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Barlow 44. DE PAVONE ET GRUE

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Pavo et Grus foedus inter se ineunt unaque cenant. Inter cenandum, Pavo nobilitatem suam iactat, formosam ostentat caudam, Gruemque hospitem contemnit. Grus fatetur Pavonem formosiorem esse pennis; se tamen, cum vix tectis supervolitat Pavo, animoso volatu penetrare nubes.

Translation: The peacock and the crane had joined forces and were eating dinner together. While dining, the peacock boasted about his nobility,  showed off his lovely tail, and scorned his host, the crane. The crane confessed that the peacock was more lovely in terms of feathers, but that he could barely flap his way up to the rooftops, while he, the crane, was able to penetrate the clouds in his spirited flight.

[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.]

The Moral of the Story:

Homines iactabundi

cum magna profitentur,

eo ipso tempore

vel maxime in minimis redarguuntur.

Nemo igitur

alterum contempserit;

sua cuique est dos,

sua cuique virtus.

Illustration: Here is an illustration from this edition, by the renowned artist Francis Barlow; click on the image for a larger view.