Proud Horses - Answers to this week's E2MQ

From the first English translation of Aesop’s Fables.

The first English language edition of Aesop’s Fables is generally believed to have been by William Caxton, a 15th century merchant and printer in London, who also is credited with having introduced the printing press to England. It is believed that Caxton was also Britain’s first retailer of printed books. Imagine if he'd been able to collaborate with Jeffrey Preston Bezos!

William Caxton Showing the First Specimen of His Printing to King Edward IV by Daniel Maclise 1851

During the 1400s the English language was highly regionalized and frequently changing. As a printer, Caxton frequently faced challenges of regional dialects, syntax, and spelling. William Caxton deserves recognition for having made significant strides toward standardizing the English language through his printing, and, thereby, facilitating the expansion of our vocabulary. But I digress.

This week’s E2MQ saw many worthy tries, but no one accurately associated the natural attributes of the seven animals. To get the proper answers we progress 400 years to a translation of Aesop’s Fables by the Reverend George Fyler Townsend (1814-1900). Although there are many other collections and translations, Townsend's volume of 350 fables introduced the practice of stating a succinct moral at the conclusion of each story, and, therefore, continues to have influential significance.

The Reverend Townsend’s works are in the public domain on line via Project Gutenberg (www.gutenberg.org). It was the good parson, not this editor, who defines the characteristics in his preface to his translation of Aesop’s Fables.

“The introduction of the animals or fictitious characters should be
marked with an unexceptionable care and attention to their natural
attributes, and to the qualities attributed to them by universal popular
consent. The Fox should be always cunning, the Hare timid, the Lion
bold, the Wolf cruel, the Bull strong, the Horse proud, and the Ass
patient. Many of these fables are characterized by the strictest
observance of these rules.” (emphasis ours)

As a somewhat-patient man, I can now better appreciate why some have described me as half-fast. And anyone who read the books or saw the movies, Secretariat and Seabiscuit must appreciate that horses have every right to be proud.

Quoting from Laura Hillenbrand’s book, “He [Seabiscuit] didn't look like much. With his smallish stature, knobby knees, and slightly crooked forelegs, he looked more like a cow pony than a thoroughbred. But looks aren't everything; his quality, an admirer once wrote, ‘was mostly in his heart.’.”

The bold lion opens this, but the proudest horse of all has the last word...

And while most of us remember Mr. ED, there's a new horse in town, Mr. ED...ISONET.