A Lamp, burning bright, boasted it had light like the Sun. Wind blew it out. The Master re-lit the lamp and told it to not boast any longer.
Do not boast lest you be taken down.
Townsend version
A lamp, soaked with too much oil and flaring brightly, boasted that it gave more light than the sun. Then a sudden puff of wind arose, and the Lamp was immediately extinguished. Its owner lit it again, and said: “Boast no more, but henceforth be content to give thy light in silence. Know that not even the stars need to be relit”
Babrius Translation
A lamp that swam with oil, began to boast
At eve, that it outshone the starry host,
And gave most light to all. Her boast was heard:
Soon the wind whistled: soon the breezes stirred,
And quench’d its light. A man rekindled it,
And said, “Brief is the faint lamp’s boasting-fit,
“But the star-light ne’er needs to be re-lit.”
Lucerna et Ventus
Lucerna, affatim plena oleo, vesperi gloriabatur coram adstantibus se lucifero fulgentiorem esse, cunctis quae mitteret lucem splendidissimam. Sed ventus sibilavit, subitoque fuit exstincta, flabello flatus ventilata. Quam rursus accendens aliquis “Debilis,” ait, “lucernae spiritus erat. Astrorum vero lux non emoritur.”
Moral
Docet nos fabula nobis non insolescendum esse rebus vitae prosperis, bene qui noverimus nihil esse stabile.
Perry #349