Books with title The Fables of La Fontaine

Second only to Aesop, Jean de la Fontaine was the author of comic and delightful fables that are as alive today as when they first appeared in the 18th century. Based on tales both famous and obscure by an array of classical writers, La Fontaine’s fables offer vivid perspectives on such elemental subjects as greed and flattery, envy and avarice, love and friendship, old age and death.

The indulgence with which some of my fables have been received has induced me to hope that this present collection may meet with the same favour. At the same time I must admit that one of the masters of our eloquence[2] has disapproved of the plan of rendering these fables in verse, since he believes that their chief ornament consists in having none; and that, moreover, the restraints of poetry, added to the severity of our language, would frequently embarrass me, and deprive most of these narratives of that brevity which may be styled the very soul of the art of story-telling, since without it a tale necessarily becomes tame and languid. This opinion could only have been expressed by a man of exquisite taste, and I will merely ask of him that he will in some degree relax it, and will admit that the Lacedemonian graces are not so entirely opposed to the French language, that it is impossible to make them accord.

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Excerpt from The Fables of La Fontaine: Translated From the French Frugality should ever be practised, but not excessive parsimony; for see how a miser was killed bya bow drawn by himself! About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

SommaireLe Coq et le RenardLe Loup devenu Berger Le Renard et le Bouc La Cigale et la Fourmi Le Corbeau et le RenardLa Grenouille qui veut se faire aussi grosse que le Bœuf Le Loup et le Chien Le Rat de ville et le Rat des champs Le Renard et les RaisinsLe Loup, la Chèvre et le ChevreauLe Pot de terre et le Pot de ferLe petit Poisson et le Pécheur Le Laboureur et ses Enfants Le Loup et l''AgneauLa Montagne qui accoucheLe Renard et la CigogneL''Ours et les deux CompagnonsLe Chêne et le Roseau Le Cochet, le Chat et le Souriceau.Les deux Taureaux et une GrenouilleL''Ane chargé d''épongés et l''Ane chargé de selLe Renard, le Singe et les AnimauxLe Cerf se voyant dans l''eauLe Lion et le RatLe Lièvre et la TortueLa Colombe et la FourmiLe Cheval et l''Ane

Second only to Aesop, Jean de la Fontaine was the author of comic and delightful fables that are as alive today as when they first appeared in the 18th century. Based on tales both famous and obscure by an array of classical writers, La Fontaine’s fables offer vivid perspectives on such elemental subjects as greed and flattery, envy and avarice, love and friendship, old age and death.

Jean de La Fontaine collected fables from a wide variety of sources, both Western and Eastern, and adapted them into French free verse. They were issued under the general title of Fables in several volumes from 1668 to 1694 and are considered classics of French literature. Humorous, nuanced and ironical, they were originally aimed at adults but then entered the educational system and were required learning for school children.