Aesop's Fables by Aesop (May 2018)
These fables are likely familiar to you, reader, for Aesop’s Fables is perhaps the most well known piece of literature from Greek antiquity. In fact, they’ve been translated and rewritten in so many formats that I had a hard time finding a suitable adult copy (1).
The copy I ended up reading contained 358 fables. Aesop generally used animal characters to observe and comment on the consequences of common human behavior. Each fable was structured in a similar way – a character or two is introduced, there is an exchange or interaction of some kind, and a moral summarizes the lesson. Outside of the morals, there wasn’t much I could pull from my reading in terms of direct insights into human nature. However, a couple of patterns did emerge over the course of these stories.
One theme considered the cynical extensions of what it would mean if someone repeated their present behavior when they encountered similar circumstances in the future. What does it mean, for example, if as a newcomer to a group you are treated very well by the members? I suppose the key is to consider what might happen when the next newcomer arrives – will your good treatment continue or will the next newcomer simply become the object of pampering? As Aesop himself points out, identity is a product of repeated action.
Another common theme rejected the hierarchy of instigators. Playing a trumpet is far less threatening than instigating a fight – unless the situation involves a trumpeter leading an army into battle. In this case, Aesop saw the musician as guilty as anyone else who took up arms.
The fables also frequently used evidence of past behavior to question the validity of a representation. In the way debtors who borrow the wealth of others can often appear more impressive than their assets, people who predict the future often appear to know more than the average observer. These people should be asked about their past predictions and, if any of them failed, challenged to provide some kind of explanation.
One consistent type of moral warned the generous from being too easy with their giving. These morals often did not resonate with me and perhaps this points to the underlying lesson of Aesop’s Fables as a whole. Since Aesop’s time, daily life has changed a great deal. Although both Western and ancient Greek society share an aspect of brutality and violence, in the West there is at least an expectation of kindness and courtesy to those we meet in the street.
Footnotes / the tortoise orders a pizza from the hare
0. A hint for serious readers - ALWAYS find the Penguin Classics edition...
Before I found the Penguin Classics edition, I went through a number of other
editions that just were not what I was looking for (including a picture
book aimed at preschoolers and a translation written in the same style I
would have expected of a parody Sir Lancelot autobiography – ye olde
tortoise this, the hare sleepeth that…).
1. No, not that kind of adult, you fool…
Given all the different versions I encountered in my book search, it wouldn’t surprise me at all to learn there is some kind of pornographic version of these fables out there.
