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Barlow 105. DE SILVANO ET LEONE

*Not included in the Bolchazy-Carducci book.*

Parallels: For parallel versions, see Perry 284.

Latin Text:

Silvanus et Leo una iter conficiebant et in transitu cernebant monumentum eximium supra quod armatus stetit Homo et sub pedibus Leonem debellatum conterebat. Significationem et sensum inquirenti Leoni respondit Silvanus illud monumentum virtutem et vim Hominis super beluam triumphantis indicasse. Cui lepide Leo, Ne! Si leones etiam sculptores evasissent, contrarium hoc fore compertum credidisses.

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

Silvanus et Leo

una

iter conficiebant

et in transitu

cernebant monumentum eximium

supra quod

armatus stetit Homo

et sub pedibus

Leonem debellatum conterebat.

Significationem et sensum

inquirenti

Leoni respondit Silvanus

illud monumentum

virtutem et vim Hominis

super beluam triumphantis

indicasse.

Cui lepide Leo,

Ne!

Si leones

etiam sculptores evasissent,

contrarium hoc fore compertum

credidisses.

Translation: A woodsman and a lion were making a journey together and while they were going along they saw an exceptional tombstone. On top of the tombstone stood a man in armor and he was grinding a conquered lion beneath his feet. When the lion asked about the sense and meaning of this, the woodsman answered that the tombstone showed the courage and strength of a man triumphing over a beast. The lion wittily replied, "Indeed! If lions also turned out to be sculptors, you would know that just the opposite outcome would result."

[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.]

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