Fable of the Day: De leone, asino et gallo (Barlow)

[Laura Gibbs]

Gallus aliquando cum Asino pascebatur, Leone autem aggresso Asinum, Gallus exclamavit, et Leo, qui Galli vocem timet, fugere incipit. Asinus, ratus propter se fugere, aggressus est Leonem; ut vero procul a gallicinio persecutus est, conversus Leo Asinum devoravit, qui moriens clamabat, "Iusta passus sum, ex pugnacibus enim non natus parentibus, quamobrem in aciem irrui?"

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:

acies (aciei, f.): sharp edge, battle line
gallicinium: cock-crow
parens (parentis, c.): parent
vox (vocis, f.): voice

iustus: right, justified
pugnax (pugnacis): fighting, aggressive

aggredior (aggredi), aggressus: approach, attack
clamo (clamare): shout, exclaim
converto (convertere), conversus: turn, turn around
devoro (devorare): consume, gulp down
exclamo (exclamare), exclamavi: shout, cry out
fugio (fugere): run away, flee
incipio (incipere): begin, start
irruo (irruere), irrui: rush in, rush into
nascor (nasci), natus: be born
pasco (pascere): graze, feed
patior (pati), passus: suffer, undergo
persequor (persequi), persecutus: reach, overtake
reor (reri), ratus: think, suppose
timeo (timere): fear, be afraid

aliquando: sometime, sometime or other
procul: far off, at a distance
propter: because of, on account of
quamobrem: for what reason
vero: in fact, indeed

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

aggresso: : participle used in an ablative absolute construction

fugere: present infinitive in indirect statement (implied subject: leonem)

aggressus est: deponent verb, although passive in form, here takes an object - leonem

passus sum: deponent verb, although passive in form, here takes an object - iusta (adjective used substantively)

ex pugnacibus...parentibus: prepositional phrase wraps around the participle

ex pugnacibus enim: the placement of the postpositive enim shows that a preposition is not a "word" that can stand on its own

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