Monday, March 22, 2010

Vulpis et Caper (Phaedrus)

SOURCE: For a complete edition of Phaedrus with macrons, see the edition by J.H. Drake at GoogleBooks. This is fable 4.9 in Phaedrus. For parallel versions, see Perry 9.

READ OUT LOUD. Choose which marked text you prefer to practice with - macrons in verse form, or macrons in prose order, or accent marks in prose order, or focusing on the iambic meter. You will find materials for all of these options below. :-)


VERSE MACRONS. Here is the verse text with macrons:

Homō in perīclum simul ac vēnit callidus,
reperīre effugium quaerit alterius malō.
Cum dēcidisset volpēs in puteum īnscia
et altiōre clauderētur margine,
dēvēnit hīrcus sitiēns in eundem locum.
Simul rogāvit, esset an dulcis liquor
et cōpiōsus, illa fraudem mōliēns:
"Dēscende, amīce; tanta bonitās est aquae,
voluptās ut satiārī nōn possit mea."
Immīsit sē barbātus. Tum volpēcula
ēvāsit puteō, nīxa celsīs cornibus,
hīrcumque clausō līquit haerentem vadō.



PROSE MACRONS. Here is the same text with macrons written out in prose word order:

Homō callidus simul ac vēnit in perīclum, effugium reperīre quaerit, alterius malō. Cum volpēs īnscia in puteum dēcidisset et margine altiōre clauderētur, hīrcus, sitiēns, in eundem locum dēvēnit. Simul rogāvit an liquor esset dulcis et cōpiōsus, illa, fraudem mōliēns, inquit: "Dēscende, amīce; aquae tanta bonitās est, ut voluptās mea satiārī nōn possit." Barbātus sē immīsit. Tum volpēcula, celsīs cornibus nīxa, puteō ēvāsit, et hīrcum līquit, vadō clausō haerentem.


STRESS (ACCENT) MARKS. Here is the prose text with accents, plus some color-coding for the words of three or more syllables (blue: penultimate stress; red: antepenultimate stress):

Homo cállidus simul ac venit in períclum, effúgium reperíre quaerit, alteríus malo. Cum volpes ínscia in púteum decidísset et márgine altióre clauderétur, hircus, sítiens, in eúndem locum devénit. Simul rogávit an liquor esset dulcis et copiósus, illa, fraudem móliens, inquit: "Descénde, amíce; aquae tanta bónitas est, ut volúptas mea satiári non possit." Barbátus se immísit. Tum volpécula, celsis córnibus nixa, púteo evásit, et hircum liquit, vado clauso haeréntem.


IAMBIC METER. Here is the verse text with some color coding to assist in the iambic meter. The disyllabic elements (iambs/spondees) are not marked, but the trisyllabic elements are color-coded: dactyls are red, anapests are purple, and tribrachs are green (as is any proceleusmaticus, although that is a rare creature); for more information, here are some Notes on Iambic Meter.

Hom~ in· perī·clum simul· ac vē·nit cal·lidus,
reperī·r~ effugi·um quae·rit al·terius· malō.
Cum dē·cidis·set vol·pēs in· pute~ īn·scia
et al·tiō·re clau·derē·tur mar·gine,
dēvē·nit hīr·cus siti·ēns in e·undem· locum.
Simul· rogā·vit, es·set an· dulcis· liquor
et cō·piō·sus, il·la frau·dem mō·liēns:
"Dēscen·d~, amī·ce; tan·ta boni·tās est· aquae,
volup·tās ut· satiā·rī nōn· possit· mea."
Immī·sit sē· barbā·tus. Tum· volpē·cula
ēvā·sit pute·ō, nīx·a cel·sīs cor·nibus,
hīrcum·que clau·sō lī·quit hae·rentem· vadō.



IMAGE. Here is an illustration for the story (image source).


What follows is an unmarked version of the prose rendering to faciliate word searches:
Homo callidus simul ac venit in periclum, effugium reperire quaerit, alterius malo. Cum volpes inscia in puteum decidisset et margine altiore clauderetur, hircus, sitiens, in eundem locum devenit. Simul rogavit an liquor esset dulcis et copiosus, illa, fraudem moliens, inquit: "Descende, amice; aquae tanta bonitas est, ut voluptas mea satiari non possit." Barbatus se immisit. Tum volpecula, celsis cornibus nixa, puteo evasit, et hircum liquit, vado clauso haerentem.