The Old Man and his Sons by Jean de La Fontaine

The poem argues that all power becomes feeble when divided by dissension. An aged father, nearing death, asks his gathered sons to try to break a bound bunch of arrows. Each son fails, though they use all their strength. The father then separates the arrows and breaks them one by one, teaching that they will remain strong so long as they live in loving concord. The sons promise through tears to behave as brothers should, and their father dies reassured. Their promise is soon tested when they inherit a large estate burdened by complicated lawsuits, creditors, and a neighbour’s claims. At first the three brothers withstand these troubles together, but their friendship proves brief. Interest separates those whom blood had joined, while ambition and envy become co-heirs with them. As they divide the estate, they quarrel, dispute technicalities, and sue one another, each seeking advantage over the others. The judge condemns each brother in turn, creditors renew their attacks, and the brothers follow separate counsel. They lose all their wealth and are reminded, in their suffering, of the arrows their father had broken apart.

By Jean de La Fontaine · First published 1668 · Genre: Fable, Didactic Literature, Moral Allegory · 684 words

First lines

All power is feeble with dissension: / For this I quote the Phrygian slave.[1] / If aught I add to his invention, / It is our manners to engrave, / And not from any envious wishes; -- / I'm not so foolishly ambitious. / Phaedrus enriches oft his story, / In quest -- I doubt it not -- of glory: / Such thoughts were idle in my breast. / An aged man, near going to his rest, / His gather'd sons thus solemnly address'd: -- / 'To break this bunch of arrows you may try; / And, first, the string that binds them I untie. ' / The eldest, having tried with might and main, / Exclaim'd, 'This bundle I resign / To muscles sturdier than mine. ' / The second tried, and bow'd himself in vain. / The youngest took them with the like success. / All were obliged their weakness to confess. / Unharm'd the arrows pass'd from son to son; / Of all they did not break a single one. / 'Weak fellows! ' said their sire, 'I now must show / What in the case my feeble strength can do. ' / They laugh'd, and thought their father but in joke, / Till, one by one, they saw the arrows broke. / 'See, concord's power! ' replied the sire; 'as long / As you in love agree, you will be strong. / I go, my sons, to join our fathers good; / Now promise me to live as brothers should, / And soothe by this your dying father's fears. ' / Each strictly promised with a flood of tears. / Their father took them by the hand, and died; / And soon the virtue of their vows was tried. / Their sire had left a large estate / Involved in lawsuits intricate; / Here seized a creditor, and there / A neighbour levied for a share. / At first the trio nobly bore / The brunt of all this legal war. / But short their friendship as 'twas rare. / Whom blood had join'd -- and small the wonder! -- / The force of interest drove asunder; / And, as is wont in such affairs, / Ambition, envy, were co-heirs. / In parcelling their sire's estate, / They quarrel, quibble, litigate, / Each aiming to supplant the other. / The judge, by turns, condemns each brother. / Their creditors make new assault, / Some pleading error, some default. / The sunder'd brothers disagree; / For counsel one, have counsels three. / All lose their wealth; and now their sorrows / Bring fresh to mind those broken arrows.[2]

• Open reader

Similar titles

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• The Frog That Wished To Be As Big As The Ox by Jean De La Fontaine
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Genres

• Fable — The work is a concise moral tale using a symbolic bundle of arrows to teach that unity creates strength while division causes ruin.
• Didactic Literature — Its principal purpose is instruction: the father's demonstration and the sons' later downfall explicitly teach the consequences of discord, selfishness, and broken promises.
• Moral Allegory — The arrows function allegorically, representing the family and, more broadly, any community whose collective strength depends on concord.
• Verse Narrative — La Fontaine tells the complete sequence of events through rhymed poetic lines, combining narration, dialogue, and reflection.

Tags

French fable · verse narrative · moral allegory · seventeenth-century literature · family conflict · brotherhood · father and sons · dying father's counsel · unity and concord · dissension · strength in unity · bundle of arrows

What this Textopian page supports

The Old Man and his Sons 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 Literature, Moral Allegory, Verse Narrative, Philosophical Poetry
• Length: 684 words
• Structure: 1 section, 3 paragraphs
• Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)

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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