Parable - denten-courses/metaphor-media GitHub Wiki
A parable is usually defined as “a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson, as told by Jesus in the Gospels”1 or “a usually short fictitious story that illustrates a moral attitude or a religious principle.”2 Primarily associated with the New Testament teachings of Jesus, an aura of spirituality is invariably connected with the parable and gives even modern versions some of the mysticism of the ancient stories.
Teaching through analogy is the most appealing aspect of the parable. The parable serves as an overriding metaphor that is relatable and memorable. “Take metaphor and parable, parabolc, away from the Prophets and the Gospels, and you will find that a great part of their charm has gone.”3 The parable can be used both as a tool of persuasion and as a mantra for divine guidance.
Philosophers throughout history have explained parables in a myriad of ways that entail metaphysical dimensions not included in the standard dictionary definitions. Although the stories may be simple, their ability to cut through socio-economic barriers to guide human behavior has universal applicability which confirms their persistent importance as cultural beacons.
Parables are similar to fables but distinguished by dealing only with human stories rather than animals or inanimate objects. Moreover, parables’ association with the word of God also gives them a spiritual connotation missing from fables and other tales. While the parable began as a fable, according to Condillac, it eventually morphed into a new phenomenon as it adopted more mysterious elements. “They studied the oddest properties of beings in order to draw intricate and delicate allusions, with the effect that the fable was gradually changed into parable, and finally made so mysterious that a mere enigma was all that remained.”4
Thus, although anyone can understand the story of a parable, their true meaning is often said to be intelligible only to certain people. The parables’ pure simplicity is a defining element but belies the subtlety of their message. Philosopher Ecclesiasticus described parables as containing many refinements that only the wise man can recognize.5 Étienne Bonnot de Condillac described the “delicate” and “intricate” properties of parables.6
While parables belong to the allegorical family of literary devices, they enjoy a more mystical interpretation by those who read them, partly because they are recounted and discussed by spiritual leaders, but mostly because they occupy a special place in the genre of symbolic stories. Thus, Ecclesiasticus says, "The wise man will seek out the wisdom of all the ancients, and will be occupied with the prophets. He will keep the discourse of men of renown, and will enter in among the subtleties of parables. He will seek out the hidden meaning of proverbs, and be conversant in the dark sayings of parables.”7
When discussing the parable of the poor man with a single lamb, Augustine emphasizes that a certain amount of wisdom is needed to understand parables and that that understanding would usually come from prophets.8 The teaching element of the parable is evident in his example, but he is also showing that only the chosen few are privy to the real meaning.
The strength of the parable as a literary device is not that it is just a compelling story that teaches a moral truth but that underneath its apparent simplicity is open to a challenging array of enigmatic meanings.
“They studied the oddest properties of beings in order to draw intricate and delicate allusions, with the effect that the fable was gradually changed into parable, and finally made so mysterious that a mere enigma was all that remained.”
Etienne Bonnot De Condillac, Essay on the Origin of Human Knowledge, vol. Part II, Section 8-15 (1746), 182.
“Take metaphor and parable, parabolic, away from the Prophets and the Gospels, and you will find that a great part of their charm has gone.”
Desiderius Erasmus, COLLECTED WORKS OF ERASMUS: LITERARY AND EDUCATIONAL WRITINGS 1-2 ANTIBARBARI / PARABOLAE, ed. Craig R. Thompson, vol. 23 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1994), 131.
“Ecclesiasticus: ‘The wise man will seek out the wisdom of all the ancients, and will be occupied with the prophets. He will keep the discourse of men of renown, and will enter in among the subtleties of parables. He will seek out the hidden meaning of proverbs, and be conversant in the dark sayings of parables. He will serve among great men, and appear before him that ruleth. He will travel through the land of strange nations; he will try good and evil in all things.’”
Desiderius Erasmus, COLLECTED WORKS OF ERASMUS: LITERARY AND EDUCATIONAL WRITINGS 1-2 ANTIBARBARI / PARABOLAE, ed. Craig R. Thompson, vol. 23 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1994), 99.
“Have you a fancy to be grand? metaphor can exalt anything, and to any height you please. Is there something you wish to play down? nothing is more effective for bringing things down to earth. Would you be vivid and picturesque? metaphor brings it before one's eyes better than anything else. What gives their spice to adages, their charm to fables, their point to historical anecdotes? metaphor, which doubles the native riches of a pithy saying, so that Solomon himself, an inspired author, chose to recommend his wise sayings to the world by calling them Parabolae. Deprive the orators of their arsenal of metaphor, and all will be thin and dull. Take metaphor and parable, parabolc, away from the Prophets and the Gospels, and you will find that a great part of their charm has gone.”
Desiderius Erasmus, COLLECTED WORKS OF ERASMUS: LITERARY AND EDUCATIONAL WRITINGS 1-2 ANTIBARBARI / PARABOLAE, ed. Craig R. Thompson, vol. 23 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1994), 131.
“Thus in the introduction to the Book of Proverbs he admonishes us to understand words of prudence, subtleties of language, parables and dark speeches, sayings of the sages, and riddles, which properly belong to the dialecticians and philosophers."
Desiderius Erasmus, COLLECTED WORKS OF ERASMUS: LITERARY AND EDUCATIONAL WRITINGS 1-2 ANTIBARBARI / PARABOLAE, ed. Craig R. Thompson, vol. 23 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1994), 92.
“And with what moderation and self-restraint those men used their wives appears chiefly in this, that when this same king, carried away by the heat of passion and by temporal prosperity, had taken unlawful possession of one woman, whose husband also he ordered to be put to death, he was accused of his crime by a prophet, who, when he had come to show him his sin, set before him the parable of the poor man who had but one ewe-lamb, and whose neighbour, though he had many, yet when a guest came to him spared to take of his own flock, but set his poor neighbour's one lamb before his guest to eat."
Augustine, On Christian Doctrine, vol. Book III (~400CE), 99.
1. "Parable." Google Search. Accessed May 08, 2018. https://www.google.com/search?q=parable&oq=parable &aqs=chrome..69i57j69i60l3j0j69i59.1206j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8. Google Definition of Parable
2. "Parable." Merriam-Webster.com. Accessed May 7, 2018. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/parable.
3. Desiderius Erasmus, COLLECTED WORKS OF ERASMUS: LITERARY AND EDUCATIONAL WRITINGS 1-2 ANTIBARBARI / PARABOLAE, ed. Craig R. Thompson, vol. 23 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1994), 131.
4. Etienne Bonnot De Condillac, Essay on the Origin of Human Knowledge, vol. Part II, Section 8-15 (1746), 182. *Note: No publisher information available from the canvas PDF
5. Desiderius Erasmus, COLLECTED WORKS OF ERASMUS: LITERARY AND EDUCATIONAL WRITINGS 1-2 ANTIBARBARI / PARABOLAE, ed. Craig R. Thompson, vol. 23 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1994), 99.
6. Etienne Bonnot De Condillac, Essay on the Origin of Human Knowledge, vol. Part II, Section 8-15 (1746), 182. *Note: No publisher information available from the canvas PDF
7. Desiderius Erasmus, COLLECTED WORKS OF ERASMUS: LITERARY AND EDUCATIONAL WRITINGS 1-2 ANTIBARBARI / PARABOLAE, ed. Craig R. Thompson, vol. 23 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1994), 99.
8. Augustine, On Christian Doctrine, vol. Book III (~400CE), 99. *Note: No publisher information available from the canvas PDF