342. Sus per Venerem Iurans et Canis. Sus et canis se mutuis conviciis insectabantur. Ac sus quidem per Venerem iurabat suis se dentibus canem dilaceraturam. Ad haec canis ironice dixit, “Bene per Venerem nobis iuras; significas enim te ab illa vehementer amari, quae lege vetavit ne suum ingredi templum auderet, qui impuras tuas carnes degustasset.” Cui sus “Ita,” respondit, “suum erga me amorem Dea magis declarat, dum, qui me necat aut quovis modo laedit, omnino aversatur. Tu vero, et viva et mortua, male semper oles.”
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M0342 = Perry222. Source: De Furia 230. This is Perry 222. There was a proverbial enmity between Venus (Greek Aphrodite) and pigs, supposedly because her lover Adonis was killed by a wild pig. For another story about animals insulting one another, see the story of the pigeon and the wolf, #519.
