Legenda: Aves et Homo Pius

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Aves et Homo Pius

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

The story of The Birds and the "Pious" Man is a poem from a medieval Romulus (rhymed). It is written in the Goliardic meter.

You can find this poem, Romulus 2.24, along with other fables from the Romulus collections, at the aesopica.net website. The Perry number for this fable is Perry 576.

The joke of this fable depends upon the foolish birds not understanding the bird lime which the birdcatcher is using. Bird lime is a sticky substance made from mistletoe or holly bark which is smeared on twigs and used to trap small birds. The Latin word for mistletoe is viscum, so the man is using twigs that are viscatae, "coated with birdlime made from mistletoe."

You can see a 1501 woodcut illustration for this fable at the University of Mannheim website.

You can find a translation of a different version of this fable (from another one of the Romulus collections) 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):

Aves, verno tempore    dudum convenerunt
Et sonoris vocibus     cantus ediderunt.
Quae Virum cum virgulis     viscatis viderunt,
Sed fatuae nullam penitus fraudem timuerunt.

Tunc una mitissima     coepit proclamare:
Virum pium video     nobis praeparare
Vias, nostri miserens,     et luget amare,
Nobis compatiens; sic nos se monstrat amare.

Sed una prae ceteris     prudens habebatur,
Dicens quod insidias     hic vir machinatur.
Fugam monet sed eius     vox non acceptatur.
Denique quaeque ruunt; indemnis sola moratur.

Moralitas.
Hic docti consilium     monet acceptare,
Per quod vitae valeas     damna devitare.
Si prudentis dogmata     non vis auscultare,
Rem stultam facies et eris stultissimus a re.

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

Verno tempore, Aves dudum convenerunt et cantus ediderunt sonoris vocibus.	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.
Quae viderunt Virum cum virgulis viscatis, sed - fatuae! - nullam fraudem penitus timuerunt.
Tunc una mitissima coepit proclamare:
Video virum pium nobis praeparare vias, miserens nostri, et amare luget, compatiens nobis.
Sic monstrat se nos amare.
Sed una prudens habebatur prae ceteris, dicens quod hic vir inisidias machinatur.
Monet fugam, sed eius vox non acceptatur.
Denique quaeque ruunt; sola moratur indemnis.
Moralitas. Hic monet acceptare consilium docti, per quod valeas devitare vitae damna.
Si non vis auscultare dogmata prudentis, facies rem stultam et eris stultissimus a re.