Athens had
liberty and justice for all
But for all
this still the people complained.
Absolute
freedom: too much of a good thing.
Enter
Pisistratus, aspiring tyrant:
With his
followers he took the Acropolis.
This the
Athenians could not stand –
Not that he
was cruel –
But he was
in charge, not they.
Aesop,
though, heard them complaining,
And told, as
he did, a fable:
The frogs, free
in their swamp
Petitioned
from Jove a king
Who could
MAKE THE SWAMP GREAT AGAIN
The father
of the gods laughed, and hurled
A small log
Which
splashed down with sound and fury
And terrified
the timid race.
At length it
sank into the mud
And one of
the frogs
In subtle
silent curiosity
Pushed his
head above the water
And saw but
a muddy log;
So he
summoned his tribe to their so-called king.
Abandoning
their fear, indignant,
They swam to
that heaven-sent timber
And
petulantly lept aboard.
Then they
befouled it, as only frogs know how
And demanded
from Zeus
Another
king!
For the one
he had sent was really quite useless.
He sent a snake
instead,
Which showed
them all
How not
useless its teeth were
Using them
to snatch the frogs, one by one.
Fruitlessly
they fled,
Silently
they screamed,
Dreadfully
they died.
The
survivors in secret
Sent a
message to Jove
Seeking
surcease of sorrow.
But he
responded only:
“Ye who
would not accept your blessings
Must suffer
now your curse.”
And you too,
dear reader:
Endure things
as they are
Lest all
that you make greater
Are your
sufferings.
(Phaedrus, Fabulae 1.2)