Sunday, January 17, 2010

Auceps et Fringilla (Abstemius)

SOURCE: This fable comes from the first Hecatomythium ("100 Fables") of Laurentius Abstemius (Lorenzo Bevilaqua), a fifteenth-century Italian scholar. Of all the neo-Latin fable collections, Abstemius's was the most popular, and his stories are frequently anthologized in the 16th-, 17th- and 18th-century collections of Aesop's fables in Latin. Here is a 1499 edition of the book online. This is fable 39 in the collection.

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:

Auceps tetenderat volūcribus rētia, largamque illīs in ārea effunderat escam, pascentēs tamen avēs nōn capiēbat, quia sibi vidēbantur paucae; quibus pastīs āvolantibus, aliae pastum adveniunt, quās quoque propter paucitātem capere neglexit. Hoc per tōtum diem ordine servātō, ac aliīs advenientibus, aliīs abeuntibus, illō semper māiōrem praedam expectante, tandem advesperascere coeperat; tunc auceps āmissā spē multās capiendī, cum iam tempus esset quiescendī, attrahēns rētia, ūnam tantum fringillam, quae infēlix in āreā remānserat, cēpit. Haec fābula indicat quī omnia comprehendere volunt saepe pauca vix capere posse.



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

Auceps teténderat volúcribus rétia, largámque illis in area effúnderat escam, pascéntes tamen aves non capiébat, quia sibi videbántur paucae; quibus pastis avolántibus, áliae pastum advéniunt, quas quoque propter paucitátem cápere negléxit. Hoc per totum diem órdine serváto, ac áliis adveniéntibus, áliis abeúntibus, illo semper maiórem praedam expectánte, tandem advesperáscere coéperat; tunc auceps amíssa spe multas capiéndi, cum iam tempus esset quiescéndi, áttrahens rétia, unam tantum fringíllam, quae infélix in área remánserat, cepit. Haec fábula índicat qui ómnia comprehéndere volunt saepe pauca vix cápere posse.



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 put in some line breaks to show the natural pauses in the story:

Auceps
tetenderat volucribus retia,
largamque illis
in area effunderat escam,
pascentes tamen aves
non capiebat,
quia sibi videbantur paucae;
quibus pastis avolantibus,
aliae pastum adveniunt,
quas quoque
propter paucitatem
capere neglexit.
Hoc
per totum diem
ordine servato,
ac aliis advenientibus,
aliis abeuntibus,
illo semper
maiorem praedam expectante,
tandem advesperascere coeperat;
tunc auceps
amissa spe multas capiendi,
cum iam tempus esset quiescendi,
attrahens retia,
unam tantum fringillam,
quae infelix in area remanserat,
cepit.
Haec fabula indicat
qui omnia comprehendere volunt
saepe pauca vix capere posse.




IMAGE. Here is an illustration for the story (image source) showing a birdcatcher and his nets: