The Lion and the Fox
Encyclopedia
The Lion and the Fox is one of Aesop's Fables
and represents a comedy of manners
. It is number 10 in the Perry Index
.
Greek sources and was briefly told. 'A fox had never seen a lion before, so when she happened to met the lion for the first time she all but died of fright. The second time she saw him, she was still afraid, but not as much as before. The third time, the fox was bold enough to go right up to the lion and speak to him.'
Since the story was not translated into Latin until very late, it was not included in early European collections of Aesop's fables. Latin poems based on it were written by Hieronymus Osius
and Gabriele Faerno
in the 16th century and in England it was included in Geoffrey Whitney
's Choice of Emblemes (1586) and the collections of Francis Barlow
and Roger L'Estrange
in the late 17th century. Most of these followed the fable's original Greek source in giving it the moral that acquaintance overcomes fear. When it appeared in emblem books, however, it was as an illustration of how difficult things become easy with practice, but after its appearance in Samuel Croxall
's The Fables of Aesop in 1722, the story was given a social interpretation. In his long commentary, Croxall remarks that the lesson to be learned from it is of ‘the two extremes in which we may fail, as to a proper behaviour towards our superiors’, namely bashfulness and ‘overbearing impudence’. Although the proverb 'Familiarity breeds contempt' hardly fits the story as it stands, Jeffreys Taylor made it do so in a poem for children from his Aesop in Rhyme (1820). In this the fox criticizes the lion's cold behaviour and is thrown by him into the river to teach him better manners.
The tale with its three episodes does not present illustrators with many possibilities other than showing the two animals looking at each other and showing various emotional states. The possibilities of the Mediaeval convention of showing all the episodes in a composite design is made use of in the late 15th century Greek manuscript known as the Medici Aesop. Thereafter one had to wait until the convention was revived towards the end of the 19th century.
Another fable with the same moral but a different outcome concerns the camel. Numbered 195 in the Perry Index, it relates how people were terrified at their first sight of the camel. Once they understood its placid nature, however, they bridled it and allowed even their children to ride on it. This too had only ancient Greek sources and was rarely recorded in England except by L'Estrange and Townsend
.
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...
and represents a comedy of manners
Comedy of manners
The comedy of manners is a genre of play/television/film which satirizes the manners and affectations of a social class, often represented by stock characters, such as the miles gloriosus in ancient times, the fop and the rake during the Restoration, or an old person pretending to be young...
. It is number 10 in the 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...
.
The fable
The fable is only found in ClassicalClassical antiquity
Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...
Greek sources and was briefly told. 'A fox had never seen a lion before, so when she happened to met the lion for the first time she all but died of fright. The second time she saw him, she was still afraid, but not as much as before. The third time, the fox was bold enough to go right up to the lion and speak to him.'
Since the story was not translated into Latin until very late, it was not included in early European collections of Aesop's fables. Latin poems based on it were written by Hieronymus Osius
Hieronymus Osius
Hieronymus Osius was a German Neo-Latin poet and academic about whom there are few biographical details. He was born about 1530 in Schlotheim and murdered in 1575 in Graz. After studying first at the university of Erfurt, he gained his Masters degree from Wittenberg university in 1552 and later...
and Gabriele Faerno
Gabriele Faerno
Gabriele Faerno, also known by his Latin name of Faernus Cremonensis, was born in Cremona about 1510 and died in Rome on November 17, 1561. He was a scrupulous scholar and an elegant Latin poet who is best known now for his collection of Aesop's Fables in Latin verse.-Life:Gabriele Faerno was born...
in the 16th century and in England it was included in Geoffrey Whitney
Geoffrey Whitney
Geoffrey Whitney was an English poet, now best known for the influence on Elizabethan writing of the Choice of Emblemes that he compiled.-Life:...
's Choice of Emblemes (1586) and the collections of Francis Barlow
Francis Barlow
Francis Barlow may refer to:*Francis Barlow , British painter, etcher, and illustrator*Francis C. Barlow , US lawyer, politician, and general-See also:*Frank Barlow...
and Roger L'Estrange
Roger L'Estrange
Sir Roger L'Estrange was an English pamphleteer and author, and staunch defender of royalist claims. L'Estrange was involved in political controversy throughout his life...
in the late 17th century. Most of these followed the fable's original Greek source in giving it the moral that acquaintance overcomes fear. When it appeared in emblem books, however, it was as an illustration of how difficult things become easy with practice, but after its appearance in Samuel Croxall
Samuel Croxall
Samuel Croxall was an Anglican churchman, writer and translator, particularly noted for his edition of Aesop's Fables.-Early career:...
's The Fables of Aesop in 1722, the story was given a social interpretation. In his long commentary, Croxall remarks that the lesson to be learned from it is of ‘the two extremes in which we may fail, as to a proper behaviour towards our superiors’, namely bashfulness and ‘overbearing impudence’. Although the proverb 'Familiarity breeds contempt' hardly fits the story as it stands, Jeffreys Taylor made it do so in a poem for children from his Aesop in Rhyme (1820). In this the fox criticizes the lion's cold behaviour and is thrown by him into the river to teach him better manners.
The tale with its three episodes does not present illustrators with many possibilities other than showing the two animals looking at each other and showing various emotional states. The possibilities of the Mediaeval convention of showing all the episodes in a composite design is made use of in the late 15th century Greek manuscript known as the Medici Aesop. Thereafter one had to wait until the convention was revived towards the end of the 19th century.
Another fable with the same moral but a different outcome concerns the camel. Numbered 195 in the Perry Index, it relates how people were terrified at their first sight of the camel. Once they understood its placid nature, however, they bridled it and allowed even their children to ride on it. This too had only ancient Greek sources and was rarely recorded in England except by L'Estrange and Townsend
George Fyler Townsend
Reverend George Fyler Townsend was the translator of the standard English edition of Aesop's Fables.Although there are more modern collections and translations, Townsend's volume of 350 fables introduced the practice of stating a succinct moral at the conclusion of each story, and continues to be...
.