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DE CICADA ET FORMICA

 

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

 

Introduction: In this famous fable, the ant spends the summer working hard, while the cricket does not work at all. What is the cricket going to do once winter comes? In a Greek version of the fable, the ant says to the cricket: "Since you sang like a fool in the summer, you better be prepared to dance the winter away!" In Caxton's 15th-century version of the fable, the moral is: "It is good to purueye hym self in the somer season of suche thynges wherof he shalle haue nede in wynter season;" in other words, "It is good to supply yourself in the summer season with such things which you shall need in winter season." What do you think the moral of the fable should be? For another story about a much friendlier ant, see the story of the ant and the dove. For another story about the what dangers lie ahead when winter comes, see the story of the drunken boy and the swallow.

 

Latin Text:

 

Dum per aestatem Cicada cantat, Formica suam exercet messem, trahendo in antra grana et in hiemem reponendo. Saeviente autem bruma, famelica Cicada venit ad Formicam et mendicat victum; renuebat autem Formica, dictitans sese laborasse, dum illa cantabat.

 

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

 

Dum per aestatem Cicada cantat,

Formica suam exercet messem,

trahendo in antra grana

et in hiemem reponendo.

Saeviente autem bruma,

famelica Cicada

venit ad Formicam

et mendicat victum;

renuebat autem Formica,

dictitans

sese laborasse,

dum illa cantabat.

 

Translation: The grasshopper sang throughout the summer. Meanwhile, the ant worked on the harvest, dragging the grains into his holes and storing them away for the winter. But when the winter's cold was raging, the hungry grasshopper came to the ant and begged for food. The ant, however, refused, saying that she had worked, while the grasshopper sang.

 

[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 373.

 

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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