Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Ligna Natantia (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 177. In LaFontaine, the fable is 4.10, Le Chameau et les Bâtons flottants.

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:

Exemplō erunt vigilēs illī, quī prīmum nāvem longam procul sē vidēre crēdēbant; mox nāviculam, tum lintrem esse aiēbant, dēnique ligna tantum natantia. Quod dē multīs rēbus dīcī potest, quae procul intuentibus aliquid, propius spectantibus nihil esse videantur.



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):

Exémplo erunt vígiles illi, qui primum navem longam procul se vidére credébant; mox navículam, tum lintrem esse aiébant, dénique ligna tantum natántia. Quod de multis rebus dici potest, quae procul intuéntibus áliquid, propius spectántibus nihil esse videántur.



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:

Exemplo
erunt vigiles illi,
qui
primum
navem longam procul se videre
credebant;
mox
naviculam,
tum
lintrem esse aiebant,
denique
ligna tantum natantia.
Quod
de multis rebus dici potest,
quae
procul intuentibus
aliquid,
propius spectantibus
nihil esse videantur.



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