4 (return) [ Hesiod. Opera et Dies, verse 202.]
5 (return) [ Æschylus. Fragment of the Myrmidons. Æschylus speaks of this fable as existing before his day. ὡς δ’ ἐστὶ μύθων τῶν Διβυστικῶν λογος. See Scholiast on the Aves of Aristophanes, line 808.]
6 (return) [ Fragment. 38, ed. Gaisford. See also Mueller’s History of the Literature of Ancient Greece, vol. i. pp. 190–193.]
7 (return) [ M. Bayle has well put this in his account of Æsop. “Il n’y a point d’apparence que les fables qui portent aujourd’hui son nom soient les mêmes qu’il avait faites; elles viennent bien de lui pour la plupart, quant à la matière et la pensée; mais les paroles sont d’un autre.” And again, “C’est donc à Hésiode, que j’aimerais mieux attribuer la gloire de l’invention; mais sans doute il laissa la chose très imparfaite. Esope la perfectionne si heureusement, qu’on l’a regarde comme le vrai père de cette sorte de production.”—_Bayle. Dictionnaire Historique_.]
8 (return) [ Plato in Phædone.]
9 (return) [ Apologos en! misit tibi Ab usque Rheni limite Ausonius nomen Italum Præceptor Augusti tui Æsopiam trimetriam; Quam vertit exili stylo Pedestre concinnans opus Fandi Titianus artifex.
_Ausonii Epistola_, xvi. 75–80.]
10 (return) [ Both these publications are in the British Museum, and are placed in the library in cases under glass, for the inspection of the curious.]
11 (return) [ Fables may possibly have been not entirely unknown to the mediæval scholars. There are two celebrated works which might by some be classed amongst works of this description. The one is the “Speculum Sapientiæ,” attributed to St. Cyril, Archbishop of Jerusalem, but of a considerably later origin, and existing only in Latin. It is divided into four books, and consists of long conversations conducted by fictitious characters under the figures the beasts of the field and forest, and aimed at the rebuke of particular classes of men, the boastful, the proud, the luxurious, the wrathful, &c. None of the stories are precisely those of Æsop, and none have the concinnity, terseness, and unmistakable deduction of the lesson intended to be taught by the fable, so conspicuous in the great Greek fabulist. The exact title of the book is this: “Speculum Sapientiæ, B. Cyrilli Episcopi: alias quadripartitus apologeticus vocatus, in cujus quidem proverbiis omnis et totius sapientiæ speculum claret et feliciter incipit.” The other is a larger work in two volumes, published in the fourteenth century by Cæsar Heisterbach, a Cistercian monk, under the title of “Dialogus Miraculorum,” reprinted in 1851. This work consists of conversations in which many stories are interwoven on all kinds of subjects. It has no correspondence with the pure Æsopian fable.]
12 (return) [ Post-mediæval Preachers, by S. Baring-Gould. Rivingtons, 1865.]
13 (return) [ For an account of this work see the Life of Poggio Bracciolini, by the Rev. William Shepherd. Liverpool, 1801.]
14 (return) [ Professor Theodore Bergh. See Classical Museum, No. viii. July, 1849.]
15 (return) [ Vavassor’s treatise, entitled “De Ludicrâ Dictione” was written A.D. 1658, at the request of the celebrated M. Balzac (though published after his death), for the purpose of showing that the burlesque style of writing adopted by Scarron and D’Assouci, and at that time so popular in France, had no sanction from the ancient classic writers. _Francisci Vavassoris opera omnia_. Amsterdam. 1709.]
16 (return) [ The claims of Babrias also found a warm advocate in the learned Frenchman, M. Bayle, who, in his admirable Dictionary, (_Dictionnaire Historique et Critique de Pierre Bayle_. Paris, 1820,) gives additional arguments in confirmation of the opinions of his learned predecessors, Nevelet and Vavassor.]
17 (return) [ Scazonic, or halting, iambics; a choliambic (a lame, halting iambic) differs from the iambic Senarius in always having a spondee or trochee for its last foot; the fifth foot, to avoid shortness of metre, being generally an iambic. See Fables of Babrias, translated by Rev. James Davies. Lockwood, 1860. Preface, p. 27.]
18 (return) [ See Dr. Bentley’s Dissertations upon the Epistles of Phalaris.]
19 (return) [ Dr. Bentley’s Dissertations on the Epistles of Phalaris, and Fables of Æsop examined. By the Honourable Charles Boyle.]
20 (return) [ M. Bayle thus characterises this Life of Æsop by Planudes, “Tous les habiles gens conviennent que c’est un roman, et que les absurdités grossières qui l’on y trouve le rendent indigne de toute créance.” _Dictionnaire Historique_. Art. _Esope_.]
INDEX
Æthiop The Ant and the Dove The Ants and the Grasshopper The Apes and the Two Travelers The Ass and the Charger The Ass and His Driver The Ass and the Frogs The Ass and the Grasshopper The Ass and his Masters The Ass and his Purchaser The Ass and his Shadow The Ass and the Horse The Ass and the Lapdog The Ass and the Mule The Ass and the Old Shepherd The Ass and the Wolf The Ass Carrying the Image The Ass, the Cock, and the Lion The Ass in the Lion’s Skin The Ass, the Fox, and the Lion The Astronomer
The Bald Man and the Fly The Bald Knight The Bat And The Weasels The Bear and the Fox The Bear and the Two Travelers The Bee and Jupiter The Belly and the Members The Birdcatcher, the Partridge, and the Cock The Birds, the Beasts, and the Bat The Bitch and her Whelps The Blind Man and the Whelp The Boasting Traveler The Bowman and Lion The Boy and the Filberts The Boy and the Nettles The Boy Bathing The Boy hunting Locusts The Boys and the Frogs The Brazier and His Dog The Brother and the Sister The Buffoon and the Countryman The Bull and the Calf The Bull and the Goat The Bull, the Lioness, and the Wild-Boar Hunter
The Camel The Camel and the Arab The Camel and Jupiter The Cat and the Birds The Cat and the Cock The Cat and the Mice The Cat and Venus The Cobbler Turned Doctor The Cock and the Jewel The Charcoal-Burner and the Fuller The Charger and the Miller The Crab and the Fox The Crab and its Mother The Crow and Mercury The Crow and the Pitcher The Crow and the Raven The Crow and the Serpent The Crow and the Sheep
The Dancing Monkeys The Doe and the Lion The Dog and the Cook The Dog and the Hare The Dog and the Oyster The Dog and the Shadow The Dog, the Cock, and the Fox The Dog in the Manger The Dogs and the Fox The Dogs and the Hides The Dog’s House The Dolphins, the Whales, and the Sprat The Dove and the Crow
The Eagle and the Arrow The Eagle and the Beetle The Eagle and His Captor The Eagle and the Fox The Eagle and the Jackdaw The Eagle and the Kite The Eagle, the Cat, and the Wild Sow
The Farmer and the Cranes The Farmer and the Fox The Farmer and the Snake The Farmer and His Sons The Farmer and the Stork The Father And His Sons The Father and His Two Daughters The Fawn and His Mother The Fighting Cocks and the Eagle The Fir-Tree and the Bramble The Fisherman and His Nets The Fisherman and the Little Fish The Fisherman Piping The Fishermen The Flea and the Man The Flea and the Ox The Flea and the Wrestler The Flies and the Honey-Pot The Fly and the Draught-Mule The Fowler and the Viper The Fox and the Bramble The Fox and the Crane The Fox and the Crow The Fox and the Goat The Fox and the Grapes The Fox and the Hedgehog The Fox and the Leopard The Fox and the Lion The Fox and the Lion The Fox and the Mask The Fox and the Monkey The Fox and the Monkey The Fox and the Woodcutter The Fox Who Had Lost His Tail The Frogs Asking for a King The Frogs’ Complaint Against the Sun
The Gamecocks and the Partridge The Geese and the Cranes The Gnat and the Bull The Gnat and the Lion The Goat and the Ass The Goat and the Goatherd The Goatherd and the Wild Goats The Goods and the Ills The Grasshopper and the Owl
The Hare and the Hound The Hare and the Tortoise The Hares and the Foxes The Hares and the Frogs The Hares and the Lions The Hart and the Vine The Hawk and the Nightingale The Hawk, the Kite, and the Pigeons The Heifer and the Ox The Hen and the Golden Eggs The Hen and the Swallow Hercules and the Wagoner The Herdsman and the Lost Bull The Horse and the Ass The Horse and Groom The Horse and his Rider The Horse and the Stag The Hunter and the Horseman The Hunter and the Woodman The Huntsman and the Fisherman
The Image of Mercury and the Carpenter
The Jackdaw and the Doves The Jackdaw and the Fox Jupiter and the Monkey Jupiter, Neptune, Minerva, and Momus
The Kid and the Wolf The Kid and the Wolf The Kingdom of the Lion The King’s Son and the Painted Lion The Kites and the Swans
The Laborer and the Snake The Lamb and the Wolf The Lamp The Lark and Her Young Ones The Lark Burying Her Father The Lion and the Boar The Lion and the Bull The Lion and the Dolphin The Lion and the Eagle The Lion and the Fox The Lion and the Hare The Lion and the Mouse The Lion and the Shepherd The Lion and the Three Bulls The Lion, the Bear, and the Fox The Lion, the Fox, and the Ass The Lion in a Farmyard The Lion in Love The Lion, Jupiter, and the Elephant The Lion, the Mouse, and the Fox The Lion, the Wolf, and the Fox The Lioness