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DE AVIBUS ET QUADRUPEDIBUS

 

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

 

Introduction: This fable is about an ambiguous creature, the bat. In some ways the bat is like a bird (he can fly), but in other ways the bat is like an animal (he looks like a mouse with wings). In this story, the bat attempts to use his ambiguous situation to his own advantage during the war between the birds and the animals, but things end badly for the bat, thus providing an explanation for the reason why, nowadays, bats are only seen in the dark and never during the daytime. The bat's nocturnal nature is reflected in the bat's own name in Latin: vespertilio, which comes from the Latin word vesper, meaning "evening."  For another story about a war between beasts, check out the battle of the mouse and the frog. For another fable about a disturbing "double nature," see the story of the satyr who entertained a traveler.

 

Latin Text:

 

Avibus cum Bestiis asperrima pugna erat, utrimque spes, utrimque ingens metus, utrimque periculum, cum Vespertilio, relictis sociis, ad hostem defecit. Ad postremum vincunt Aves, duce et auspice Aquila. Transfugam vero Vespertilionem damnant, ut nunquam iterum inter Aves numeretur, nec amplius in luce videatur. Et haec causa est cur Vespertilio nunquam, nisi nocte, volat.

 

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

 

Avibus

cum Bestiis

asperrima pugna erat,

utrimque spes,

utrimque ingens metus,

utrimque periculum,

cum Vespertilio,

relictis sociis,

ad hostem defecit.

Ad postremum

vincunt Aves,

duce et auspice Aquila.

Transfugam vero Vespertilionem

damnant,

ut nunquam iterum inter Aves numeretur,

nec amplius in luce videatur.

Et haec causa est

cur Vespertilio nunquam, nisi nocte, volat.

 

Translation: The birds had a very fierce war with the beasts; both sides were hopeful, both sides were very fearful, both sides were in danger, when the bat abandoned his allies and deserted to the enemy. Finally the birds won, with the eagle as their commander and leader. They condemned the traitorous bat so that the bat would never again be counted among the birds and no longer be seen in the light of day. And this is the reason why the bat never flies except at night.

 

[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 566.

 

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 the bat still hovering out in broad daylight here, along with the eagle as leader of the birds, along with other fighting birds (perhaps that is even a griffin facing off against the lion?). For the animals, there is the lion as their leader, and even a unicorn - plus, my favorite, a tiny hedgehog who is also joining in the battle!

 

 

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