The Dog and the Bone
Encyclopedia
The Dog and its Reflection (or 'Shadow' in several translations) is one of Aesop's Fables
and is numbered 133 in the Perry Index
. An indication of how old and well-known this story was is given by a mere allusion to it in the work of the philosopher Democritus
from the 5th century BCE. Discussing the foolish desire for more, rather than being content with what one has, he describes it as being 'like the dog in Aesop's fable.'
, written and illuminated in England around 1200, asserts that 'If a dog swims across a river carrying a piece of meat or anything of that sort in its mouth, and sees its shadow, it opens its mouth and in hastening to seize the other piece of meat, it loses the one it was carrying'.
The story's moral, according to John Lydgate
's versified Isopes Fabules, is that the one 'Who all coveteth, oft he loseth all.' Making use of a picture of the fable in his Book of Emblemes (1586), the poet Geoffrey Whitney
gives his moral lesson the Latin title Mediocribus utere partis (Make use of moderate possessions):
Jean de la Fontaine
(Fables VI.17) also prefaces his version of the fable with the moral to be drawn from it before proceeding to a brief relation of the story. For him, the point is not to be taken in by appearances. In his account, the dog attacks its reflection and falls into the water. As he struggles to swim to shore, he relaxes his grip on his plunder and loses both 'shadow and substance'.
Others in the 16th century had already treated the subject in an emblematic
way. They include Latin versions by Gabriele Faerno
(1563), Hieronymus Osius
(1564) and Arnold Freitag (1579) and a French version by Bernard Salomon (1547). How the fable is illustrated depends on which source is being drawn upon. Greek versions generally state that the dog is crossing the river and some pictures have it paddling across. Phaedrus states that it is swimming (natans) in the water and in this is followed by Osius and Salomon. On the other hand, one of the Romulus
versions specifies that it is crossing a bridge (per pontem), which has been the preference for the majority of illustrators.
A story close to Aesop's is inserted into the Calladhanuggaha Jataka, where a jackal bearing a piece of flesh goes by a river bank and plunges in after the fish it sees swimming there. On returning from its unsuccessful hunt, the jackal finds a vulture has carried off its other prey. A variation deriving from this is Bidpai's story of "The Fox and the Piece of Meat". There a fox is on its way home with the meat when it catches sight of some chickens and decides to hunt one of them down; it is a kite
that flies off with the meat in this version.
Aesop's Fables
Aesop's Fables or the Aesopica are a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and story-teller believed to have lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 560 BCE. The fables remain a popular choice for moral education of children today...
and is numbered 133 in the Perry Index
Perry Index
The Perry Index is a widely-used index of "Aesop's Fables" or "Aesopica", the fables credited to Aesop, the story-teller who lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 560 BC...
. An indication of how old and well-known this story was is given by a mere allusion to it in the work of the philosopher Democritus
Democritus
Democritus was an Ancient Greek philosopher born in Abdera, Thrace, Greece. He was an influential pre-Socratic philosopher and pupil of Leucippus, who formulated an atomic theory for the cosmos....
from the 5th century BCE. Discussing the foolish desire for more, rather than being content with what one has, he describes it as being 'like the dog in Aesop's fable.'
Fable
In the story, a dog that is carrying a stolen bone, or piece of meat or cheese, looks down as it is crossing a stream and sees its own reflection in the water. Taking it for another dog carrying something better, it opens its mouth to bark at the "other" and in doing so drops what it was carrying. The story became incorporated into mediaeval animal lore. The Aberdeen BestiaryBestiary
A bestiary, or Bestiarum vocabulum is a compendium of beasts. Bestiaries were made popular in the Middle Ages in illustrated volumes that described various animals, birds and even rocks. The natural history and illustration of each beast was usually accompanied by a moral lesson...
, written and illuminated in England around 1200, asserts that 'If a dog swims across a river carrying a piece of meat or anything of that sort in its mouth, and sees its shadow, it opens its mouth and in hastening to seize the other piece of meat, it loses the one it was carrying'.
The story's moral, according to John Lydgate
John Lydgate
John Lydgate of Bury was a monk and poet, born in Lidgate, Suffolk, England.Lydgate is at once a greater and a lesser poet than John Gower. He is a greater poet because of his greater range and force; he has a much more powerful machine at his command. The sheer bulk of Lydgate's poetic output is...
's versified Isopes Fabules, is that the one 'Who all coveteth, oft he loseth all.' Making use of a picture of the fable in his Book of Emblemes (1586), the poet Geoffrey Whitney
Geoffrey Whitney
Geoffrey Whitney was an English poet, now best known for the influence on Elizabethan writing of the Choice of Emblemes that he compiled.-Life:...
gives his moral lesson the Latin title Mediocribus utere partis (Make use of moderate possessions):
-
- Whome fortune heare allottes a meane estate,
- Yet gives enowghe eache wante for to suffise:
- That wavering wighte, that hopes for better fate,
- And not content, his cawlinge doth despise,
- Maie vainlie clime, but likelie still to fall,
- And live at lengthe with losse of maine and all.
Jean de la Fontaine
Jean de La Fontaine
Jean de La Fontaine was the most famous French fabulist and one of the most widely read French poets of the 17th century. He is known above all for his Fables, which provided a model for subsequent fabulists across Europe and numerous alternative versions in France, and in French regional...
(Fables VI.17) also prefaces his version of the fable with the moral to be drawn from it before proceeding to a brief relation of the story. For him, the point is not to be taken in by appearances. In his account, the dog attacks its reflection and falls into the water. As he struggles to swim to shore, he relaxes his grip on his plunder and loses both 'shadow and substance'.
Others in the 16th century had already treated the subject in an emblematic
Emblem book
Emblem books are a category of mainly didactic illustrated book printed in Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries, typically containing a number of emblematic images with explanatory text....
way. They include Latin versions by Gabriele Faerno
Gabriele Faerno
Gabriele Faerno, also known by his Latin name of Faernus Cremonensis, was born in Cremona about 1510 and died in Rome on November 17, 1561. He was a scrupulous scholar and an elegant Latin poet who is best known now for his collection of Aesop's Fables in Latin verse.-Life:Gabriele Faerno was born...
(1563), Hieronymus Osius
Hieronymus Osius
Hieronymus Osius was a German Neo-Latin poet and academic about whom there are few biographical details. He was born about 1530 in Schlotheim and murdered in 1575 in Graz. After studying first at the university of Erfurt, he gained his Masters degree from Wittenberg university in 1552 and later...
(1564) and Arnold Freitag (1579) and a French version by Bernard Salomon (1547). How the fable is illustrated depends on which source is being drawn upon. Greek versions generally state that the dog is crossing the river and some pictures have it paddling across. Phaedrus states that it is swimming (natans) in the water and in this is followed by Osius and Salomon. On the other hand, one of the Romulus
Romulus (fabulist)
Romulus is the author, now considered a legendary figure, of versions of Aesop's Fables in Latin. These were passed down in Western Europe, and became important school texts, for early education. Romulus is supposed to have lived in the 5th century....
versions specifies that it is crossing a bridge (per pontem), which has been the preference for the majority of illustrators.
A story close to Aesop's is inserted into the Calladhanuggaha Jataka, where a jackal bearing a piece of flesh goes by a river bank and plunges in after the fish it sees swimming there. On returning from its unsuccessful hunt, the jackal finds a vulture has carried off its other prey. A variation deriving from this is Bidpai's story of "The Fox and the Piece of Meat". There a fox is on its way home with the meat when it catches sight of some chickens and decides to hunt one of them down; it is a kite
Kite (bird)
Kites are raptors with long wings and weak legs which spend a great deal of time soaring. Most feed mainly on carrion but some take various amounts of live prey.They are birds of prey which, along with hawks and eagles, are from the family Accipitridae....
that flies off with the meat in this version.
External links
- 15th-20th century illustrations from books