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Barlow 101. DE SENE ET MORTE

ONLINE FORUM: At the Aesopus Ning Forum, you can ask questions about this fable. You will also  find links there to additional learning materials to help you in reading the Latin (vocabulary, grammar commentary, simplified version, quizzes, macrons, etc.).

Fasce praegravatus Senex, et misellae suae pertaesus sortis, Mortem invocabat, ut finem aerumnosae vitae tandem defigeret. Invocata advenit Mors, percontata Senex quid secum velit; ad cuius adventum territus, nil respondit sed “Ut auxilio mihi sis, et fascem collapsum rursus umeris imponas!”

Translation: Weighed down by his bundle and worn out by his wretched lot in life, the old man called upon Death to finally fix an end to his burdensome life. In response to this summons, Death arrived and asked what the old man wanted from him. Terrified at Death's arrival, the old man had nothing to say in response except, "I want you to be of help to me, and to put back again on my shoulders the bundle that I dropped!"

[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.]

The Moral of the Story:

Indicat

in adversis

nos vota execrabilia emittere,

quibus,

post seriam considerationem,

abhorremus.

Illustration: Here is an illustration from this edition, by the renowned artist Francis Barlow; click on the image for a larger view. I really like the way the man is looking down at the bundle and avoiding Death's gaze. You can tell this is the moment when he is pointing out the bundle to Death and saying that all he really needed was someone to help him pick up his load! Notice that Death is carrying an hourglass, a traditional symbol of mortality.