58: De Cervo

A stag is fleeing a hunter and finds himself in a barn. He convinces an ox to help him hide himself, and the ox is able to bury him in enough hay that he escapes the eye of the plowman. After this incident, the ox cautions that while the disguise worked one time, it will not work on the next stable hand––who is so vigilant that the oxen compares him to Argus, the mythical giant with hundreds of eyes. Indeed, although the stag reburies himself, the next man easily spots him when he gives the oxen extra hay, and rejoices that now he has found food for himself as well. The moral of the story provides a human allegory for each of the animals in the fable. 

Perry 492

voce: “having been provoked by the barking”; ablative of means with mōtus.

Tūtius intrares: “you could enter more safely”; imperf. potential subj.

custosque boum stabulique: polysyndeton.

duo vel tantum ... alter: “both or even one.” i.e. of the aforementioned people. Subject of videt. 

demat: “let your mercy take away!”; pres. jussive subj.

latebris: “conceal me in a hiding place”; ablative of place where.

dum iuvet: “until the shade helps flight” (whenever that may be); pres. subj. in a general temporal clause.

frondibus et faeno: “fortifies and feeds with fodder and hay”; ablative of means.

vitasse: (= vitavisse) “he rejoices to have avoided,” complementing gaudet;  perf. inf.

bobus: “gave thanks to the oxen”; dat. with agit grātēs.

vitare: “easy to avoid”; pres. epexegetical inf. after leve.

si venerit: “if Argus shall come,” Argus had 100 eyes and was sent by Hera to watch over Io; fut. perf. in a future more vivid protasis.

cui sē dēbēre fatentur: “to whom they are said to owe themselves”; personal use of indirect statement. The subjects of fatentur are the string of nominatives in the following line. 

tota iura locī: “all the obligatory things of the place.” i.e. all the things you’d expect to find on a farm. 

Rēs tua: “your situation.” Subject. 

tē, Argum:: “finds you (to be) an Argus.”; acc. pred. with reperit.  

caecum: supply tē, “finds you (to be) a blind man.” 

Quī tibi dormītat scit vigilāre sibi: “the one who falls asleep for you knows how to stay awake for himself.”

bōbus: dative with ministrat. 

tenues: “to be more thin”; acc. pred.

aequo: “much thinner than reasonable,” i.e., than normal; ablative of comparison with tenuēs.

mūnit presepe cibō: “the manager provides the food.” Mūnit can take the abl. cibō.

ausa vidēre diem: “he sees antlers which have dared to see the daylight,” i.e., the stag has stuck his head out of the woods to see; perf. part. acc. agreeing with cornua.

cornua longa: “long horns,” i.e., antlers; acc. Pl.

laetus: adv., “happily.” 

esse ... vigilare ... stertere ... iuvare: “Not to be his own is ... to watch is ...”; all infinitives used as subjects of est.

exulis ... potentis ... servorum ... pii: “is the exile’s ... is the powerful man’s ....,” i.e., is a characteristic of the exile ... of the powerful man ... etc.; gen. pred.