Gregg Zegarelli

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The Patience of Latent Evil – No. 46. The Wolf and the Shepherd – The Essential Aesop™ – Back to Basics Abridgment Series

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Gregg Zegarelli

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“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” Leonardo da Vinci. Adopted by Steve Jobs.

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A Wolf came near to a flock of Sheep tended to by a young Shepherd.

The Shepherd watched closely guarding his Sheep. Yet, each day, the Wolf patiently came a bit closer, doing no harm, until the Shepherd trusted the Wolf.

Thereupon, having secured just enough of the Shepherd’s trust, the Wolf suggested that the Shepherd relax to allow the Wolf to share the burden of protecting the Sheep. After all, said the Wolf to the Shepherd, “I am just like my cousin, your long-time friend, the Dog.“

And, so it was that the Shepherd allowed the Wolf to tend to his flock. But, at the first chance, the Wolf carried off many of the Sheep as a prize for a fine dinner!

Moral of the Story: Evil cannot be trusted or forgotten. The eye of wisdom must be ever-vigilant, as fools are made in a blink.

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Introduction – The Essential Aesop – Epilogue

Why We Loved It: Without being overly dramatic regarding the title, we try to find what is different here than in other fables with regard to trust. [1]

Let us start by considering not who is Aesop’s antagonist, but rather who is not Aesop’s antagonist. Aesop could have cast in-type the Clever Fox who would have outsmarted the young Shepherd. We would have enjoyed the Aesop’s fable and his lesson nonetheless. (“Don’t be fooled by the Clever Fox.”) But Aesop does one better and casts his mean, snarling and base Wolf.

Aesop casting the Wolf is purposeful and not in-type, in effect. Indeed, the Wolf is not Aesop’s “clever” character, but rather the Wolf is Aesop’s always-hungry and instinctual character. Thusly, viewed more vigilantly, Aesop is providing a much deeper lesson about trust and who can adduce it and why it is adduced.

Aesop often warns us, that for us to be a sage, we must take great care before granting trust, because much of what is foolishness and wisdom is a function of trust—one way or another. [2]

The difference in the fable is that the Wolf is not only Aesop’s metaphorical for “evil” (however we might define that term by context), but a metaphor for patient evil. This fable focuses on the incremental trust that is developed over time by the Wolf. The self-interest of the instinctual mean reactive Wolf is subdued by discipline in the Wolf’s self-interest.

The mean Wolf takes his time, slowly and incrementally building trust. The meanest character in the set, under the guise of a friend. Perhaps the most fearful of all conditions: the thing we trust betrays us by self-interest. [3, 4]

But that’s not really the scariest part of the fable, or the scariest part of Aesop’s teachings, but this: The Wolf is, in fact, a wise wolf. Rarely does Aesop cast his Wolf as “wise,” but rather the foil for the lesson. But, here the Wolf is wise. [5] So stated in the Epilogue:

In a pack of wolves, the wise wolf teaches that lambs tend to hope that wolves are friendly. Wolves use that fact to catch the dinner.

In a pack of lambs, the wise lamb teaches that wolves tend to be unfriendly. Lambs use that fact to survive from becoming the dinner.

The effect of wisdom is inherently neither good nor evil. What is good or evil is in the judgment of the beholder. Wolves just want to eat. Lambs just want to survive.

Many books teach how to be a good person. Aesop teaches how to be a wise person. There is a difference.

[*5] In this special lesser-known fable by Aesop and one of my personal favorites, we are shown a Wise Wolf and a Foolish Shepherd, who is, as Aesop discloses, “young.”

The Wolf constrained his instinct and deprived himself of immediate attack with a classic Sun Tzu to “win the war without fighting.” The Wise Wolf demonstrated thoughtful restraint for his own self-interested advantage directed toward his own goal [6], by predictions based upon a practical understanding of the context: A bit of restraint, a bit of time, and a “young Shepherd” who might just be untrained, lazy, or foolishly naive.

The Wolf is disciplined, builds trust, then sells an advantage to the young Shepard, preying upon the Shepherd’s natural tendency to ease. [7, 8]

Here “evil” wins, because the young Shepherd took his eye off of the ball for just one moment, and that is all the time that the Wolf needed. We remember that Hitler rose to the power without civil war, but by incremental democratic processes.

Wisdom is a cloak of protection for us, but not a cloak that can be taken off at the door—it is protection that must always be worn and never released, even when wearing it is uncomfortable.

And perhaps the worst from the best. 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.”)

Aesop warns: If the Wolf can do it, anyone can do it.

Aesop teaches that the eye of wisdom requires incessant and tireless vigilance—with everyone, and at all times—because fools are made in a blink. (“Oculus sapientiae semper vigilans debet esse, sicut stulti in ictu fiunt.“)

[1] On Leadership and Trust. [And, Should We Trust the U.S. Government?] [GRZ160] [LinkedIn #GRZ_160]

[2] Wisdom v. Compassion, Or, the Elizabeth Smart Prediction – No. 60. The Woodsman and Serpent – The Essential Aesop™ – Back to Basics Abridgment Series [GRZ98_60] [LinkedIn #GRZ_98_60]

[3] Love or Fear to Motivate: Which is Better? [GRZ216] [LinkedIn #GRZ_216]

[4] The ONE LinkedIn Reference Set [GRZ183] [LinkedIn #GRZ_183] ONE: 2632 [T26:50, L22:48] (“Betray With A Kiss“)

[5] Epilogue: On the Wisdom of Aesop [GRZ24] [LinkedIn #GRZ_24]

[6] Are You Running With Your Shoes Untied? – Or, the Despise of Failure by Self-Inflicted Wounds [GRZ208] [LinkedIn #GRZ_208]

[7] Critical Thinking and the Conflation of Character, Integrity, Goodness and Virtue [GRZ148] [LinkedIn #GRZ_148] 

[8] The Two “Master Virtues” – The Executive Summary [GRZ209] [LinkedIn #GRZ_209] 

* “The eye of wisdom must be ever-vigilant, as fools are made in a blink.“; “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.”) ~ grz

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Gregg Zegarelli’s “The Patience of Latent Evil – The Wolf and the Shepherd (No. 46)” is one of the most methodologically intricate and philosophically significant in the Essential Aesop collection. Here is a deep dive analysis of its pedagogy, philosophical ethos, and literary method, followed by a concluding synthesis of its place within Zegarelli’s broader civic and moral instruction.

🔍 Narrative Summary (Surface Level)

  • A Wolf approaches a Shepherd and his flock.
  • The Wolf comes closer each day without harming, slowly building trust.
  • Eventually, the Wolf persuades the Shepherd to let him help protect the sheep, invoking familial association to a “long-time friend”—the Dog.
  • The moment trust is granted, the Wolf betrays the Shepherd and devours the sheep.
  • Moral: Evil cannot be trusted or forgotten. The eye of wisdom must be ever-vigilant, as fools are made in a blink.

🧠 Zegarelli’s Pedagogical Method

1. Structural Irony and Strategic Casting

Zegarelli starts with a critique of expectation subversion:

  • Instead of the Clever Fox (Aesop’s go-to deceiver), Aesop uses the Wolf, who is usually raw and reactive.
  • But here, the Wolf is not simply evil—he is strategically evil, disciplined, and wise.

This casting of the Wolf as wise is a pedagogical elevation of archetype. Zegarelli teaches that:

Evil is not always foolish. In fact, it can be rational, calculated, and even restrained—which makes it more dangerous.

This challenges readers to abandon simplistic binaries of good/evil or smart/foolish and instead recognize multi-dimensionality in motivation and threat.

2. The Theme of Incremental Trust

Zegarelli’s central message is not “don’t trust”—but rather:

“Be cautious with how trust is built, and with whom.”

  • The Wolf weaponizes patience—a key deviation from instinctual behavior.
  • The Shepherd’s error is not gullibility alone, but also youthful overconfidence and lazy delegation—traits Zegarelli often critiques in modern civic life (see “Shoes Untied” and “Leadership and Trust”).

In Zegarelli’s pedagogy, this isn’t a cautionary tale about naivety—it’s about:

The relaxation of vigilance in the presence of incremental, latent threats.

3. Wisdom vs. Goodness

Zegarelli’s recurring philosophical motif:

“Many books teach how to be a good person. Aesop teaches how to be a wise person.”

Here, he emphasizes that:

  • The Wolf’s behavior is wise, even though not good.
  • The Shepherd’s failure is not evil, but rather unwise.

This separates ethics from strategy—a central theme in Zegarelli’s worldview. Moral righteousness alone is insufficient without vigilance and practical wisdom.

4. The Philosophical Sting: When the Lesson Hurts

Zegarelli quotes one of his most haunting maxims:

“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.”)

This echoes the idea that truth is uncomfortable—a theme drawn from Socratic thought, Aesop’s cynicism, and Zegarelli’s civic realism.

The realization that even wise evil can be rational and successful makes this fable deeply unsettling. That’s the point: wisdom must be actively worn, not stored for occasional use.

🧬 Philosophical Ethos of the Article

Core Ethos ElementExpression in This Work
Latent EvilThe Wolf does not strike immediately, but waits strategically.
Weaponized TrustTrust is built over time—not stolen, but earned then exploited.
Discipline of the PredatorEvil’s success is through restraint, not aggression.
Responsibility of PowerThe Shepherd, though young, has duty—and his lapse of vigilance causes destruction.
The Wisdom ImperativeWisdom is practical awareness, not moral idealism alone.
Universal Vigilance“Fools are made in a blink”—wisdom must be constant, not situational.

🧩 Interconnected Works (Internal Zegarelli Canon)

Zegarelli builds a philosophical lattice, referencing:

All of these works reinforce the central idea:

Vigilance is not an act. It is a condition.

🧾 Conclusion: Vigilance, Evil, and the Tragedy of Trust

“The Patience of Latent Evil” is one of Zegarelli’s most intellectually dense and psychologically unsettling fables. It stands as a keystone in his Aesop corpus, conveying that:

  • Evil need not act fast.
  • Wisdom is not periodic—it is perpetual.
  • Trust is the gate, but vigilance is the lock.
  • Even the wise can lose if they believe goodness alone protects.

By casting the Wolf as both evil and wise, Zegarelli collapses the traditional dichotomy and delivers a warning with profound civil, philosophical, and personal implications.

This is not just a story about a Shepherd and a Wolf.

It is a warning to every citizen, every leader, every parent, and every idealist who believes that intentions can stand alone without vigilance.

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© 2013 Arnold Zegarelli and Gregg Zegarelli, Esq.

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