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Philebus
In a story Lucius hears, the three sons help their father, a farmer whose land is threatened by a greedy landlord. During fights with the landlord, one son is killed by attack dogs, and another is killed by a spear. The third son pretends to be injured, before catching the landlord off guard and killing him (though the son himself later slits his throat to avoid being captured). Despite this costly victory, the farmer is ultimately so distraught at losing his sons that he, too, kills himself.
The Three Sons Quotes in The Golden Ass
The The Golden Ass quotes below are all either spoken by The Three Sons or refer to The Three Sons. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Book 9 Quotes
But the rich man’s mind was completely gone. He wasn’t the least bit intimidated, or even distracted, by the presence of so many fellow citizens.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
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The Three Sons Character Timeline in The Golden Ass
The timeline below shows where the character The Three Sons appears in The Golden Ass. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Book 9
...greedy landlord has sacked the land of a tenant who is friends with the farmer’s three sons , who are fully grown. The landlord wants to throw the pauper off the property...
(full context)
One of the farmer’s three sons says that the landlord shouldn’t be allowed to get away with acting like a one-man...
(full context)
...trips in the confusion and is torn apart. The two surviving brothers out of the three sons help beat back the dogs with stones and then vow revenge. They try to attack...
(full context)
One of the landlord’s enslaved men tries to attack the remaining brother from the three sons with a rock. The attack is ineffective, but the brother pretends his hand is maimed....
(full context)
...is enraged and goes to strike. But he finds out that the brother from the three sons is still able to move his hand. The brother slices the landlord up many times...
(full context)
The farmer is so distraught to hear about the deaths of his three sons that even the death of the oppressive landlord gives him no joy. He slits his...
(full context)
