Lectitō › Phaedrus › Fables, Book 1
Phaedrus 1.7
The fox and the tragic mask
Phaedrus, Fabulae I. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in LectitōPhaedr. 1.7.1Persōnam tragicam forte vulpēs vīderat:
Ō quanta speciēs, inquit, cerebrum nōn habet!
A fox had happened to see a tragic actor's mask: 'Oh, what a fine face,' she said, 'and it has no brain!'
Note. persōnam tragicam: the mask worn by an actor in tragedy. quanta speciēs: 'what a handsome face!'. The fox's joke: it has no brain.
Phaedr. 1.7.3Hoc illīs dictum est, quibus honōrem et glōriam
fortūna tribuit, sēnsum commūnem abstulit.
This is said of those to whom fortune has given honour and glory, but taken away common sense.
Note. illīs … quibus: 'to those to whom'. sēnsum commūnem: 'common sense'.
Vocabulary
| persōna, -ae f. | mask; character, role; personal standing |
| tragicus, -a, -um | tragic, like a tragedy |
| forte, adv. | by chance, accidentally |
| vulpēs, -is f. | fox |
| videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus | see; pass., seem |
| ō (interj.) | O! oh! |
| quantus, -a, -um | how great or much? |
| speciēs, -ēī, f. | sight, appearance, shape |
| inquam, inquis, inquit, defective verb | I say, you say, he says |
| cerebrum, -ī n. | brain; good sense |
| nōn, adv. | not |
| habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus | have, hold; consider |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| ille, illa, illud, dem. pron. | that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc |
| dīcō, dīcere, dīxī, dictus | say, speak; diem dīcere, to appoint or set a day |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| honor, -ōris, m. | honor |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| glōria, -ae, f. | glory |
| fortūna, -ae, f. | fortune |
| tribuō, -ere, tribuī, tribūtum | assign, attribute |
| sēnsus, -ūs m. | feeling, sensation; perception; sentiment |
| commūnis, -e | common, shared, public |
| auferō, auferre, abstulī, ablātus | bear away, carry off |