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Barlow 52. DE VITULA ET BOVE

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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 dainty and wanton heifer, when she saw the ox pulling the plow and being driven by the farmer's goad, scorned him. But when the day of the ritual sacrifice arrived, the ox was freed from the yoke and wandered through the pastures. The heifer, however, was tied up in order to be sacrificed. When the ox saw this, he smiled and said, "Alas, heifer, that's why you didn't have to work: so that you could be sacrificed!"

[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:

Qui

alteri irridet,

sibi ipsi caveat:

qui

labori suo

sedulo incumbit,

securus est;

otioso et nihil agenti

pericula semper imminent.

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