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Barlow 29. DE CANE ET BOVE

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In praesepi faeni pleno decumbebat Canis. Venit Bos ut comedat faenum, cum Canis, confestim sese erigens, tota voce elatravit. Cui Bos: “Dii te, cum ista tua invidia, perdant (inquit): nec enim faeno ipse vesceris, nec me vesci sines.”

In praesēpī faenī plēnō dēcumbēbat Canis. Venit Bōs ut comedat faenum, cum Canis, confestim sēsē ērigens, tōta vōce ēlātrāvit. Cui Bōs: “Diī tē, cum istā tuā invidiā, perdant (inquit): nec enim faenō ipse vesceris, nec mē vescī sinēs.”

Translation: A dog was lying in a manger full of hay; an ox came in to eat the hay, when the dog immediately rose up and barked loudly. The ox said to the dog: Damn you and that envy of yours, for you yourself do not eat the hay, and you do not let me eat it.

[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:

Ita sumus natura comparati

ut aliis invideamus,

quod ipsi

vel naturae imprudentia

vel mentis inopia

nullo modo

consequi possumus.

Illustration: Here is an illustration from this edition, by the renowned artist Francis Barlow; click on the image for a larger view. You can also see, in addition to the vicious dog and the ox, some other inhabitants of the barnyard, including the baby chicks underfoot: they better watch out!