Minor Latin poets; with introductions and English translations

THE FABLES OF AVTANUSgrove." But the old ox, not at all an^jered by thewords, went on wearily turning the soil as usual withthe share, till he was allowed to drop the plough andto lie at his ease on a grassy bed in the meadows.Soon afterwards he saw the calf brought by a leadingstringto the sacrificial altar and coming close to theknife of the priest's attendant. As he witnessedthis he said, " Such is the death given you by theforbearance that leaves you free from my yoke. Sothen it will be better to endure toil however burdensomethan to experience when young an ease that issoon to be lost."This is the lot of mortals ; death comes swift tothe happier ones, while the daily life of the unfortunaterefuses them death.XXXVIIThe Dog and the LionA well-fed dog is said to have met an exhaustedlion and to have addressed ^ him with taunts in hiswords: "Don't you see," he said, "how my flanksdilate under my back's double ridge ^ and my finebreast has handsome muscles ?When resting-timehas come, I am brought close up to the tables wheremen eat, my mouth getting in ample measure thefare my master shares with me." " But what is that*Heinsius explained duplici tergo as lato tergo, like Virgil'sduplex agitiir per lumhos spina, G. III. 87 (of a horse), whereServius interprets " aut revera duplex aut lata." Thedepression along the back of a horse in good condition givesthe appearance of a double spine. Ellis suggests that tergois used of the ridge or projecting surface of the skin coveringthe dog's flanks, which is called " double " from inequalitiesproduced by outstanding muscle or fat.3b2739