Monday, May 10, 2010

Aper et Asinus - Certamen (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 128 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:

Aper Asinum ad certāmen prōvocāns, spērābat sē victōrem fore, quod longiōrēs acūtiōresque sibi quam adversāriō dentēs essent. Sed cum asinō propinquāsset, ferrātīs pedibus percussus, cecidit sēmimortuus. Paulō post ad sē reversus: Nōn istinc mē laedī, inquit, crēdēbam. Fābula indicat virum prūdentem omnia explōrāre dēbēre, unde ab adversāriō possit offendī.


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):

Aper Ásinum ad certámen próvocans, sperábat se victórem fore, quod longióres acutiorésque sibi quam adversário dentes essent. Sed cum ásino propinquásset, ferrátis pédibus percússus, cécidit semimórtuus. Paulo post ad se revérsus: Non istinc me laedi, inquit, credébam. Fábula índicat virum prudéntem ómnia exploráre debére, unde ab adversário possit offéndi.


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:

Aper
Asinum ad certamen provocans,
sperabat
se victorem fore,
quod longiores acutioresque sibi
quam adversario
dentes essent.
Sed cum asino propinquasset,
ferratis pedibus percussus,
cecidit semimortuus.
Paulo post ad se reversus:
Non istinc me laedi,
inquit,
credebam.
Fabula indicat
virum prudentem
omnia explorare debere,
unde ab adversario
possit offendi.



IMAGE. Here is an illustration for the story (image source), showing a kicking donkey: