Phryx Aesopus (Osius, 1574)
166. LEPUS ET VULPES. (Perry 0)
DIceret insignem cum se prae Vulpe probari
Forte pedum celeri vique, fugaque Lepus:
Huic Vulpes animi sollertis acumine vinco,
Ingenioque pedum est vilior usus, ait.
Vera bonum humanae est ingens prudentia vitae,
Provenit utilitas crebrior unde fide.
Nil sunt eximiae quamvis in corpore dotes,
Si quid sint animi dona putanda probes.
Fingitur Amphion hinc pone sequentia vates
Allexisse sono saxa movente lyrae.
Maioremque duplo lapidem traxisse canendo,
Quam vi Thebanae Cethus ad urbis opus.
*** The drawing does not fit the fable. ***
The same drawing also appears at Fable 45 and Fable 123, but does not fit. It looks like an illustration of Perry 226, the fox as judge of the race between the tortoise and the hare.
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. In some cases, the illustration does not match the fable shown, and in some cases I have not been able to identify what fable a given illustration is supposed to illustrate. |
