Fable of the Day: De Avibus et Quadrupedibus (Barlow)

[Laura Gibbs]

Avibus cum Bestiis asperrima pugna erat, utrimque spes, utrimque ingens metus, utrimque periculum, cum Vespertilio, relictis sociis, ad hostem defecit. Ad postremum vincunt aves, duce et auspice Aquila. Transfugam vero Vespertilionem damnant, ut nunquam iterum inter Aves numeretur, nec amplius in luce videatur. Et haec causa est, cur Vespertilio nunquam, nisi nocte, volat.

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:

auspex (auspicis, m.): soothsayer, patron
bestia: beast
causa: reason, cause
dux (ducis, m.): leader
hostis (hostis, m.): enemy, stranger
lux (lucis, f.): light, light of day
metus (metus, m.): fear, dread
nox (noctis, f.): night
periculum: danger
pugna: fight, battle
quadrupes (quadrupedis, m.): animal, four-footed beast
socius: ally, associate
spes (spei, f.): hope
transfuga (m.): deserter
vespertilio (vespertilionis, m.): bat

asper, aspera, asperum: violent, rough
ingens (ingentis): huge, enormous
postremus: last, endmost

damno (damnare): find guilty, condemn
deficio (deficere), defeci: fail, defect
numero (numerare): number, count
relinquo (relinquere), relictus: leave, abandon
vinco (vincere): conquer, win
volo (volare): fly

amplius: more, any more
cur: why
iterum: again, a second time
nisi: unless, except
nunquam: never, not ever
utrimque: on both sides
vero: in fact, indeed

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

relictis: participle used in an ablative absolute construction

ad postremum: idiom meaning "at last"

duce et auspice Aquila: this is an ablative absolute with the verb "to be" omitted

transfugam: this is a predicate noun, they condemn the bat AS a transfuga

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