Perry's Index to the Aesopica
Fables exist in many versions; here is one version in English:
THE MUSICIAN AT HOME
There was once a musician who had no talent whatsoever but he played his lyre
in a room that had thick plaster upon the walls so when he heard the echoing
sound, he concluded that he must be an excellent musician indeed. Puffed up
with pride, he decided to perform on the stage. But when he made his debut at
the theatre, his performance was so dreadful that the audience threw stones
at him, driving him off the stage.
The fable shows that the same is true of public speakers: while they are
still in school they may think that they have some talent, but they find out
they are worthless when they embark on a public career. |
Source:
Aesop's Fables. A new translation by Laura
Gibbs.
Oxford University Press (World's Classics): Oxford, 2002.
NOTE: New
cover, with new ISBN, published in 2008; contents of book unchanged.
Perry 121: Gibbs (Oxford) 252 [English]
Perry 121: L'Estrange 176 [English]
Perry 121: Chambry 156 [Greek]
You can find a compilation of Perry's index to the Aesopica in the gigantic appendix to his
edition of Babrius and Phaedrus for the Loeb Classical Library
(Harvard University Press: Cambridge, 1965). This book is an absolute must for anyone interested
in the Aesopic fable tradition. Invaluable.
|