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DE ASINO, SIMIA ET TALPA

Source: Abstemius 18 (You can see a 1499 edition of Abstemius online, but I am doing my transcription from the 1568 edition of Aesopi fabulae in the EEBO catalog.)

Latin Text:

Conquerenti Asino quod cornibus careret, Simiae vero quod cauda sibi deesset, "Tacete," inquit Talpa, cum me oculis captam esse videatis." Haec fabula ad eos pertinet, qui non sunt sua sorte contenti; qui, si aliorum infortunia considerarent, aequiori animo tolerarent sua.

Here is a segmented version to help you see the grammatical patterns:

Conquerenti Asino

quod cornibus careret,

Simiae vero

quod cauda sibi deesset,

"Tacete," inquit Talpa,

cum

me

oculis captam esse

videatis."

Haec fabula

ad eos pertinet,

qui non sunt

sua sorte contenti;

qui,

si aliorum infortunia considerarent,

aequiori animo

tolerarent sua.

Translation: A donkey was complaining that he lacked horns, while a monkey was complaining that she lacked a tail. The mole said to them, "Silence your complaining, since you can see that I am deprived of eyes." This fable applies to those who are not happy with their own fate - those who, if they would consider the misfortunes of others, would bear their own misfortunes with a more patient attitude.

[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.]

Sir Roger L'Estrange

Sir Roger L'Estrange included the fables of Abstemius in his amazing 17th-century edition of Aesop's fables, but he omitted this fable.