The Fables of Phaedrus Part 1

The Fables of Phaedrus.

by Phaedrus.

PREFACE.

In the Translation of Phaedrus, the Critical Edition by Orellius, 1831, has been used, and in the aesopian 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 FABLES OF PHaeDRUS.

BOOK I.

THE PROLOGUE.

The matter which aesop, 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 the Lamb, "I was not born {then}." "By Hercules," said {the Wolf}, "{then 'twas} your father slandered me;" and so, s.n.a.t.c.hing 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 Athens[1] was flouris.h.i.+ng 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 Tyrant[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, aesop 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 G.o.ds 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,[3] who with 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 G.o.d 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 {aesop}, "submit to the present evil, lest a greater one befall you."

[Footnote I.1: _When Athens_)--Ver. 1. This probably alludes to the government of Solon, when Archon of Athens.]

[Footnote I.2: _Pisistratus the Tyrant_)--Ver. 5. From Suidas and Eusebius we learn that aesop died in the fifty-fourth Olympiad, while Pisistratus did not seize the supreme power at Athens till the first year of the fifty-fifth. These dates, however, have been disputed by many, and partly on the strength of the present pa.s.sage.]

[Footnote I.3: _A Water-Snake_)--Ver. 24. Pliny tells us that the "hydrus" lives in the water, and is exceedingly venomous. Some Commentators think that Phaedrus, like aesop, intends to conceal a political meaning under this Fable, and that by the Water-Snake he means Caligula, and by the Log, Tiberius. Others, perhaps with more probability, think that the cruelty of Tiberius alone is alluded to in the mention of the snake. Indeed, it is doubtful whether Phaedrus survived to the time of Caligula: and it is more generally believed that the First and Second Books were written in the time of Augustus and Tiberius.]

FABLE III.

THE VAIN JACKDAW AND THE PEAc.o.c.k.

That one ought not to plume oneself on the merits which belong to another, but ought rather to pa.s.s his life in his own proper guise, aesop has given us this ill.u.s.tration:--

A Jackdaw, swelling[4] with empty pride, picked up some feathers which had fallen from a Peac.o.c.k, and decked himself out {therewith}; upon which, despising his own {kind}, he mingled with a beauteous flock of Peac.o.c.ks. 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."

[Footnote I.4: _A Jackdaw, swelling_)--Ver. 4. Scheffer thinks that Seja.n.u.s is alluded to under this image.]

FABLE IV.

THE DOG CARRYING SOME MEAT ACROSS A RIVER.

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

As a Dog, swimming[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 s.n.a.t.c.h 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.

[Footnote I.5: _As a Dog swimming_)--Ver. 9. Lessing finds some fault with the way in which this Fable is related, and with fair reason. The Dog swimming would be likely to disturb the water to such a degree, that it would be impossible for him to see with any distinctness the reflection of the meat. The version which represents him as crossing a bridge is certainly more consistent with nature.]

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 Sheep[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,[7] the third will fall to my lot; if anyone touches the fourth, woe betide him."

Thus did unscrupulousness seize upon the whole prey for itself.

[Footnote I.6: _And a Sheep_)--Ver. 3. Lessing also censures this Fable on the ground of the partners.h.i.+p being contrary to nature; neither the cow, the goat, nor the sheep feed on flesh.]

[Footnote I.7: _I am the strongest_)--Ver. 9. Some critics profess to see no difference between "sum fortis" in the eighth line, and "plus valeo" here; but the former expression appears to refer to his courage, and the latter to his strength. However, the second and third reasons are nothing but reiterations of the first one, under another form. Davidson remarks on this pa.s.sage: "I am not certain that the Poet meant any distinction; nay, there is, perhaps, a propriety in supposing that he industriously makes the Lion plead twice upon the same t.i.tle, to represent more strongly by what unjust claims men in power often invade the property of another."]

FABLE VI.

THE FROGS' COMPLAINT AGAINST THE SUN.

aesop, 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,[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?"

[Footnote I.8: _Taking a wife_)--Ver. 3. It has been suggested by Brotier and Desbillons, that in this Fable Phaedrus covertly alludes to the marriage which was contemplated by Livia, or Livilla, the daughter of the elder Drusus and Antonia, and the wife of her first-cousin, the younger Drusus, with the infamous Seja.n.u.s, the minister and favourite of Tiberius, after having, with his a.s.sistance, removed her husband by poison. In such case, the Frogs will represent the Roman people, the Sun Seja.n.u.s, who had greatly oppressed them, and by Jupiter, Tiberius will be meant.]