Definition of Gratitude

Aesop’s fable “Androcles and the Lion” presents an extensive definition of the notion of gratitude as it evokes its several vital aspects. According to Aesop’s concept demonstrated in the fable, gratitude is the appreciation of the attention and assistance performed by any living being. The story highlights the need for will power in order to express acknowledgement in the most heavy and seemingly insurmountable situations. Aesop’s definition of gratitude is based on two primary concepts: remembering the good along with the notion of having enough will power to pay back decently to remain a profoundly noble creature. Firstly, according to Aesop, gratitude requires targeted strong-willed efforts, as it implies not doing something that would have been done in any other situation. “Androcles and the Lion” supports the forenamed assumption with the fact that the lion brought meat to Androcles and managed to restrain himself to do him no harm after they both were imprisoned (BPI, 2011). Secondly, it stresses the fact that any living being and Homo sapiens in particular are to be grateful to people and situations. In addition, Aesop’s definition of gratitude implies the understanding that gratitude is the only way to obtain freedom in this world. Hence, if the lion did not restrain himself, neither Androcles nor the lion himself would be ever free again. Thus, for Aesop, gratitude is “the sign of noble souls” as only a noble creature can put its animal instincts aside to make sure the appreciated person does not get hurt (BPI, 2011). In Aesop’s fable, the lion tamed its hunger not to kill the man that has once saved him from sufferings. The fable emphasizes the fact that the acknowledgement manifested by a man is to be more complex than the gratitude of the lion for the latter is just an animal.

References
Business Publishers, Inc. (2011). Androcles and the Lion: Aesop's fables. Durham, NC: BPI Publishers