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Barlow 99. DE LEONE SENE

 

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Introduction, Grammar Notes and Glossary: See the printed book.

 

Quizzes and Activities: See the del.icio.us catalog for the supplementary materials.

 

Parallels: For parallel versions, see Perry 481.

 

Latin Text:

 

Leo, longaevae senectutis laborans vitio et viribus deprivatus, odio et contemptui fuit omnium Ferarum. In quarum numero Asinus (omnium animantium vilissimus) apparebat, et Leoni imbelli calce minitatus est. Quod cum vidisset Leo, suspirans inquit iustum fuisse ut tandem iniurias suas Ferae ulciscerentur, et ut iam odio haberetur, qui olim omnibus metum intulisset.

 

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

 

Leo,

longaevae senectutis laborans vitio

et viribus deprivatus,

odio et contemptui fuit omnium Ferarum.

In quarum numero

Asinus

(omnium animantium vilissimus)

apparebat,

et Leoni imbelli

calce minitatus est.

Quod cum vidisset Leo,

suspirans

inquit

iustum fuisse

ut tandem iniurias suas Ferae ulciscerentur,

et ut iam odio haberetur,

qui olim omnibus metum intulisset.

 

Translation: A lion, suffering from the defect of a long old age, and deprived of his strength, was an object of hatred and contempt for all the wild animals. Among the number of those animals appeared the donkey, the most worthless of all living things, and he threatened the feeble lion with his hoof. When the lion saw this, he sighed and said, "Right it was for the wild animals finally to get revenge for their injuries, so he who formerly aroused fear in all of them is now hated by them."

 

[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.]

 

Illustration: Here is an illustration from this edition, by the renowned artist Francis Barlow; click on the image for a larger view. In addition to the donkey kicking the lion, you can also see the other animals who have come to get their revenge. To the lower right is the boar (aper), whose appearance is specifically mentioned in the ancient Roman version of this fable by Phaedrus. In Phaedrus's fable, the lion says it is not so bad being attacked by the boar, who is a worthy opponent in battle - but the donkey, by comparison, is not a war-like creature, making it all the donkey's attack all the more humiliating for the lion.

 

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