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DE EQUO ET ASINO

 

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

 

Introduction: In some versions of this story, this proud horse is wounded when he goes off to war. In other versions, the horse is injured when he is running in a race. Both versions of the story still express the same idea: "Pride goeth before a fall." In the 15th-century version of the fable by Caxton, the moral invokes the proverbial wheel of fortune: "He that is wel fortuned and happy and is atte vpperest of the whele of fortune may wel falle doune, and therfore none ought to disprayse the poure but ought to thynke how the whele of fortune is moche doubtuous, " which is to say: "He that is fortunate and happy and is at the top of the wheel of fortune may fall down, and therefore none should insult the poor, but should think how the wheel of fortune is very unreliable." Can you see the work of the Roman goddess Fortuna in this fable? For another story about the horse's foolish pride, see the story of the horse and the donkey's load. For another story about the pleasures of the simple life, see the story of the country mouse and the city mouse.

 

Latin Text:

 

Equus phaleris sellaque ornatus cum ingenti hinnitu per viam currebat. Currenti onustus Asellus forte obstabat, cui Equus fremebundus: "Quid (inquit), ignave, obsistis Equo? Cede, inquam, aut te proculcabo pedibus!" Asellus, rudere non ausus, cedit tacitus. Equo provolanti crepat inguen. Tum, cursui inutilis, ornamentis spoliatur. Postea cum carro venientem Asinus affatur, "Heus, mi Amice! Quis ille ornatus est? Ubi aurea sella? Ubi splendidum frenum? Sic, Amice, necesse fuit evenire superbienti."

 

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

 

Equus

phaleris sellaque ornatus

cum ingenti hinnitu

per viam currebat.

Currenti

onustus Asellus forte obstabat,

cui Equus fremebundus:

"Quid (inquit), ignave, obsistis Equo?

Cede, inquam,

aut te proculcabo pedibus!"

Asellus,

rudere non ausus,

cedit tacitus.

Equo provolanti

crepat inguen.

Tum,

cursui inutilis,

ornamentis spoliatur.

Postea

cum carro venientem

Asinus affatur,

"Heus, mi Amice!

Quis ille ornatus est?

Ubi aurea sella?

Ubi splendidum frenum?

Sic, Amice,

necesse fuit evenire superbienti."

 

Translation:

 

A horse, adorned with trappings and a saddle, with a loud "whinny" ran through the street. As he was running along, a donkey bearing burdens ran into him by chance. The horse roared at the donkey: How dare you, lazy brute, stand in the way of a horse? Get out of my way, I say, or I will trample you with my hooves! The donkey did not dare to bray and silently gave way. As the horse ran along, he pulled his groin muscle. Then, useless for racing, he was stripped of his fine ornaments. Later on, when he came by pulling a wagon, the donkey addressed him: Ho there, my friend, what adornment is this? Where is your golden saddle? Where is your elegant bridle? That's how it goes, my Friend: it had to turn out this way for someone so boastful.

 

[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 565.

 

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.

 

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