The Owl, the Cat, the Gosling, and the Rat

Fable by Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian Period 18th century

Some young schoolboys had taken from a hole
an owl,
and had raised it in the courtyard of the college.
An old cat, a young gosling,
fed by the porter, were on friendly terms
with the bird; all three had the privilege
of coming and going throughout the whole house.
By dint of being in the classroom,
they had adorned their minds,
knew by heart Dionysius of Halicarnassus
and all that Herodotus and Livy said.
One evening, while arguing (with doctors it’s the custom),
they compared among themselves the ancient peoples.
My faith, said the cat, it’s to the Egyptians
that I give the prize: it was a wise people,
a people fond of laws, learned, discreet, pious,
full of respect for its gods;
that alone, in my view, gives it the advantage.
I prefer the Athenians,
replied the owl: what wit! What grace!
And in combat what daring!
What charming heroes among their citizens!
Has one ever done more with fewer means?
Of nations it is the first.
By Jove! said the gosling in anger,
gentlemen, I find you amusing:
and the Romans, what do you think of them?
Is there a people that gathers
more grandeur, glory, and dazzling deeds?
In the arts, as in war,
they have surpassed your friends.
For me, they are my favorites;
everything must yield to the conquerors of the earth.
Each of the three pedants persists in his opinion,
when a rat, who from afar heard the dispute,
a learned rat, who ate themes in his hut,
cried out to them: I see clearly where your debates come from:
Egypt venerated cats,
Athens the owls, and Rome, on the Capitol,
at the state’s expense fed goslings:
thus our interest is always the compass
that our opinions follow.

Florian

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-owl-the-cat-the-gosling-and-the-rat-jean-pierre-claris-de-florian/