Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Olea et Cucurbita (Abstemius)

SOURCE: You can find both the first and second "hecatomythia" of Abstemius in Nevelet's monumental Aesop published in 1610, available at GoogleBooks. You can find out more about Abstemius at the Aesopus wiki. This is fable 112 in Abstemius. Perry only includes a few sporadic fables from Abstemius in his index, and there is no Perry number for this fable.

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:

Olea admīrābātur cucurbitam iuxtā sē nātam brevī tantum crēvisse, ut sē esset longē altior quae annōs quamplūrimōs in eōdem fuerat locō. Sed cum adventante hieme cucurbita exāruisset, minimē, inquit olea, cito crescentibus est invidendum, quibus tam cito est parātus interitus. Fābula indicat, nimium festīnāta nōn esse diūturna.


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):

Ólea admirabátur cucúrbitam iuxta se natam brevi tantum crevísse, ut se esset longe áltior quae annos quamplúrimos in eódem fúerat loco. Sed cum adventánte híeme cucúrbita exaruísset, mínime, inquit ólea, cito crescéntibus est invidéndum, quibus tam cito est parátus intéritus. Fábula índicat, nímium festináta non esse diutúrna.


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:

Olea admirabatur
cucurbitam iuxta se natam
brevi tantum crevisse,
ut se esset longe altior
quae annos quamplurimos
in eodem fuerat loco.
Sed
cum adventante hieme
cucurbita exaruisset,
minime, inquit olea,
cito crescentibus
est invidendum,
quibus
tam cito est paratus interitus.
Fabula indicat,
nimium festinata
non esse diuturna.



IMAGE. Here is an illustration for the story (image source) showing a walkway covered with pumpkin vines: