“Similarly I urge you to hear another fable in this manner: A farmer, as he was growing old in the country and had never seen a city, and desiring to see one, asked his relatives to take him to the city. They put the old man in a cart pulled by two yoked asses, and they said: ‘Now spur them and by themselves they will take you to the city.’ But as the old man was going toward the city, a whirlwind came up suddenly so that the sky was dark, and the asses, wandering from the road, took him to a high and dangerous place. The old man, seeing he was in danger of death, called upon Jupiter, saying: ‘O Jupiter, how did I offend your temples and majesty that I thus perish miserably? For would that I were dragged and killed or cast down from a cliff by valuable and excellent horses rather than by such vile asses.’ “And so,” said Aesop, “I am not tormented by distinguished and illustrious men, but by useless and perverse servants am I killed.”

Reaching the place where he was to be thrown over, he spoke to them again in this way: “A man, being obsessed by love of his daughter, sent his wife to town, and he had the daughter in the house, whom he violated and ravished. The daughter said to him: ‘You are doing forbidden and ugly things. I had rather suffer this crime and evil from a hundred others than from you alone.’ “And so,” said Aesop, “wicked and perverse men of Delphi, I would prefer to besiege all of Cicilia and suffer all the perils of the sea rather than die thus wrongly at your hands. I beg you and your gods, and your land, and I admonish all of you to hear me who am dying unjustly that you may receive from them other, more just vengeance in the form of torments and penalties.” But, unwilling to hear anything, the men of Delphi had him thrown over a steep cliff, and thus ended the life of the harassed Aesop.

After Aesop’s death, pestilence and hunger and a great furor and madness of heart fell upon those of Delphi, concerning which they asked advice of Apollo; and the reply came that they should build an oratory for Aesop to placate and appease the gods. Thus, with compunction and repentance in their hearts for having killed Aesop unjustly, they built a temple to him. By this means the princes of Greece and the important persons and presidents of the provinces heard of Aesop’s death. Coming to Delphi and having made diligent inquiry and learned the truth, they summoned to justice and suitably punished those who had caused his death. Thus they avenged Aesop’s death. Here concludes the life of Aesop.

THE BATTLE OF THE FROGS AND MICE

Battle of Frogs and Mice

Anon.

Translated by Joel P. Christensen and Erik Robinson, 2018