The Fables of Phædrus

Title: The Fables of Phædrus

Author: Phaedrus

Translator: Henry T. Riley

Christopher Smart

Release date: May 18, 2008 [eBook #25512] Most recently updated: January 3, 2021

Language: English

Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/25512

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Œ, œ (“oe” ligature) Μωμεῖσθαι

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The text is taken from an omnibus volume that also contained Riley’s translation of the six surviving plays of Terence. The full title page has been retained for completeness, but the sections of the Preface and Contents that apply only to Terence have been omitted.

Footnotes have been renumbered within each Book. Footnote tags that were missing in the original are underlined without further annotation. The name is spelled “Æsop” in Riley, “Esop” in Smart and in the Contents. Inconsistencies in fable numbering are described at the beginning of the Table of Contents.

A few typographical errors have been corrected. They are marked in the text with mouse-hover popups.

PREFACE.

In the Translation of Phædrus, the Critical Edition by Orellius, 1831, has been used, and in the Æsopian Fables, the text of the Parisian Edition of Gail, 1826. The Notes will, it is believed, be found to embody the little that is known of the contemporary history of the Author.

H. T. R.

The Table of Contents refers primarily to the Riley text. Fables I.xxix, III.iii, and several Fables in Book IV are missing in Smart; Riley’s Fable IV.i, “The Ass and the Priests of Cybele”, is Smart’s III.xix. Where Smart’s numbers are different, they are shown with popups.

In the text, Book III, Fable xi is “The Eunuch to the Abusive Man”; all following fables in Riley are numbered one higher than in the Table of Contents. This fable is missing from Smart but the number X is skipped, as was number I.xviii.

CONTENTS.

THE FABLES OF PHÆDRUS.

The Wolf and the Lamb

The Frogs asking for a King

The vain Jackdaw and the Peacock

The Dog carrying some Meat across a River

The Cow, the She-Goat, the Sheep, and the Lion

The Frogs’ complaint against the Sun

The Fox and the Tragic Mask

The Wolf and the Crane

The Sparrow and the Hare

The Wolf, the Fox, and the Ape

The Ass and the Lion hunting

The Stag at the Stream

The Fox and the Raven

The Cobbler turned Physician

The Ass and the Old Shepherd

The Stag, the Sheep, and the Wolf

The Sheep, the Dog, and the Wolf

The Woman in Labour

The Bitch and her Whelps

The hungry Dogs

The aged Lion, the Wild Boar, the Bull, and the Ass

The Man and the Weasel

The Faithful Dog

The Frog and the Ox

The Dog and the Crocodile

The Fox and the Stork

The Dog, the Treasure, and the Vulture

The Fox and the Eagle

The Ass deriding the Boar

The Frogs frightened at the Battle of the Bulls

The Kite and the Pigeons

The Lion, the Robber, and the Traveller

Two Women of different Ages beloved by the Middle-aged Man

The Man and the Dog

The Eagle, the Cat, and the Sow

Cæsar to the Chamberlain

The Eagle, the Crow, and the Tortoise

The Mules and Robbers

The Stag and the Oxen

The Old Woman and the Cask

The Panther and Shepherd

Esop and the Farmer

The Butcher and the Ape

Esop and the Insolent Man

The Fly and the Mule

The Dog and the Wolf

The Brother and Sister

Socrates to his Friends

The Poet on Believing and not Believing

The Eunuch to the Abusive Man

The Cock and the Pearl

The Bees and the Drones, the Wasp sitting as judge

Esop at play

The Dog to the Lamb

The Grasshopper and the Owl

The Trees under the Protection of the Gods

The Peacock to Juno

Esop’s Answer to the Inquisitive Man

The Ass and the Priests of Cybele

The Weasel and the Mice

The Fox and the Grapes

The Horse and the Wild Boar

Esop interpreting a Will

The Battle of the Mice and the Weasels

The Poet’s Defence against the Censurers of his Fables

The Viper and the File

The Fox and the Goat

Of the Vices of Men

A Thief pillaging the Altar of Jupiter

Hercules and Plutus

The Lion reigning

Prometheus

The She-Goats and their Beards

The Pilot and the Mariners

The Embassy of the Dogs to Jupiter

The Man and the Snake

The Fox and the Dragon

Phædrus

The Shipwreck of Simonides

The Mountain in Labour

The Ant and the Fly

Simonides preserved by the Gods

Demetrius and Menander

The Travellers and the Robber

The Bald Man and the Fly

The Man and the Ass

The Buffoon and Countryman

The Two Bald Men

Princeps the Flute Player

The Emblem of Opportunity

The Bull and the Calf

The Huntsman and the Dog

The Ape and the Fox

The Author

Mercury and the two Women

Prometheus and Cunning

The Author

The signification of the Punishments of Tartarus

The Author

Æsop and the Author

Pompeius Magnus and his Soldier

Juno, Venus, and the Hen

The Father of a Family and Æsop

The Philosopher and the Victor in the Gymnastic Games

The Ass and the Lyre

The Widow and the Soldier

The Rich Suitor and the Poor One

Æsop and his Mistress

A Cock carried in a Litter by Cats

The Sow bringing forth and the Wolf

The Runaway Slave and Æsop

The Chariot Horse sold for the Mill

The Hungry Bear

The Traveller and the Raven

The Shepherd and the She-Goat

The Serpent and the Lizard

The Crow and the Sheep

The Servant and the Master

The Hare and the Herdsman

The Young Man and the Courtesan

The Beaver

The Butterfly and the Wasp

The Ground-Swallow and the Fox

The Sick Kite

The Hares tired of Life

Jupiter and the Fox

The Lion and the Mouse

The Man and the Trees

The Mouse and the Frog

The Two Cocks and the Hawk

The Snail and the Ape

The City Mouse and the Country Mouse

The Ass fawning upon his Master

The Crane, the Crow, and the Countryman

The Birds and the Swallow

The Partridge and the Fox

The Ass, the Ox, and the Birds

The Lion and the Shepherd

The Goat and the Bull

The Horse and the Ass

The Birds, the Beasts, and the Bat

The Nightingale, the Hawk, and the Fowler

The Wolf, the Fox, and the Shepherd

The Sheep and the Wolves

The Ape and the Fox

The Wolf, the Huntsman, and the Shepherd

The Truthful Man, the Liar, and the Apes

The Man and the Lion

The Stork, the Goose, and the Hawk

The Sheep and the Crow

The Ant and the Grasshopper

The Horse and the Ass

The Old Lion and the Fox

The Camel and the Flea

The Kid and the Wolf

The Poor Man and the Serpent

The Eagle and the Kite

BOOK I.

THE PROLOGUE.

The matter which Æsop, the inventor of Fables, has provided, I have polished in Iambic verse. The advantages of this little work are twofold—that it excites laughter, and by counsel guides the life of man. But if any one shall think fit to cavil, because not only wild beasts, but even trees speak, let him remember that we are disporting in fables.

Fable I. THE WOLF AND THE LAMB.

Driven by thirst, a Wolf and a Lamb had come to the same stream; the Wolf stood above, and the Lamb at a distance below. Then, the spoiler, prompted by a ravenous maw, alleged a pretext for a quarrel. “Why,” said he, “have you made the water muddy for me while I am drinking?” The Fleece-bearer, trembling, answered: “Prithee, Wolf, how can I do what you complain of? The water is flowing downwards from you to where I am drinking.” The other, disconcerted by the force of truth, exclaimed: “Six months ago, you slandered me.” “Indeed,” answered 366 the Lamb, “I was not born then.” “By Hercules,” said the Wolf, “then ’twas your father slandered me;” and so, snatching him up, he tore him to pieces, killing him unjustly.

This Fable is applicable to those men who, under false pretences, oppress the innocent.

Fable II. THE FROGS ASKING FOR A KING.

When AthensI.1 was flourishing under just laws, liberty grown wanton embroiled the city, and license relaxed the reins of ancient discipline. Upon this, the partisans of factions conspiring, Pisistratus the TyrantI.2 seized the citadel. When the Athenians were lamenting their sad servitude (not that he was cruel, but because every burden is grievous to those who are unused to it), and began to complain, Æsop related a Fable to the following effect:—

“The Frogs, roaming at large in their marshy fens, with loud clamour demanded of Jupiter a king, who, by his authority, might check their dissolute manners. The Father of the Gods smiled, and gave them a little Log, which, on being thrown among them startled the timorous race by the noise and sudden commotion in the bog. When it had lain for some time immersed in the mud, one of them by chance silently lifted his head above the water, and having taken a peep at the king, called up all the rest. Having got the better of their fears, vying with each other, they swim towards him, and the insolent mob leap upon the Log. After defiling it with every kind of insult, they sent to Jupiter, requesting another king, because the one that had been given them was useless. Upon this, he sent them a Water Snake,I.3 who with 367 his sharp teeth began to gobble them up one after another. Helpless they strive in vain to escape death; terror deprives them of voice. By stealth, therefore, they send through Mercury a request to Jupiter, to

succour them in their distress. Then said the God in reply: ‘Since you would not be content with your good fortune, continue to endure your bad fortune.’”

“Do you also, O fellow-citizens,” said Æsop, “submit to the present evil, lest a greater one befall you.”

Fable III. THE VAIN JACKDAW AND THE PEACOCK.

That one ought not to plume oneself on the merits which belong to another, but ought rather to pass his life in his own proper guise, Æsop has given us this illustration:—

A Jackdaw, swellingI.4 with empty pride, picked up some feathers which had fallen from a Peacock, and decked himself out therewith; upon which, despising his own kind, he mingled with a beauteous flock of Peacocks. They tore his feathers from off the impudent bird, and put him to flight with their beaks. The Jackdaw, thus roughly handled, in grief hastened to return to his own kind; repulsed by whom, he had to submit to sad disgrace. Then said one of those whom he had formerly despised: “If you had been content with our station, and had been ready to put up with what nature had given, you would neither have experienced the former affront, nor would your ill fortune have had to feel the additional pang of this repulse.”

Fable IV. THE DOG CARRYING SOME MEAT ACROSS A RIVER.

He who covets what belongs to another, deservedly loses his own.

As a Dog, swimmingI.5 through a river, was carrying a piece of meat, he saw his own shadow in the watery mirror; and, thinking that it was another booty carried by another dog, attempted to snatch it away; but his greediness was disappointed, he both dropped the food which he was holding in his mouth, and was after all unable to reach that at which he grasped.

Fable V. THE COW, THE SHE-GOAT, THE SHEEP, AND THE LION.

An alliance with the powerful is never to be relied upon: the present Fable testifies the truth of my maxim.

A Cow, a She-Goat, and a SheepI.6 patient under injuries, were partners in the forests with a Lion. When they had captured a Stag of vast bulk, thus spoke the Lion, after it had been divided into shares: “Because my name is Lion, I take the first; the second you will yield to me because I am courageous; then, because I am the strongest,I.7 the third will 369 fall to my lot; if anyone touches the fourth, woe betide him.”

Thus did unscrupulousness seize upon the whole prey for itself.

Fable VI. THE FROGS’ COMPLAINT AGAINST THE SUN.

Æsop, on seeing the pompous wedding of a thief, who was his neighbour, immediately began to relate the following story:

Once on a time, when the Sun was thinking of taking a wife,I.8 the Frogs sent forth their clamour to the stars. Disturbed by their croakings, Jupiter asked the cause of their complaints. Then said one of the inhabitants of the pool: “As it is, by himself he parches up all the standing waters, and compels us unfortunates to languish and die in our scorched abode. What is to become of us, if he beget children?”

Fable VII. THE FOX AND THE TRAGIC MASK.

A Fox, by chance, casting his eyes on a Tragic Mask: “Ah,” said she, “great as is its beauty, still it has no brains.”I.9

This is meant for those to whom fortune has granted honor and renown, leaving them void of common sense.

Fable VIII. THE WOLF AND THE CRANE.

He who expects a recompense for his services from the dishonest commits a twofold mistake; first, because he assists the undeserving, and in the next place, because he cannot be gone while he is yet safe.

A bone that he had swallowed stuck in the jaws of a Wolf. Thereupon, overcome by extreme pain, he began to tempt all and sundry by great rewards to extract the cause of misery. At length, on his taking an oath, a Crane was prevailed on, and, trusting the length of her neck to his throat, she wrought, with danger to herself, a cure for the Wolf. When she demanded the promised reward for this service, “You are an ungrateful one,” replied the Wolf, “to have taken your head in safety out of my mouth, and then to ask for a reward.”

Fable IX. THE SPARROW AND THE HARE.

Let us show, in a few lines, that it is unwise to be heedlessI.10 of ourselves, while we are giving advice to others.

A Sparrow upbraided a Hare that had been pounced upon by an Eagle, and was sending forth piercing cries. “Where now,” said he, “is that fleetness for which you are so remarkable? Why were your feet thus tardy?” While he was speaking, a Hawk seizes him unawares, and kills him, shrieking aloud with vain complaints. The Hare, almost dead, as a consolation in his agony, exclaimed: “You, who so lately, free from care, were ridiculing my misfortunes, have now to deplore your own fate with as woful cause.”

Fable X. THE WOLF, THE FOX, AND THE APE.

Whoever has once become notorious by base fraud, even if he speaks the truth, gains no belief. To this, a short Fable of Æsop bears witness.

A Wolf indicted a Fox upon a charge of theft; the latter denied that she was amenable to the charge. Upon this, the Ape sat as judge between them; and when each of them had pleaded his cause, the Ape is said to have pronounced this sentence: “You, Wolf, appear not to have lost what you demand; I believe that you, Fox, have stolen what you so speciously deny.”

Fable XI. THE ASS AND THE LION HUNTING.

A dastard, who in his talk brags of his prowess, and is devoid of courage,I.11 imposes upon strangers, but is the jest of all who know him.

A Lion having resolved to hunt in company with an Ass, concealed him in a thicket, and at the same time enjoined him to frighten the wild beasts with his voice, to which they were unused, while he himself was to catch them as they fled. Upon this, Long-ears, with all his might, suddenly raised a cry, and terrified the beasts with this new cause of astonishment.I.12 While, in their alarm, they are flying to the well-known outlets, they are overpowered by the dread onset of the Lion; who, after he was wearied with slaughter, called forth the Ass from his retreat, and bade him cease his clamour. On this the other, in his insolence, inquired: “What think you of the assistance given by my voice?” “Excellent!” said the Lion, “so much so, that if I had not been acquainted with your spirit and your race, I should have fled in alarm like the rest.”

Fable XII. THE STAG AT THE STREAM.

This story shows that what you contemn is often found of more utility than what you load with praises.

A Stag, when he had drunk at a stream, stood still, and gazed upon his likeness in the water. While there, in admiration, he was praising his branching horns, and finding fault with the extreme thinness of his legs, suddenly roused by the cries of the huntsmen, he took to flight over the plain, and with nimble course escaped the dogs. Then a wood received the beast; in which, being entangled and caught by his horns, the dogs began to tear him to pieces with savage bites. While dying, he is said to have uttered these words: “Oh, how unhappy am I, who now too late find out how useful to me were the things that I despised; and what sorrow the things I used to praise, have caused me.”

Fable XIII. THE FOX AND THE RAVEN.

He who is delighted at being flattered with artful words, generally pays the ignominious penalty of a late repentance.

As a Raven, perched in a lofty tree, was about to eat a piece of cheese, stolen from a window,I.13 a Fox espied him, and thereupon began thus to speak: “O Raven, what a glossiness there is upon those feathers of yours! What grace you carry in your shape and air! If you had a voice, no bird whatever would be superior to you.” On this, the other, while, in his folly, attempting to show off his voice, let fall the cheese from his mouth, which the crafty Fox with greedy teeth instantly snatched up. Then, too late, the Raven, thus, in his stupidity overreached, heaved a bitter sigh.

By this storyI.14 it is shown, how much ingenuity avails, and how wisdom is always an overmatch for strength.

Fable XIV. THE COBBLER TURNED PHYSICIAN.

A bungling Cobbler, broken down by want, having begun to practise physic in a strange place, and selling his antidoteI.15 under a feigned name, gained some reputation for himself by his delusive speeches.

Upon this, the King of the city, who lay ill, being afflicted with a severe malady, asked for a cup, for the purpose of trying him; and then pouring water into it, and pretending that he was mixing poison with the fellow’s antidote, ordered him to drink it off, in consideration of a stated reward. Through fear of death, the cobbler then confessed that not by any skill in the medical art, but through the stupidity of the public, he had gained his reputation. The King, having summoned a council, thus remarked: “What think you of the extent of your madness, when you do not hesitate to trust your livesI.16 to one to whom no one would trust his feet to be fitted with shoes?”

This, I should say with good reason, is aimed at those through whose folly impudence makes a profit.

Fable XV. THE ASS AND THE OLD SHEPHERD.

In a change of government, the poor change nothing beyond the name of their master. That this is the fact this little Fable shows.

A timorous Old Man was feeding an Ass in a meadow. Frightened by a sudden alarm of the enemy, he tried to persuade the Ass to fly, lest they should be taken prisoners. But he leisurely replied: “Pray, do you suppose that the conqueror will place double panniers upon me?” The Old Man said, “No.” “Then what matters it to me, so long as I have to carry my panniers, whom I serve?”

Fable XVI. THE STAG, THE SHEEP, AND THE WOLF.

When a rogue offers his name as surety in a doubtful case, he has no design to act straight-forwardly, but is looking to mischief.

A Stag asked a Sheep for a measureI.17 of wheat, a Wolf being his surety. The other, however, suspecting fraud, replied: “The Wolf has always been in the habit of plundering and absconding; you, of rushing out of sight with rapid flight: where am I to look for you both when the day comes?”I.18

Fable XVII. THE SHEEP, THE DOG, AND THE WOLF.

Liars generallyI.19 pay the penalty of their guilt.

A Dog, who was a false accuser, having demanded of a Sheep a loaf of bread, which he affirmed he had entrusted to her charge; a Wolf, summoned as a witness, affirmed that not only one was owing but ten. Condemned on false testimony, the Sheep had to pay what she did not owe. A few days after, the Sheep saw the Wolf lying in a pit. “This,” said she, “is the reward of villany, sent by the Gods.”