Aesop

Aesop (c. 620 BC – 560 BC) was a celebrated Greek fabulist and storyteller. Very little is known about his life except that he was originally a slave, manumitted by Iadmon of Samos, and put to death by the Delphians, probably for some witticism at their expense.

He is best known for moral animal fables attributed to him, such as the famous moralising beast fables like the Fox and the Grapes and the Tortoise and the Hare. The stories were believed to have first communicated orally which were later collected by others from many sources. He composed semi-historical and semi-legendary stories.

Wisdom & Quotes

• Appearances are often deceiving.

- The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

• Don't count your chickens before they are hatched.

-The Milkmaid and Her Pail

• Familiarity breeds contempt.

- The Fox and the Lion

• It is not only fine feathers that make fine birds.

-The Jay and the Peacock

• The gods help them that help themselves.

-Hercules and the Waggoner (appears in other works, including Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanac.)

• No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.

-The Lion and the Mouse

• Kindness effects more than severity.

-The Wind and the Sun

• It is in vain to expect our prayers to be heard, if we do not strive as well as pray.

-Hercules and the Waggoner

• Slow and steady wins the race.

-The Hare and the Tortoise

• Any excuse will serve a tyrant.

-The Wolf and the Lamb

• United we stand , divided we fall.

-The Four Oxen and the Lion

• Union gives strength.

- The Bundle of Sticks

• A man is known by the company he keeps.
• It is easy to be brave at a safe distance.
• Be content with your lot; one cannot be first in everything.
• Fine clothes may disguise, but silly words will disclose a fool.
• We should look to the mind, and not to the outward appearance.
• The smaller the mind, the greater the conceit.
• Liars often set their own traps.
• Betray a friend, and you'll often find you have ruined yourself.
• Adversity tests the sincerity of friends.
• Wise men say nothing in dangerous times.
• Please all, and you will please none.
• A person’s true nature will reveal itself despite disguise.
• The grateful heart will always find opportunities to show its gratitude.
• If we really want something done, it is best to do it ourselves.
• A doubtful friend is worse than a certain enemy. Let a man be one thing or the other, and we then know how to meet him.
• We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office.
• Never trust the advice of a man in difficulties.
• Those who cry the loudest are not always the ones who are hurt the most.
• Those who suffer most cry out the least.
• Necessity is the mother of invention.
• Better beans and bacon in peace than cakes and ale in fear.
• Once a wolf, always a wolf.
• Give assistance, not advice, in a crisis.

Sappho