Demades and his fable

Demades the orator¹ was once speaking in the assembly at Athens; but the people were very inattentive to what he was saying, so he stopped and said, "Gentlemen, I should like to tell you one of Aesop's fables²." This made every one listen intently. Then Demades began: "Demeter, a swallow, and an eel³ were once travelling together, and came to a river without a bridge: the swallow flew over it, and the eel swam across", and then he stopped. "What happened to Demeter?" cried several people in the audience. "Demeter," he replied, "is very angry with you for listening to fables when you ought to be minding public business."

  

有一次，演说家狄马德斯在雅典的一次集会上演讲，但是没有一个人认真听，他便停下来，说：“先生们，我很想告诉你们一个伊索寓言里的故事。”这话受到了人们的重视。接着，他开始说：“有一次，德墨忒尔（掌管农业，结婚，丰饶的女神）和一只燕子，一只鳗鱼同行，他们要穿过一条没有桥的河，燕子飞过去，鳗鱼游过去了。”讲到这里，他便停下来，不再讲了。听众中有几个人问他：“那么德墨忒尔怎么过去的呢？”他回答说：“德墨忒尔正在生你们的气呢，因为你们对公共事务毫无兴趣，一心只喜欢听伊索寓言。”

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