Perry's Index to the Aesopica
Fables exist in many versions; here is one version in English:
THE SHIP IN A STORM
When a man was complaining about his bad luck, Aesop invented this story in
order to console him: 'As a ship was being tossed by the relentless waves and
its passengers swayed between tears and the fear of death, the day suddenly
took on a tranquil appearance and the ship surged ahead, borne by favourable
winds. The sailors began to rejoice much too cheerfully, whereupon the ship's
pilot (a man made wise by the dangers he had faced) said to them, "It is better
to restrain your good spirits while also not being too quick to despair: life
is always a mixture of both grief and joy!"' |
 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 78: Gibbs (Oxford) 421 [English]
Perry 78: Chambry 308 [Greek]
Perry 78: Phaedrus 4.18 [Latin]
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.
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