Aesop's Fables, translated by Laura Gibbs (2002)
210. AESOP AND THE ATHLETE
Perry 541 (Phaedrus
App. 13)
Aesop, that wise man from Phrygia, once saw a winning athlete who was
making extravagant boasts, so he asked whether the man's opponent had
been more powerfully built. The athlete replied, 'Watch what you're saying!
I was much stronger than he was.' 'You fool!' said Aesop. 'What kind of
prize do you deserve if you were the stronger athlete and simply triumphed
over an inferior opponent? You might have earned my grudging admiration
if your opponent had in fact been superior to you in strength, so that
you had to defeat him by means of your exceptional athletic prowess.'
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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