Two Soldiers traveling together were set upon by a Robber. The one fled away; the other stood his ground and defended himself with his stout right hand. The Robber being slain, the timid companion ran up and drew his sword, and then, throwing back his traveling cloak said, “I’ll at him, and I’ll take care he shall learn whom he has attacked.” On this, he who had fought with the Robber made answer, “I only wish that you had helped me just now, even if it had been only with those words, for I should have been the more encouraged, believing them to be true; but now put up your sword in its sheath and hold your equally useless tongue, till you can deceive others who do not know you. I, indeed, who have experienced with what speed you run away, know right well that no dependence can be placed on your valor.”
Credits
Aesop was an ancient Greek storyteller, traditionally believed to have lived in the 6th century BCE, whose fables have been retold across cultures for over two thousand years. His stories typically feature a sharp moral delivered through compact, character-driven conflict — qualities very much on display in this tale of battlefield cowardice. "The Two Soldiers and the Robber" survives as part of the broader Aesopic tradition, passed down and translated through countless collections since antiquity.
