Aesop > Quotes

“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”
― Aesop

“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.”
― Aesop, Aesop's Fables

“Never trust the advice of a man in difficulties.”
― Aesop

“Betray a friend, and you'll often find you have ruined yourself.”
― Aesop, Aesop's Fables

“A liar will not be believed even when he speaks the truth.”
― Aesop

“The smaller the mind, the greater the conceit.”
― Aesop

“After all is said and done, more is said than done.”
― Aesop

“Please all, and you will please none”
― Aesop

“It is easy to be brave at a safe distance.”
― Aesop

“We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office.”
― Aesop

“No one believes a liar even when he tells the truth”
― Aesop

“Those who cry the loudest are not always the ones who are hurt the most”
― Aesop

“United we stand; divided we fall.”
― Aesop

“Little by little does the trick.”
― Aesop

“Better beans and bacon in peace than cakes and ale in fear.”
― Aesop

“Adversity tests the sincerity of friends”
― Aesop

“Outside show is a poor substitute for inner worth.”
― Aesop

“Better be wise by the misfortunes of others than by your own.”
― Aesop

“The north wind and the sun were disputing which was the stronger, and agreed to acknowledge as the victor whichever of them could strip a traveler of his clothing. The wind tried first. But its violent gusts only made the man hold his clothes tightly around him, and when it blew harder still the cold made him so uncomfortable that he put on an extra wrap. Eventually the wind got tired of it and handed him over to the sun. The sun shone first with moderate warmth, which made the man take off his topcoat. Then it blazed fiercely, till, unable to stand the heat, he stripped and went off to a bathe in a nearby river. Persuasion is more effective than force. ”
― Aesop

“Fine clothes may disguise, but silly words will disclose a fool”
― Aesop, Aesop's Fables

“Don't let your special character and values, the secret that you know and no one else does, the truth - don't let that get swallowed up by the great chewing complacency.”
― Aesop

“Adventure is worthwhile.”
― Aesop

“once upon a time all the rivers combined to protest against the action of the sea in making their waters salt. "When we come to you," sad they to the sea, "we are sweet and drinkable; but when once we have mingled with you, our waters become as briny and unpalatable as your own." The sea replied shortly, "Keep away from me, and you'll remain sweet.”
― Aesop, Aesop's Fables

“The injury we do and the one we suffer are not weighed in the same scales.”
― Aesop, Aesop's Fables

“Try as one may, it is impossible to deny one's nature”
― Aesop

“An Ass put on a Lion's skin and went
About the foreset with much merriment,
Scaring the foolish beasts by brooks and rocks,
Till at last he tried to scare the Fox. But Reynard, hearing from beneath the mane
That Raucous voice so petulant and vain,
Remarked. O' Ass, I too would run away,
But that I know your old familiar bray'.
That's just the way with asses, just the way.”
― Aesop

“Necessity is the mother of invention.”
― Aesop, Aesop's Fables

“It is not only fine feathers that make fine birds.”
― Aesop

“He that always gives way to others will end in having no principles of his own. ”
― Aesop

“It is with our passions, as it is with fire and water, they are good servants but bad masters.”
― Aesop

“Misfortune tests the sincerity of friendship.”
― Aesop

“We often give our enemies the means for our own destruction”
― Aesop

“Wise men say nothing in dangerous times”
― Aesop

“Self-help is the best help”
― Aesop

“The more you want, the more you stand to lose”
― Aesop

“Vices are their own punishment”
― Aesop

“Beware lest you lose the substance by grasping at the shadow”
― Aesop

“Whoever neglects old friends for the sake of new deserves what e gets if he loses both”
― Aesop

“I am sure the grapes are sour. ”
― Aesop

“Sometimes the slow ones blame the active for the delay.”
― Aesop

“Injuries may be forgiven, but not forgotten”
― Aesop, Aesop's Fables

“Be content with your lot; once cannot be first in everything.”
― Aesop

“It is easy to despise what you cannot get”
― Aesop, Aesop's Fables

“Facts speak plainer than words”
― Aesop

“Expect no reward when you serve the wicked, and be thankful if you escape injury for your pain”
― Aesop

“It is one thing to conceive a good plan, and another to execute it”
― Aesop

“Uninvited guests are often most welcome when they leave”
― Aesop

“...convinced that in trying to please all, he had pleased none, and had lost his ass into the bargain.”
― Aesop

“Keep your place in life and your place will keep you”
― Aesop

“No argument, no matter how convincing, will give courage to a coward”
― Aesop