Apologue

So similar to a parable, that it is usually considered a synonym, the rhetoricians' apologue is a brief fiction with pointed or exaggerated details, illustrating a moral truth without explicitly stating it. Unlike a fable, the moral is more important than the narrative details. Like the parable the apologue is a tool of rhetorical argument introduced in order to convince or persuade. For a good example of an apologue, see http://www.hffz.org/newslog/archives/2005/04/f_m_bank_curtai.html.

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Montesquieu wrote a propos his Persian Letters "There are certain truths of which it is not enough to persuade, but which must be made to be felt Such are the moral verities. Perhaps a bit of history will be more touching than subtle philosophy."

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Parable: A parable is a story in prose or verse that is told to illustrate a covert religious, moral or philosophical idea. In rhetoric, a parable ('comparison' or 'similitude') was originally the name given by Greek rhetoricians to any fictive illustration introduced in the form of a brief narrative. Later ...

Fable: :For other uses of the term, see fable (disambiguation)....

Montesquieu: REDIRECT Charles de Secondat, baron de Montesquieu...