AESOP

(6TH CENTURY, BC)

BACKGROUND

• mythic (biography, authorship)
• 6th century BC
• Greek story-teller
  • oral tradition, story-telling tradition
  • unclear authorship
  • (not all fables attributed to him were written by him)
    • among the first works printed (much later) into vernacular languages
• perhaps from Thrace, Phrygia, Aethiopia, the Greek island of Samos, the city of Athens and Sardis, the capitol of Lydia,
• perhaps physical deformity
• perhaps speech impediment
• link: < http://www.online-literature.com/aesop/ >

BACKGROUND

• born a slave (2 masters)
• set free as reward for his skill, cunning, intelligence, wit
• which also got him a job for King Croesus of Lydia
  • traveled much – told stories
  • framed by the Delphians
    • hid golden (or silver) bowl (or cup) from temple in his bag
    • accused of: theft
    • found guilty (of sacrilege against Apollo)
    • --> thrown off a cliff
    • Curse: 
      • vowed by Aesop (confirmed by Oracle of Apollo) “great misfortune”
      • the ensuing pestilence, famine, and warfare were caused by his death

THEMES

• Appearances often are deceiving ("The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing")

• Familiarity breeds contempt ("The Fox and the Lion")

• Slow and steady wins the race ("The Hare and the Tortoise")

• One person's meat is another's poison ("The Ass and the Grasshopper")

• Things are not always what they seem ("Bee-Keeper and the Bees")

• Never trust a flatterer ("Fox and the Crow")

• Beware the wolf in sheep's clothing ("The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing")

• Little friends may become great friends ("Lion and the Mouse")

• It is wise to turn circumstances to good account ("The Bat and the Weasels")

• Like will draw like ("The Charcoal-Burner and the Fuller")

• In serving the wicked, expect no reward, and be thankful if you escape injury for your pains ("The Wolf and the Crane")

• Self-help is the best help ("Hercules and the Wagoner")

• The loiterer often blames delay on his more active friend ("The Traveler and His Dog")

• Birds of a feather flock together ("The Farmer and the Stork")

• The greatest kindness will not bind the ungrateful ("The Farmer and the Snake")

• No arguments will give courage to the coward ("The Fawn and His Mother")

• Fair weather friends are not worth much (" The Swallow and the Crow")

• Don’t make much ado about nothing ("The Mountain in Labor")

• If men had all they wished, they would be often ruined ("The Tortoise and the Eagle")

• Pleasure bought with pains, hurts ("The Flies and the Honey-Pot")

• One story is good, till another is told ("The Man and the Lion")

• If words suffice not, blows must follow ("The Farmer and the Cranes")

• Look before you leap ("The Fox and the Goat")

• Misfortune tests the sincerity of friends ("The Bear and the Two Travelers")

• Those who suffer most cry out the least ("The Oxen and the Axle-Trees")

• Zeal should not outrun discretion ("The Thirsty Pigeon")

• Change of habit cannot alter Nature ("The Raven and the Swan")

• Do not attempt to hide things which cannot be hid ("The Goat and the Goatherd")

• He is wise who is warned by the misfortunes of others ("The Sick Lion")

• The value is in the worth, not in the number ("The Lioness")

• Do not attempt too much at once ("The Boy and the Filberts")

• No one truly forgets injuries in the presence of him who caused the injury ("The Laborer and the Snake")

• Harm seek, harm find ("The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing")

• Evil companions bring more hurt than profit ("The Sick Stag")

• Do not be in a hurry to change one evil for another ("The Oxen and the Butchers")

• Little liberties are great offenses ("The Lion, the Mouse, and the Fox")

• Old friends cannot with impunity be sacrificed for new ones ("The Goatherd and the Wild Goats")

• Notoriety is often mistaken for fame ("The Mischievous Dog")

• Whatever you do, do with all your might ("The Boy and the Nettles")

• Those who seek to please everybody please nobody ("The Man and His Two Sweethearts")

• Pride goes before destruction ("The Fighting Cocks and the Eagle")

• There is no believing a liar, even when he speaks the truth ("The Shepherd’s Boy and the Wolf")

• Time and place often give the advantage to the weak over the strong ("The Kid and the Wolf")

• Example is more powerful than precept ("The Crab and Its Mother")

• Better poverty without care, than riches with ("The Fir-Tree and the Bramble")

• Harm hatch, harm catch ("The Mouse, the Frog, and the Hawk")

• Benefits bestowed upon the evil-disposed increase their means of injuring you ("The Man Bitten by a Dog")

• Equals make the best friends ("The Two Pots")

• Hypocritical speeches are easily seen through ("The Wolf and the Sheep")

• What’s bred in the bone will stick to the flesh ("The Aethiop")

• Abstain and enjoy ("The Huntsman and the Fisherman")

• The memory of a good deed lives ("The Old Woman and the Wine-Jar")

• Children are not to be blamed for the faults of their parents ("The Two Dogs")

• Avoid a remedy that is worse than the disease ("The Hawk, the Kite, and the Pigeons")

• The least outlay is not always the greatest gain ("The Widow and the Sheep")

• Might makes right ("The Wild Ass and the Lion")

• We must make friends in prosperity if we would have their help in adversity ("The Sick Kite
  False confidence often leads into danger ("The Ass, the Cock, and the Lion")

• The more honor the more danger ("The Mice and the Weasels")

• Every man for himself ("The Three Tradesmen")

• He is not to be trusted as a friend who mistreats his own family ("The Master and His Dogs")

• They are not wise who give to themselves the credit due to others ("The Ass Carrying the Image")

THEMES

• He who shares the danger ought to share the prize ("The Two Travelers and the Axe")

• Evil wishes, like chickens, come home to roost ("The Bee and Jupiter")

• Our mere anticipations of life outrun its realities ("The Seaside Travelers")

• In quarreling about the shadow we often lose the substance ("The Ass and His Shadow")

• Stoop to conquer ("The Oak and the Reeds")

• The hero is brave in deeds as well as words ("The Hunter and the Woodman")

• Necessity knows no law ("The Birdcatcher, the Partridge, and the Cock")

• Do nothing without a regard to the consequences ("The Two Frogs")

• It sometimes happens that one man has all the toil, and another all the profit ("The Lion, the Bear, and the Fox")

• In avoiding one evil, care must be taken not to fall into another ("The Doe and the Lion")

• Every man should be content to mind his own business ("The Seagull and the Kite")

• It shows an evil disposition to take advantage of a friend in distress ("The Bull and the Goat")

• The best intentions will not always ensure success ("The Monkeys and Their Mother")

• Everyone is more or less master of his own fate ("The Traveler and Fortune")

• Happy is the man who learns from the misfortunes of others ("The Lion, the Fox, and the Ass")

• Misfortunes springing from ourselves are the hardest to bear ("The Oak and the Woodcutters")

• Men often bear little grievances with less courage than they do large misfortunes ("The Ass and the Frogs")

• Those who assume a character which does not belong to them, only make themselves ridiculous ("The Crow and the Raven")

• Contentment with our lot is an element of happiness ("The Crab and the Fox")

• In a change of government the poor change nothing beyond the name of their master ("The Ass and the Old Shepherd")

• The desire for imaginary benefits often involves the loss of present blessings ("The Kites and the Swans")

• Count the cost before you commit yourselves ("The Hares and the Foxes")

• Be on guard against men who can strike from a distance ("The Bowman and Lion")

• Use serves to overcome dread ("The Camel")

• No one can be a friend if you know not whether to trust or distrust him ("The Dog and the Hare")

• Two blacks do not make one white ("The Stag, the Wolf, and the Sheep")

• Fine feathers don’t make fine birds ("The Peacock and the Crane")

• Every tale is not to be believed ("The Thief and the Innkeeper")

• Necessity is the mother of invention ("The Crow and the Pitcher")

• A willful man will have his way to his own hurt ("The Two Frogs")

• A false tale often betrays itself ("The Fox and the Monkey")

• Self-help is the best help ("The Lark and Her Young Ones"

• Acquaintance softens prejudices ("The Fox and the Lion")

• Counsel without help is useless ("The Boy Bathing")

• Straws show how the wind blows ("The Man and His Wife")

• The dishonest, if they act honestly, get no credit ("The Wolf, the Fox, and the Ape")

• Union is strength ("The Lion and the Three Bulls")

• Evil tendencies are shown in early life ("The Blind Man and the Whelp")

• It is easy to kick a man that is down ("The Dogs and the Fox")

• Men of evil reputation, when they perform a good deed, fail to get credit for it ("The Wolf and the Horse")

• Persuasion is better than Force ("The North Wind and the Sun")

• A man is known by the company he keeps ("The Ass and His Purchaser")

• What is most truly valuable is often underrated ("The Stag at the Pool")

• Youth’s first duty is reverence to parents ("The Lark Burying Her Father")

• Some men are of more consequence in their own eyes than in the eyes of their neighbors ("The Gnat and the Bull")

• Attempt not impossibilities ("The Dogs and the Hides")

• It is absurd to ape our betters ("The Monkey and the Camel")

• Self-interest alone moves some men ("The Peasant and the Apple-Tree")

• Try before you trust ("The Lion and the Eagle")

• We had better bear our troubles bravely than try to escape them ("The King’s Son and the Painted Lion")

• Nature exceeds nurture ("The Cat and Venus")

• It matters little if those who are inferior to us in merit should be like us in outside appearances ("The She-Goats and Their Beards")

• They who act without sufficient thought, will often fall into unsuspected danger ("The Dog and the Oyster")

• The safeguards of virtue are hateful to those with evil intentions ("The Thieves and the Cock")

• Some men underrate their best blessings ("The Travelers and the Plane-Tree")

STYLE

• mostly animal protagonists
• fables (brief stories)
• w/morals (heavily thematic)
• themes:
  • psychology, politics, spirituality,
  • education, health and well-being

• "Vixen & Lioness" Notes & Text
• Aesop vs. Bierce

 LINKS

• <http://www.aesopfables.com/>
• <http://www.aesops-fables.org.uk/>
• <http://aesop.pangyre.org/morals.html>
• < http://www.online-literature.com/aesop/>
• <http://www.togetherweteach.com/MoreSayings/morals_of_aesop.htm>
• collection of Aesop’s fables:
  • < http://www.umass.edu/aesop/ >
  • < http://www.aesopfables.com/ >
  • < http://www.read.gov/aesop/001.html >