HOME | Phaedrus: Previous Page - Next Page
Appendix 14. Asinus ad Lyram
Parallels: For parallel versions, see Perry 542.
Asinus iacentem vidit in prato lyram;
accessit et temptavit chordas ungula.
Sonuere tactae. "Bella res mehercules
male cessit" inquit "artis quia sum nescius.
Si reperisset aliquis hanc prudentior,
divinis aures oblectasset cantibus."
Sic saepe ingenia calamitate intercidunt.
Here is the poem in a more prose-like word order for easy reading:
Asinus vidit lyram iacentem in prato;
accessit et temptavit chordas ungula.
Tactae chordae sonuere.
Inquit: "Mehercules!
Bella res cessit male
quia sum nescius artis.
Si aliquis prudentior reperisset hanc,
oblectasset aures divinis cantibus."
Sic saepe ingenia intercidunt calamitate.
Here is the poem with meter marks:
As'nus ~ iacen~tem vi~dit in ~ prato ~ lyram;
acces~sit et ~ tempta~vit chor~das un~gula.
Sonve~re tac~tae. "Bel~la res ~ meher~cules
mal' ces~sit" in~quit "ar~tis qui' sum ne~scius.
Si re~peris~set al'~quis hanc ~ pruden~tior,
divi~nis au~res ob~lectas~set can~tibus."
Sic sae~p(e) ingen~ja c'la~mita~t(e) inter~cidunt.
Translation:
A donkey saw a lyre lying in a field. He approached the instrument and tried to strum it with his hoof. The strings resounded at his touch. The donkey said: "By god, this beautiful business has come to no good end since I don't know anything about music. If only someone better equipped than myself had found it, he would have delighted my ears with heavenly melodies!" So it is that talents often fall short because of some misfortune.
[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 image of a lyre:
