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DE MURE URBANO ET MURE RUSTICO

 

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

 

Introduction: This fable was especially famous in Rome because the poet Horace told a long and elaborate version of the story in one of his Satires. In his English version of the fable, Joseph Jacobs has the country mouse pronounce the moral of the story as follows: "Better beans and bacon in peace than cakes and ale in fear." In G.F. Townsend's version, the mouse says: "I prefer my bare plowlands and roots from the hedgerow, where I can live in safety, and without fear." In the Latin version here, the country mouse expresses his opinion using a play on words between mel and fel, "honey" and "bile." What moral would you give to the mouse's story? For another fable about the perils of luxurious living, see the story of the wolf and the chained-up dog. For a fable about the daily dangers faced by mice in the house, see the story of the cat and the old mouse.

 

Latin Text:

 

Mus Rusticus, videns Urbanum Murem rus deambulantem, invitat ad cenam depromitque omne penum, ut tanti hospitis expleat lautitiam. Urbanus Mus ruris damnat inopiam urbisque copiam laudat, secumque in urbem ducit Rusticum. Qui, inter epulandum attonitus insolitis clamoribus, cum intellexerat periculum quotidianum esse, dixit Urbano Muri, "Tuae dapes plus fellis quam mellis habent. Malo securus esse cum mea inopia quam dives esse cum tua anxietate."

 

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

 

Mus Rusticus,

videns Urbanum Murem

rus deambulantem,

invitat ad cenam

depromitque omne penum,

ut tanti hospitis expleat lautitiam.

Urbanus Mus

ruris damnat inopiam

urbisque copiam laudat,

secumque in urbem ducit Rusticum.

Qui,

inter epulandum attonitus

insolitis clamoribus,

cum intellexerat

periculum quotidianum esse,

dixit Urbano Muri,

"Tuae dapes

plus fellis quam mellis habent.

Malo

securus esse cum mea inopia

quam

dives esse cum tua anxietate."

 

Translation: The country mouse, seeing the city mouse walking around the countryside, invited him to supper, and fetched out all his provisions so that he could satisfy the sumptuous expectations of such a great guest. But the city mouse disapproved of the poverty of the countryside and praised the abundance of the city, and he brought the country mouse back with him to the city. In the midst of feast, however, the country mouse was panicked by the unfamiliar shouts. When he understood that this was the daily danger, he told the city mouse: Your banquets have more bitterness than sweetness. I prefer to be carefree with my poverty, than to be wealthy with your worries.

 

[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 352.

 

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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