Krilof and His Fables/The Rich Man and the Poet
The Rich Man and the Poet.
A Poet lodged an action against an exceedingly rich man, and entreated Jupiter to take his side. Both parties were ordered to appear in court. They came: the one lean and hungry, barely clothed, barely shod; the other all over gold and all puffed up by conceit.
"Take pity on me," cries the Poet, "О Ruler of Olympus! Cloud-compeller, hurler of thunderbolts! in what have I sinned before thee, that from my youth upwards I have endured the cruel persecutions of Fortune? No spoon is mine to feed from, no corner to lie in, and all my possessions exist in fancy alone. Meanwhile my rival, who has neither mind nor merit, has been living in palaces surrounded by a herd of worshippers, just as if he were an idol of thine, and swimming in the fat of luxurious delicacy!"
"But is it nothing," replied Jupiter, "that the sounds of thy lyre will resound to a distant age, while he will not be remembered by his grandsons, not to speak of his greatgrandsons? Didst not thou thyself choose glory as thy share? To him I gave the good things of this world during his lifetime. But, believe me, if he had understood things better, and if his mind could possibly have appreciated his insignificance compared with thee, he would have grumbled at his lot more than thou art grumbling at thine."