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Barlow 101. DE SENE ET MORTE

 

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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 60.

 

Latin Text:

 

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!”

 

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

 

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 little lot in life, the old man called upon death to finally fix an end to his burdensome life. Thus summoned, Death arrived and asked what the old man wanted from him. Terrified at Death's arrival, the old man had nothing to say except, "I want for you to be of help to me and to put back up on my shoulders the bundle that I've 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.]

 

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.

 

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