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Vulpes et Aquila (Verse)

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Scroll down to find: Overview, Study Guide, Verse, Audio, and Segmented Prose Text

The story of The Fox and the Eagle is a poem from the metrical Romulus. It is written in dactylic hexameter. You can find this poem, metrical Romulus 10 , along with other fables from the Romulus collections, at the aesopica.net website. The Perry number for this fable is Perry 1. You can see a 1501 woodcut illustration for this fable at the University of Mannheim website. You can find translations of two different versions of this fable in Aesop's Fables, by Laura Gibbs (Oxford University Press, 2003).

   Use this Study Guide to organize your learning activities.

Here is the poem (click "play" icon for brief audio sample):

Infirmum laedat spernens ne fortior ullum.
Nunc rumor narrat priscus volitansque per orbem,
Vulpinos aquila abstraxit quod matre catellos
Plumigeris tradens pullis nidoque reponit,
Carne ferina optans caros tunc pascere fetus.
En vulpina dari genitrix pessumque precatur
Iam prolem, raptrixque sibi alta arbore superba
Tunc infit, miserae dicens matrique roganti :
O genitrix, prolis tibi nunc quid pertinet ista?
Pullorumque tui adsistunt nunc esca catelli.
Ecce sagax vulpis, convertens plena dolore,
Flammigerumque citis rapuit tunc passibus ignem
Atque rogi flammas succendit ad arboris ima.
Vulcanus piceas fumi per robora nubes
Transmittit, ramos comburens frondibus altos.
Cum spernens aquila ardentem pertingere nidum
Conspiceret flammam, clamans tunc voce precatur
Ut vulpis fetus proprios iam spreta teneret
Lenius atque ardor pullis extinctus adesset,
Quem vulpes cogitans succendit mente sagaci,
Redderet ut volitans genitrix sibi pignora cara;
Ac vulpis meruit caros sic sumere fetus.

The following version puts the words in a more prose-like order so that it will be easier for you to read:

Ne fortior spernens laedat ullum infirmum.	Additional grammar commentary to be added... meanwhile, if you have questions, use the Comments? Questions? Suggestions? link at the top or bottom of this page if you have a query. You might also want to look at these Tips on Using Segmented Texts.
Nunc rumor priscus narrat quod aquila volitans per orbem, vulpinos catellos abstraxit matre.
Tradens plumigeris pullis nido reponit, fetus caros optans tunc pascere carne ferina.
En vulpina genitrix pessum precatur prolem iam dari, et raptrix superba sibi tunc infit alta arbore, matri miserae et roganti dicens:
O genitrix, quid nunc tibi pertinet prolis ista?
Tui catelli nunc adsistunt esca pullorum.
Ecce sagax vulpis, plena dolore, convertens citis passibus tunc rapuit flammigerum ignem atque rogi flammas succendit ad arboris ima.
Vulcanus piceas fumi nubes transmittit per robora, ramos altos frondibus comburens.
Cum aquila conspiceret flammam, spernens pertingere ardentem nidum,
tunc voce clamans precatur ut vulpis iam spreta teneret fetus proprios
atque ardor, quem vulpes succendit cogitans mente sagaci, lenius extinctus adesset pullis,
ut volitans genitrix sibi redderet pignora cara;
ac vulpis sic sumere meruit caros fetus.