The Trees and the Bramble
Encyclopedia
The Trees and the Bramble is a composite title which covers a number of fables of similar tendency, ultimately deriving from a Western Asian literary tradition of debate poems between two contenders. Other related plant fables include The Oak and the Reed
and The Fir and the Bramble
.
, numbered 213 in the Perry Index
, concerns a pomegranate and an apple tree debating about their beauty. In the midst of it, a bramble bush in a nearby hedge appeals to them, 'Dear friends, let us put a stop to our quarrel.' The account is brief and leads to the humorous moral that 'when there is a dispute among sophisticated people, then riff-raff also try to act important'. The story was limited to Greek sources and appeared in only a few English collections of the fables.
An idea of what such a debate would have been like is gained from a related poem of 116 lines by the Alexandria
n poet Callimachus
(Iamb 4), which is given the separate number of 439 in the Perry Index. There a laurel and an olive tree are in dispute concerning their relative importance and when a bramble attempts to bring peace it is rebuked by the furious laurel. It has been observed that the poem is in the tradition of poetical disputes of Sumer
ian origin that spread throughout the Near East
. In the oldest form of these, the two in debate call for a judgment on which is superior from a presiding god.
An echo of that tradition, in which the trees instance their chief useful characteristics, is found in the earliest evidence of a fable among Jews occurring in the Hebrew Bible
. The story is told to illustrate the folly of electing a ruler rather than relying on non-hereditary 'judges
'. When the trees decide to seek a king, they offer the throne to the olive, the fig and the vine; each in turn refuses, prefering to keep to their own fruitful role. Only the bramble accepts, and makes threats of what will happen to those that do not accept him (Judges
9.8-15). The story began to be included in European fable collections in the Middle Ages
. It also appears among Giovanni Maria Verdizotti's Cento favole morali (1570) and Robert Dodsley placed it at the start of his Select fables of Esop and other fabulists (1764) with the comment at the end that ‘the most worthless persons are generally the most presumptuous’.
The Oak and the Reed
The Oak and the Reed is one of Aesop's Fables and is numbered 70 in the Perry Index. It appears in many versions: in some it is with many reeds that the oak converses and in a late rewritten version it disputes with a willow.-The story and its interpretation:...
and The Fir and the Bramble
The Fir and the Bramble
The Fir and the Bramble is one of Aesop's Fables and is numbered 304 in the Perry Index. It is one of a group in which trees and plants debate together, which also includes The Trees and the Bramble and The Oak and the Reed...
.
The fables
One of Aesop's FablesAesop'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...
, numbered 213 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...
, concerns a pomegranate and an apple tree debating about their beauty. In the midst of it, a bramble bush in a nearby hedge appeals to them, 'Dear friends, let us put a stop to our quarrel.' The account is brief and leads to the humorous moral that 'when there is a dispute among sophisticated people, then riff-raff also try to act important'. The story was limited to Greek sources and appeared in only a few English collections of the fables.
An idea of what such a debate would have been like is gained from a related poem of 116 lines by the Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
n poet Callimachus
Callimachus
Callimachus was a native of the Greek colony of Cyrene, Libya. He was a noted poet, critic and scholar at the Library of Alexandria and enjoyed the patronage of the Egyptian–Greek Pharaohs Ptolemy II Philadelphus and Ptolemy III Euergetes...
(Iamb 4), which is given the separate number of 439 in the Perry Index. There a laurel and an olive tree are in dispute concerning their relative importance and when a bramble attempts to bring peace it is rebuked by the furious laurel. It has been observed that the poem is in the tradition of poetical disputes of Sumer
Sumer
Sumer was a civilization and historical region in southern Mesopotamia, modern Iraq during the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age....
ian origin that spread throughout the Near East
Near East
The Near East is a geographical term that covers different countries for geographers, archeologists, and historians, on the one hand, and for political scientists, economists, and journalists, on the other...
. In the oldest form of these, the two in debate call for a judgment on which is superior from a presiding god.
An echo of that tradition, in which the trees instance their chief useful characteristics, is found in the earliest evidence of a fable among Jews occurring in the Hebrew Bible
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...
. The story is told to illustrate the folly of electing a ruler rather than relying on non-hereditary 'judges
Biblical judges
A biblical judge is "a ruler or a military leader, as well as someone who presided over legal hearings."...
'. When the trees decide to seek a king, they offer the throne to the olive, the fig and the vine; each in turn refuses, prefering to keep to their own fruitful role. Only the bramble accepts, and makes threats of what will happen to those that do not accept him (Judges
Book of Judges
The Book of Judges is the seventh book of the Hebrew bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its title describes its contents: it contains the history of Biblical judges, divinely inspired prophets whose direct knowledge of Yahweh allows them to act as decision-makers for the Israelites, as...
9.8-15). The story began to be included in European fable collections in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. It also appears among Giovanni Maria Verdizotti's Cento favole morali (1570) and Robert Dodsley placed it at the start of his Select fables of Esop and other fabulists (1764) with the comment at the end that ‘the most worthless persons are generally the most presumptuous’.