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DE IUVENE ET HIRUNDINE

 

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

 

Information: The swallow is often called a harbinger of spring and warm weather, yet there is also a proverb which warns: "One swallow does not a spring make," in Latin: Hirundo una ver non facit. In this fable, however, you will see a reckless young man who apparently does not know this proverb! When he sees a single swallow, he decides that warm weather is on its way - but winter returns in full form, with disaster in store for both the young man and the swallow. For another fable about the swallow, see the story of the swallow who tried to warn the other birds. For another fable about a man who needs his cloak when the cold wind blows, see the story of the sun and the wind.

 

Latin Text:

 

Temulentus et dissolutus Iuvenis, qui patrimonium integrum decoxerat, ipsa etiam vestimenta solebat pro pecuniis venum dare. Ad hoc, ex augurio circumvolantis Hirundinis coniciens iam aestatem appropinquasse, illico vestitus exuit et seminudus in popinas delituit. Sed, cum brumae reliquiae redeuntes maiori frigore saeviebant et Hirundinem enecassent, Iuvenis tandem circumvagabatur et Aviculam mortuam offendens inquit, "O infelicem augurem et tui et mei infortunii!"

 

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

 

Temulentus et dissolutus Iuvenis,

qui patrimonium integrum decoxerat,

ipsa etiam vestimenta solebat

pro pecuniis venum dare.

Ad hoc,

ex augurio circumvolantis Hirundinis

coniciens

iam aestatem appropinquasse,

illico vestitus exuit

et seminudus in popinas delituit.

Sed,

cum brumae reliquiae redeuntes

maiori frigore saeviebant

et Hirundinem enecassent,

Iuvenis tandem circumvagabatur

et Aviculam mortuam offendens

inquit,

"O infelicem augurem

et tui et mei infortunii!"

 

Translation: A certain drunken and debauched young man, who had squandered his entire patrimony, was in the habit of selling even his own clothes for money. Apropos, he concluded from the omen of a swallow flying around that summer was already near, and on the spot he stripped off his clothes and half-naked he took refuge in the taverns. But when the final days of winter returned and raged with a greater cold, and killed the swallow, the young man finally stumbled upon the dead little bird as he was wandering around, and he said, "O unhappy augur of your misfortune and mine."

 

[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 169.

 

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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