Aesopi Carmina: Desbillons Book 6

So, here's the latest in my series of posts about the Latin verse fables of Desbillons: it's Book 6 already! For more about Desbillons, see the starting post. For this book, I have picked out a really intense fable! So, you'll find a poem-by-poem index to Book 6 below (linking to the pages at the Internet Archive), and here's the poem I selected from that book. It's like an Aesopic version of the famous poem by the German pastor pastor Martin Niemöller: First they came... You might want to read that poem before you read the Aesop's fable.

VI.3 Boves et Lanius

Plurimi apud Lanium detinebantur Boves.

Accedit ille, unumque mactat. Ceteri,

Obsistere vellent, tot conjunctis viribus

Servare socium poterant; at contra impetum

Nil commoventur, dum se quisque decipit,

Similisque sperat cladis immunem fore.

Sic Lanius Omnes, alios post alios necat.

Homo hominis a se alienum ne reputet malum.

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

Plurimi Boves

detinebantur

apud Lanium.

Ille accedit,

et mactat unum. 

Ceteri vellent obsistere, 

tot viribus conjunctis 

poterant servare socium,

at nil commoventur

contra impetum, 

dum quisque decipit se,

et sperat

[se] fore immunem

similis cladis.

Sic Lanius 

omnes [boves], 

necat alios post alios.

Homo ne reputet

hominis malum 

[esse] alienum a se.

The tricky thing about this poem is the hypothetical statement: vellent obsistere, "were they to resist" which then has an indicative verb, poterant. The contrary-to-fact part of the conditional is their willingness to resist, hence the subjunctive. The indicative then gives a factual quality to would they could do; they really could save one another: poterant servare socium.

The moral, Homo hominis a se alienum ne reputet malum, echoes the famous humanist motto adopted from Terence: Homo sum, humani nihil a me alienum puto. Desbillons thus calls upon human solidarity in the face of evil; a threat to the well-being of one is a threat to all.

In the Aesopic tradition, this story is usually told about sheep rather than cattle, as you can see in the illustration from Steinhowel below, although I like the idea of telling the story instead about cattle. It is certainly easier to imagine a herd of cattle overcoming the man who has come to kill them!

Aesop's fables are sometimes on the side of the downtrodden and exploited, but sometimes just the opposite, being used as a propaganda tool by the powerful to keep the poor in their place, as you can see in this very different fable about cattle and butchers which comes from the classical Greek Aesopic tradition: The oxen once upon a time sought to destroy the Butchers, who practiced a trade destructive to their race. They assembled on a certain day to carry out their purpose, and sharpened their horns for the contest. But one of them who was exceedingly old (for many a field had he plowed) thus spoke: “These Butchers, it is true, slaughter us, but they do so with skillful hands, and with no unnecessary pain. If we get rid of them, we shall fall into the hands of unskillful operators, and thus suffer a double death: for you may be assured, that though all the Butchers should perish, yet will men never want beef.” Do not be in a hurry to change one evil for another.

How grim is that? I far prefer the medieval fable, urging us to rise up and rid ourselves of the butchers.

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

Plurim~ a · pud Lani · um de · tine · bantur · Boves.

Acce · dit ill~ · unum · que mac · tat. Ce · teri,

Obsis · tere vel · lent, tot · conjunc · tis vi · ribus

Serva · re soci · um pote · rant; at · contr~ im · petum

Nil com · moven · tur, dum · se quis · que de · cipit,

Similis · que spe · rat cla · dis im · munem · fore.

Sic Lani · us Om · nes, ali · os post · alios · necat.

Hom~ homi · nis a · s~ alie · num ne · reputet · malum.

More poems in Desbillons, Book 6:

1. villicus et canis (lines: 20+)
2. ursus et uxor eius (lines: 10)
3. boves et lanius (lines: 8)
4. aquila et pavo (lines: 7)
5. Jupiter, Apollo et Momus (lines: 9)
6. puer et superbus (lines: 10)
7. murium conventus (lines: 20+)
8. ranunculus et rana (lines: 11)
9. nitedula et mustela (lines: 18)
10. quercus et arundo (lines: 19)
11. puer et paedagogus (lines: 18)
12. puella rustica et lactis cymbium (lines: 17)
13. leo bellum parans (lines: 20+)
14. pastor et molossus (lines: 13)
15. ostrea et viatores (lines: 13)
16. sculptores duo et Aesopus (lines: 12)
17. asini duo et vulpis (lines: 20+)
18. philomela, corvus et bubo (lines: 20+)
19. columba et turtur (lines: 17)
20. pica et columba (lines: 13)
21. pueri duo (lines: 17)
22. noctua et gallus (lines: 6)
23. apis et eruca (lines: 11)
24. pica, cornicula et vulturius (lines: 20+)
25. boves duo (lines: 13)
26. quercus et edera (lines: 7)
27. cuculus et luscinius (lines: 15)
28. aquila et corvus (lines: 8)
29. canis mutare conditionem coactus (lines: 20+)