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DE ACCIPITRE ET LUSCINIA

 

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

 

Introduction: The story of the hawk and the nightingale is one of the oldest Aesop's fables in existence, dating back to the archaic Greek poet Hesiod who lived around the year 700 B.C.E. This fable has been a favorite of poets over the years because the nightingale, with her beautiful song, is a symbolic representation of the poet. The hawk, on the other hand, is a perfect embodiment of greed and of violence, caring nothing for the nightingale's musical art. The hawk is a notorious predator in the world of Aesop, as you can see also in the story of the hawk who was chasing a dove. For another fable about a musician pleading for mercy in completely different circumstances, see the story of the trumpeter taken prisoner.

 

Latin Text:

 

Comprehenderat Lusciniam Accipiter, quae misere clamabat ut se captivam demitteret. Cui Accipiter: "Frustra clamosas cies querimonias, nam licet omnes silvarum commoveris aviculas, non ab unguibus meis liberabunt."

 

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

 

Comprehenderat Lusciniam Accipiter,

quae misere clamabat

ut se captivam demitteret.

Cui Accipiter:

"Frustra clamosas cies querimonias,

nam licet omnes silvarum commoveris aviculas,

non ab unguibus meis liberabunt."

 

Translation: A hawk had caught a nightingale. The nightingale pitiously shrieked for the hawk to let her, his captive, go free. The hawk said to her, "You are are stirring up your squawking complaints in vain, for even if you were to arouse the emotions of all the little birds in the woods, they will not free you from my talons." 

 

[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 4.

 

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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