FABLE XVI.

3 De reins; i.e. 'in the back.' Lat. 'renes;' O. Eng. 'the reins.'

Glouton. Lat. 'glutonem ;' verb 'glutire.'

5 À l'entour.

Cf. II. ix. 27.

9 Gaillard. Cf. II. x. 7.

Couver. Lat. 'cubare.' Literally of incubation of eggs; hence couvée ''the brood hatched.'

Couver des yeux.

Figuratively, 'to dwell or gloat on with the eyes.' Render, 'devouring him with his eyes.' 13 Bêler.

Lat. 'balare.'

14 Moutonnière. Epithet humorously coined by La Fontaine, as in V. viii. 22: 'la bête chevaline'='le cheval.' No doubt this amplification of the word 'mouton,' 'this creature of a sheep,' is meant to bring before us the portly size of this sheep (uéya diòs Xpĥμa). Our familiar adjective 'sheepish' brings in a very different idea.

15 Fromage. Alluding to the crow's adventure in I. ii. 2. Toison. Lat. 'tonsionem' ('tondere'). Cf. 'foison,' from Lat. 'fusionem' (II. ii. 30)=(1) 'the act of shearing;' (2) 'the thing shorn.'

17 Mêlée; i.e. 'tangled ;' so 'démêler''to unravel.'

18 Polyphème. For the story of Ulysses and this Cyclops, see Homer's Odyssey, Book ix.

19 Empetra. Its opposite 'dépêtrer,' 'to disentangle.' These words originally mean 'to hobble' a horse at pasture, and to set him free again.' They are formed from the medieval Lat. pastorium,' 'a clog for a horse at pasture;' whence the verbs impastoriare,' 'dispastoriare,' giving the old forms 'empestrer,' 'despestrer.'

Serres is strictly only used of birds of prey.

21 Bien et beau. 'Right and tight.'

22 Amusette would now be 'jou-jou.'

23 Se mesurer; i.e. estimate one's powers aright,' 'not aim too high;' so in Ger., put negatively,' 'man muss sich nicht vermessen.'

23 Conséquence. The inference; i.e. the 'moral' to be drawn. 24 Mal prend. Cf. I. viii. 55. 'It ill betides.'

Volereau. Diminutive of 'voleur;' apparently coined by La Fontaine, and since admitted in the Dictionnaire de l'Académie. 'Pickpockets cannot safely play the highwayman.'

25 Leurre. Lure,' of German origin='appât ;' hence verb 'leurrer.'

26 Mangeurs de gens. All who would 'prey upon their fellows' are not like feudal lords, who exact as by traditional right, and can enforce their exactions by the sword.

27 Guêpe. Lat. 'vespa.' Cf. I. xxi. 5.

Moucheron. Diminutive of 'mouche,' Lat. 'musca.'

Demeure; sc. 'pris,' 'is caught.'

With his rich store of proverbial phrases, our author here presents his moral in three different forms.

FABLE XVII.

PHÆDR. III. 18. Pavo ad Junonem de voce suâ.

6

I Paon. From Lat. 'pavonem.' Formerly spelt 'pan.' Pronounced as monosyllable, like 'faon,' 'août.' From 'paon comes perhaps the verb se panader,' 'to strut proudly;' but se pavaner,' 'to show off,' comes from 'pavana,' a solemn Spanish dance, not from Lat. 'pavonem.'

3 Plaindre. Lat. 'plangere.'

6 Au lieu que.

'Whereas.

Rossignol. O. Fr. 'lossignol,' from late Lat. 'lusciniolus ' ('lusciniola' in Plautus). Chétif.' Cf. I. iii. 9.

'Col' is now 12 Col, Lat. 'collum,' would now be 'cou.' used either for 'collar' (of dress) or for a mountain-pass ('jugum '), as 'Col de Géant.'

13 Nué. Substantive 'nuance,' 'shade' of colour.

would now be used.

14 Panades. See note on 1. I.

16 Lapidaire; i.e. bijoutier.'

Nuancé'

20 Nous. Associating herself in Jupiter's work of creation. Vous; sc. aux oiseaux.' According to the old story, the peacock alone was Juno's work, created by the transformation of Argus with the hundred eyes.

21 Avoir en partage. To have for one's share.'

22 Faucon. Lat. falconem.' Cf. I. vii. 28.

23 Corbeau. Lat. 'corvellus,' diminutive of 'corvus,' 'raven.' 24 Corneille. Lat. 'cornicula,' diminutive of 'cornix,' 'crow.' These last two lines are almost tautology. We miss in this Fable something of the usual sparkling wit and happy variety of expression.

Avertit. Notice, 'avertir' not from Lat. 'avertere,' but from 'advertere,' 'to call attention to,' 'forewarn.' 25 Ramage. Cf. I. ii. 7.

FABLE XVIII.

1 Eperdu is 'perdu' in a figurative sense, 'one who has lost his wits.' Cf. 'élever' and 'lever;' émouvoir' and 'mouvoir,' 'éprendre' and 'prendre.'

2 Mignon. Also 'mignard;' of German origin, from 'Minne,' 'love.' In French, implies affection; in English, contempt―

'minion.'

6 Sortilège. From Lat. 'sortilegium.' 'Sortilegus

sortem legit.'

Charme. Lat. 'carmen,' in just the same sense.
Of course his better half!'

10 Sa moitié.

II Fou d'amour.

'fondly doting on.'

'qui

So 'affolé de'=' follement épris de,'

12 Amitié is fondness, affection; but 'amour' implies passion. De fou qu'il était; i.e. 'après avoir été fou d'amitié auparavant.' 14 Favori. What is the feminine form?

16 Hypocondre. Lat. 'hypocondria' = the soft part of the body just under the 'cartilage of the breast,' Gr. xovopos, what the Latins called 'præcordia.' Hence 'hypocondriasis,' at first a local ailment, comes to mean morbid melancholy, or disordered imagination. Cf. such words as 'frenzy,' 'splenetic.'

17 Amadouer. Of soft speech or caress, 'to coax. Cf. 'amadou '='tinder, touchwood.' So 'il prend feu comme de l'amadou,' said of a fiery temper.

18 He forgets she ever was a cat. 21 Natte. Lat. and It. 'matta.' This change of m into n is seen in 'nappe,' from 'mappa ;' 'ponce,' from 'pumicem ;' 'son,' from 'suum;' and in Lat. 'tandiu,' for 'tamdiu,' &c. So too 'ronger,' from 'rumigare,' a late form of 'ruminare.' 24 So 'manquer son coup,' 'to miss one's aim.'

25 Historic, or predicative infinitive.

26 A point. Cf. I. xviii. 16.

29 'Mice always attracted her.'

Amorce. O. Fr. 'amorse,' past participle of 'amordre' (Lat. 'mordere '), is that which lures to bite, or take the bait;' the same idea as in the word 'appât,' Lat. (ad) pastum.' A similar old participle is 'entorse,' 'a sprain,' from 'tordre,' Lat. 'tordere.' 31 Accompli. Participle absolute.

32 Two different figures to imply the ineradicable force of habit. Cf. Horace, Epistle I. ii. 69—

66

Quo semel est imbuta recens, servabit odorem
Testa diu."

And Moore's Irish Melodies

"You may break, you may ruin the vase if you will,
But the scent of the roses remains round it still."

A pris son pli; i.e. the creases have their set.'

33 Train. Sp. 'tragin;' from late Lat. 'tragimen,' 'tragere' ='trahere,' Fr. 'traire.' 'Train' therefore means the drawing out, or 'course' of a thing. Cf. 'être en train de le faire.' 35 Quelque chose que='quoi que,' always with subjunctive mood.

37 Cf. Horace, Epistle, I. x. 24—

"Naturam expellas furcâ tamen usque recurret. Étrivière. Any leathern strap, especially a stirrup-leather.

'Étrier,' 'stirrup,' is a contracted form of the same word. 'Coups d'étrivières' was the 'leathering' so commonly administered by feudal lords to their dependents.

39 Embâtonnés; i.e. 'toujours armés de bâtons.'

PHÆDR. I. II.

FABLE XIX.

Asinus et Leo venantes. (Chassants is the right reading.)

2 Giboyer; i.e. chasser le gibier.'

Sa fête.

His birthday.'

3 Moineaux. 'Moisnel,' contraction of 'moissonel,' diminutive of moisson.' This O. Fr. 'moisson' is from Lat. 'muscionem,' 'a fly-catcher' (hence any 'small bird'); from Lat. 'musca,' Fr. 'mouche.'

4 Sanglier was scanned as a dissyllable. Corneille first used it as word of three syllables. 'Sanglier,' originally an adjective. 'Porc sanglier,' Lat. porcus singularis''a solitary or wild pig.' So coursier,' for 'cheval coursier;' 'levrier,' for 'chien levrier;' 'domestique,' for 'serviteur domestique.'

Beaux et bons. 'Fine, large.'

Daim. Femine, 'daine.' Generic word for 'deer.' Lat. 'damus' ('dama').

7 Stentor. The Greek herald at Troy, whose voice was as loud as that of fifty men together. Cf. Homer, Iliad, v. 783. 8 Messer. Old form of messire,' 'his royal highness.' Cor. 'A hunting-horn.'

Both from Lat. 'cornu.'

'Corne,' 'the horn of the head.'

9 Ramée; i.e. 'quantité de rameaux.' Cf. I. xvi. 1.
14 Retentir. From late Lat. 'tinnitire,' for 'tinnitare.'
15 Hôtes. Cf. I. ii. 9.

16 Piége. Lat. 'pedica.' Strictly, for catching the feet.
20 Impersonal passive='you made a famous noise.'

24 Encore que='bien que'='quoique,' all with subjunctive only.

Railler. From late Lat. diminutive 'radiculare' ('radere '). Cf. Ger. 'Scherzen,' from 'Scheren.' Cf. Keртoμev, of cutting sneers. Perhaps to scoff' is a form of 'to shave.'

25 Fanfaron. Braggart,' one who trumpets his own praises. 'Fanfare' is a flourish of trumpets,' the word imitating the sound.

FABLE XX.

PHÆDR. IV. 5. Poeta.

I Phædrus makes Æsop intervene to solve by common-sense iddle too hard for all the lawyers.

4 Areopagus, or Mars' Hill, because the scene is laid at Athens. Essai. Trial,' and so 'sample.'

5 A superlative epithet can only be added indirectly to a noun with indefinite article. You say 'l'histoire la plus gentille ;' but 'une histoire des plus gentilles,' 'a most charming story; or, still more indirectly, une histoire on ne peut plus gentille.' 'Gentil' (from Lat. 'gens') originally expressed manner and appearance in keeping with high birth. Cf. Eng. 'gentility.' Now the common word for 'pretty.' So the Ger. 'artig,' from 'Art.'

9 Coquette. Masculine, 'coquet;' diminutive of 'coq'=' vain as a young cock.'

Buveuse. Adjectives in -eur equivalent to present participles, as 'buveur,' 'dormeur,' 'flatteur' (= 'buvant,' 'dormant,' 'flattant'), have -euse for feminine. The apparent exceptions, such as ‘pécheur,' ́vengeur,' ‘défenseur’— feminine, -eresse (cf. Lat. 'peccatricem ') should be considered as substantives. Thus 'vendeur,' as substantive, has feminine 'venderesse ;' but as adjective, feminine 'vendeuse.'

16 The share awarded her.'

17 Femelle. Used at law for 'femme,' in cases of succession or inheritance. Late Lat. 'femella,' diminutive of 'femina.' 22 Chacune sœur. Legal phraseology. Usually 'chaque' is adjective, and 'chacun' substantive.

28 The case is referred to counsel.'

31 The barrister spoke with his head covered, and when he had finished took off his cap. Therefore 'jeter son bonnet' implies that argument is exhausted; you 'give the case up.'

33 Au surplus. Of the rest;' viz., of the further conditions in the father's will.'

34 La somme. Lat. 'summa.' 'Le somme;' Lat. 'somnus.' 35 Treuver. For 'trouver,' so spelt by Marot and others up to La Fontaine's time. In 'prouver' and 'preuve' we have both forms coexisting.

36 Each sister was to contract to pay a third of the whole sum settled on the mother, whenever the mother called for payment.

38 Unless the mother preferred, instead of receiving the capital, to accept an annual rent-charge, or annuity, to be reckoned as due to her from the date of her husband's death. 39 Décès. Lat. 'decessus,' legal euphemism. Cf. Eng. 'de

mise.'

41 Maisons de bouteille; i.e. 'summer-houses for convivial purposes.'

42 Treille.

Lat. trichila,' 'the vine-arbour.' Derivative,

'treillis,' 'treillage.'

43 Vaisselle. Feminine diminutive from Lat. 'vas,' with collective sense.