Fables That Fix Lives: Ancient Code for Modern Problems

Once a detachment of soldiers was marching through a wood to avoid meeting a larger detachment of the enemy in the neighborhood. The drummer kept beating his drum, through not loudly. The sound, however, attracted the attention of the enemy, and they surrounded the party. The captain bade the drummer beat with all his energy to inspire his men with courage. So he did. They fought like lions, and won the day. The captain said, "Good and evil often flow from the same source."

  A Man once stood up at a marketplace in the East and said, "I have been ordered by the king to collect all the well-born and well-bred and bring them before him, since he wishes to reward them." Everybody that heard him joined him, and he went towards the palace surrounded by the whole town. Then he suddenly turned round and said, "The king has just sent me word that he means to help only those that have been ill-born and ill-bred to make up for their misfortunes." The crowd lingered behind for a while, and then one after another joined the man as ill-born and ill-bred to merit the king's gifts. The man said, "The world goes as the wind blows!"

A Razor once said to a sword, "How is it that men always speak of you with respect, while they hardly make any mention of me?" "Because," said the sword, "you skim over the surface, while I go deeper." "Just so,"said the razor, "and thereby do them more harm than ever I can." "You are quite right, " said the strop, who was of course an ally of the razor; "men always call those great that do them the largest amount of harm.  The greater the evil, the greater the glory!"