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.

    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.

    Perry 027

    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.

    lupusi m.: a wolf

    beo –are –avi –atus: to bless, enrich

    pretiosusaum: expensive, costly

    genaae f.: cheeks

    alternusaum: 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

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