<P> There are early Greek versions of this fable and a 5th - century Latin version by Avianus . They deal with the contrasting behaviour of the oak , which trusts in its strength to withstand the storm and is blown over , and the reed that ' bends with the wind ' and so survives . Most early sources see it as a parable about pride and humility , providing advice on how to survive in turbulent times . This in turn gave rise to various proverbs such as ' Better bend than break ' and ' A reed before the wind lives on , while mighty oaks do fall ' , the earliest occurrence of which is in Geoffrey Chaucer 's Troilus and Criseyde ( II. 1387 - 9 ) . It so happens that there is an overlap here with the old Chinese proverb ' A tree that is unbending is easily broken ' . The saying originally occurred in the religious classic , the Tao Te Ching , with the commentary that ' The hard and strong will fall , the soft and weak will overcome ' . </P>
<P> There are early Greek versions of this fable and a 5th - century Latin version by Avianus . They deal with the contrasting behaviour of the oak , which trusts in its strength to withstand the storm and is blown over , and the reed that ' bends with the wind ' and so survives . Most early sources see it as a parable about pride and humility , providing advice on how to survive in turbulent times . This in turn gave rise to various proverbs such as ' Better bend than break ' and ' A reed before the wind lives on , while mighty oaks do fall ' , the earliest occurrence of which is in Geoffrey Chaucer 's Troilus and Criseyde ( II. 1387 - 9 ) . It so happens that there is an overlap here with the old Chinese proverb ' A tree that is unbending is easily broken ' . The saying originally occurred in the religious classic , the Tao Te Ching , with the commentary that ' The hard and strong will fall , the soft and weak will overcome ' . </P>
what makes the oak think it is better than the reed
what makes the oak think it is better than the reed
its strength
its strength