Dum lēgit arva lupus, reperit caput arte superbum;
Hoc beat hūmānīs ars pretiōsa genīs.
Hoc lupus alternō volvit pede, verba resolvit:
“Ō sine vōce genās, ō sine mente caput!
Fuscat et extinguit cordis cālīgō nitōrem 5
Corporis: est animī sōlus in orbe nitor.
notes
In this strange fable a wolf happens upon a bust, which he believes to be a human head. The wolf laments that the head is without a voice and without a mind. The moral has a rather religious tone, stating that the only brightness in the world is the soul.
lēgit arva: “combs the shore.”
arte superbum: “superb in its art,” i.e., artfully made”; ablative of specification with superbum.
Hoc: direct object of beat. Refers back to the bust.
humanis genis: “with human cheeks”; ablative of means.
Hoc: “it,” again refers back to the bust.
alterno pede: “on an alternating foot,” i.e. now this way, now that; ablative of means.
sine vōce: “voiceless.”
sine mente: “brainless,” “mindless.”
cordis cālīgō: “the mist of the heart,” subject of fuscat and extinguit.
animi: “of the mind”; gen. pred.
vocabulary
lupus –i m.: a wolf
beo –are –avi –atus: to bless, enrich
pretiosus –a –um: expensive, costly
gena –ae f.: cheeks
alternus –a –um: one of two
volvo –ere volvi volutus: roll
resolvo –ere –solvi –solutus: to loosen, release
fusco –are –avi –atus: to darken
extinguo –ere –nxi –nctus: to extinguish
caligo –inis f.: mist, darkness
nitor –oris m.: splendor