A small genre of didactic literature (q.v.), which is identical in its main features to a fable (q.v.). The difference in the use of the terms "P." and “fable” is observed, but it is connected not so much with the differences in the genre, but with the stylistic significance of these... ... Literary encyclopedia

PARABLE- PARABLE, parables, women. 1. A story containing a moral teaching in an allegorical form (book). Gospel parables. Solomon's parables. “Religion is opium, religion is the enemy, enough of the priestly parables.” Mayakovsky. || Allegorical expression. Speak in parables... Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary

parable- See hint, example, fairy tale, what a parable!... Dictionary of Russian synonyms and expressions similar in meaning. under. ed. N. Abramova, M.: Russian Dictionaries, 1999. parable, hint, example, fairy tale; story, simile, saying, ganation, paremia, parabola, ... ... Synonym dictionary

Parable- (literary) a short story allegorical in form and morally didactic in purpose. A parable relates to a similar poetic form, a fable, as an allegory relates to a poetic image: while the uses of the image are infinitely varied,... ... Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron

PARABLE- PARABLE, and, wives. 1. In religious and old didactic literature: a short allegorical instructive story. Gospel paragraph about the prodigal son. 2. transfer About an incomprehensible, difficult to explain phenomenon, event (colloquial). What kind of p.? The talk of the town... ... Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary

PARABLE- PARABLE, probably a parable, from a parable; see tributary. Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary. IN AND. Dahl. 1863 1866 … Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary

PARABLE- PARABLE, a small didactic allegorical literary genre containing moral or religious teaching (deep wisdom). In a number of its modifications it is close to the fable. A universal phenomenon in world folklore and literature (for example... ... Modern encyclopedia

PARABLE- a small didactic allegorical literary genre containing moral or religious teaching (wisdom). Close to a fable; in its modifications, a universal phenomenon in world folklore and literature (for example, parables of the Gospels, incl... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Parable- ☼ didactic allegorical genre, in its main features close to fable. In contrast, the P. form 1) is incapable of isolated existence and arises only in a certain context, and therefore it 2) allows for the absence of a developed plot movement and... ... Encyclopedia of Cultural Studies

PARABLE- the talk of the town. Razg. Disapproved The subject of general conversation and constant gossip. BTS, 1532. /i> Expression from the Bible. FSRY, 358; BMS 1998, 473; DP, 180. From the parable. Sib. Suddenly, unexpectedly. SPS, 177. On the parable. Wed. Ural. As luck would have it. SRGSU 2, 179 ... Large dictionary of Russian sayings

Parable- PARABLE is a moral teaching in allegorical form (see the word Allegory), which differs from a fable in that it draws its poetic material from human life (gospel parables, Solomon’s parables) ... Dictionary of literary terms

Books

• Parable about milk, oatmeal and gray cat Murka, Mamin-Sibiryak Dmitry Narkisovich. Milk and porridge were constantly quarreling, and they themselves did not know why. The cunning cat Murka undertook to judge them. As a result of such judging, Murka lapped up all the milk. And although the cat Murka got it...

The best parables. Big Book. All countries and eras Mishanenkova Ekaterina Aleksandrovna

Greek parables

Greek parables

Triple filter

One day an acquaintance came to Socrates and said:

– I’ll now tell you something that I heard about one of your friends.

“Wait a minute,” replied Socrates. “Before you tell me anything, it must go through a triple filter.” Before you talk about my friend, you must filter what you are going to say. The first filter is true. Tell me, are you absolutely sure that this is true?

“No,” the friend answered, “I heard about it myself from others.”

“So you’re not sure it’s true.” Now the second filter is good. Is there anything good in what you are going to say about my friend?

- Vice versa. This is something very bad.

“So, you want to tell me something that may not be true, and something bad at that.” The third filter is usefulness. Can I personally gain any benefit from what you say?

“In general, no,” answered the friend.

“Well, if what you want to tell me is neither true, nor good, nor useful, then why should I know it?”

Secret

Aristotle punished Alexander the Great:

– Never tell two people your secrets. For if the secret is revealed, you will not be able to establish later whose fault it was. If you punish both, you will offend the one who knew how to keep a secret. If you forgive both, you will again offend the innocent, for he does not need your forgiveness.

Reason for good mood

Socrates was asked by one of his students:

– Explain to me why I have never seen signs of sadness on your forehead? You are always in a good mood.

Socrates replied:

“Because I don’t have anything that I would regret if I lost it.”

Reasoning about happiness

One day Socrates asked people:

– What is the most important thing in life?

The people around him began to express their ideas on this issue. One of them said:

– The most important thing in life is health. Another said:

– The most important thing is to have a well-built body, be attractive and be successful with women.

The third said:

– The most important thing is to have money and position in society.

After everyone had spoken, they asked Socrates:

– What do you think about this? Socrates said:

– I think that the most important thing in life is happiness! Do you think that every person who has health will necessarily be happy in life?

The people listening to him said:

- No, Socrates, this is not necessary.

– Will a man who has a well-built body and is successful with women necessarily be happy in life?

- No, Socrates! And this is not necessary, people answered.

“Then tell me,” continued Socrates, “is a person who has a lot of money and position in society always happy?”

“No, Socrates,” people answered, “rather, quite the opposite.” Such people are often lonely.

– Which of the types of people listed here do you consider the most worthy? - Socrates continued to ask. – Imagine that you need advice from a doctor. Which doctor will you see? To a very rich, socially positioned, well-built, successful with women, or would you prefer a doctor who is happy in this life?

“Thus,” Socrates announced, “we all unanimously recognized that happiness is the highest good and should be strived for as the most important thing in this life.”

There's no difference

Thales (the founder of Greek philosophy) said that there is no difference between life and death.

- Why don’t you die? - they asked him.

- Because there is no difference.

Better to die innocent

A certain woman saw Socrates as he was being dragged to the place of execution. Crying, she exclaimed:

- Oh, woe is me! They are going to kill you even though you have not committed any crime!

Socrates answered her:

- Oh, stupid! Would you really want me to commit a crime, deserve execution and die a criminal?

From any source

- How you have sunk! Are you ready to learn from the first person you meet? - one philosopher was reproached.

“Knowledge is such a precious thing that there is no shame in obtaining it from any source,” answered the philosopher.

Philosophical Answers

Thales was asked:

- What in the world is difficult?

– Know yourself.

- What's easy?

- Advise another.

– What is the most pleasant thing?

-What is divine?

- Something that has neither beginning nor end.

Enviable friendship

There were two friends in Syracuse: Damon and Phintius. Damon wanted to kill Dionysius, but was captured and sentenced to death.

“Let me leave until the evening and arrange my household affairs,” Damon said to Dionysius, “Phintius will remain a hostage for me.”

Dionysius laughed at such a naive trick and agreed. Evening came, Phintias was already being led to execution. And then, making his way through the crowd, Damon arrived.

- I'm here, sorry for being late.

Dionysius exclaimed:

- You are forgiven! And I ask you to accept me as the third member of your friendship.

Foresight

One philosopher had a daughter. She was matched by two people: a poor one and a rich one. The philosopher married his daughter to a poor man. When asked why he did this, the philosopher replied:

“The rich groom is stupid, and I fear that he will soon become poor.” The poor groom is smart, and I hope that in time he will become rich.

Speaker's readiness

Socrates had a young friend named Euthydemus, whose nickname was Handsome. He couldn't wait to become an adult and make loud speeches in the people's assembly. Socrates wanted to reason with him. He asked him:

- Tell me, Euthydemus, do you know what justice is?

- Of course I know, as well as anyone else.

“But I’m a person who’s not used to politics, and for some reason it’s hard for me to figure this out.” Tell me, is it fair to lie, deceive, steal, grab people and sell them into slavery?

- Of course it’s unfair!

- Well, if the commander, having repelled the attack of the enemies, captures prisoners and sells them into slavery, will that also be unfair?

- No, perhaps that’s fair.

– What if he robs and destroys their land?

- That's fair too.

– What if he deceives them with military tricks?

- That's fair too. Yes, perhaps I told you inaccurately: lying, deception, and theft are fair to enemies, but unfair to friends.

- Wonderful! Now, it seems, I am beginning to understand. But tell me this, Euthydemus, if the commander sees that his soldiers are despondent, and lies to them that allies are approaching them, and thereby encourages them, will such a lie be unfair?

– No, perhaps it’s fair.

- And if a son needs medicine, but he does not want to take it, and the father deceives him by putting it in his food, and the son will recover, will such deception be unfair?

- No, fair too.

- And if someone, seeing a friend in despair and fearing that he might commit suicide, steals or takes away his sword and dagger, what can we say about such theft?

- And that's fair. Yes, Socrates, it turns out that I again told you inaccurately. It was necessary to say: lying, deceit, and theft are fair to enemies, but fair to friends when done for their benefit, and unfair when done to their evil.

- Very good, Euthydemus. Now I see that before recognizing justice, I need to learn to recognize good and evil. But of course you know that?

“I think I know, Socrates, although for some reason I’m not so sure about it anymore.”

- So what is it?

– Well, for example, health is a blessing, but illness is an evil; food or drink that leads to health is good, and that leads to illness is evil.

– Very good, I understood about food and drink, but then perhaps it would be more correct to say about health in the same way: when it leads to good, then it is good, and when it leads to evil, then it is evil?

- What are you saying, Socrates, when can health be bad?

– But, for example, an unholy war began and, of course, ended in defeat; the healthy went to war and died, while the sick stayed home and survived. What was health here - good or evil?

- Yes, I see, Socrates, that my example is unsuccessful. But, perhaps, we can say that intelligence is a blessing!

- Is it always? The Persian king often demands smart and skilled artisans from Greek cities to his court, keeps them with him and does not let them into their homeland. Is their intelligence good for them?

- Then - beauty, strength, wealth, glory!

“But the beautiful ones are more often attacked by slave traders, because beautiful slaves are more valuable.” The strong often take on a task that exceeds their strength and end up in trouble. The rich are pampered, become victims of intrigue and die; fame always causes envy, and this also leads to a lot of evil.

“Well, if that’s the case,” Euthydemus said sadly, “then I don’t even know what I should pray to the gods for.”

- Do not worry! It just means that you don’t yet know what you want to tell people about. But do you know the people themselves?

- I think I know, Socrates.

– Who does the people consist of?

- From the poor and the rich.

– Who do you call rich and poor?

– The poor are those who do not have enough to live on, and the rich are those who have everything in abundance and beyond.

“Doesn’t it happen that a poor man can get by very well with his small means, but any riches are not enough for a rich man?”

- Really, it happens! There are even tyrants, for whom their entire treasury is not enough and needs illegal extortions.

- So what? Shouldn't we classify these tyrants among the poor, and the economic poor among the rich?

- No, it’s better not to, Socrates. I see that here too, it turns out, I don’t know anything.

- Don't despair! You will still think about the people, but you have, of course, already thought about yourself and your future fellow speakers, more than once. So tell me this: there are also such bad speakers who deceive the people to their detriment. Some do it unintentionally, and some even do it intentionally. Which ones are better and which ones are worse?

“I think, Socrates, that intentional deceivers are much worse and more unfair than unintentional ones.”

- Tell me, if one person deliberately reads and writes with errors, and another unintentionally, then which of them is more literate?

- Probably the one on purpose: after all, if he wants, he can write without mistakes.

- But doesn’t it turn out from this that an intentional deceiver is better and fairer than an unintentional one: after all, if he wants, he can talk to the people without deception!

“Don’t, Socrates, don’t tell me that, I can see now even without you that I don’t know anything and it would be better for me to sit and be silent!”

And Euthydemus went home, not remembering himself from grief.

A story from the life of Solon, one of the Seven Sages

They say that Solon, at the request of Croesus, came to Sardis. When Solon examined the magnificent castle of Croesus, he asked him if he knew a man happier than him, Croesus. Solon replied that he knew such a person: this was his fellow citizen Tell. He then said that Tell was a man of high morality, left behind him children of good name, property in which there was everything necessary, and died with glory, bravely fighting for the fatherland. Solon seemed to Croesus an eccentric and a rude man, since he does not measure happiness by the abundance of silver and gold, but puts the life and death of a common man above his enormous power and authority. And yet he again asked Solon if he knew anyone else after Tell who was happier than him. Solon again said that he knew: these were Cleobis and Biton, two brothers who loved each other and their mother extremely much. When one day the oxen did not come from the pasture for a long time, they themselves harnessed themselves to the cart and took their mother to the temple of Hera. All the citizens called her happy, and she was happy. And they made a sacrifice, drank water, but the next day they did not get up; they were found dead; They, having acquired such glory, saw death without pain and sorrow.

“And you don’t count me at all,” Croesus exclaimed with anger, “at all among the happy people?”

Then Solon, not wanting to flatter him, but also not wanting to irritate him even longer, said:

- King of Lydia! God gave us Hellenes the ability to observe moderation in everything. And as a result of such a sense of proportion and intelligence, we are characterized by a kind of timid, apparently common people, and not a royal, brilliant one. Such a mind, seeing that in life there are always all sorts of vicissitudes of fate, does not allow one to be proud of the happiness of a given moment, if the time has not yet passed when it can change. The future, full of all sorts of accidents, approaches everyone imperceptibly. To whom God sends happiness for the rest of his life, we consider him happy. And to call a person happy during his lifetime, while he is still exposed to danger, is the same as declaring a winner and crowning with a wreath an athlete who has not yet finished the competition. This matter is incorrect, devoid of any meaning.

After these words, Solon left. He offended Croesus, but did not bring him to his senses. This is how Croesus treated Solon with disdain at that time.

After his defeat in the battle with Cyrus, Croesus lost his capital, was himself captured alive, and faced the sad fate of being burned at the stake. The fire was already ready. The bound Croesus was placed on top of him. All the Persians looked at this spectacle, and Cyrus was there. Then Croesus, as far as he had the voice, exclaimed three times:

- Oh Solon! O Solon! O Solon!

Cyrus was surprised and sent to ask what kind of man or god Solon was, to whom alone he appealed in such hopeless misfortune. Croesus, without hiding anything, said:

- It was one of the Hellenic sages, whom I invited, but not to listen to him and learn something that I needed, but so that he would admire my riches and, returning to his homeland, tell about that well-being, the loss of which, as it turned out, caused more grief than its acquisition - happiness. While it existed, all that was good from it was empty talk and fame. And his loss led me to severe suffering and disasters from which there is no salvation. So Solon, looking at my situation at that time, foresaw what had now happened, and advised me to keep in mind the end of my life, and not to be proud and boast of a fragile property.

This answer was conveyed to Cyrus. He turned out to be smarter than Croesus and, seeing the confirmation of Solon's words in this example, not only freed Croesus, but also treated him with respect throughout his life.

This is how Solon became famous: with one word he saved one king and enlightened another.

Wolf and sheep

The sheep, fleeing from the wolf, ran into the fence of the temple.

“If you don’t come out,” said the wolf, “the priest will grab you and kill you as a sacrifice.”

“I don’t care,” said the sheep, “whether the priest slaughters me or you eat me.”

“My friend,” answered the wolf, “I am saddened to hear how you consider such an important issue from such a narrow personal point of view.” I care!