Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Lupus et Vulpes (Babrius-prose)

SOURCE: This is a Latin prose version of Babrius's Greek verse fables, as published by Jean François Boissonade in 1844; the book is available at GoogleBooks. This is fable 101 in Boissonade's edition; for other versions, see Perry 344.

READ OUT LOUD. Choose which marked text you prefer to practice with - macrons or accent marks - and read the text out loud until you feel comfortable and confident. Then, try reading the unmarked text at the bottom. It should be easy for you after practicing with the marked texts. :-)


MACRONS. Here is the text with macrons:

Lupus quīdam robustior inter lupōs nātus erat, quem Leōnem cognōmine vocābant. Stolidus ille, et glōriae impar ferendae, ā tribūlibus sēgregāvit sē, ac cum leōnibus conversābātur. Vulpes autem cavillātrix, nē ad sānam mentem tantum, inquit, sim umquam redūcenda, quantum tū nunc vānō fastū intumescis! quippe quī inter lupōs rēvērā leo vidēris, interque leōnēs rursus comparātiōne fīs lupus."


ACCENT MARKS. Here is the text with accent marks, plus some color-coding for the words of three or more syllables (blue: penultimate stress; red: antepenultimate stress):

Lupus quidam robústior inter lupos natus erat, quem Leónem cognómine vocábant. Stólidus ille, et glóriae impar feréndae, a tribúlibus segregávit se, ac cum leónibus conversabátur. Vulpes autem cavillátrix, ne ad sanam mentem tantum, inquit, sim umquam reducénda, quantum tu nunc vano fastu intuméscis! quippe qui inter lupos revéra leo vidéris, intérque leónes rursus comparatióne fis lupus."


UNMARKED TEXT. Here is the unmarked text - after practicing with the marked text that you prefer, you should not have any trouble with the unmarked text:

Lupus quidam robustior
inter lupos natus erat,
quem
Leonem cognomine vocabant.
Stolidus ille,
et gloriae impar ferendae,
a tribulibus segregavit se,
ac cum leonibus conversabatur.
Vulpes autem cavillatrix,
ne ad sanam mentem tantum,
inquit,
sim umquam reducenda,
quantum tu nunc
vano fastu intumescis!
quippe qui
inter lupos revera leo videris,
interque leones
rursus comparatione fis lupus."



IMAGE. Here is an illustration for the story (image source) showing a wise fox: