Fables de La Fontaine with Grammatical Explanatory, & Etymological Notes

Page 216 line 16-De passer son chemin : To go on her way. Of. Book iii., Fable 1, page 43, line 22.

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20-Babil: Chatter (onomatop.). Cf. Angl. babble. 23-Tous d'un lignage: All of one descent, family

FABLE IV.

25-Il n'était point, etc.: There was no pool in the whole neighbourhood that a certain cormorant had not laid under a contribution.

26-Cormoran : The old form of the word, still preserved by fishermen, is cormaran, which shows deriv. to be L. corvus marinus.

27-Viviers: L. vivarium.

33-Réseau : Old form résel, from L. L. reticellum, dim. of rete.

34-Disette: Want, famine. Diez suggests as etym. desecta, from desecare, to cut off.

2-Ecrevisse: Is the thirteenth century crevice, from Old German krebiz; cf. Modern German krebs. 8-Emute: For emeute. Cf. Book vii., Falle 8,

page 131, line 26.

15-N'en soyez point en soin: Don't put yourselves
out about it.

25-Le peuple aquatique: Cf. la gent marécageuse,
la gent aiglonne, marcassine, etc., etc.
25-Le bon apôtre: The hypocrite.

28-Vous: Redundant (ut passim).

32-Engeance: Cf. Book i., Fable 19, Page 18, line 21.

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35-Une: Alike.

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34-Panse: L. panticem.

FABLE V.

2-Un pincemaille: A miser; one who pinches, keeps tight closed, the meshes of his purse (?). 3-Finance: Cf. Book viii., Fable 2, page 149, line 8.

8-Monceau: Old form, moncel; L. monticellum. 8-S'altère: Will diminish.

II-Le iarron! etc.: Thief, indeed! What, enjoy one's wealth! Why, it would be robbing oneself!

14-Le bien, etc., etc. : Wealth is only an advantage in as far as one can get rid of it.

16 Qui n'en ont plus que faire: Which will no longer know what to do with it.

22-Enfouir: L. fodere.

24-Le gîte: Cf. Book ii., Fable 8, page 27, line 14. 33-Plus n'entasser: For de ne plus entasser, de ne plus enfouir.

35-Pensa tomber: Was very near falling.

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FABLE VI.

-Étourdi: Cf. Book ii., Fable II, page 31, line 9. II-L'Angleterre, etc. : Alluding to the annual tax of 300 wolves' heads imposed by Edgar, King of England, in the tenth century.

13-Hobereau: Country squire; properly a small kite; from Old French hobe (cf. Angl. hobby), a small bird of prey.

14-Bans: Proclamation, order. From Old German bannan, to crdain.

15-Il n'est marmot osant crier, etc. If ever so small a brat dares to cry, the mother immediately threatens to throw him to the wolf. Cf. Book iv., Fable 16, page 77, line 22.

17-Rogneux: Mangy.

18-Hargneux: Cross-tempered. Old German harmjan, to dispute.

19-Dont j'aurai passé mon envie: Of whom I may
have made a meal.

31-Thibaut l'agnelet: Little lambkin. This name
is given to a shepherd in the comedy of "Pa-
thelin."
31-Passera: Shall be devoured (by me). The more
usual form would be y passera.

35-Est-il dit, etc. : Shall it be said that we (mortals)
are seen? etc., etc.

3-Ils n'auront, etc.: Shall they have neither cooking-pot nor hook (to hang it on)?

FABLE VII.

The first ten lines are spoken by the spider.
10-Jadis mon ennemie : Arachne, wife of Colophon,
skilled in the art of embroidery, challenged and
vanquished Minerva, who struck her with her
shuttle, whereupon Arachne in despair hung
herself, and was changed into a spider.— Ovid,
Metamorph. i., 6.

12-Progné: The swallow. See Book iii., Fable 15.
15-Miennes: For this possessive pronoun used abso

lutely cf. page 100, line 15. Leur, à leur compte.

17-Tissu: Cf. Book iii., Fable 8, page 51, line 26.
20-Filandière: Spinster.

22-La sœur de Philomèle: i.e., Progné l'hirondelle.
23--Le bestion: An inusit., dimin. of bête.
26-Couvée: Brood; L. cubare.

28-Aragne: The original word for spider (araignie
meaning properly the web). Cf. Book iii.,
Fable 8, page 51, line 12.

29-Artisans superflus: Because "wings" would have been more to the purpose then

Page 220 line 33-Jupin: Fam. for Jupiter. Cf. Book i., Fable 7. page 6, line 26.

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2-Leur reste: Their leavings.

FABLE VIII.

5-Noise: Dispute, quarrelling; L. nausea.
9-Honnêteté: Politeness, good treatment.
10-Ménagerie: Properly a place to keep domestic
animals; from ménage, mesnage; L.L. man-
sionaticum (household expenses).

12-Respec: For respect; a poetical license.
16-Se percer les flancs: Tear each other to pieces.
21-Il est des naturels: There are (different) tempe
raments, constitutions.

25-Tonnelles: Tunnel net; from tonne. Etym. un-
known.

FABLE IX.

The first six lines are spoken by the dog.

1-O rois des animaux, etc. : Oh, ye kings, or, rather, tyrants, over other animals! (He addresses men.)

2- -Que vous ferait, etc.: Who would do the same to you!

3-Mouflar: Name of a dog; from muže, the
muzzle.

3-Dogue: Cf. Book i., Fable 5, page 4, line 10.
6--Y croyait perdre: Thought that he would be a
loser by it. Cf. next line, il y gagnait.
8-A piller ses pareils: To worry his fellows. For
piller in this sense cf. same Book, Fable I,
page 209, line 3.

10-Avec cette partie, etc. : With this part of his
body (i.e., the ear) torn in a thousand places.
12-Le moins, etc.: Transpose, le moins de prise,
etc., etc.

14-Esclandre: Damage, injury. Unusual in this

sense.

15-Gorgerin: A spiked collar (to defend the neck). 16-Ayant d'oreille, etc. : Having about as much ear as I have on my hand-i.e., none at all. A form of comparison familiar to this day.

FABLE X.

19-Deux démons: Two deities, powers; Gr,
Saíuwv, a deity to whom events beyond man's
power may be attributed.

28-Du bon tems: One of the good old times.
32-Par ces soins diligents: Cf. Book vii., Fable 10,
page 134, line 12.

2-La balance: The scales (of justice).

Pa 223 line 4-Ses mâtins: His dogs. Cf. Book i., Fable 5,

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page 4, line 15.

6-Il en vint, etc. He succeeded capitally.

8-Veillé-je: Remark the acute accent on the final
e of the first sing. pres. of the first conjugation,
interrogative.

12-D'illustres malheurs: Notable misfortunes.
17-Je crois voir: I think I see-i.e., yon remind me
of.
19-Fouet Properly a bunch of beech branches;
from Old French fou and fau (L. fagus).

=

25-A me tant, etc.: What interest compels me to worry myself so much? Why do I bother myself about your remarks?

31-Dégourdi: From Sp. gordo, L. L. gurdus, heavy. 34-Eh! que me saurait-il, etc.: Why, what could happen to me worse than to die?

37-Mainte peste de cour: Many a court plaguei.e., many of these pestilential fellows that frequent courts.

I-On cabale: A word of Hebrew origin, kabala, "traditional doctrine," thence mysterious science.

2- -Grevés: Oppressed; L. gravari.

6-Louange: Things that spoke in praise of, etc. 8-Son fait : His stolen treasure.

II-Machineurs: Fabricators (inusit.)

12-Lambeaux: Rags, shreds. The old form is lambel, a term still existing in heraldry. Etym. uncertain.

14-Panetière: Wallet (to hold bread).

14-Houlette: Shepherd's crook; from L.L. agolum, agoletta.

21-Sur le faîte: To the highest pitch of honours. Cf. Corneille

Et monté sur le faîte, il aspire à descendre. 22-Je m'y suis trop complu: I took too much pleasure in it (grandeur).

FABLE XI.

32-Dont Zéphyre, etc. : Whose flowery swards were the abode of the Zephyrs.

3-Et crut mal: And was mistaken in thinking so. 10-On n'en veut point, etc. : No one wishes to take your lives.

II-Un vivier: Cf. same Book, Fable 4, page 216, line 27.

12-Quand Followed by the conditional, even sup. posing.

16-Eut beau prêcher: Preached in vain.

23-Que l'on en vient à bout: That one succeeds.

FABLE XII.

In this Fable there is some confusion in the expressions applied to the two parrots, i.e., the young and the old one, and the king and his con. We will endeavour to explain the ambiguity wherever it Occurs.

Page 225 line 29-Du rôt d'un roi, etc.: Fed daily at a king's table. 30-Deux demi-dieux: Two demi-gods (ie., great ones of the earth), father and son, etc. 33-Les deux pères: i.e., the king and the old parrot.

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34-Les deux enfans: i.e., the prince and the young parrot.

I-S'accoutumaient: Were firm friends.

5-Que lui donna la Parque: Which the Fates had given him.

8-Faisait aussi sa part, etc.: Was also one of the
prince's favourites. Cf. Catullus, "Passer
deliciæ meæ puellæ.

9-Ces deux rivaux : i.e., the young parrot and the
sparrow.
12-Circonspec, for circonspect: A poetical licence,
as above, page 221, line 12, respec for respect.
17-Au père: i.e., the old parrot.

18-L'inforturné vieillard: The old parrot.
20-L'oiseau parleur, etc. : The speaking bird (i.e.,
the young parrot), is already in Charon's bark
(dead).

21-To make it plainer, the bird now dumb (dead)
causes his father to rush furiously upon the son
of the king and put out his eyes.

31-Encor que: Even though. Cf. page 1, line 3.
35-Que l'un, etc. That through this misfortune
one of our children should perish, the other
lose his sight.

5-Mais que la Providence, etc. But whether it be
true that Providence or Destiny rules the affairs
of the world,

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-Un morceau de roi: A king's tit-bit, a royal pleasure.

19-Un appareil: A cure for.

FABLE XIII.

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21-Son faon: Her cub.

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The word faon (L.L. fatonus, from fœtus), was originally applied to the young of any animal. Later it came to mean only the young of the stag (Angl. fawn). 25-La nuit ni, etc.: The suppression of the first ni is very common in La Fontaine.

27-Vacarmes: A word of German origin (Dutch wacharmer, woe to thee).

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