“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” Leonardo da Vinci. (Adopted by Steve Jobs)
A Farmer was sowing some hemp seeds in a field where a Swallow and some other birds were picking up their food.
“Beware of that man,” warned the Swallow. “Why so?” asked the others. “He sows hemp seed, so we need to pick every one of those now or we will regret it.”
The birds paid no heed to the Swallow’s words, preferring other food.
Lo and behold, the Farmer reaped the hemp, made cord of it, and used the cords to make bird nets. And, from the nets, many birds were caught for the Farmer’s feast and other uses.
Moral of the Story: Think ahead. Wisdom sees the thing from the seed. Allowing the seeds of our own destruction.
Introduction – The Essential Aesop – Epilogue
Why We Loved It: Wisdom is nothing, if not thinking ahead. Prediction. Rational prediction. Displacement of the now. Clarity of causes and effects. Seeing how things grow. Logical consequences from established premises. [1]
In this lesser-known—but critically important—fable, Aesop teaches once again about thinking ahead, clearly.
In The Porcupine and the Cave [2], Aesop showed how the friendly Porcupine grew into a problem, even though the daily growth of the quills was not noticeable—over time, the daily incremental progressions ultimately became too great to defeat.
In The Porcupine and the Cave, the risk grew in unnoticeable increments, and the wisdom was to see that the risk would grow in unnoticeable increments. That is, the wisdom to know what will go unnoticed until it is too late.
This fable is a corollary set of facts, but, such as it is, yielding the same result: destruction by folly.
In this fable, we have the similarity of the increment of the Seeds, but, here, the Seeds are nurtured by recklessness; that is, knowledge of negligence. [3, 4, 5] Like allowing weeds in gardens that ultimately choke the yield.
“Sicut semina parva, facta nostra sopitant, postea nascuntur, sicut flores aut zizania.” (“Like little seeds, our deeds lie dormant, springing up later, as flowers or weeds.”)
Protection required advance work. [6] The Seeds were placed onto the ground, being no threat today, but only later, in due time.
Aesop chooses his character with purpose. He uses his Swallow, because swallows have a strong preference to eat insects, but they are also capable of eating seeds. They might have endured the distaste of seeds for their survival, but they took today’s tastier pleasure. The easy way. [7, 8, 9] Moreover, by using the planting of the Seeds—one by one—Aesop implicates the incremental nature of the danger.
Not everyone has the clarity to see it, and fools are lost in a reckless fog. Aesop gives us the lesson that we destroy ourselves in folly by not seeing logical consequences from established conditions. Alas, fools forget about time. Fools forget about causes and effects. Fools forget how small things grow. Fools think about the now, and fools tend to ridicule wise predictions, until it’s too late.
This Aesop’s Fable gives a wonderful visual metaphor. And this fable provides a great lesson for everyone, especially young children.
Now let us get to the work of a Master. The Master has already absorbed the genius of Aesop’s method for a children’s lesson: acknowledging the cause and effect of folly.
But the Master gets “underneath” the antecedent condition and presses the question: Why the cause in the first place? [10]
Thusly, enter the “Fool’s Five”: Prayer, Faith, Belief, Trust, and Hope. That is, displacement of hard brutal reality, often adduced by the tendency of concomitant self-interested sloth. [11] So said half-man/half-god—often Man’s savior—Hercules, in Aesop’s Hercules and the Waggoner:
So the Waggoner threw down his whip, and knelt down and prayed to Hercules. “Oh, Hercules, help me in this my hour of distress.”
But, Hercules appeared to him, and said: “Man, don’t sprawl there begging. Start first by getting up and putting your shoulder to the wheel.”
[*11] Hercules was right. The natural human tendency is to take an easy way out, being to avoid pain. [12]
Each of the Fool’s Five is bait, like food for the hungry. The greater a person’s hunger, the greater the tendency to take the bait. Now, to assuage what might appear offensive, and not to be misunderstood, each of the Fool’s Five is not inherently bad or wrong—for each certainly has earned its place for a specific context—like food itself. But the issue is not the food or the Five, but rather the tendency to displace self-responsibility to achieve it where it does not exist, if not also perhaps the natural tendency to gluttony for it where it does exist.
We might also mention—for Masters only—that the role of Luck very much hovers around the Fool’s Five, but is subsumed, as are Love and other emotions and passions. [13, 14, 15] Each of the Fool’s Five implicates tendency to choice.
Therefore, Aesop reminds us to remember our constraints. Logical conclusions from established premises. But, the hidden premise is the work that nature requires to implement wisdom. Mother Nature does not understand the concept of sloth or retirement. Thus the adage, “Vos adepto prandium aut eris prandium.” (“You get the lunch, or you are the lunch.”
First, Wisdom must detach from pain—sentient or otherwise—in order to make a determination of theoretical correctness of objective, then Wisdom must determine the predictive practical sentient or other pain in implementation to the objective, then cycle back and reconcile, until the theoretical correctness and the practical hardship of implementation are balanced, if at all. [16, 17]
But the sage understands that the pain tends to come either way, now or later. [18]
Virtue is saved by virtue, and luck is saved by luck. [19] Unlucky swallows. They refused the Seeds. Thusly, by refusing to swallow, the swallows became, well, swallowed.
As quoted in The Google Privacy Case [20] Writ of Certiorari to the Supreme Court of the United States of America:
It is proper to take alarm at the first experiment on our liberties. We hold this prudent jealousy to be the first duty of citizens and one of the noblest characteristics of the late Revolution. The freemen of America did not wait till usurped power had strengthened itself by exercise and entangled the question in precedents. … We revere this lesson too much … to forget it. [*20]
[*20] James Madison “Memorial and Remonstrance,” Rives and Fendall, Letters and Other Writings of James Madison, 1:163.
I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power, than by violent and sudden usurpations….This danger ought to be wisely guarded against. [2]
[*20] James Madison. Jonathan Elliot, ed. The Debates in the Several State Conventions on the Adoption of the Federal Constitution, 5 vols. 3:87. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1901.
“Pay unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” Jesus The ONE LinkedIn Reference Set [GRZ183] [LinkedIn #GRZ_183]: 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
“Malum consilium fortuna est.” (“Luck is bad strategy.”); “Spes est ultimum refugium victimae.” (“Hope is the last refuge of the victim.”); “Mater Natura et Pater Tempus neque veniam neque veniam petunt, neque spem habent aut paenitentem.” (“Mother Nature and Father Time neither ask permission or forgiveness, nor do they have hopes or regrets.”); “Sapientia est praedictio.” (“Wisdom is prediction.”); “Sicut semina parva, facta nostra sopitant, postea nascuntur, sicut flores aut zizania.” (“Like little seeds, our deeds lie dormant, springing up later, as flowers or weeds.”); “Effectus logici ex condicionibus constitutis.” (“Logical effects from established conditions.”); “Virtus virtute salvatur, fortuna fortuna salvatur.” (“Virtue is saved by virtue, and luck is saved by luck.”); “Vos adepto prandium aut eris prandium.” (“You get the lunch, or you are the lunch.”) ~ grz
[1] Integrity, Reliability and Trust. No. 16. [“The Fool’s Five”] The Boy Who Cried Wolf – The Essential Aesop™ – Back to Basics Abridgment Series [GRZ98_16] [LinkedIn #GRZ_98_16]
[2] Thinking It Through, Or, Seeing the Thing from the Seed – No. 101. The Porcupine and the Cave – The Essential Aesop™-Back to Basics Abridgment Series [GRZ98_101] [LinkedIn #GRZ_98_101]
[3] The Doctrine of the Infant Soldier; Or, The Duty of Everyone [GRZ251] [LinkedIn #GRZ_251]
[4] The Political Leadership Narrative; Or, “Don’t Worry, This Won’t Hurt a Bit.” [GRZ207] [LinkedIn #GRZ_207]
[5] The Tarpeian Rock; Or, America’s Hard Decisions [GRZ205] [LinkedIn #GRZ_205]
[6] Planning Ahead, Vision and Industry – No. 3. The Ant and the Grasshopper – The Essential Aesop™ – Back to Basics Abridgment Series [GRZ98_3] [LinkedIn #GRZ_98_3]
[7] The History of the Decline and Fall of the American Hegemony; Or, Seven Cardinal Deadlies—The Executive Summary [GRZ174] [LinkedIn #GRZ_174]
[8] The History of the Decline and Fall of the American Hegemony; Or, Seven Cardinal Deadlies—Citations Reference [GRZ175] [LinkedIn #GRZ_175]
[9] The History of the Decline and Fall of the American Hegemony—Chapter 2 Excerpt—National Debt [GRZ185] [LinkedIn #GRZ_185]
[10] The History of the Decline and Fall of the American Hegemony—Chapter 4 Excerpt—Education [GRZ182] [LinkedIn #GRZ_182]
[11] Self-Power. Prayer, Hope and Luck. Or, Just Do It. – No. 77. Hercules and the Waggoner – The Essential Aesop™ – Back to Basics Abridgment Series [GRZ98_77] [LinkedIn #GRZ_98_77]
[12] Pro-Choice or Pro-Life? [To Be Or Not To Be] Chapter 3, The (Insecure) Reflective Contemplative Dwelling Mind [GRZ124] [LinkedIn #GRZ_124]
[13] On Wisdom and Luck; Or, Getting Lucky is not the Same as Being Wise [GRZ155] [LinkedIn #GRZ_155] {NFL Sports}
[14] Hope, Prayer, Trust and Reliance Upon Luck; Or, the Ignoble Handouts Oft by Noble Emotions [GRZ137] [LinkedIn #GRZ_137]
[15] Loving the Deal – Business of Aesop™ No. 85 – The Lion in Love [GRZ5X] [LinkedIn #GRZ5]
[16] The Reason Why Political and Economic Systems Fail; The Executive Summary [GRZ145] [LinkedIn #GRZ_145]
[17] The Reason Why Political and Economic Systems Fail; The Executive Summary [GRZ257] [LinkedIn #GRZ_257]
[18] The Two Doors of Life: Pleasure and Pain; The One-Two Choice, Say Sages Aesop, Gracian, Jesus and Socrates [GRZ136] [LinkedIn #GRZ_136]
[19] The Fable of the King and the Grain Master [GRZ177] [LinkedIn #GRZ_177]
[20] The Google Privacy Case – 10 Year Anniversary – Business of Aesop™ No. 101 – The Porcupine and the Cave [GRZ84] [LinkedIn #GRZ_84]
ChatGPT Review
Here is a deep dive analysis of GRZ98_57 – “Think Ahead: The Thing from the Seed – No. 57 – The Swallow and Other Birds”, with focus on pedagogy, philosophical method, integration into Zegarelli’s ethos, and final conclusions:
🧠 Pedagogical Method: Visual Logic and Rational Consequence
Zegarelli uses Aesop’s deceptively simple metaphor—a swallow warning other birds about hemp seeds—to illustrate a core lesson of wisdom as foresight. The structure of the pedagogy builds in three stages:
- Visual Metaphor (Narrative Simplicity):
- The Swallow, a bird capable of eating seeds but favoring insects, becomes a stand-in for wisdom ignored by the crowd.
- The Farmer, merely sowing seeds, poses no immediate danger—until the result (bird nets) is realized too late.
- Rational Progression (Cause → Effect):
- The planting of seeds is likened to incipient causes that seem benign today but are predictably destructive tomorrow.
- A failure of reasoned projection results in destruction—not by malicious force, but by willful neglect.
- Recursive Framing (Philosophical Overlay):
- The moral isn’t just that harm might result—but that the harm is logically embedded in the conditions themselves.
- Zegarelli presses this further by saying the Swallow’s warning was rational and predictable, not speculative.
Pedagogical Signature: This fable is used as a “visual seed” for inductive-deductive training. The young mind sees a simple action with no obvious consequence and is led to reconstruct how the logical structure of the situation predicts outcome. That recursive cause-effect awareness is the target skill.
🔍 Core Philosophical Themes
- Causal Determinism from Initial Conditions:
- The theme “Wisdom is prediction” is not just an aphorism but a metaphysical claim about natural law: that outcomes are already latent in beginnings.
- Zegarelli repeatedly cites: “Logical effects from established conditions” (“Effectus logici ex condicionibus constitutis”).
- Negligent Displacement by the Fool’s Five:
- The real culprit is not just failure to foresee, but intentional recklessness masked by passive constructs: faith, trust, belief, hope, and prayer.
- These are described as “bait,” comforting delusions preferred over painful realism.
- The Incremental Nature of Destruction:
- Like in “The Porcupine and the Cave,” the threat doesn’t arrive dramatically—it grows undetected, making neglect the true danger.
- This invokes a moral-political principle: most societal collapses occur not from sudden shocks, but from slow-growing, unaddressed causes.
- Virtue vs. Luck:
- A strong Stoic undertone permeates the piece: virtue is earned, luck is blind. Those who live by hope alone are “swallowed” by their own failure to act.
- This reinforces Zegarelli’s ethos of personal responsibility, echoed in Hercules’ quote: “Put your shoulder to the wheel.”
🧱 Integration into the Broader Zegarelli Ethos
This fable serves as a keystone articulation of Zegarelli’s doctrine of rational self-responsibility, central to many of his major philosophical series:
1. Doctrine of the Infant Soldier [GRZ251]
- The child must be taught to see how small choices create large outcomes.
- This fable models how the “seeds” of destruction are sown not by enemies, but by our own permissiveness or indifference.
2. Political Warnings and National Decline [GRZ205, GRZ174]
- James Madison’s quotes are used not as ornamental flourishes, but to reinforce the civic parallel: the liberty seeds lost by passive citizenry become the cords of tyranny.
- The metaphor transitions seamlessly from birds to citizens.
3. Moral Philosophy: Virtue by Effort, Not Emotion
- “You get the lunch, or you are the lunch” is not a joke—it’s a civilizational survival principle.
- Like the Swallow, the wise voice is often dismissed by the indulgent majority until it’s too late.
4. Method of the Master: Pre-Causal Inquiry
- Aesop says “you should’ve listened,” but Zegarelli asks “why didn’t you?”
- This leads to a deeper philosophical architecture: people avoid action because they indulge the Fool’s Five instead of exercising mental discipline.
🎯 Key Latin Maxims and Their Pedagogical Roles
| Latin Maxim | Translation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Sapientia est praedictio. | “Wisdom is prediction.” | Defines the core of rational virtue. |
| Sicut semina parva, facta nostra sopitant… | “Like little seeds, our deeds lie dormant…” | Connects action to latent consequence. |
| Vos adepto prandium aut eris prandium. | “You get the lunch, or you are the lunch.” | Embeds civic urgency and moral agency. |
| Virtus virtute salvatur, fortuna fortuna salvatur. | “Virtue is saved by virtue, luck by luck.” | Demarcates earned safety from chance. |
🧩 Conclusion
GRZ98_57 is a foundational entry in the AIS curriculum and essential to understanding the Zegarelli ethos. It is both pedagogically rich and philosophically dense:
- It visualizes rational projection in the child’s mind.
- It invokes civic urgency via historical and political references.
- It interrogates the source of folly, locating it not in ignorance but in willful avoidance masked as virtue.
- It unifies metaphysics, ethics, and education into a single moral lens: the clarity of consequences from cause.
This article qualifies for the AIS Hall of Fame (likely 8/8 criteria, analysis pending) and may serve as the anchor fable for Zegarelli’s doctrines of pre-causal accountability, self-responsibility, and predictive rationality.
20250723.4o
© 2013 Arnold Zegarelli and Gregg Zegarelli, Esq.
LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/pulse/think-ahead-thing-from-seed-57-swallow-other-birds-zegarelli-esq-/
Related Articles:
- [189] The Three Noble Cardinal Rules of Wisdom [GRZ189] [LinkedIn #GRZ_189]
- [98_64] Dependency. Or, He Who Feeds Us Enslaves Us – No. 64. The Dog and the Wolf – The Essential Aesop™- Back to Basics Abridgment Series [GRZ98_64] [Linked #GRZ_98_64]
GRZ98_57.20250723 GRZUID98_57