Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” ~Leonardo da Vinci (Adopted by Steve Jobs)
A Fox saw a Crow settle onto a branch with a large piece of cheese in its mouth. “Good day, Mistress Crow,” the Fox cried.
“How beautiful your feathers and eyes! I am sure your voice surpasses other birds. Pray sing me a song that I may greet you as the Queen of Birds!”
The Crow, quite full of herself for the words, lifted her head and began to sing. But, as she did so, it was only to let the cheese fall to the ground for the Fox to enjoy for his lunch.
Moral of the Story. Do not trust flatterers. We are manipulated by our desire for validation.
Introduction – The Essential Aesop – Epilogue
Why We Loved It: This is one of Aesop’s most powerful fables, with all the more importance in today’s Facebook addictive “Likes” culture. Lady Bird Crow was flattered out of her meal by the clever Fox. He knew her “lever” and he used it as a tool of manipulation. The power of this fable is discussed more fully in the Epilogue.
We know that desires naturally seek satisfaction. A person without desires is not thereby driven into seeking satisfaction. Satisfying desires is like creating a dependency, sometimes an addictive dependency. And woe to the person who desires (or needs) to be validated, particularly by externals, or “Likes.” He who has the power to satisfy our needs thereby enslaves us. Some things really are needs of life, other things are desires that we “voluntarily” turn into needs not by the objective standards, but by our individual weakness to meet those standards. No person is an island, but that person who is immune from the vicissitudes of external praise or ridicule—being self-validated—is truly free.
“The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” ~ONE®: The Unified Gospel of Jesus: 2516
“There be so many false points of praise, that a man may justly hold it a suspect. Some praises proceed merely of flattery; and if he be an ordinary flatterer, he will have available certain common epithets which may serve every man; if he be a cunning flatterer, he will follow the arch-flatterer, which is a man’s self, and wherein a man thinketh best of himself, therein the flatterer will uphold him most.” ~ Francis Bacon. The Essays.
“If someone has found out what perfection is, he will value it wherever it appears. Praise offers subjects for conversation and for imitation. It is an urbane way to recommend courtesy to those who accompany you. Some people do the opposite: they always find something to criticize, flattering those present by scorning those absent. This works with superficial people who are unaware of the trick: speaking ill of one to speak ill of the other. Other people make it a habit to admire the mediocrities of today more than the eminences of yesterday. Let the prudent person see through both of these ruses, giving in neither to exaggeration nor to flattery. And let him realize that these critics take the same approach no matter whose company they are in.” ~ Baltasar Gracian. The Art of Worldly Wisdom.
“Find each person’s ‘handle,’ his weak point. The art of moving people’s wills involves more skill than determination. You must know how to get inside the other person. Each will has its own special object of delight; they vary according to taste. Everyone idolizes something. Some want to be well thought of, others idolize profit, and most people idolize pleasure. The trick is to identify the idols that can set people in motion. It is like having the key to someone else’s desires. Go for the ‘prime mover,’ which isn’t always something lofty and important. Usually it is something low, for the unruly outnumber the well ruled. First size up someone’s character and then touch on his weak point. Tempt him with his particular pleasure, and you’ll checkmate his will.“~ Baltasar Gracian. The Art of Worldly Wisdom
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This fable, No. 54: The Fox and the Crow, is a cornerstone of Gregg Zegarelli’s interpretive Aesop corpus. It serves not only as a fable of manipulation, but as a moral and psychological lens into how desire, validation, and dependency compromise our autonomy. Below is a deep dive analysis covering the fable, Zegarelli’s teaching method, key insights, and the deeper philosophical gravity of his conclusion—especially as connected to the video reference from The Devil’s Advocate.
🦊 I. THE FABLE IN BRIEF
Story:
A fox flatters a crow who is holding cheese. The crow, seduced by praise, opens her mouth to sing—and drops her cheese, which the fox devours.
Moral (Zegarelli’s version):
“Do not trust flatterers. We are manipulated by our desire for validation.”
🧠 II. ZEGARELLI’S TEACHING: KEY INSIGHTS
Zegarelli transcends the obvious moral. His real focus is not the flatterer, but the flattered—the victim of emotional leverage who participates in their own exploitation. This builds toward his larger thematic system of self-discipline, psychological clarity, and principled autonomy.
💡 Core Lessons:
| Theme | Insight |
|---|---|
| Validation addiction | The desire to be praised is a vulnerability, and manipulators exploit it. |
| Dependency | Once we rely on praise or affirmation for self-worth, we become mentally enslaved to those who offer it. |
| Desire vs. Need | Some needs are objectively necessary (like food); others are subjectively created, like external validation. |
| Self-validation = Freedom | The truly free person is “immune from the vicissitudes of external praise or ridicule.” |
Zegarelli aligns the Crow not just with a person who made a mistake, but with the modern human being—wired to seek Likes, praise, clicks, recognition. Thus, the Fox is social media, marketing, or any manipulator who uses flattery as a precision tool.
🧰 III. PEDAGOGICAL METHOD
Zegarelli’s pedagogical method here is layered and tactical:
1. Classic Recasting with Modern Application
He takes a basic Aesop story and elevates it to contemporary social critique, connecting:
- Crow’s desire → Modern addiction to “Likes”
- Fox’s manipulation → Political, commercial, or social seduction
2. Philosophical Anchoring with Historical Quotations
He supports the moral arc with heavyweights:
- Francis Bacon (on self-deception and flattery),
- Baltasar Gracián (on manipulation, “prime movers” of desire),
- Biblical echo: “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
This gives the analysis historical breadth and cross-disciplinary intellectual weight.
3. Integration of Pop Culture (Devil’s Advocate Video)
Clip Reference:
“Vanity… definitely my favorite sin.” – Al Pacino as Satan, laughing maniacally
🎥 YouTube Link
By including this, Zegarelli ties ancient wisdom to modern cinematic mythos, emphasizing that the moral battle is timeless—vanity and validation have always been used as tools of seduction by the manipulative.
🪞 IV. ZEGARELLI’S CONSTRUCT: THE MORAL MECHANISM
This fable becomes part of a larger structure Zegarelli builds across his writings, involving:
| Mechanism | Description |
|---|---|
| The Lever of Desire | All humans have weaknesses—what Zegarelli calls “handles.” Manipulators pull these to gain control. |
| The Trade of the Self | When we trade internal self-worth for external validation, we give away agency. |
| The Inverse of Flattery | Just as validation can enslave, so can criticism manipulate through insecurity (as in Gracián’s point). |
| Self-validation = Moral Armor | The solution is inner strength—being immune to both flattery and insult. |
🔥 V. CONCLUSION: “VANITY – DEFINITELY MY FAVORITE SIN”
Zegarelli’s inclusion of the Devil’s Advocate quote is precisely aligned with the fable’s climax. Vanity isn’t just a flaw—it’s a spiritual and psychological gateway drug to being owned, used, devoured.
Like the Devil, the Fox does not overpower the Crow.
The Crow gives it away.
Zegarelli’s ultimate claim is not merely moral, but ontological:
“He who has the power to satisfy our needs thereby enslaves us.”
This is not just about cheese. It’s about how civilization, commerce, politics, and relationships turn on the invisible mechanics of desire.
🧭 FINAL ASSESSMENT
Zegarelli transforms a simple fable into a diagnostic manual for manipulation and self-enslavement. This fable isn’t just about flattery—it’s about:
- Validation as vulnerability
- The self-inflicted cost of desire
- The eternal truth that seduction needs a participant
His method is philosophically rigorous, rhetorically agile, and anchored in interdisciplinary substance—from Aesop to Shakespeare to Pacino.
🕊️ Freedom is not the absence of need—it is the presence of inner adjudication.
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© 2013 Arnold Zegarelli and Gregg Zegarelli, Esq.
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/flattery-54-fox-crow-essential-aesop-back-basics-zegarelli-esq-
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