Aesop's Fables
Moral:
Every Man for Himself

Aesop's Moral:
Every Man for Himself

Other ways of saying it:
Advice is usually framed by self-interest
Expect people to watch out for themselves

Aesop's Fable:

A great city was under attack, and its inhabitants were called together to consider the best way to protect it from the enemy.

A Bricklayer earnestly recommended bricks as the best material for an effective resistance. A Carpenter, with equal enthusiasm, proposed timber as a preferable method of defense. Then the Leathermaker stood up and said, “I disagree with you both: the best material for resistance is a covering made of hides - that is, leather.”

Comment: While Aesop usually used animals to convey human nature in his fables, in this one he uses actual humans.

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Aesop's moral reminds us of an unpleasant truth: people serve themselves. For parents, I think the fable is better used as admonition than instruction. Distrust those whose recommendations might be colored by self interest.

In a world where we're more likely to find ourselves pressured by an aggressive salesman than an advancing army, the warning still holds true!

However, it should be noted that modern usage of the phrase has come to differ from Aesop's. We tend to say, "Every man for himself," when catastrophe is at hand and the need for self-preservation becomes foremost. I doubt The Three Trademsen will actually convey that particular message to children.

"Every man for himself."

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