Latin Stories

Horace, Satires II.6 80-117: The Country Mouse and the City Mouse


Two mice from different homes experience how the other is used to living. Listen to the story both with and without elisions.

Told in Latin without elisions

Told in Latin with elisions


Background on The Country Mouse and The City Mouse:

This version of the story of the Country Mouse and City Mouse is the end part of a poem written in Latin by the Roman poet Quintus Horatius Flaccus (who is called Horace in English).  Horace wrote the poem around the year 30 B.C.E. In his poem he makes a contrast between the annoyances and discomforts of living in a large city like Rome with the peace and happiness he enjoyed on his little farm in the country. Long before Horace was born, people would tell stories like this one, with animal characters that could speak like humans. In English we call these stories “fables.” People of long ago would tell them not only to entertain, but also to make a point or teach a lesson. Horace no doubt included the story at the end of his poem to support his argument that life in the country was better than life in the city.


Cultural Notes About Language:

People in ancient times would have considered the grains spelt and rye as food suitable only for poor people.

Furniture coverings of scarlet and purple were a sign of wealth.

Dogs from Molossia (an old name for an area in western Greece) are a large breed, similar to mastiffs, and were known in ancient times for their ferocity.

Vetch is a kind of pea.


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Fanni is Radnóti's wife
Located near the Tang capital city of Chang’an, site of the modern city of Xi’an in Shaanxi province, in central China.
Soldiers of that time commonly wore a white head cloth, similar to what is still worn by some peasants in China today.  The implication is that the conscripts were so young that they didn’t know how to wrap their head cloths, and needed help from elders.
Before China’s unification under the Qin dynasty in 221 B.C. there were several competing smaller kingdoms.  Han and Qin were two of these kingdoms. Han was located east of famous mountain passes that separated that area from the power base of the Qin dynasty, with its capital in Chang’an. The Qin dynasty itself only lasted about 15 years after unification due to its draconian rule, but soldiers under Qin rule retained a reputation as strong fighters.
The area of Guanxi, meaning “west of the passes”, refers to the area around the capital city of Chang’an.
This is an alternative name for a province in western China, now known as Qinghai, which literally means “blue sea”.  Kokonor Lake, located in Qinghai, is the largest saline lake in China.  
Before China’s unification under the Qin dynasty in 221 B.C. there were several competing smaller kingdoms.  Han and Qin were two of these kingdoms. Han was located east of famous mountain passes that separated that area from the power base of the Qin dynasty, with its capital in Chang’an. The Qin dynasty itself only lasted about 15 years after unification due to its draconian rule, but soldiers under Qin rule retained a reputation as strong fighters.
Oulart Hollow was the site of a famous victory of the Irish rebels over British troops, which took place on May 27, 1798. The rebels killed nearly all the British attackers in this battle. (Source: Maxwell, W. H. History of the Irish Rebellion in 1798. H. H. Bohn, London 1854, pp 92-93, at archive.org)
The phrase "United Men" is elaborated upon in the Notes section below.

Ghetto


An Italian word meaning “foundry.” It originally referred to a part of the city of Venice where the Jews of that city were forced to live; the area was called “the ghetto” because there was a foundry nearby. The term eventually came to refer to any part of a city in which a minority group is forced to live as a result of social, legal, or economic pressure. Because of the restrictions placed upon them, ghetto residents are often impoverished.

"You’re five nine, I am do-uble two"


A reference to the year 1959 and the year 2020.

"The Currency"


Meaning US dollars - this is drawing attention to the fact that Cuba is effectively dollarized.

"Sixty years with the dom-ino stuck"


This sentence is a reference to the Cold War notion that countries would turn Communist one after the other - like dominos. Cuba was the first domino, but it got stuck - no one else followed through into communism.

رحلنا


رحلنا, or "rahalna," means "we have left."

Habibi


Habibi means "my love."

Ra7eel


Ra7eel, or "raheel," means "departure."

3awda


3awda, or "awda," means "returning."

أهلاً


أهلاً, or "ahalan," means "welcome."

a5 ya baba


a5 ya baba, pronounced "akh ya baba," means "Oh my father."