Phryx Aesopus (Osius, 1574)
167. LUPUS. (Perry 451)
PELLE rapax ovis est vafre Lupus usus amictu,
Esse diu tali fraude putatur ovis.
Sic impune greges longo cum tempore praedo
Perderet, haec tandem fraus patefacta fuit.
Iamque neci missum suspendit ab arbore pastor [(transcriber); sic: pasior] ,
Non aliena tamen pellis adempta fuit.
Haec quid facta velint decepti pelle requirunt,
Esse rati falsa mente feruntur ovem.
Pellis ovina quidem est, se qua velata solebar
Dissimulare Lupum bestia, Pastor ait.
Non habitu disces sat pectoris indice mores,
Signa nec e vultu vera venire solent.
Esse bonos credas praetextu saepe Tyrannos,
Est Lupus, innocuam qui simularit ovem.
*** The drawing does not fit the fable. ***
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. |
