The Wallet by Jean de La Fontaine

Name: The Wallet
Author: Jean de La Fontaine

Jupiter summons all living creatures to his throne and invites them to complain freely about any defect in their form. The monkey declares himself well made but condemns the bear’s appearance; the bear praises himself and criticizes the elephant’s ears, tail, and size; the elephant finds no fault in himself but calls the whale excessively large and fat; and the ant judges the gnat too small, though the gnat is enormous beside her. Every creature finds defects in others while remaining satisfied with itself. The fable applies this folly to humankind: people see sharply the faults of others but overlook their own, carrying their own defects in a pouch behind them and the faults of others in one before them.

By Jean de La Fontaine · First published 1668 · Genre: Fable, Didactic Poetry, Moral Allegory · 479 words

First lines

From heaven, one day, did Jupiter proclaim, / 'Let all that live before my throne appear, / And there if any one hath aught to blame, / In matter, form, or texture of his frame, / He may bring forth his grievance without fear. / Redress shall instantly be given to each. / Come, monkey, now, first let us have your speech. / You see these quadrupeds, your brothers; / Comparing, then, yourself with others, / Are you well satisfied? ' 'And wherefore not? ' / Says Jock. 'Haven't I four trotters with the rest? / Is not my visage comely as the best? / But this my brother Bruin, is a blot / On thy creation fair; / And sooner than be painted I'd be shot, / Were I, great sire, a bear. ' / The bear approaching, doth he make complaint? / Not he; -- himself he lauds without restraint. / The elephant he needs must criticize; / To crop his ears and stretch his tail were wise; / A creature he of huge, misshapen size. / The elephant, though famed as beast judicious, / While on his own account he had no wishes, / Pronounced dame whale too big to suit his taste; / Of flesh and fat she was a perfect waste. / The little ant, again, pronounced the gnat too wee; / To such a speck, a vast colossus she. / Each censured by the rest, himself content, / Back to their homes all living things were sent. / Such folly liveth yet with human fools. / For others lynxes, for ourselves but moles. / Great blemishes in other men we spy, / Which in ourselves we pass most kindly by. / As in this world we're but way-farers, / Kind Heaven has made us wallet-bearers. / The pouch behind our own defects must store, / The faults of others lodge in that before.[1]

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Genres

Fable — The poem uses speaking animals, Jupiter's divine tribunal, and a concise moral lesson about human hypocrisy and self-blindness.
Didactic Poetry — Its principal purpose is instruction: the closing lines explicitly explain the ethical lesson that people see others' faults more readily than their own.
Moral Allegory — The animals' complaints allegorically represent human vanity, judgment, and the tendency to excuse one's own defects.
Animal Tale — A sequence of animals, each endowed with speech and human attitudes, drives the narrative and illustrates the central idea.

What this Textopian page supports

The Wallet is listed on Textopian as a fable by Jean de La Fontaine, dated 1668 CE.

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Work type: Fable
Author: Jean de La Fontaine
Date: 1668 CE
Language: English
Genres: Fable, Didactic Poetry, Moral Allegory, Animal Tale, Satire
Length: 479 words
Structure: 1 section, 2 paragraphs
Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)

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