60+ Best Aesop Quotes From The Famous Fables

Quotes by Aesop have been around for a very long time, passing on the wisdom.

If you are looking to find quotes about morals then you are in the right place. Aesop's morals have been passed down through his fables and through Aesop quotes.

The best Aesop's fables quotes are found in this list. Fables were told as a way of passing on wisdom and sage words that applied to almost every individual. For every situation, there are most likely Aesop quotes such as kindness quotes, inspirational quotes, and so on. The quote, "kindness no matter how small, is ever wasted" reminds us to be kind always, no matter the circumstances. We will surely have experienced circumstances pertaining to some fables at some point in our lives. These Aesop quotes with meanings teach us how to act when we find ourselves in some situations or when relating to people.

There are fables about kindness, love, greed, and just about any topic, you could think about. There are so many Aesop fables, totalling 725, all touching on almost every area of life. Many Aesop fables and their lessons are woven into our lives making numerous fables very famous. However, among the most well-known are 'The Tortoise and the Hare' and 'The Fox and the Crow'. These fables are ripe with wise Aesop quotes, so you will surely enjoy our curated list of Aesop quotes below.

For more epic quotes, take a look at [Iliad quotes], or you can check out The Odyssey quotes as well. Without any more delay, let's get into the list of Aesop quotes that we've probably heard more than a few times.

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In this section, you'll find the famous Aesop fable quotes you most likely have heard or come across before. These include inspirational fables, self-awareness quotes, inspirational quotes, and so on. You'll also get to know the 7 little words among his numerous other quotes. One of such popular quotes includes "no act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted," among many other Aesop fables quotes. There is no one that couldn't use inspirational quotes when the situation calls for it, so let's find out some of these Aesop quotes.

1. "The injury we cause and the one we suffer are not weighed in the same scales."

— Aesop.

2. "A liar will not be believed even when he is telling the truth."

— Aesop.

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

— Aesop.

4. "Don't neglect the future in times of plenty, for tomorrow you may need what you wasted today."

— Aesop.

5. "Don't count your chickens before they hatched."

— Aesop.

6. "Be content with your lot; one cannot be first in everything."

— Aesop.

7. "Whoever neglects old friends for the sake of new deserves what he gets if he loses both."

— Aesop.

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

— Aesop.

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

— Aesop.

10. "Little by little does the trick."

— Aesop.

11. "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."

— Aesop.

12. "Men often applaud an imitation and hiss the real thing."

— Aesop.

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

— Aesop.

14. "If you can't say anything nice, then don't say anything at all."

— Aesop.

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

— Aesop.

16. "Those who cry the loudest are not always the ones who are hurt the most."

— Aesop.

17. "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.

18. "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.'"

— Aesop.

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

— Aesop.

20. "If you don't want to lose, you should wait for the right opportunity."

— Aesop.

21. "I can't be friends with a man who blows hot and cold with the same breath."

— Aesop.

22. "Servants don't know a good master till they have served a worse one."

— Aesop.

23. "If you are wise you won't be deceived by the innocent airs of those whom you have once found to be dangerous."

— Aesop.

24. "What is most truly valuable is often underrated."

— Aesop.

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

— Aesop.

26. "A man is known by the company he keeps."

— Aesop.

27. "No one truly forgets injuries in the presence of him who caused the injury."

— Aesop.

28. "It is wise to turn circumstances to good account."

— Aesop.

29. "There can be no good fable with human beings in it. There can be no good fairy tale without them."

— Aesop.

30. "If men had all they wished, they would be often ruined."

— Aesop.

31. "A Man and his Wife had the good fortune to possess a Goose which laid a Golden Egg every day. Lucky though they were, they soon began to think they were not getting rich fast enough, and, imagining the bird must be made of gold inside, they decided to kill it in order to secure the whole store of precious metal at once, but when they cut it open they found it was just like any other goose. Thus, they neither got rich all at once, as they had hoped nor enjoyed any longer the daily addition to their wealth."

— Aesop.

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

— Aesop.

33. "Your words, O Hares! are good; but they lack both claws and teeth such as we have."

— Aesop.

34. "It takes great skill to do the right thing at the right time."

— Aesop.

35. "We tend to underestimate the small things about ourselves that are often our most valuable attributes."

— Aesop.

Here are the fables that didn't gain as much popularity as the ones in the previous list but are still as true and relevant. Some of the not-so-popular Aesop quotes include "never trust the advice of a man in difficulties," and "people often grudge others when they cannot enjoy themselves." One needs to take time out to study and appreciate the truth deeply rooted in these Aesop quotes. As said earlier, there is a deep truth to these Aesop quotes which applies to our everyday lives.

In ancient Greek times, for every fable, there existed Aesop morals. Sometimes more than one moral could be drawn from a particular fable, still having deep meaning and great relevance. Most of the fables were about animals but refer to anything, anyone, or even any situation in life. These quotes were often told in children's tales but are most definitely suitable for adults as the morals drawn apply to everyone. As mentioned earlier, there is always something to draw from these fables, and with an open mind, Aesop quotes will teach you most of the lessons learned from experience about life that no one else might. Learn the best Aesop quotes that have been passed down over the centuries here.

36. "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.

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

— Aesop.

38. "After all is said and done, more is said than done."

— Aesop.

39. "It is easy to be brave at a safe distance."

— Aesop.

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

— Aesop.

41. "Better beans and bacon in peace than cakes and ale in fear."

— Aesop.

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

— Aesop.

43. "The more you want, the more you stand to lose."

— Aesop.

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

— Aesop.

45. "It is with our passions, as it is with fire and water, they are good servants but bad masters."

— Aesop.

46. "He who shares the danger ought to share the prize."

— Aesop.

47. "Those who pretend to be something they are not; only make themselves ridiculous."

— Aesop.

48. "A villain may disguise himself, but he will not deceive the wise."

— Aesop.

49. "False faith may escape human punishment, but cannot escape the divine."

— Aesop.

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

— Aesop.

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

— Aesop.

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

— Aesop.

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

— Aesop.

54. "We should find out as much as possible about someone before coming into conflict with him."

— Aesop.

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

— Aesop.

56. "Sometimes the slow ones blame the active for the delay."

— Aesop.

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

— Aesop.

58. "It is foolish to try to imitate the skills of others."

— Aesop.

59. "Everyone is more or less master of his own fate."

— Aesop.

60. "If you were foolish enough to sing all the summer, you must dance supperless to bed in the winter."

— Aesop.

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

— Aesop.

62. "Children are not to be blamed for the faults of their parents."

— Aesop.

63. "If you had half as many brains as you have beards, you would have looked before you leaped."

— Aesop.

64. "Your birthday is the vintage of your wine; the mark that warns you of your future."

— Aesop.

65. "Others may try to feed our ego, but it is up to us to constrain it."

— Aesop.

66. "Let, for want of due repair, a real house fall down, to build a castle in the air."

— Aesop.

67. "Fell plump into a ditch over the ears. Wherefore an old woman that he kept in his house laughed and said to him in derision: O Thales, how shouldest thou have knowledge in heavenly things above and knowest not what is here beneath, under thy feet?"

— Aesop.

68. "And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. No, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary. And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, upon these we bestow more abundant honor."

— Aesop.

69. "As a fowler was bending his net, a Black-Bird called to him at a distance and asked him what he was doing. Why, says he, I am laying the foundations of a city; and so the Bird-Man drew out of Sight. The Black-Bird mistrusting nothing, flew presently to the bait in the net, and was taken; and as the man came running to lay hold of her; friend, says the poor Black-Bird, if this is your way of building, you'll have but few inhabitants."

— Aesop.

70. "A Cock, scratching the ground for something to eat, turned up a Jewel that had by chance been dropped there. 'Ho!' said he, 'a fine thing you are, no doubt, and, had your owner found you, great would his joy have been. But for me, give me a single grain of corn before all the jewels in the world.'"

— Aesop.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly quotes for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for Aesop Quotes, then why not take a look at Morality quotes or Childhood quotes.

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