One day, when a ship had gone down with all its passengers, a man who witnessed the wreck declared that the judgements of the gods were unjust, since, to destroy one guilty man, they had let innocent people perish as well. As he was speaking, since there were many ants where he stood, it happened that one of them bit him; and he, for being bitten by a single ant, crushed them all. Then Hermes appeared to him and, striking him with his staff, said, "And now will you not allow that the gods judge men as you judge ants?"
Do not blaspheme against the gods when misfortune comes; rather examine your own faults.
Nº 303The Two BagsLong ago Prometheus, having fashioned people, hung two bags round their necks, one holding the faults of others, the other their own faults, and he…Read the fable →
Nº 99The Oaks and ZeusThe oaks were complaining to Zeus: "In vain," they said, "did we come into the world; for more than all other trees we are exposed to the brutal…Read the fable →
Nº 233The DivinerA diviner, set up in the public square, was doing good business there. Suddenly a fellow came to him and told him that the doors of his house were…Read the fable →