Prevod
A fox and a monkey were traveling together, arguing over whose ancestry was nobler. After each had spoken at length, they came to a certain place, where the monkey looked around and sighed. When the fox asked why, the monkey pointed to the tombs and said, “How can I help weeping when I see the gravestones of my family’s freedmen and slaves?” The fox replied, “Lie as much as you please: not one of them will rise to prove you wrong.” So too, liars boast most brazenly when there is no one to expose them.
Izvirnik
Ἀλώπηξ καὶ πίθηκος ἐν ταὐτῷ ὁδοιποροῦντες περὶ εὐγενείας ἤριζον. Πολλὰ δὲ ἑκατέρων διεξιόντων, ἐπειδὴ ἐγένοντο κατά τινα τόπον, ἐνταῦθα ἀποβλέψας ἀνεστέναξεν ὁ πίθηκος· τῆς δʼ ἀλώπεκος ἐρομένης τὴν αἰτίαν, ὁ πίθηκος ἐπιδείξας αὐτῇ τὰ μνήματα, ἔφη· ,,ἀλλʼ οὐ μέλλω κλαίειν, ὁρῶν τὰς στήλας τῶν πατρικῶν μου ἀπελευθέρων καὶ δούλων;“ Κἀκείνη πρὸς αὐτὸν ἔφη· ,,ἀλλὰ ψεύδου ὅσα βούλει· οὐδεὶς γὰρ τούτων ἀναστάς σε ἐλέγξει.“
Οὕτω καὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων οἱ ψευδολόγοι τότε μάλιστα καταλαζονεύονται, ὅταν τοὺς ἐλέγχοντας μὴ ἔχωσι.
