Fable of the Day: De Lupo ovis pelle induto

[Laura Gibbs]

Title: De Lupo ovis pelle induto, qui gregem devorabat: The Wolf in sheep's clothing, who devoured the flock, by Abstemius


Latin Text:



Lupus ovis pelle indutus, ovium se immiscuit gregi, quotidieque aliquam ex eis occidebat. Quod cum pastor animadvertisset, illum in altissima arbore suspendit: interrogantibus autem ceteris pastoribus, cur ovem suspendisset, aiebat: Pellis quidem, ut videtis, est ovis, opera autem erant lupi. Haec indicat fabula, homines non ex habitu, sed ex operibus iudicandos: quoniam multi sub vestimentis ovium lupina faciunt opera.


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


Lupus
ovis pelle indutus,
ovium se immiscuit gregi,
quotidieque
aliquam ex eis occidebat.
Quod
cum pastor animadvertisset,
illum
in altissima arbore suspendit: interrogantibus autem
ceteris pastoribus,
cur ovem suspendisset,
aiebat:
Pellis quidem,
ut videtis,
est ovis,
opera autem
erant lupi.
Haec indicat fabula,
homines
non ex habitu,
sed ex operibus
iudicandos:
quoniam
multi
sub vestimentis ovium
lupina faciunt opera.

Crossword Puzzle: I don't have a crossword puzzle up for this fable yet, but you can check at LatinCrossword.com for the latest puzzles!



Translation:



A wolf, dressed in a sheep's skin, blended himself in with the flock of sheep, every day killed one of the sheep. When the shepherd noticed this was happening, he hanged the wolf on a very tall tree. When other shepherds asked him why he had hanged a sheep, the shepherd answered: The skin is that of a sheep, but the activities were those of a wolf. This fable shows that people should be judged not by their outward demeanor but by their works, for many in sheep's clothing do the work of wolves.



[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.]



Source: Abstemius 76 (You can see a 1499 edition of Abstemius online, but I am doing my transcription from the 1568 edition of Aesopi fabulae in the EEBO catalog.)



Another English translation. Sir Roger L'Estrange included the fables of Abstemius in his amazing 17th-century edition of Aesop's fables. So, here is L'Estrange's translation:



There goes a Story of a Wolfe, that Wrapt himself up in a Sheeps-skin, and Worry'd Lambs for a Good while under That Disguise; but the Shepherd Met with him at last, and Truss'd him up, Sheeps-skin and all, upon an Eminent Gibbet, for a Spectacle, and an Example. The Neighbours made a Wonderment at it, and Ask'd him what he meant to Hang up his Sheep? Oh, says he, That's only the Skin of a Sheep, that was made use of to Cover the Heart, Malice, and Body of a Wolfe that Shrouded himself under it.
Hypocrisie is only the Devil's Stalking Horse, under an Affectation of Simplicity and Religion. People are not to be Judg'd by their Looks, Habits, and Appearances; but by the Character of their Lives and Conversations, and by their Works.


[Note: You can find more of these fables at the old blog address for Latin Via Fables.]

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