Aesopi Carmina: Desbillons Book 14

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This project has moved to a blog of its own: Fabulae Aesopi.

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Wow, I'm almost done with this series of posts about the Latin verse fables of Desbillons; for more about Desbillons, see the starting post. There are 15 books of fables total, this is the post for Book 14. 

For each book, I've been picking out one very short poem as the focus, so here's the poem I selected from that book: it's the first poem in Book 14, and it's just 8 lines long. There's a moral pronounced by one of the characters in the story (a plant!), which is something I always like, getting to hear the punchline of the fable spoken by one of the characters in the story.

XIV.1 Spicae

Cum falcem agricola jam pararet messibus,

Erectum ad auras Spica tollebat caput;

Hinc gloriatur, ceterasque despicit

Curvo sorores capite spectantes humum,

Quarum una, "Caput hoc si tibi, ut nobis," ait,

"Esset refertum granis, non ita tolleres."

In capite vacuo laxe habitat superbia.

Here is the poem written out in English prose order to help in reading:

Cum agricola jam pararet falcem 

messibus,

Spica tollebat caput

erectum ad auras;

hinc gloriatur,

et despicit ceteras sorores 

spectantes humum curvo capite.

Una sororum ait, 

"Si tibi, ut nobis, hoc caput

esset refertum granis,

non ita tolleres."

In capite vacuo 

superbia laxe habitat.

It's a very elegant commentary on a "lofty" appearance that is actually just a sign of inner emptiness. This is not a classical fable; instead, Desbillons has adapted one of the French fable sof Eustache Le Noble.

The meter is iambic, and here is some help with the meter (for more about iambic meter, see the post about Desbillons 1.1).

Cum fal · c~ agrico · la jam · para · ret mes · sibus,

Erect~ · ad au · ras Spi · ca tol · lebat · caput;

Hinc glo · ria · tur, ce · teras · que des · picit

Curvo · soro · res capi · te spec · tantes · humum,

Quar~ u · na, Caput · hoc si · tib~ ut · nobis · ait,

Esset · refer · tum gra · nis, non · ita tol · leres.

In capi · te vacu · o lax~ · habitat · super · bia.

I found this image at PxFuel and I used imgflip to make it a graphic:

More poems in Desbillons, Book 14:

1. spicae (lines: 7)
2. Persa apud Gallum hospes (lines: 20+)
3. pulex et homo (lines: 16)
4. aves deceptae (lines: 12)
5. villicus et canes (lines: 11)
6. equi duo (lines: 18)
7. ficus et aves (lines: 8)
8. aesculus, agricolae, et pagi dominus (lines: 20+)
9. melis fetida et canis (lines: 16)
10. rusticus, eius filius, et eiusdem asellus (lines: 20+)
11. hirundo et aves aliae (lines: 20+)
12. homo et pulex (lines: 20+)
13. aranea et podagra (lines: 20+)
14. sol, mors, et vallis (lines: 18)
15. puer et nux castanea (lines: 16)
16. arbuscula et arbores (lines: 20+)
17. poeta et anser (lines: 20+)
18. colubra et ericius (lines: 12)
19. vinum et amphorae (lines: 12)
20. mus captus (lines: 20+)
21. citrus et aliae arbores (lines: 19)
22. hirundo et eius filia (lines: 20+)
23. asellus junior (lines: 12)
24. culex in casa, tum in aula (lines: 20+)
25. gallina et philosophus (lines: 19)
26. aranea et bombyx (lines: 20+)
27. gallus et vulpecula (lines: 20+)
28. magus et circulator (lines: 20+)
29. cimex, pulex, et culex (lines: 20+)
30. sciurus et nuces (lines: 20+)
31. cisterna et rivulus (lines: 20+)
32. nanus et gigas (lines: 10)
33. leo et simius (lines: 20+)