Aesop Inspirational Quotes

Labour is the source of every blessing.

Every man should be content to mind his own business.

The greatest kindness will not bind the ungrateful.

Distrust unsolicited advice.

Acquaintance softens prejudice.

A man is known by the company he keeps

Facts speak plainer than words

He who plots to hurt others often hurts himself.

Vices are their own punishment

Bad as any government may be, it is seldom worse than anarchy.

He who incites to strife is worse than he who takes part in it.

Liars often set their own traps.

The level of our success is limited only by our imagination and no act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted.

Wise men say nothing in dangerous times

The smaller the mind the greater the conceit.

Implementation beats oration.

Do nothing without regard to the consequences.

There are many statues of men slaying lions, but if only the lions were sculptors there might be quite a different set of statues.

If words suffice not, blows must follow.

Betray a friend, and you'll often find you have ruined yourself.

Kindness is more persuasive than force.

A wild boar was sharpening his tusks upon the trunk of a tree in the forest when a fox came by and asked, Why are you doing that, pray? The huntsmen are not out today and there are no other dangers at hand that I can see. True, my friend, replied the Boar, but the instant my life is in danger, I shall need to use my tusks. There will be no time to sharpen them then.

Adversity tests the sincerity of friends

Do not attempt too much at once.

We often give our enemies the means for our own destruction.

You can fool people some of the time, but you can't fool them all of the time.

No argument, no matter how convincing, will give courage to a coward

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.

If we really want something done, it is best to do it ourselves.

Beware of a wolf in sheep's clothing.

Be satisfied with what you have.

Fine clothes may disguise, but silly words will disclose a fool

In critical moments even the very powerful have need of the weakest.

Men often applaud an imitation and hiss the real thing.

Keep your place in life and your place will keep you

The value is in the worth, not in the number.

A crust in comfort is better than a feast in fear.

Injuries may be forgiven, but not forgotten.

Obscurity often brings safety.

Wealth unused might as well not exist.

Every truth has two sides; it is as well to look at both, before we commit ourselves to either.

In serving the wicked, expect no reward, and be thankful if you escape injury for your pains.

Never trust the advice of a man in difficulties.

The great do not always prevail.

Try as one may, it is impossible to deny one's nature

None but those who work are entitled to eat.

Those who return evil for good should not expect the kindness of others to last long.

What a splendid head, yet no brain.

One who steals has no right to complain if he is robbed.

A liar will not be believed, even when he speaks the truth.

Appearances often are deceiving.

Every man carries two bags about him, one in front and one behind, and both are full of faults. The bag in front contains his neighbors' faults, the one behind his own. Hence it is that men do not see their own faults, but never fail to see those of others.

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

Those who cry the loudest are not always the ones who are hurt the most

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.

Persuasion is better than force.

Notoriety is often mistaken for fame.

People often grudge others what they cannot enjoy themselves.

Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

Those who voluntarily put power into the hands of a tyrant ... must not wonder if it be at last turned against themselves.

Zeal should not outrun discretion.

If you choose bad companions, no one will believe that you are anything but bad yourself.

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

Benefits bestowed upon the evil-disposed, increase their means of injuring you.

It is not only fine feathers that make fine birds.

He who shares the danger ought to share the prize.

A person's true nature will reveal itself despite disguise.

Be content with what nature made you, or run the risk of earning contempt by trying to be what you're not.

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

We should look to the mind, and not to the outward appearance.

The gods help them who help themselves.

An oak and a reed were arguing about their strength. When a strong wind came up, the reed avoided being uprooted by bending and leaning with the gusts of wind. But the oak stood firm and was torn up by the roots.

Poverty with security is better than plenty in the midst of fear and uncertainty.

Pride goes before destruction.

The unhappy derive comfort from the misfortunes of others.

Love can tame the wildest.

Self-conceit may lead to self destruction.

If you wish me well, do not stand pitying me, but lend me some succour as fast as you can; for pity is but cold comfort when one is up to the chin in water, and within a hair's breadth of starving or drowning.

Avoid a remedy that is worse than the disease.

All men are more concerned to recover what they lose than to acquire what they lack.

It is possible to have too much of a good thing.

Most arguments are useless.

Necessity knows no law.

The little reed, bending to the force of the wind, soon stood upright again when the storm had passed over.

Every man for himself.

Beware lest you lose the substance by grasping at the shadow.

The more you want, the more you stand to lose

Great determination can overcome most odds.

Don't be in a hurry to change one evil for another.

I will have nought to do with a man who can blow hot and cold with the same breath.

The desire for imaginary benefits often involves the loss of present blessings.

A farmer who had a quarrelsome family called his sons and told them to lay a bunch of sticks before him. Then, after laying the sticks parallel to one another and binding them, he challenged his sons, one after one, to pick up the bundle and break it. They all tried, but in vain. Then, untying the bundle, he gave them the sticks to break one by one. This they did with the greatest ease. Then said the father, "Thus, my sons, as long as you remain united, you are a match for anything, but differ and separate, and you are undone".

We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office.

Always stop to think whether your fun may be the cause of another's unhappiness

Never trust advice from a man in the throes of his own difficulty.

A crust eaten in peace is better than a banquet partaken in anxiety.

Example is the best precept.

He that is discontented in one place will seldom be happy in another.

The grateful heart will always find opportunities to show its gratitude.

It is one thing to say that something should be done, but quite a different matter to do it.

Better be wise by the misfortunes of others than by your own.

In a crisis, give help first and then advice.

Gratitude is the sign of noble souls.

Sometimes the slow ones blame the active for the delay.