Daily Classics Library

#441

Meditations

Meditations · Book 3, passage 11

Marcus Aurelius · Translator: George Long

English Reflection Governance

Simple guide for children under seven

What it means: Today’s item 441, “Meditations · Meditations · …… 3, passage 11 · book-3-p-11,” can mean this: Life and time are precious. Care for yourself and the people around you.

Try this: Give gentle care to a person, animal, or plant today.

Important reminder: Old books can reflect old limits. A child does not need to follow every old rule; ask a trusted adult.

For adults: historical and edition context

Marcus Aurelius governed in the second century CE amid frontier wars, imperial administration, and the Antonine plague. The Meditations are private Greek exercises; the exact date and place of individual notes are often uncertain. This edition uses George Long’s 1862 translation.

Period: Roman Empire, 2nd century CE; 1862 English translation
Region: Roman Empire / United Kingdom edition
Work date: Original notes c. 170s CE; translation first published 1862
Edition: Standard Ebooks edition of George Long’s translation

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To the aids which have been mentioned let this one still be added:—Make for thyself a definition or description of the thing which is presented to thee, so as to see distinctly what kind of a thing it is in its substance, in its nudity, in its complete entirety, and tell thyself its proper name, and the names of the things of which it has been compounded, and into which it will be resolved. For nothing is so productive of elevation of mind as to be able to examine methodically and truly every object which is presented to thee in life, and always to look at things so as to see at the same time what kind of universe this is, and what kind of use everything performs in it, and what value everything has with reference to the whole, and what with reference to man, who is a citizen of the highest city, of which all other cities are like families; what each thing is, and of what it is composed, and how long it is the nature of this thing to endure which now makes an impression on me, and what virtue I have need of with respect to it, such as gentleness, manliness, truth, fidelity, simplicity, contentment, and the rest. Wherefore, on every occasion a man should say: this comes from God; and this is according to the apportionment and spinning of the thread of destiny, and suchlike coincidence and chance; and this is from one of the same stock, and a kinsman and partner, one who knows not however what is according to his nature. But I know; for this reason I behave towards him according to the natural law of fellowship with benevolence and justice. At the same time however in things indifferent I attempt to ascertain the value of each.

#442

Pensées

Pensées · Section II-1 · 76

Blaise Pascal

Français / French Philosophical fragment Learning

Simple guide for children under seven

What it means: Today’s item 442, “Pensées · Pensées · Section ……· Section II-1 · fragment 76,” can mean this: The first thought in your mind may be wrong. Look for clues and think again.

Try this: If you disagree, use calm words to explain why.

Important reminder: Being brave does not mean taking unsafe risks. Leave danger and find a trusted adult.

For adults: historical and edition context

Pascal left these unfinished fragments amid seventeenth-century French scientific development, religious controversy, and illness, probably for a projected Christian apology. Modern grouping and numbering reflect Brunschvicg’s editorial decisions rather than a finished authorial order. Analysis distinguishes religious argument, mathematics, historical evidence, and personal experience.

Period: 17th-century France; early modern science and religious controversy
Region: France
Work date: Fragments written mainly c. 1657–1662; Brunschvicg edition published 1897–1925
Edition: Léon Brunschvicg edition, Section II-1

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Écrire contre ceux qui approfondissent les sciences : Descartes.

#443

Pensées

Pensées · Section III · 188

Blaise Pascal

Français / French Philosophical fragment Learning

Simple guide for children under seven

What it means: Today’s item 443, “Pensées · Pensées · Section ……· Section III · fragment 188,” can mean this: After learning something, practise it and ask for help when needed.

Try this: Before choosing, count to three and ask, “Is there another way?”

Important reminder: Old books can reflect old limits. A child does not need to follow every old rule; ask a trusted adult.

For adults: historical and edition context

Pascal left these unfinished fragments amid seventeenth-century French scientific development, religious controversy, and illness, probably for a projected Christian apology. Modern grouping and numbering reflect Brunschvicg’s editorial decisions rather than a finished authorial order. Analysis distinguishes religious argument, mathematics, historical evidence, and personal experience.

Period: 17th-century France; early modern science and religious controversy
Region: France
Work date: Fragments written mainly c. 1657–1662; Brunschvicg edition published 1897–1925
Edition: Léon Brunschvicg edition, Section III

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Il faut, en tout dialogue et discours, qu’on puisse dire à ceux qui s’en offensent : de quoi vous plaignez-vous ?

#444

論語

憲問第十四 · 十四之二

孔子弟子及后学（传统归属）

文言文 / Classical Chinese Saying or dialogue Learning

Simple guide for children under seven

What it means: Today’s item 444, “論語 · 憲問第十四 · 十四之二 · 十四之二,” can mean this: It is fine to want something, but do not take it by force or hurt others.

Try this: Give gentle care to a person, animal, or plant today.

Important reminder: Being brave does not mean taking unsafe risks. Leave danger and find a trusted adult.

For adults: historical and edition context

Confucius lived amid political fragmentation and changing ritual order in the late Spring and Autumn period. The Analects was compiled over time by disciples and later circles, not recorded as a verbatim transcript. This item is fixed to a specific Wikisource revision.

Period: 春秋末至战国编集 / late Spring and Autumn to Warring States compilation
Region: 中国 / China
Work date: 约公元前5—3世纪逐步编集
Edition: 中文维基文库《論語》憲問第十四

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「克、伐、怨、欲，不行焉，可以爲仁矣？」子曰：「可以爲難矣，仁則吾不知也。」

#445

Epistulae morales ad Lucilium

Seneca · XIII. SENECA LUCILIO SUO SALUTEM §11

Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Latina / Latin Letter passage Life and time

Simple guide for children under seven

What it means: Today’s item 445, “Epistulae morales ad Luciliu……NECA LUCILIO SUO SALUTEM §11,” can mean this: Life and time are precious. Care for yourself and the people around you.

Try this: Today, listen until another person finishes, then answer.

Important reminder: This is one reading, not a rule that is always right. Tell a trusted adult about danger, bullying, or pain.

For adults: historical and edition context

Seneca’s letters to Lucilius are usually dated to about 62–65 CE, late in Nero’s reign. They combine counsel with deliberate literary composition. Claims about freedom, wealth, and death must be read alongside Roman political danger, hierarchy, and slavery. This item preserves the original Latin at a fixed Wikisource revision.

Period: Roman Empire, 1st century CE
Region: Roman Empire
Work date: Commonly dated to Seneca’s final years, c. 62–65 CE
Edition: Latin Wikisource, Liber II

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[11] Quid facies lucri? tempus. Multa intervenient quibus vicinum periculum vel prope admotum aut subsistat aut desinat aut in alienum caput transeat: incendium ad fugam patuit; quosdam molliter ruina deposuit; aliquando gladius ab ipsa cervice revocatus est; aliquis carnifici suo superstes fuit. Habet etiam mala fortuna levitatem. Fortasse erit, fortasse non erit: interim non est; meliora propone.

#446

Pensées

Pensées · Section XIV · 911

Blaise Pascal

Français / French Philosophical fragment Ethics

Simple guide for children under seven

What it means: Today’s item 446, “Pensées · Pensées · Section ……· Section XIV · fragment 911,” can mean this: The first thought in your mind may be wrong. Look for clues and think again.

Try this: Today, listen until another person finishes, then answer.

Important reminder: Being brave does not mean taking unsafe risks. Leave danger and find a trusted adult.

For adults: historical and edition context

Pascal left these unfinished fragments amid seventeenth-century French scientific development, religious controversy, and illness, probably for a projected Christian apology. Modern grouping and numbering reflect Brunschvicg’s editorial decisions rather than a finished authorial order. Analysis distinguishes religious argument, mathematics, historical evidence, and personal experience.

Period: 17th-century France; early modern science and religious controversy
Region: France
Work date: Fragments written mainly c. 1657–1662; Brunschvicg edition published 1897–1925
Edition: Léon Brunschvicg edition, Section XIV

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Faut-il tuer pour empêcher qu’il n’y ait des méchants ? — c’est en faire deux au heu d’un : Vince in bono malum. (Saint Aug.)

#447

Dhammapada

Dhammapada · XX:280

Anonymous Pali Buddhist anthology · Translator: Friedrich Max Müller

English Complete verse Learning

Simple guide for children under seven

What it means: Today’s item 447, “Dhammapada · Dhammapada · XX:280 · XX:280,” can mean this: The first thought in your mind may be wrong. Look for clues and think again.

Try this: Today, listen until another person finishes, then answer.

Important reminder: Do not judge a person from one sentence. Check what happened and think with a trusted adult.

For adults: historical and edition context

The Dhammapada is an anthology of Pali Buddhist verses shaped by long transmission and compilation, so a verifiable occasion cannot be assigned to each verse. This source uses Max Müller’s 1881 translation and keeps its nineteenth-century philological vocabulary visible.

Period: Ancient Indian Buddhist tradition; 1881 English translation
Region: South Asia / United Kingdom edition
Work date: Ancient compilation of uncertain date; translation published 1881
Edition: Dhammapada, translated by F. Max Müller, Sacred Books of the East, Vol. X

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He who does not rouse himself when it is time to rise, who, though young and strong, is full of sloth, whose will and thought are weak, that lazy and idle man will never find the way to knowledge.

#448

Epistulae morales ad Lucilium

Seneca · LXXIII. SENECA LUCILIO SUO SALUTEM §15

Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Latina / Latin Letter passage Human condition

Simple guide for children under seven

What it means: Today’s item 448, “Epistulae morales ad Luciliu……NECA LUCILIO SUO SALUTEM §15,” can mean this: Everyone meets hard choices. We can pause before acting.

Try this: If you disagree, use calm words to explain why.

Important reminder: This is one reading, not a rule that is always right. Tell a trusted adult about danger, bullying, or pain.

For adults: historical and edition context

Seneca’s letters to Lucilius are usually dated to about 62–65 CE, late in Nero’s reign. They combine counsel with deliberate literary composition. Claims about freedom, wealth, and death must be read alongside Roman political danger, hierarchy, and slavery. This item preserves the original Latin at a fixed Wikisource revision.

Period: Roman Empire, 1st century CE
Region: Roman Empire
Work date: Commonly dated to Seneca’s final years, c. 62–65 CE
Edition: Latin Wikisource, Liber VIII

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[15] Credamus itaque Sextio monstranti pulcherrimum iter et clamanti 'hac

#449

Epistulae morales ad Lucilium

Seneca · LXXXVII. SENECA LUCILIO SUO SALUTEM §29

Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Latina / Latin Letter passage Desire and restraint

Simple guide for children under seven

What it means: Today’s item 449, “Epistulae morales ad Luciliu……NECA LUCILIO SUO SALUTEM §29,” can mean this: Wanting more is normal, and we can also learn what is enough.

Try this: Observe first and guess second. Change your mind when clues change.

Important reminder: Do not judge a person from one sentence. Check what happened and think with a trusted adult.

For adults: historical and edition context

Seneca’s letters to Lucilius are usually dated to about 62–65 CE, late in Nero’s reign. They combine counsel with deliberate literary composition. Claims about freedom, wealth, and death must be read alongside Roman political danger, hierarchy, and slavery. This item preserves the original Latin at a fixed Wikisource revision.

Period: Roman Empire, 1st century CE
Region: Roman Empire
Work date: Commonly dated to Seneca’s final years, c. 62–65 CE
Edition: Latin Wikisource, Liber XI – XIII

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[29] Altera significatio talis est: per quod in mala incidimus bonum non est. Huic propositioni non erit consequens per divitias nos aut per voluptates in mala incidere; aut si per divitias in multa mala incidimus, non tantum bonum non sunt divitiae sed malum sunt; vos autem illas dicitis tantum bonum non esse. Praeterea' inquit 'conceditis divitias habere aliquid usus: inter commoda illas numeratis. Atqui eadem ratione <ne> commodum quidem erunt; per illas enim multa nobis incommoda eveniunt.'

#450

Epistulae morales ad Lucilium

Seneca · LXXXII. SENECA LUCILIO SUO SALUTEM §2

Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Latina / Latin Letter passage Life and time

Simple guide for children under seven

What it means: Today’s item 450, “Epistulae morales ad Luciliu……ENECA LUCILIO SUO SALUTEM §2,” can mean this: Life and time are precious. Care for yourself and the people around you.

Try this: If you disagree, use calm words to explain why.

Important reminder: Being brave does not mean taking unsafe risks. Leave danger and find a trusted adult.

For adults: historical and edition context

Seneca’s letters to Lucilius are usually dated to about 62–65 CE, late in Nero’s reign. They combine counsel with deliberate literary composition. Claims about freedom, wealth, and death must be read alongside Roman political danger, hierarchy, and slavery. This item preserves the original Latin at a fixed Wikisource revision.

Period: Roman Empire, 1st century CE
Region: Roman Empire
Work date: Commonly dated to Seneca’s final years, c. 62–65 CE
Edition: Latin Wikisource, Liber X

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[2] Male mihi esse malo quam molliter — <'male'> nunc sic excipe quemadmodum a populo solet dici: dure, aspere, laboriose. Audire solemus sic quorundam vitam laudari quibus invidetur: 'molliter vivit'; hoc dicunt, 'mollis est'. Paulatim enim effeminatur animus atque in similitudinem otii sui et pigritiae in qua iacet solvitur. Quid ergo? viro non vel obrigescere satius est? * * * deinde idem delicati timent, [morti] cui vitam suam fecere similem. Multum interest inter otium et conditivum.

#451

Epistulae morales ad Lucilium

Seneca · LXXI. SENECA LUCILIO SUO SALUTEM §19

Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Latina / Latin Letter passage Learning

Simple guide for children under seven

What it means: Today’s item 451, “Epistulae morales ad Luciliu……NECA LUCILIO SUO SALUTEM §19,” can mean this: New learning becomes stronger when we practise it again.

Try this: Before choosing, count to three and ask, “Is there another way?”

Important reminder: This is one reading, not a rule that is always right. Tell a trusted adult about danger, bullying, or pain.

For adults: historical and edition context

Seneca’s letters to Lucilius are usually dated to about 62–65 CE, late in Nero’s reign. They combine counsel with deliberate literary composition. Claims about freedom, wealth, and death must be read alongside Roman political danger, hierarchy, and slavery. This item preserves the original Latin at a fixed Wikisource revision.

Period: Roman Empire, 1st century CE
Region: Roman Empire
Work date: Commonly dated to Seneca’s final years, c. 62–65 CE
Edition: Latin Wikisource, Liber VIII

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[19] Hunc animum, quem saepe induunt generosae indolis iuvenes quos alicuius honestae rei pulchritudo percussit, ut omnia fortuita contemnant, profecto sapientia [non] infundet et tradet; persuadebit unum bonum esse quod honestum, hoc nec remitti nec intendi posse, non magis quam regulam qua rectum probari solet flectes. Quidquid ex illa mutaveris iniuria est recti.

#452

Epistulae morales ad Lucilium

Seneca · LXXXI. SENECA LUCILIO SUO SALUTEM §6

Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Latina / Latin Letter passage Power and justice

Simple guide for children under seven

What it means: Today’s item 452, “Epistulae morales ad Luciliu……ENECA LUCILIO SUO SALUTEM §6,” can mean this: When someone is hurt, listen and help repair the harm.

Try this: Today, listen until another person finishes, then answer.

Important reminder: Being brave does not mean taking unsafe risks. Leave danger and find a trusted adult.

For adults: historical and edition context

Seneca’s letters to Lucilius are usually dated to about 62–65 CE, late in Nero’s reign. They combine counsel with deliberate literary composition. Claims about freedom, wealth, and death must be read alongside Roman political danger, hierarchy, and slavery. This item preserves the original Latin at a fixed Wikisource revision.

Period: Roman Empire, 1st century CE
Region: Roman Empire
Work date: Commonly dated to Seneca’s final years, c. 62–65 CE
Edition: Latin Wikisource, Liber X

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[6] Eo animo quidque debetur quo datur, nec quantum sit sed a quali profectum voluntate perpenditur. Nunc coniectura tollatur: et illud beneficium fuit et hoc, quod modum beneficii prioris excessit, iniuria est. Vir bonus utrosque calculos sic ponit ut se ipse circumscribat: beneficio adicit, iniuriae demit. Alter ille remissior iudex, quem esse me malo, iniuriae oblivisci iubebit, officii meminisse.

#453

Epistulae morales ad Lucilium

Seneca · XCIII. SENECA LUCILIO SUO SALUTEM §1

Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Latina / Latin Letter passage Life and time

Simple guide for children under seven

What it means: Today’s item 453, “Epistulae morales ad Luciliu……ENECA LUCILIO SUO SALUTEM §1,” can mean this: Life and time are precious. Care for yourself and the people around you.

Try this: Observe first and guess second. Change your mind when clues change.

Important reminder: Old books can reflect old limits. A child does not need to follow every old rule; ask a trusted adult.

For adults: historical and edition context

Seneca’s letters to Lucilius are usually dated to about 62–65 CE, late in Nero’s reign. They combine counsel with deliberate literary composition. Claims about freedom, wealth, and death must be read alongside Roman political danger, hierarchy, and slavery. This item preserves the original Latin at a fixed Wikisource revision.

Period: Roman Empire, 1st century CE
Region: Roman Empire
Work date: Commonly dated to Seneca’s final years, c. 62–65 CE
Edition: Latin Wikisource, Liber XIV – XV

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[1] In epistula qua de morte Metronactis philosophi querebaris, tamquam et potuisset diutius vivere et debuisset, aequitatem tuam desideravi, quae tibi in omni persona, in omni negotio superest, in una re deest, in qua omnibus: multos inveni aequos adversus homines, adversus deos neminem. Obiurgamus cotidie fatum: 'quare ille in medio cursu raptus est? quare ille non rapitur? quare senectutem et sibi et aliis gravem extendit?'

#454

論語

子張第十九 · 十九之十二

孔子弟子及后学（传统归属）

文言文 / Classical Chinese Saying or dialogue Governance

Simple guide for children under seven

What it means: Today’s item 454, “論語 · 子張第十九 · 十九之十二 · 十九之十二,” can mean this: Words can help or hurt. Think before you speak.

Try this: Give gentle care to a person, animal, or plant today.

Important reminder: Being brave does not mean taking unsafe risks. Leave danger and find a trusted adult.

For adults: historical and edition context

Confucius lived amid political fragmentation and changing ritual order in the late Spring and Autumn period. The Analects was compiled over time by disciples and later circles, not recorded as a verbatim transcript. This item is fixed to a specific Wikisource revision.

Period: 春秋末至战国编集 / late Spring and Autumn to Warring States compilation
Region: 中国 / China
Work date: 约公元前5—3世纪逐步编集
Edition: 中文维基文库《論語》子張第十九

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子游曰：「子夏之門人小子，當洒掃應對進退則可矣，抑末也；本之則無，如之何？」子夏聞之曰：「噫！言游過矣！君子之道，孰先傳焉？孰後倦焉？譬諸草木，區以別矣。君子之道，焉可誣也？有始有卒者，其惟聖人乎！」

#455

論語

微子第十八 · 十八之八

孔子弟子及后学（传统归属）

文言文 / Classical Chinese Saying or dialogue Governance

Simple guide for children under seven

What it means: Today’s item 455, “論語 · 微子第十八 · 十八之八 · 十八之八,” can mean this: Words can help or hurt. Think before you speak.

Try this: If something is hard today, say, “Please help me.”

Important reminder: This is one reading, not a rule that is always right. Tell a trusted adult about danger, bullying, or pain.

For adults: historical and edition context

Confucius lived amid political fragmentation and changing ritual order in the late Spring and Autumn period. The Analects was compiled over time by disciples and later circles, not recorded as a verbatim transcript. This item is fixed to a specific Wikisource revision.

Period: 春秋末至战国编集 / late Spring and Autumn to Warring States compilation
Region: 中国 / China
Work date: 约公元前5—3世纪逐步编集
Edition: 中文维基文库《論語》微子第十八

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逸民：伯夷、叔齊、虞仲、夷逸、朱張、柳下惠、少連。子曰：「不降其志，不辱其身，伯夷叔齊與！」謂柳下惠、少連：「降志辱身矣。言中倫，行中慮，其斯而已矣。」謂虞仲、夷逸：「隱居放言，身中淸，廢中權。」我則異於是，無可無不可。」

#456

Dhammapada

Dhammapada · XXV:375

Anonymous Pali Buddhist anthology · Translator: Friedrich Max Müller

English Complete verse Governance

Simple guide for children under seven

What it means: Today’s item 456, “Dhammapada · Dhammapada · XXV:375 · XXV:375,” can mean this: Be honest with friends. If someone does not understand you, do not rush to anger.

Try this: Before choosing, count to three and ask, “Is there another way?”

Important reminder: Do not judge a person from one sentence. Check what happened and think with a trusted adult.

For adults: historical and edition context

The Dhammapada is an anthology of Pali Buddhist verses shaped by long transmission and compilation, so a verifiable occasion cannot be assigned to each verse. This source uses Max Müller’s 1881 translation and keeps its nineteenth-century philological vocabulary visible.

Period: Ancient Indian Buddhist tradition; 1881 English translation
Region: South Asia / United Kingdom edition
Work date: Ancient compilation of uncertain date; translation published 1881
Edition: Dhammapada, translated by F. Max Müller, Sacred Books of the East, Vol. X

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And this is the beginning here for a wise Bhikshu: watchfulness over the senses, contentedness, restraint under the law; keep noble friends whose life is pure, and who are not slothful.

#457

Dhammapada

Dhammapada · XVIII:252

Anonymous Pali Buddhist anthology · Translator: Friedrich Max Müller

English Complete verse Human condition

Simple guide for children under seven

What it means: Today’s item 457, “Dhammapada · Dhammapada · XV……pada · XVIII:252 · XVIII:252,” can mean this: Everyone meets hard choices. We can pause before acting.

Try this: If you disagree, use calm words to explain why.

Important reminder: This is one reading, not a rule that is always right. Tell a trusted adult about danger, bullying, or pain.

For adults: historical and edition context

The Dhammapada is an anthology of Pali Buddhist verses shaped by long transmission and compilation, so a verifiable occasion cannot be assigned to each verse. This source uses Max Müller’s 1881 translation and keeps its nineteenth-century philological vocabulary visible.

Period: Ancient Indian Buddhist tradition; 1881 English translation
Region: South Asia / United Kingdom edition
Work date: Ancient compilation of uncertain date; translation published 1881
Edition: Dhammapada, translated by F. Max Müller, Sacred Books of the East, Vol. X

Check the complete text with an adult

Open the edition-verified text

The fault of others is easily perceived, but that of oneself is difficult to perceive; a man winnows his neighbour's faults like chaff, but his own fault he hides, as a cheat hides the bad die from the gambler.

#458

論語

鄉黨第十 · 十之四

孔子弟子及后学（传统归属）

文言文 / Classical Chinese Saying or dialogue Speech and truth

Simple guide for children under seven

What it means: Today’s item 458, “論語 · 鄉黨第十 · 十之四 · 十之四,” can mean this: Words can help or hurt. Think before you speak.

Try this: Give gentle care to a person, animal, or plant today.

Important reminder: Being brave does not mean taking unsafe risks. Leave danger and find a trusted adult.

For adults: historical and edition context

Confucius lived amid political fragmentation and changing ritual order in the late Spring and Autumn period. The Analects was compiled over time by disciples and later circles, not recorded as a verbatim transcript. This item is fixed to a specific Wikisource revision.

Period: 春秋末至战国编集 / late Spring and Autumn to Warring States compilation
Region: 中国 / China
Work date: 约公元前5—3世纪逐步编集
Edition: 中文维基文库《論語》鄉黨第十

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入公門，鞠躬如也，如不容。立不中門，行不履閾。過位，色勃如也，足躩如也，其言似不足者。攝齊升堂，鞠躬如也，屛氣似不息者。出，降一等，逞顏色，怡怡如也。沒階趨進，翼如也。復其位，踧踖如也。

#459

Dhammapada

Dhammapada · XXIV:351

Anonymous Pali Buddhist anthology · Translator: Friedrich Max Müller

English Complete verse Life and time

Simple guide for children under seven

What it means: Today’s item 459, “Dhammapada · Dhammapada · XX……mapada · XXIV:351 · XXIV:351,” can mean this: Life and time are precious. Care for yourself and the people around you.

Try this: Observe first and guess second. Change your mind when clues change.

Important reminder: Old books can reflect old limits. A child does not need to follow every old rule; ask a trusted adult.

For adults: historical and edition context

The Dhammapada is an anthology of Pali Buddhist verses shaped by long transmission and compilation, so a verifiable occasion cannot be assigned to each verse. This source uses Max Müller’s 1881 translation and keeps its nineteenth-century philological vocabulary visible.

Period: Ancient Indian Buddhist tradition; 1881 English translation
Region: South Asia / United Kingdom edition
Work date: Ancient compilation of uncertain date; translation published 1881
Edition: Dhammapada, translated by F. Max Müller, Sacred Books of the East, Vol. X

Check the complete text with an adult

Open the edition-verified text

He who has reached the consummation, who does not tremble, who is without thirst and without sin, he has broken all the thorns of life: this will be his last body.

#460

Aesop’s Fables

The Wolf and the Sheep

Aesop (traditional attribution) · Translator: V. S. Vernon Jones

English Complete story Ethics

Simple guide for children under seven

What it means: Today’s item 460, “Aesop’s Fables · The Wolf an……eep · the-wolf-and-the-sheep,” can mean this: Knowing what is right matters, and doing it matters too.

Try this: Give gentle care to a person, animal, or plant today.

Important reminder: Do not judge a person from one sentence. Check what happened and think with a trusted adult.

For adults: historical and edition context

The Aesopic corpus is a long, changing fable tradition, not a set of individually verifiable utterances by one sixth-century BCE author. Each complete item here is fixed to V. S. Vernon Jones’s 1912 English edition.

Period: Ancient Greek tradition; 1912 English edition
Region: Ancient Mediterranean / United Kingdom edition
Work date: Traditional material associated with the 6th century BCE; translation published 1912
Edition: Standard Ebooks edition of the 1912 V. S. Vernon Jones translation

Check the complete text with an adult

Open the edition-verified text

A Wolf was worried and badly bitten by dogs, and lay a long time for dead. By and by he began to revive, and, feeling very hungry, called out to a passing Sheep and said, “Would you kindly bring me some water from the stream close by? I can manage about meat, if only I could get something to drink.” But this Sheep was no fool. “I can quite understand,” said he, “that if I brought you the water, you would have no difficulty about the meat. Good morning.”

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