“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” ~ Leonardo da Vinci (Adopted by Steve Jobs)
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A Dog seeking an afternoon nap jumped into the Manger of an Ox and cuddled in.
Soon, the Ox came up to the Manger and wanted to eat some of the straw. There was more than enough. But, the Dog being abruptly awakened, snarled and attempted to bite the Ox.
Finally, the Ox gave up the hope of getting at the straw, saying, “Well, Mr. Dog, you cannot use the straw, but you won’t share it either.”
Moral of the Story: People often begrudge others even in what they cannot enjoy themselves. Envy bears the burden of self-imposed anger, from a selfish interest, where the object is not really the cause, but only the excuse.
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Introduction – The Essential Aesop – Epilogue
Related Articles: The Social Vice Triumvirate™: Jealousy, Envy and Pride; The Importance of Aesop to Socrates
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Why We Loved It: Aesop’s fable exposes why envy is not only a single vice, but also can implicate a double vice: it is a vicious selfishness that is often also an unfair condemnation of an external object, such as another person. It is a redirection of causation away from the flaw of self.
Yes, envy may be natural for human beings, but we remember that what is human nature is not necessarily wise, or virtuous. Indeed, virtue tends to be exactly that which contradicts our human natural inclination. That is why virtue is prized: it is an uncommon conquering of self, being the first and most important of all achievements. Virtue is its own best reward to self, and is not envious, jealous or proud. Vice is its own best punishment to self, bearing the burden of insecurity matched with selfishness, and often unfair displaced blame.
We note that Aesop uses his Ox as the object—being a non-adversarial beast of burden—to keep focus entirely on the “everyman” Dog. Not only that, but Aesop places the Dog in the Ox’s manger to press the fact that Ox is wholly innocent of causation. And, Aesop even goes so far to tell us that there is a surplus of hay. The entire setup tells us to focus on the Dog as the wholly self-contained subject of cause and effect.
The Dog demonstrates a behavior we find in an untrained child: I don’t want to play with that Tonka Truck or doll, but I won’t let you play with it either. It can similarly appear later in life with, I don’t want to date him or her, but I’ll be really angry if you do it.
Like sibling rivalry, these are somewhat natural human conditions, but that is Aesop’s point. Perceive it first, and then reconcile it into a virtue. Indeed, that’s the entire point of Aesop’s fables: to teach us ahead of time, so we don’t get blindsided by our flaws of human nature.
It is the gift of unselfishness that makes a martyr. Perhaps not that everyone must be a martyr, but the star still guides us, whether or not we can touch it.
“Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You lock up the kingdom of heaven from human beings. You do not enter yourselves, nor do you allow entrance to those trying to enter.” ~ONE®: The Unified Gospel of Jesus: 2215
“Not that you ever have lent anyone a single volume; true to your dog-in-the-manger principles, you neither eat the corn yourself, nor give the horse a chance.” ~Lucian
Zeus to Plutus (God of Wealth) “The [misers] were perfectly ridiculous, you know, loving you [money] to distraction, but not daring to enjoy you when they might; you were in their power, yet they could not give the reins to their passion; they kept awake watching you with their eyes glued to bolt and seal; the enjoyment that satisfied them was not to enjoy you themselves, but to prevent others’ enjoying you–true dogs in the manger.” ~Lucian, Timon
“Vitium est propria poena hominis optima.” (“Vice is a man’s own best punishment.”); “Virtus est proprium hominis optimum praemium.” (“Virtue is a man’s own best reward.”) ~grz
© 2013 Arnold Zegarelli and Gregg Zegarelli, Esq. Gregg can be contacted through LinkedIn. Arnold Zegarelli can be contacted through Facebook.
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