Note 1 — Footnotes to Book V

Attributed to Phædrus)—Cassito and Jannelli, with several other critics, are strongly of opinion that these Fables were written by Phædrus. On a critical examination, however, they will be found to be so dissimilar in style and language from those acknowledged to be by Phædrus, that it is very difficult not to come to the conclusion that they are the work of some more recent writer, of inferior genius, and less pure latinity. They were first published in 1809, at Naples, by Cassito, from a MS. which had belonged to Nicholas Perotti, Archbishop of Sipontum or Manfredonia, at the end of the fifteenth century, and who, notwithstanding his assertions to the contrary, was perhaps either the author of them or altered them very materially. They appear in the MSS. in a mutilated condition; and the lacunæ have been filled up according to the fancy of the successive Editors of the Fables. Those inserted in Gail’s edition have in general been here adopted.

2. If nature had)—Ver. 1. This can hardly be styled a Fable; it is merely an Epilogue or moral lesson.

3. For laughter)—Ver. 17. This story savours more of the false wit of the middle ages than of the genius of Phædrus.

4. Was called Mendacity)—Ver. 21. There is a sort of pun intended upon the word “menda,” a blemish. Because Falsehood was blemished in having no feet, she was called “mendacium” or “mendacity.” Here the author’s etymology is at fault, as the word “mendacity” comes from “mentior,” to lie; which is not likely to have been derived from “menda.” Besides, Falsehood, whether she has feet or not, generally travels more speedily than Truth.

5. Fable V.)—This seems to be only a fragment; probably the moral of a Fable now lost.

6. Nine acres)—Ver. 13. “Jugera.” The “jugerum” was a piece of land 240 feet long by 120 wide.

7. The laurels, too)—Ver. 5. The “cortina” or oracular shrine was surrounded with laurels; which were said to quiver while the oracles were being pronounced. This is probably the most beautiful portion of these newly-discovered poems. Still, it cannot with propriety be called a Fable.

8. A person had recited)—Ver. 1. Adry remarks that this is not a Fable, but only an Epigram.

9. About their business)—Ver. 13. The words suggested in Orellius, “Indicii falsi auctores propelli jubet,” are used here to fill up the lacuna.

10. May I?)—Ver. 29. “Licet?” meaning: “Do you give me permission to go against the enemy?” The story about the spittle savours of the middle ages.

11. When Juno)—Ver. 1. This story is both silly and in very bad taste.

12. Remedy for a bad temper)—Ver. 15. This doctrine is stated in far too general terms.

13. Genius often wasted.)—Ver. 7. It seems to border upon the absurd to speak of an ass losing the opportunity of cultivating his “ingenium.” He can hardly with propriety be quoted under any circumstances as a specimen of a “mute inglorious Milton.”

14. A certain Woman)—Ver. 1. This is the story of the Matron of Ephesus, told in a much more interesting manner by Petronius Arbiter.

15. Shan’t enjoy their repose)—Ver. 9. The play upon the word “cessabo,” seems redolent of the wit of the middle ages, and not of the days of Phædrus.

16. Savage brotherhood)—Ver. 6. “Societas.” The brotherhood of litter-carriers, perhaps four or six in number.

17. If at any time)—Ver. 1. This is not a Fable; it is merely an anecdote in natural history, and one not very unlikely to have been true.

18. Be made manifest)—Ver. 1. This moral is couched in the same words as St. Luke, viii. 17: “For nothing is secret which shall not be made manifest.”

19. A Shepherd had broken)—Ver. 1. As Adry remarks, this Fable more closely resembles the brevity and elegance of Phædrus.

20. Having been guilty)—Ver. 5. Chambry, one of the French Editors, omits this, as unworthy of Phædrus, and Adry pronounces it unintelligible. The meaning of this, which is Jannelli’s version, seems to be: “When you ought not to please yourself, you do please yourself, in committing the crime; but the consequence is that, afterwards, when you ought to feel pleased, in that you have gratified your desires, you cannot, in consequence of your guilty conscience.” It is so mutilated, however, that Cassitti, Jannelli, and other Editors give entirely different versions.

21. Injury to this field)—Ver. 4. The Hare is more an enemy to the flowers in gardens than to the fields. It was probably for this reason that the Romans sacrificed this animal to the Goddess Flora.

22. Name of a God)—Ver. 3. This pun upon the resemblance of “Castor,” the name of the demigod, to “Castor,” “a beaver,” seems to be a puerile pun; and the remark upon the limited “copia verborum” of the Greeks, seems more likely to proceed from the Archbishop of Sipontum than from Phædrus, who was evidently proud of his Grecian origin.

23. A Butterfly)—Ver. 1. This Fable is in a sadly mutilated state, and critics are at a loss to say, with any certainty, what is meant by it. Whether the supposed word in l. 2, “barathris,” (if really the correct reading), means the depths of hell, or the inner folds of the leaves in which the Butterfly is enveloped in the chrysalis state, or whether it means something else, will probably always remain a matter of doubt. However, the Fable seems to allude to the prevalent idea, that the soul, when disengaged from the body, took the form of a butterfly. Indeed the Greeks called both the soul and a butterfly by the name of ψυχή. There are six or seven different versions of the first five lines.

24. Ashes do I fly)—Ver. 6. It is just possible that this may allude to the soul being disengaged from the corruption of the body.

25. Who were a Mule)—Ver. 7. She would seem here to allude to the doctrine of the transmigration of souls. It may possibly have been a notion, that as the human soul took the form of a Butterfly, the souls of animals appeared in the shapes of Wasps and Flies.

26. The Epilogue)—This appears in reality to be only the Fragment of an Epilogue.