The Latin reading blog: Phaedrus: an old woman and a furious panther, but fortunately not in the same fable!

From the 19^th century till the thirties of the last century the German publishing house Teubner had an enormous output of classical texts with an apparatus criticus and texts with a commentary, both scholarly and for schools. I think they have abandoned publishing commentaries after the war and I am not quite sure if they still publish critical editions. Last week I was in a second-hand bookshop and literally in a corner on the lowest shelf I found a few dozen of 19^th century school editions for 50 cent each. Most were in a very bad state, falling apart as soon as opened, but a few were still in a reasonable condition, so I bought a couple of books. Among these was a school edition of Phaedrus (Siebelis, revised by Polle, 1889) with almost all the fables, be it that some lines have been left out as the editor thought these unfit for young boys. Fortunately times have changed and nowadays pupils are well aware that the Romans had a sex life.

Even for a fairly easy writer as Phaedrus a commentary is indispensable for understanding references, implicit lines of thought and Latin expressions. I will give two examples, quite at random as the book fell open on these pages.

The first fable is actually not a fable, but a kind of plea for the reader. After the successful publication of his first two books of fables, Phaedrus has written a third book and is not quite sure if it will match the success of his previous books. In this poem an old woman sees a jar which has contained old exquisite wine. She can still smell the flagrance and thinks of how lovely that wine must have been. The old woman, the commentary explains, is a reader who has read the previous books and is now about to read the third book and the wine refers to the earlier books. But how could she know it was old wine? Well, on jars of wine the kind of wine was inscribed as well as the names of the consuls of the year the wine was produced. I never knew!

The second fable is about a panther that had fallen in a pit. Some herdsmen throw sticks and stones at her, some bread, though I don’t think that is the kind of food panthers like in particular. Finally the panther is able to jump out of the pit, devastates the country - in the fable the panther has the power of a Tyrannosaurus Rex - and kills the herdsmen who threw sticks stones. The commentary suggests that this fable refers to Tiberius, who after his exile to Rhodes came back to Rome in 2 AD and took revenge on his enemies. Here I am a bit sceptical: when this took place, Phaedrus was about 17 and at the publication of his third book of fables, this must have been quite some time ago. Reading a commentary is also a discussion with the author.

Phaedrus 3.1. Anus ad Amphoram

Meter: iambic trimester http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iambic_trimeter

Anus iacere uidit epotam amphoram,

adhuc Falerna faece e testa nobili

odorem quae iucundum late spargeret.

Hunc postquam totis auida traxit naribus:

"O suauis anima, quale in te dicam bonum

antehac fuisse, tales cum sint reliquiae!"

Hoc quo pertineat dicet qui me nouerit.

anus, anus (f.): old woman

epotus: drunken out, empty

adhuc Falerna faece e testa nobili: still with dreg of Falernian wine from a noble jar (Falernian wine was the best.)

odorem iucundum: a pleasant smell

late: widely

spargo sparsi sparsum: to spread

avida: eagerly (Latin can use an adjective where English requires an adverb, cf, inprudens and securi below)

traho traxi tractum: to draw

naris naris (f.): nose (from an older nasis)

anima: smell

quale in te dicam bonum antehac fuisse, tales cum sint reliquiae: As good as I say you (the wine) must have been before in (the jar), such are your remains.

Hoc quo pertineat dicet qui me nouerit.: What this is about, he may tell, who knows me.

Phaedrus 3,2: Panthera et Pastores

Meter: iambic trimeter

Solet a despectis par referri gratia.

Panthera inprudens olim in foueam decidit.

Videre agrestes; alii fustes congerunt,

alii onerant saxis; quidam contra miseriti

periturae quippe, quamuis nemo laederet,

misere panem ut sustineret spiritum.

Nox insecuta est; abeunt securi domum,

quasi inuenturi mortuam postridie.

At illa, uires ut refecit languidas,

ueloci saltu fouea sese liberat

et in cubile concito properat gradu.

Paucis diebus interpositis prouolat,

pecus trucidat, ipsos pastores necat,

et cuncta uastans saeuit irato impetu.

Tum sibi timentes qui ferae pepercerant

damnum haut recusant, tantum pro uita rogant.

At illa: "Memini quis me saxo petierit,

quis panem dederit; uos timere absistite;

illis reuertor hostis qui me laeserunt."

parem gratiam refero: to pay back with the same. For the whole sentence: people who are despised (despicio: to look down upon) and are thought of being incapable of revenge, can still do so.

inprudens: incautious

fovea: pit

videre = viderunt

agrestis, -is (m.): peasant

fustis , -is (m.): club, stick

congero congessi congestum: (of weapons) to throw in great numbers

onero: to load, make heavy

contra: adv. on the other hand

quidam miseriti periturae quippe: some having got pity for (the panther), who was of course (quippe) about to collapse. periturae is also indirect object to misere panem.

quamvis: although

laedo laesi laesum: to hurt

misere = miserunt

insequor insecutus sum: to follow

securi: Latin uses adjectives where English prefers adverbs:` the went safely home’.

uires ut refecit languidas: when she had strengthened her weak powers

veloci saltu: with a fast leap

et in cubile concito properat gradu: and with quick pace hastened to her den

interpositis: after a period of etc.

provolo: to rush out

trucido: to butcher, slaughter

neco: to kill