Dum nive cānet humus, glaciēs dum sōpit aquārum
cursūs, in colubrum turbida saevit hiems;
hunc videt, hunc reficit hominis clēmentia: ventum
temperat huic tēctō, temperat igne gelū.
Ōre serit vīrus coluber, sīc toxicat aedem; 5
hospes ait colubrō: “nōn reditūrus abī.”
Nōn exit coluber nec vult exīre, sed haeret
amplectēnsque virum sībila dīra movet.
Reddere gaudet homō nēquam prō melle venēnum,
prō frūctū poenam, prō pietāte dolum. 10
notes
The Peasant and the Snake
A man takes a snake into his home, feeling sorry for the animal because of a particularly harsh winter. The man is rewarded for his hospitality by poison pouring from the snake's mouth. When the man tries to oust the animal, just like the dog in the previous fable, he is attacked.
Also known as The Snake and the Farmer. Other versions: Perry 176.
1 sōpit: "causes to sleep," i.e., freezes.
1-2 aquārum / cursūs: rivers.
2 in colubrum: "against the snake," take with saevit.
3 hunc: the snake.
3 videt: subject is the homo from the next clause.
3 reficit: "restores" by taking him in out of the cold.
4 huic: “for this one,” the snake.
3-4 ventum ... gelū: acc. direct objects of temperat, “he makes the wind bearable ... he makes the frost bearable” + ablative of means.
5 Ōre: ablative of source, “from (his) mouth.”
5 vīrus: neuter acc. singular direct object of serit.
5 serit: "spreads," literally "sows."
6 nōn reditūrus: fut. act. part. with the imperative, abī: “go away never to return!”
7 haeret: "remains close," "hangs around."
8 virum: direct object of the participle amplectēns, “embracing the man.” This clause echoes the meaning implicit in haeret.
8 sībila dīra: direct object of movet, “moves his harsh hissings.”
9 homō nēquam: "a good-for-nothing man," nominative subject of gaudet. The adjective is indeclinable.
9 pro melle: “in return for honey.”
10 prō frūctū: “in return for a benefit.”
10 poenam: supply reddere gaudet homō nēquam from context.
10 prō pietāte: “in return for kindness," LS pietas II.B.
vocabulary
rūsticus –ī m.: a peasant, farmer
coluber -brī m.: a snake
nix nivis f.: snow
caneō –ēre canuī: to be white
glaciēs –ī f.: ice
sōpiō –īre –īvī –ītus: to cause to sleep
turbidus –a –um: wild, stormy
saeviō –īre –iī –ītus: to rage
reficiō –ere –fēcī –fectus: to rebuild, restore
clēmentia –ae f.: mercy, clemency
temperō –āre –āvī –ātus: to temper, make mild
gelū –ūs n.: frost, ice
serō –ere sēvī sātus: to sow, plant
vīrus –ī n.: venom
toxīcō –āre –āvī –: to poison
haereō –ēre haesī haesūrus: to stick, adhere, cling
amplector –ī –exus: (dep.) to surround, encircle
sībĭlum –ī n.: a hissing
dīrus –a –um: awful, fearful
nēquam: (indecl. adj.) bad, worthless, depraved, vile, good-for-nothing
venēnum –ī n.: a poison