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DE AQUILA ET CORVO

 

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

 

Latin Text:

 

Rupe editissima in Agni tergum devolat Aquila. Videns id Corvus imitari, velut Simia, gestit Aquilam. In Arietis vellus se dimittit, dimissus impeditur, impeditus comprehenditur, comprehensus proiicitur pueris. Non aliorum, sed sua se quisque virtute aestimet. Tuo te pede metire, inquit Horatius. Id velis, id tentes quod possis.

 

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

 

Rupe editissima

in Agni tergum

devolat Aquila.

Videns id

Corvus

imitari, velut Simia,

gestit

Aquilam.

In Arietis vellus

se dimittit,

dimissus impeditur,

impeditus comprehenditur, comprehensus proiicitur pueris.

Non aliorum,

sed sua

se quisque virtute aestimet.

Tuo te pede metire,

inquit Horatius.

 

Translation: An eagle flew down from a very tall cliff and landed on a sheep's back. The crow saw this and, like a monkey, he longs to imitate the eagle. He hurled himself onto the fleece of a ram, and having dropped down onto the ram he got entangled, hanging gotten entangled, he was caught, and having gotten caught he was tossed to the children. Let each person measure himself by his own ability, not that of others. Measure yourself by your own foot, says Horace.

 

[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 2.

 

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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