Neptune

Neptune is the divine maker of the first bull in the fable “Jupiter, Neptune, Minerva, and Momus.” His role is brief but distinct: he contributes one of three creations submitted for judgment, and Momus faults the bull’s horns for being placed where they cannot help it see where to strike. The episode makes Neptune’s craftsmanship part of a comic contest in which criticism proves easier than creation.

Role in the Fable

In the ancient legend, Jupiter makes the first man, Neptune the first bull, and Minerva the first house. Once their work is complete, the three creators dispute which has produced the most perfect result. They appoint Momus as judge and agree to accept his decision, giving Neptune’s bull a place in a shared test of divine workmanship rather than a separate narrative of its own.

Momus’s Criticism and the Outcome

Momus finds fault with each creation. He argues that Neptune should have placed the bull’s horns below its eyes, so the animal could better see where to strike. His objection treats the bull’s offensive capacity as a design problem, but the fable records it as one item in Momus’s habitual condemnation of all three works, not as a revision Neptune carries out. Jupiter becomes indignant at this persistent faultfinding, removes Momus from his judging office, and expels him from Olympus. The episode ends with the critic’s punishment; it supplies no further account of Neptune or the bull.

Place in the Collection’s Account of Fable

The preface presents the episode as one example of fable’s use of fictitious characters to convey instruction through a compact narrative. It argues that a fable should unite its action and moral closely, and that its characters should retain recognizable attributes. This story instead stages the creators’ dispute and Momus’s objections as a pointed, comic illustration of criticism directed at completed work. The collection also cautions that not every tale in the compilation meets its ideal of unity between narrative and moral, placing the story within a varied body of material rather than treating every fable as equally exemplary.