Lectitō › Phaedrus › Fables, Book 1
Phaedrus 1.28
The fox and the eagle
Phaedrus, Fabulae I. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in LectitōPhaedr. 1.28.1Quamvīs sublīmēs dēbent humilēs metuere,
vindicta docilī quia patet sollertiae.
However high people are, they ought to fear the lowly, because revenge is open to patient cleverness.
Note. Quamvīs sublīmēs: 'however high'. docilī … sollertiae: 'to patient cleverness'.
Phaedr. 1.28.3Vulpīnōs catulōs aquila quondam sustulit
nīdōque posuit pullīs, ēscam ut carperent.
An eagle once carried off a fox's cubs and put them in her nest for her chicks to eat as food.
Note. Vulpīnōs catulōs: 'a fox's cubs'. pullīs: 'for her chicks'. escam ut carperent: 'to pick at as food'.
Phaedr. 1.28.5Hanc persecūta māter ōrāre incipit,
nē tantum miserae lūctum importāret sibi.
The mother followed her and began to plead with her not to bring such grief on her, poor creature.
Note. persecūta: 'following'. nē … importāret: 'not to bring'. miserae … sibi: 'on her, poor creature'.
Phaedr. 1.28.7Contempsit illa, tūta quippe ipsō locō.
The eagle scorned her, feeling safe, of course, because of the very place.
Note. tūta quippe ipsō locō: 'safe, of course, because of the place itself', high up in a tree.
Phaedr. 1.28.8Vulpēs ab ārā rapuit ārdentem facem
tōtamque flammīs arborem circumdedit,
10hostī dolōrem damnō miscēns sanguinis.
The fox snatched a burning torch from an altar and surrounded the whole tree with flames, mixing grief for her enemy with the loss of her own blood.
Note. ardentem facem: 'a burning torch'. hostī dolōrem damnō miscēns sanguinis: 'mixing grief for her enemy with the loss of (the eagle's own) blood', i.e. her chicks.
Phaedr. 1.28.11Aquila ut perīclō mortis ēriperet suōs
incolumēs nātōs supplex vulpī trādidit.
To snatch her own young from the danger of death, the eagle, now a suppliant, handed the fox's cubs back to her unharmed.
Note. ut … ēriperet: purpose. periclō = perīculō. supplex: 'as a suppliant'. vulpī: dative.
Vocabulary
| quamvīs (adv.) | however much, as … as you like |
| sublīmis, -e | high, lofty; in sublīme: up on high |
| dēbeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus | owe; with infin., ought |
| humilis, -e | low; humble, poor |
| metuō, -ere, metuī | fear, be afraid of |
| vindicta, -ae f. | vengeance, revenge |
| docilis, -e | teachable, quick to learn; patient, persistent |
| quia (conj.) | because |
| pateō, -ēre, -uī | lie open; extend, stretch |
| sollertia, -ae f. | ingenuity, resourcefulness |
| vulpīnus, -a, -um | of a fox, fox's |
| catulus, -ī m. | young animal, cub, whelp |
| aquila, -ae f. | eagle; the eagle standard of a legion |
| quondam (adv.) | once, formerly, at one time |
| tollō, tollere, sustulī, sublātus | lift, raise; take away, remove; ancorās tollere, to weigh anchor |
| nīdus, -ī m. | nest |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| pōnō, pōnere, posuī, positus | place, put; pōnī with in and abl., to be placed in, rest or depend on |
| pullus, -a, -um | dark, dusky, (of mourning clothes) dark grey or black |
| ēsca, -ae f. | food |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| carpō, -ere, -sī, -tus | pluck |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| persequor, -sequī, -secūtus | follow up, pursue |
| māter, mātris, f. | mother |
| ōrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | speak; beg, pray |
| incipiō, -ere, incēpī, inceptum | begin |
| nē, adv. | not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest |
| tantus, -a, -um | so great or much |
| miser, misera, miserum | wretched, unhappy |
| lūctus, -ūs m. | grief, mourning |
| importō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | bring in, import |
| suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron. | himself, herself, itself, themselves |
| contemnō, -ere, -tempsī, -temptus | despise, scorn, think little of |
| ille, illa, illud, dem. pron. | that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc |
| tūtus, -a, -um | safe |
| quippe (adv.) | of course, indeed, for |
| ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron. | self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very |
| locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n. | place, situation |
| vulpēs, -is f. | fox |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| āra, -ae, f. | altar |
| rapiō, -ere, -uī, -tus | seize, snatch |
| ārdeō, ārdēre, ārsī, ārsus | be on fire, burn |
| fax, facis, f. | torch, firebrand |
| tōtus, -a, -um | all the, the whole or entire |
| flamma, -ae, f. | flame |
| arbor, -oris, f. | tree |
| circumdō, -dare, -dedī, -datus | put around, surround |
| hostis, -is, m. and f. | enemy, foe |
| dolor, -ōris, m. | pain, grief; anger |
| damnum, -ī, n. | harm, injury |
| misceō, miscēre, miscuī, mīxtus | mix, mingle |
| sanguis, sanguinis, m. | blood |
| perīculum, -ī, n. | danger, peril, risk |
| mors, mortīs, f. | death |
| ēripiō, -ripere, -ripuī, -reptus | snatch out or away, rescue |
| suus, -a, -um | his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their |
| incolumis, -e | unhurt, safe |
| nātus, -ī m. | son; (pl.) children |
| supplex, -icis | begging, as a suppliant |
| trādō, -dere, -didī, -ditus | give across, over, or up, deliver; hand down, relate, report |