Ancient Wisdom

Once a man lost an ax and suspected his neighbour's son. Everything that his neighbour's son did looked suspicious to him the way he walked, the tone of his voice, his countenance, and his gestures. But when he recovered his ax in digging a ditch, he could not see anything suspicious in his neighbour's son at all.

It is related of Kareemkhan , a Shah of Persia, that one day, after being harassed by a long attendance in public, hearing causes, he was about to retire, when he was arrested by the cries of a stranger, who, rushing forward, called aloud for redress. "Who are you?" said the Shah. "I am a merchant, and have been robbed of all I possessed while I slept." And why did you sleep? demanded the monarch in an impatient tone. "Because I made a mistake," replied the trader immediately; " I thought that you were awake." The irritation of the monarch vanished in a moment. Turning to the Vazier, he bade him pay the man's losses from the royal treasury. "It is our business," he added, " to recover, if we can, the property from the robbers."

  'They have an interesting custom in England, ' said Nasrudin, ' and it is one that I would like to copy.'  'What is that?' 'Businessmen take their secretaries to Paris and pretend that they are their wives.' 'But you haven't got a secretary!' 'I have thought of that. All I have to do is to take my wife to Paris and say that she is my secretary.'

A saint once dreamt that while he was walking in the Path of God, and angel met him, and asked him where he was going, and the saint repliedL 'I am on my way to the Royal Presence." Said the angel, " You are so much concerned with worldly affairs, and you are encumbered with so much great riches and possession; how can you hope to be admitted to the Presence of the King, with so many burdens to hamper you?" So the saint cast away all that he had, except a single blanket wherewith to protect himself from the weather and to serve him as a covering. The next night he dreamt that he saw the angel again, and was asked the same question, and again he replied that he was on his way to the abode of the Lord of All. The angel said to him, "O wise man, how can you expect to reach it, while you have this blanket! It is the greatest hindrance to your progress." When the saint awoke from his dream, he put the blanket on the fire and burnt it. On the third night, he saw

Three Bulls for a long time pastured together. A Lion lay in ambush in the hope of making them his prey, but was afraid to attack them whilst they kept together. Having at last by guileful speeches succeeded in separating them, he attacked them without fear, as they fed alone, and feasted on them one by one at his desire.

I have heard of a prince who was short and inconsequential, while the other brothers were tall and good-looking. One the father gazed upon him with loathing and contempt. The boy, with perspicacity and insight, spoke out and said, ' O father, a wise short man is better than a tall fool. Not everything that is greater in stature is better in value." The sheep is clean, but the elephant is carrion. The least of the mountains of the earth is Sinai, but it is the greatest in worth and station in God's sight. You have heard that a skinny wise man once said to a fat fool: 'An Arabian horse, although it is slander, is still better than a whole string of asses." The father laughed out loud; the ministers of state expresed their approval; and the brothers smarted to the quick. Until a person speaks, his faults and virtues are hidden. Don't think that every spotted thing is a pillow: it might be sleeping leopard. I have heard that around that time the king was faced wit

'Mulla Nasrudin Effendi' and his wife came home one day and find the house burgled. Everything portable had been taken away. 'It is all your fault,' said his wife,'for you should have made sure that the house was locked before we left.' The neighbours took up the chant:  'You did not lock the window,' said one. 'Why did you not expect this?' said another. 'The locks were faulty and you did not replace them,' said a third. 'Just a moment,' said Nasrudin ,' -surely I am not the only one to blame?' 'And who should we blame?' they shouted. 'What about the thieves?' said the Mulla.

  A man cut down a tree one day. A Sage who saw this taking place said: 'Look at this fresh branch which is full of sap, happy because it does not yet know that it has been cut off. 'Ignorant of the damage which it has suffered it may be but it will know in due time.' 'Meanwhile you cannot reason with it.' This severance, this ignorance, these are the state of man.

A Barber who was passing under a haunted tree, heard a voice say, "Will you accept seven jars full of gold?"  The Barber looked around, but could see no one. The offer of seven jars of gold, however, roused his cupidity, and he cried aloud, "Yes, I shall accept the seven jars." At once came the reply, "Go home, I have carried the jars to your house." the barber ran home in hot haste to verify the truth of this strange announcement. And when he entered the house, he saw the jars before him. He opened them and found them all full of gold, except the last one which was only half full. A strong desire now arose in the barber's mind to fill the seventh jar also, for without it his happiness was incomplete. '

"This story is in context of students protests in America. While America is focusing on issues of other countries but suddenly stung by his own university students and swollen its feet." A Fowler, taking his bird-lime and his twigs, went out to catch birds. Seeing a thrush sitting upon a tree, he wished to take it, and fitting his twigs to a proper length, he watched intently, having his whole thoughts directed towards the sky. While thus looking upwards, he unawares trod upon a Viper sleeping before his feet. The Viper, turning towards him, stung him; and he, falling into a swoon, said to himself, "Woe is me! that while I proposed to hunt another, am myself fallen unawares into the snares of death."

When we were heading for southern Arabia, a barefooted and bareheaded dervish joined our caravan at Kufa (in the north).  I saw that he was penniless, but he strode along purposefully, reciting as he walke Neither do I burden Nor do I carry a camel's burden; Neither do I rule, nor am I ruled.   Neither have I anxieties about the   Pat, the Present or the Future.   Fully I breathe, fully I live life. A certain merchant, mounted on a camel, advised him to turn back. Otherwise, he said, the dervish would certainly die of hardship and lack of nourishment. Ignoring this advice, the dervish marched on. When we reached Bani Hamud oasis the merchant died. The dervish, standing by the bier, exclaimed: I did not die of my hardships; But you, on your camel, have died. Fools burn lamps during the day. At night they wonder why they have not light. 

  All Animals climb stones, but let the tortoise try to, and he tumbles down.  [Ashanti Proverb]

  Nasrudin was trotting his donkey in all directions one day. Someone asked him, "Where are you going, Nasrudin ?" He said, "I am looking for my donkey!"

One day two dervishes were arguing. Ibrahim bin Adham said one of the them: ' The life of renunciation has been wasted upon you. You got it cheaply, so do not value it.' The dervish sneered and said: 'And what price, pray, did you pay for losing a dervish?' Ibrahim said: 'I exchanged it for the kingdom of Balkh, and even then I regard that as a cheap price, brother.'

Once a fishwife was a guest in the house of a gardener who raised flowers. She came there with her empty basked, after selling fish in the market, and was asked to sleep in a room where flowers were kept. But, because of the fragrance of the flowers, she couldn't get to sleep for a long time! She was restless and began to fidget about. Her hostess saw her condition and said, "Hello! Why are you tossing from side to side so restlessly?" The fishwife said: "I don't know friend. Perhaps the smell of the flowers has been disturbing my sleep. Can you give me my fish-basket? Perhaps that will put me to sleep." The basket was brought to her. She sprinkled water on it and set it near her nose. Then she fell sound asleep and snored all night. 

Once an Owl, accustomed to feed at night and to sleep during the day, was greatly disturbed by the noise of Grasshopper, and earnestly besought her to leave off chirping. The Grasshopper refused to desist, and chirped louder and louder the more the Owl entreated. The Owl, when she saw that she could get no redress, and that her words were despised, attacked the chatterer by a stratagem. "Since I cannot sleep," she said, "on account of your song, which, believe me, is sweet as the lyre of Apollo, I shall indulge myself in drinking some nectar which Pallas lately gave me. If you do not dislike it, come to me, and we will drink it together." The Grasshopper, who was at once thirsty and pleased with the praise of her voice, eagerly flew up. The Owl, coming forth from her hollow, seized her, and put her to death.

  Four people were given a piece of money. The first was a Persian. He said:" I will buy with this some 'angur'. The second was an Arab. He said: "No, because I want ' Inab .' The thid was a Turk. He said: 'I do not want ' inab ', I want ' usum .' The fourth was a Greek. He said: " I want stafil .' Because they not know what lay behind the names of things, these four started to fight. They had information but no knowledge. One man of wisdom present could have reconciled them all, saying: 'I can fulfil the needs of all of you, with one and the same piece of money. If you honestly give me your trust, your one coin will become as four; and four at odds will become as one united' Such a man would know that each in his own language wanted the same thing, 'grapes.'

 Every Friday morning, Nasrudin arrived in a market town with an excellent donkey, which he sold. The price which he asked was always very small; for below the value of the animal. One day a rich donkey-merchant approached him. 'I cannot understand how you do it, Nasrudin . I sell donkeys at the lowest possible price. My servants force farmers to give me fodder free. My slave look after my donkeys without wages. And yet I cannot match your prices.' 'Quite simple, said Nasrudin . 'You steal fodder and labour. I merely steal donkeys.'

 ' Chuangtze' and ' Huitze' had strolled onto the bridge over the ' Hao ', when the former observed, "See how the minnows are darting about!". That is the pleasure of fishes." "You not being yourself a fish," said Huitze , "how can you possible know in what the pleasure of fishes consists?" "And you not being I," retorted ' Chuangtze' , "how can you know that I do not know?" "That I, not being you, do not know what you know," replied ' Huitze' , 'is identical with my argument that you, not being a fish, cannot know in what the pleasure of fishes consists." "Let us go back to your original question," said Chuangtze . "You ask me how I know in what consists the pleasure o fishes. Your very question shows that you knew I knew. I knew it from my own feelings on this bridge."

The Monkey once danced in an assembly of the Beasts, and so pleased them all by his performance that they elected him their King. A Fox envying him the honour, discovered a piece of meat lying in a trap, and leading the Monkey to the place where it was said :that she had found a store, but had not used it, but had kept it for him as a treasure trove of his kingdom, and counselled him to lay hold of it." The Monkey approached carelessly, and was caught in the trap; and on his accusing the Fox for purposely leading him into the snare, she replied, "O Monkey, and are you, with such a mind as yours, going to be King over the Beasts?"

There was a rich and generous man of Bokhara. Because he had a high rank in the invisibly hierarchy, he was known as the 'President of the World'. He made one condition about his bounty. Every day he gave gold to one category of people-the sick, widows, and so on. But nothing was to be given to anyone who opened his mouth. Not all could keep silent. One day it was the turn of lawyers to receive their share of the bounty. One of them could not restraint himself and make the most complete appeal possible. Nothing was given to him. This was not the end, however, of his efforts. The following day, invalids were being helped, so he pretended that his limbs had been broken. But the President knew him, and he obtained nothing. The very next day he posed in another guise, covering his face, with the people of another category. He was again recognised and sent away. Again and again he tried, even disguising himself as a woman; again without result. Finally this lawyer found an undertake

Nasrudin was practising as a doctor in his town. A friend telephoned in the middle of the night and requested him: "Come at once, I have a fever." 'What's your temperature?' asked Nasrudin. 'It must be 150 degree!' replied his friend. 'You don't need me, ' said the Mulla Nasrudin, 'you need a fire brigade.'

It is related of Kareemkhan , a Shah Of Persia, that one day, after being harassed by a long attendance in public, hearing causes, he was about to retire, when he was arrested by the cries of a stranger, who, rushing forward, called aloud for redress. "Who are you?" said the Shah. "I am a merchant, and have been robed of all I possessed while I slept." And why did you sleep? demanded the monarch in an impatient tone. "Because I made a mistake," replied the trader immediately; "I thought you were awake." The irritation of the monarch vanished in a moment. Turning to the vazier , he bade him pay the man's losses from the royal treasury. "It is our business," he added, "to recover, if we can recover the property from the robbers."

Somewhere near ' Rai' there was a Musalman , who was caught drinking wine with a magian in the month of Ramazan . The magistrate came up in high dudgeon, and ordered that both should be slain. The Magian spoke out: "This is not according to the Law. To me fasting and feasting are alike. I pay the poll-tax (for being allowed to follow my own faith), and why should you use harsh words against me? Your jurisdiction in such matters extends over only those who are of your own religion." It was, therefore, decided that the Magian should be let off. The Musalman saw that they were a set of egregious fools, since they let off a Magian and were ready to kill a Musalman . He therefore said facetiously: "O ye people! Is it a crime that I am a follower of Islam? If this be your plea for killing me, I declare myself to be a Magaian , nay, a Magian of the seventieth generation!"

Once upon a time I dreamed I was a butterfly, fluttering hither and thither, to all intents and purposes a butterfly. I was conscious only of following my fancies (as a butterfly), and was unconscious of my individuality as a man. Suddenly, I awaked, and there I lay, myself again I do not know whether I was then dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly dreaming that it is a man. [Chinese Wit and Humour]

Plato said, " The fool is known by two things: by his much speaking about that which benefit him not, and by his giving answers about subjects concerning which men ask him not." Another philosopher was asked, "Which is the greatest fool of all?" He replied, "He who is tripped up twice."

A miser has accumulated, by effort, trade and lending, three hundred thousand dinars. He had lands and buildings, and all kinds of wealth. He then decided that he would spend a year in enjoyment, living comfortably, and then divide as to what his future should be. But, almost as soon as he had stopped amassing money, the Angel of Death appeared before him to take his life away. The miser tried, by every argument which he could muster, to dissuade the Angel, who seemed, however, adamant. Then the man said: 'Grant me but three days, and I will give you one third of my possession.' The Angel refused, and pulled again at the miser's life, tugging to take it away.  Then the man said:  ' If you will only allow me two more days on earth, I will give you two hundred thousand dinars from my store.' But the Angel would not listen to him. And the Angel even refused to give the man a solitary extra day for all his three hundred thousand pieces. Then the miser said:  'Please

  Once upon a time a man was used to celebrate the 'Durga Purja' at his house with great pomp. Goats were sacrificed from sunrise to sunset. But after a few years the sacrifice was not so imposing. Then some one said to him, "How is it, sir, that the sacrifice at your place has become such a tame affairs?" Don't you see? he said, "My teeth are gone now." [Tales and Parables of Sri Ramakrishna]

The Master asked a monk, "How old are you?" The monk replied, "Thirty-One." The Master said, :At twenty-nine, the Buddha had already realised enlightenment, and here you are showing the same old face." The monk asked, "How old is Your Reverence?" The Master replied," Over eighty." "Shame on you!" the monk scolded him. The Master made a low bow.

A gentleman was placed in charge of the Magistrate's office at a certain military station. A man was hauled up before him on a charge of murder. The Magistrate asked the accused why he committed the murder. The murderer deposed:- "Your worship, I committed murder in a fit of anger. I was given grave provocation." "You rascal," said the Magistrate, "don't you know it is a great crime to kill a human being? I shall give you a lesson that you will never think of murdering anybody in future. " koi hai? " (Is there anybody?") "Hazir, Hurzar " (here at your service , my lord) cried a number of 'voices'- chaprasis and constables. "Pull this devil by the ears," ordered the Magistrate, "and make him sit down and stand up one hundred times and then give him a good shoe-beating." The accused cried out: "Your Worship, I never killed anybody before, and I will never kill anyone in future. Pardon me this time

  There are five kinds of speech. One is the kind politicians use in the assembly; this is called political speech. Another kind is that which the orators use in their written composition, whether for praise, censure, accusations, or defense. This is called rhetorical speech. The third kind is that which private citizen use for conversing with one another; this is called private speech. Another kind is that used by those who engage in an exchange of short questions and answers. This is called dialectical speech. The fifth kind is that which craftsmen use for discussing their own subjects; this is called technical speech. [Plato, Lives of Immintent Philosophers by Diogenes Laertius]

 When all in the world recognise beauty as beauty,     it is ugliness. When they recognise good as good,     it is not good. Therefore, being and non-being beget each other,     hard and easy complement each other,     long and short shape each other,     high and low rely on each other,     sound and voice harmonise with each other,     front and back follow each other. Therefore, the Sage adminsters without action.     and instructs without words. He lets all things rise without dominating them,     produces without attempting to possess,     acts without asserting, achieves without taking credit. And because he does not take credit,     it will never leave him. [Lao Tzue]

  'Mulla Nasrudin Effendi ', when he was in India, passed near a strange looking building, at the entrance of which a hermit was sitting. He had an air of abstraction and calm and ' Nasrudin' thought he would make some sort of contact with him. 'Surely', he thought, ' a devout philosopher like me must have something in common with this saintly individual.' 'I am a Yogi', said the anchorite, in answer to the ' Mulla's question; 'and I am dedicated to the service of all living things, especially birds and fish.' 'Pray allow me to join you,' said the ' Mulla' , ' for, as I had expected, we have something in common. I am strongly attracted to your sentiments, because a fish once saved my life.' 'How pleasurably remarkable! said the Yogi; 'I shall be delighted to admit you to your company. For all my years of devotion to the cause of animals, I have never yet been privileged to attain such intimate com

The Phoenix is a wonderful bird, which is found in Hindustan. It has no mate, but dwells alone in solitude. Its beak is wonderful hard and long, like a flute, containing holes to the number of nearly a hundred. Each of these holes gives forth a different tone, and each tone reveals a different mystery. The art of music was taught to this bird by a philosopher who became its friend, and when the Phoenix utters these sounds, bird and fish are agitated thereby: all the wild beasts are reduced to silence, and by that entrancing music are bereft of their senses. The Phoenix lives about a thousand years; it knows quite clearly the time of its death, and when this knowledge is tearing at its heart, it gathers fuel, a hundred trees or more, and heaps them up in one place. It hastens to place itself in the midst of pyre, and utters a hundred laments over itself. Then through each of those holes in its beak, out of the depths of its spotless soul, it gives forth plaintive cries of woe, and as it

A crazy man passing along a road saw an ass's head put up in a kitchen-garden. He enquired: "Since the kicking ass has died, why is skull here on the pole?' The people replied, "O inquisitive one! It is thus put up that it may ward off the evil eye." When the daft man learnt this, he said, "Ye parcel of idiots! If this ass had been alive, he would have laughed excessively at this folly of yours. Fate has endowed you with asinine brains, which is the reason why you have thus put up an ass's skull. The beast, when alive, could not ward off the blows of the stick from his back, and now when dead, how can he ward off the evil eye?" [ Fareed ud Din Attar]

A camel, an ox, and a ram, while going together, found in the road a truss of hay. The ram said: "If we divide this amongst us, the share of each will hardly be sufficient to satisfy our hunger. Therefore, let him who is more aged than the others devour this fodder alone, for he deserves it. Let every one mention the date of his birth, and let preference be given to the oldest, while the others should give themselves to resignation." On noticing their approval the ram continued: "I was contemporary of the ram who sacrificed by Abraham in lieu of his son Ismail ." The ox said: "I am much older, for I was a companion of the ox whom Adam employed in ploughing." The camel, on hearing these words from the ram and the ox, was lost in astonishment. He, however, without wasting any time on words, lowed his head, picked up the truss of hay, and held it high up in the air. Then he said: "I do not think it is necessary for me, who have such a big body and such a

Once Aristotle has said, that the best king is he, who is like vulture surrounded by carrion, and not like carrion surrounded by vultures, that is to say, he must be aware of the affairs of those around him, and they must be ignorant of his but not the contrary. Verse A king must be informed like a vulture Because corpses have fallen round him Not like a corpse around which vultures assemble With sharpened beaks, to derive profit from him

Once a Frog used to live in a well. It had lived there for a long time. It was born and brought up there. And it was a small little frog. One day another frog that had lived in the sea came and fell into that well. The frog of the well asked the new comer, "Whence are you? The frog of the sea replied, "I am from the sea." The frog of the well questioned , "The sea!" How big is that?" The frog of the well said, "it is very big." . The frog of the well stretched its legs and questioned, Ah! is your sea so big?" The frog of the sea said," It is much bigger." The frog of the well then took a leap from one side of the well to the other, and asked, "Is it as big as this, my well?. "My friend,' said the frog of the sea, " how can you compare the sea with your well." The frog of the well asserted, "No, there can never be anything bigger than my well. Indeed, nothing can be bigger than this! This fellow is a lia

  True depth of understanding is wide and steady, Shallow understanding is lazy and wandering, Words of wisdom are precise and clear, Foolish words are petty and mean. When we sleep, our spirits roam the earth, when awake our bodies are alert, whatever we encounter capture us, day by day our hearts are struggling. Often simple, often deep, often intimate. Minor troubles make them unsettled, anxious, Major troubles are plain and simple. They fly off like an arrow, convinced that they know right from wrong; it is like one who makes a sacred promise, standing sure and true and on their way to victory. They give way, like autumn and winter, decaying away with the ebb and flow of each day; it is like a stream of water, it cannot be brought back; they stagnate, because they are like old blocked drains, brought on by old age, which make their minds closed as if near death and there is nothing which can draw their hearts into the power of the yang- the life-giving light. Joy and anger, sadness

It is told that Kites of old times had the privilege of song equally with the Swans. But having heard the neigh of the horse, they were so enchanted with the sound that they tried to imitate it, and in trying to neigh they also forget how to sing. 

Master Mo said that those who work in the world can not do so without standards and rules. Nobody has been able to accomplish anything without standards and rules. Even those officers who are generals and ministers all have standards. Even the hundred craftsmen in doing their work all have standards too. They make what is square with a square, make what is round with compasses, use a straight edge to establish what is straight, determine the horizontal with a water level and vertical with a plumb line. Whether craftsmen are skilled or unskilled, they all take these five things as standards. Skilled craftsmen are able to comply with these standards naturally; unskilled craftsmen even if they are unable to comply with them naturally, will still surpass themselves if they follow them in their work. [Master Mo]

Once upon a time a Dove shut up in a cage and started to boast of the large number of the young ones which she had hatched recently. A Crow was hearing her boasting about a family. He said, "my good friend, stop boasting about this unseasonable boasting. The larger the number of your family, the greater your cause of sorrow, in seeing them shut up in this prison house. 

Once upon a time-and this is a true story-there was a student. He used to go every day to sit at the feet of a Sufi teacher, to take down on paper what the master said. Because he was fully occupied with hiss studies, he was unable to follow any gainful occupation. One evening when he arrived home, his wife placed a bowl before him, covered with a napkin. He took the cloth and put it around his neck, and then he saw that the dish was full of -pens and paper. "Since this is what you do all day, 'she said, 'just try to eat it.' The next morning the student went, as usual, to learn from his teacher. Although his wife's words had distressed him, he continued to follow the accustomed pattern of student, and did not go out looking for a job. After a few minute's writing, he found that his pen was not working. 'Never mind,' said the master, 'go into that corner and bring the box you will find there and put it in front of you.' When he sat down with the

  'Saadi Sherazi' in his Bostan told a story about people mis-diagnose and mis-interpret their capacities and situation imitating others.  One day a man saw a limbless fox and wondered how it could keep itself alive, so he decided to watch it. Presently a lion came along with some meat, at some of it and abandoned the rest. From this fox made his meal. The watching man concluded on the basis of this incident that he should do the same, since Providence would surely accord him similar treatment. He waited a long time, but that happened was that he got weaker and weaker. But eventually a voice said to him: ' Do not behave like a crippled fox! Be like a lion, so that you can obtain something and leave some for others.

  A man wanted a smoke. He went to a neighbour's house to light his charcoal. It was the dead of night and the household was asleep. After he knocked a great deal, some one came down to open the door. At sight of the man he asked, "Hello! what's the matter?" The man replied, " Can't you guess? You know how fond I am of smoking. I have come here to light my charcoal." The neighbour said, " Ha! Ha! You are a fine man indeed! You took the trouble to come and do all this knocking at the door! Why you have a lighted lantern in your hand!" What a man seeks is very near to him. Still he wanders about from place to place. 

  The Mulla bought a donkey. Someone told him that he would have to give it a certain amount of food every day. This he considered to be too much. He would experiment, he decided, to get it used to less food. Each day, there fore, he reduced its rations. Eventually, when the donkey was reduced to almost no food at all, it fell over and died.  'Pity,' said the Mulla. 'If I had had a little more time before it died I could have got it accustomed to living on nothing at all. 

Once a sailor on a long voyage took with him a monkey to amuse him while on shipboard. As he sailed of Greece, a violent tempest arose, in which the ship was wrecked, and he, his monkey, and all the crew were obliged to swim for their lives.  Dolphin saw the monkey contending with the waves, and supposing him to be a man (whom he is always said to be friend), came and placed himself under him, to convey him on his back in safety to the shore. When the Dolphin arrived with his burden in sight of land not from Athens, he demanded of the monkey if he were an Athenian, who replied that he was, and that he was ascended from one of the most noble families in that city. He then inquired if he knew the Piraeus (the famous harbour of Athens). The Monkey, supposing that a man was meant, answered that he knew him very well, and that he was an intimate friend. The Dolphin, indignant at these falsehoods, dipped the Monkey under the water, and drowned hi.  

There was a man of 'Sung" who was grieved that his growing corn was not longer, so he pulled it up. Having done this, he returned home, looking very stupid, and said to his people, "I am tired today. I have been helping the corn to grow long." His son ran to look at it, and found the corn all withered. There are a few in the world who do not deal with their passion as if they were assisting the corn to grow long. Some indeed consider it of no benefit to them, and let it alone-they do not weed their corn. They who assist it to grow long pull out their corn. What they do is not long of no benefit to the nature, but it is also injured it.  [Wit and Humour of China, edited by George Kao]

  Once upon a time there was a crow who caught in a snare. He prayed to Apollo to release him. He also made a vow to offer some frankincense at his shrine after releasing. Being rescued from his danger, he forgot his promise. Shortly afterwords, on being again caught in a second snare, passing by Apollo he made the same promise to offer frankincense to Mercury. When he appeared, and said to him, " O thou most base fellow how can I believe thee, who hast disowned and wronged by former patron?"

Do not boast that you have no pride, because it is less visible than an ant's foot on a black stone in a dark night. And do not think that brining it out from within is easy, for it is easier to extract a mountain from the earth with a needle.