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DE LEONE ET VULPE

 

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

 

Introduction: This is a fable that is famous for being used by the Roman poet Horace in one of his Satires. In that poem, the fox speaks directly to the lion and says: "Me vestigia terrent, omnia te adversum spectantia, nulla retrorsum, "These tracks frighten me: all of them are facing you, none of coming back out." The idea is that if you are wise, like the fox, you should always look for tracks, traces, tiny signs that could alert you for danger in any given situation. Look up the etymology of the English word "investigate" and you will see how it relates to this fable! For another fable about the foxes who visit the court of the lion king, see the story of the fox who lost her tail. For another fable about the treacherous lion, see the story of the lion's share.

 

Latin Text:

 

Leonem aegrotantem visebant animalia. Vulpes solummodo distulit officium. Ad hanc Leo legatum mittit, indicans gratissimam rem aegroto fore eius unius praesentiam. Respondet Vulpes optare se ut Leo convalescat; ceterum se minime visuram, terreri enim vestigiis quae indicabant multum quidem animalium introisse, sed exiisse nullum.

 

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

 

Leonem aegrotantem

visebant animalia.

Vulpes solummodo

distulit officium.

Ad hanc

Leo

legatum mittit,

indicans

gratissimam rem aegroto fore

eius unius praesentiam.

Respondet Vulpes

optare se

ut Leo convalescat;

ceterum se minime visuram,

terreri enim vestigiis

quae indicabant

multum quidem animalium introisse,

sed exiisse nullum.

 

Translation: The animals visited the lion who was in poor health. Only the fox put off this duty. To the fox the lion sent a deputy, conveying the message that it would be a most welcome thing to the patient the presence of the fox alone. The fox answered that he wished the lion to get well soon, but as for the rest, she was definitely not going to pay a visit, for she was terrified by the footprints which showed that many animals indeed had gone in, but none had come out.

 

[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: The Latin fable on this page is the story of the lion who has grown sick and traps the animals in his cave; see Perry 142. The English poem and the illustration, however, are for the story of the fox meeting the lion for the first time; see Perry 10. For an image and an illustration that would go with this Latin fable, see Barlow 51, which has a different Latin version of the same story of the lion in the cave.

 

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. For an image and an illustration that would go with this Latin fable, see Barlow 51, which has a different Latin version of the same story of the lion in the cave. This image does not match the text of the Latin fable.

 

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