à tout venant 'to all/comers

19. ne vous déplaise, literally, may it not displease you. 'by your leave'.

LE CORBEAU ET LE RENARD. This fable is an imitation of Jîsop's fable No. 204 Kôpa^ xat 'AÀurtTfj^, but more especially of Phaedrus's fable 13 Lib. I: Vulpes et Corvus. The édition of Phaedrus we allude to is the one by L. Miiller in the Bibliotheca scriptorum Grœcomm et Eomanorum Teubneriana. Besides thèse two authors we find others who, before La Fontaine had treated the same subject, especially in the Roman du Rena'ii, of the Xlith century, and in the farce of Jlaitre Pathelin. In the

82 Notes.

Roman du Renart the fox begins his allocution to the crow in thèse words:

Par le saint Dieu, que vois-je là?

Et Dieu vous sauve, sire compère,

Bien ait l'âme de vôtre bon père

Dom Rohart qui bien savait chanter.

Line 1. maître, 'master', this term was familiarly used in speaking to persons of inferior condition. It is not used in the sensé in which we see it employed before the names of barristers or attorneys.