Phaedr. 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'.
Lectitō › Phaedrus › Fables, Book 1 › Phaedrus 1.7
Phaedrus · Fabulae I
Phaedrus 1.7
The fox and the tragic mask
Read the Latin itself: tap any word for its meaning and grammar, save words to review, and keep your place.
Read in LectitōLatin vocabulary for this passage (25 words)
| 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 |
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.