“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” Leonardo da Vinci. (Adopted by Steve Jobs)
The Frogs were tired of the work of governing themselves, and they thought themselves important enough to have a king.
“Mighty Jove,” they cried, “send us a king.”
Jove thought the child-like request of the croaking Frogs was amusing, if not foolish, so he threw a huge crowned Log down into the swamp. The Frogs went startled at first, but soon came to realize that the Log was not a real king.
So, the Frogs petitioned to Jove, once again, “We want a real king!”
“So you press your desire to be ruled by another?” thought a chiding Jove. So, he now sent King Stork. King Stork looked at his plump subjects, and soon set to gobbling up the Frogs, for the king’s advantage, such as it often is, one way or another.
The Frogs repented for seeking to be ruled, now by this tyrant, but, alas, it was too late. Petitioning Jove again, this time for a different king, Jove responded, “You received what you requested. You were not satisfied before. You were not satisfied after. And, it appears that you will only be satisfied by the fulfillment of some idea of perfection that does not exist in reality.”
Moral of the Story: Be careful what you wish for. The grass is not always greener. Each thing has its own attributes of benefits and burdens. He who does not govern himself, will be governed by another.
Introduction – The Essential Aesop – Epilogue
Why We Loved It: This complex fable permits multiple elemental interpretations.
In their state of being—such as it was—the first error by the Frogs was the hubris to think themselves deserving of some more important framework of society. This caused a resultant unhappiness, by an unfulfilled desire. Riding along with this hubris was the apparent inability to govern themselves to their happy satisfaction. Therefore, the Frogs lacked contentment and ability.
Where there is lack of lack of contentment and lack of ability, there is frustration. And, when frustration cannot be self-managed internally, because of some externalized source of causation, there is outward-facing blame. Frustration happens for many persons and many reasons, but, such as it for a carbonated beverage that has been shaken, a fool opens the bottle to an explosion, not having the discipline wisely to manage the condition by some form of reconciliation.
On another tier, this fable reminds us that some imperfect conditions of social life simply match the cruel and less preferred (“imperfect”) rules of nature. The Frogs simply could not get happy, by blaming external cause, forgetting that, for many conditions, happy is by internal cause.
The Frogs are the best beginning and end of their own condition, and their own happiness. Such as it is for vices, the condition for the Frogs was made all the worse for it, vicious persons being their own best punishment.
By the law of inertia, a foolish path leads to an even more foolish destination. The Frogs should have pursued happiness by self-government. They had the means for their own happiness, right there, in front of them. The grass is not necessarily greener, and Utopia does not exist. Silly, childish, foolish Frogs.
So says Master Shakespeare, “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves, that we are underlings.” When we seek external to govern us, we concede to subject ourselves to the externals that govern us.
What the world gives, the world can take away. What the Gods give, the Gods can take away.
But that which the Gods offer for a man to become as a gift to himself, by the acquisition of virtue, cannot be taken away but by the man, and, in this, the Gods might find that I have achieved the heights in self they intended for their creation.
Socrates, The Proseuche 55e, Chapter IX
Of things, some are in our power, and others not...Remember, then, if you mistake the things which are by nature slavish to be free, and the things that are in the power of others to be your own, you will be hindered, you will lament, you will be disturbed, you will blame both gods and men.
It is the act of an ill-instructed person to blame others for a bad condition of self; it is the act of one who has begun to be instructed to lay blame on self; and of the one whose instruction is completed, neither to blame another nor self.
Seek not that the things which happen should happen as you wish; but wish the things which happen to be as they are, and you will have a tranquil flow of life.
“A government that is big enough to give you all you want is big enough to take it all away.” ~Barry Goldwater
“Which government is best? That which teaches us to govern ourselves.” ~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Proverbs in Prose
“Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one.” ~Thomas Paine, Common Sense
“Every country has the government it deserves.” ~Joseph Marie de Maistre, Letter (1811)
“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves, that we are underlings.” (Julius Caesar, Act I, Scene III, L. 140-141).
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Here’s a deep-dive analysis of “Be Careful What You Wish For – No. 58 – The Frogs Desiring a King” by Gregg Zegarelli, in full alignment with your requested format: meaning, ethos, pedagogy, and conclusion.
🧠 I. MEANING (Narrative and Philosophical Layers)
Fable Summary:
- The Frogs, desiring a ruler, ask Jove (Jupiter) for a king.
- Jove sends a harmless crowned Log, which the Frogs mock.
- They demand a real king—Jove sends King Stork, who devours them.
- When the Frogs beg again, Jove rebukes their discontent, highlighting their irrational pursuit of a perfect ruler.
Philosophical Takeaways:
- Governance and Self-Government: The Frogs’ initial mistake is externalizing governance—they prefer to be ruled rather than govern themselves, revealing a failure of civic and personal virtue.
- Hubris and Discontent: Their sense of entitlement to “something better” reflects a hubris tied to social comparison and illusion of upward status.
- From Foolish Innocence to Fatal Tyranny: Their path from desire to destruction follows a tragic arc: from naïve request → symbolic lesson → ingratitude → tyranny → irreversible consequence.
- Utopia Delusion: They fall prey to the false hope of perfection, blind to the law of trade-offs and the burden that comes with every benefit.
🧭 II. ETHOS (Alignment with Zegarelli’s Broader Worldview)
This fable is a keystone expression of Zegarelli’s civic ethos:
| Theme | Expression in Fable | Alignment with Zegarelli’s Broader Work |
|---|---|---|
| Self-governance | The Frogs abandon it and suffer. | Echoes The Proseuché, where virtue and internal control are the ideal. |
| Hubris and entitlement | Frogs feel deserving of a king. | Seen in The Tarpeian Rock and The Doctrine of the Infant Soldier. |
| Distrust of centralized power | King Stork becomes a tyrant. | Parallels Rollerball and The Rise of CSI. |
| Virtue as self-generated | The Frogs had happiness in reach. | Reiterated in The Woman Wins and Prayer of Socrates Ch. IX. |
| Consequences of abandoning duty | Frogs are eaten. | The idea that a free society is sustained only by internal discipline. |
This fable embodies the “profitable servant” doctrine—i.e., one must do the work of managing the self or risk becoming the prey of someone who will.
🎓 III. PEDAGOGY (Teaching Strategy and Method)
Zegarelli uses a multilayered Socratic teaching style in this article, delivering a civic education parable:
Pedagogical Techniques Employed:
- Childlike metaphor, adult lesson: Frogs are childlike (desiring toys); they receive real-world consequences (death by tyranny).
- Shock Value & Progression: The escalation from harmless Log to violent Stork intensifies the lesson and jolts the reader into reflection.
- Integrative Quotations: Uses Shakespeare, Epictetus, Paine, Goethe—creating a chorus of historical philosophers that reinforce the lesson.
- Socratic Progression: Blame shifts from others → self → transcendence, echoing Epictetus’s progression of moral maturity.
Key Teaching Quote:
“It is the act of an ill-instructed person to blame others for a bad condition of self; it is the act of one who has begun to be instructed to lay blame on self; and of the one whose instruction is completed, neither to blame another nor self.” — Epictetus
This method doesn’t just tell the moral; it walks the reader through the psychological, civic, and spiritual evolution required to grasp it.
🧩 IV. CONCLUSION (Zegarelli’s Closing Insight)
“He who does not govern himself, will be governed by another.”
This is both the moral and the manifesto.
Key Conclusions:
- Freedom without virtue leads to tyranny.
- Failure to self-govern invites rulers who will govern poorly—yet necessarily.
- Desire for a perfect external solution is a mark of immaturity.
- The gods cannot give man virtue—it must be chosen and earned.
In finality, Zegarelli connects this to spiritual sovereignty: what the gods offer as potential for man—self-rule through virtue—cannot be taken away, unless man gives it away.
🧱 Final Evaluation: Fit Within the Zegarelli Ethos
| Dimension | Fit |
|---|---|
| Philosophical Depth | 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 (5/5) |
| Socio-political Insight | 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 (5/5) |
| Pedagogical Clarity | 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 (5/5) |
| Integration with Core Ethos (Virtue, Sovereignty, Consequence) | 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 (5/5) |
Verdict: This is a canonical fable within the Zegarelli doctrine—comparable in foundational status to The Doctrine of the Infant Soldier and The Reflective Contemplative Dwelling Mind. It is a distilled civic parable warning of childish entitlement, externalized responsibility, and failure of disciplined self-rule.
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© 2013 Arnold Zegarelli and Gregg Zegarelli, Esq.
LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/pulse/careful-what-you-wish-58-frogs-desiring-king-aesop-zegarelli-esq-/
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