Never Trust a Viper
Phaedrus, Fables 4.24 “Serpens Misericordi Nociva”
He who aids the wicked will regret it later. Once when a serpent had grown stiff with cold, some fellow Lifted it up and warmed it on his breast, Harming himself by compassion; for as soon As the serpent revived, it killed the man forthwith. When another serpent asked it for the reason Behind its crime, it answered: “To make sure That no one learns to benefit evildoers.” Qui fert malis auxilium, post tempus dolet. Gelu rigentem quidam colubram sustulit sinuque fovit, contra se ipse misericors; namque, ut refecta est, necuit hominem protinus. hanc alia cum rogaret causam facinoris, respondit “Ne quis discat prodesse improbis.”
Lion Defending Its Prey from a Snake, Edwin Henry Landseer, ca. 1840
