A parable is a succinct story, in prose or verse, that illustrates one or more moral, religious, instructive, or normative principles or lessons. It differs from a fable in that fables use animals, plants, inanimate objects, and forces of nature as actors that assume speech and other powers of humankind, while parables generally feature human characters. It is a type of analogy.
Some scholars of the Canonical gospels and the New Testament apply the term "parable" only to the parables of Jesus, though that is not a common restriction of the term. Parables such as "The Prodigal Son" are central to Jesus' teaching method in both the canonical narratives and the apocrypha.
Read more about this topic: Traditional Story
Famous quotes containing the word parable:
“I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed.”
—Bible: New Testament Luke, 16:3.
The unjust steward in the Parable of the Unjust Steward.
“On every parable you ride to every truth.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”
—Bible: New Testament Jesus, in Matthew, 25:21.
Here and in 25:23, said to the two “profitable servants” in the parable of the talents.