Talk:Aesop's Fables

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Changed factually inaccurate information: Babrius wrote in Greek, not Latin, as his own page gets right. —Nathanbethell

Removed all the text that sounded like a review. Sorry, Brenna, but Wikipedia is not a review forum. Also, on Wikipedia we don't sign our work (except comments like these). —Frecklefoot 20:11 5 Jun 2003 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] Suggested merge Aesop and Aesop's Fables

A hash of the material has been made by a well-meaning editor attempting to separate an (apocryphal?) Aesop from Aesop's Fables, There is no Aesop aside from the Fables and there is no single canonic collection of Aesop's Fables, to the surprise of many. I am putting 'merge' suggestions on both articles, so that we can build one strong inclusive introduction to Aesop's Fables as a unified phenomenon. --Wetman 3 July 2005 00:42 (UTC)

(Why? Am i the 'well-meaning editor'? :) ) There were indeed some evidences suggesting the existence of Aesop. To deny it totally would not be NPOV. i personally think Aesop would warrant an article of his own; while his fables (true, many versions abound but so are the Holy Bible, Analects and many other more serious works that have survived the ages) deserve another. In short, i'm against merging. --Plastictv 3 July 2005 04:02 (UTC)
To discuss the reports of the legendary "Aesop" as an aspect of the phenomenon Aesop's Fables is sensible. "To deny it totally" would be jejune. "His fables" is vacuous: "his who"? Babrius? La Fontaine? The sources concerning the Fables, which one might read before editing the articles, are all at Aesop, not here. Editing is meant to improve texts. --Wetman 3 July 2005 04:34 (UTC)
... I realize I ought to know these things, but what exactly does "jejune" mean? As for my own two cents, I think there's enough evidence to provide a reasonable doubt of the claim that "there was no Aesop", in which case, just putting information about Aesop in this article would, uh, make it two long. --Yar Kramer 23:30, 9 July 2005 (UTC)
Just prove it yourself by trying a write a 300-word paragraph on "Aesop" without mentioning Aesop's Fables. See? Discussion of "Who was Aesop?" would make a very sensible section of the article Aesop's Fables. The various contributors to the Fables, like Babrius, should be discussed and linked. The claim that "there was no Aesop" is a part of the story : have you read a good preface to a collection of the Fables? But, is there a secret fear that might be expressed as, "If there's Aesop's Fables but no "Aesop", then is there a Gospel of Luke and no "Luke". A reasonable fear, but an entirely separate question.... --Wetman 00:06, 10 July 2005 (UTC)
i get what you're saying now. Aesop should be part of Aesop's Fables, right? i agree with you. But deep down i'd like to believe in the existence of Aesop, perhaps in the same way kids believe in Santa but what does it matter? :) Please go ahead and merge the articles. --Plastictv 06:03, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

[edit] The Fox and the Crow

that "see also" link refers to a cartoon show

[edit] The Frog and the Scorpion

The Frog and the Scorpion is listed as one of Aesop's fables, but on the main page of the former it is stated that this is "mis-attributed" as an Aesop's fable. Seems to me that more information should be presented in either case. 24.116.118.202 23:06, 27 April 2007 (UTC)

"Aesop" is a phantom: the authentic question is, where did this fable appear in the compilations, such as that by Babrius? --Wetman 07:59, 28 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Advertising?

The link called "Stories that have been called "modern Aesop Fables"" seems nothing but a flagrant case of book promotion. What else could you call it? It takes you to a page that advertises a book you can buy. As far as I know the function of an encyclopedia is not advertising products you can tenuously link to something more famous, so I removed the link. If someone disagrees, feel free to revert and while you're at it also add all the other books of fables you can find on Amazon, say, and don't forget to include a direct "add to shopping cart" to make the encyclopedia a more convenient shopping experience.

[edit] that "Sanskrit" version...

I have been curious to see who added the assertion that La Fontaine's Fables were "partly inspired by the Aesop's Fables, although he acknowledges that the greatest part of them is inspired by the original Sanskrit version." La Fontaine makes no assertion even remotely resembling this in his Préface, which I have now linked to the article. It was User:Deeptrivia we have to credit, in edits made on 1 July 2006. A test of our alertness, no doubt. One that we have failed to detect for over a year. Is the following, added at the same time, also bogus: "A strong similarity exists between the Aesop's fables and some stories in the Panchatantra, which was translated from the Sanskrit original into Syriac under the name Kalilag and Damnag."? One may wonder. --Wetman 10:47, 5 September 2007 (UTC)

I think there was something in Ben E. Perry's introduction to Babrius and Phaedrus about how Aesop's fables were introduced and assimilated into the Indian tradition thereby explaining the similarities to the Panchatantra. I'll look it up. Poshzombie 21:47, 5 September 2007 (UTC)
Excellent. Maybe even a quote... --Wetman 10:22, 6 September 2007 (UTC)
Done. May need different formatting though.Poshzombie 22:23, 6 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] dubious link

The "Robert Temple" link leads to an entry about Robert K. G. Temple, author of _The Sirius Mystery_. I believe that this is a different person than the translator. 128.147.28.1 13:33, 17 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Personification -vs- Anthropomorphism

In the article it says,

Aesop's Fables have become a blanket term for collections of brief fables, usually involving personified animals.


and the word "personified" is linked to Personification. Wouldn't Anthropomorphism be a better choice? In that article under the section "Literature" it even talks about this as related to Aesop's Fables. --Doug talk 00:15, 27 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] aesop

i think that he is cool  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.153.214.54 (talk) 19:16, 5 March 2008 (UTC)