Was the "drowning man prays to God, but ignores the boats God sends" joke/tale known in Ancient Roman times?
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I asked my son-in-law who teaches Greek, Latin and Classics. His response:
I haven’t encountered anything similar from Antiquity. The closest thing I can think of is the Stoic philosopher Zeno of Citium, who apprehended his slave pilfering money from him. The slave was saucy enough to plead Zeno’s own doctrine of fate back at him: “Don’t beat me! I was fated to steal it.” Zeno, raising his cudgel for another blow, retorted instantly, “And to be beaten.”
I suspect that "dates back to Classical Roman times" was just hyperbole indicating "has been around for a long long time".
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