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Barlow 75. DE MILVO AEGROTO

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Aegrotus lecto decumbebat Milvus, iam ferme moriens. Matrem orat precatum ire deos, multa promittens, si redire ad salutem liceret. Mater autem respondebat nil opis sperandum a diis, quorum sacra et aras rapinis toties violasset.

Aegrōtus lectō dēcumbebat Mīlvus, iam fermē moriens. Mātrem ōrat precātum īre deōs, multa prōmittens, sī redīre ad salūtem licēret. Māter autem respondēbat nil opis spērandum ā diīs, quōrum sacra et āras rapīnīs tōties violāsset.

Translation: A kite had grown ill and was lying in bed, already on the verge of death. he begged his mother to go pray to the gods, making many promises if he would be allowed to return to health. His mother, however, replied that there was no help to be hoped for from the gods, whose offerings and altars he had defiled so many times with his robbery.

[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:

Debemus

venerari Superos;

illi etenim

pios iuvant,

impiis adversantur;

in felicitate neglecti

in miseria non exaudiunt;

quare

in secundis rebus

simus eorum memores,

ut in adversis rebus

praesentes sint, vocati.

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