Hercules and the Wagoner or Hercules and the Carter is a fable credited to Aesop. It is associated with the proverb "God helps those who help themselves", variations on which are found in other ancient Greek authors.
Hercules and the Wagoner or Hercules and the Carter is a fable credited to Aesop. It is associated with the proverb "God helps those who help themselves", variations on which are found in other ancient Greek authors.
A number of the fables credited to Aesop seem to have been created to illustrate already existing proverbs. [1] The tale of Herakles and the Cowherd, first recorded by Babrius towards the end of the 1st century CE, is one of these. The rustic's cart falls into a ravine and he calls on the deified strongman for help, only to be advised by a voice from Heaven to put his own shoulder to the wheel first. In a variant recorded by the near contemporary Zenobius an ass founders in the mud, while in the later Latin of Avianus it is a cart drawn by oxen that gets stuck there. The fable appears as number 291 in the Perry Index. [2] Another fable of the same tendency is numbered 30 in that index. It tells of a man who is shipwrecked and calls on the goddess Athena for help; he is advised by another to try swimming ('moving his arms') as well. [3] [4]
Evidence that the advice on which they close is old and probably of proverbial origin is provided by its appearance in ancient Greek tragedies, of which only fragments now remain. In the Philoctetes (c.409 BCE) of Sophocles appear the lines, "No good e'er comes of leisure purposeless; And heaven ne’er helps the men who will not act." [5] And in the Hippolytus (428 BCE) of Euripides there is the more direct, "Try first thyself, and after call in God; For to the worker God himself lends aid." [6]
When the theme was taken up in the Renaissance, it was the variant of the laden ass that slips in the mire that appeared earlier on in Guillaume La Perrière's emblem book, Le theatre des bons engins (1544) . Though prayer to God is piously recommended in the accompanying poem,
Not long after, Gabriele Faerno included the story of Hercules and the Wagoner in his influential collection of Latin poems based on Aesop's fables that was published in 1563. [8] Then in England Francis Barlow provided versions in English verse and Latin prose to accompany the illustration in his 1666 collection of the fables under the title "The Clown and the Cart". [9] Two years later, a French version appeared in La Fontaine's Fables titled "The Mired Carter" (Le chartier embourbé, VI.18). The variation in this telling is that the god suggests various things that the carter should do until, to his surprise, he finds that the cart is freed. The first translation of this version was made by Charles Denis in 1754, and there he follows La Fontaine in incorporating the Classical proverb as the moral on which it ends: "First help thyself, and Heaven will do the rest." [10]
The English idiomatic expression 'to set (or put) one's shoulder to the wheel' derived at an earlier date from the condition given the carter before he could expect divine help. [11] Denis' translation apart, however, the link with the proverb "God helps those who help themselves" was slow to be taken up in English sources, even though that wording had emerged by the end of the 17th century. It was not there in Samuel Croxall's long 'application' at the end of his version, in which he stated that to neglect the necessity of self-help is ‘blasphemy’, that it is ‘a great sin for a man to fail in his trade or occupation by running often to prayers’, and that 'the man who is virtuously and honestly engaged is actually serving God all the while’. [12] A century after the first appearance of his collection, the fables were reused with new commentaries in Aesop's fables: accompanied by many hundred proverbs & moral maxims suited to the subject of each fable (Dublin 1821). There it is titled "The Farmer and the Carter" and headed with the maxim 'If you will obtain, you must attempt'. At the end, a Biblical parallel is suggested with ‘The soul of the sluggard desireth and hath nothing’ from the Book of Proverbs (13.4). [13] Later in that century, George Fyler Townsend preferred to end his new translation with the pithy 'Self-help is the best help'. [14]
Aesop's Fables, or the Aesopica, is a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and storyteller believed to have lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 564 BCE. Of diverse 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 Dog and Its Reflection is one of Aesop's Fables and is numbered 133 in the Perry Index. The Greek language original was retold in Latin and in this way was spread across Europe, teaching the lesson to be contented with what one has and not to relinquish substance for shadow. There also exist Indian variants of the story. The morals at the end of the fable have provided both English and French with proverbs and the story has been applied to a variety of social situations.
Zeus and the Tortoise appears among Aesop’s Fables and explains how the tortoise got her shell. It is numbered 106 in the Perry Index. From it derives the proverbial sentiment that ‘There’s no place like home’.
The Ass in the Lion's Skin is one of Aesop's Fables, of which there are two distinct versions. There are also several Eastern variants, and the story's interpretation varies accordingly.
The Wolf and the Lamb is a well-known fable of Aesop and is numbered 155 in the Perry Index. There are several variant stories of tyrannical injustice in which a victim is falsely accused and killed despite a reasonable defence.
The phrase "God helps those who help themselves" is a motto that emphasizes the importance of self-initiative and agency. The expression is known around the world and is used to inspire people for self-help. The phrase originated in ancient Greece as "the gods help those who help themselves" and may originally have been proverbial. It is illustrated by two of Aesop's Fables and a similar sentiment is found in ancient Greek drama. Although it has been commonly attributed to Benjamin Franklin, the modern English wording appears earlier in Algernon Sidney's work.
The Mountain in Labour is one of Aesop's Fables and appears as number 520 in the Perry Index. The story became proverbial in Classical times and was applied to a variety of situations. It refers to speech acts which promise much but deliver little, especially in literary and political contexts. In more modern times the satirical intention behind the fable was given greater emphasis following Jean de la Fontaine's interpretation of it. Illustrations to the text underlined its ironical application particularly and went on to influence cartoons referring to the fable elsewhere in Europe and America.
The Two Pots is one of Aesop's Fables and numbered 378 in the Perry Index. The fable may stem from proverbial sources.
Speaking of The Snake and the Crab in Ancient Greece was the equivalent of the modern idiom, 'Pot calling the kettle black'. A fable attributed to Aesop was eventually created about the two creatures and later still yet another fable concerning a crab and its offspring was developed to make the same point.
The Crow or Raven and the Snake or Serpent is one of Aesop's Fables and numbered 128 in the Perry Index. Alternative Greek versions exist and two of these were adopted during the European Renaissance. The fable is not to be confused with the story of this title in the Panchatantra, which is completely different.
The title of The Woodcutter and the Trees covers a complex of fables that are of West Asian and Greek origins, the latter ascribed to Aesop. All of them concern the need to be wary of harming oneself through misplaced generosity.
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 Fox and the Mask is one of Aesop's Fables, of which there are both Greek and Latin variants. It is numbered 27 in the Perry Index.
The Heron and the Fish is a situational fable constructed to illustrate the moral that one should not be over-fastidious in making choices since, as the ancient proverb proposes, 'He that will not when he may, when he will he shall have nay'. Of ancient but uncertain origin, it gained popularity after appearing among La Fontaine's Fables.
The situation of the Eagle Wounded by an Arrow vaned with its own feathers is referred to in several ancient Greek sources and is listed as fable 276 in the Perry Index. It is generally applied to the misery of realising that one has contributed to one's own injury but also as a warning against self-reliant pride.
The story of the feud between the eagle and the beetle is one of Aesop's Fables and often referred to in Classical times. It is numbered 3 in the Perry Index and the episode became proverbial. Although different in detail, it can be compared to the fable of The Eagle and the Fox. In both cases the eagle believes itself safe from retribution for an act of violence and is punished by the destruction of its young.
The lion grown old is counted among Aesop’s Fables and is numbered 481 in the Perry Index. It is used in illustration of the insults given those who have fallen from power and has a similar moral to the fable of The dogs and the lion's skin. Parallel proverbs of similar meaning were later associated with it.
The Oxen and the Creaking Cart is a situational fable ascribed to Aesop and is numbered 45 in the Perry Index. Originally directed against complainers, it was later linked with the proverb ‘the worst wheel always creaks most’ and aimed emblematically at babblers of all sorts.
The fable of The Fox, the Flies and the Hedgehog is ascribed to Aesop’s Fables. From its beginning it was applied satirically to political leaders and is numbered 427 in the Perry Index.
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.