“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” Leonardo da Vinci. Adopted by Steve Jobs.
________________________
A Wolf was injured from a fight with a Bear concerning a meal.
Unable to move, the Wolf called to a little Lamb who was passing nearby, “Kind Lamb, you see that I am hurt. I sweetly beg you to fetch me a drink of water for my strength, so I may get a simple meal.”
“A meal?” said the Sheep. “That means me, I suppose. And, the water to wash me down your throat. No thank you very much.”
Moral of the Story: Logical conclusions from natural conditions.
________________________
Introduction – The Essential Aesop – Epilogue
Related Article: The Great Masquerade – Stand for America®; On the Wisdom of Aesop – The Essential Aesop – Epilogue – Back to Basics Abridgment Series
________________________
Why We Loved It: Even an injured Wolf has his teeth, so the soft Lamb must be wise. This little fable encapsulates much of all the Theory of Aesop, entwining two critical lessons:
1. Prediction. Wisdom is about thoughtful prediction. A prediction is based upon a tendency, which is a statistic of history. What is a thing’s tendency? Wisdom is not about guessing correctly. Guessing correctly is just getting lucky. A foolish decision can turn out well, by accident; a wise decision can turn out badly, by accident. For this reason, a sage never regrets a wise decision that ends badly.
The problem for us is that our thoughts are not clear, jaded by emotions and passions. Desire tends to cloud a decision—desire cooks the wisdom books. Wisdom understands the role of the emotions, but emotions serve wisdom. Wisdom is a practical art that assesses and predicts, which must be performed with clarity. Wisdom is a dish best served cold.
The Wolf wisely played to the young Sheep’s soft compassion or naivety, predicting that the Lamb was likely to make a foolish mistake. A good play for the Wolf. He took the shot. “Kind Lamb, you see that I am hurt,” said the Wolf, preying. But, alas, wisdom met wisdom. “Kindness is not foolishness,” thought the well-trained Lamb. The Lamb predicted the Wolf’s tendency to behave; that is, to eat the Lamb for dinner. But, not on this day.
2. Wisdom v. Morality. Wisdom is a function of rational prediction. Morality is a function of value systems, often controlled by emotions. They may sit in the same space at times, but they are not the same thing—morality sits on wisdom’s lap when wisdom should permit.
The Wolf just wants to eat his dinner, and the Lamb just does not want to be the Wolf’s dinner. Wisdom teaches us that there is such a thing as a wise criminal and a foolish parishioner. We can, with hindsight, find some “greater good” in the story of Elizabeth Smart, but giving a man $5 on the street is not the same thing as hiring him into our home with small children, by some purported reason of moral virtue.
Jesus teaches morality by other-worldly supernatural judgment, and Aesop teaches wise judgment by worldly natural tendency. One requires knowledge of god’s nature, the other requires knowledge of human nature.
Giving a cup of water to a fallen Wolf and giving a cup of water to a fallen Jesus, might be moral equivalents, but they are not wisdom equivalents. Trust is prediction, with cold clarity, regarding the nature of thing, in light of its history. And goodness for us, as both the lessons of Aesop and the lessons of Jesus survive for us, so we can choose our times. Different people will balance differently, to each his or her own.
“Jesus would not trust himself to them because he knew them all, and did not need anyone to testify about human nature. He himself understood it well.” Jesus ONE®: 372
“Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to me, amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.” Jesus ONE®: 1660
“And, the water to serve to wash me down your throat. No thank you very much.” Aesop, The Wolf and the Sheep, The Essential Aesop, No. 36.
“Pay unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” Jesus ONE®: 2123
“A man said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, should I tie my camel and trust in Allah, or should I leave her untied and trust in Allah?’ The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, ‘Tie her and trust in Allah.’” Muhammad, Sunan al-Tirmidhi 2517
“Trust in God, boys, and keep your powder dry.” Oliver Cromwell
© 2013 Arnold Zegarelli and Gregg Zegarelli, Esq. Gregg can be contacted through LinkedIn. Arnold Zegarelli can be contacted through Facebook.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/trust-tendency-prediction-36-wolf-sheep-essential-zegarelli-esq-
GRZ98_36 GRZUID98_36