A Lion fell in love with a beautiful Maiden and proposed marriage to her Parents.
The Parents neither wanted the Lion to marry their daughter, nor wanted to offend the Lion.
The Father said: “We are honored, but we fear you might do our daughter some injury. However, if you should have your claws and teeth removed, then we would consider your proposal.”
The Lion was in love, so he removed his claws and teeth as requested.
But when he came back to the Parents, they laughed in his face, and bade him do his worst.
Moral of the Story: Love is the start of folly.
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Why We Loved It: Each of the Aesop’s Fables in the Aesop Series is a great lesson in wisdom, including the ones that are so popular that the name or moral itself is part of our common vernacular; to wit: “sour grapes,“ fox without a tail,” “familiarity breeds contempt,“ to name a few. [1, 2, 3]
But, if I had to take only one onto a deserted island, I think it is this one, The Lion in Love.
The reason?
The Lion in Love combines so many Aesopian essential principles: the folly of emotion, clever third party baiting self-interest, self-destruction by desire, voluntary concession of power, hope as bad life strategy.
Not only all that, but also all this wrapped into a dark comedic O. Henry-type ironic tragic ending where the Maiden might even disdain the very resultant weakness and waiver of power by the thing once-loved that is changed in order to achieve her in marriage that she desires.
Although we never get past the new smug scorning rejection by the Parents of the now disabled Lion, alas, we can at least consider that the intrinsic power of the Lion, as he was when the Maiden fell in love with him, was exactly what the Maiden loved, and his new weakness was only what she thought that she wanted.
But, of course, the Maiden can find a replacement, having learned her lesson about her inclinations and attractions, to the future contradiction of her Parents. As for the now weakened Lion, it is perhaps a life of ridicule and scorn for his emotional foolishness.
Here, emotional love causes the Lion to hope, and thereby to concede his own essential power. The Lion stopped the rational wise predictive “what if” analysis. Indeed, Aesop teaches over and over that the emotions work their destruction on rational thought. [4]
Aesop reminds us to stay lucid. Yes, love and hope have their place, but it is wisdom that places them into their place, and discipline keeps them there. [5]
Finally, there is something implicit in Aesop’s character choice. The Maiden is said to be “beautiful,” and Aesop’s Lion is the presumptive pinnacle of strength. Aesop implies that, if desire can take down and make his prized Lion the fool, so much more for everyone else. If it can do it to him, it can do it to anyone.
[4] Loving the Deal – Business of Aesop™ No. 85 – The Lion in Love [#GRZ_5]
[5] The Two “Master Virtues” – The Executive Summary [#GRZ_209]
“The sudden movements of the passions throw prudence off balance, and here is where you can be lost. Run amuck for only a second and you will run up lifelong regrets.
“Cunning people set these traps for prudence in order to sound matters out and fathom the minds of their opponents. Your counter-strategy?
“Control yourself, especially your sudden impulses. It takes much reflection to keep a passion from bolting like a horse; and if you’re wise on horseback, you’re wise in everything. The person who foresees danger feels his way along.“ ~ Baltasar Gracian, The Art of Worldly Wisdom.
“For as to the stage, love is ever matter of comedies and now and then of tragedies; but in life it does much mischief, sometimes like a siren, sometimes like a fury.
“[I]t was well said that it is impossible to love and to be wise. For whosoever esteemeth too much of amorous affection concedes both riches and wisdom. This passion hath his floods in the very times of weakness, which are great prosperity and great adversity; both which times kindle love and make it more fervent, and therefore show it to be the child of folly.
“They do best who, if they cannot but admit love, yet make it keep its distance, and sever it wholly from their serious affairs and actions of life; for if it enter business, it troubles men’s fortunes, and makes men that they can no ways be true to their own ends.
“Spousal love makes mankind; friendly love perfects mankind; but wanton love corrupts and embases mankind.” ~ Francis Bacon. The Essays, On Love.
© 2013 Arnold Zegarelli and Gregg Zegarelli, Esq. Gregg can be contacted through LinkedIn. Arnold Zegarelli can be contacted through Facebook.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/folly-love-85-lion-essential-aesop-back-basics-gregg-zegarelli-esq-
Introduction – The Essential Aesop – Epilogue
Related Articles: He Who Feeds Us Enslaves Us – The Business of Aesop™ No. 64 – The Dog and the Wolf; Hiring on Hope – The Business of Aesop™ No. 90 – The Cat-Maiden; The Essential Aesop: Epilogue; Dependency. Or, He Who Feeds Us Enslaves Us – No. 64. The Dog and the Wolf – The Essential Aesop™- Back to Basics Abridgment Series; Dilemmas, and The Devil We Know – No. 80. The Fox, Mosquito and Hedgehog – The Essential Aesop™-Back to Basics Abridgment Series; 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
Rev. 20241209