The Two Pots
Encyclopedia
The Two Pots is one of Aesop's Fables
and numbered 378 in the Perry Index
. The fable may stem from proverbial sources.
. It concerns two pots, one of earthenware and the other of metal, that are being swept along a river. While the metal pot is willing that they should journey together, the clay pot hopes it will keep its distance for ‘Whether the wave crashes me into you or you into me, in either case I will be the only victim’. The moral drawn is that equal partnership is best, and especially that the poor or powerless should avoid the company of the powerful.
In this connection, there is a likeness between the story and a passage in the debated
book of Ecclesiasticus that advises caution in such unequal relationships: 'Have no fellowship with one that is richer than thyself. What agreement shall the earthen pot have with the kettle? For if they knock one against the other, it shall be broken' (13.2-3). Since this particular scripture is in Greek and dates from the 2nd century BCE, it is possible that the passage quoted and the fable are both based on a popular proverb. But there is also a connection with a later Talmudic proverb which underlines the no-win situation
of the fable: 'If a pot falls upon a stone, woe to the pot; if a stone falls upon a pot, woe to the pot; either way, woe to the pot' (Esther Rabbah, 7:10).
Yet another oriental connection with this proverbial lore occurs in the Indian Panchatantra
. In its second section, which deals with the gaining of friends, there is a long debate between Hiranyaka the rat and Laghupatanaka the crow about partnership between such natural enemies as themselves. One of the points made is that 'Friendship with bad men is like a pot of clay, easy to break but difficult to rejoin. With good men it is like a pot of gold, difficult to break but easy to mend.' Here once again we find earthenware and metal pots contrasted.
The connection with the passage in Ecclesiasticus was noted by Andrea Alciato
in the various editions of his Emblemata. The aim of his collection was to point a moral lesson through an iconic illustration, supported by Latin verses (and translations into other languages) and a commentary. The fable of the two pots was chosen to illustrate the Latin proverb Aliquid mali propter vicinum malum (Bad comes of a bad neighbour), which Erasmus had included in his Adagia
(Adage 32). The English poet Geoffrey Whitney
followed Alciato in all this, using an illustration from one of his editions in his Choice of Emblemes (1568), but supporting it with an 18-line poem of his own. The final stanza sums up the meaning of the fable:
While the title of Aesop's fable is almost always given as "The Two Pots", Jean de la Fontaine
contrasts their different constituents in his rather different fable based on it, Le pot de terre et le pot de fer (Fables V.2). In this the iron pot proposes a journey together to the clay pot, which is only persuaded by the stronger pot's offer to protect him. When they are jostled together on their way, the clay pot is shattered and only has himself to blame. 'Only equals should associate' is the conclusion. The fable was among those set to music for children by Isabelle Aboulker
in her Les Fables Enchantées (1979). A French proverb also derives from La Fontaine's fable, where the phrase 'It's the iron pot against the clay pot' (C'est le pot de fer contre le pot de terre) is used in cases when the weak come off worst.
, the pots are given human forms and shown tossed on the waves of a heavy sea. There the earthen pot is desperately fending off the friendly approach of the metal pot. In the distance is a town with mountains behind it. How much Kyosai has added is plain when one compares his version with the one by John Tenniel
on which it is based. The gated town in the background is almost identical, but Tenniel shows the two pots becalmed in an eddy near the mouth of an estuary. This in turn looks back to the various illustrations in Alciato's Book of Emblems, especially that of the 1591 edition. There the pots are tossed on waves as they are carried towards the sea; in the background are mountains with a town at their foot and a castle perched on a height.
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 numbered 378 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 may stem from proverbial sources.
The Fable
There is a short Greek version of the fable and a longer, more circumstantial late Latin poem by AvianusAvianus
Avianus, a Latin writer of fables, generally placed in the 5th century, and identified as a pagan.The 42 fables which bear his name are dedicated to a certain Theodosius, whose learning is spoken of in most flattering terms. He may possibly be Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius, the author of...
. It concerns two pots, one of earthenware and the other of metal, that are being swept along a river. While the metal pot is willing that they should journey together, the clay pot hopes it will keep its distance for ‘Whether the wave crashes me into you or you into me, in either case I will be the only victim’. The moral drawn is that equal partnership is best, and especially that the poor or powerless should avoid the company of the powerful.
In this connection, there is a likeness between the story and a passage in the debated
Biblical apocrypha
The word "apocrypha" is today often used to refer to the collection of ancient books printed in some editions of the Bible in a separate section between the Old and New Testaments...
book of Ecclesiasticus that advises caution in such unequal relationships: 'Have no fellowship with one that is richer than thyself. What agreement shall the earthen pot have with the kettle? For if they knock one against the other, it shall be broken' (13.2-3). Since this particular scripture is in Greek and dates from the 2nd century BCE, it is possible that the passage quoted and the fable are both based on a popular proverb. But there is also a connection with a later Talmudic proverb which underlines the no-win situation
No-win situation
A no-win situation, also called a "lose-lose" situation, is one where a person has choices, but no choice leads to a net gain. For example, if an executioner offers the condemned the choice of dying by being hanged, shot, or poisoned, since all choices lead to death, the condemned is in a no-win...
of the fable: 'If a pot falls upon a stone, woe to the pot; if a stone falls upon a pot, woe to the pot; either way, woe to the pot' (Esther Rabbah, 7:10).
Yet another oriental connection with this proverbial lore occurs in the Indian Panchatantra
Panchatantra
The Panchatantra is an ancient Indian inter-related collection of animal fables in verse and prose, in a frame story format. The original Sanskrit work, which some scholars believe was composed in the 3rd century BCE, is attributed to Vishnu Sharma...
. In its second section, which deals with the gaining of friends, there is a long debate between Hiranyaka the rat and Laghupatanaka the crow about partnership between such natural enemies as themselves. One of the points made is that 'Friendship with bad men is like a pot of clay, easy to break but difficult to rejoin. With good men it is like a pot of gold, difficult to break but easy to mend.' Here once again we find earthenware and metal pots contrasted.
The connection with the passage in Ecclesiasticus was noted by Andrea Alciato
Andrea Alciato
Andrea Alciato , commonly known as Alciati , was an Italian jurist and writer. He is regarded as the founder of the French school of legal humanists.-Biography:...
in the various editions of his Emblemata. The aim of his collection was to point a moral lesson through an iconic illustration, supported by Latin verses (and translations into other languages) and a commentary. The fable of the two pots was chosen to illustrate the Latin proverb Aliquid mali propter vicinum malum (Bad comes of a bad neighbour), which Erasmus had included in his Adagia
Adagia
Adagia is an annotated collection of Greek and Latin proverbs, compiled during the Renaissance by Dutch humanist Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus. Erasmus' collection of proverbs is "one of the most monumental ... ever assembled" Adagia (adagium is the singular form and adagia is the plural) is an...
(Adage 32). The English poet 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:...
followed Alciato in all this, using an illustration from one of his editions in his Choice of Emblemes (1568), but supporting it with an 18-line poem of his own. The final stanza sums up the meaning of the fable:
- The running streame, this worldlie sea dothe shewe;
- The pottes present the mightie, and the pore:
- Whoe here, a time are tosséd too and froe,
- But if the meane dwell nighe the mighties dore,
- He maie be hurte, but cannot hurte againe,
- Then like, to like: or beste alone remaine.
While the title of Aesop's fable is almost always given as "The Two Pots", Jean de la Fontaine
Jean de La Fontaine
Jean de La Fontaine was the most famous French fabulist and one of the most widely read French poets of the 17th century. He is known above all for his Fables, which provided a model for subsequent fabulists across Europe and numerous alternative versions in France, and in French regional...
contrasts their different constituents in his rather different fable based on it, Le pot de terre et le pot de fer (Fables V.2). In this the iron pot proposes a journey together to the clay pot, which is only persuaded by the stronger pot's offer to protect him. When they are jostled together on their way, the clay pot is shattered and only has himself to blame. 'Only equals should associate' is the conclusion. The fable was among those set to music for children by Isabelle Aboulker
Isabelle Aboulker
Isabelle Aboulker is a French composer, particularly known for her operas and other vocal works. In 1999 she gained a prize from the Académie des Beaux-Arts and in 2000 the music prize of the Société des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques for her numerous lyric pieces.-Life and work:Isabelle...
in her Les Fables Enchantées (1979). A French proverb also derives from La Fontaine's fable, where the phrase 'It's the iron pot against the clay pot' (C'est le pot de fer contre le pot de terre) is used in cases when the weak come off worst.
The fable in art
Book illustrations of Aesop's fable inevitably picture two contrasting pots being carried along a river. In the lively woodblock print by the Japanese artist Kawanabe KyosaiKawanabe Kyosai
was a Japanese artist, in the words of a critic, "an individualist and an independent, perhaps the last virtuoso in traditional Japanese painting"....
, the pots are given human forms and shown tossed on the waves of a heavy sea. There the earthen pot is desperately fending off the friendly approach of the metal pot. In the distance is a town with mountains behind it. How much Kyosai has added is plain when one compares his version with the one by John Tenniel
John Tenniel
Sir John Tenniel was a British illustrator, graphic humorist and political cartoonist whose work was prominent during the second half of England’s 19th century. Tenniel is considered important to the study of that period’s social, literary, and art histories...
on which it is based. The gated town in the background is almost identical, but Tenniel shows the two pots becalmed in an eddy near the mouth of an estuary. This in turn looks back to the various illustrations in Alciato's Book of Emblems, especially that of the 1591 edition. There the pots are tossed on waves as they are carried towards the sea; in the background are mountains with a town at their foot and a castle perched on a height.