Cum se ferarum regem fecisset leo, et aequitatis vellet famam consequi, a pristina deflexit consuetudine, atque inter illas tenui contentus cibo sancta incorrupta iura reddebat fide, postquam labare coepit paenitentia, (et mutare non posset naturam, coepit aliquos ducere in secretum et fallacia quaerere si ei os puteret.
When the lion had made himself king of the beasts, and wished to acquire a reputation for fair dealing, he departed from his original habits and, confining himself to a slender diet along with the other beasts, upheld the sacred laws of justice with single-minded loyalty. Afterwards, when backsliding encroached on penitence and he found himself unable to change his nature, he began to take aside in private certain of his subjects and to inquire of them guilefully whether or not his breath smelled.
final_alignments\Phaedrus_Fables_Book4.json