Fable of the Day: De cane mordaci (Barlow)

[Laura Gibbs]

Cani, saepius homines mordenti, illigavit Dominus nolam, scilicet ut sibi quisque caveret. Canis, ratus virtuti suae tributum hoc decus esse, populares omnes despicit. Accedit tandem ad hunc Canem aliquis, iam aetate et auctoritate gravis, monens eum ne erret. "Nam ista nola," inquit, "data est tibi in dedecus, non in decus."

You will notice a new format here! This is because I am now finalizing materials for the edition of Aesop's fables that I'll be publishing with Bolchazy-Carducci, based on Barlow's Aesop of 1687.

Here is the vocabulary for the fable, excluding the words which are on the Common Word List:

nola: bell
dominus: master
aetas (aetatis, f.): age, lifetime, stage of life
auctoritas (auctoritatis, f.): authority, prestige
decus (decoris, n.): distinction, honor, splendor
dedecus (dedecoris, n.): shame, misbehavior
homo (hominis, m.): person
virtus (virtutis, f.): worth, excellence

aliquis (alicuius): someone, anybody
gravis, grave (gravis): heavy, weighty
iste, ista, istud (istius): that, that there of yours
mordax (mordacis): biting
popularis, populare (popularis): fellow citizen, compatriot
quisque (cuiusque): everybody, each

accedo (accedere): approach, come near
despicio (despicere): look down on, despise
erro (errare): make a mistake, be wrong
illigo (illigare), illigavi: tie up, fasten
caveo (cavere): beware, watch out for
moneo (monere): warn, admonish
mordeo (mordere): bite
reor (reri), ratus: think, suppose
tribuo (tribuere), tributus: grant, assign, bestow

nam: for, for instance
ne: in order not to, so that not
saepius: very often, rather often
scilicet: that is to say, of course

Comments: For a segmented version of the text and an English translation, see the Aesopus website.

scilicet: this is an abbreviation of scire+licet

tributum hoc decus esse: indirect statement, introduced by ratus, with an accusative subject (hoc decus) and an infinitive (tributum esse)

Notice that in the image he is a "dog with a clog" rather than a bell:

Keep up with the latest Bestiaria Latina blog posts... Subscribe by Email. I also post a daily round-up of all the Bestiaria Latina blogs: fables, proverbs, crosswords, and audio, etc.