"DEMADES AND HIS FABLE Demades the orator was once speaking in the Assembly at Athens; but the people were very inattentive to what he was saying, s… - Aesop

"DEMADES AND HIS FABLE

Demades the orator was once speaking in the Assembly at Athens; but the people were very inattentive to what he was saying, so he stopped and said, "Gentlemen, I should like to tell you one of Aesop's fables." This made every one listen intently. Then Demades began: "Demeter, a Swallow, and an Eel were once travelling together, and came to a river without a bridge: the Swallow flew over it, and the Eel swam across"; and then he stopped. "What happened to Demeter?" cried several people in the audience. "Demeter," he replied, "is very angry with you for listening to fables when you ought to be minding public business.

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About Aesop

Aesop (or Æsop, from Greek Αἴσωπος Aisopos) (c. 620 BC – c. 560 BC) was an ancient Greek fabulist of possibly African descent (his Greek name means Ethiopian or black man in today's parlance), by tradition a slave who credited the African goddess Isis for his gift. Aesop's Fables are still taught as moral lessons and used as subjects for various entertainments, especially children's plays and cartoons.

Biography information from Wikiquote

Also Known As

Native Name: Αἴσωπος
Alternative Names: Aesopus Esop Æsop Eſope Æſop

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Additional quotes by Aesop

A certain venerable Goat was one day deeply engaged in a serious dispute with a crafty Fox, and the argument became very warm on both sides; when the Goat in order to give the greater weight to his sentiments on the matter, rather rashly and inconsiderately laid the wager of his beard against the Fox, so certain was he of being on the right side of the question; but unfortunately it was at last clearly proved that the poor Goat had lost his wager, and although the Fox had neither law nor power on his part to enforce the payment, yet the honest dignity of the Goat would not suffer him to take any unfair advantage, and he immediately submitted to the lesser disgrace, the loss of his beard, to preserve his honour pure and unsullied, and patiently let his chin be shaved clean by a dextrous Monkey, who was at hand, and presented the shaggy trophy to the unrelenting victor.

The Fox and the Grapes

ONE hot summer’s day a Fox was strolling through an orchard till he came to a bunch of Grapes just ripening on a vine which had been trained over a lofty branch. “Just the things to quench my thirst,” quoth he. Drawing back a few paces, he took a run and a jump, and just missed the bunch. Turning round again with a One, Two, Three, he jumped up, but with no greater success. Again and again he tried after the tempting morsel, but at last had to give it up, and walked away with his nose in the air, saying: “I am sure they are sour.”
“IT IS EASY TO DESPISE WHAT YOU CANNOT GET.

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