à souhait, 'as well as one can wish'; 'as I like

LXII. LES ANIMAUX MALADES DE LA PESTE. 'The Murrain of beasts'. This fable which is probably the best La Fontaine wrote, seems to bave been derived from several différent sources amongst which are La fable du Lion, du Loup et de V Ane of G. Guéroult published at Lyons in 1540 in a collection eutitled Le premier livre des emblèmes, and perhaps the Indian fable entitled "the Lion, the Crow, the tiger, the Jackal and the Camel". But La Fontaine's fable is so much superior to thèse real, or imaginary prototypes that it may well be considered as perfectly original.

Line 5. Achéron 'river of the Lower Régions'.

9. une mourante vie, Corneille's Le Cid. line 993 Adieu : je vais traîner une mourante vie Tant que par ta poursuite elle me soit ravie Mourante is generally translated by 'lingering', but 'dying' would be much better, and préserve the image intact.

110 Notes.

If some think that 'a dying existence' is nonsense, which it is not; wbat of the 'visible darkness' so justly admired? Line 14. portant, 'consequently'.