Lessons from Aesop

Fable LXVIII
There's No Tomorrow

Easy to mend, and brookless of delay,
Sincere repentance waits no future day;
The present moment only is allow'd;
Uncertain hopes and fears to-morrow shroud.

A man who had lived a very profligate life, at length being awakened by the lively representations of a sober friend on the apprehensions of a feverish indisposition, promised that he would heartily set about his reformation, and that to-morrow he would seriously begin it. But the symptoms going off and that to-morrow coming, he still put it off to the next, and so he went on from one to-morrow to another; but still he continued his reprobate life. This his friend observing, said to him, I am very much concerned to find how little effect my disinterested advice has upon you: But, my friend, let me tell you, that since your to-morrow never comes, nor do you seem to intend it shall, I will believe you no more, except you set about your repentance and amendment this very moment: for, to say nothing of your repeated broken promises, you must consider, that the time that is past is no more; that To-morrow is not OURS; and the present NOW is all we have to boast of.

That conjunction of the heart cannot be sincere, which takes not immediate effect, and can be put off till To-morrow. The friend's closing observation in the Fable is so good a moral, that we need add nothing to it.

Fable LIV
Hercules and the Carter

Inactive wishes are but waist of time,
And, without efforts, pray'rs themselves a crime:
Vain are their hopes who miracles expect,
And ask from heaven what themselves neglect.

As a clownish fellow was driving his cart along a deep miry lane, the wheels stuck so fast in the clay, that the horses could not draw them out. Upon this, he fell a bawling and praying to Hercules to come and help him. Hercules looking down from a cloud, bid him not lie there like an idol rascal as he was, but get up and whip his horses stoutly, and clap his shoulder to the wheel, adding, That this was the only way for him to obtain his assistance.

Prayers and wishes amount to nothing: We must put forth our honest endeavours to obtain success on the assistance of heaven.

These teachings come to us from mid-sixth century BC, Greece. Aesop's Fables have endured through the centuries as a testimony to the agelessness of the human condition. More than 500 years before the Nazarene and his followers preached this truth, Aesop reminds us of the futility of praying for results without making any personal effort. The second fable below addresses the vice of procrastination. Thoughts and wishes amount to nothing, if not acted upon.

We can have creative ideas, mighty faith and good intentions, but except for taking action there will be no results. Faith and resolve may be a foundation for action, but step after step with tenacity and determination, it is our actions which will achieve results.

The translations below are from an 18th century edition of Aesop's Fables with commentaries from Oliver Goldsmith and illustrations by Thomas Bewick. Old spellings and grammar have been retained.