{"id":27930,"date":"2017-10-09T22:59:40","date_gmt":"2017-10-09T20:59:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/?p=27930"},"modified":"2017-11-06T16:22:46","modified_gmt":"2017-11-06T15:22:46","slug":"the-fables-of-jean-de-la-fontaine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/the-fables-of-jean-de-la-fontaine\/","title":{"rendered":"The Fables of Jean de La Fontaine"},"content":{"rendered":"

You’ve probably heard of Aesop’s fables before, but have you heard of La Fountain’s? These fables are famous to many French schoolchildren and are still enjoyed to this day.<\/p>\n

La Fontaine’s fables (given the title Les\u00a0<\/em>Fables choisies, mises en vers par M. de La Fontaine; “<\/i>The Chosen Fables, Put Into Verse by Mr. de La Fontaine”) first appeared in 1668 and were dedicated to the six-year-old dauphin Louis, son of Louis XIV of France. More volumes were published over the next twenty-five years, eventually forming a collection of 239 fables divided into twelve volumes.<\/p>\n

La Fontaine drew his inspiration from fables from around the world, including the Latin author Phaedrus and the Indian collection of fables known as Bidpai. The fables range from a length of several verses to many pages and feature a moral lesson learned at the end of the tale, which is often humorous.<\/p>\n

One of my favorite fables from La Fontaine’s collection is\u00a0L’astrologue qui se laisse tomber dans un puits,\u00a0<\/i>or “The Astrologer who Fell into a Well.” This fable is based on an ancient Greek joke about the philosopher Thales of Miletus. You can read it, along with the English translation, below.<\/p>\n

L’astrologue qui se laisse tomber dans un puits<\/i><\/p>\n

Un Astrologue un jour se laissa choir<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Au fond d’un puits. On lui dit : Pauvre b\u00eate,<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Tandis qu’\u00e0 peine \u00e0 tes pieds tu peux voir,<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Penses-tu lire au-dessus de ta t\u00eate (1)?<\/em><\/p>\n

To an astrologer who fell
\nPlump to the bottom of a well,
\n‘Poor blockhead!’ cried a passer-by,
\n‘To not see your feet, and read the sky?’<\/p>\n

Cette aventure en soi, sans aller plus avant,<\/em>
\nPeut servir de le\u00e7on \u00e0 la plupart des hommes.<\/em>
\nParmi ce que de gens sur la terre nous sommes,<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Il en est peu qui fort souvent<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Ne se plaisent d’entendre dire<\/em>
\nQu’au Livre du Destin les mortels peuvent lire.<\/em>
\nMais ce Livre qu’Hom\u00e8re et les siens ont chant\u00e9,<\/em>
\nQu’est-ce, que le hasard parmi l’Antiquit\u00e9,<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Et parmi nous la Providence ?<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Or du hasard il n’est point de science (2) :<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 S’il en \u00e9tait, on aurait tort<\/em>
\nDe l’appeler hasard, ni fortune, ni sort,<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Toutes choses tr\u00e8s incertaines.<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Quant aux volont\u00e9s souveraines<\/em>
\nDe celui qui fait tout, et rien qu’avec dessein,<\/em>
\nQui les sait, que lui seul ? Comment lire en son sein ?<\/em>
\nAurait-il imprim\u00e9 sur le front des \u00e9toiles<\/em>
\nCe que la nuit des temps enferme dans ses voiles ?<\/em>
\nA quelle utilit\u00e9 ? Pour exercer l’esprit<\/em>
\nDe ceux qui de la sph\u00e8re et du globe ont \u00e9crit ?<\/em>
\nPour nous faire \u00e9viter des maux in\u00e9vitables ?<\/em>
\nNous rendre dans les biens de plaisir incapables ?<\/em>
\nEt causant du d\u00e9go\u00fbt pour ces biens pr\u00e9venus (3),<\/em>
\nLes convertir en maux devant (4) qu’ils soient venus ?<\/em>
\nC’est erreur, ou plut\u00f4t c’est crime de le croire.<\/em>
\nLe firmament se meut ; les astres font leur cours,<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Le soleil nous luit tous les jours,<\/em>
\nTous les jours sa clart\u00e9 succ\u00e8de \u00e0 l’ombre noire,<\/em>
\nSans que nous en puissions autre chose inf\u00e9rer<\/em>
\nQue la n\u00e9cessit\u00e9 de luire et d’\u00e9clairer,<\/em>
\nD’amener les saisons, de m\u00fbrir les semences,<\/em>
\nDe verser sur les corps certaines influences.<\/em>
\nDu reste, en quoi r\u00e9pond au sort toujours divers<\/em>
\nCe train toujours \u00e9gal dont marche l’univers ?<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Charlatans, faiseurs d’horoscope,<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Quittez les Cours des Princes de l’Europe ;<\/em>
\nEmmenez avec vous les souffleurs tout d’un temps.<\/em>
\nVous ne m\u00e9ritez pas plus de foi que ces gens.<\/em>
\nJe m’emporte un peu trop ; revenons \u00e0 l’histoire<\/em>
\nDe ce Sp\u00e9culateur (5) qui fut contraint de boire.<\/em>
\nOutre la vanit\u00e9 de son art mensonger,<\/em>
\nC’est l’image de ceux qui b\u00e2illent (6) aux chim\u00e8res<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cependant qu’ils sont en danger,<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Soit pour eux, soit pour leurs affaires.<\/em><\/p>\n

This upshot of a story will suffice
\nTo give a useful hint to most;
\nFor few there are in this our world so wise
\nAs not to trust in star or ghost,
\nOr cherish secretly the creed
\nThat men the book of destiny may read.
\nThis book, by Homer and his pupils sung,
\nWhat is it, in plain common sense,
\nBut what was chance those ancient folks among,
\nAnd with ourselves, God’s providence?
\nNow chance doth bid defiance
\nTo every thing like science;
\n‘Twere wrong, if not,
\nTo call it hazard, fortune, lot–
\nThings palpably uncertain.
\nBut from the purposes divine,
\nThe deep of infinite design,
\nWho boasts to lift the curtain?
\nWhom but himself doth God allow
\nTo read his bosom thoughts? and how
\nWould he imprint upon the stars sublime
\nThe shrouded secrets of the night of time?
\nAnd all for what? To exercise the wit
\nOf those who on astrology have writ?
\nTo help us shun inevitable ills?
\nTo poison for us even pleasure’s rills?
\nThe choicest blessings to destroy,
\nExhausting, ere they come, their joy?
\nSuch faith is worse than error–’tis a crime.
\nThe sky-host moves and marks the course of time;
\nThe sun sheds on our nicely-measured days
\nThe glory of his night-dispelling rays;
\nAnd all from this we can divine
\nIs, that they need to rise and shine,–
\nTo roll the seasons, ripen fruits,
\nAnd cheer the hearts of men and brutes.
\nHow tallies this revolving universe
\nWith human things, eternally diverse?
\nYe horoscopers, waning quacks,
\nPlease turn on Europe’s courts your backs,
\nAnd, taking on your travelling lists
\nThe bellows-blowing alchemists,
\nBudge off together to the land of mists.
\nBut I’ve digress’d. Return we now, bethinking
\nOf our poor star-man, whom we left a drinking.
\nBesides the folly of his lying trade,
\nThis man the type may well be made
\nOf those who at chimeras stare
\nWhen they should mind the things that are.<\/p>\n

Have you ever read La Fontaine’s fables? If so, which are your favorite fables?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

You’ve probably heard of Aesop’s fables before, but have you heard of La Fountain’s? These fables are famous to many French schoolchildren and are still enjoyed to this day. La Fontaine’s fables (given the title Les\u00a0Fables choisies, mises en vers par M. de La Fontaine; “The Chosen Fables, Put Into Verse by Mr. de La…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":123,"featured_media":27931,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[507451,276105,507452,13576],"class_list":["post-27930","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-fables","tag-french-authors","tag-french-writing","tag-jean-de-la-fontaine"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27930","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/123"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27930"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27930\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29297,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27930\/revisions\/29297"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27931"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27930"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27930"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}