Monday, February 8, 2010

Accipitres et Columbae (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 96 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:

Accipitrēs invicem inimīcī quotīdiē dēcertābant, suīsque odiīs occupātī, aliās avēs minimē infestābant. Columbae illōrum vicem dolentēs, eōs missīs legātīs composuēre. Sed illī, ubī inter sē amīcī effectī sunt, cēterās avēs imbēcilliōrēs et maximē columbās vexāre et occīdere nōn dēsinēbant. Tunc sēcum columbae: quam ūtilior accipitrum discordia quam concordia nōbīs erat. Haec monet fābula malōrum inter sē cīvium odia alenda potius quam extinguenda, ut dum inter sē dīgladiantur, virōs bonōs quiētē vīvere permittant.



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):

Accípitres ínvicem inimíci quotídie decertábant, suísque ódiis occupáti, álias aves mínime infestábant. Colúmbae illórum vicem doléntes, eos missis legátis composuére. Sed illi, ubi inter se amíci effécti sunt, céteras aves imbecillióres et máxime colúmbas vexáre et occídere non desinébant. Tunc secum colúmbae: "Quam utílior accípitrum discórdia quam concórdia nobis erat." Haec monet fábula malórum inter se cívium ódia alénda pótius quam extinguénda, ut dum inter se digladiántur, viros bonos quiéte vívere permíttant.



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:

Accipitres
invicem inimici
quotidie decertabant,
suisque odiis occupati,
alias aves minime infestabant.
Columbae
illorum vicem dolentes,
eos missis legatis composuere.
Sed illi,
ubi inter se amici effecti sunt,
ceteras aves imbecilliores
et maxime columbas
vexare et occidere non desinebant.
Tunc secum columbae:
"Quam utilior
accipitrum discordia
quam concordia nobis erat."
Haec monet fabula
malorum inter se civium odia
alenda potius quam extinguenda,
ut dum inter se digladiantur,
viros bonos
quiete vivere permittant.




IMAGE. Here is an illustration for the story (image source), showing hawks fighting: