Section 85
The Man and the Lion explained simply
Aesop's Fables by Aesop
Original excerpt
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A Man and a Lion were companions on a journey, and in the course of conversation they began to boast about their prowess, and each claimed to be superior to the other in strength and courage. They were still arguing with some heat when they came to a cross-road where there was a statue of a Man strangling...
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Public-domain original
A Man and a Lion were companions on a journey, and in the course of
conversation they began to boast about their prowess, and each claimed
to be superior to the other in strength and courage. They were still
arguing with some heat when they came to a cross-road where there
was a statue of a Man strangling a Lion. "There!" said the Man
triumphantly, "look at that! Doesn't that prove to you that we are
stronger than you?" "Not so fast, my friend," said the Lion: "that is
only your view of the case. If we Lions could make statues, you may be
sure that in most of them you would see the Man underneath."
There are two sides to every question.
Public-domain original text shown for study context.
What happens here
A man uses a statue to prove human strength, but the lion notes who made the statue.
Why this scene matters
This fable warns that evidence can reflect the storyteller’s bias.
Characters in this scene
- Man: A central figure in the fable’s conflict and lesson.
- the Lion: A central figure in the fable’s conflict and lesson.
Simple story version
A man points to art showing a man defeating a lion. The lion says lions would tell the story differently.