Legenda: Castor

BESTIARIA LATINA BLOG - Latin Via Fables - Zoo - Legenda

Castor

Scroll down to find: Overview, Study Guide, Segmented Prose Text, and Grammar Comments

The story of The Beaver is adapted from Isidore's Etymologiae , Physiologus Latinus, versio BIs , and the text of the Aberdeen Bestiary , along with a Latin translation of Aelian.

For more information about the beaver, visit the Castor in the Zoo. You can also visit the Beaver page at the bestiary.ca website for a discussion in English, bibliography and other useful references.

This story also forms part of the Aesopic tradition in a poem by Phaedrus. You can find this poem, Phaedrus App. 30, along with other poems by Phaedrus, at the aesopica.net website. The Perry number for this fable is Perry 118.

You can find a translation of Phaedrus's version of this story in Aesop's Fables, by Laura Gibbs (Oxford University Press, 2003).

Use this Study Guide to organize your learning activities.

Est animal quod dicitur castor mansuetum nimis, cuius testiculi medicinae sunt aptissimi, et proficiunt ad diversas invalitudines.	quod: relative pronoun, antecedent is animal mansuetum: the e is long, so penultimate stress cuius: relative pronoun, antecedent is animal testiculi: diminutive medicinae...aptissimi: split phrase medicina: the i is long, so penultimate stress
De quo dicit Phisiologus quia cum investigaverit eum venator, sequitur post eum;	quod: relative pronoun, antecedent is castor investigaverit: subjunctive introduced by cum
castor vero, cum respexerit post se et viderit venatorem venientem post se, statim morsu abscidit testiculos suos, et in faciem venatoris eos proicit et sic fugiens evadit.	vero: postpositive respexerit...viderit: subjunctive introduced by cum fugiens evadit: participle plus verb ("thus he runs away and escapes")
Venator veniens colligit eos, et ultra iam non sequitur eum, sed revertitur.	veniens colligit: participle plus verb ("the hunter comes and gathers")
Si vero rursus contigerit ut alter venator eum prosequatur, ille videns evadere non posse, erigit se et ostendit virilia sua venatori.	vero: postpositive contigerit: subjunctive in a conditional statement prosequatur: subjunctive introduced by ut evadere: completemenary infinitive introduced by posse posse: infinitive in indirect statement (introduced by videns)
Quem cum viderit testiculis carere, ab eo discedit.	quem: relative pronoun, antecedent is castor viderit: subjunctive introduced by cum carere: infinitive in indirect statement (introduced by viderit, subject of the infinitive is quem
De quibus Cicero: Redimunt se ea parte corporis, propter quod maxime expetuntur.	quibus: relative pronoun, antecedent is (implied) castores quod: relative pronoun without stated antecedent (quod stands here for the whole situation: why the beavers are being hunted)
Sic omnis qui iuxta mandatum dei versatur et caste vult vivere, secat a se omnia vitia, et omnes impudicitiae actus, et proicit eos a se in faciem diaboli.	vivere: complementary infinitive with vult
Persaepe castor etiam testiculos habens cum se a venatorum conspectu longissime removerit eam partem desideratam ita astute comprimit et occultat ut insectatores fallat, quasi iis careat, quae occultavit.	removerit: subjunctive plus cum fallat: subjunctive plus ut careat: subjunctive in conditional statement quae: relative pronoun, antecedent is iis (testiculis)