The Man and His Image

Fable by Jean De La Fontaine Collection The FablesThemes MiscellaneousPeriod 17th century

A man who loved himself, having no rivals,
Passed in his own mind for the handsomest in the world.
He always accused mirrors of being false,
Living more than content in his profound error.
To cure him, fate, obliging,
Presented everywhere before his eyes
The mute counselors our ladies use:
Mirrors in homes, mirrors at merchants’,
Mirrors in gallants’ pockets,
Mirrors on women’s belts.
What does our Narcissus do? He goes to confine himself
To the most hidden places he can imagine,
No longer daring to try his luck with mirrors.
But a canal, formed by a pure spring,
Is found in these remote places;
He sees himself there; he grows angry; and his irritated eyes
Think they perceive a vain chimera.
He does all he can to avoid this water;
But what of it, the canal is so beautiful
That he leaves it only with regret.
One sees clearly where I am heading.
I speak to all; and this extreme error
Is an ill that everyone takes pleasure in maintaining.
Our soul is this Man in love with himself;
So many Mirrors are the follies of others,
Mirrors, the legitimate Painters of our faults;
And as for the Canal, it is that
Which everyone knows, the Book of Maxims.

Jean de La Fontaine

Translation generated by Poésies 123 with assistance from the deepseek-chat artificial-intelligence model.

Text published on Poésies 123: https://www.poesies123.com/en/fable-the-man-and-his-image-jean-de-la-fontaine/