# The Image-Seller explained — Aesop's Fables

> Chapter companion for Aesop's Fables by Aesop.

## What happens

A man carves a wooden image of Mercury and tries to sell it in the market by boasting of its power to bring luck and gain. When a bystander questions why he would sell such a valuable god, the man admits that while the god brings profit, it does so slowly, and he needs money immediately.

## Themes in this chapter

### Cunning and Deception

The image-seller uses deceptive advertising to sell the statue, claiming it brings luck while hiding his own impatience and greed.

### Human Nature and Vice

The story highlights human impatience and the desire for quick wealth, exposing the seller's hypocrisy and short-sightedness.

## Character check-ins

### Mercury

The image sold is of Mercury, the god of gain and luck.

## Key lines

> A god for sale! a god for sale! One who’ll bring you luck and keep you lucky!

He shouted that he was selling a god that would bring and maintain good fortune for its owner.

_The seller's boastful advertisement contrasts with his own lack of faith in the god's slow returns._

> he brings gain, it is true, but he takes his time about it; whereas I want money at once.

The seller admits that the god does bring profit, but too slowly for his immediate needs.

_This reveals the seller's hypocrisy and impatience, undermining his earlier claims._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/fables_se/chapters/the-image-seller
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/fables_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/fables_se/chapters