The story of the bald man and the fly is found in the earliest collection of Aesop's Fables and is numbered 525 in the Perry Index. [1] Although it deals with the theme of just punishment, some later interpreters have used it as a counsel of restraint.
A bald-headed man is stung by a fly and then slaps the spot. When the fly ridicules him and points out that he is only harming himself by retaliating, the man replies that he is prepared to put up with even more if he can only destroy so vile a creature. Commenting on the fable recorded by Phaedrus, Francisco Rodríguez Adrados considered that its storyline was situational in origin but then developed into a debate on the proper pursuit of justice. [2]
Though little is heard of Phaedrus' collection of fables during mediaeval times, this story reappeared in the work of others, including in Jacques de Vitry's 13th century collection of moral examples for sermons. [3] Following the discovery of old Phaedrus manuscripts during the Renaissance, a number of verse translations of the whole work were made from the 18th century onwards: by Christopher Smart in 1753, [4] by Brooke Boothby in 1809, [5] by Frederick Toller in 1854, [6] and by P. F. Widdows in 1992. [7] In addition the fable was included among the handful translated by Ashley Cowper in 1769 [8] as well as being updated to modern business conditions in a miscellany titled Aesop in a Monkey Suit: Fifty Fables of the Corporate Jungle. [9]
While the injured party in the debate between the man and the fly took the moral stance that an unprovoked attack merited a severe response, the fly argued that to make too much of a slight annoyance invites ridicule. For Phaedrus "This example shows that to err by accident is pardonable, but to do damage deliberately deserves any punishment, in my opinion." [10] While the prose versions by George Fyler Townsend [11] and Vernon Jones [12] omit the moral, they do include the man's vigorous defiance.
From the Middle Ages on, however, some authors have taken the fly's side in the argument. Adémar de Chabannes concluded his account with the sentiment that "One who makes enemies of the harmless, by harming himself is made laughable" (iniuriosis, qui sibi inimicos creant, et qui sibi iniuriam facit, aliis plus ridendus est), [13] while William Caxton introduced the fable with the remark that "Of a lytel euylle may wel come a gretter". [14] Nevertheless, the Spanish version of the fable in La vida del Ysopet con sus fabulas hystoriadas (1489), drawn from the same source as Caxton, concluded with the warning "that you should not seek enmity for pleasure or fun, for given the evil and unreasonableness of others, you can be injured by the one you hurt and annoy". [15] John Ogilby even has the fly speak up in its own defence in his Aesopics: the reproachful "rustick" should be grateful for the lasting lesson not to leave himself uncovered to attack in future. [16]
In the following century, William Somervile reinterpreted the fly as a nuisance-making demagogue who can safely be ignored by an aristocratic "Senate" in his poetic version of the fable, "The bald-pated Welchman and the Fly". [17] He was followed by Joseph Jacobs, who concluded, together with the pusillanimous authors before him, that "You will only injure yourself if you take notice of despicable enemies." [18]
Fable is a literary genre defined as a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are anthropomorphized, and that illustrates or leads to a particular moral lesson, which may at the end be added explicitly as a concise maxim or saying.
Gaius Julius Phaedrus, or Phaeder was a 1st-century AD Roman fabulist and the first versifier of a collection of Aesop's fables into Latin. Nothing is recorded of his life except for what can be inferred from his poems, and there was little mention of his work during late antiquity. It was not until the discovery of a few imperfect manuscripts during and following the Renaissance that his importance emerged, both as an author and in the transmission of the fables.
Aesop's Fables, or the Aesopica, is a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and storyteller who lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 564 BCE. Of varied and unclear origins, the stories associated with his name have descended to modern times through a number of sources and continue to be reinterpreted in different verbal registers and in popular as well as artistic media.
The Frog and the Ox appears among Aesop's Fables and is numbered 376 in the Perry Index. The story concerns a frog that tries to inflate itself to the size of an ox, but bursts in the attempt. It has usually been applied to socio-economic relations.
The lion's share is an idiomatic expression which now refers to the major share of something. The phrase derives from the plot of a number of fables ascribed to Aesop and is used here as their generic title. There are two main types of story, which exist in several different versions. Other fables exist in the East that feature division of prey in such a way that the divider gains the greater part - or even the whole. In English the phrase used in the sense of nearly all only appeared at the end of the 18th century; the French equivalent, le partage du lion, is recorded from the start of that century, following La Fontaine's version of the fable.
The Frogs Who Desired a King is one of Aesop's Fables and numbered 44 in the Perry Index. Throughout its history, the story has been given a political application.
The Cat and the Mice is a fable attributed to Aesop of which there are several variants. Sometimes a weasel is the predator; the prey can also be rats and chickens.
Aesop is an almost certainly legendary Greek fabulist and storyteller, said to have lived c. 620–564 BCE, and credited with a number of fables now collectively known as Aesop's Fables. Although his existence remains unclear and no writings by him survive, numerous tales credited to him were gathered across the centuries and in many languages in a storytelling tradition that continues to this day. Many of the tales associated with him are characterized by anthropomorphic animal characters.
The Cock and the Jewel is a fable attributed to Aesop and is numbered 503 in the Perry Index. As a trope in literature, the fable is reminiscent of stories used in Zen such as the kōan. It presents, in effect, a riddle on relative values and is capable of different interpretations, depending on the point of view from which it is regarded.
The Dog and the Wolf is one of Aesop's Fables, numbered 346 in the Perry Index. It has been popular since antiquity as an object lesson of how freedom should not be exchanged for comfort or financial gain. An alternative fable with the same moral concerning different animals is less well known.
The Man with Two Mistresses is one of Aesop's Fables that deals directly with human foibles. It is numbered 31 in the Perry Index.
The Fox and the Woodman is a cautionary story against hypocrisy included among Aesop's Fables and is numbered 22 in the Perry Index. Although the same basic plot recurs, different versions have included a variety of participants.
The Dove and the Ant is a story about the reward of compassionate behaviour. Included among Aesop's Fables, it is numbered 235 in the Perry Index.
The Frog and the Mouse is one of Aesop's Fables and exists in several versions. It is numbered 384 in the Perry Index. There are also Eastern versions of uncertain origin which are classified as Aarne-Thompson type 278, concerning unnatural relationships. The stories make the point that the treacherous are destroyed by their own actions.
The Old Woman and the Wine Jar is one of Aesop's Fables and is numbered 493 in the Perry Index. It has been applied to situations where an influence for good is lasting, such as the effect of education.
There are no less than six fables concerning an impertinent insect, which is taken in general to refer to the kind of interfering person who makes himself out falsely to share in the enterprise of others or to be of greater importance than he is in reality. Some of these stories are included among Aesop's Fables, while others are of later origin, and from them have been derived idioms in several languages.
The Eagle and the Fox is a fable of friendship betrayed and avenged. Counted as one of Aesop's Fables, it is numbered 1 in the Perry Index. The central situation concerns an eagle that seizes a fox's cubs and bears them off to feed its young. There are then alternative endings to the story, in one of which the fox exacts restitution, while in the other it gains retribution for its injury.
The Lion, the Boar and the Vultures is sometimes counted among Aesop’s Fables and warns against quarrels of which others will take advantage. It is numbered 338 in the Perry Index.
The fable of how the horse lost its liberty in the course of settling a petty conflict exists in two versions involving either a stag or a boar and is numbered 269 in the Perry Index. When the story is told in a political context, it warns against seeking a remedy that leaves one worse off than before. Where economic circumstances are involved, it teaches that independence is always better than compromised plenty.
The man and the lion (disputing) is one of Aesop's Fables and is numbered 284 in the Perry Index. An alternative title is The lion and the statue. The story's moral is that the source of evidence should be examined before it is accepted.