Fable of the Day: De anu et ancillis (Barlow)

[Laura Gibbs]

Anus quaedam domi habebat complures Ancillas, quas quotidie, antequam lucesceret, ad Galli gallinacei, quem domi alebat, cantum excitabat ad opus. Ancillae tandem, quotidiani negotii commotae taedio, Gallum obtruncant, sperantes iam, necato illo, sese in medios dormituras dies. Sed haec spes miseras frustrata est. Hera enim, ut interemptum Gallum rescivit, Ancillas intempesta nocte surgere deinceps iubet.

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:

ancilla: maidservant
anus (anus, f.): old woman
cantus (cantus, m.): song, bird-cry
dies (diei, m.): day
domus (domus, f.): home, house
hera: mistress, lady of the house
negotium: business
nox (noctis, f.): night
opus (operis, n.): work
rescisco (rescicere), rescivi: learn, find out
spes (spei, f.): hope
taedium : weariness, tedium

complus (compluris): many, a good number
gallinaceus: domestic, barnyard
intempestus: unseasonable, untimely
medius: middle, medium
miser, misera, miserum: wretched, unfortunate
quotidianus: daily, each day's

alo (alere): nourish, rear, support
commoveo (commovere), commotus: provoke, rouse
dormio (dormire), dormitus: sleep
excito (excitare): stir up, raise, arouse
frustror (frustrari), frustratus: disappoint, deceive, cheat
interimo (interimere), interemptus: kill, destroy
iubeo (iubere): command, order
lucesco (lucescere): grow light, begin to shine
neco (necare), necatus: kill, slay
obtrunco (obtruncare): kill, cut down
spero (sperare): hope
surgo (surgere): rise up, get up

antequam: before
deinceps: next, thereafter
quotidie: daily, each day

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

domi: locative

lucesceret: this subjunctive (as in a cum clause) gives causal background about the main clause of the sentence

ad...cantum: prepositional phrase wraps around both the noun and the relative clause

necato: participle used in an ablative absolute construction

in medios...dies: prepositional phrase wraps around the infinitive

dormituras: future infinitive in indirect statement (dormituras esse)

frustrata est: deponent verb, although passive in form, here takes an object - miseras (ancillas)

interemptum: perfect infinitive in indirect statement (interemptum esse)

gallum: accusative subject of infinitive (interemptum esse)

intempesta nocte: the phrase nox intempesta means "the dead of night"

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