WHAT from the founder Esop fell,In neat familiar verse I tell:Twofold's the genius of the page,To make you smile and make you sage.But if the critics we displease,By wrangling brutes and talking trees,Let them remember, ere they blame,We're working neither sin nor shame;'Tis but a play to form the youthBy fiction, in the cause of truth.
Aesopus auctor quam materiam repperit,Hanc ego polivi versibus senariis.Duplex libelli dos est: quod risum movetEt quod prudenti vitam consilio monet.Calumniari si quis autem voluerit,Quod arbores loquantur, non tantum ferae,Fictis iocari nos meminerit fabulis.
BY thirst incited; to the brookThe Wolf and Lamb themselves betook.The Wolf high up the current drank,The Lamb far lower down the bank.Then, bent his ravenous maw to cram,The Wolf took umbrage at the Lamb."How dare you trouble all the flood,And mingle my good drink with mud?""Sir," says the Lambkin, sore afraid,"How should I act, as you upbraid?The thing you mention cannot be,The stream descends from you to me."Abash'd by facts, says he, " I know'Tis now exact six months agoYou strove my honest fame to blot"-"Six months ago, sir, I was not.""Then 'twas th' old ram thy sire," he cried,And so he tore him, till he died.To those this fable I addressWho are determined to oppress,And trump up any false pretence,But they will injure innocence.
Ad rivum eundem lupus et agnus venerantSiti compulsi; superior stabat lupusLongeque inferior agnus. Tunc fauce improbaLatro incitatus iurgii causam intulit.Cur, inquit, turbulentam fecisti mihiAquam bibenti? Laniger contra timens:Qui possum, quaeso, facere, quod quereris, lupe?A te decurrit ad meos haustus liquor.Repulsus ille veritatis viribus:Ante hos sex menses male, ait, dixisti mihi.Respondit agnus: Equidem natus non eram.Pater hercle tuus, ille inquit, male dixit mihi.Atque ita correptum lacerat iniusta nece.Haec propter illos scripta est homines fabula,Qui fictis causis innocentes opprimunt.
With equal laws when Athens throve,The petulance of freedom droveTheir state to license, which overthrewThose just restraints of old they knew.Hence, as a factious discontentThrough every rank and order went,Pisistratus the tyrant form'dA party, and the fort he storm'd:Which yoke, while all bemoaned in grief(Not that he was a cruel chief,But they unused to be controlled)Then Esop thus his fable told:The Frogs, a freeborn people made,From out their marsh with clamor pray'dThat Jove a monarch would assignWith power their manners to refine.The sovereign smiled, and on their bogBent his petitioners a log,Which, as it dash'd upon the place,At first alarm'd the tim'rous race.But ere it long had lain to cool,One slily peep'd out of the pool,And finding it a king in jest,He boldly summoned all the rest.Now, void of fear, the tribe advance,And on the timber leap'd and danced,And having let their fury loose,In gross affronts and rank abuse,Of Jove they sought another king,For useless was this wooden thing.Then he a water-snake empower'd,Who one by one their race devoured.They try to make escape in vain,Nor, dumb through fear, can they complain.By stealth they Mercury depute,That Jove would once more hear their suit,And send their sinking state to save;But he in wrath this answer gave:"You scorn'd the good king that you had,And therefore you shall bear the bad."Ye likewise, 0 Athenian friends,Convinced to what impatience tends,Though slavery be no common curse,Be still, for fear of worse and worse.
Athenae cum florerent aequis legibus,Procax libertas civitatem miscuitFrenumque solvit pristinum licentia.Hic conspiratis factionum partibusArcem tyrannus occupat Pisistratus.Cum tristem servitutem flerent Attici,(Non quia crudelis ille, sed quoniam gravisOmnino insuetis), onus et coepissent queri,Aesopus talem tum fabellam rettulit.Ranae vagantes liberis paludibusClamore magno regem petiere a Iove,Qui dissolutos mores vi compesceret.Pater deorum risit atque illis deditParvum tigillum, missum quod subito vadiMotu sonoque terruit pavidum genus.Hoc mersum limo cum iaceret diutius,Forte una tacite profert e stagno caputEt explorato rege cunctas evocat.Illae timore posito certatim adnatantLignumque supera turba petulans insilit.Quod cum inquinassent omni contumelia,Alium rogantes regem misere ad Iovem,Inutilis quoniam esset qui fuerat datus.Tum misit illis hydrum, qui dente asperoCorripere coepit singulas. Frustra necemFugitant inertes, vocem praecludit metus.Furtim igitur dant Mercurio mandata ad Iovem,Afflictis ut succurrat. Tunc contra deus:Quia noluistis vestrum ferre inquit bonum,Malum perferte. — Vos quoque, o cives, ait,Hoc sustinete, maius ne veniat malum.
Lest any one himself should plume,And on his neighbour's worth presume;But still let Nature's garb prevail-Esop has left this little tale:A Daw, ambitious and absurd,Pick'd up the quills of Juno's bird;And, with the gorgeous spoil adorn'd,All his own sable brethren scorn'd,And join'd the peacocks-who in scoffStripp'd the bold thief; and drove him offThe Daw, thus roughly handled, wentTo his own kind in discontent:But they in turn contemn the spark,And brand with many a shameful mark.Then one he formerly disdain'd,"Had you," said he, "at home remain'd—Content with Nature's ways and will,You had not felt the peacock's bill;Nor 'mongst the birds of your own dressHad been deserted in distress."
Ne gloriari libeat alienis bonisSuoque potius habitu vitam degere,Aesopus nobis hoc exemplum prodidit.Tumens inani graculus superbia,Pennas pavoni quae deciderant sustulitSeque exornavit. Deinde contemnens suosSe inmiscuit pavonum formoso gregi.Illi inpudenti pennas eripiunt aviFugantque rostris. Male mulcatus graculusRedire maerens coepit ad proprium genus;A quo repulsus tristem sustinuit notam.Tum quidam ex illis, quos prius despexerat:Contentus nostris si fuisses sedibusEt quod natura dederat voluisses pati,Nec illam expertus esses contumeliamNec hanc repulsam tua sentiret calamitas.
The churl that wants another's fareDeserves at least to lose his share.As through the stream a Dog convey'dA piece of meat, he spied his shadeIn the clear mirror of the flood,And thinking it was flesh and blood,Snapp'd to deprive him of the treat:-But mark the glutton's self-defeat,Miss'd both another's and his own,Both shade and substance, beef and bone.
Amittit merito proprium qui alienum adpetit.Canis per flumen carnem cum ferret natans,Lympharum in speculo vidit simulacrum suum,Aliamque praedam ab altero ferri putansEripere voluit; verum decepta aviditasEt quem tenebat ore dimisit cibum,Nec quem petebat potuit adeo adtingere.
A partnership with men in powerWe cannot build upon an hour.This Fable proves the fact too true:An Heifer, Goat, and harmless Ewe,Were with the Lion as allies,To raise in desert woods supplies.There, when they jointly had the luckTo take a most enormous buck,The Lion first the parts disposed,And then his royal will disclosed." The first, as Lion hight, I crave;The next you yield to me, as brave;The third is my peculiar due,As being stronger far than you;The fourth you likewise will renounce,For him that touches, I shall trounce."Thus rank unrighteousness and forceSeized all the prey without remorse.
Numquam est fidelis cum potente societas:Testatur haec fabella propositum meum.Vacca et capella et patiens ovis iniuriaeSocii fuere cum leone in saltibus.Hi cum cepissent cervum vasti corporis,Sic est locutus, partibus factis, leo:Ego primam tollo, †nominor quia leo;Secundam, quia sum fortis, tribuetis mihi;Tum, quia plus valeo, me sequetur tertia;Malo afficietur si quis quartam tetigerit.Sic totam praedam sola improbitas abstulit.
When Esop saw, with inward grief,The nuptials of a neighboring thief,He thus his narrative begun:Of old 'twas rumor'd that the SunWould take a wife: with hideous criesThe quer'lous Frogs alarm'd the skies.Moved at their murmurs, Jove inquiredWhat was the thing that they desired?When thus a tenant of the lake,In terror, for his brethren spake:"Ev'n now one Sun too much is found,And dries up all the pools around,Till we thy creatures perish here;But oh, how dreadfully severe,Should he at length be made a sire,And propagate a race of fire!"
Vicini furis celebres vidit nuptiasAesopus et continuo narrare incipit:Uxorem quondam Sol cum vellet ducere,Clamorem ranae sustulere ad sidera.Convicio permotus quaerit IuppiterCausam querelae. Quaedam tum stagni incola:Nunc inquit omnes unus exurit lacusCogitque miseras arida sede emori.Quidnam futurum est, si crearit liberos?
A Fox beheld a Mask- "0 rareThe headpiece, if but brains were there!"This holds-whene'er the Fates dispensePomp, pow'r, and everything but sense.
Personam tragicam forte vulpes viderat:O quanta species, inquit, cerebrum non habet!Hoc illis dictum est, quibus honorem et gloriamFortuna tribuit, sensum communem abstulit.
Who for his merit seeks a priceFrom men of violence and vice,Is twice a fool-first so declared,As for the worthless he has cared;Then after all, his honest aimMust end in punishment and shame.A bone the Wolf devoured in haste,Stuck in his greedy throat so fast,That, tortured with the pain, he roar'd,And ev'ry beast around implored,That who a remedy could findShould have a premium to his mind.A Crane was wrought upon to trustHis oath at length-and down she thrustHer neck into his throat impure,And so perform'd a desp'rate cure.At which, when she desired her fee,"You base, ungrateful minx," says he,"Whom I so kind forbore to kill,And now, forsooth, you'd bring your bill!"
Qui pretium meriti ab improbis desiderat,Bis peccat: primum quoniam indignos adiuvat;Impune abire deinde quia iam non potest.Os devoratum fauce cum haereret lupi,Magno dolore victus coepit singulosIllicere pretio, ut illud extraherent malum.Tandem persuasa est iure iurando gruis,Gulaeque credens colli longitudinem,Periculosam fecit medicinam lupo.Pro quo cum pactum flagitaret praemium:Ingrata es inquit ore quae nostro caputIncolume abstuleris et mercedem postules.
Still to give cautions, as a friend,And not one's own affairs attend,Is but impertinent and vain,As these few verses will explain.A Sparrow taunted at a HareCaught by an eagle high in air,And screaming loud—"Where now," says she," Is your renown'd velocity?Why loiter'd your much boasted speed?"Just as she spake, an hungry gledeDid on th' injurious railer fall,Nor could her cries avail at all.The Hare, with its expiring breath,Thus said: " See comfort ev'n in death!She that derided my distressMust now deplore her own no less."
Sibi non cavere et aliis consilium dareStultum esse paucis ostendemus versibus.Oppressum ab aquila, fletus edentem graves,Leporem obiurgabat passer: Ubi pernicitasNota inquit illa est? Quid ita cessarunt pedes?Dum loquitur, ipsum accipiter necopinum rapitQuestuque vano clamitantem interficit.Lepus semianimus mortis in solacio:Qui modo securus nostra irridebas mala,Simili querela fata deploras tua.
Whoe'er by practice indiscreetHas pass'd for a notorious cheat,Will shortly find his credit fail,Though he speak truth, says Esop's tale.The Wolf the Fox for theft arraigned;The Fox her innocence maintained:The Ape, as umpire, takes his seat;Each pleads his cause with skill and heat.Then thus the Ape, with aspect grave,The sentence from the hustings gave:"For you, Sir Wolf, I do descryThat all your losses are a lie-And you, with negatives so stout,0 Fox! have stolen the goods no doubt."
Quicumque turpi fraude semel innotuit,Etiam si verum dicit, amittit fidem.Hoc attestatur brevis Aesopi fabula.Lupus arguebat vulpem furti crimine;Negabat illa se esse culpae proximam.Tunc iudex inter illos sedit simius.Uterque causam cum perorassent suam,Dixisse fertur simius sententiam:Tu non videris perdidisse quod petis;Te credo surripuisse quod pulchre negas.
A coward, full of pompous speech,The ignorant may overreach;But is the laughing-stock of thoseWho know how far his valor goes.Once on a time it came to pass,The Lion hunted with the Ass,Whom hiding in the thickest shadeHe there proposed should lend him aid,By trumpeting so strange a bray,That all the beasts he should dismay,And drive them o'er the desert heathInto the lurking Lion's teeth.Proud of the task, the long-ear'd loonStruck up such an outrageous tune,That 'twas a miracle to hear-The beasts forsake their haunts with fear,And in the Lion's fangs expired:Who, being now with slaughter tired,Call'd out the Ass, whose noise he stops.The Ass, parading from the copse,Cried out with most conceited scoff,"How did my music-piece go off?So well-were not thy courage known,Their terror had been all my own!"
Virtutis expers, verbis iactans gloriam,Ignotos fallit, notis est derisui.Venari asello comite cum vellet leo,Contexit illum frutice et admonuit simul,Ut insueta voce terreret feras,Fugientes ipse exciperet. Hic auritulusClamorem subito totis tollit viribusNovoque turbat bestias miraculo.Quae dum paventes exitus notos petunt,Leonis affliguntur horrendo impetu.Qui postquam caede fessus est, asinum evocatIubetque vocem premere. Tunc ille insolens:Qualis videtur opera tibi vocis meae?Insignis inquit sic ut, nisi nossem tuumAnimum genusque, simili fugissem metu.
FULL often what you now despiseProves better than the things you prize;Let Esop's narrative decide:A Stag beheld, with conscious pride,(As at the fountain-head he stood)His image in the silver flood,And there extols his branching horns,While his poor spindle-shanks he scorns-But, lo! he hears the hunter's cries,And, frightened, o'er the champaign flies—His swiftness baffles the pursuit:At length a wood receives the brute,And by his horns entangled there,The pack began his flesh to tear:Then dying thus he wail'd his fate:"Unhappy me! and wise too late!How useful what I did disdain!How grievous that which made me vain!
Laudatis utiliora quae contempserisSaepe inveniri haec asserit narratio.Ad fontem cervus, cum bibisset, restititEt in liquore vidit effigiem suam.Ibi dum ramosa mirans laudat cornuaCrurumque nimiam tenuitatem vituperat,Venantum subito vocibus conterritusPer campum fugere coepit et cursu leviCanes elusit. Silva tum excepit ferum,In qua retentis impeditus cornibusLacerari coepit morsibus saevis canum.Tunc moriens edidisse vocem hanc dicitur:O me infelicem! qui nunc demum intellegoUtilia mihi quam fuerint quae despexeram,Et quae laudaram quantum luctus habuerint.
His folly in repentance ends,Who, to a flatt'ring knave attends.A Crow, her hanger to appease,Had from a window stolen some cheese,And sitting on a lofty pineIn state, was just about to dine.This, when a Fox observed below,He thus harangued the foolish Crow:" Lady, how beauteous to the viewThose glossy plumes of sable hue!Thy features how divinely fair!With what a shape, and what an air!Could you but frame your voice to sing,You'd have no rival on the wing.'But she, now willing to displayHer talents in the vocal way,Let go the cheese of luscious taste,Which Renard seized with greedy haste.The grudging dupe now sees at lastThat for her folly she must fast.
Qui se laudari gaudet verbis subdolis,Fere dat poenas turpi paenitentia.Cum de fenestra corvus raptum caseumComesse vellet, celsa residens arbore,Vulpes hunc vidit, deinde sic coepit loqui:O qui tuarum, corve, pennarum est nitor!Quantum decoris corpore et vultu geris!Si vocem haberes, nulla prior ales foret.At ille stultus, dum vult vocem ostendere,Emisit ore caseum, quem celeriterDolosa vulpes avidis rapuit dentibus.Tunc demum ingemuit corvi deceptus stupor.[Hac re probatur quantum ingenium valet;][Virtute semper praevalet sapientia.]
A bankrupt Cobbler, poor and lean,(No bungler e'er was half so mean)Went to a foreign place, and thereBegan his med'cines to prepare;But one of more especial noteHe call'd his sovereign antidote;And by his technical bombastContrived to raise a name at last.It happen'd that the king was sick,Who, willing to detect the trick,Call'd for some water in an ewer,Poison in which he feign'd to pourThe antidote was likewise mix'd;He then upon th' empiric fix'dTo take the medicated cup,And, for a premium, drink it upThe quack, through dread of death, confessedThat he was of no skill possessed;But all this great and glorious jobWas made of nonsense and the mob.Then did the king his peers convoke,And thus unto th' assembly spoke:" My lords and gentlemen, I rateYour folly as inordinate,Who trust your heads into his hand,Where no one had his heels japann'd."—This story their attention cravesWhose weakness is the prey of knaves.
Malus cum sutor inopia deperditusMedicinam ignoto facere coepisset locoEt venditaret falso antidotum nomine,Verbosis acquisivit sibi famam strophis.Hic cum iaceret morbo confectus graviRex urbis, eius experiendi gratiaScyphum poposcit: fusa dein simulans aquaMiscere illius antidoto se toxicum,Ebibere iussit ipsum posito praemio.Timore mortis ille tum confessus estNon artis ulla medicum se prudentia,Verum stupore vulgi factum nobilem.Rex advocata contione haec addidit:Quantae putatis esse vos dementiae,Qui capita vestra non dubitatis credere,Cui calceandos nemo commisit pedes?Hoc pertinere vere ad illos dixerim,Quorum stultitia quaestus impudentiae est.
In all the changes of a state,The poor are the most fortunate,Who, save the name of him they callTheir king, can find no odds at all.The truth of this you now may read-A fearful old man in a mead,While leading of his Ass about,Was startled at the sudden shoutOf enemies approaching nigh.He then advised the Ass to fly,"Lest we be taken in the place:"But loth at all to mend his pace,"Pray, will the conqueror," quoth Jack,"With double panniers load my back?""No," says the man. "If that's the thing,"Cries he, "I care not who is king."
In principatu commutando saepiusNil praeter domini mores mutant pauperes.Id esse verum parva haec fabella indicat.Asellum in prato timidus pascebat senex.Is hostium clamore subito territusSuadebat asino fugere, ne possent capi.At ille lentus: Quaeso, num binas mihiClitellas impositurum victorem putas?Senex negavit. Ergo quid refert meaCui serviam clitellas cum portem meas?
When one rogue would another getFor surety in a case of debt,'Tis not the thing t' accept the terms,But dread th' event-the tale affirms.A Stag approached the Sheep, to treatFor one good bushel of her wheat."The honest Wolf will give his bond."At which, beginning to despond,"The Wolf (cries she) 's a vagrant bite,And you are quickly out of sight;Where shall I find or him or youUpon the day the debt is due?"
Fraudator homines cum advocat sponsum improbos,Non rem expedire, sed mala videre expetit.Ovem rogabat cervus modium triticiLupo sponsore. At illa praemetuens dolum:Rapere atque abire semper assuevit lupus,Tu de conspectu fugere veloci impetu;Ubi vos requiram cum dies advenerit?
Liars are liable to rueThe mischief they 're so prone to do.The Sheep a Dog unjustly dunn'dOne loaf directly to refund,Which he the Dog to the said SheepHad given in confidence to keep.The Wolf was summoned, and he sworeIt was not one, but ten or more.The Sheep was therefore cast at lawTo pay for things she never saw.But, lo! ere many days ensued,Dead in a ditch the Wolf she view'd:"This, this," she cried, "is Heaven's decreeOf justice on a wretch like thee."
Solent mendaces luere poenas malefici.Calumniator ab ove cum peteret canis,Quem commendasse panem se contenderet,Lupus citatus testis non unum modoDeberi dixit, verum affirmavit decem.Ovis damnata falso testimonioQuod non debebat solvit. Post paucos diesBidens iacentem in fovea conspexit lupum:Haec inquit merces fraudis a superis datur.
Not here translated.Bad men have speeches smooth and fair,Of which, that we should be aware,And such designing villains thwart,The underwritten lines exhort.A Bitch besought one of her kinFor room to put her Puppies in:She, loth to say her neighbour nay,Directly lent both hole and hay.But asking to be repossessed,For longer time the former press'd,Until her Puppies gathered strength,Which second lease expired at length;And when, abused at such a rate,The lender grew importunate,"The place," quoth she, " I will resignWhen you 're a match for me and mine.'
Nemo libenter recolit qui laesit locum.Instante partu mulier actis mensibusHumi iacebat flebilis gemitus ciens.Vir est hortatus, corpus lecto reciperet,Onus naturae melius quo deponeret.Minime, inquit, illo posse confido locoMalum finiri, quo conceptum est initio.Habent insidias hominis blanditiae mali:Quas ut vitemus versus subiecti monent.Canis parturiens cum rogasset alteram,Ut fetum in eius tugurio deponeret,Facile impetravit: dein reposcenti locumPreces admovit, tempus exorans breve,Dum firmiores posset catulos ducere.Hoc quoque consumpto flagitari validiusCubile coepit. Si mihi et turbae meaePar inquit esse potueris, cedam loco.
A stupid plan that fools project,Not only will not take effect,ut proves destructive in the endTo those that bungle and pretend.Some hungry Dogs beheld an hideDeep sunk beneath the crystal tide,Which, that they might extract for food,They strove to drink up all the flood;But bursten in the desp'rate deed,They perish'd, ere they could succeed.
Stultum consilium non modo effectu caret,Sed ad perniciem quoque mortalis devocat.Corium depressum in fluvio viderunt canes.Id ut comesse extractum possent facilius,Aquam coepere ebibere: sed rupti priusPeriere quam quod petierant contingerent.
Whoever, to his honor's cost,His pristine dignity has lost,Is the fool's jest and coward's scorn,When once deserted and forlorn.With years enfeebled and decay'd,A Lion gasping hard was laid:Then came, with furious tusk, a boar,To vindicate his wrongs of yore:The hull was next in hostile spite,With goring horn his foe to smite:At length the ass himself, secureThat now impunity was sure,His blow too insolently deals,And kicks his forehead with his heel.Then thus the Lion, as he died:"'Twas hard to bear the brave," he cried;But to be trampled on by theeIs Nature's last indignity;And thou, 0 despicable thing,Giv'st death at least a double sting."
Quicumque amisit dignitatem pristinam,Ignavis etiam iocus est in casu gravi.Defectus annis et desertus viribusLeo cum iaceret spiritum extremum trahens,Aper fulmineis venit ad eum dentibusEt vindicavit ictu veterem iniuriam.Infestis taurus mox confodit cornibusHostile corpus. Asinus, ut vidit ferumImpune laedi, calcibus frontem extudit.At ille exspirans: Fortis indigne tuliMihi insultare: te, naturae dedecus,Quod ferre certe cogor bis videor mori.
A Weasel, by a person caught,And willing to get off; besoughtThe man to spare. "Be not severeOn him that keeps your pantry clear"This were," says he, "a work of price,Of those intolerable mice."If done entirely for my sake,And good had been the plea you make:But since, with all these pains and care,You seize yourself the dainty fareOn which those vermin used to fall,And then devour the mice and all,Urge not a benefit in vain."This said, the miscreant was slain.The satire here those chaps will own,Who, useful to themselves alone,And bustling for a private end,Would boast the merit of a friend.
Mustela ab homine prensa cum instantem necemEffugere vellet: Parce, quaeso inquit mihi,Quae tibi molestis muribus purgo domum.Respondit ille: Faceres si causa mea,Gratum esset et dedissem veniam supplici.Nunc quia laboras ut fruaris reliquiis,Quas sunt rosuri, simul et ipsos devores,Noli imputare vanum beneficium mihi.Atque ita locutus improbam leto dedit.Hoc in se dictum debent illi agnoscere,Quorum privata servit utilitas sibi,Et meritum inane iactant imprudentibus.
A Man that's gen'rous all at onceMay dupe a novice or a dunce;But to no purpose are the snaresHe for the knowing ones prepares.When late at night a felon triedTo bribe a Dog with food, he cried,"What ho! do you attempt to stopThe mouth of him that guards the shop?You're mightily mistaken, sir,For this strange kindness is a spur,To make me double all my din,Lest such a scoundrel should come in."
Repente liberalis stultis gratus est,Verum peritis irritos tendit dolos.Nocturnus cum fur panem misisset cani,Obiecto temptans an cibo posset capi:Heus inquit linguam vis meam praecludere,Ne latrem pro re domini? Multum falleris.Namque ista subita me iubet benignitasVigilare, facias ne mea culpa lucrum.
When poor men to expenses run,And ape their betters, they 're undone.An Ox the Frog a-grazing view'd,And envying his magnitude,She puffs her wrinkled skin, and triesTo vie with his enormous size:Then asks her young to own at leastThat she was bigger than the beast.They answer, No. With might and mainShe swells and strains, and swells again."Now for it, who has got the day?"The Ox is larger still, they say.At length, with more and more ado,She raged and puffed, and burst in two.
Inops, potentem dum vult imitari, perit.In prato quondam rana conspexit bovemEt tacta invidia tantae magnitudinisRugosam inflavit pellem: tum natos suosInterrogavit, an bove esset latior.Illi negarunt. Rursus intendit cutemMaiore nisu et simili quaesivit modo,Quis maior esset. Illi dixerunt bovem.Novissime indignata dum vult validiusInflare sese, rupto iacuit corpore.
Who give bad precepts to the wise,And cautious men with guile advise,Not only lose their toil and time,But slip into sarcastic rhyme.The dogs that are about the Nile,Through terror of the Crocodile,Are therefore said to drink and run.It happen'd on a day, that one,As scamp'ring by the river side,Was by the Crocodile espied:"Sir, at your leisure drink, nor fearThe least design or treach'ry here.""That," says the Dog, "ma'm, would I doWith all my heart, and thank you too,But as you can on dog's flesh dine,You shall not taste a bit of mine."
Consilia qui dant prava cautis hominibus,Et perdunt operam et deridentur turpiter.Canes currentes bibere in Nilo flumine,A corcodilis ne rapiantur, traditum est.Igitur cum currens bibere coepisset canis,Sic corcodilus: Quamlibet lambe otio;Noli vereri. At ille: Facerem mehercule,Nisi esse scirem carnis te cupidum meae.
One should do injury to none;But he that has th' assault begun,Ought, says the fabulist, to findThe dread of being served in kind,A Fox, to sup within his caveThe Stork an invitation gave,Where, in a shallow dish, was pour'dSome broth, which he himself devoured;While the poor hungry Stork was fainInevitably to abstain.The Stork, in turn, the Fox invites,And brings her liver and her lightsIna ta 11 flagon, finely minced,And thrusting in her beak, convincedThe Fox that he in grief must fast,While she enjoy'd the rich repast.Then, as in vain he lick'd the neck,The Stork was heard her guest to check, -' That every one the fruits should bearOf their example, is but fair."
Nulli nocendum: si quis vero laeserit,Multandum simili iure fabella admonet.Vulpes ad cenam dicitur ciconiamPrior invitasse et illi in patina liquidamPosuisse sorbitionem, quam nullo modoGustare esuriens potuerit ciconia.Quae vulpem cum revocasset, intrito ciboPlenam lagonam posuit: huic rostrum inserensSatiatur ipsa et torquet convivam fame.Quae cum lagonae collum frustra lamberet,Peregrinam sic locutam volucrem accepimus:Sua quisque exempla debet aequo animo pati.
A Dog, while scratching up the ground,'Mongst human bones a treasure found;But as his sacrilege was great,To covet riches was his fate,And punishment of his offence;He therefore never stirr'd from thence,But both in hunger and the cold,With anxious care he watch'd the gold,Till wholly negligent of food,A ling'ring death at length ensued.Upon his corse a Vulture stood,And thus descanted:-" It is good,O Dog, that there thou liest bereavedWho in the highway wast conceived,And on a scurvy dunghill bred,Hadst royal riches in thy head."
[Haec res avaris esse conveniens potest][Et qui humiles nati dici locupletes student.]Humana effodiens ossa thesaurum canisInvenit, et violarat quia Manes deos,Iniecta est illi divitiarum cupiditas,Poenas ut sanctae Religioni penderet.Itaque, aurum dum custodit oblitus cibi,Fame est consumptus; quem stans vulturius superFertur locutus: O canis, merito iaces,Qui concupisti subito regales opes,Trivio conceptus, educatus stercore.
Howe'er exalted in your sphere,There's something from the mean to fearFor, if their property you wrong,The poor's revenge is quick and strongWhen on a time an Eagle stoleThe cubs from out a Fox's hole,And bore them to her young away,That they might feast upon the preyThe dam pursues the winged thief,And deprecates so great a grief;But safe upon the lofty tree,The Eagle scorn'd the Fox's plea.With that the Fox perceived at handAn altar, whence she snatched a brand,And compassing with flames the wood,Put her in terror for her brood.She therefore, lest her house should burn,Submissive did the cubs return.
Quamvis sublimes debent humiles metuere,Vindicta docili quia patet sollertiae.Vulpinos catulos aquila quondam sustulitNidoque posuit pullis, escam ut carperent.Hanc persecuta mater orare incipit,Ne tantum miserae luctum importaret sibi.Contempsit illa, tuta quippe ipso loco.Vulpes ab ara rapuit ardentem facemTotamque flammis arborem circumdedit,Hosti dolorem damno miscens sanguinis.Aquila ut periclo mortis eriperet suosIncolumes natos supplex vulpi tradidit.
Not here translatedMen of low life are in distressWhen great ones enmity profess.There was a Bull-fight in the fen,A Frog cried out in trouble then,"Oh, what perdition on our race!""How," says another, "can the caseBe quite so desp'rate as you've said?For they're contending who is head,And lead a life from us disjoin'd,Of sep'rate station, diverse kind."-" But he, who worsted shall retire,Will come into this lowland mire,And with his hoof dash out our brainsWherefore their rage to us pertains."He that would have the wicked reign,Instead of help will find his bane.The Doves had oft escaped the Kite,By their celerity of flight;The ruffian then to coz'nage stoop'd,And thus the tim'rous race he duped:"Why do you lead a life of fear,Rather than my proposals hear?Elect me for your king, and IWill all your race indemnify."They foolishly the Kite believed,Who having now the pow'r received,Began upon the Doves to prey,And exercise tyrannic sway."Justly," says one who yet remain'd," We die the death ourselves ordained."
Plerumque stulti risum dum captant levem,Gravi destringunt alios contumeliaEt sibi nocivum concitant periculum.Asellus apro cum fuisset obvius:Salve inquit frater. Ille indignans repudiatOfficium et quaerit, cur sic mentiri velit.Asinus demisso pene: Similem si negasTibi me esse, certe simile est hoc rostro tuo.Aper, cum vellet facere generosum impetum,Repressit iram et: Facilis vindicta est mihi,Sed inquinari nolo ignavo sanguine.Humiles laborant ubi potentes dissident.Rana in palude pugnam taurorum intuens:Heu quanta nobis instat pernicies! ait.Interrogata ab alia cur hoc diceret,De principatu cum illi certarent gregisLongeque ab ipsis degerent vitam boves:Est statio separata ac diversum genus;Expulsus regno nemoris qui profugerit,Paludis in secreta veniet latibulaEt proculcatas obteret duro pede.Ita caput ad nostrum furor illorum pertinet.Qui se committit homini tutandum improbo,Auxilia dum requirit, exitium invenit.Columbae saepe cum fugissent miluumEt celeritate pennae vitassent necem,Consilium raptor vertit ad fallaciamEt genus inerme tali decepit dolo:Quare sollicitum potius aevum ducitis,Quam regem me creatis icto foedere,Qui vos ab omni tutas praestem iniuria?Illae credentes tradunt sese miluo;Qui regnum adeptus coepit vesci singulasEt exercere imperium saevis unguibus.Tunc de reliquis una: Merito plectimur.