A Woman is tried for promising favor of the gods.
Babrius Translation (The Wizard Woman)
A woman boasted the divining art,
And that, when Gods make the wrongdoer smart,
Her spells could bar the curse of ancient sin.
Large fee paid those who would her secret win.
She found this trade all arts of life surpass’d;
So when the witch much substance had amass’d,
Some, on this charge, an accusation wrote,
And she was sentenced by a fateful vote.
One saw her led away for death, and cried:
“What! was it not thy promise and thy pride,
“From other mortals wrath divine to turn?
“Thy jurors’ votes why didst thou fail to earn
“By thy persuasion? This escaped thy plan,
(“Thinking t’ upset things sacred, and to man
“The counsels of the Gods-above unseal,
“And how much anger they toward sinners feel,)
“To avert thy dragging o’er the fatal way.”
A just atonement lying prophets pay.
How do you think an AI might simplify this fable? Here is one answer, and the illustration above was made from this simplification:
The Boastful Soothsayer
A woman claimed she had a special power: she could stop the gods’ punishments and protect sinners from divine wrath. Many believed her and paid her well for her spells and promises. She grew rich and proud, thinking her power greater than all others. But one day, she was accused of fraud and put on trial. The jury found her guilty, and she was led away to be executed. As she walked to her fate, someone in the crowd called out, “If you could truly protect others from punishment, why couldn’t you save yourself?”
Moral
Those who claim false powers will be judged by the truth.
Perry. #56