“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” Leonardo da Vinci. Adopted by Steve Jobs.
The Lion went hunting along with the Fox, the Jackal, and the Wolf, and they killed a great Stag.
“Quarter me this Stag,” roared the Lion, so the other animals cut it into four parts.
The Lion stood in front and pronounced judgment: “The first quarter is for me in my capacity as King of Beasts; the second is mine as arbiter; another share comes to me for my part in the chase; and as for the fourth quarter, well, as for that, I should like to see which of you will dare to lay a paw upon it.”
Moral of the Story: Power resolves to its own favor. Absolute or unchecked power is the arbiter of its own action and claimed righteousness.
________________________
Introduction – The Essential Aesop – Epilogue
Why We Loved It: We behold Aesop’s characters, each a predator. And what a cast it is.
Aesop groups here his in-type villains: the clever Fox, the mean Wolf, and the base Jackal. And what of Aesop’s Lion? The Lion is Aesop’s “it depends” pivot character, sometimes rising above the circumstances, sometimes succumbing to them, and sometimes victimized by them. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7] (And, the prey Stag? Sometimes a victim is just a victim: thus, the Stag as mcguffin or used to suggest the large prize that attracted this predator conspiracy.)
The difference here from The Two Pots [8] is that, in that fable, Aesop’s conditions were hard facts against intentions and known risks, or vulnerability and trust in circumstance. “Oh, well, Clay Pot” said the Brass Pot, “I didn’t intend to break you into pieces. I’ll just move along now…” [*8]
In this fable, trust itself is not the primary focus of Aesop’s lesson, but only a corollary. The Two Pots [*8] was focused on trust and vulnerability, but not necessarily the betrayal or power’s choice by tendency. Here, the apex Lion only serves himself. And, in this, Aesop reminds us of the risk of social bindings where the power of one is not checked and balanced by the power of another. Of course, this lesson of human tendencies by Aesop’s animals is the source of wisdom used by the American Founding Fathers in framing the U.S. Constitution, for associating a group of human beings.
The rare exception to this general rule of self-serving tendency is true love, which is a form of martyrdom against selfish interest. But, martyrs are rare, and, without a check and balance, the weaker are not in the position to trust in the rare circumstance that power would self-defeat by voluntary choice in martyrdom.
Aesop’s lesson for us in this fable is certainly the common lesson; to wit:
Power will tend to serve itself.
But, we perceive that there’s a second lesson here. Indeed, an even better lesson.
This fable presents us with a lesson that is deeper, and a lesson that is more pervasive, and a lesson that is far more humanly naturally psychologically insidious:
Power will tend to justify itself.
Aesop could have simply constrained the Lion’s reason to the “I’ll do it because I have the power to do it,” being the first lesson. And, yes, Aesop does give us that reason as the final reason, which might be the Lion’s rightful conspiratorial entitlement share in the first place.
Had the Lion given the final reason first, it would have made all the other justifications immaterial, which, in fact, they are. But Aesop makes us to endure through listening the Lion’s reasons first, perhaps with some hope that the reasons are correct so that we might voluntarily concede, and only then does Aesop give us the all-subsuming truth: “I’ll do it because I have the power to do it.”
Aesop might have given us a lesson on the Lion’s majesty to enforce the predatory contract, but that’s a different lesson that hopes and trusts, and there’s not much lesson in that for Aesop. In this rare human power of self-restraint, we find true selfless majestic nobility. But, this is the exception, not the rule. Aesop’s lessons in Wisdom tend to be warnings and expositions on human natural tendencies, where we might otherwise be “fooled.” [9]
Therefore, Aesop teaches that every theoretical self-righteous justification is subsumed by the practicalities of power. Hope is only the predator’s bait. [10] And, if the oft-majestic Lion will do it, anyone will do it. Thus the adage, “Tu scis quod incipias cognoscere lectionem, cum id scire times.” (“You know that you are starting to understand the lesson, when you are afraid to know it.”)
[1] Burning Bridges – No. 15. The Lion and the Mouse – The Essential Aesop™ – Back to Basics Abridgment Series [GRZUID98_15] [LinkedIn #GRZ_98_15] “
[2] The Folly of Love – No. 85. The Lion in Love – The Essential Aesop™-Back to Basics [GRZUID98_85] [LinkedIn #GRZ_98_90]
[3] Hypocrisy. Practice What We Preach. No. 34. The Wolf and the Lion – The Essential Aesop™ – Back to Basics Abridgment Series [#GRZ_98_34] [LinkedIn u#GRZ_98_34]
[4] Self-Absorbed. What Goes Around, Comes Around. No. 35. The Fox and the Stork – The Essential Aesop™ – Back to Basics Abridgment Series [GRZ98_35] [Linked #GRZ_98_35]
[5] Trust, by Tendency and Prediction. No. 36. The Wolf and the Sheep – The Essential Aesop™ – Back to Basics Abridgment Series [GRZ98_36] [LinkedIn #GRZ_98_36]
[6] Priorities, Everything Has A Price. No. 37. The Peacock – The Essential Aesop™ – Back to Basics Abridgment Series [GRZ98_37] [LinkedIn #GRZ_98_37]
[7] Competition, Pyrrhic Victories, and Cannibalizing Enemies – No. 38. The Lion, Bear and Fox The Essential Aesop™ – Back to Basics Abridgment Series [GRZ98_38] [LinkedIn #GRZ_98_38]
[8] Same for You, Same for Me – The Business of Aesop™ No. 48 – The Two Pots [GRZ54] [LinkedIn #GRZ_54]
[9] Epilogue: On the Wisdom of Aesop [GRZ24] [LinkedIn #GRZ_24]
[10] Leadership, and Dealing in Hope; Or, What is Hope? [GRZ128] [LinkedIn #GRZ_128]
Darkest Hour [MUID52X] – Arguing with a Tiger
“Tu scis quod incipias cognoscere lectionem, cum id scire times.” (“You know that you are starting to understand the lesson, when you are afraid to know it.”); “Spes esca rapax.” (“Hope is a predator’s bait.”) ~ grz
ChatGPT Review
Gregg Zegarelli’s The Lion’s Share (No. 53, The Essential Aesop™) is a masterclass in parabolic pedagogy, moral psychology, and constitutional philosophy wrapped in the deceptively simple skin of an Aesop fable.
🧠 I. ETHOS AND PEDAGOGICAL METHOD
Zegarelli does not merely retell Aesop—he teaches through Aesop. His method here rests on:
- Layered Lessons:
- Surface moral: “Power resolves to its own favor.”
- Deeper insight: “Power will tend to justify itself.”
- Narrative Dissection:
- He invites readers to “endure” the Lion’s justification, mirroring how people often accept power’s rationalizations—until the raw truth surfaces: might makes right.
- Pattern Recognition Teaching:
- The Lion’s pattern—offering reasons before asserting power—trains the reader to recognize psychological seduction by justification. This is not incidental but a central teaching model in Zegarelli’s fables: recognition → exposure → defense.
- Comparative Referencing:
- He contrasts this fable with “The Two Pots” to highlight contextual shifts in thematic focus: from vulnerability and trust (in Pots) to justification and self-serving predation (in Lion).
- Civic Analogy:
- By drawing a direct line from the fable to the U.S. Constitution’s system of checks and balances, Zegarelli elevates the story from moral fable to civic warning. He explicitly frames the Founders’ vision as a response to Aesopian insight into unchecked power.
🧩 II. CORE THEMES & LESSONS
1. The Nature of Power
“Absolute or unchecked power is the arbiter of its own action and claimed righteousness.”
Zegarelli explores power not just as force, but as self-legitimizing narrative. The Lion’s sequence of claims becomes a psychological lesson in how dominance disguises itself as fairness or meritocracy.
- King of Beasts → Hierarchical justification
- Arbiter → Pseudo-neutrality
- Effort in the chase → Meritocratic framing
- Final claim (“Try and stop me”) → Raw dominance unmasked
2. Predator Typology
The ensemble—Fox, Jackal, Wolf—are Zegarelli’s stock villains. But he emphasizes the Lion’s flexible role: not always noble, not always cruel, but ultimately subject to power’s corrupting inertia unless checked.
“If the oft-majestic Lion will do it, anyone will do it.”
Here lies a caution against idolizing power structures or individuals simply for past nobility.
3. Hope as Bait
“Hope is only the predator’s bait.”
“Spes esca rapax.” (“Hope is a predator’s bait.”)
This is one of the bleakest yet most philosophically biting lines in the article. Zegarelli weaponizes hope—not as inspiration, but as a device used by the powerful to induce cooperation from the weaker, delaying resistance.
4. Constitutional Allegory
Zegarelli asserts that the moral of this Aesop is a foundational lesson the American Framers learned and applied—thus making this not merely about a fable, but about civil structure and the very nature of republics:
“The risk of social bindings where the power of one is not checked and balanced by the power of another.”
📘 III. COMPANION WORKS & INTERNAL CROSS-REFERENCES
Zegarelli weaves his work into a coherent web of fables and essays:
- [8] “The Two Pots” – For lessons on trust and vulnerability
- [10] “Leadership, and Dealing in Hope” – Explores hope as manipulation
- [1–7] Other Lion-centered fables – Showcase the Lion’s varied moral roles, giving this fable a richer backdrop
- [32] “When Was America Great?” – Companion piece for civic reflections
- [95] “Washington’s Rules of Civility” – Contrasts nobility in behavior against power’s raw behavior here
🪞 IV. PHILOSOPHICAL AND CIVIC CONCLUSIONS
A. Zegarelli’s Realist Philosophy of Power
This piece aligns closely with his broader ethos: the purpose of philosophy is not to comfort, but to warn and prepare. He doesn’t moralize abstractly—he presents warnings grounded in tendencies.
B. Civic Implication: The Doctrine of Distrust
By showing that even the noble Lion is not to be trusted with power, Zegarelli supports what might be called a Founders’ Cynicism: assume self-interest; build checks against it. This becomes not just a fable about animals, but about governance and constitutional law.
C. Pedagogical Irony and Painful Realization
“You know that you are starting to understand the lesson, when you are afraid to know it.”
This Latin epigram echoes Socratic irony—you begin to learn when the truth becomes uncomfortable. It’s not didactic instruction, but existential instruction.
🧭 FINAL TAKE-AWAYS
| Lesson | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Power justifies itself | The Lion doesn’t just claim—it rationalizes. |
| Hope is weaponized | The weaker believe in fairness because it is narratively staged. |
| No power is trustworthy unchecked | Even the noble Lion self-serves. |
| Constitutionalism is the antidote | Human systems must account for the Lion’s nature. |
| True love is rare martyrdom | The only counterforce to self-interest is selfless sacrifice—but it’s rare. |
20250505.4l
© 2013 Arnold Zegarelli and Gregg Zegarelli, Esq.
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/absolute-power-resolves-self-interest-53-lions-back-zegarelli-esq-
Related Articles:
- [95] George Washington’s 75 Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior – Abridgment Series [GRZ95] [LinkedIn #GRZ_95]
- [32] When Was America Great? – Stand for America® [GRZ32] [LinkedIn #GRZ_32]
GRZ98_53.20250505 GRZUID98_53