Morals from the book Aesop’s Fables
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
A little common sense is often of more value than much cunning.
A man is known by the company he keeps.
A man who can strike from a distance is no pleasant neighbor.
A man who talks for both sides is not to be trusted by either.
Advice prompted by selfishness should not be heeded.
Be not in haste to believe what is said in anger or thoughtlessness.
Because we are like the great in one respect, we must not think we are like them in all. Better a little in safety, than an abundance surrounded by danger.
Better be wise by the misfortunes of others than by your own.
Beware of unequal matches. Alliances prompted by ambition often prove fatal.
By endeavoring to please everybody, one succeeds in pleasing nobody.
By too much attention to danger, we may fall victims to it.
Count not your chickens before they are hatched.
Danger sometimes comes from a source that is least suspected.
Every man should be content to mind his own business.
Everyone to his taste: one man's meat is another man's poison.
Flattery is a dangerous weapon in the hands of the enemy.
Happy is the man who learns from the misfortunes of others.
He who listens to flattery is not wise, for it has no good purpose
He who offers bribes needs watching, for his intentions are not honest.
He who proclaims himself ready to buy up his enemies will never want a supply of them. He who seeks to injure others often injures only himself.
Hospitality is a virtue, but should be wisely exercised; we may by thoughtlessness entertain foes instead of friends.
If men had all they wished, they would be often ruined.
In serving the wicked, expect no reward, and be thankful if you escape injury for your pains. Invitations prompted by selfishness are not to be accepted.
It does no good to deny those who make false accusations knowingly.
It is hard to forget injuries in the presence of him who caused the injury.
It is too late to whet the sword when the trumpet sounds to draw it.
It shows an evil disposition to take advantage of a friend in distress.
It sometimes happens that one man has all the toil, and another all the profit.
Kindness to the ungrateful and the vicious is thrown away.
Men are too apt to condemn in others the very things they practice themselves
Men of evil reputation, when they perform a good deed, fail to get credit for it.
Men often fall into the trap which they prepare for others.
Nothing can compensate us for the loss of our liberty.
Some men despise their best blessings because they come without cost.
Strangers should avoid those who quarrel among themselves.
Sweet words may deliver us from peril, when harsh words would fail.
That which we are anxious to find, we are sometimes even more anxious to escape from, when we have succeeded in finding it.
The basest ingratitude is that which injures those who serve us.
The desire for imaginary benefits often involves the loss of present blessings.
The grateful heart will always find opportunities to show its gratitude.
The misfortunes arising from a man's own misconduct are the hardest to bear.
The poor and the weak are often made to suffer for the follies of the great.
The tyrant will always find a pretext for his tyranny, and it is useless for the innocent to try by reasoning to get justice, when the oppressor intends to be unjust.
The weak often revenge themselves on those who use them ill, even though they be the more powerful.
There are no friends whom you know not whether to trust or to distrust.
They are not wise who take to themselves the credit due to others.
They who assue a character will betray themselves by their actions.
Those who achieve notoriety often mistake it for fame.
Those who attempt to act in disguise are apt to overdo it.
Those who cannot take care of their own, should not be entrusted with the care of another's property.
Those who do not know their right place must be taught it.
Those who enter by the back stairs must not complain if they are thrown out by the window. Those who neglect their old friends for the sake of new ones, are rightly served if they lose both. Those who practice cunning must expect to suffer by it.
Those who practice deceit must expect to be shunned.
Those who pretend that they can mend others should first mend themselves, and then they will be more readily believed.
Those who strive are often watched by others who will take advantage of their defeat to benefit themselves
Those who try to entrap others are sometimes caught by their own schemes.
Those who would sacrifice their friends to save themselves are not entitled to mercy.
Unlawful acts to escape trials only increase our troubles.
We are encouraged by seeing others that are worse off than ourselves.
We had better bear our troubles bravely than try to escape them.
We must make friends in prosperity, if we would have their help in adversity.
We should never look so high as to miss seeing the things that are around us.
We should not deprive others of blessings because we cannot enjoy them ourselves.
We should not permit our ambition to lead us beyond the limits of our power.
We should not think wholly of ourselves, and we should remember that life is uncertain. When you seek to change your condition, be sure that you can better it.