Aesop/Esop(e)/Isope

620-564 BC (disputed)

Aristotle and Herodotus have written of Aesop that he was a Greek slave whose exact origins are unknown. After achieving his freedom, Plutarch tells us that he journeyed to Delphi on a diplomatic mission from King Croesus. There he insulted the Delphians, was sentenced to death on trumped-up charges, and thrown off a cliff. Later scholars have disputed this account as pure fiction.

Many collections of fables attributed to Aesop have been written and rewritten. Most of these have been lost. As the centuries passed, stories from many other cultures have crept into such collections. Thus, the current group of fables only loosely resembles the original set of stories.

As to his physical appearance, the descriptions have vacillated over time. Some same he was monstrously ugly; others not. Some say he was a Black; others not. Nevertheless, he has appeared in books, plays, radio, movies and on canvas.*

 

Regardless of the truths of the history of Aesop, the Aesop fables are truly timeless. Because each story reveals a simple and sometimes profound truth about human nature, they will always have something to teach us.

*For a more complete account look on Wikipedia.

 

THE OAK AND THE REEDS

Aesop

 

A Giant Oak stood near a brook in which grew some slender Reeds When the wind blew, the great Oak stood proudly upright with its hundred arms uplifted to the sky. But the Reeds bowed low in the wind and sang a sad and mournful song.

“You have reason to complain,” said the Oak. “The slightest breeze that ruffles the surface of the water makes you bow your heads, while I, the mighty Oak, stand upright and firm before the howling tempest.”

“Do not worry about us,” replied the Reeds. “The winds do not harm us. We bow before them and so we do not break. You, in all your pride and strength, have so far resisted their blows. But the end is coming.”

As the Reeds spoke a great hurricane rushed out of the north. The Oak stood proudly and fought against the storm, while the yielding Reeds bowed low. The wind redoubled in fury, and all at once the great tree fell, torn up by the roots, and lay among the pitying Reeds.

Better to yield when it is folly to resist, than to resist stubbornly and be destroyed.

 

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