Phaedrus 1.1

Phaedr. 1.1.1Ad rīvum eundem lupus et agnus vēnerant
sitī compulsī;

A wolf and a lamb had come to the same stream, driven by thirst;

Note. Phaedrus writes in iambic senarii, the six-foot verse of Roman comedy, so the word order is freer than in prose. vēnerant: pluperfect, 'had come'. sitī compulsī: 'driven by thirst'; sitī is ablative of sitis, which keeps -ī like turris.

Phaedr. 1.1.2superior stābat lupus
longēque īnferior agnus.

the wolf stood upstream, and the lamb far below.

Note. superior … inferior: 'higher up … lower down' the stream. The point matters: water flows from the wolf to the lamb, not the other way. stābat is understood again with agnus.

Phaedr. 1.1.3Tunc fauce improbā
latrō incitātus iūrgiī causam intulit.

Then the robber, spurred on by his wicked appetite, brought in a pretext for a quarrel.

Note. faux improba: literally 'wicked gullet', i.e. his greedy appetite. latrō: the wolf is called a 'robber'. iūrgiī causam intulit: 'brought in a cause for a quarrel', i.e. invented a pretext.

Phaedr. 1.1.5Cūr, inquit, turbulentam fēcistī mihi
aquam bibentī?

'Why,' he said, 'have you made the water muddy for me while I am drinking?'

Note. inquit ('he says') is always placed after the first word or two of a quotation. turbulentam fēcistī … aquam: 'you have made the water muddy'; the adjective is the predicate. mihi … bibentī: dative, 'for me as I drink'.

Phaedr. 1.1.6Lāniger contrā timēns:
quī possum, quaesō, facere, quod quereris, lupe?

The woolly one answered in fear: 'How can I do what you complain of, wolf, please?

Note. lāniger: 'the wool-bearer', a poetic name for the lamb. quī: an old adverb, 'how?'. quod quereris: 'what you complain of'; quereris is the 2nd singular of the deponent queror. lupe: vocative.

Phaedr. 1.1.8Ā tē dēcurrit ad meōs haustūs liquor.

The water runs down from you to where I drink.'

Note. The lamb's answer is simple logic: the water runs from you to my drinking-place. haustūs: accusative plural, 'drinkings', i.e. where I drink.

Phaedr. 1.1.9Repulsus ille vēritātis vīribus:
10ante hōs sex mēnsēs male, ait, dīxistī mihi.

Driven back by the force of the truth, the wolf said: 'Six months ago you spoke ill of me.'

Note. Repulsus … vīribus: 'beaten back by the force of the truth'. male dīcere + dative: 'to speak ill of, insult'. ante hōs sex mēnsēs: 'six months ago'.

Phaedr. 1.1.11Respondit agnus: Equidem nātus nōn eram.

The lamb replied: 'But I was not even born.'

Note. Equidem: 'indeed, but I …', often used with the first person. nātus nōn eram: 'I had not been born'. nātus is from the deponent nāscor.

Phaedr. 1.1.12Pater hercle tuus, ille inquit, male dīxit mihi.

'Your father, by Hercules, spoke ill of me,' said the wolf.

Note. hercle: a mild oath, 'by Hercules!'. The wolf drops all pretence of an argument.

Phaedr. 1.1.13Atque ita correptum lacerat iniūstā nece.

And so he seized him and tore him apart, an unjust death.

Note. correptum: the lamb, 'seized'. Supply eum. lacerat: vivid present. iniūstā nece: ablative of manner, 'with an unjust killing'.

Phaedr. 1.1.14Haec propter illōs scrīpta est hominēs fābula,
15quī fictīs causīs innocentēs opprimunt.

This fable was written about those people who crush the innocent on invented charges.

Note. The moral comes at the end here (an epimythium). Haec … fābula: the two words frame the line. fictīs causīs: 'on made-up charges'.