The Ass and the Pig
Encyclopedia
The Ass and the Pig is one of Aesop's Fables
(Perry Index
526) that was never adopted in the West but has Eastern variants that remain popular. Their general teaching is that the easy life and seeming good fortune of others conceal a threat to their welfare.
to characterise such stories as 'Aesop's jests'. Its function, however, is to fix attention on the distinction in practical philosophy
between the immediate and the ultimate good. An unsolicited meal is the immediate good in this story, but the ultimate good is to consider where acceptance of an immediate advantage might lead. Phaedrus himself does just this. He tells the story in the poem's first six lines and follows them with six more lines of personal reflections upon it. 'This fable taught me caution and I have avoided risky business ventures ever since - but, you say, 'those who grab wealth get to keep it'. Just remember how many of them are eventually caught and killed! Clearly, the ones who have been punished constitute the larger crowd. A few people may profit from reckless behaviour, but many more are ruined by it.'
Although this story was not taken up by later authors, another concerning an ox and a heifer had a little more currency and is given a separate number in the Perry Index (300). In this a heifer compares its own carefree existence with that of an ox compelled to labour in the fields. Shortly afterwards the owner releases the ox from his yoke but binds the heifer and leads him away to be sacrificed. Then the ox informs the victim, 'It was for this reason that you were allowed to live in idleness.' The common feature between Phaedrus' story and this involves the survival of a working animal while the one that leads a life of ease meets an early and violent death. In his edition, Samuel Croxall
includes this fable under the title "The Wanton Calf" and draws from it the lesson that those who despise the honest poor are often criminals who eventually pay for their way of life. Phaedrus had similarly made the link between grasping the immediate advantage and criminality. The moral is further summed up by the short poem that Thomas Bewick
adds in his reprinting of Croxall's fable:
A much earlier Indian version of the story makes the relationship between the two Aesopic tales a little clearer. It appears in the Buddhist scriptures as the Munika-Jataka
and is accompanied by a frame story in which a monk regrets the life of ease he has left and is tempted back. His situation is made clear to him by the relation of an animal fable (supposedly of a former birth) in which a young ox complains to his elder brother of the easy lot of the farmyard pig. Soon afterwards the pig is slaughtered for a marriage feast and the ox finds comfort in the reflection that a simpler diet is at least a guarantee of survival. Although different pairs of animals are involved in largely different situations, and although the conclusions that their authors draw from them differ too, their trend is always the same. In an unstable world, a life of humble drudgery has its rewards.
The Jataka tale travelled westwards in a variety of new versions. Much the same story, with asses in the place of oxen, appears as a Midrash
in the Jewish Great Commentary on Esther 3.2. It reappears in a much changed form in the One Thousand and One Nights as the tale of "The Ass, the Ox and the Labourer". Here an ox complains to an ass of its hard life and is advised to play sick; this it does to such effect that the ass is put to work in its place. In order to avoid any more such labour, the ass informs the ox that he has overheard their master giving orders for the ox to be butchered the following day, which brings a speedy end to its pretended illness.
A version of this story eventually reached Europe and is recorded in the 13th century by Odo of Cheriton
. Envious of the easy life of the pig, an ass pretends to be sick, is put on a convalescent diet and soon begins to fatten. When the pig is slaughtered, however, it takes fright and returns to work. It may be coincidental that Odo's commentary on the story echoes the Jataka in picturing how the clergy may be seduced by the luxuries of lay life. Another element that the last two stories have in common is also shared with Phaedrus' story of "The Ass and the Pig". Association of a better diet with fattening before slaughter leads the animals who benefit from it to renounce such luxuries and the dangers they bring for a life of secure sufficiency. In this they share the same conclusion as the fable of The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse
.
Aesop's Fables
Aesop's Fables or the Aesopica are a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and story-teller believed to have lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 560 BCE. The fables remain a popular choice for moral education of children today...
(Perry Index
Perry Index
The Perry Index is a widely-used index of "Aesop's Fables" or "Aesopica", the fables credited to Aesop, the story-teller who lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 560 BC...
526) that was never adopted in the West but has Eastern variants that remain popular. Their general teaching is that the easy life and seeming good fortune of others conceal a threat to their welfare.
Eastern and Western variations
The earliest Latin version of this tale is in a poem by Phaedrus and concerns a pig that was fattened on barley and then sacrificed. The left-over grain was given the ass, who refused it because of the fate that had overtaken the one it had previously fed. The kind of skewed logic in operation here, seeming to confuse cause and effect, is often found in the fables and led AristophanesAristophanes
Aristophanes , son of Philippus, of the deme Cydathenaus, was a comic playwright of ancient Athens. Eleven of his forty plays survive virtually complete...
to characterise such stories as 'Aesop's jests'. Its function, however, is to fix attention on the distinction in practical philosophy
Practical philosophy
The division of philosophy into a practical and a theoretical discipline has its origin in Aristotle's moral philosophy and natural philosophy categories. In Sweden and Finland courses in theoretical and practical philosophy are taught separately, and are separate degrees...
between the immediate and the ultimate good. An unsolicited meal is the immediate good in this story, but the ultimate good is to consider where acceptance of an immediate advantage might lead. Phaedrus himself does just this. He tells the story in the poem's first six lines and follows them with six more lines of personal reflections upon it. 'This fable taught me caution and I have avoided risky business ventures ever since - but, you say, 'those who grab wealth get to keep it'. Just remember how many of them are eventually caught and killed! Clearly, the ones who have been punished constitute the larger crowd. A few people may profit from reckless behaviour, but many more are ruined by it.'
Although this story was not taken up by later authors, another concerning an ox and a heifer had a little more currency and is given a separate number in the Perry Index (300). In this a heifer compares its own carefree existence with that of an ox compelled to labour in the fields. Shortly afterwards the owner releases the ox from his yoke but binds the heifer and leads him away to be sacrificed. Then the ox informs the victim, 'It was for this reason that you were allowed to live in idleness.' The common feature between Phaedrus' story and this involves the survival of a working animal while the one that leads a life of ease meets an early and violent death. In his edition, Samuel Croxall
Samuel Croxall
Samuel Croxall was an Anglican churchman, writer and translator, particularly noted for his edition of Aesop's Fables.-Early career:...
includes this fable under the title "The Wanton Calf" and draws from it the lesson that those who despise the honest poor are often criminals who eventually pay for their way of life. Phaedrus had similarly made the link between grasping the immediate advantage and criminality. The moral is further summed up by the short poem that Thomas Bewick
Thomas Bewick
Thomas Bewick was an English wood engraver and ornithologist.- Early life and apprenticeship :Bewick was born at Cherryburn House in the village of Mickley, in the parish of Ovingham, Northumberland, England, near Newcastle upon Tyne on 12 August 1753...
adds in his reprinting of Croxall's fable:
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-
-
-
- Thus oft the industrious poor endures reproach
- From rogues in lace, and sharpers in a coach;
- But soon to Tyburn sees the villains led
- While he still earns in peace his daily bread.
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-
-
A much earlier Indian version of the story makes the relationship between the two Aesopic tales a little clearer. It appears in the Buddhist scriptures as the Munika-Jataka
Jataka
The Jātakas refer to a voluminous body of literature native to India concerning the previous births of the Buddha....
and is accompanied by a frame story in which a monk regrets the life of ease he has left and is tempted back. His situation is made clear to him by the relation of an animal fable (supposedly of a former birth) in which a young ox complains to his elder brother of the easy lot of the farmyard pig. Soon afterwards the pig is slaughtered for a marriage feast and the ox finds comfort in the reflection that a simpler diet is at least a guarantee of survival. Although different pairs of animals are involved in largely different situations, and although the conclusions that their authors draw from them differ too, their trend is always the same. In an unstable world, a life of humble drudgery has its rewards.
The Jataka tale travelled westwards in a variety of new versions. Much the same story, with asses in the place of oxen, appears as a Midrash
Midrash
The Hebrew term Midrash is a homiletic method of biblical exegesis. The term also refers to the whole compilation of homiletic teachings on the Bible....
in the Jewish Great Commentary on Esther 3.2. It reappears in a much changed form in the One Thousand and One Nights as the tale of "The Ass, the Ox and the Labourer". Here an ox complains to an ass of its hard life and is advised to play sick; this it does to such effect that the ass is put to work in its place. In order to avoid any more such labour, the ass informs the ox that he has overheard their master giving orders for the ox to be butchered the following day, which brings a speedy end to its pretended illness.
A version of this story eventually reached Europe and is recorded in the 13th century by Odo of Cheriton
Odo of Cheriton
Odo of Cheriton was a Roman Catholic preacher and fabulist.He visited Paris, and it was probably there that he gained the degree of Master...
. Envious of the easy life of the pig, an ass pretends to be sick, is put on a convalescent diet and soon begins to fatten. When the pig is slaughtered, however, it takes fright and returns to work. It may be coincidental that Odo's commentary on the story echoes the Jataka in picturing how the clergy may be seduced by the luxuries of lay life. Another element that the last two stories have in common is also shared with Phaedrus' story of "The Ass and the Pig". Association of a better diet with fattening before slaughter leads the animals who benefit from it to renounce such luxuries and the dangers they bring for a life of secure sufficiency. In this they share the same conclusion as the fable of The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse
The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse
"The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse" is one of Aesop's Fables. It is number 352 in the Perry Index and type 112 in Aarne-Thompson's folk tale index. Like several other elements in Aesop's fables, 'town mouse and country mouse' has become an English idiom....
.