Quotations by:
    Aesop


Gratitude is the sign of noble souls.

Aesop (620?-560? BC) Legendary Greek storyteller
Fables [Aesopica], “Androcles” (6th C BC) [tr. Jacobs (1894)]
    (Source)
 
Added on 28-Nov-13 | Last updated 16-Sep-21
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The gods help them that help themselves.

Aesop (620?-560? BC) Legendary Greek storyteller
Fables [Aesopica], “Hercules and the Wagoner” (6th C BC)
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Alternate translation: "Heaven only aided those who endeavoured to help themselves. It is in vain to expect our prayers to be heard, if we do not strive as well as pray." [tr. James (1848)]
 
Added on 20-Jul-07 | Last updated 16-Sep-21
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Little by little does the trick.

Aesop (620?-560? BC) Legendary Greek storyteller
Fables [Aesopica], “The Crow and the Pitcher” (6th C BC) [tr. Jacobs (1894)]
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Alternate translation: "Skill and Patience will succeed where Force fails" [tr. James (1848)]
 
Added on 26-Aug-15 | Last updated 16-Sep-21
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People often grudge others when they cannot enjoy themselves.

Aesop (620?-560? BC) Legendary Greek storyteller
Fables [Aesopica], “The Dog in the Manger” (6th C BC)
    (Source)

Alternate translation: "See, what a miserable cur! who neither can eat corn himself, nor will allow those to eat in who can." [tr. James (1848)]

Alternate translation: "What a selfish Dog! He cannot eat the hay himself, and yet refuses to allow those to eat who can." [tr. Townsend (1887)]
 
Added on 11-Jan-11 | Last updated 16-Sep-21
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United we stand, divided we fall.

Aesop (620?-560? BC) Legendary Greek storyteller
Fables [Aesopica], “The Four Oxen and the Lion” (6th C BC) [tr. Jacobs (1894)]
    (Source)

Alternate translation: "The quarrels of friends are the opportunities of foes." [tr. James (1848), "The Lion and the Bulls"]

Alternate translation: "Union is strength." [tr. Townsend (1887), "The Lion and the Three Bulls"]
 
Added on 26-Mar-14 | Last updated 16-Sep-21
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No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.

Aesop (620?-560? BC) Legendary Greek storyteller
Fables [Aesopica], “The Lion and the Mouse” (6th C BC)

Alternate translation: "Kindness is seldom thrown away" [tr. James (1848)]
 
Added on 1-Feb-04 | Last updated 16-Sep-21
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Little friends may prove great friends.

Aesop (620?-560? BC) Legendary Greek storyteller
Fables [Aesopica], “The Lion and the Mouse” (6th C BC) [tr. Jacobs (1894)]
    (Source)

Alternate translations:

  • "There is no creature so much below another but that he may have it in his power to return a good office." [tr. James (1848)]
  • "It is possible for even a Mouse to confer benefits on a Lion" [tr. Townsend (1887)]
 
Added on 23-Sep-21 | Last updated 23-Sep-21
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Please all, and you will please none.

Aesop (620?-560? BC) Legendary Greek storyteller
Fables [Aesopica], “The Man, the Boy, and the Donkey” (6th C BC) [tr. Jacobs (1894)]
    (Source)

Alternate translation: "By endeavoring to please everybody he had pleased nobody." [tr. James (1848), "The Miller, His Son, and Their Ass"]
 
Added on 21-Aug-15 | Last updated 16-Sep-21
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We would often be sorry if our wishes were gratified.

Aesop (620?-560? BC) Legendary Greek storyteller
Fables [Aesopica], “The Old Man and Death” (6th C BC) [tr. Jacobs (1894)]
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Alternate translation: "It is one thing to call for Death, and another to see him coming." [tr. James (1848)]
 
Added on 12-Nov-08 | Last updated 16-Sep-21
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Destroy the seed of evil, or it will grow up to your ruin.

Aesop (620?-560? BC) Legendary Greek storyteller
Fables [Aesopica], “The Swallow and the Other Birds” (6th C BC) [tr. Jacobs (1894)]
    (Source)
 
Added on 25-Oct-21 | Last updated 25-Oct-21
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Better beans and bacon in peace than cakes and ale in fear.

Aesop (620?-560? BC) Legendary Greek storyteller
Fables [Aesopica], “The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse” (6th C BC) [tr. Jacobs (1894)]
    (Source)

Alternate translations:

  • "The Difference betwixt a Court and a Country Life. The Delights, Innocence, and Security of the One, Compar'd with the Anxiety, the Lewdness, and the Hazards of the Other." [tr. L'Estrange (1692)]
  • "Give me my barley-bread in peace and security before the daintiest feast where Fear and Care are in waiting." [tr. James (1848)]
  • "A crust eaten in peace is better than a banquet partaken in anxiety."
Compare to Proverbs 17:1 "Better is a dry morsel with quiet than a house full of feasting with strife."
 
Added on 3-Oct-08 | Last updated 16-Sep-21
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Example is the best precept.

Aesop (620?-560? BC) Legendary Greek storyteller
Fables [Aesopica], “The Two Crabs” (6th C BC) [tr. Jacobs (1894)]
    (Source)

Alternate translation: "Example is better than precept." [tr. James (1848), "The Crab and Her Mother"]
Townsend (1887), "The Crab and Its Mother"]
 
Added on 19-Jan-10 | Last updated 25-Oct-21
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Persuasion is better than force.

Aesop (620?-560? BC) Legendary Greek storyteller
Fables [Aesopica], “The Wind and the Sun” (6th C BC) [tr. James (1848)]
    (Source)

Alternate translation: "Kindness effects more than Severity." [tr. Jacobs (1894)]

Alternate translation: "Persuasion is often more effectual than force."
 
Added on 24-Jan-11 | Last updated 16-Sep-21
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It is easy to be brave from a safe distance.

Aesop (620?-560? BC) Legendary Greek storyteller
Fables [Aesopica], “The Wolf and the Kid” (6th C BC) [tr. Jacobs (1894)]
    (Source)

Alternate translation: "Time and place often give the advantage to the weak over the strong." [tr. Townsend (1887), "The Kid and the Wolf"]
 
Added on 20-Nov-15 | Last updated 16-Sep-21
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Any excuse will serve a tyrant.

Aesop (620?-560? BC) Legendary Greek storyteller
Fables [Aesopica], “The Wolf and the Lamb” (6th C BC) [tr. Jacobs (1894)]
    (Source)

Alternate translations:

  • "'Tis an Easie Matter to find a Staff to Beat a Dog." [tr. L'Estrange (1692)]
  • "A tyrant never wants a plea." [tr. James (1848)]
  • "The tyrant will always find a pretext for his tyranny." [tr. Townsend (1887)]
 
Added on 1-Feb-04 | Last updated 16-Sep-21
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Appearances are deceptive.

Aesop (620?-560? BC) Legendary Greek storyteller
Fables [Aesopica], “The Wolf in Sheep Clothing” (6th C BC) [tr. Jacobs (1894)]
    (Source)

Alternately, "Appearances often are deceiving." Versified by Gaius Julius Phaedrus, Fables bk. 4, as "Things are not always what they seem."

Note that there are two fables by this name. In this one, a wolf prospers by wearing a sheepskin he finds and drawing other sheep away to be eaten. In other versions, the wolf sneaks into the sheepfold wearing the skin, and then is killed and eaten by the farmer who wants sheep for dinner.
 
Added on 14-Mar-14 | Last updated 16-Sep-21
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