Monday, May 17, 2010

Vulpes et leo (Syntipas)

SOURCE: The following Latin translations of Syntipas's Greek fables are by Christian Frederick Matthaei and were published in 1781; the book is available at GoogleBooks. This is fable 17 in Syntipas. For other versions, see Perry 409.

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, prope leōnem inclūsum stāns, multīs eum lacerābat contumēliīs. Leo rēspondet, "Tū quidem nulla mē iniūria afficis, sed adversa, quam nunc experior, fortūna."


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):

Vulpes, prope leónem inclúsum stans, multis eum lacerábat contuméliis. Leo respóndet, "Tu quidem nulla me iniúria áfficis, sed advérsa, quam nunc expérior, fortúna."


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:

Vulpes,
prope leonem inclusum stans,
multis eum lacerabat contumeliis.
Leo respondet,
"Tu quidem
nulla me iniuria afficis,
sed adversa,
quam nunc experior,
fortuna."



IMAGE. Here is an illustration for the story (image source) showing the lion, alas, in his cage, due to his bad luck: