Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Vulpes et Canis de Leporis Carne (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 86 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:

Vulpes, cum fugārētur ā cane, et iamiam esset capienda, nec ullam aliam evādendī viam invenīre sē posse cognosceret: Quid mē, inquit, Ō canis, perdere cupis, cuius caro tibi ūsuī esse nōn potest? Cape potius leporem illum (non procul enim lepus aberat) cuius carnem suāvissimam mortālēs esse commemorant. Canis igitur mōtus cōnsiliō vulpis, omissā vulpe, leporem īnsecūtus est, quem tamen ob incrēdibilem eius vēlōcitātem capere nōn potuit. Paucīs post diēbus lepus, conveniēns vulpem, vehementer eam accūsābat (verba enim eius audierat) quod sē canī dēmōnstrāsset. Cui vulpes: Quid mē accūsās, lepus, quae tantopere tē laudāvī. Quid dīcerēs, sī mē vituperāssem? Haec indicat fābula multōs mortālēs sub laudātiōnis speciē aliīs perniciem machinārī.



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):

Vulpes, cum fugarétur a cane, et iamiam esset capiénda, nec ullam áliam evadéndi viam inveníre se posse cognósceret: "Quid me (inquit), O canis, pérdere cupis, cuius caro tibi úsui esse non potest? Cape pótius léporem illum (non procul enim lepus áberat) cuius carnem suavíssimam mortáles esse commémorant." Canis ígitur motus consílio vulpis, omíssa vulpe, léporem insecútus est, quem tamen ob incredíbilem eius velocitátem cápere non pótuit. Paucis post diébus lepus, convéniens vulpem, veheménter eam accusábat (verba enim eius audíerat) quod se cani demonstrásset. Cui vulpes: "Quid me accúsas, lepus, quae tantópere te laudávi. Quid díceres, si te vituperássem?" Haec índicat fábula multos mortáles sub laudatiónis spécie áliis perníciem machinári.



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:

Vulpes,
cum fugaretur a cane,
et iamiam esset capienda,
nec ullam aliam evadendi viam
invenire se posse cognosceret:
"Quid me (inquit), Ō canis,
perdere cupis,
cuius caro
tibi usui esse non potest?
Cape potius leporem illum
(non procul enim lepus aberat)
cuius carnem
suavissimam
mortales esse commemorant."
Canis igitur
motus consilio vulpis,
omissa vulpe,
leporem insecutus est,
quem tamen
ob incredibilem eius velocitatem
capere non potuit.
Paucis post diebus lepus,
conveniens vulpem,
vehementer eam accusabat
(verba enim eius audierat)
quod se cani demonstrasset.
Cui vulpes:
"Quid me accusas, lepus,
quae tantopere te laudavi.
Quid diceres,
si te vituperassem?"
Haec indicat fabula
multos mortales
sub laudationis specie
aliis perniciem machinari.




IMAGE. Here is an illustration for the story (image source) showing a rabbit and a fox in discussion, as drawn by K. Bedson: