This particular drawing illustrated a fable called "The North Wind and the Sun." In the artwork, the North Wind is blowing at full force, while the sun, with a somewhat evil grin, waits his turn to prove his strength and power. Of course, all of Aesop's fables had a lesson to be learned, and the lesson of this brief fable was "Persuasion is better than force."
Pity the poor traveler who is the chosen target of the dispute between the north wind and the sun! He looks right miserable!
Here's the fable in its entirety:
.THE NORTH WIND AND THE SUN
A dispute arose between the North Wind and the Sun, each claiming that he was stronger than the other. At last they agreed to try their powers upon a traveller, to see which could soonest strip him of his cloak. The North Wind had the first try; and, gathering up all his force for the attack, he came whirling furiously down upon the man, and caught up his cloak as though he would wrest it from him by one single effort: but the harder he blew, the more closely the man wrapped it round himself. Then came the turn of the Sun. At first he beamed gently upon the traveller, who soon unclasped his cloak and walked on with it hanging loosely about his shoulders: then he shone forth in his full strength, and the man, before he had gone many steps, was glad to throw his cloak right off and complete his journey more lightly clad.
Persuasion is better than force
We'll share more images from this lovely book in the near future. The illustration above can be enlarged by clicking on it, so you can see the cool detail and the distinctive strokes that were a hallmark of Rackham's illustrative style.
As far as we know, this image is in the public domain, but as always, do your own research before you decide to use it, especially if you plan to use it for commercial purposes.
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