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Aesop's Fables, by Aesop
The Project Gutenberg EBook of Aesop's Fables, by Aesop This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net
Title: Aesop's Fables
Author: Aesop
Release Date: February 27, 2004 [EBook #11339]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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ÆSOP'S FABLES
A NEW TRANSLATION
BY V. S. VERNON JONES
WITH AN INTRODUCTION
BY G. K. CHESTERTON
AND ILLUSTRATIONS
BY ARTHUR RACKHAM
1912 EDITION
INTRODUCTION
Æsop embodies an epigram not uncommon in human history; his fame is all the more deserved because he never deserved it. The firm foundations of common sense, the shrewd shots at uncommon sense, that characterise all the Fables, belong not him but to humanity. In the earliest human history whatever is authentic is universal: and whatever is universal is anonymous. In such cases there is always some central man who had first the trouble of collecting them, and afterwards the fame of creating them.