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DE PASTORIS PUERO ET AGRICOLIS

 

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

 

Introduction: The story of "the boy who cried wolf" is one of the most famous of Aesop's fables. The 15th-century version of the story by William Caxton states, "For men bileue not lyghtly hym / whiche is knowen for a lyer;" in other words, "Men believe not lightly a person who is known to be a liar." In the English version of the fable by Joseph Jacobs the moral of the story is "A liar will not be believed, even when he speaks the truth." How would you express the moral of this story? For some more stories about the dangers of the wolf, see the story of the wolf in sheep's clothing or the story of the treaty between the sheep and wolves.

 

Latin Text:

 

Puer editiore prato Oves pascebat, atque per iocum, Lupum terque quaterque adesse clamitans, Agricolas undique exciebat. Illi, saepius illusi, dum auxilium imploranti non subveniunt, fiunt Oves praeda Lupo.

 

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

 

Puer

editiore prato

Oves pascebat,

atque per iocum,

Lupum

terque quaterque

adesse clamitans,

Agricolas undique exciebat.

Illi,

saepius illusi,

dum auxilium imploranti non subveniunt,

fiunt Oves praeda Lupo.

 

Translation: A boy was grazing his sheep in a rather high meadow, and as a joke, three times, and a fourth time, he shouted that there was a wolf, and roused the farmers from every direction. They, being too often deceived, did not come to his assistance when he begged for their help, and the sheep became the prey of the wolf.

 

[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 210.

 

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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