What is the moral that Hesiod draws from the parable of the Hawk and Nightingale?

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Hesiod's moral is that human morals are unlike those of animals: animals act by appetite and strength, while humans are bound by laws, justice, and moral choice.

Relevant knowledge points and concepts:
- The fable appears in Hesiod’s Works and Days, a didactic poem instructing humans on justice, hard work, and piety.
- The Hawk and the Nightingale episode contrasts natural impulse (predation, brute strength) with human social ethics (law, justice, pity).
- Hesiod often contrasts the world of brute nature with the human obligation to live by divine and civic rules.

Step-by-step reasoning:
1. In the fable a hawk seizes a nightingale; the nightingale pleads, appealing to song and pity. The hawk replies that it acts according to its power and appetite, taking what it can.
2. The hawk’s position exemplifies “nature’s law”: the strong take from the weak without moral scruple. This is descriptive of animal behavior, not prescriptive for human society.
3. Hesiod follows this episode with commentary aimed at humans: unlike birds, people live in ordered communities where law, justice, and reverence for the gods should govern behavior.
4. The intended lesson is therefore comparative: observe that animals follow force, but humans must cultivate justice and right conduct—thus our morals are different from animals’.

Why the correct answer is correct:
- It captures the contrast Hesiod draws: the hawk’s amoral strength versus the human need for moral rules. Hesiod uses the story to teach that humans should not simply imitate animal appetite but should adhere to human virtues and civic justice.

Why other readings are less accurate:
- Interpreting the fable as endorsing “might makes right” misreads Hesiod’s didactic aim; the hawk’s behavior is an example to be contrasted, not recommended for human conduct.
- Reading it as merely condemning birds or praising cruelty ignores the explicit human-focused moral lesson.

Conclusion:
This explanation shows Hesiod’s contrast between animal instinct and human morality, confirming the final answer: Human morals are unlike those of animals.

What is the moral that Hesiod draws from the parable of the Hawk and Nightingale?Single choice

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