Aesop
The Rose and the Amaranth
A Rose and an Amaranth blossomed side by side in a garden, and the
Amaranth said to her neighbor, "How I envy you your beauty and your
sweet scent! No wonder you are such a universal favorite." But the
Rose replied with a shade of sadness in her voice, "Ah, my dear
friend, I bloom but for a time: my petals soon wither and fall, and
then I die. But your flowers never fade, even if they are cut; for
they are everlasting."


"Greatness carries its own penalties."