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DE VITULA ET BOVE

 

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

 

Introduction: This fable is about farm animals, some of whom are working animals, and some of whom are being raised for food. The Latin words vitula and vitulus mean "calf" (female and male, respectively) and this Latin word is the origin of the English word "veal" (compare the French word, veau). The Latin word bos (genitive, bovis), meaning "ox" gives us the English word "beef" (compare the French word, boeuf). In this fable, however, you will see that it is only the young vitula, the heifer, who is destined for the dining table, not the hard-working ox. For another story about the fate that awaits lazy creatures who do not work, see the story of the ant and the cicada. For a story about a lazy person who prays to the gods for help, see the story of the farmer and his plow.

 

Latin Text:

 

Mollis et lasciva Vitula, cum Bovem agricolae aculeo agitatum et arantem cerneret, contempsit. Sed cum immolationis dies affuit, Bos, a iugo liberatus, per pascua vagabatur. Vitula vero, ut immolaretur, retenta est. Quod cum Bos conspicatur, subridens ait, "Heus Vitula, ideo non laborabas: ut immolareris!"

 

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

 

Mollis et lasciva Vitula,

cum Bovem

agricolae aculeo agitatum

et arantem

cerneret,

contempsit.

Sed cum immolationis dies affuit,

Bos,

a iugo liberatus,

per pascua vagabatur.

Vitula vero,

ut immolaretur,

retenta est.

Quod cum Bos conspicatur,

subridens ait,

"Heus Vitula,

ideo non laborabas:

ut immolareris!"

 

Translation: A gentle and playful calf, when she saw the bull pulling the plow and being driven by the farmer's goad, scorned him. But when the day of the ritual sacrifice arrived, the bull was freed from the yoke and wandered through the pastures. The calf, however, was tied up in order to be sacrificed. When the bull saw this, he smiled and said, "Alas, calf, it's because you were to be sacrificed that you did not work."

 

[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 300.

 

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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