English Original
THE LIFE and History of Aesop is involved, like that of Homer, in much obscurity. Several places contend for the distinction of being his birthplace. However, a few incidents are now generally accepted by scholars as established facts.
He is believed to have been born about 620 B.C. and was a slave by birth. Owned by two masters in Samos, he was granted liberty by the second, Jadmon, as a reward for his learning and wit. As a freedman, Aesop rose from servitude to high renown, actively engaging in public affairs.
Driven by a desire to instruct and be instructed, he traveled widely and came to Sardis, the capital of King Croesus of Lydia, a great patron of learning. At Croesus's court, he conversed with sages like Solon and Thales, reportedly pleasing the king so much that Croesus remarked, "The Phrygian has spoken better than all."
Invited by Croesus, Aesop settled in Sardis and was employed in various state affairs. On diplomatic missions, he visited Greek cities like Corinth and Athens, using his wise fables to reconcile citizens with their rulers.
One such mission to Delphi led to his death. Sent with gold for distribution, he was provoked by the citizens' covetousness and returned the money. The enraged Delphians accused him of impiety and executed him, despite his status as an ambassador. His death was said to be avenged by calamities upon Delphi, and "The blood of Aesop" became a proverbial adage about unpunished wrongs. Posthumously, a statue was erected in his honor in Athens.
These few reliable facts were first compiled by the French scholar Claude Gaspard Bachet de Mezierac, who published his Life of Aesop in 1632. Later scholarship has added little. Prior to Mezierac's work, the most common biography was by the 14th-century monk Maximus Planudes. However, Planudes's account is now universally condemned as filled with absurd, apocryphal stories, anachronisms, and false details, and is considered unworthy of any credit.
中文翻译
伊索的生平与历史，如同希腊最著名的诗人荷马一样，笼罩在重重迷雾之中。多个地方都声称是他的出生地。然而，学者们现已普遍接受一些关于其出生、生活和死亡的事件为既定事实。
据信他大约出生于公元前620年，生来即为奴隶。先后被萨摩斯岛的两位主人拥有，第二位主人雅德蒙因其学识与智慧赐予他自由。作为自由民，伊索从卑贱的奴役状态崛起，获得了崇高的声誉，并积极参与公共事务。
怀着教导他人与受教的双重渴望，他游历了许多国家，并来到了吕底亚著名国王克罗伊斯的首都萨迪斯，当时的克罗伊斯是学术与学者的伟大庇护者。在克罗伊斯的宫廷中，他与梭伦、泰勒斯等贤哲交谈，据说他的言谈深得国王欢心，以至于克罗伊斯用一句后来成为谚语的话称赞他：“这个弗里吉亚人说得比所有人都好。”
应克罗伊斯之邀，伊索定居萨迪斯，并受雇处理各种棘手而微妙的国家事务。在执行这些任务时，他访问了希腊各个小城邦。他一度在科林斯，另一时在雅典，通过讲述他的一些智慧寓言，努力调和这些城市的居民与他们各自的统治者佩里安德和庇西特拉图之间的关系。
其中一次奉克罗伊斯之命执行的外交使团任务导致了他的死亡。他被派往德尔斐分发一大笔黄金，但对当地居民的贪婪感到极为愤怒，因而拒绝分发钱财并将其送回给主人。德尔斐人对此举感到愤怒，指控他不敬神，尽管他拥有大使的神圣身份，仍将他作为公共罪犯处决。伊索的惨死并非没有报应。据说德尔斐市民遭受了一系列灾难，直到他们公开赎罪；而“伊索之血”也成为一句广为人知的格言，见证着恶行必遭惩罚的真理。这位伟大的寓言家也不乏身后的荣誉；雅典为他树立了一座雕像，由希腊最著名的雕塑家之一利西波斯创作。
这些为数不多的事实，是关于伊索出生、生活和死亡的所有可以确信的内容。它们首次由法国学者克劳德·加斯帕尔·巴谢·德·梅齐里亚克，经过耐心搜索和勤勉研读古代著作后公之于众，他于公元1632年出版了《伊索生平》。后来众多英德学者的研究对梅齐里亚克提供的事实补充甚少。其陈述的基本真实性已得到后世批评与研究的证实。需要说明的是，在梅齐里亚克的著作出版之前，最流行的伊索传记出自14世纪早期君士坦丁堡僧侣马克西姆斯·普拉努得斯之手。他的生平被附在所有早期寓言集版本之前，并迟至1727年仍由克罗克索尔副主教在其伊索版本中作为引言再版。然而，普拉努得斯的传记所含真实内容极少，充满了对伊索怪异畸形的荒谬描绘、离奇的伪经故事、虚假的传说以及严重的历史年代错误，因此如今被普遍谴责为虚假、幼稚且不可靠。在当今，它已被一致认为毫无可信度。