READ OUT LOUD. Choose which marked text you prefer to practice with - macrons in verse form, or macrons in prose order, or accent marks in prose order, or focusing on the meter. You will find materials for all of these options below. :-)
VERSE MACRONS. Here is the verse text with macrons (note that facit is long before caesura):
Dum fora festīnus lūcrō petit, īnstat asellō
Īnstitor et pressum pondere fuste premit.Ille necem spērat nece prōmittente quiētem,
Sed nece complētā vīvere poena potest.Nam cum bella facit et tympana pellis asellī,
Hic lassātur et haec pulsa tonante manū.Cuī sua vīta nocet, caveat sibi rumpere vītam.
Nōn nece, sed meritī iūre quiescit homo. PROSE MACRONS. Here is the same text with macrons written out in prose word order:
Īnstitor, dum festīnus fora petit lūcrō, asellō īnstat et pondere pressum premit fuste. Nece quiētem prōmittente, ille necem spērat , sed, nece complētā, vīvere poena potest. Nam cum pellis asellī facit et tympana bella, hic lassātur, et haec pulsa tonante manū. Cuī sua vīta nocet, caveat sibi vītam rumpere. Homo quiescit nōn nece, sed meritī iūre.
STRESS (ACCENT) MARKS. Here is the prose text with accents, plus some color-coding for the words of three or more syllables (blue: penultimate stress; red: antepenultimate stress):
Ínstitor, dum festínus fora petit lucro, aséllo instat et póndere pressum premit fuste. Nece quiétem promitténte, ille necem sperat , sed, nece compléta, vívere poena potest. Nam cum pellis asélli facit et týmpana bella, hic lassátur, et haec pulsa tonánte manu. Cui sua vita nocet, cáveat sibi vitam rúmpere. Homo quiéscit non nece, sed mériti iure.
ELEGIAC COUPLET METER. Below I have used an interpunct dot · to indicate the metrical elements in each line, and a double line || to indicate the hemistichs of the pentameter line.
Dum fora· festī·nus lū·crō petit,· īnstat a·sellō
Īnstitor· et pres·sum || pondere· fuste pre·mit.Ille ne·cem spē·rat nece· prōmi·ttente qui·ētem,
Sed nece· complē·tā || vīvere· poena po·test.Nam cum· bella fa·cit et· tympana· pellis a·sellī,
Hic las·sātur et· haec || pulsa to·nante ma·nū.Cuī sua· vīta no·cet, cave·at sibi· rumpere· vītam.
Nōn nece,· sed meri·tī || iūre qui·escit ho·mo.IMAGE. Here is an illustration for the story (image source).
What follows is an unmarked version of the prose rendering to faciliate word searches:
Institor, dum festinus fora petit lucro, asello instat et pondere pressum premit fuste. Nece quietem promittente, ille necem sperat , sed, nece completa, vivere poena potest. Nam cum pellis aselli facit et tympana bella, hic lassatur, et haec pulsa tonante manu. Cui sua vita nocet, caveat sibi vitam rumpere. Homo quiescit non nece, sed meriti iure.
