The Gnat and the Ox - A Parable
Published by Campbell M Gold in Reflection · Thursday 24 Oct 2024 · 1:00
Tags: gnat, ox, parable, insect, animal, journey, burden, equality, story, fable
Tags: gnat, ox, parable, insect, animal, journey, burden, equality, story, fable
The Gnat and the Ox
This parable features a tiny insect, like a gnat, and a large
animal, such as an ox, camel, horse, or elephant. In some versions, the insect apologises
for burdening its host while journeying; in others, it claims to have worked alongside
the larger creature as an equal.
Regardless of the variation, the host responds by dismissing
the entire situation indifferently, saying they didn’t notice the insect’s
presence.
My favourite version is:
"Let us plough,"
said the gnat as it settled on the ear of the ox.
Phaedrus* explains the parable - "He who, while he
is of no standing, boasts to be of a lofty one, falls under contempt when he
comes to be known."
(*Gaius Julius Phaedrus (c. 15 BC – c. 50 AD) was a
1st-century AD Roman fabulist and the first versifier of a collection of
Aesop's fables into Latin.)
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