Lectitō › Phaedrus › Fables, Book 1
Phaedrus 1.18
The woman in labour
Phaedrus, Fabulae I. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in LectitōPhaedr. 1.18.1Nēmō libenter recolit quī laesit locum.
No one willingly goes back to a place that has hurt him.
Note. The promythium: nēmō … recolit … locum: 'no one goes back to the place'. quī laesit: 'which hurt him'.
Phaedr. 1.18.2Īnstante partū mulier āctīs mēnsibus
humī iacēbat flēbilis gemitūs ciēns.
Her months complete and her labour upon her, a woman lay on the ground, weeping and groaning.
Note. Īnstante partū: ablative absolute, 'with the birth upon her'. āctīs mēnsibus: 'her months completed'. humī: locative, 'on the ground'.
Phaedr. 1.18.4Vir est hortātus, corpus lectō reciperet,
5onus nātūrae melius quō dēpōneret.
Her husband urged her to take herself to bed, where she could put down nature's burden more comfortably.
Note. est hortātus: 'urged'. corpus lectō reciperet: 'that she should take herself to bed'; ut is left out. quō … dēpōneret: 'where she might lay down'.
Phaedr. 1.18.6Minimē, inquit, illō posse cōnfīdō locō
malum fīnīrī, quō conceptum est initiō.
'Not at all,' she said, 'I do not trust that the trouble can end in the same place where it began.'
Note. Minimē: 'not at all'. illō … locō … quō … initiō: 'in the place where the trouble began'.
Vocabulary
| nēmō, nēminis, m. and f. | no one, nobody |
| libenter, adv. | willingly, gladly |
| recolō, -ere, -coluī, -cultus | cultivate again; take up again, renew |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| laedō, -ere, laesī, laesus | hurt, injure; break (an oath) |
| locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n. | place, situation |
| īnstō, -āre, -stitī | press on; be at hand |
| partus, -ūs m. | birth; offspring |
| mulier, mulieris, f. | woman |
| agō, agere, ēgī, āctus | drive; do; pass, lead; grātiās agere, see grātia |
| mēnsis, -is m. | month |
| humus, -ī f. | ground, earth; humī: on the ground |
| iaceō, -ēre, -uī | lie, be prostrate |
| flēbilis, -e | tearful, mournful; (adv.) flēbiliter: tearfully |
| gemitus, -ūs m. | groan, sigh |
| cieō, ciēre, cīvī, citus | set in motion, stir up; pugnam ciēre: start the fight |
| vir, virī, m. | man |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| hortor, -ārī, -ātus | exhort, encourage, urge |
| corpus, corporis, n. | body |
| lectus, -ī m. | bed, couch |
| recipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus | take or get back, recover; sē recipere, to betake oneself, withdraw; to collect oneself, recover |
| onus, oneris n. | load, weight |
| nātūra, -ae, f. | nature, character |
| bene, adv. | well; successfully |
| quō, adv. | to what place? whither? to which place, whither; for which reason, wherefore, therefore; quō ūsque, till when? how long? |
| dēpōnō, -pōnere, -posuī, -positus | put down, deposit; lay aside, give up; ē memoriā dēpōnere, to forget |
| minimē, adv. | least, very little; by no means, not at all |
| inquam, inquis, inquit, defective verb | I say, you say, he says |
| ille, illa, illud, dem. pron. | that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc |
| possum, posse, potuī | be able, have power, can |
| cōnfīdō, -ere, cōnfīsus sum | trust, be confident |
| malum, -ī, n. | evil, mischief |
| fīniō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus | bound, limit; end |
| concipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus | take in, conceive; plan, imagine |
| initium, -ī, n. | beginning |