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Micheline's Blog

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Tag Archives: John Rae

La Fontaine’s “The Raven and the Fox” Updated

24 Thursday Oct 2013

Posted by michelinewalker in Fables

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

Aarne-Thompson type 57, Aesop's Fables, Arthur Rackam, Gutenberg Project, John Rae, La Fontaine, Milo Winter, Perry Index 104

7,1 

 The Raven and the Fox, illustrated by John Rae [EBook #24108]

Classification:

Perry Index: 104
Aarne-Thompson type 57
Related narratives: Aarne-Thompson
 
Text(e):
Le Corbeau et le Renard (1.I.2) 
The Raven and the Fox (1.I.2) or The Fox and the Crow
 
Images are not to be removed from this post as proper credit may not be given.
Photo credit: John Rae [EBook #24108]; Milo Winter [EBook #19994]; Arthur Rackham [EBook #11339] 
 
The Fox and the Crow by John RaeThe Raven and the Fox,
 illustrated by John Rae
[EBook #24108] 

A definition of Fables

“Fables are among the oldest forms of folk literature. The word “fable” comes from the Latin “fabula” (“little story”). Typically, a fable consists of a narrative and a short moral conclusion at the end. The main characters in most fables are animals. The purpose of these stories is to ridicule negative human qualities.” http://www.worldoftales.com/fables.html

Le Corbeau

The Raven and the Fox, illustrated by Milo Winter [EBook #19994] 

Perched on a lofty oak,
Sir Raven held a lunch of cheese;
Sir Fox, who smelt it in the breeze,
Thus to the holder spoke:
“Ha! how do you do, Sir Raven?
Well, your coat, sir, is a brave one!
So black and glossy, on my word, sir,
With voice to match, you were a bird, sir,
Well fit to be the Phoenix of these days.”
Sir Raven, overset with praise,
Must show how musical his croak.
Down fell the luncheon from the oak;
Which snatching up, Sir Fox thus spoke: 
“The flatterer, my good sir,
Aye lives on his listener;
Which lesson, if you please, 
Is doubtless worth the cheese.” 
A bit too late, Sir Raven swore
The rogue should never cheat him more.
 
 

The Moral

“The flatterer, my good sir,
Aye lives on his listener[.]”
(Sir Fox)
 

In this post, I will focus on the moral of this fable. The moral is explicit. Sir Fox is quoted in full.  Flattery, on the part of the fox, fools the raven/crow into singing and, as he sings, he lets go of his piece of cheese. By the way, in European beast literature, animals usually eat cheese, honey and ham.  

However, it so happens that the French translation for blackmail is le chantage. Sir Fox fait chanter le corbeau (makes the raven sing) and manages to convince a rather vain Sir Raven or Crow to sing or to “crow.”  The cheese falls to the ground. Now that cheese was Sir Crow’s dinner. Sir Crow’s loss is therefore significant.

Conclusion

So what we have seen is how a fable can shape a language. Chances are that the word ‘chantage’ is not rooted in our fable (faire chanter), but there is a strong likelihood that it  is. For instance, we now hear people say a “perfect storm,” without referring to the 2000 film based on Sebastian Junger‘s non-fictional account of events. In this case, events were fictionalized into a film and the title of the film is entering the English language and may remain a useful but uninformed English-language metaphor.

Moreover, in Le Poète et le Roi; Jean de La Fontaine en son siècle (Paris: Fallois, 1997), a book about La Fontaine, Marc Fumaroli, the most prominent member of the Académie française, wrote “to know how far one can go too far” (“savoir jusqu’où on peut aller trop loin”), without using quotation marks and without naming his source: Jean Cocteau (5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963). The clever expression is therefore entering the French language and, a few years from now, people might not know who coined the expression.

For those of us who also speak English, the word “crow” is significant. When Sir Raven or Crow opens his mouth, he does not sing, he “crows,” which is not flattering. Could that be rooted in the “Fox and Crow?” To crow suggests a degree of boastfulness. Remember that “Æsopian” fables entered England, at least in part, when printer and translator William Caxton (ca. 1415~1422 – ca. March 1492) printed the Latin fables of Avianus and then translated them, naming his collection The Fables of Avian. Avian’s translation of Æsop’s fables into Latin was a favourite and was rooted in both the Latin and the Greek traditions: Phædrus  (Latin) and Babrius (Greek). (See “The Cock and the Pearl:” La Fontaine cont’d [michelinewalker.com]).

We know that La Fontaine is writing about humans because he calls his protagonists  “Sir” (Maître or Monsieur). Moreover, we may have uncovered the origin of the word chantage as well as an instance of unsuccessful chantage (blackmail), a deceiver-deceived narrative: trompeur trompé.

But I must go!

Kalilah wa Dimna The Fox and the CrowKalilah wa Dimna (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Sources

The Fables of Pilpay (online) EN 
Les Fables de Pilpay ou la Conduite des roys (online) FR
http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k5674720s 
http://mythfolklore.net/aesopica/oxford/104.htm 
Related narratives: Aarne-Thompson
 

RELATED ARTICLES

  • “The Cock and the Pearl:” La Fontaine cont’d
  • The Fox and Crane, or Stork 
  • “Le Chêne et le Roseau” (The Oak and the Reed): the Moral
  • La Fontaine’s Fables Compiled & Walter Crane

 

Le Corbeau et le Renard, by Arthur RackhamLe Corbeau et le Renard, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
[EBook #11339] 

Le Corbeau et le Renard

Maître Corbeau, sur un arbre perché,
Tenait en son bec un fromage.
Maître Renard, par l’odeur alléché,
Lui tint à peu près ce langage :
“Et ! bonjour, Monsieur du Corbeau.
Que vous êtes joli ! que vous me semblez beau !
Sans mentir, si votre ramage (the way he talks)
Se rapporte à votre plumage, (your feathers)
Vous êtes le Phénix des hôtes de ces bois. ”
À ces mots, le Corbeau ne se sent pas de joie ;
Et pour montrer sa belle voix, (voice)
Il ouvre un large bec, laisse tomber sa proie.
Le Renard s’en saisit, et dit :
“Mon bon Monsieur,
Apprenez que tout flatteur
Vit aux dépens de celui qui l’écoute
Cette leçon vaut bien un fromage, sans doute. ” 
Le Corbeau honteux et confus
Jura, mais un peu tard, qu’on ne l’y prendrait plus. 
 

Le Renard et le Corbeau, illustrated by John RaeLe Corbeau et le Renard, illustrated by John Rae
[EBook #24108]
Louis-Nicolas Clérambault (19 December 1676 – 26 October 1749).
Clérambault wrote music based on La Fontaine’s fables.  The pictures show le Mont-Saint-Michel, France.
 
Magnificat (3 voices & basso continuo)
 
   
7,3
 
© Micheline Walker
24 October 2013
WordPress
 
 
The Raven and the Fox, illustrated by John Rae
[EBook #24108]
 
1. A Hundred Fables of La Fontaine, Percy J. Billinghurst
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/25357/25357-h/25357-h.htm
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/25357/25357-h/25357-h.htm#Page_60
[EBook #25357]
2. The Fables of La Fontaine, Elizur Wright, J. W. M. Gibbs, 1882 [1841]
http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext05/8ffab10h.htm (Fable 2)
“The Raven and the Fox”
[EBook #7241] (1882)
3. The Fables of La Fontaine, Walter Thornbury, transl. Gustave Doré, ill.
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/50316/50316-h/50316-h.htm
[EBook  #50316] (1886)
4. Fables in Rhyme for Little Folks, From the French of La Fontaine
W.T. (William Trowbridge) Larned (transl.), John Rae, ill. 
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/24108/24108-h/24108-h.htm 
[EBook #24108] (1918)
image002  
Photo credit: Site officiel
 
1. V. S. Vernon Jones (transl.), G. K. Chesterton, Arthur Rackham (ill.)
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/11339/11339-h/11339-h.htm#036
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/11339/11339-h/11339-h.htm
“The Fox and the Crow”
[EBook #11339] (1912) 
2. Harrison Weir, John Tenniel and Ernest Griset, illustrators
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/18732/18732-h/18732-h.htm
“The Fox and the Crow”
[EBook #18732] 
3. The Æsop for Children, Milo Winter, illustrator
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milo_Winter
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/19994/19994-h/19994-h.htm
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/19994/19994-h/19994-h.htm#Page_101
“The Fox and the Crow”
[EBook #19994] (1919)

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The Cat and the Fox Revisited

12 Sunday May 2013

Posted by michelinewalker in Fables

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Aesop's Fables, Château Thierry, intertextualité, Jean de La Fontaine, John Fyler Townsend, John Rae, Milo Winter, Robert Thomson, The Cat and the Fox, W. T. Larned

The Cat and the Fox,  by John Rae
The Cat and the Fox, by John Ray

Gutenberg’s Æsop: EBook #19994

The translation I used for Jean de La Fontaine‘s (8 July 1621 – 13 April 1695) ‟The Cat and the Fox,” is Gutenberg’s EBook #19994 entitled The Æsop for Children and illustrated by Milo Winter (7 August 1888 – 1956).   I made a mistake.  I scrolled down to page 88 and found a fable entitled ‟The Cat and the Fox.” Usually, Æsop’s cat and fox fable is entitled ‟The Fox and the Cat.”  I have not found the name of the translator of Gutenberg’s The Æsop for Children, but the correct illustration is the following by Milo Winter.  In order to read Gutenberg’s translation of Æsop, click on ‟The Cat and the Fox.”

Le Chat et le Renard, by Milo Winter

Le Chat et le Renard, by Milo Winter

Gutenberg’s Jean de La Fontaine: EBook #24108

The Gutenberg project is preparing an EBook edition of Jean de La Fontaine’s Fables in French: EBook #17941.  However, its current translation of fables by La Fontaine is Gutenberg EBook #24108, translated by William Trowbridge Larned and its illustrator is John Ray‘s.  EBook #24108 is entitled Fables in Rhyme for Little Folks, from the French of La Fontaine and it is a selection of La Fontaine’s fables.  One can read W. T. Larned’s translation of Le Chat et le Renard (IX, 14, 1678) by clicking on The Cat and the Fox.

I have corrected the blog I posted on 10 May 2013, but have posted the semicircular picture again, at the top of this post, giving credit to its illustrator: John Ray.  However, there are three more illustrations by John Ray, the last of which is Reynard the Fox‘s tombstone.

3,23,33,4

La Fontaine translated by Robert Thomson

William Trowbridge Larned translated Gutenberg’s EBook #24108, a selection of Jean de La Fontaine’s fables and this selection includes the ‟The Cat and the Fox,” by La Fontaine.  However, there are several translations on La Fontaine’s fables one of which is by Robert Thomson (19th century).  One can access Thomson’s translation of 10 of La Fontaine 12 books of fables by using the Château Thierry site, named after La Fontaine’s house: http://www.la-fontaine-ch-thierry.net/fablanglais.htm and the lafontaine.net: http://www.lafontaine.net/index.php are excellent sources of information on La Fontaine: the fables, the illustrators, the translators, etc.

Retellings and Translations of La Fontaine

Retelling and translating La Fontaine is a major endeavour.  According to Wikipedia, with respect to mastery of the French language, Jean de La Fontaine has only been surpassed by Victor Hugo, but barely.  There may be simplified and more modern retellings of La Fontaine’s fables, but I know of none.  I would have to access a catalogue of current children’s literature rooted in La Fontaine.  But I will not investigate the matter.

As for translating La Fontaine, it is also very difficult.  A literal translation is almost impossible.  One has to rewrite La Fontaine.   Moreover, one is faced with instances of intertextualité.  These are difficulties Robert Thomson encountered when he translated The Cat and the Fox.

An Instance of Intertextuality (EN)

The term may seem daunting, but intertextualité (FR) occurs when a text refers to another text.  For instance, La Fontaine calls both the cat and the fox ‟Tartufs” and ‟archipatelins.”  The name ‟archipatelins” is a reference to the anonymous Farce de Maître Pierre Pathelin.  Maître Pierre Pathelin is a lawyer.  La Fontaine was not very kind to lawyers.

As for Tartuffe, shortened in La Fontaine so a syllable could be removed[i], it is the title of a play by Molière (baptised January 15, 1622 – February 17, 1673), first performed in 1664.  After Tartuffe premiered, further performances were cancelled by Louis XIV, a supporter and friend of Molière.  In all likelihood, Louis was following the advice of the Archbishop of Paris, Paul Philippe Hardouin de Beaumont de Péréfixe.  It was written and performed in 1667, but the dévots, probably members of the Compagnie du Saint-Sacrement, remained hostile.  There was a third and final revision of Tartuffe, performed in 1669.  The full title of the play is Tartuffe ou l’Imposteur: the Impostor.  

The world has many impostors, but Tartuffe, the eponymous main character of the play, uses false devotion to defraud a tyrannical pater familias.  This is the mask, the faux-dévot, Renart uses to escape a death sentence.  In William Trowbridge Larned‘s translation, Gutenberg’s EBook #24108, the fox is called Reynard.  It is also called Reynard in Robert Thomson’s translation.  As for La Fontaine, his fox is ‟le renard” spelled with a ‘d’ rather than a ‘t,’ as in the Roman de Renart, but his cat and fox are like ‟nice little saints,” going on a ‟pilgrimage.”  (‟Comme beaux petits saints, S’en allaient en pèlerinage”.)  The translators give us an indication of the popularity of Reynard the Fox.  But there is filiation between Renart, who pretends he is leaving for the Crusades, and our cat and fox, ‟nice little saints” off on a ‟pilgrimage.”

So our Gutenberg’s EBook #24108, is a translation and adaptation, by W. T. Larned, of a selection of fables written by La Fontaine and illustrated by John Ray.  To read the text, click on The Cat and the Fox.

As for our EBook #19994, it seems an anonymous translation and adaptation of fables by Æsop.  However the translator could be G. F. Townsend.  There is or will be a Gutenberg publication of Æsop by Townsend, but it isn’t EBook #19994.  My own Æsop is a translation and adaptation by G. F. Townsend.

Fortunately, the mistake I made did not affect my brief interpretation of the fable about the cat and the fox.  However, it had to be corrected and my readers had to know the post was as accurate as it could be.

______________________________

[i] (C’é/ taient/ deux/ vrais/ Tar/ tufs,// deux/ ar/ chi/ pa/ te/ lins.) = 12 feet (pieds).  We have an alexandrin with a césure // after 6 pieds.  Alexandrine verses have twelve pieds.

EBook #19994 Æsop The Cat and the Fox (EN)
EBook #24108 La Fontaine The Cat and the Fox (EN)
http://www.la-fontaine-ch-thierry.net/fablanglais.htm Robert Thomson (EN)
http://www.lafontaine.net/index.php La Fontaine (FR)
http://www.mythfolklore.net/aesopica/ is my main Æsopica site
The image below is by Milo Winter 
 
title_thMicheline Walker©
May 12, 2013
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Beethoven
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Ivo Pogorelić (piano) 
 
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