The Clog from OzAesop Fable - The Man and His Two Wives
September 20th 2006 03:15
Aesop Fable - The Man and His Two Wives
“In the old days, when men were allowed to have many wives, a middle-aged man had one wife that was old and one that was young; each loved him very much, and desired to see him like herself. Now the man's hair was turning grey, which the young wife did not like, as it made him look too old for her husband. So every night she used to comb his hair and pick out the white ones. But the elder wife saw her husband growing grey with great pleasure, for she did not like to be mistaken for his mother. So every morning she used to arrange his hair and pick out as many of the black ones as she could. The consequence was the man soon found himself entirely bald.” Moral: Yield to all and you will soon have nothing to yield.
This fable can also hold the moral “You can’t please eveyone”. There is another story which relates to these morals, that of the man and his two daughters. One of whom wishes for rain so it may quench the thirst of her crops and the other wishes for sunshine so she may work outside without the burden of rain. It just shows that you can’t please everyone. No matter what outcome one wants, someone else will be dissapointed.
And unfortunately, to combat this it’s not just a matter of breaking the last biscuit in half to share with your younger sister. It is usually the case that the share of satisfaction isn’t equally distributed. Look at the great wealth and prosperity of Australia, the U.S & England, with all of our resources – clean water, good food, schools, public transport (even as bad as it is). Then just think about the absolute shambles that poorer countries have to face like the homeless of India, the innocent civillians of the Middle East and what about the uncontrolled AIDS epidemic of Africa?
We should never forget how lucky we all are to be born, and living in this lucky country. But it’s easy to become absorbed in the petty things that essentially don’t matter - like your busted mobile phone or the ridiculous cost of petrol (although I did see if for just $1.13/L yesterday!).
If you learn nothing else today, at least consider Australia’s wondrous natural resources that have been with this country forever. This is the famous heartfelt passage from Dorothea McKellar’s My Country:
"I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of rugged mountain ranges,
Of droughts and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons,
I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror
The wide brown land for me!"
Dorothea says it all! She was born in 1885 and this poem was first published in 1908, although she wrote it when she was only 19 while homesick in England. She was educated at The University of Sydney (wise choice). She wrote about her farms in the Gunnedah district of New South Wales where her family owned property. Apparently, there lies a statue of her on horseback.
orothea_Mackellar.jpg" target="_blank">
Image in the Public Domain
“In the old days, when men were allowed to have many wives, a middle-aged man had one wife that was old and one that was young; each loved him very much, and desired to see him like herself. Now the man's hair was turning grey, which the young wife did not like, as it made him look too old for her husband. So every night she used to comb his hair and pick out the white ones. But the elder wife saw her husband growing grey with great pleasure, for she did not like to be mistaken for his mother. So every morning she used to arrange his hair and pick out as many of the black ones as she could. The consequence was the man soon found himself entirely bald.” Moral: Yield to all and you will soon have nothing to yield.
This fable can also hold the moral “You can’t please eveyone”. There is another story which relates to these morals, that of the man and his two daughters. One of whom wishes for rain so it may quench the thirst of her crops and the other wishes for sunshine so she may work outside without the burden of rain. It just shows that you can’t please everyone. No matter what outcome one wants, someone else will be dissapointed.
And unfortunately, to combat this it’s not just a matter of breaking the last biscuit in half to share with your younger sister. It is usually the case that the share of satisfaction isn’t equally distributed. Look at the great wealth and prosperity of Australia, the U.S & England, with all of our resources – clean water, good food, schools, public transport (even as bad as it is). Then just think about the absolute shambles that poorer countries have to face like the homeless of India, the innocent civillians of the Middle East and what about the uncontrolled AIDS epidemic of Africa?
Dorothea McKellar.
We should never forget how lucky we all are to be born, and living in this lucky country. But it’s easy to become absorbed in the petty things that essentially don’t matter - like your busted mobile phone or the ridiculous cost of petrol (although I did see if for just $1.13/L yesterday!).
If you learn nothing else today, at least consider Australia’s wondrous natural resources that have been with this country forever. This is the famous heartfelt passage from Dorothea McKellar’s My Country:
"I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of rugged mountain ranges,
Of droughts and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons,
I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror
The wide brown land for me!"
Dorothea says it all! She was born in 1885 and this poem was first published in 1908, although she wrote it when she was only 19 while homesick in England. She was educated at The University of Sydney (wise choice). She wrote about her farms in the Gunnedah district of New South Wales where her family owned property. Apparently, there lies a statue of her on horseback.
orothea_Mackellar.jpg" target="_blank">
Image in the Public Domain
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Comment by Adrian
Philosophy Blog
There's also the story of the old guy, his son, and the donkey. You know...? Some say the old guy should ride, some say the son should ride, some say (??) that they should carry the donkey, then the donkey falls in the river.
I get the feeling that's an Aesop as well.
Comment by RachDegab
RachDegab