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Barlow 14. DE EQUO ET ASINO

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Equus phaleris sellaque ornatus cum ingenti hinnitu per viam currebat. Currenti onustus Asellus forte obstabat, cui Equus fremebundus: “Quid (inquit), ignave, obsistis Equo? Cede, inquam, aut te proculcabo pedibus!” Asellus, rudere non ausus, cedit tacitus. Equo provolanti crepat inguen. Tum, cursui inutilis, ornamentis spoliatur. Postea cum carro venientem Asinus affatur, “Heus mi Amice! Quis ille ornatus est? Ubi aurea sella? Ubi splendidum frenum? Sic, Amice, necesse fuit evenire superbienti.

Translation:

A horse, adorned with trappings and a saddle, with a loud "whinny" ran through the street. As he was running along, a donkey bearing burdens ran into him by chance. The horse roared at the donkey: How dare you, lazy brute, stand in the way of a horse? Get out of my way, I say, or I will trample you with my hooves! The donkey did not dare to bray and silently gave way. The pulled his groin muscle as he was gallopping. Then, useless for racing, he was stripped of his fine ornaments. Afterwards, when he came by pulling a wagon, the donkey addressed him: Ho there, my friend, what adornment is this? Where is your golden saddle? Where is your elegant bridle? So it was bound to turn out, my friend, for someone who was so boastful."

[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.]

The Moral of the Story:

Accedit

ad cumulum infelicitatis

hoc

saepe Malis,

quod

contemnentur ab iis

quos ipse contempsere,

et illudent eis illi

quos ipsi risere.

Illustration: Here is an illustration from this edition, by the renowned artist Francis Barlow; click on the image for a larger view.