dēbētur." Inērudītī magistrātūs vestīmentum modo colimus.



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):

Ásinus quidam res sacras portábat, ratus sese venerári hómines. Ítaque eréctus incedébat, tamquam sibi tus illud atque cármina accíperet. Cuius errórem cum mox vidit áliquis, "Mi ásine" inquit "istam vanitátem tibi éxcute. Non te, sed istas res sacras caerimóniis colunt; isti divo haec relígio debétur." Inerudíti magistrátus vestiméntum modo cólimus.



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; I've inserted spaces between the segments to make it easier to follow:

Asinus quidam
res sacras portabat,
ratus
sese venerari homines.
Itaque erectus incedebat,
tamquam
sibi tus illud atque carmina acciperet.
Cuius errorem
cum mox vidit aliquis,
"Mi asine" inquit
"istam vanitatem tibi excute.
Non te, sed istas res sacras
caerimoniis colunt;
isti divo
haec religio debetur."
Ineruditi magistratus
vestimentum modo colimus.



IMAGE. Here is the illustration of the fable by Aractingy: