Main Selection

Chambry 24  

Ἁλιεὺς αὐλῶν.

C1  Ἁλιεὺς αὐλητικῆς ἔμπειρος, ἀναλαβὼν αὐλοὺς καὶ τὰ δίκτυα, παρεγένετο εἰς τὴν θάλασσαν καὶ στὰς ἐπί τινος προβλῆτος πέτρας, τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ᾖδε, νομίζων αὐτομάτους πρὸς τὴν ἡδυφωνίαν τοὺς ἰχθύας ἐξαλεῖσθαι πρὸς αὐτὸν.

C2  Ὡς δὲ, αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ πολὺ διατεινομένου, οὐδὲν πέρας ἠνύετο, ἀποθέμενος τοὺς αὐλοὺς ἀνείλετο τὸ ἀμφίβληστρον καὶ βαλὼν κατὰ τοῦ ὕδατος πολλοὺς ἰχθύας ἤγρευσεν.

C3   Ἐκβαλὼν δὲ αὐτοὺς ἀπὸ τοῦ δικτύου ἐπὶ τὴν ἠιόνα, ὡς ἐθεάσατο σπαίροντας, ἔφη· Ὦ κάκιστα ζῷα, ὑμεῖς, ὅτε μὲν ηὔλουν, οὐκ ὠρχεῖσθε, νῦν δὲ, ὅτε πέπαυμαι, τοῦτο πράττετε."

CE  Πρὸς τοὺς παρὰ καιρόν τι πράττοντας ὁ λόγος εὔκαιρος.

Chambry 24 Questions

Q1 Parse αὐλητικῆς in line C1 . With what other word is it governed, Ἁλιεὺς or ἔμπειρος?

Q2 (C1) Why are αὐλοὺς and δίκτυα in the plural?

Q3 (C1) Why does the iota become a subscript in the word ᾖδε. Does it ever remain above the line?

Q4 (C1) The simplex -αλεῖσθαι can come from three different verbs. Do you know what they are?

Q5 When given the choice of selecting a word only listed as used in Epic literature in LSJ, or another more common word. how do you determine what word to select? Sometimes it seems you either have to claim a 'dialect' or 'epic' word, because you cannot find a proper match in LSJ. Are the lemma of Greek words always obvious, and you are just missing the real lemma? Can you give any good examples of such a dilemna?

Q6 The word πέρας is most likely used adverbally. In general, what cases/number of adjectives are normally used in an adverbal manner? Nominative/Genitive/Dative/Accusative? Singular or Plural? Are there any rules of thumb?

Q7 (C3) What case is ζῷα? How do you know?

Q8 (C3) What is the lemma of πράττετε? Are words with a double ττ always listed in the lexicon with double σσ? Where would you look first in a lexicon, under θαλάσση or θαλάττη?

Q9 (CE) How would you translate the preposition παρὰ in the phrase παρὰ καιρόν?

Q10 (CE) Does the epimythium (last line/moral of the story) have any multiple meanings? How would you translate the epimythium?

Answers to Chambry 24 Questions

Chambry published a multivolume edition of the fables for the Belles Lettres series in 1925/6 (Paris). He later revised this into a single volume, omitting hundreds of the fable variants. In addition, the numeration between these two volumes is not consistent. The textis taken from the 1925/6 edition, but the numeration follows the stanard single volume edition.

Second Selection  

Herodotus 1.141 (Taken from the Perseus.Tufts website) The fable was told by Cyrus the Great (Cyrus II of Persia) around 547 B.C. Herodotus wrote The Histories in about 440 BC in the Ionic dialect of classical Greek. The fable part of Herodotus Histories Book 1.141.1-2 is in bold print. You may find the English and Greek versions of this fable on the Perseus website (with its click-on-lexicon-parsing!)

CXLI. Ἴωνες δὲ καὶ Αἰολέες, ὡς οἱ Λυδοὶ τάχιστα κατεστράφατο ὑπὸ Περσέων, ἔπεμπον ἀγγέλους ἐς Σάρδις παρὰ Κῦρον, ἐθέλοντες ἐπὶ τοῖσι αὐτοῖσι* εἶναι τοῖσι καὶ Κροίσῳ ἦσαν κατήκοοι. ὁ δὲ ἀκούσας αὐτῶν τὰ προί̈σχοντο ἔλεξέ σφι λόγον,

ἄνδρα φὰς αὐλητὴν ἰδόντα ἰχθῦς ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ αὐλέειν, δοκέοντα σφέας ἐξελεύσεσθαι ἐς γῆν: [2] ὡς δὲ ψευσθῆναι τῆς ἐλπίδος, λαβεῖν ἀμφίβληστρον καὶ περιβαλεῖν τε πλῆθος πολλὸν τῶν ἰχθύων καὶ ἐξειρύσαι, ἰδόντα δὲ παλλομένους εἰπεῖν ἄρα αὐτὸν πρὸς τοὺς ἰχθῦς “παύεσθέ μοι ὀρχεόμενοι, ἐπεῖ οὐδ' ἐμέο αὐλέοντος ἠθέλετε ἐκβαίνειν ὀρχεόμενοι.”

[3] Κῦρος μὲν τοῦτον τὸν λόγον τοῖσι Ἴωσι καὶ τοῖσι Αἰολεῦσι τῶνδε εἵνεκα ἔλεξε, ὅτι δὴ οἱ Ἴωνες πρότερον αὐτοῦ Κύρου δεηθέντος δι' ἀγγέλων ἀπίστασθαι σφέας ἀπὸ Κροίσου οὐκ ἐπείθοντο, τότε δὲ κατεργασμένων τῶν πρηγμάτων ἦσαν ἕτοιμοι πείθεσθαι Κύρῳ. [4] ὃ μὲν δὴ ὀργῇ ἐχόμενος ἔλεγέ σφι τάδε: Ἴωνες δὲ ὡς ἤκουσαν τούτων ἀνενειχθέντων ἐς τὰς πόλιας, τείχεά τε περιεβάλοντο ἕκαστοι καὶ συνελέγοντο ἐς Πανιώνιον οἱ ἄλλοι, πλὴν Μιλησίων: πρὸς μούνους γὰρ τούτους ὅρκιον Κῦρος ἐποιήσατο ἐπ' οἷσί περ ὁ Λυδός. τοῖσι δὲ λοιποῖσι Ἴωσι ἔδοξε κοινῷ λόγῳ πέμπειν ἀγγέλους ἐς Σπάρτην δεησομένους Ἴωσι τιμωρέειν.

Questions for Herodotus 1.141.1-2

Q1 What are the indications that Herodotus wrote in Ionic Greek (list examples from the fable portion only)?

Q2 Parse φὰς. Who is doing the action of that verb (look at the preceding context)?

Q3 Do you know the variations of declension of the word ἰχθῦς? (note the phrase τοὺς ἰχθῦς later in the passage). How was the word declined in Attic? How is it declined in the New Testament and Herodotus in the accusative plural? See Smyth §268 and BADG.

Q4 The third person plural personal pronoun σφεῖς, σφῶν,σφίσι(ν) and σφᾶς. The uncontracted σφέας was used by Herodotus and Homer . In Attic prose, what is the third person plural personal pronoun in the nominative? In the oblique cases? In the New Testament, what is the third person personal pronoun? See Smyth §325

Q5 How would you translate ψευσθῆναι τῆς ἐλπίδος. Why is the the word ἐλπίδος in the genitive?

Q6 Why is the personal pronoun in the dative in the phrase παύεσθέ μοι ὀρχεόμενοι? The word παύω often takes the accusative of person and genitive of thing. How would you classify the use of μοι?

Q7 Only the direct quote of the fisherman to the fish is in direct speech. Most of the fable is written with accusative + infinitive (+participle) structure. Why is that? Can you find the section in Smyth's grammar that deals with this type of structure? See Smyth's index on Perseus and hunt the answer down. Perhaps, begin looking at Smyth §2614.

Answers to Herodotus 1.141.1b-2 Questions

Optional Reading 1  

Babrius 9

B1   Ἁλιεύς τις αὐλοὺς εἶχε καὶ σοφῶς ηὔλει·
B2   καὶ δή ποτ' ὄψον ἐλπισας ἀμοχθήτως
B3   πολὺ πρὸς αὐλῶν ἡδυφωνίην ἥξειν,
B4   τὸ δίκτυον θεὶς ἐτερέτιζεν εὐμούσως.
B5   ἐπεὶ δὲ φυσῶν ἔκαμε καὶ μάτην ηὔλει,
B6   βαλὼν σαγήνην εἷλκεν ἰχθύων πλήρη.
B7   ἐπὶ γῆς δ' ἰδων σπαίροντας ἄλλον ἀλλοίως,
B8   τοιαῦτ' ἐκερτόμησε τὸν βόλον πλύνων·
B9   "ἄναυλα νῦν ὀρχεῖσθε. κρεῖσσον ἦν ὕμας
B10 πάλαι χορεύειν, ἡνίκ' εἰς χοροὺς ηὔλουν."

BE  [Οὐκ ἔστιν ἀπόνως οὐδ' ἀλύοντα κερδαίνειν.
ὅταν καμὼν δὲ τοῦθ' ἕλῃς ὅπερ βούλει,
τὸ κερτομεῖν σοι καιρός ἐστι καὶ παίζειν.]

Questions for Babrius

Q1 If you have made it through Herodotus and Chambry's versions, can you list the three words for 'net' that have been used in the fables?

Q2 Babrius seems to use somewhat of a different vocabulary than the other fables. What are your thoughts?

Q3 The word πλύνων in B8 seems not to fit. πλύνω has the primary definition of 'to wash'. How would you translate it here?

Q4 The word κάμνω has the letter '-ν-' in the present stem, but not in other tenses. Is this a normal type of formation or an oddity? See Smyth §523a. What other common words show this type of formation?

Q5 The word κρεῖσσον is an irregular adjective of comparison. What root is it from? What positive adjective is it listed under? What is its superlative? See Smyth §319

Q6 What word is ἥξειν in line B3. Is it the future infinitive of ἥκω? If so, how would you translate it? Is there a reference in Smyth on the use of a future infinitve used as a purpose clause?

Q7 Line B3 has the phrase πρὸς αὐλῶν ἡδυφωνίην ἥξειν. How would one translate the phrase, 'to come with the sweet sound of pipes'? Is there a better translation out there?

Answers to Babruis 9 Questions

Optional Reading 2  

Aphthonius 33

AE  Μῦθος ὁ τοῦ ἁλιέως καὶ τοῦ αὐλητοῦ παραινῶν ταῖς τέχναις προσφόρως χρήσασθαι.
A1 Ἀνὴρ ἁλιεὺς ὁμοῦ καὶ αὐλεῖν ἐπιστάμενος, τοὺς αὐλοὺς λαβὼν καὶ τὰ δίκτυα παρὰ τὴν θάλασσαν, οὐδὲν εἶχε λαβεῖν: ὡς δὲ τοῖς αὐλοῖς ἠπόρει θηρᾶν, τούτους ἀφεὶς ἐπὶ τὸ δίκτυον ᾔει καὶ χρώμενος εἶλεν οὓς αὐλῶν οὐκ ἐθήρασε.
AP Πέρας αἱ τέχναι τοῖς προσήκουσι πράγμασι νέμουσιν.

(Aphthonius was a grammarian who wrote in the 4th Century A.D.)

Aphthonius, always includes both a promythium and epimythium in his fables. This version by Aphthonius significantly truncates the story and seems to change the point.

Answers to Aphthonius 33 Questions

The lines are numbered for collation and reference purposes. The line numbering format is comprised of three elements: Author+Version+Line Identifier: Author = B/C1/C2/S/A/H for Babrius, Chambry 1, Chambry 2, Syntipas,  Aphthonius or Herodotus; Line Identifier = T/M/#  where  T=Title, P = Promythium, E = Epimythium or  # = Line number (incremental, but not counting the moral or title); The endomythium, the moral 'inside the story, is simply listed as a line number.

Parts of a fable:
Promythium: A moral that comes before the story, so that the reader / listener can properly decode the meaning
Fable Body: the content of the fable, including the endomythium, but not the promythium or epimythium
Endomythium: the moral inside the story (listed as a line number)
Epimythium: The moral added at the end of the story to make sure the point of the fable is clear.

The Illustrations below were collected by Laura Gibbs on her Aesopica website. Many thanks to her

Aesop for Children (translator not identified), 1919. Illustrations by Milo Winter (1886-1956). Available online at Project Gutenberg.

Vernon Jones (1912)

225. THE FISHERMAN PIPING

A Fisherman who could play the flute went down one day to the sea-shore with his nets and his flute; and, taking his stand on a projecting rock, began to play a tune, thinking that the music would bring the fish jumping out of the sea. He went on playing for some time, but not a fish appeared: so at last he threw down his flute and cast his net into the sea, and made a great haul of fish. When they were landed and he saw them leaping about on the shore, he cried, "You rascals! you wouldn't dance when I piped: but now I've stopped, you can do nothing else!"

Aesop's Fables: A New Translation by V.S. Vernon Jones with illustrations by Arthur Rackham (1912). This book is available online at Project Gutenberg.

Aesop's Fables (Joseph Jacobs)

Jacobs 42. The Fisher (Perry 11)

A Fisher once took his bagpipes to the bank of a river, and played upon them with the hope of making the fish rise; but never a one put his nose out of the water. So he cast his net into the river and soon drew it forth filled with fish. Then he took his bagpipes again, and, as he played, the fish leapt up in the net. "Ah, you dance now when I play," said he.

"Yes," said an old Fish:

"When you are in a man's power you must do as he bids you."

The Fables of Aesop, by Joseph Jacobs with illustrations by Richard Heighway (1894). The page images come from Google Books. The digitized text comes from Project Gutenberg. You can purchase this inexpensive Dover edition, The Fables of Aesop by Joseph Jacobs from amazon.com.

Aesop's Fables Griset-Tenniel-Weir (1884)

65. The Fisherman Piping.

A Fisherman skilled in music took his flute and his nets to the sea-shore. Standing on a projecting rock he played several tunes, in the hope that the fish, attracted by his melody, would of their own accord dance into his net, which he had placed below. At last, having long waited in vain, he laid aside his flute, and casting his net into the sea, made an excellent haul.

Aesop's Fables: A New Revised Version From Original Sources (translator not identified), 1884 . Illustrations by Ernest Henry Griset (1844-1907), John Tenniel (1820-1914) and Harrison Weir (1824-1906). Available online at Project Gutenberg.

Phryx Aesopus (Osius, 1574)

206. PISCATOR.

NON bene qui pisces capiendi noverat artem,
Huic sonat ad liquidas tibia carmen aquas.
Sic fore sperat iners, ut se de flumine pisces
Eiciant, cantu vox ubi sparsa iuvet.
Hac fallente tamen spe retia mittit in undas,
Et numero pisces uberiore capit.
Expositos quos iam cum lascivire videret,
Cur ait hoc reprobi ludere more iuvat?
Moverit haud inflata suo cum tibia cantu,
Nunc saltare putem pene furoris opus.
Conveniente loco quae non, aut tempore fiunt,
Quae foret bis alias, gratia rebus abest.

Phryx Aesopus Habitu Poetico, by Hieronymus Osius, 1574 (artist not identified). Available online at the University of Mannheim. This book clearly recycles a set of images from another book of Aesop's fables.

Steinhowel's Aesop: Illustrations

(Steinhowel 1479) 106. De piscatore quodam.

(Steinhowel 1501) Click on the image to see the entire page.

(Steinhowel - in Spanish, 1521)

Illustrations from the 1479 edition of Steinhowel come from the online edition at the Library of Congress. This edition is in German, not Latin, so I have reproduced only the images here. The illustrations for the 1501 edition of Steinhowel are online at the University of Mannheim. So that you can see the Latin text on these pages, each 1501 image is linked to a full page view of this edition (although the images are poor quality gif images, unlike the high-quality images at Library of Congress). Finally, I have included a 1521 edition of Steinhowel translated into Spanish, also from the Library of Congress. As you can see, the illustrations continue to follow the same basic pattern but have a decidedly different element of style.