BESTIARIA LATINA BLOG - Latin Via Fables - Zoo - Legenda

Capella et Leo

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

The story of The She-Goat and The Lion is a poem by Avianus. It is written in elegiac couplets. You can find this poem, Avianus 26, along with other poems by Avianus, at the aesopica.net website. The Perry number for this fable is Perry 157. You can see a 1501 woodcut illustration for this fable at the University of Mannheim website. You can find a translation of a Greek version of this story in Aesop's Fables, by Laura Gibbs (Oxford University Press, 2003).

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

Viderat excelsa pascentem rupe capellam,
Comminus esuriens cum leo ferret iter.

Et prior: heus, inquit, praeruptis ardua saxis
Linque, nec hirsutis pascua quaere iugis;

Sed cythisi croceum per prata virentia florem
Et glaucas salices et thyma grata pete.

Illa gemens: desiste, precor, fallaciter, inquit,
Securam placidis instimulare dolis.

Vera licet moneas, maiora pericula tollas,
Tu tamen his dictis non facis esse fidem.

Nam quamvis rectis constet sententia verbis,
Suspectam hanc rabidus consiliator habet.

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

Cum leo ferret iter, esuriens, comminus viderat capellam, excelsa rupe pascentem.	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.
Et prior inquit: Heus, linque ardua praeruptis saxis nec quaere pascua hirsutis iugis.
Sed pete per prata virentia cythisi croceum florem et glaucas salices et thyma grata.
Illa inquit, gemens: Desiste, precor, fallaciter instimulare securam placidis dolis.
Licet vera moneas, maiora pericula tollas, tu tamen his dictis non facis esse fidem.	licet: although this is technically a verb, it functions more like an adverb ("although you advise...") with subjunctive verbs (moneas, tollas) tollas = et tollas
Nam quamvis constet sententia rectis verbis, rabidus consiliator hanc habet suspectam.	hanc = hanc sententiam