The Astrologer who Stumbled into a Well

An astrologer falls to the bottom of a well because he watches the sky without seeing what lies at his feet, prompting a passer-by to condemn his foolishness. The incident becomes a warning against those who trust stars, ghosts, and supposed readings of destiny. The speaker argues that what earlier people called chance may be understood as God's providence, but that no one can penetrate divine purposes or discover future secrets in the stars. The heavenly bodies reveal only their natural functions: they mark time, bring daylight, govern the seasons, ripen fruit, and cheer living beings. They cannot reliably correspond to the endlessly varying affairs of human life. Horoscopers are dismissed as quacks and sent away with alchemists to the “land of mists.” Returning to the fallen astrologer, the speaker presents him as the emblem of all who stare at chimeras when they ought to attend to real and immediate things.

By Jean de La Fontaine · First published 1668 · Genre: Fable, Didactic Poetry, Satire · 674 words

First lines

To an astrologer who fell / Plump to the bottom of a well, / 'Poor blockhead! ' cried a passer-by, / 'Not see your feet, and read the sky?'

• Open reader

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Genres

• Fable — A brief moral narrative built around an astrologer’s comic fall into a well, ending in an explicit lesson about attending to reality rather than vain speculation.
• Didactic Poetry — The verse directly instructs readers, using the anecdote as a vehicle for philosophical and practical moral teaching.
• Satire — It ridicules astrologers, horoscopes, alchemists, and the presumption of those who claim knowledge of destiny.
• Moral Philosophy — The poem considers human ignorance, chance, providence, fate, and the limits of knowledge about divine purposes.

Tags

fable · verse narrative · moral allegory · satire · astrology · superstition · fortune-telling · horoscopes · divine providence · human ignorance · folly · practical wisdom

What this Textopian page supports

The Astrologer who Stumbled into a Well is listed on Textopian as a fable by Jean de La Fontaine, dated 1668 CE.

This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.

• Work type: Fable
• Author: Jean de La Fontaine
• Date: 1668 CE
• Language: English
• Genres: Fable, Didactic Poetry, Satire, Moral Philosophy, Allegory
• Length: 674 words
• Structure: 1 section, 3 paragraphs
• Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)

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• Work identity for The Astrologer who Stumbled into a Well by Jean de La Fontaine
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More by Jean de La Fontaine

• To Monseigneur the Dauphin (1668)
• The Grasshopper and the Ant (1668)
• The Raven and the Fox (1668)
• The Frog that Wished to be as Big as the Ox (1668)
• The Two Mules (1668)
• The Wolf and the Dog (1668)
• The Heifer, the Goat, and the Sheep, in Company with the Lion (1668)
• The Wallet (1668)
• All works by Jean de La Fontaine