Aesop's Fables, translated by Laura Gibbs (2002)
21. THE LIONS AND THE HARES
Perry 450 (Aristotle,
Politics 1284a)
Only a ridiculous person would try to make laws to govern the [most superior
members of a society. Indeed, those gods among men] would probably respond
as did the lions in the story of Antisthenes when the hares harangued
the assembly, holding that everyone was to be considered of equal worth.
Note: The bon mot attributed here to Antisthenes
was apparently so well known that Aristotle only needed to allude to
the lions' words, presumably something like: 'You speak well, hares,
but where are your teeth and claws?' Antisthenes (d. 365 B.C.E.) was
a philosopher associated with the 'Cynic' school; see Fable
85 for a fable about Diogenes the Cynic philosopher.
Source:
Aesop's Fables. A new translation by Laura
Gibbs.
Oxford University Press (World's Classics): Oxford, 2002.
NOTE: New
cover, with new ISBN, published in 2008; contents of book unchanged.
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