Fable and la fontaine in pedagogical thinking from Fenelon to Rousseau. Following the example of the Greco-Latin fables, La Fontaine's Fables were very quickly considered by the authors of educational treatises as a pedagogical tool capable of being used at the various stages in the development of the child. This use, although much desired, is not arbitrary : the fables are commended for use, and supported by an authoritative commentary... However, after 1750 a tendency (foreshadowed by the abbé de Saint-Pierre) towards distrust and hostility develops regarding the pedagogical use of the Fables of La Fontaine. The arguments put forward are precisely those which Rousseau will use. The latter is not therefore an innovator in proscribing fables. His proscription is simply part of the movement of negative education in Book II of Emile.