The classical legend that the swan sings at death was incorporated into one of Aesop's Fables, numbered 399 in the Perry Index.[1] The fable also introduces the proverbial antithesis between the swan and the goose that gave rise to such sayings as ‘Every man thinks his own geese are swans’, in reference to blind partiality, and 'All his swans are turned to geese', referring to a reverse of fortune.[2]
The fable recorded by Aphthonius of Antioch concerns a swan that its owner mistook for a goose in the dark and was about to kill it until the swan's song alerted him to the mistake he was making. At the start is the claim that this will encourage young people to study, and it ends with the dubious statement "that music is so powerful that it can even avert death".[3]
When Gabriele Faerno versified the fable as Cygnus et Anser (the swan and the goose) in his Fabulae C Aesopicae (1543), he underlined the usefulness of eloquence in his summing up[4] and Giovanni Maria Verdizotti followed him in his Italian version, il cigno et l’occa.[5] The latter also provides the moral that fair speech is sometimes of great profit (un bel parlar à tempo è gran guadagno) while the similar story in La Fontaine's Fables, which he titles the Swan and the Cook (Le cygne et le cuisinier, III.12), comes to rest on the sentiment that gentle speech does no harm (le doux parler ne nuit de rien).[6] English versions of the fable were recorded by Roger L'Estrange (1698) and George Fyler Townsend (1867)[7] and the latter's text was set as the final piece in Bob Chilcott's Aesop’s Fables (2008).[8]
Another fable based on the same folklore appears in the Perry Index as number 233[9] but was much less recorded. In this a man buys a swan and invites guests to dinner so as to hear it sing. When it does not, he orders the bird to be served up at the meal, whereupon its bursts into song and the man blames himself for not having commanded that at the start.
Laurentius Abstemius created another in his Hecatomythium in which the swan is asked by a stork (rather than a goose) why it greets death so ecstatically when most beings fear to die. It replies that it welcomes death as a release from all life's miseries.[10] Others, however, interpreted the song as a farewell to the joys of life, as in the madrigal "The Silver Swan" by Orlando Gibbons, which also brings in the contrast between swan and goose:
"Farewell, all joys! O Death, come close mine eyes!
More Geese than Swans now live, more Fools than Wise."
swan, goose, classical, legend, that, swan, sings, death, incorporated, into, aesop, fables, numbered, perry, index, fable, also, introduces, proverbial, antithesis, between, swan, goose, that, gave, rise, such, sayings, every, thinks, geese, swans, reference,. The classical legend that the swan sings at death was incorporated into one of Aesop s Fables numbered 399 in the Perry Index 1 The fable also introduces the proverbial antithesis between the swan and the goose that gave rise to such sayings as Every man thinks his own geese are swans in reference to blind partiality and All his swans are turned to geese referring to a reverse of fortune 2 The Threatened Swan by Jan Asselijn 1650The fable and its variations editThe fable recorded by Aphthonius of Antioch concerns a swan that its owner mistook for a goose in the dark and was about to kill it until the swan s song alerted him to the mistake he was making At the start is the claim that this will encourage young people to study and it ends with the dubious statement that music is so powerful that it can even avert death 3 When Gabriele Faerno versified the fable as Cygnus et Anser the swan and the goose in his Fabulae C Aesopicae 1543 he underlined the usefulness of eloquence in his summing up 4 and Giovanni Maria Verdizotti followed him in his Italian version il cigno et l occa 5 The latter also provides the moral that fair speech is sometimes of great profit un bel parlar a tempo e gran guadagno while the similar story in La Fontaine s Fables which he titles the Swan and the Cook Le cygne et le cuisinier III 12 comes to rest on the sentiment that gentle speech does no harm le doux parler ne nuit de rien 6 English versions of the fable were recorded by Roger L Estrange 1698 and George Fyler Townsend 1867 7 and the latter s text was set as the final piece in Bob Chilcott s Aesop s Fables 2008 8 Another fable based on the same folklore appears in the Perry Index as number 233 9 but was much less recorded In this a man buys a swan and invites guests to dinner so as to hear it sing When it does not he orders the bird to be served up at the meal whereupon its bursts into song and the man blames himself for not having commanded that at the start Laurentius Abstemius created another in his Hecatomythium in which the swan is asked by a stork rather than a goose why it greets death so ecstatically when most beings fear to die It replies that it welcomes death as a release from all life s miseries 10 Others however interpreted the song as a farewell to the joys of life as in the madrigal The Silver Swan by Orlando Gibbons which also brings in the contrast between swan and goose Farewell all joys O Death come close mine eyes More Geese than Swans now live more Fools than Wise dd Gallery edit nbsp Illustration of the book Le Cygne et le Cuisinier of Jean de La Fontaine by Francois Chauveau 1668 nbsp Illustration by Jean Baptiste Oudry 1729 1734 print by Pierre Aveline 1755 nbsp Illustration by Grandville 1837 1838 nbsp Epinal print of the Pellerin factory 1875References edit Aesopica Brewer s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable 1898 edition Francisco Rodriguez Adrados History of the Graeco Latin Fable Vol 1 Brill 1999 p 41 Fable 25 Cento favoli morali Venice 1570 fable 11 French text online Fables of Aesop Online performance Aesopica Fable 13 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Swan and the Goose amp oldid 1175661522, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
