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Phaedrus · Fabulae I

Phaedrus 1.5

The cow, the goat, the sheep and the lion

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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.

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Grammar in this passage: cum clauses ×1, ablative absolute ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (54 words)
numquam, adv.never
sum, esse, fuī, futūrusbe
fidēlis, -efaithful, loyal
cum, prep, with abl.with
potēns, -entispowerful
societās, -ātis f.alliance, partnership
testor, -ārī, -ātus sumbear 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, -ummy, mine
vacca, -ae f.cow
et, conj.and; et ... et, both ... and
capella, -ae f.she-goat, little goat
patiēns, -entispatient, 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, captustake, catch, seize; receive, suffer; adopt
cervus, -ī, m.stag
vāstus, -a, -umwaste, huge, enormous, vast
corpus, corporis, n.body
sīc, adv.so, thus
loquor, loquī, locūtusspeak
pars, partis, f.part, side, direction
faciō, facere, fēcī, factusmake, do; iter facere, see iter
ego, meī, pers. pron.I
prīmus, -a, -umfirst, foremost
tollō, tollere, sustulī, sublātuslift, raise; take away, remove; ancorās tollere, to weigh anchor
nōminō, -āre, -āvī, -ātumname, mention
quia (conj.)because
secundus, -a, -umfollowing, favorable
fortis, -ebrave
tribuō, -ere, tribuī, tribūtumassign, attribute
tum, adv.then, at that time
plūs (adv.)more
valeō, -ēre, -uī, -itūrusbe strong or effectual, have effect, prevail
sequor, sequī, secūtusfollow
tertius, -a, -umthird
malum, -ī, n.evil, mischief
afficiō, -ere, -fēcī, -fectumaffect, afflict
sī, conj.if
quis, qua, quid, indef. pron.any one, anybody, anything, some one, somebody, something
quartus, -a, -umfourth
tangō, tangere, tetigī, tāctustouch
tōtus, -a, -umall the, the whole or entire
praeda, -ae, f.booty, spoil, plunder
sōlus, -a, -umalone
improbitās, -ātis f.wickedness, dishonesty
auferō, auferre, abstulī, ablātusbear 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.