The Frog and the Fox is one of

Aesop's Fables Aesop's Fables, or the Aesopica, is a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and storyteller believed to have lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 564 BCE. Of diverse origins, the stories associated with his name have descended to ...

and is numbered 289 in the

Perry Index The Perry Index is a widely used index of "Aesop's Fables" or "Aesopica", the fables credited to Aesop, the storyteller who lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 560 BC. The index was created by Ben Edwin Perry, a professor of classics at the Un ...

. It takes the form of a humorous anecdote told against

quack doctor Quackery, often synonymous with health fraud, is the promotion of fraudulent or ignorant medical practices. A quack is a "fraudulent or ignorant pretender to medical skill" or "a person who pretends, professionally or publicly, to have skill, k ...

Physician, heal thyself

A frog leaves his native swamp and proclaims himself a wonder-working doctor. He is then asked by a sceptical fox how it is that he cannot cure his own lameness and sickly complexion. The fox's taunt echoes the Greek proverb, "

Physician, heal thyself Physician, heal thyself (, ), sometimes quoted in the Latin form, , is an ancient proverb appearing in Luke 4:23. There, Jesus is quoted as saying, "Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, 'Physician, heal thyself': whatsoever we have heard done ...

", which was current in Aesop's time (and was later quoted in the Christian scriptures). The fable was recorded in Greek by

Babrius Babrius ( grc-gre, Βάβριος, ''Bábrios''; century),"Babrius" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 21. also known as Babrias () or Gabrias (), was the author of a collection of Greek fables, many of which ...

, and afterwards was Latinised by

Avianus Avianus (or possibly Avienus;Alan Cameron, "Avienus or Avienius?", ''ZPE'' 108 (1995), p. 260 c. AD 400) a Latin writer of fables,"Avianus" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 5. identified as a pagan. The 4 ...

. When

William Caxton William Caxton ( – ) was an English merchant, diplomat and writer. He is thought to be the first person to introduce a printing press into England, in 1476, and as a printer (publisher), printer to be the first English retailer of printed boo ...

featured the story in 1484, he added a comment advising caution against hypocrisy, again quoting the scriptural admonition. By the time the fable appeared in the collection illustrated by Francis Barlow (1687) the emphasis had shifted to asking for proof to back the frog's boasts:

::Pretences which no reall actions prop, ::Like crazy Structures, Straight to Ruin drop.

Samuel Croxall Samuel Croxall (c. 1690 – 1752) was an Anglican churchman, writer and translator, particularly noted for his edition of Aesop's Fables. Early career Samuel Croxall was born in Walton on Thames, where his father (also called Samuel) was vicar. ...

's 1722 commentary on the fable is generalised to the advice that "we should not set up for rectifying enormities in others, while we labour under the same ourselves". But, while also quoting "Physician, heal thyself", Croxall put his finger on a weakness in the original story by warning against being motivated solely by prejudice against the person offering advice. And in his amplified verse account, "Affectation expos'd" (1744), John Hawkesworth mentions several specious cures that seemed to back the frog's credentials. Its imposture is not unveiled until the healthy fox pretends to be ill. Only after the frog concurs in this self-diagnosis does the fox denounce it in public.

Picturing the fable

At the start of the 19th century a recension of the fables in Greek and Latin provided another moral that highlights the weakness of the frog's self-promotion: ''Iactantia refutat seipsam'' (boasting disproves itself).Francisco de Furia, ''Fabulae Aesopae quales ante Planudem ferebantur'' (1810)
Fable CCXIII, p.93
/ref> Croxall had also underlined the questionable nature of the frog's discourse that, being "uttered in a parcel of hard, cramp words which nobody understood, made the beasts admire his learning and give credit to everything he said." All, that is, except the fox, who saw through the frog's pretence. Illustrations of the fable have consequently depicted the gullible audience surrounding the frog as it takes its stance on the edge of the marsh, generally with the fox sitting off to one side. In

Heinrich Steinhöwel Heinrich Steinhöwel (also ''Steinhäuel'' or ''Steinheil''; 1412 – 1482) was a Swabian author, humanist, and translator who was much inspired by the Italian Renaissance. His translations of medical treatises and fiction were an important con ...

's edition (1478) the listeners include nothing more exotic than a rat, a rabbit and a hedgehog, but Henry Walker Herrick (1869) and

Ernest Griset Ernest Henri Griset (born 24 August 1843 in Boulogne-sur-Mer, died in London on 22 March 1907) was a French-born painter and illustrator noted for the humorous interpretations of his subjects. Life and work Griset's parents moved to England from ...

(1874) furnish a more varied menagerie. Francis Barlow concentrates largely on an audience of domestic animals but places a squirrel and a monkey in the overhanging branches of a tree, where Samuel Croxall's illustrator and

Thomas Bewick Thomas Bewick (c. 11 August 17538 November 1828) was an English wood-engraver and natural history author. Early in his career he took on all kinds of work such as engraving cutlery, making the wood blocks for advertisements, and illustrating ch ...

(1818) confine themselves to deer and farm beasts. The frog addresses these from the bank or, in the case of

Samuel Howitt Samuel Howitt (1756/57–1822) was an English painter, illustrator and etcher of animals, hunting, horse-racing and landscape scenes. He worked in both oils and watercolors. Life and work Howitt was a member of an old Nottinghamshire Q ...

(1810, see above), from a marshy tussock. Later artists portray the frog as a

huckster A huckster is anyone who sells something or serves biased interests, using pushy or showy tactics. Historically, the term meant any type of peddler or vendor, but over time it has assumed pejorative connotations. Etymology The original meanin ...

performing in front of a cluster of bystanders, as in the case of J. M. Condé (1905),

Arthur Rackham Arthur Rackham (19 September 1867 – 6 September 1939) was an English book illustrator. He is recognised as one of the leading figures during the Golden Age of British book illustration. His work is noted for its robust pen and ink drawings, ...

(1912),

John Vernon Lord John Vernon Lord is an illustrator, author and teacher. He has illustrated texts including ''Aesop's Fables'',''The Nonsense Verse of Edward Lear''; the Folio Society's ''Myths and Legends of the British Isles'', and He has illustrated clas ...

(1989) and Arlene Graston (2016). These change the focus to the title given the story by

George Fyler Townsend George Fyler Townsend (1814–1900) was the British translator of the standard English edition of ''Aesop's Fables''. He was the son of George Townsend and was educated at Harrow School and Trinity College, Cambridge -DCL 1876. He was Vicar ...

(1887), "The Quack Frog".

References

External links

Illustrations from books between th
15th-20th centuries
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frog and the Fox, The Aesop's Fables Proverbs