Phaedr. 1.5.1Numquam est fidēlis cum potente societās:
testātur haec fābella prōpositum meum.Partnership with the powerful is never to be trusted: this little fable bears out my point.Note. societās: 'partnership'. testātur: deponent, 'bears witness to'. prōpositum meum: 'my claim, my point'. Phaedr. 1.5.3Vacca et capella et patiēns ovis iniūriae
sociī fuēre cum leōne in saltibus.A cow, a she-goat and a sheep that patiently bears wrong were partners with a lion in the woods.Note. patiēns ovis iniūriae: 'the sheep, patient of wrong'; patiēns takes a genitive here. fuēre = fuērunt. Phaedr. 1.5.5Hī cum cēpissent cervum vāstī corporis,
sīc est locūtus, partibus factīs, leō:
ego prīmam tollō,nōminor quia leō;When they had caught a stag of huge size, the lion divided it into parts and spoke as follows: 'I take the first, because I am called lion;Note. partibus factīs: ablative absolute, 'when the parts had been made'. prīmam (partem) tollō: 'I take the first part'. nōminor quia leō: 'because I am called Lion', a title, not a reason! Phaedr. 1.5.8secundam, quia sum fortis, tribuētis mihi;the second you will grant me because I am strong;Note. secundam (partem). tribuētis: future, 'you will give'. Phaedr. 1.5.9tum, quia plūs valeō, mē sequētur tertia;then, because I am stronger, the third will follow me;Note. plūs valeō: 'I am stronger'. mē sequētur tertia: 'the third (part) will follow me'. Phaedr. 1.5.10malō afficiētur sī quis quārtam tetigerit.and harm will come to anyone who touches the fourth.'Note. malō afficiētur: 'he will be affected with harm', i.e. he will suffer for it. tetigerit: future perfect, 'touches'. Phaedr. 1.5.11Sīc tōtam praedam sōla improbitās abstulit.So wickedness alone carried off the whole prize.Note. Sīc: 'in this way'. sōla improbitās: 'wickedness alone' carried off the whole. The phrase 'the lion's share' comes from this fable.
Lectitō › Phaedrus › Fables, Book 1 › Phaedrus 1.5
Phaedrus · Fabulae I
Phaedrus 1.5
The cow, the goat, the sheep and the lion
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Read in LectitōGrammar in this passage: cum clauses ×1, ablative absolute ×1
Latin vocabulary for this passage (54 words)
| numquam, adv. | never |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| fidēlis, -e | faithful, loyal |
| cum, prep, with abl. | with |
| potēns, -entis | powerful |
| societās, -ātis f. | alliance, partnership |
| testor, -ārī, -ātus sum | bear witness, declare, call to witness |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| fābella, -ae f. | little story, fable |
| prōpositum, -ī n. | plan, purpose; the point being made, theme |
| meus, -a, -um | my, mine |
| vacca, -ae f. | cow |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| capella, -ae f. | she-goat, little goat |
| patiēns, -entis | patient, able to endure |
| ovis, -is, f. | sheep |
| iniūria, -ae, f. | injury, wrong, hurt, harm |
| socius, -ī, m. | companion, comrade, ally |
| leō, -ōnis, m. | lion |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| saltus, -ūs m. | wooded pass, forest glade, woodland |
| cum, conj. | when, while, after; since; although |
| capiō, capere, cēpī, captus | take, catch, seize; receive, suffer; adopt |
| cervus, -ī, m. | stag |
| vāstus, -a, -um | waste, huge, enormous, vast |
| corpus, corporis, n. | body |
| sīc, adv. | so, thus |
| loquor, loquī, locūtus | speak |
| pars, partis, f. | part, side, direction |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factus | make, do; iter facere, see iter |
| ego, meī, pers. pron. | I |
| prīmus, -a, -um | first, foremost |
| tollō, tollere, sustulī, sublātus | lift, raise; take away, remove; ancorās tollere, to weigh anchor |
| nōminō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | name, mention |
| quia (conj.) | because |
| secundus, -a, -um | following, favorable |
| fortis, -e | brave |
| tribuō, -ere, tribuī, tribūtum | assign, attribute |
| tum, adv. | then, at that time |
| plūs (adv.) | more |
| valeō, -ēre, -uī, -itūrus | be strong or effectual, have effect, prevail |
| sequor, sequī, secūtus | follow |
| tertius, -a, -um | third |
| malum, -ī, n. | evil, mischief |
| afficiō, -ere, -fēcī, -fectum | affect, afflict |
| sī, conj. | if |
| quis, qua, quid, indef. pron. | any one, anybody, anything, some one, somebody, something |
| quartus, -a, -um | fourth |
| tangō, tangere, tetigī, tāctus | touch |
| tōtus, -a, -um | all the, the whole or entire |
| praeda, -ae, f. | booty, spoil, plunder |
| sōlus, -a, -um | alone |
| improbitās, -ātis f. | wickedness, dishonesty |
| auferō, auferre, abstulī, ablātus | bear away, carry off |
Phaedrus, Fabulae I. Latin text: L. Mueller (Teubner, 1876), public domain; digital text from the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA. Word analysis: LatinCy, then every word checked and corrected by hand. Vocabulary: F. Ritchie (1903, public domain) and entries written for this app. English translation, notes and grammar hints: written for this app.