Prevod
A sow and a dog were trading insults. The sow swore by Aphrodite that she would tear the dog apart with her teeth. The dog replied mockingly, “How fitting that you should swear by Aphrodite! Clearly she loves you dearly, since she will not even admit anyone who has tasted your filthy flesh into her temple.” The sow answered, “That is all the more proof of the goddess’s affection for me: she utterly rejects anyone who kills me or otherwise does me harm. You, on the other hand, stink, whether alive or dead.” The fable shows that clever speakers skillfully turn their enemies’ insults into praise.
Izvirnik
Ὗς καὶ κύων ἀλλήλοις διελοιδοροῦντο. Καὶ ἡ μὲν ὗς ὤμνυε κατὰ τῆς Ἀφροδίτης, ἦ μὴν τοῖς ὀδοῦσιν ἀναδῥήξειν τὴν κύνα. Ἡ δὲ κύων πρὸς ταῦτα εἰρωνικῶς εἶπε· ,,καλῶς κατὰ τῆς Ἀφροδίτης ἡμῖν ὀμνύεις· δηλοῖς γὰρ ὑπʼ αὐτῆς ὅτι μάλιστα φιλεῖσθαι, ἥ τὸν τῶν σῶν ἀκαθάρτων σαρκῶν γευόμενον οὐδʼ ὅλως εἰς ἱερὸν προσίεται.“ Καὶ ἡ ὗς· ,,διὰ τοῦτο μὲν οὖν μᾶλλον δήλη ἐστὶν ἡ θεὸς στέργουσά με· τὸν γὰρ κτείναντα ἢ ἄλλῶς λυμαινόμενον παντάπασιν ἀποστρέφεται· σύ μέντοι κακῶς ὄζεις, καὶ ζῶσα καὶ τεθνηκυῖα.“
Ὀ μῦθος δηλοῖ, ὅτι οἱ φρόνιμοι τῶν ῥητόρων τὰ ἀπὸ τῶν ἐχθρῶν ὀνείδη εὐμεθόδως εἰς ἔπαινον μετασχηματίζουσιν.
