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barlow053

Page history last edited by Laura Gibbs 14 years, 8 months ago

 

HOME | Barlow's Aesop: Previous Page - Next Page

 

Barlow 53. DE RUSTICO ET ARATRO SUO

 

ONLINE FORUM: At the Aesopus Ning Forum, you can ask questions about this fable. You will also  find links there to additional learning materials to help you in reading the Latin (vocabulary, grammar commentary, simplified version, quizzes, macrons, etc.).

 

Rustici aratrum haeret in profundo luto. Mox prostratus, Herculem implorat, cum statim vox a caelo auditur: “Inepte, flagellato equos et ipse totis viribus umerisque annitere rotis! Et deinde Herculem invocato! Tunc enim tibi propitius Hercules aderit.”

 

Translation: A countryman's plow was stuck in deep mud. Immediately the farmer threw himself down on the ground and was begging Hercules for help when suddenly a voice was heard from the sky. "Idiot, whip your horses while you push with all your strength and shoulders against the wheels! And after that, call upon Hercules; then indeed a favorable Hercules will attend you."

 

[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:

 

Fabula innuit

quod otiosa vota

nihil prosunt;

vota enim sunt

quae sane Deus non audit.

Vetus est adagium:

iuva temet

et ipse te adiuvabit Deus.

 

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

 

 

 

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