Capra cibum quaerēns, haedum commendat ovīlī,
hunc illī solidā servat ovīle sērā.
Nātum cauta parēns monitū praemūnit amīcō,
ut lateat, nec sit in sua damna vagus.
Hic latet; ecce lupus movet ōstia, vōce capellam 5
exprimit, ut pateant ōstia clausa petit.
“Stā procul,” haedus ait, “caprīzās gutture falsō;
cum bene caprīzēs, tē procul esse volō.
Quod mea sīs māter, mentītur imāgō loquendī.
Rīmula, quā videō, tē docet esse lupum.”10
Īnsita nātōrum cordī doctrīna parentum
cum pariat frūctum, sprēta nocēre solet.
notes
The Wolf and the Kid
A source for one of the most popular fable tropes, the wolf in sheep’s clothing, “The Wolf and the Kid” tells of a wolf who tries to deceive a kid by speaking with the mother goat’s voice while the mother is away. The kid, however, forewarned of this kind of danger by his mother, is wise enough to see through the disguise, and he turns the wolf away. The moral praises the kid for listening to his mother.
Other versions: Perry 572, Prose Romulus versions.
1 ovīlī: dat. after commendat.
2 hunc: haedum.
2 illī: "for her," caprae.
2 ovīle: subject.
2 solidā ... serā: ablative of means.
4 ut lateat: pres. subj. in an indirect command after praemūnit.
4 nec sit ... vagus: "and not be wandering," indirect command continues.
5 movet ōstia: by knocking, presumably.
6 ut pateant ōstia clausa: pres. subj. in a noun clause after petit.
7 falsō: "lying."
8 cum bene caprīzes: “though you play the goat well," concessive.
9 quod mea sīs mater: noun clause after mentītur. Classical Latin uses the acc. + infin. construction.
9 loquendī: gerund, gen. after imāgō.
10 quā: “by which,” i.e., through which.
11-12: Īnsita nātōrum cordī doctrīna parentum / cum pariat frūctum, sprēta nocēre solet: order: cum doctrīna parentum īnsita cordī nātōrum pariat frūctum, sprēta (doctrīna) nocēre solet.
11 Īnsita ... cordī: “implanted in the heart,”> īnserō and cor cordis n. Cordī is ablative.
12 cum pariat: “though it bears fruit,” pres. subj. in a concessive cum-clause.
12 sprēta: “(when it [doctrīna] has been) despised,” perf. part. nom. > spernō.
vocabulary
lupus –i m.: a wolf
haedus –i m.: a kid, young goat
capra –ae f.: a she-goat, nanny-goat
commendo –are –avi –atus: to entrust X (acc.) to Y (dat.)
ovile –is n.: a sheepfold
solidus –a –um: solid
sera –ae f.: a bar (for fastening doors)
cautus –a –um: cautious
monitus –ūs m.: a warning
praemunio –ire –ivi –itus: to fortify, forewarn
ostium –i n.: a doorway, gate
capella –ae f.: a she-goat
exprimo –ere –pressi –pressus: to imitate, copy
ōstium –ī n.: a door
clausus –a –um: shut/locked in, enclosed
caprizo –are –avi –atus: to act or sound like goat
guttur –uris n: throat, neck
mentior –iri –itus: (dep.) to lie, deceive
rimula –ae f.: a small opening, crack
īnserō -serere, -sēvī -situm: to insert, place in
doctrīna –ae f.: teaching
sperno –ere sprēvī sprētus: to scorn, despise