The Fables of Avianus

By Avianus and Robinson Ellis

Book Overview

Les Fables d'Avianus ont connu au Moyen Age un succes eclatant: augmentees de morales edifiantes par les maitres d'ecole et les grammairiens medievaux, elles constituaient avec les Distiques de... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0801846846
• ISBN13: 9780801846847
• Release Date: November 1993
• Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press
• Length: 80 Pages
• Weight: 0.92 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.8" x 0.5" x 6.5"

Customer Reviews

Fun witty translation

Avianus's fables are retellings of the fables of Babrius's fables which are part of the Aesop and Indic fable tradition. Zipes' forward provides a very short history of the fable tradition. The translated by Slavitt is brilliant - the translation is loose in a way that translates the irony of the original. The fables as great fun to read - never the heavily preachy tone that often appears in translations. Here you will meet Charlie the Tuna; you'll find the crabby crab mother lecturing "Why can't you look where you're going, go where you're looking, pick up your feet, put your best foot forward, try a little harder, stand up straight, pay attention, put yourself sometines in the other person's shoes, ..." If you can't have fun with this collection of fables, don't be such a sourpuss, look on the bright side, did you get up on the wrong side of the bed? ...