Friday Fable. Aesop’s “THE BEAVER AND HIS TESTICLES”*
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Caption: No way, José!
“There is an animal whose name in English is 'beaver' (although those garrulous Greeks -- so proud of their endless supply of words! -- call him castor, which is also the name of a god). It is said that when the beaver is being chased by dogs and realizes that he cannot outrun them, he bites off his testicles, since he knows that this is what he is hunted for. I suppose there is some kind of superhuman understanding that prompts the beaver to act this way, for as soon as the hunter lays his hands on that magical medicine, he abandons the chase and calls off his dogs.”
“If only people would take the same approach and agree to be deprived of their possessions in order to live lives free from danger; no one, after all, would set a trap for someone already stripped to the skin.”
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Ouch! Does one abandon the “family jewels” – the future – for self-preservation or does one figure out another way? Among the neutered followers in the workplace, this is the Sheep and the Yes-Man (and Woman). Accommodating, rather than rocking the boat. Agreeing with the boss’ folly even as the organization fails.
*Source: Aesop's Fables. A new translation by Laura Gibbs. Oxford University Press (World's Classics): Oxford, 2002.
N.B. Laura Gibbs - the eminent classicist, has most generously provided a dozen new translations of fables for my forthcoming (early 2017) book: Fables for Leaders.
© Copyright John Lubans 2017
John Lubans - portrait by WSJ