Aesop tells a fable of a scorpion and a frog:
A scorpion wanted to cross a stream but being unable to swim asked a frog to carry him across the stream on his back. The frog refused, knowing that scorpions were dangerous on account of their poisonous stinger, but the scorpion said, "I won't sting you because if I stung you we would both drown." This seemed reasonable to the frog so she let the scorpion on her back and began swimming across the stream. At the worst possible moment the scorpion stung the frog. The frog exclaimed: "Why did you do that? Now we will both drown!" The scorpion was equally astonished, "I don't know," he explained. "I can't believe I did that."
Not a very happy ending. If only the scorpion had been more honest about his propensity to lash out at people, even when doing so was not in his own best interest. If the scorpion had humbly admitted to the frog, "I would like you to carry me across the stream, but I have this dangerous propensity to sting things." That is certainly a humbling thing to have to admit, but taking note of this danger would have allowed the frog and scorpion to come up with a workable solution - perhaps attaching a cork to the scorpion's stinger! or simply declining to proceed - that would allowed them to live longer than as in the fable.
"Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." Proverbs 16.18; nrsv
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