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DE RANA ET VULPE

 

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Source: Aesop's Fables, 1687 (illustrated by Francis Barlow).

 

Introduction: This story of the boastful frog provides an illustration of a proverb that is quoted in the Bible: "Physician, heal thyself!" (Gospel of Luke, 4.23). In the 15th-century English version of this fable by William Caxton, the moral of the story is: "The leche whiche wylle hele somme other ought fyrste to hele hym self," which means, in modern English spelling: "The leech which will heal some other ought first to heal himself." (Can you figure out why the word "leech" is an archaic word meaning a medical doctor?) In this fable, you will see that it is the fox who exposes "Dr. Frog" as a fraud and a hypocrite. For another fable about an animal physician, see the story of the lion who pretended to be a doctor. For another fable about the foolishness of frogs, see the story of the frogs and their king.

 

Latin Text:

 

Rana, paludibus valedicens, novo vivendi genere acquisito, in silvam gloriabunda sese tulit et, bestiarum coronis circumstipata, medicinae artem publice profitebatur, et in herbis, quae ad corpora curanda pertinent, nobiliorem se vel Galeno vel Hippocrate esse clamitabat. Credula Bestiarum gens fidem facile adhibebat, Vulpe solummodo excepta, quae sic glorianti irridebat: "Insulsum vagumque animal! Quid tam vana blatteras? Quid artem nobilem prae te fers, quam minime calles? Livida pallidaque illa tua labra respice! Quin domi abi et teipsum cura, medice! Deinde ad nos redeas, meliora forsan de te speraturos." Nihil respondente Rana sed tacitis secum gemente suspiriis, tota Bestiarum cachinnis resonabat silva.

 

Here is a segmented version to help you see the grammatical patterns:

 

Rana,

paludibus valedicens,

novo vivendi genere acquisito,

in silvam

gloriabunda sese tulit

et, bestiarum coronis circumstipata,

medicinae artem

publice profitebatur,

et in herbis,

quae ad corpora curanda pertinent,

nobiliorem

se

vel Galeno vel Hippocrate

esse

clamitabat.

Credula Bestiarum gens

fidem facile adhibebat,

Vulpe solummodo excepta,

quae

sic glorianti irridebat:

"Insulsum vagumque animal!

Quid tam vana blatteras?

Quid artem nobilem

prae te fers,

quam minime calles?

Livida pallidaque illa tua labra

respice!

Quin domi abi

et teipsum cura,

medice!

Deinde

ad nos redeas,

meliora forsan

de te speraturos."

Nihil respondente Rana

sed tacitis secum gemente suspiriis,

tota Bestiarum cachinnis resonabat silva.

 

Rana, paludibus valedicens, novo vivendi genere acquisito, in silvam gloriabunda sese tulit et, bestiarum coronis circumstipata, medicinae artem publice profitebatur, et in herbis, quae ad corpora curanda pertinent, nobiliorem se vel Galeno vel Hippocrate esse clamitabat. Credula Bestiarum gens fidem facile adhibebant, Vulpe solummodo excepta, quae sic glorianti irridebat: "Insulsum vagumque animal! Quid tam vana blatteras? Quid artem nobilem prae te fers, quam minime calles? Livida pallidaque illa tua labra respice! Quin domi abi et teipsum cura, medice! Deinde ad nos redeas, meliora forsan de te speraturos." Nihil respondente Rana sed tacitis secum gemente suspiriis, tota Bestiarum cachinnis resonabat silva.

 

Translation: The frog said goodbye to her swamp and adopted a new mode of life, and quite puffed up with pride she went into the forest. Girded round with the beasts' wreaths of honor, she professed publicly the art of medicine, declaring which herbs which are useful in curing the body's diseases, shouting that she was more worthy of honor than Galen or Hippocrates. The gullible animal kingdom easily put their trust in the frog - except only for the fox, who laughed at the boasting frog. "You witless and giddy creature! Why do you babble such foolish things? Why do you assume this worthy art which you know absolutely nothing about? Sickly green and pale - look at your own lips: why don't you just go home and cure yourself, doctor! And then you might come back to us, when we may perhaps expect something more useful from you." The frog said nothing in response, but groaned with quiet sighs, and all the woods resounded with the laughter of the beasts.

 

[This translation is meant as a help in understanding the story, not as a "crib" for the Latin. I have not hesitated to change the syntax to make it flow more smoothly in English, altering the verb tense consistently to narrative past tense, etc.]

 

Parallels: For parallel versions, see Perry 289.

 

Related Links: Crossword Puzzle

 

Illustration: Here is an illustration from this edition, by the renowned artist Francis Barlow; click on the image for a larger view. You can see here all the different kinds of animals who were apparently fooled by the frog, including the monkey and the squirrel up in the tree, looking down on the fox and the frog as they face-off over the frog's claims to medical fame. Meanwhile, here's a close-up of the frog.

 

 

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