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Barlow 32. DE LEAENA ET VULPE

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Leaena, cum a Vulpe saepe exprobraretur quod, quolibet partu, unum dumtaxat catulum parturiret, respondit, “Unum sane, at pol Leonem!"

Translation: The lioness was frequently upbraided by the fox because, whenever the lioness gave birth, she produced only one cub. The lioness replied, "One cub, yes, but by God he's a lion!"

[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:

Pulchritudo

non in copia rerum

sed virtute consistit;

plus valebat

unus Themistocles

apud Graecos

(teste Plutarcho)

quam numerosus Persarum exercitus

sub rege Xerxe.

Nobilitas

raro in turba invenitur.

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