The Man who Ran after Fortune, and the Man who W
The fable condemns the restless pursuit of Fortune and praises contentment at home. It begins by portraying people everywhere as chasing Dame Fortune, who continually escapes them just as they think they can seize her. Those who envy sudden advancement, such as a cabbage-grower becoming pope, overlook the cost: repose, the sweetest of earthly blessings, is rarely enjoyed by Fortune’s favourites. The poem insists that whoever does not seek Fortune may find that she comes to him. Two friends live quietly in a country town. One longs constantly for a better fortune and urges the other to leave with him to seek it abroad. His friend refuses, satisfied with his condition, and says he will remain and sleep until the restless man returns. The ambitious traveller first goes to court, believing it to be Fortune’s natural home. He follows its fashions exactly, rising, dressing, dining, and sleeping as custom requires, yet gains none of the promised rewards. Seeing Fortune appear generous to others but not to himself, he decides that courts and courtiers pursue deceitful shadows. Hearing that Fortune has temples in Surat, he immediately sets out. His journey is filled with dangers: pirates, rocks, calms, and storms repeatedly threaten him with death. During these perils he looks back painfully toward the peaceful home he had despised. When he finally reaches Hindostan, he is told that Fortune dispenses her favours in Japan. He travels on, but his only profit is the lesson that one should remain contented in one’s own country and seek wealth in nature’s way. Japan offers him no more success than Hindostan. Realizing that leaving home was a grave mistake, he returns with all speed. At the sight of his village, he weeps with delight and praises the happy person who lives tranquilly, restrains wild desires, and does not chase courts, seas, glory, wealth, or fleeting honours. Resolving never again to leave home, he arrives to find his sleeping friend with Fortune sitting at his door.
By Jean de La Fontaine · First published 1678 · Genre: Fable, Didactic Poetry, Moral Poetry · 1,295 words
First lines
Who joins not with his restless race / To give Dame Fortune eager chase? / O, had I but some lofty perch, / From which to view the panting crowd / Of care-worn dreamers, poor and proud, / As on they hurry in the search, / From realm to realm, o'er land and water, / Of Fate's fantastic, fickle daughter! / Ah! slaves sincere of flying phantom! / Just as their goddess they would clasp, / The jilt divine eludes their grasp, / And flits away to Bantam! / Poor fellows! I bewail their lot. / And here's the comfort of my ditty; / For fools the mark of wrath are not / So much, I'm sure, as pity. / 'That man,' say they, and feed their hope, / 'Raised cabbages -- and now he's pope. / Don't we deserve as rich a prize? ' / Ay, richer? But, hath Fortune eyes? / And then the popedom, is it worth / The price that must be given? -- / Repose? -- the sweetest bliss of earth, / And, ages since, of gods in heaven? / 'Tis rarely Fortune's favourites / Enjoy this cream of all delights. / Seek not the dame, and she will you -- / A truth which of her sex is true.
Similar titles
- The Use Of Knowledge by Jean De La Fontaine
- The Old Man And His Sons by Jean De La Fontaine
- The Bear And The Amateur Gardener by Jean De La Fontaine
- The Ingratitude And Injustice Of Men Towards Fortune by Jean De La Fontaine
- The Miser Who Had Lost His Treasure by Jean De La Fontaine
- The Shepherd And The Sea by Jean De La Fontaine
Genres
- Fable — The work is a concise moral tale in verse, using an illustrative narrative to teach that contentment at home is wiser than restless pursuit of wealth and Fortune.
- Didactic Poetry — Its principal purpose is instruction: the speaker explicitly comments on human folly and concludes with a clear lesson about moderating desire and valuing repose.
- Moral Poetry — The poem judges ambition, avarice, and dependence on chance, contrasting them with prudence, self-restraint, and contentment.
- Philosophical Poetry — It reflects on Fortune's arbitrariness, the nature of happiness, the value of tranquility, and the limits of worldly success.
Tags
French fable · verse narrative · seventeenth-century literature · moral allegory · Fortune personified · contentment · ambition · avarice · restlessness · homecoming · country life · courtly life
What this Textopian page supports
The Man who Ran after Fortune, and the Man who Waited for her in his Bed is listed on Textopian as a fable by Jean de La Fontaine, dated 1678 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: 1678 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Fable, Didactic Poetry, Moral Poetry, Philosophical Poetry, Satire
- Length: 1,295 words
- Structure: 1 section, 3 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for The Man who Ran after Fortune, and the Man who Waited for her in his Bed 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
- Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph
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