Lectitō › Phaedrus › Fables, Book 1
Phaedrus 1.20
The greedy dogs
Phaedrus, Fabulae I. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
Tap any word for its meaning and grammar, save words to review, and track your reading.
Read in LectitōPhaedr. 1.20.1Stultum cōnsilium nōn modo effectū caret,
sed ad perniciem quoque mortālīs dēvocat.
A foolish plan not only fails to succeed but even lures mortals to their ruin.
Note. nōn modo … sed … quoque: 'not only … but also'. effectū caret: 'lacks success'. mortālīs = mortālēs.
Phaedr. 1.20.3Corium dēpressum in fluviō vīdērunt canēs.
Some dogs saw a hide sunk in a river.
Note. Corium: 'a hide'. dēpressum: 'sunk'.
Phaedr. 1.20.4Id ut comēsse extrāctum possent facilius,
5aquam coepēre ēbibere: sed ruptī prius
periēre quam quod petierant contingerent.
So that they could pull it out and eat it more easily, they began to drink up the water; but they burst and died before they could reach what they were after.
Note. Id ut comēsse extractum possent: 'so that they could pull it out and eat it'. rūptī: 'burst'. prius … quam: 'before'.
Vocabulary
| stultus, -a, -um | foolish, stupid |
| cōnsilium, -ī, n. | advice; plan, design, purpose; prudence |
| nōn, adv. | not |
| modo, adv. | only |
| effectus, -ūs m. | result, accomplishment, success |
| careō, -ēre, -uī | be without, lack (+ abl.) |
| sed, conj. | but |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| perniciēs, -ēī f. | ruin, destruction |
| quoque, adv. | also |
| mortālis, -e | mortal |
| dēvocō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | call away; in dubium dēvocāre: put at risk |
| corium, -ī, n. | hide, leather |
| dēprimō, -ere, -pressī, -pressum | press down, sink; depressus: sunk below ground |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| fluvius, -ī m. | river, stream |
| videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus | see; pass., seem |
| canis, -is, m. and f. | dog |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| comedō, -ere (-esse), -ēdī, -ēsus | eat, eat up |
| extrahō, -trahere, -trāxī, -trāctus | draw or drag out, release, rescue |
| possum, posse, potuī | be able, have power, can |
| facile, adv. | easily |
| aqua, -ae, f. | water |
| coepī, coepisse, coeptus (used in tenses of completed action) | have begun, began |
| ēbibō, -bibere, -bibī | drink up, drain |
| rumpō, rumpere, rūpī, ruptus | break, burst |
| prius, adv. | before, first |
| pereō, -īre, -ii, -itūrus | pass away, perish |
| quam, adv. | how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| petō, -ere, -īvī or -iī, -ītus | seek, ask; attack |
| contingō, -ere, -tigī, -tāctum | touch, reach |