The Lion Grown Old by Jean de La Fontaine

An aged lion, once feared throughout his domain, has become so weak that his own subjects mock and attack him. A horse kicks his head, a wolf snaps at him, and an ox gores his side while he is too sick and feeble to resist. The lion endures these insults in silent, stoic pride and waits for death. But when an ass comes to strike him as well, he declares that this final humiliation is worse than death itself.

By Jean de La Fontaine · First published 1668 · Genre: Fable, Moral Literature, Allegory · 200 words

First lines

A lion, mourning, in his age, the wane / Of might once dreaded through his wild domain, / Was mock'd, at last, upon his throne, / By subjects of his own, / Strong through his weakness grown. / The horse his head saluted with a kick; / The wolf snapp'd at his royal hide; / The ox, too, gored him in the side; / The unhappy lion, sad and sick, / Could hardly growl, he was so weak. / In uncomplaining, stoic pride, / He waited for the hour of fate, / Until the ass approach'd his gate; / Whereat, 'This is too much,' he saith; / 'I willingly would yield my breath; / But, ah! thy kick is double death! '[1]

[1]: Phaedrus, I. 21.

• Open reader

Similar titles

• The Wolf And The Lamb by Jean De La Fontaine
• The Animals Sending Tribute To Alexander by Jean De La Fontaine
• The Heifer The Goat And The Sheep In Company With The Lion by Jean De La Fontaine
• The Cat And The Old Rat by Jean De La Fontaine
• The Wolf Accusing The Fox Before The Monkey by Jean De La Fontaine
• The Bat And The Two Weasels by Jean De La Fontaine

Genres

• Fable — A brief animal-centered moral tale in the tradition of Aesop and Phaedrus, using a lion and other beasts to dramatize a lesson about fallen power and humiliation.
• Moral Literature — The poem conveys an ethical and social observation: those who once feared the powerful may cruelly insult them once age and weakness remove their authority.
• Allegory — The animals function as symbolic human types, while the aged lion represents a dethroned or weakened ruler subjected to the contempt of former inferiors.
• Satire — Its pointed depiction of the horse, wolf, ox, and especially ass attacking the helpless lion satirizes opportunism, cowardice, and the vulgarity of insulting the fallen.

Tags

fable · verse narrative · animal allegory · moral tale · seventeenth-century French literature · classical fable tradition · aged lion · decline of power · lost authority · humiliation · mockery of the weak · reversal of fortune

What this Textopian page supports

The Lion Grown Old 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, Moral Literature, Allegory, Satire, Narrative Poetry
• Length: 200 words
• Structure: 1 section, 2 paragraphs
• Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)

Good citation fit

• Work identity for The Lion Grown Old by Jean de La Fontaine
• Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
• Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
• Readability and classroom-planning context
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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