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Title: The Fables of Æsop, and Others - With Designs on Wood
Author: Thomas, Bewick
Language: English
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Transcriber’s Notes
Italics text is enclosed in _underscores_; crossed-out text on pages
36 and 76 is enclosed in \backslashes\; and superscripted text in the
first lines of the first page is preceded by carets, such as D^r.
Bracketed page numbers, such as [Page 81], at the beginning of each
Fable, were added as a Search aid by Transcriber, as the Table of
Contents is in alphabetical, rather than page number sequence.
[Illustration:
_Newcastle 1^st. October 1818_
_To Thomas Bewick & Son D^r.,
To an Imp^l. Copy of Esop’s Fables 1^£ 11^s 6^d_
_Received the above with thanks_
_Thomas Bewick_ _Robert Elliot Bewick_
_Thomas Bewick_
_his Mark_
]
THE
FABLES OF ÆSOP,
AND OTHERS,
WITH DESIGNS ON WOOD,
BY
THOMAS BEWICK.
“_The wisest of the Ancients delivered their Conceptions of the Deity,
and their Lessons of Morality, in Fables and Parables._”
[Illustration]
NEWCASTLE:
PRINTED BY E. WALKER, FOR T. BEWICK AND SON.
SOLD BY THEM, LONGMAN AND CO. LONDON,
AND ALL BOOKSELLERS.
1818.
[Illustration:
_Wise Men think
Good Men Grieve
Knaves invent
and Fools believe._
]
THE PREFACE DEDICATORY.
_To the Youth of the British Isles._
In collecting together, for your use and benefit, some of the
prudential maxims, and moral apothegms, of the ancient sages, the
Publishers of this volume have been stimulated by an ardent desire to
render this excellent mode of instruction as agreeable as possible;
and, at the same time, to impress the precepts contained in the
Fables more forcibly on your minds, they have endeavoured to make the
embellishments worthy of your notice and examination.
If the seeds of morality and patriotism be early sown, they will spring
up, and ripen to maturity, in a confirmed love of truth, integrity
and honour; and without these for his guide, no man can do credit to
himself or his country. This consideration is of vital importance; for
our comfort and happiness through life, mainly depend upon a strict
adherence to the rules of morality and religion. The youth who is
early tutored in an invincible regard for his own character, will soon
perceive the duties imposed upon him by society, and will have pleasure
in fulfilling them, as much for his own satisfaction as for the sake of
his fellow men: but when the latent powers of the mind are neglected,
or not directed into the paths of rectitude, by good precepts and
worthy examples, vice and folly enter the opening, and lead their
victim into evils and errors, which render his life miserable, and
sometimes hurry him into an ignominious grave.
To delineate the characters and passions of men, under the semblance of
Lions, Tigers, Wolves, and Foxes, is not so extravagant a fiction as it
may at first sight seem: for the innocent and inexperienced will find,
when they engage in the busy scenes of the world, that they will have
to deal with men of dispositions not unlike those animals; and that
their utmost vigilance will be required to guard against their violence
or machinations.
In attempting to form an estimate of the characters of mankind, many
gradations and shades will be found between the two extremes of virtue
and vice. The philanthropist views with feelings of benevolence the
wavering balance, and adds those he finds on the confines, to the
number of the virtuous; while the misanthrope, with gloomy malignity,
endeavours to include within the circle of vice, those who are standing
upon the ill-defined line of division, and thus swells the number
of the bad. Both observe with pain, that great numbers exist, whose
whole lives seem to be spent in disfiguring the beautiful order which
might otherwise reign in society, regardless of the misery which their
wickedness scatters around them. They see men, who suffer their bad
passions and gross appetites to be the sole rule of their conduct;
and whether these shew themselves in an inordinate ambition, a thirst
after false glory, or an insatiable avarice, their consequences are
pernicious, and diffuse evil, distress, and ruin among mankind, in
proportion to the extent to which their baneful influence reaches. The
misanthrope, in contemplating the scene of mischief and disorder, is
apt to arraign the wisdom and justice of Providence for permitting it
to exist; but the philanthropist views it with a more extended range of
vision; and while he laments the evil, he attributes the apparent want
of human feelings in the actors, to an early perversion of intellect,
or to a stifling of the reasoning power given by the Great Creator to
man for his guide, and without which he is the worst animal in the
creation, a mere two-legged Tiger. Upon the childhood and youth of
such men, the great truth taught by the inspired and wisest writers
of all ages, that “no life can be pleasing to God which is not useful
to man,” has not been sufficiently impressed, or probably the energy
with which they pursue their wicked career might have been led into a
different course, and instead of the scourges, they would have been the
benefactors of mankind.
When religion and morality are blended together in the mind, they
impart their blessings to all who seek the aid of the one and obey
the dictates of the other, and their joint effects are seen and felt
in the perpetual cheerfulness they impart. They incite the innocent
whistle of the ploughman at his plough, of the cobler in his stall,
and the song of the milk-maid at her pail: and it is a sign of their
being perverted, when they engender melancholy notions; for these are
the offspring of bigotry, fanaticism, and ignorance. The service of
the Omnipotent is not of this gloomy cast; he has spread out the table
of this beautiful world of wonders, for the use of his creatures, and
has placed man at the head of it, that he might enjoy its bounties, as
well as prepare himself for the approaching change to another, which
inspiration has powerfully impressed on his soul as the _unknowable_
region of his next advance. The materialist, in his dreary reveries,
cannot comprehend this, neither will he acknowledge that his being
placed here is equally as miraculous as that he should be placed in
another world or worlds, progressively to improve, to all eternity: but
to harbour doubts on this subject, is like disputing the wisdom, the
justice, and the mercy of the Author of our being, who, according to
the conceptions we form of his goodness, as exhibited in the design,
the grandeur, and the immensity of creation, where every thing is
systematic, regular, and in order, would never decree that man should
be placed here instinctively to know his Maker--to take a short peep at
the stupendous, the amazing whole--to view all these, and have powers
of mind given him only to know and repugnantly to feel, that after a
life mixed with turmoil, grief, and disease, he is to be annihilated!
In our conception of things, and to the limited understanding which has
been given us, all this would appear to be labour in vain.
The volume of the creation speaks alike to all, and cannot be defaced
by man; but the ways of Providence are beyond his comprehension.
Omnipotence has not been pleased to gratify his pride and vanity, nor
to consult his understanding, in the government of the universe; but
sufficient has been disclosed unto him to point out the moral duties he
owes to society, and the religious worship due to his Maker, without
groping after what is utterly beyond his reach: for our feeble reason
is too weak to comprehend the divine essence; and our thoughts, on
their utmost stretch, roll back on darkness. We reason, but we err:
for how can we comprehend the immensity of endless space, of time and
eternity, a beginning or an end; or what conceptions can we form of
the Power which made the sun and worlds without number? Truly, this
is far too much for a finite being, who does not know why he can move
one of his own fingers, or cease to do so when he pleases! But all may
know and fulfil their religious obligations, by reverencing and adoring
their Creator, and walking humbly before him, and their moral duties,
by being in their several stations, good sons, brothers, husbands,
wives, fathers, mothers, neighbours, and members of society.
Having, with humble diffidence, in this masquerade of life, attempted
to point out to youth the exterior of the temple of virtue, and to
lead them to its steps, the Editor leaves them there, respectfully
recommending them to explore the whole interior, under the guidance of
men more eminent for their mental powers and attainments in learning,
philosophy, and piety. Of these, an illustrious band have placed, at
every avenue and turning, their inestimable works, as directions to
guide us to usefulness and respectability here, and eternal happiness
hereafter.
[Illustration: _Thomas Bewick_]
_Newcastle, September, 1818._
[Illustration]
THE INTRODUCTION.
From time to time, in all ages, men inspired, or gifted with a superior
degree of intellectual power, have appeared upon the stage of life, in
order (by enlightening others) to fulfil the designs of Omnipotence, in
uniting the world in a state of civilized society.
Patriarchs, or heads of families, at first directed or governed those
who were immediately dependent upon them: these in time increased,
and became _clans_; these again, by their quarrels, and their wars,
were induced to elect chieftains or kings over a number of united
clans,--from which were formed the various nations and kingdoms of
the earth. In this early stage of the world, when men were ignorant
and uncivilized, the chase and war seem almost wholly to have
occupied their time and attention. Their kings ruled over them with
despotic sway, and the will of the prince was the only law: and thus
the barbarism of the subject and the tyranny of the ruler went hand
in hand together. That over-swollen pride, which seems the natural
accompaniment of despotic power, blinds the understandings of its
possessors, and renders them wholly regardless of the important trust
reposed in them. The evils arising out of their bad government, are
felt, more or less, by the whole people over whom they preside; and
pride and arrogance prevent the approach of sincerity and truth. The
sycophant and the slave then only find admission, and all other men are
kept at a distance. While kings and governors were of this character,
the voice of truth could only reach their ears through allegory and
fable, which took their rise in the infancy of learning, and seem to
have been the only safe mode of conveying admonition to tyrants. This
pleasing method of instilling instruction into the mind, has been found
by experience to be the shortest and best way of accomplishing that
end, among all ranks and conditions of men.
The first Fable upon record, is that of Jotham and the Trees, in the
Bible; and the next, that of The Poor Man and his Lamb, as related by
Nathan to King David, and which carried with it a blaze of truth that
flashed conviction on the mind of the royal transgressor. Lessons of
reproof, religion, and morality, were, we find, continually delivered
in this mode, by the sages of old, to the exalted among mankind.
It is asserted by authors, that Apologues and Fables had their
origin in the Eastern world, and that the most ancient of them were
the productions of Veesh-nou Sarma, commonly called Pilpay, whose
beautiful collections of Apologues were esteemed as sacred books in
India and Persia, whence they were spread abroad among other nations,
and were by them celebrated and holden in much estimation. They were
translated from the Persian and Arabian into Greek, by Simeon Seth, a
man of great learning, who was an officer of the imperial household
at Constantinople about the year 1070. Seth’s Version was imitated
in Latin by Piers Alfonse, a converted Jew, as early as the year
1107; and this is supposed to have been the first version of Pilpay’s
Apologues that made its way, and became familiarized in Europe. The
time in which Pilpay lived, seems not to be certainly known to the
learned; but some of them suppose that the Fables of Æsop and others
were grounded upon his models. The time in which Æsop lived is better
ascertained, and of all the Fabulists who have amused and instructed
mankind by their writings, his name stands pre-eminent. Authors fix
his birth-place at Cotieum, in Phrygia Major. But the history of
this remarkable person, who lived about 572 years before Christ, and
about 100 years before Herodotus, the Greek historian, has been so
involved in mystery, traditionary stories, and absurd conjectures,
that any attempt to give a detail from such materials, would only
serve to bewilder youth, and lead them into a labyrinth of error; and
it would be impertinent to trouble the learned reader with that which
must be sufficiently familiar to him.[A] The whole of the absurd
fictions concerning this wise and amiable man, were invented by Maximus
Planudes, a Greek monk.[B] Plutarch, and other authentic historians,[C]
have, however, given a very different account of the illustrious
Fabulist. It would appear, according to some of these relations, that
Æsop, originally a shepherd’s boy, had risen from the condition of a
slave, to great eminence, and that he lived in the service of Xanthus
and Judman, or Idmon, in the island of Samos, and afterwards at Athens.
Phædrus speaks of him as living the greater part of his life at the
latter place, where, it appears, a handsome statue, executed by the
hand of the famous statuary Lysippus, was erected to his memory, and
placed before those of the seven sages of Greece.[D] He also notices
his living at Samos, and interesting himself in a public capacity,
in the administration of the affairs of that place; where Aristotle
also introduces him as a public speaker, and records the fact of his
reciting the fable of the Fox and the Hedgehog,[E] while pleading on
behalf of a minister, upon the occasion of his being impeached for
embezzling the public treasure. Æsop is also mentioned as speaking
in a public capacity to the Athenians, at the time when Pisistratus
seized upon their liberties.[F] Upon each of these occasions he is
represented as having introduced a Fable into his discourse, in a witty
and pleasing manner. He was holden in the highest veneration and esteem
in his day, by all men eminent for their wisdom and virtue. It appears
there was scarcely an author among the ancient Greeks who mixed any
thing of morality in his writings, that did not either quote or mention
Æsop. Plato describes Socrates as turning some of Æsop’s Fables into
verse, during those awful hours which he spent in prison, immediately
before his death. Aristophanes not only takes hints from Æsop, but
mentions him much to his honour, as one whose works were, or ought to
be, read before any other. Ennius and Horace have embellished their
poetry from his stores; and ancient sages and authors all concur in
bearing the most ample testimony to his distinguished merits. Plutarch,
in his imaginary banquet of the seven wise men, among several other
illustrious persons of ancient times, celebrated for their wit and
knowledge, introduces Æsop, and describes him as being very courtly
and polite in his behaviour. Upon the authority of Plutarch also, we
fix the life of Æsop in the time of Crœsus, king of Lydia, who invited
him to the court of Sardis. By this prince, he was holden in such
esteem, as to be sent as his envoy to Periander, king of Corinth,
which was about three hundred and twenty years after the time in which
Homer lived, and 550 before Christ. He was also deputed by Crœsus to
consult the oracle of Delphi. While on this embassy, he was ordered
to distribute to each of the citizens, four _minæ_[G] of silver, but
some disputes arising between them and Æsop, he reproached them for
their indolence, in suffering their lands to lie uncultivated, and in
depending on the gratuities of strangers for a precarious subsistence:
the quarrel, which it would appear ran high between them, ended in
Æsop’s sending back the money to Sardis. This so exasperated the
Delphians, that they resolved upon his destruction; and that they might
have some colour of justice for what they intended, they concealed
among his effects, when he was taking his departure from Delphi, a
gold cup, consecrated to Apollo; and afterwards pursuing him, easily
found what they themselves had hidden. On the pretext that he had
committed this sacrilegious theft, they carried him back to the city,
and notwithstanding his imprecating upon them the vengeance of heaven,
they immediately condemned him to be cast from the rock Hypania, as
the punishment of the pretended crime. Ancient historians say, that
for this wickedness, the Delphians were for a long time visited with
pestilence and famine, until an expiation was made, and then the plague
ceased.
[A] The curious enquirer is referred to the Essay on the
Æsopean Fable, by Sir Brooke Boothby, bart. from which this
sketch is extracted.
[B] Planudes lived at Constantinople in the 14th century. His
Fables were printed at Milan, A.D. 1480.
[C] The first person who took great pains to detect and expose
the follies and absurdities of Planudes’s Life of Æsop, and
collected what could be known, was Bachet de Mezeriac, a
man of great learning, who flourished about the year 1632.
[D] These sages were Solon, Thales, Chilo, Cleobulus, Bias,
Pittacus, and Periander, to whom Laertius adds Anacharsis,
Maro, Pherecydes, Epimenides, and Pisistratus.
[E] “Ye men of Samos, let me entreat you to do as the Fox
did; for this man, having got money enough, can have no
further occasion to rob you; but if you put him to death,
some needy person will fill his place, whose wants must be
supplied out of your property.”
The Fable of the Fox and the Hedgehog was applied by
Themistocles to dissuade the Athenians from removing their
magistrates.--_B. Boothby._
[F] The Fable of the Frogs desiring a King.
[G] The mina of silver was 12 ounces, about £3 sterling.
It was not until many ages after the death of Æsop, that his most
prominent successor, Phædrus, arose. He translated Æsop’s Fables from
the Greek into Latin, and added to them many of his own. Of Phædrus
little is known, except from his works. He is said to have lived in
the times of the Emperors Augustus and Tiberius, and to have died in
the reign of the latter. The first printed edition of his Fables, with
cuts, was published at Gauda, in 1482. Caxton published some of them in
1484, and Bonus Accursius in 1489, to which he prefixed Planudes’s Life
of Æsop. But the most perfect edition of Phædrus’s Works was published
in five volumes, by Peter Pithou, at Troyes, in 1596, from manuscripts
discovered by him in the cities of Rheims and Dijon. To these have
succeeded in later times, a numerous list of fabulists,[H] besides
such of the poets as have occasionally interspersed Fables in their
works. These, in their day, have had, and many of them still have,
their several admirers; but Gay and Dodsley best maintain their ground
in this country, as is proved by the regular demand for new editions.
Croxall’s Fables, which were first published in 1722, with cuts on
metal, in the manner of wood, have also had a most extensive sale; and
Sir Brooke Boothby’s elegant little volumes, in verse, published in
1809, are now making their way into the public notice. The Editor of
the present volume, in attempting to continue the same pleasing mode of
conveying instruction, long since laid down as a guide to virtue, has
quoted and compiled from other fabulists, whatever seemed best suited
to his purpose. His sole object is utility, and he is not altogether
without hope, that in attempting to embellish and perpetuate a fabric,
which has its foundations laid in religion and morality, his efforts
may not be wholly ineffectual to induce the young to keep steadily in
view those great truths, which form the sure land-mark to the haven,
where only they can attain peace and happiness.
[H] Sir Roger L’Estrange, born 1616, died 1704.
John de la Fontaine, born 1621, died 1695.
John Dryden, born 1631, died 1701.
Antoine Houdart de la Motte, born 1672, died 1731.
John Gay, born 1688, died 1732.
Samuel Croxall, D. D. Archdeacon of Hereford, died 1752.
Edward Moore, died 1757.
Draper.
Robert Dodsley, born 1703, died 1764.
William Wilkie, born 1721, died 1772.
Abbe Brotier, born 1722, died 1789.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
THE TABLE OF CONTENTS.
A
PAGE
The Ape and her Young Ones 3
The Sensible Ass 69
Æsop and the Impertinent Fellow 81
The Angler and the Little Fish 111
The Ass and the Lion hunting 161
The Ass in the Lion’s Skin 187
The Ape chosen King 195
The Ant and the Fly 269
The Ant and the Grasshopper 307
The Ape and the Fox 319
Æsop at Play 333
The Ass eating Thistles 369
B
The Boy and his Mother 5
The Brother and Sister 31
The Shepherd’s Boy and the Wolf 61
The Bear and the Bee-Hives 119
The Bees, the Drones, and the Wasp 145
The Hunted Beaver 159
The Bull and the Goat 171
The Two Bitches 183
The Boar and the Ass 205
The Blackamoor 223
The Belly and the Members 275
The Boys and the Frogs 375
C
The Two Crabs 1
The Collier and the Fuller 13
The Cock and the Jewel 47
The Wanton Calf 57
The Crow and the Pitcher 63
The Cat and the Fox 107
The Cat and the Mice 149
Cæsar and the Slave 177
The Clown and the Gnat 189
The Countryman and the Snake 217
The Cock and the Fox 219
The Fighting Cocks 349
The Cock and the Fox 359
D
The Dog in the Manger 77
The Ship Dog 99
The Dog invited to Supper 109
The Dog and the Shadow 117
The Mischievous Dog 169
The Dog and the Sheep 207
The Dog and the Wolf 287
The One-eyed Doe 297
The Deer and the Lion 315
The Dove and the Bee 339
The Dog and the Cat 371
E
The Eagle, the Cat, and the Sow 39
The Eagle and the Fox 273
The Eagle and the Crow 301
F
The Proud Frog and the Ox 17
The Fox and the Vizor Mask 51
The Fox and the Crow 67
The Forester and the Lion 83
The Fox without a Tail 95
The Fox and the Ass 105
The Fox and the Tiger 115
The Frogs and their King 135
The Fir and the Bramble 143
The Frog and the Fox 147
Fortune and the Boy 153
The Fox and the Grapes 167
The Fisherman 173
The Fox and the Boar 175
The Frogs and the Fighting Bulls 179
The Two Frogs 199
The Fox and the Briar 201
The Fox and the Stork 215
The Fox and the HedgeHog 227
The Fox and the Goat 235
The Fowler and the Ring-dove 249
The Fowler and the Blackbird 263
The Fatal Marriage 277
The Fox and the Lion 285
The Flying Fish and the Dolphin 289
The Fox in the Well 311
The Fox and the Sick Lion 323
The Fox and the Countryman 331
The Fox and the Wolf 335
The Frogs and the Mice 353
The Fowler and the Lark 355
The Fowler and the Partridge 363
G
The Goat, the Kid, and the Wolf 29
The Goat and the Lion 101
The Gardener and his Dog 313
The Wild and the Tame Geese 351
H
The Husbandman and his Sons 15
Hercules and the Carter 37
The Drunken Husband 121
The Hen and the Swallow 127
The Hart and the Vine 157
The Old Hound 181
The Hen and the Fox 185
The Hare and the Tortoise 221
The Hares and the Frogs 251
The Harper 267
The Horse and the Stag 303
The Horse and the Lion 309
The Horse and the Ass 327
The Hawk and the Farmer 329
The Horse and the over-loaded Ass 343
The Husbandman and the Stork 345
I
Industry and Sloth 9
J
Jupiter and the Ass 79
Jupiter and the Camel 139
Jupiter and the Herdsman 209
Juno and the Peacock 237
Jupiter and Pallas 241
The Vain Jack-daw 255
K
The Bald Knight 87
The Kite and the Pigeons 281
The Sick Kite 283
The Kid and the Wolf 293
L
The Leopard and the Fox 21
The Lark and her Young Ones 41
The Lion and the Four Bulls 89
The Lion, the Tiger, and the Wolf 93
The Lioness and the Fox 123
The Lamb brought up by a Goat 125
The Old Lion 211
The Lion in Love 225
The Lion and other Beasts 239
The Lion and the Mouse 257
The Lion and the Frog 291
The Lion, the Wolf, and the Dog 367
M
The Master and his Scholar 7
The Young Man and the Swallow 11
The Mole and her Dam 27
The Young Men and the Cook 43
The Mule 45
Mercury and the Woodman 49
The Man and his Goose 55
The Old Man and his Sons 91
The Miser and his Treasure 97
A Man bitten by a Dog 113
The Envious Man and the Covetous 129
The Mice in Council 193
The Old Man and Death 197
The Man and the Weasel 203
The Magpie and the Sheep 213
The Man and his Two Wives 231
Mercury and the Carver 233
The Mountains in Labour 253
The Mouse and the Weasel 271
The Young Man and the Lion 279
The Country and the City Mouse 295
The Miller, his Son, and their Ass 305
The Young Man and his Cat 361
The Blind Man and the Lame 365
N
The Nurse and the Wolf 265
O
The Oak and the Reed 151
P
The Peacock and the Crane 23
The Two Pots 25
The Partridge and the Cocks 65
The Porcupine and the Snakes 131
The Polecat and the Cock 261
The Ploughman and Fortune 317
R
The Raven and the Serpent 337
S
The Stag looking into the Water 19
The Sheep Biter 33
The Swallow and other Birds 71
The Sow and the Wolf 133
The Stag and the Fawn 141
The Sow and the Bitch 163
The Satyr and the Traveller 165
The Sparrow and the Hare 229
The Stag in the Ox-Stall 247
The Sun and the Wind 325
The Serpent and the Man 341
The Shepherd turned Merchant 357
T
The Thief and the Dog 53
The Boasting Traveller 59
The Thieves and the Cock 73
The two Travellers 103
The Tortoise and the Eagle 259
The Trees and the Woodman 299
The Thief and the Boy 321
The Travellers and the Bear 347
The Trumpeter taken Prisoner 373
V
The Viper and the File 243
W
The Old Woman and her Maids 35
The Wolves and the Sick Ass 75
The Wolf, the Fox, and the Ape 85
The Old Woman and the Empty Cask 137
The Wolf and the Crane 155
The Wolf and the Lamb 191
The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing 245
[Illustration]
THE
FABLES OF ÆSOP,
AND OTHERS.
[Illustration] [Page 1]
THE TWO CRABS.
Two Crabs, the mother and daughter, having been left by the receding
tide, were creeping again towards the water, when the former observing
the awkward gait of her daughter, got into a great passion, and desired
her to move straight forward, in a more becoming and sprightly manner,
and not crawl sideling along in a way so contrary to all the rest of
the world. Indeed mother, says the young Crab, I walk as properly as I
can, and to the best of my knowledge; but if you would have me to go
otherwise, I beg you would be so good as to practise it first, and shew
me by your own example how you would have me to conduct myself.
APPLICATION.
Ill examples corrupt even the best natural disposition, and it is in
vain to instruct our children, their talents being only imitation, to
walk by one rule, if we ourselves go by another. The good precepts
which we may lay down to them, will be bestowed in vain, if they
see by our own conduct, that we pursue a contrary course to that
which we recommend to them. Parents therefore, who are desirous of
working an effectual reformation in their children, should begin by
making a visible amendment in themselves; and this is a duty they owe
to society, as well as to their offspring, it being of the utmost
importance to both, that probity and honour be early instilled into
their youthful minds, as these grow with their growth, and while at
the same time they command respect, they lay the foundation of their
individual happiness through life.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 3]
THE APE AND HER YOUNG ONES.
An Ape having two young ones, was dotingly fond of one, but disregarded
and slighted the other. One day she chanced to be surprized by the
hunters, and had much ado to get off. However, she did not forget her
favourite young one, which she took up in her arms, that it might be
the more secure: the other, which she neglected, by natural instinct,
leapt upon her back, and so away they scampered together; but it
unluckily fell out, in the over-anxiety of her precipitate flight,
confused and blinded with haste, that she struck her favourite’s head
against a branch, which threw it on the ground, where the darling
bantling was seized by the dogs and killed. The hated one, clinging
close to her rough back, escaped all the danger of the pursuit.
APPLICATION.
By dear mamma’s o’er-weening fondness spoil’d,
Caress’d and pamper’d, dies the fav’rite child:
The boy she slights, rough, vig’rous, and well-grown,
Unaided, bears the brunt, and shifts alone.
The indulgence which parents shew to their children arises from the
most amiable of human weaknesses; but it is not the less injurious in
its effects, and therefore it is of great importance to guard against
it, and not to suffer a blind fondness to transport us beyond the
bounds of a discreet affection, for this often proves the ruin of the
child. This fable is also intended to expose the folly of a system of
favouritism in families, for experience shews that those children who
are the least pampered and indulged usually make the best and cleverest
men.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 5]
THE BOY AND HIS MOTHER.
A little Boy having stolen a book from one of his school-fellows,
took it to his Mother, who, instead of correcting him, praised his
sharpness, and rewarded him. In process of time, as he grew bigger,
he increased also in villainy, till at length he was taken up for
committing a great robbery, and was brought to justice and condemned
for it. As the officers were conducting him to the gallows, he was
attended by a vast crowd, and among the rest his Mother came sobbing
along, and deploring her son’s unhappy fate; which the criminal
observing, he begged leave to speak to her: this being granted, he put
his mouth to her ear, as if he was going to whisper something, and
bit it off! The officer, shocked at this behaviour, asked him if the
crimes he had committed were not sufficient to glut his wickedness,
without being also guilty of such an unnatural violence towards his
mother? Let no one wonder, said he, that I have done this to her, for
she deserves even worse at my hands. For if she had chastised instead
of praising and encouraging me, when I stole my school-fellow’s book, I
should not now have been brought to this ignominious and untimely end.
APPLICATION.
The approaches to vice are by slow degrees, and the good or evil bias
given to youth is seldom eradicated. The first deviations from sound
morality should therefore be most strictly watched, and wickedness
checked or punished in time; for when vice grows into a habit, it
becomes incurable, and both good governments and private families are
deeply concerned in its attendant consequences. One need not scruple to
affirm that most of the depravity which is so frequent in the world,
and so pernicious to society, is owing to the bad education of youth;
and to the connivance or ill example of their parents. It is therefore
of the utmost consequence that parents, guardians, and tutors, should
be of characters befitting them for the various and important offices
they have to perform. The latter description of persons may and ought
to be carefully selected; but it is to be lamented that the base and
mean-spirited hosts of bad parents are out of the reach of controul,
and nothing can prevent the evils arising from their tutorage. Perhaps
it would be harsh to make laws to check the marriages of such; but
there is no need to encourage the breed of them, for they are already
over abundantly numerous.
[Illustration] [Page 7]
THE MASTER AND HIS SCHOLAR.
As a School-master was walking upon the bank of a river, he heard a
cry as of one in distress: advancing a few paces farther, he saw one
of his Scholars in the water, hanging by the branch of a willow. The
Boy had, it seems, been learning to swim with corks, and now thinking
himself sufficiently experienced, had thrown these implements aside,
and ventured into the water without them; but the force of the stream
having hurried him out of his depth, he had certainly been drowned, had
not the branch of the tree providentially hung in his way. The Master
took up the corks, which lay upon the ground, and throwing them to his
Scholar, made use of this opportunity to read a lecture to him upon the
inconsiderate rashness of youth. Let this be an example to you, says
he, in the conduct of your future life, never to throw away your corks
till time has given you strength and experience enough to swim without
them.
APPLICATION.
Rashness is the peculiar vice of youth, and may be stiled the
characteristic foible of that season of life. The foundation of this
rashness is laid in a fond conceit of their own abilities, which
tempts them to undertake affairs too great for their capacities, and
to venture out of their depths, or to suffer themselves to be hurried
into the most precipitate and dangerous measures, before they find out
their own weakness and inability. It therefore behoves inexperienced
young men to keep a cautious guard over their passions, to check the
irregularities of their disposition, and to listen to the wholesome
advice and good council of those whose judgments are matured by age
and experience: for few are above the need of advice, nor are we ever
too old to learn any thing for which we may be the better. But young
men, above all, should not disdain to open their eyes to good example,
and their ears to admonition: neither should they be ashamed to borrow
rules for their behaviour in the world, until they are enabled from
their own knowledge of men and things, to stem its crooked tides and
currents with ease and honour to themselves.
Consult your elders, use their sense alone,
Till age and practice have confirm’d your own.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 9]
INDUSTRY AND SLOTH.
An indolent Young Man being asked why he lay in bed so long? jocosely
answered, “Every morning of my life I am hearing causes. I have two
fine girls, their names are Industry and Sloth, close at my bed-side
as soon as I awake, pressing their different suits. One intreats me to
get up, the other persuades me to lie still; and then they alternately
give me various reasons why I should rise, and why I should not. This
detains me so long, (it being the duty of an impartial judge to hear
all that can be said on either side) that before the pleadings are
over, it is time to go to dinner.”
APPLICATION.
“He who defers his work from day to day,
Does on a river’s brink expecting stay,
’Till the whole stream which stopt him shall be gone,
Which, as it runs, for ever will run on.”
Indolence is like a stream which flows slowly on, but yet it undermines
every virtue; it rusts the mind, and gives a tincture to every
action of one’s life, the term of which does not allow time for long
protracted deliberations; and yet how many waste more of their time
in idly considering which of two affairs to begin first, than would
have ended them both? To-morrow is still the fatal time when all is
to be done; to-morrow comes, it goes, and still indolence pleases
itself with the shadow, while it loses the substance: and thus men pass
through life like a bird through the air, and leave no track behind
them, unmindful that the present time alone is ours, and should be
managed with judicious care, since we cannot secure a moment to come,
nor recal one that is past. It is no matter how many good qualities
the mind may be possessed of; they all lie dormant if we want the
necessary vigour and resolution to draw them forth; for this slumber
of the mind leaves no difference between the greatest genius and the
meanest understanding. Neither the mind nor the body can be active and
vigorous without proper exertion, and trouble springs from idleness,
and grievous toil from useless ease; therefore, “whatsoever thy hand
findeth to do, do it with all thy might, for there is no work, nor
device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave, whither thou goest.”
[Illustration] [Page 11]
THE YOUNG MAN AND THE SWALLOW.
A prodigal thoughtless young Man, who had wasted his whole patrimony in
taverns and gaming-houses, among his lewd idle companions, was taking
a melancholy walk near a brook. It was in the spring, while the hills
were yet capped with snow, but it happened to be one of those clear
sunny days which some times occur at that time of the year; and to
make appearances the more flattering, a Swallow which had been invited
forth by the warmth, flew skimming along upon the surface of the water.
The Youth observing this, concluded that the summer was now come, and
that he should have little or no occasion for clothes, so went and
pawned them, and ventured the money for one stake more, among his
sharping associates. When this too was gone, like all the rest of his
property, he took another solitary walk in the same place as before,
but the weather being severe and frosty, every thing had put on a very
different aspect; the brook was frozen over, and the poor Swallow lay
dead upon the bank. At this, the Youth, smarting under the sense of
his own misery, mistakingly reproached the Swallow as the cause of all
his misfortunes: he cried out, oh, unhappy bird, thou hast undone both
thyself and me, who was so credulous as to trust to thy appearance.
APPLICATION.
They who frequent taverns and gaming-houses, and keep bad company,
should not wonder if they are reduced in a very short time to penury
and want. The wretched young fellows who once addict themselves to
such a scandalous course of life, scarcely think of or attend to any
thing besides: they seem to have nothing else in their heads but how
they may squander what they have got, and where they may get more when
that is gone. They do not make the same use of their reason as other
people, but like the jaundiced eye, view every thing in a false light,
and having turned a deaf ear to all advice, and pursued their unaltered
course until all their property is irrecoverably lost, when at length
misery forces upon them a sense of their situation, they still lay the
blame upon any cause but the right one--their own extravagance and
folly; like the Prodigal in the fable, who would not have considered a
solitary occurrence as a general indication of the season, had not his
own wicked desires blinded his understanding.
[Illustration] [Page 13]
THE COLLIER AND THE FULLER.
The Collier and the Fuller being old acquaintances, happened upon a
time to meet together, and the latter being but ill provided with a
habitation, was invited by the former to come and live in the same
house with him. I thank you, my dear friend, replied the Fuller, for
your kind offer; but it cannot be, for if I were to dwell with you,
whatever I should take pains to scour and make clean in the morning,
the dust of you and your coals would blacken and defile before night.
APPLICATION.
It is of no small importance in life to be cautious what company we
keep, and with whom we enter into friendship; for though we are ever so
well disposed ourselves, and free from vice, yet if those with whom
we frequently converse, are engaged in a lewd, wicked course, it will
be almost impossible for us to escape being drawn in with them. If we
are truly wise, and would shun those rocks of pleasure upon which so
many have split, we should forbid ourselves all manner of commerce and
correspondence with those who are steering a course, which reason tells
us is not only not for our advantage, but would end in our destruction.
All the virtue we can boast of, will not be sufficient to insure our
safety, if we embark in bad company; for though our philosophy were
such as would preserve us from being tainted and infected with their
manners, yet their characters would twist and entwine themselves along
with ours, in so intricate a fold, that the world would not take the
trouble to unravel and separate them. Reputation is of a blending
nature, like water; that which is derived from the clearest spring, if
it chance to mix with a foul current, runs on undistinguished, in one
muddy stream, and must ever partake of the colour and condition of its
associate.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 15]
THE HUSBANDMAN AND HIS SONS.
A Husbandman, at the point of death, being desirous that his Sons
should pursue the same innocent course of agriculture in which he
himself had been engaged all his life, made use of this expedient.
He called them to his bed-side, and said: All the patrimony I have
to bequeath to you, my sons, is my farm and my vine-yard, of which I
make you joint heirs; but I charge you not to let them go out of your
own occupation, for if I have any treasure besides, it lies buried
somewhere in the ground within a foot of the surface. This made the
Sons conclude that he talked of money which he had hidden: so after
their father’s death, with unwearied diligence, they carefully dug up
every inch, and though they found not the money they expected, the
ground, by being well stirred and loosened, produced so plentiful
a crop of all that was sown in it, as proved a real, and that no
inconsiderable treasure.
APPLICATION.
The good name and the good counsel of a father, are the best legacies
he can leave to his children; and they ought to revere the one, and
keep in mind the other. The wealth which a man acquires by his honest
industry affords him greater pleasure in the enjoyment, than when
acquired in any other way; and men who by personal labour have obtained
a competency, know its value better than those can who have had it
showered upon them without any efforts of their own. Idleness engenders
disease, while exercise is the great prop of health, and health is the
greatest blessing of life, which consideration alone ought to stimulate
men to pursue some useful employment; and among the almost endless
number of those, to which good laws and well-organized society give
birth and encouragement, there are none equal to the culture of the
earth, none which yield a more grateful return. The pleasures derived
both from agriculture and horticulture, are so various, so delightful,
and so natural to man, that they are not easily to be described, and
are never to be excelled: for in whatever way they are pursued, the
mind may be constantly entertained with the wonderful œconomy of the
vegetable world; and the nerves are invigorated and kept in proper tone
by the freshness of the earth, and the fragrancy of the air, which
blush the countenance with health, and give a relish to every meal.
[Illustration] [Page 17]
THE PROUD FROG AND THE OX.
An Ox, grazing in a meadow, chanced to set his foot among a parcel of
young Frogs, and trod one of them to death. The rest informed their
mother, when she came home, what had happened; telling her, that the
beast which did it, was the hugest creature that they ever saw in their
lives. What, was it so big? says the old Frog, swelling and blowing up
her speckled belly to a great degree. Oh! bigger by a vast deal, say
they: and so big? says she, straining herself yet more. Indeed, say
they, if you were to burst yourself, you would never be so big. She
strove yet again, and burst herself indeed.
APPLICATION.
How many vain people, of moderate easy circumstances, by entertaining
the silly ambition of vying with their superiors in station and
fortune, get into the direct road to ruin. In whatever station of life
it may have pleased Providence to place us, we ought to determine
upon living within our income, and to endeavour by honesty, sobriety,
and industry, to maintain our ground. Young men, upon their launching
out into the world, would do well deeply to reflect upon this, for
their future peace of mind and happiness greatly depend upon it. They
need only look a little about them to see how a contrary conduct has
operated upon thousands; and it is to be feared, will continue to fill
our gaols with debtors, and Bedlam with lunatics.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 19]
THE STAG LOOKING INTO THE WATER.
A Stag drinking, saw himself in the water, and pleased with the sight,
stood contemplating his shape. Ah, says he, what a glorious pair of
branching horns are here, how gracefully do these antlers project
over my forehead, and give an agreeable turn to my whole face; but I
have such legs as really make me ashamed; they look so very long and
unsightly, that I had rather have none at all. In the midst of this
soliloquy, he was alarmed with the cry of a pack of hounds. Away he
flies in some consternation, and bounding nimbly over the plain, threw
dogs and men at a vast distance behind him. After which, taking a
very thick copse, he had the ill fortune to be entangled by his horns
in the branches, where he was held fast till the hounds came up and
seized him. In the pangs of death, he is said to have uttered these
words: Unhappy creature that I am, I am too late convinced that what I
prided myself in, has been the cause of my undoing; and what I so much
disliked, was the only thing that could have saved me.
APPLICATION.
We often make a false estimate, in preferring our ornamental talents
to our useful ones, and are apt to place our love and admiration on
wrong objects. When our vanity is stronger than our reason, show and
ostentation find easy admission into our hearts, and we are much fonder
of specious trifles than useful plainness. But the truest mark of
wisdom is to estimate things at their just value, and to know whence
the most solid advantages may be derived: otherwise, like the Stag in
the Fable, we may happen to admire those accomplishments which are
not only of no real use, but often prove prejudicial to us, while we
despise those things on which our safety may depend. He that does not
know himself, will often form a false judgment upon other matters that
most materially concern him; and thus it fares with many, who suffer
themselves to be deluded with the false pomp of high life, and whose
vanity prompts them to conceive they possess talents which qualify them
to shine in that circle, into which, had they judged rightly, they
never would have entered, but rather have applied themselves to improve
other qualifications, which might have insured their own happiness, and
have rendered them useful members of society.
[Illustration] [Page 21]
THE LEOPARD AND THE FOX.
The Leopard, one day, took it into his head to value himself upon the
great variety and beauty of his spots, and truly he saw no reason why
even the Lion should take place of him, since he could not shew so
beautiful a skin. As for the rest of the wild beasts of the forest, he
treated them all without distinction in the most haughty and disdainful
manner. But the Fox being among them, went up to him with a great deal
of spirit and resolution, and told him that he was mistaken in the
value he was pleased to set upon himself, since people of judgment were
not used to form their opinion of merit from an outside appearance, but
by considering the good qualities and endowments with which the mind
was stored within.
APPLICATION.
Wise men are chiefly captivated with the beauty of the mind, rather
than that of the person; and whenever they are infatuated with a
passion for any thing else, it is generally observed that they cease,
during that time at least, to be what they were, and indeed are
only considered to be playing the fool. It too often happens that
women of remarkable beauty are so fully satisfied with their outward
excellencies, that they totally neglect the improvement of their
minds; not considering that it is only a combination of mental and
personal charms that can entitle them to be ranked as Nature’s greatest
ornaments. Unmindful of this, however, they are too apt to consider
beauty as the only thing requisite in their sex; and since they are
endowed with it in such an eminent degree, they look down with disdain
on females less happy in personal charms. Beauty has undoubtedly great
influence over the hearts of mankind, but when it is overrun with
affectation and conceit, their admiration will soon be turned into
disgust; while women of more ordinary persons, but blessed with good
sense and good humour, will captivate the hearts of worthy men, and
more effectually secure their constancy.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 23]
THE PEACOCK AND THE CRANE.
The Peacock and the Crane having by chance met together, the Peacock
erected his tail, displayed his gaudy plumes, and looked with contempt
upon the Crane, as some mean ordinary person. The Crane resolving to
mortify his insolence, took occasion to say, that Peacocks were very
fine birds indeed, if fine feathers could make them so; but that he
thought it a much nobler thing to be able to rise above the clouds into
endless space, and survey the wonders of the heavens, as well as of the
earth beneath, with its seas, lakes, and rivers, as far as the eye can
reach, than to strut about upon the ground, and be gazed at by children.
APPLICATION.
There cannot be a greater sign of a weak mind, than a person’s valuing
himself on a gaudy outside, whether it consist of the beauties of the
person, or the still more contemptible vanity of fine cloaths. This
kind of misguided pride, while it endeavours to exalt, commonly tends
to lower the persons who are infected with it; but never renders them
so truly ridiculous as when it inspires them with a contempt of those
who have ten times more worth than themselves. To value ourselves
upon the glitter and finery of dress is one of the most trifling of
all vanities; and a man of sense would be ashamed to bestow upon it
the least attention. They who examine things by the scale of common
sense, must find something of weight and substance before they can be
persuaded to set a value upon it. The mind that is stored with virtuous
and rational sentiments, and the behaviour which is founded upon
complacency and humility, stamp a value upon the possessor, which all
men of discernment are ever ready to admire and acknowledge.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 25]
THE TWO POTS.
An earthen Pot, and one of brass, standing together upon the brink of
a river, were both carried away by the sudden rise of the water. The
earthen Pot shewed some uneasiness, fearing he should be broken; but
his companion of brass bade him be under no apprehension, as he would
take care of him. Oh! replies the other, keep as far off as you can, I
entreat you: it is you I am most afraid of; for whether the stream dash
you against me, or me against you, I am sure to be the sufferer, and,
therefore, I beg of you do not let us come near one another.
APPLICATION.
A man of moderate fortune, who is contented with what he has, and finds
he can live happily upon it, should be particularly guarded against
the ill-judged ambition of associating with the rich and powerful, for
what in them is œconomy, would in him be the height of extravagance;
and at the very time they honour him with their countenance, they are
leading him on to his ruin. People of equal conditions may float down
the current of life without hurting each other; but it is no easy
matter to steer one’s course in company with the great, so as to escape
without a bulge: neither is it desirable to live in the neighbourhood
of a very great man; for whether we ignorantly trespass upon him, or he
knowingly encroach upon us, we are sure to be the sufferers.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 27]
THE MOLE AND HER DAM.
The young Mole snuffed up her nose, and told her Dam she smelt an odd
kind of a smell. Bye and bye, O strange! says she, what a noise there
is in my ears, as if ten thousand hammers were going. A little after,
she was at it again: look, look, what is that I see yonder? it is just
like the flame of a fiery furnace. The Dam replied, pray child hold
your idle tongue; and if you would have us allow you any sense at all,
do not affect to shew more than nature has given you.
APPLICATION.
By affectation, we aim at being thought to possess some accomplishment
which we have not, or at shewing what we have, in a conceited
ostentatious manner. There is scarcely any species of ridiculous
behaviour, which is not derived from it; it grows out of folly and
insincerity; it derogates from genius; it is the bane of beauty, and
diminishes its charms; it is disagreeable to others, and hurtful to the
person who uses it; it detracts from some real possession, and makes
qualities that would otherwise pass well enough, appear nauseous and
offensive; and whoever indulges in it, may be sure to lay themselves
open, and call forth the attention of others to notice their vanity.
To cure ourselves of affectation, we have only to call in the aids of
truth and sincerity, which will cut off the whole train of its follies
at one stroke.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 29]
THE GOAT, THE KID, AND THE WOLF.
The Goat going abroad to feed, shut up her young Kid at home, charging
him to bolt the door fast, and open it to nobody till she herself
should return. The Wolf who lay lurking hard by, heard the charge
given, and soon after came and knocked at the door, counterfeiting the
voice of the Goat, and desired to be admitted. The Kid looking out at
the window, and finding the cheat, bade him go about his business, for,
however he might imitate a Goat’s voice, yet he appeared too much like
a Wolf to be trusted.
APPLICATION.
Deceit, hypocrisy, and villainy, are constantly on the watch to entrap
and ensnare the innocent and the unwary. Every beautiful woman is
commonly surrounded by a kind of men who would undermine her virtue;
and inexperienced men of fortune, in the outset of life, are almost
constantly beset with rogues and sharpers; and these artful villains,
under one specious pretext or another, too often effect the ruin of the
weak and unsuspicious of both sexes. As a guard against all these, the
early admonitions of parents are of inestimable worth: they are built
upon the tenderest regard, and the most sincere affection. Those who
have already travelled over the difficult paths of life, and buffeted
its storms, have observed the snares and the dangers with which the
way is strewed, and they are enabled by their experience, to forewarn
those who are about to launch out on the troubled ocean of life, to
steer their course clear of its hidden rocks, its shoals, and its
quick-sands. Did youth but know the importance of this early advice,
how eagerly would they treasure it in their minds, and as occasion
required, with what pleasure would they draw it forth, and obey its
dictates. To the neglect of these precepts, may be attributed much of
the ill conduct we see in the world, and most of the misfortunes which
befal mankind through life.
[Illustration:
_Honour thy Father
and thy mother
that thy Days may be long
in the land which
The LORD thy God
giveth Thee._
]
[Illustration] [Page 31]
THE BROTHER AND SISTER.
A certain man had two children, a Son and a Daughter; the Boy very
handsome, and the Girl only moderately so. They were both young, and
happened to be one day playing near the looking-glass, which stood
on their mother’s toilet. The Boy, pleased with the novelty of the
thing, viewed himself for some time, and in a wanton roguish manner,
observed to the Girl how handsome he was. She resented it, and could
not bear the insolent manner in which he spoke, for she understood it
(as how could she do otherwise) to be intended as a direct affront to
her. Therefore she ran immediately to her Father, and with a deal of
aggravation, complained of her Brother, particularly of his having
acted so effeminate a part as to look in a glass, and meddle with
things which belonged to women only. The father embraced them both
with much tenderness and affection, and told them that he should
like to have them look in a glass every day: to the intent that you,
says he, addressing himself to the Boy, if you think that face of
yours handsome, may not disgrace and spoil it by an ugly temper, and
a foul behaviour; and that you, speaking to the girl, may make up for
the defects of your person, if there be any, by the sweetness of your
manners, and the agreeableness of your conversation.
APPLICATION.
We should every day view ourselves considerately in a looking-glass,
with the intent of converting it to a better purpose than that of
merely observing and admiring our persons. Let those on whom nature has
been liberal of her bounties, in bestowing a fine countenance, with
symmetry of person, health, and strength, always remember that these
are the gifts of providence, for which we ought ever to be thankful,
but never vain: these qualifications ought only to act as a spur to
induce us to cultivate the mind, by study, by reading, and reflection,
so as to cause it to correspond in its beauties with those of our
outward appearance. Let others again who have not any thing in their
personal appearance to attract the attention of the world, strive also
to improve the faculties of the mind, and to excel in the beauties of
a good temper, and an agreeable conversation, the charms of which,
notwithstanding a rough exterior, cannot fail to endear the possessor
to all men of sense, who will readily discover intrinsic worth, whether
it be made up of a lively imagination, clear perceptions, or the
transparent sincerity of an honest heart.
[Illustration] [Page 33]
THE SHEEP-BITER.
A certain Shepherd had a Dog, upon whose fidelity he relied very much,
for whenever he had occasion to be absent himself, he committed the
care of his flock to the charge of this Dog; and to encourage him to do
his duty cheerfully, he fed him constantly with sweet milk and curds,
and sometimes threw him a bone extraordinary. Yet, notwithstanding
this, no sooner was his back turned, than the treacherous Cur fell upon
some one of the flock, and thus devoured the sheep instead of guarding
and defending them. The Shepherd having at length found out his tricks,
was resolved to hang him; and the Dog, when the rope was about his
neck, and he was just going to be tied up, began to expostulate with
his master, asking him why he was so unmercifully bent against him, who
was his own servant and creature, and had only committed a few crimes;
and why he did not rather take vengeance on the Wolf who was an open
and declared enemy? Nay, replied the Shepherd, it is for that very
reason that I think you ten times more worthy of death, for from him
I expected nothing but hostilities, and therefore could guard against
him; you I depended on as a just and faithful servant, and fed and
encouraged you accordingly, and therefore your treachery is the more
base, and your ungratitude the more unpardonable.
APPLICATION.
The common disappointments which we are liable to through life,
do not bring with them any thing to be compared to the bitterness
we experience from the perfidy of those we esteemed and trusted
as friends: an open enemy we can guard against, and we look upon
him when he is at rest, as we do at the sword within its scabbard;
but the man who betrays his trust, masked under the appearance of
friendship, wounds us in the tenderest part, and involves us in a
cruelly complicated grief, which frets the mind and heightens the sum
of our infelicity. Friendship is the cordial of human life, the balm
of society; and he who violates its laws, by treachery and deceit,
converts it into the deadliest poison, and renders that which ought to
be the defence and support of our steps, our greatest snare and danger.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 35]
THE OLD WOMAN AND HER MAIDS.
An Old Woman, who had several Maid Servants, used to call them up to
their work at the crowing of the Cock. The damsels, not liking to have
their sweet slumbers disturbed so early, combined together, and killed
the Cock, thinking they might then enjoy their warm beds a little
longer. But in this they found themselves mistaken, for the Old Woman,
having lost her unerring guide, from that time roused them out of their
beds whenever she awoke, although it might be at midnight.
APPLICATION.
We govern our lives by imagination rather than by judgment, mistaking
the reason of things, and imputing the issue of them to wrong causes.
We should endeavour to content ourselves in our present station, if it
be not very bad indeed, for it seldom happens that every thing can be
in all respects agreeable to our wishes. When we give full scope to the
impatience of our tempers, and quit our present condition in life, we
often find we have not changed for the better; but we are too fond of
carving out our fortunes for ourselves, and wish to remove this or that
obstacle which we imagine stands between us and our felicity: then,
too late, we see how greatly we are mistaken in our notions, when we
feel we have changed for the worse. Before we attempt any alteration of
moment, we should, if possible, ascertain what state it will produce,
and not suffer infirmity of temper to embitter our lives; but, above
all, we should never aim at mending our fortunes by fraud and violence.
[Illustration: _They all want \Brains\ Wigs_]
[Illustration] [Page 37]
HERCULES AND THE CARTER.
As a clownish Fellow was driving his cart along a deep miry lane, the
wheels stuck so fast in the clay, that his horses could not draw it
out. Upon this he fell a bawling and praying to Hercules to come and
help him. Hercules, looking down from a cloud, bid him not lie there
like an idle dastardly looby as he was, but get up and whip his horses,
and clap his shoulder stoutly to the wheel, adding that this was the
only way for him to obtain assistance.
APPLICATION.
The man who sits down at his ease, and prays to Heaven to have all
his wants supplied, and his wishes accomplished, by a miracle wrought
in his favour, without using his own exertions and honest endeavours
to obtain them, deserves to be disappointed. Many men who have a fair
share of natural good sense, and who also value themselves upon having
their reasoning powers enlightened by revelation, yet fall into this
error: led by fanatics and bigots, they follow the fashion of running
often to prayers and sermons, when they might be much better employed
at home. The industrious good man, instead of publicly praying for
the comforts of life, pursues his business, which is the proper means
of procuring them; and if at the same time he holds converse with his
Maker, which all men ought to do, and no man can be happy without
doing, he needs no veil of hypocrisy to make the world believe he is
better than he really is: he feels it his duty and pleasure so to
proceed, while he sojourns here, and knows not how he can do better,
than by sober and honest industry to provide for those of his own
household, and to endeavour for the means of helping him that needeth.
The man who is virtuously and honestly engaged, is actually serving
God all the while; and is more likely to have his silent wishes,
accompanied with strenuous endeavours, complied with by the Supreme
Being, than he who begs with an unnecessary vehemence, and solicits
with an empty hand--a hand which would be more religious, were it
usefully employed, and more devout, were it stretched out to do good to
those that want it.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 39]
THE EAGLE, THE CAT, AND THE SOW.
An Eagle had built her nest upon the top branches of an old oak; a
Wild Cat inhabited a hole in the middle; and in the hollow part at the
bottom was a Sow with a whole litter of Pigs. A happy neighbourhood,
and might long have continued so, had it not been for the wicked
insinuations of the designing Cat: for first of all, up she crept to
the Eagle, and, Good neighbour, says she, we shall all be undone; that
filthy Sow yonder does nothing but lie rooting at the foot of the
tree, and, as I suspect, intends to grub it up, that she may the more
easily come at our young ones. For my part, I will take care of my
own concerns, you may do as you please; but I will watch her motions,
though I stay at home this month for it. When she had said this, which
could not fail of putting the Eagle into a great fright, down she went,
and made a visit to the Sow at the bottom: putting on a sorrowful
face, I hope, says she, you do not intend to go abroad to-day: why not?
says the Sow: nay, replies the other, you may do as you please, but I
overheard the Eagle tell her young ones, that she would treat them with
a Pig the first time she saw you go out; and I am not sure but she may
take up with a Kitten in the mean time; so good morrow to you, you will
excuse me, I must go and take care of the little folks at home. Away
she went accordingly, and by contriving to steal out softly at nights
for her prey, and to stand watching and peeping all day at her hole,
as under great concern, she made such an impression upon the Eagle and
the Sow, that neither of them dared to venture abroad, for fear of the
other; the consequence of which was, that they in a little time were
starved, and their young ones fell a prey to the treacherous Cat and
her Kittens.
APPLICATION.
This shews us the ill consequence of giving ear to a gossiping
double-tongued neighbour. Many sociable well-disposed families have
been blown up into a perpetual discord, by one of these wicked
go-betweens; so that whoever would avoid the imputation of being a
bad neighbour, should guard both against receiving ill impressions by
hearsay, and uttering his opinions of others, to those busy bodies,
who, to gratify a malignant disposition, or gain some selfish end
of their own, can magnify a gnat to the size of a camel, or swell a
mole-hill to a mountain.
[Illustration] [Page 41]
THE LARK AND HER YOUNG ONES.
A Lark who had Young Ones in a field of corn nearly ripe, was under
some fear lest the reapers should come and cut it down before her young
brood were fledged, and able to remove from the place; wherefore, when
she flew abroad in the morning to seek for food for them, she charged
them to listen to what the Farmer said about shearing. On her return,
her young family opened all their little throats at once, to inform her
that the Farmer had sent to his neighbours to reap the corn the next
morning. Is that all? said the old Lark, then there is no danger. When
she went abroad again the next morning, she left the same instructions
as before. At night, she found her Young Ones more alarmed than at
first; for the Farmer had applied to his friends, earnestly requesting
them to begin the harvest the next day. She received this intelligence
as calmly as before, and took no other precautions the next day, than
repeating the same orders. In the evening, they told her that the
Farmer had been charging his son to get the sickles ready, for it was
in vain to wait for other people, and that they would cut the corn
to-morrow themselves. Nay, then said the old Lark, we must be off as
soon as we can; for when a man undertakes to do his business himself,
it is not so likely that he will be disappointed.
APPLICATION.
He who depends on the assistance of others to perform what he is able
to do himself, must not be surprised to find that his business is
neglected. He may be sure that it will be best done when he puts forth
his own hands, and looks after it with his own eyes. How indeed can any
man imagine, that other people will be active in his interest, while he
himself remains indolent and unconcerned about his own affairs. Men of
such tempers and dispositions, live in a state of suspense, and subject
themselves to perpetual disappointments and losses, which their own
industry would have prevented, and have kept their minds at ease. They
do not use their reasoning powers, but sink down into a kind of stupid
abject dependence upon others, which degrades even the finest talents
with which human nature is dignified.
[Illustration] [Page 43]
THE YOUNG MEN AND THE COOK.
Two Young Men went into a Cook’s shop, under pretence of buying some
meat; and while the Cook’s back was turned, one of them snatched up a
piece of beef, and gave it to his companion, who clapt it under his
cloak. The Cook turning about, and missing his beef, began to charge
them with it: upon which he that first took it swore bitterly he had
none of it. He that had it, swore as heartily that he had not taken it.
Why, look ye, gentlemen, says the Cook, I see your equivocation; and
though I cannot tell which of you has taken my meat, I am sure between
you there is a thief.
APPLICATION.
This fable shews how little reliance can be placed on either the word
or the oath of those who, like the thieves in the cook’s shop, have
neither honour nor honesty. An honest man’s word is as good as his
oath; and so is a rogue’s too: for he that will cheat and lie, will
not scruple to forswear himself. The former needs no oath to bind him;
and the latter, though he swear in the most solemn manner that can be
invented, only deceives you the more certainly, as he who scruples
not to steal, will never regard the heinous guilt of calling upon
the Supreme Being to witness his atrocity. It is no less wicked to
quibble and evade the truth, than it is to deny it altogether, for the
falsehood consists in what we wish the hearer to believe, not in the
literal import of what we say. Men who habituate themselves to this
species of deceit, will soon be ready to go the length of any perjury.
Early to impress the mind with the unspeakable worth of truth, is of
the utmost importance. It is sacred, and no man can say in the face of
the world, that it ought not to prevail. No discussions can injure its
cause--it emanates from heaven--it is an attribute of omnipotence, and
is therefore eternal.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 45]
THE MULE.
A Mule, which was pampered up and easily worked, became plump, sleek,
and in high condition, and in the height of his wantonness, would
scamper about from hill to dale in all the wildness of unbridled
restraint. Why should not I, said he to himself, be as good a racer as
any horse whatever? My father, whose pedigree was well known, was one
of the best of them; do not I resemble him in every respect? While he
was indulging his vanity in reveries of this kind, his master having
occasion to mount him upon urgent business, put him upon his speed,
and, ere long, was obliged to use both whip and spur to force him to
push forward. Thus jaded and tired, he muttered to himself, Alas! I
find now, I was mistaken in my pedigree, for my sire was not a Horse,
but an Ass.
APPLICATION.
The man who has been brought up in ease and affluence, and pampered and
anticipated in all his wants, little imagines what a figure he would
make in the world, were his supplies cut off, and he were put to the
trial to rub through its thorny mazes, and provide for himself. The
children of the poor industrious honest man, when brought up like their
parents, are put to a kind of school, such as the opulent it is feared
can seldom form any conception of; and if the former, by their industry
and abilities, rise above poverty, their enjoyments in life commonly
surpass those who have been, without effort, upheld in every real as
well as imaginary want. The sensible poor man does not trouble his head
about his pedigree, but he knows that his descent must of course be as
ancient as that of any man on earth; and that if he is respected in the
world, it must arise solely from his own good conduct and merit. The
man who has nothing to boast but the merely tracing back his ancestry,
is building upon a hollow foundation. If indeed his ancestry have
arisen to their high station by patriotic and virtuous means, and have
deservedly maintained a high character for probity, worth, and honour,
let him follow their example: if otherwise, all he can do or say will
only prove him to be a mongrel, or an ass.
“The pride of family is all a cheat,
“’Tis personal merit only makes us great.”
[Illustration] [Page 47]
THE COCK AND THE JEWEL.
A gallant young Cock, in company with his mistresses, raking upon a
dung-hill for something to entertain them with, happened to scratch
up a Jewel. He knew what it was well enough, for it sparkled with
an exceeding bright lustre; but not knowing what to do with it, he
shrugged up his wings, shook his head, and putting on a grimace,
expressed himself to this purpose: Indeed, you are a very fine thing;
but I know not any business you have here. I make no scruple of
declaring, that my taste lies quite another way; and I had rather have
one grain of dear, delicious barley, than all the Jewels under the sun.
APPLICATION.
Moralists have interpreted this Fable in various ways, some of them
ascribing the want of setting a proper value upon the Jewel, to
ignorance, and say:--
“To fools, the treasures dug from wisdom’s mine
“Are Jewels thrown to Cocks, and Pearls to Swine.”
But the most obvious meaning of the Fable is surely to shew, that
men who weigh well their own real wants, and shape their pursuits to
their abilities, will always prefer those things which are necessary,
to such as are merely ornamental or superfluous, and will not easily
suffer themselves to be led astray by the gaudy allurements of glitter
and show, which have no other value than what vanity, pride, or luxury
may have set upon them; but governing their minds by their own reason,
judge of every thing by its intrinsic worth.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 49]
MERCURY AND THE WOODMAN.
A Man was felling a tree on the steep bank of a river, and by chance
let slip his hatchet, which dropt into the water, and sunk to the
bottom. Being in distress for want of his tool, he sat down and
bemoaned himself on the occasion. Upon this, Mercury appeared to him,
and being informed of the cause of his complaint, dived to the bottom
of the river, and coming up again, shewed the Man a golden hatchet,
demanding if that were his? he denied that it was: upon which Mercury
dived a second time, and brought up a silver one; the Man refused it,
alleging likewise that it was not his: he dived a third time, and
fetched up the individual hatchet the Man had lost; upon sight of
which the poor fellow was overjoyed, and took it with all humility and
thankfulness. Mercury was so pleased with his honesty, that he gave him
the other into the bargain, as a reward for his just dealing. Away
goes the Man to his companions, and giving them an account of what
had happened, one of them went presently to the river’s side, and let
his hatchet fall designedly into the stream. Then sitting down upon
the bank, he fell to weeping and lamenting as if he had been really
and sorely afflicted. Mercury appeared as before, and diving, brought
him up a golden hatchet, asking if that were the hatchet he had lost?
Transported at the precious metal, he answered yes, and went to snatch
it greedily; but the God, detesting his abominable impudence, not only
refused him that, but would not so much as let him have his own again.
APPLICATION.
Honesty is the best policy; and one of our best poets has further
stamped a value upon the good old maxim, by his assertion that “an
honest man is the noblest work of God.” The paths of truth and
integrity are so plain, direct, and easy, that the man who pursues
them, stands in no need of subtle contrivances to deceive the world. He
listens to the honest monitor within, and makes good his professions
with his practice: neither gold nor silver hatchets can make him
deviate from it; and whatever situation he may be placed in, he is sure
to meet the esteem of all men within the circle in which he moves, and
has besides the constant pleasure of feeling self-approbation within
his own breast.
[Illustration] [Page 51]
THE FOX AND THE VIZOR MASK.
A Fox being in a shop where Vizor Masks were sold, laid his foot upon
one of them, and considering it awhile attentively, at last broke out
into this exclamation: Bless me! says he, what a handsome goodly figure
this makes! what a pity it is that it should want brains!
APPLICATION.
The accomplished beau in air and mein how blest,
His hat well fashioned, and his hair well drest,
Is yet undrest within: to give him brains
Exceeds his hatter’s or his barber’s pains.
This Fable is levelled at that numerous part of mankind, who, out of
their own ample fortunes take care to accomplish themselves in every
thing but common sense, and seem not even to bestow a thought upon
the important consequences of cultivating their understandings. The
smooth address and plausible behaviour of the varnished fop may indeed
pass current with the ignorant and superficial, but however much he
may value himself upon his birth or figure, he never fails exciting
the contempt or the pity of men of sagacity and penetration, and the
ridicule of those who are disposed to amuse themselves at the folly
and vanity of such as put on the mask of wisdom to cover their want of
brains.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 53]
THE THIEF AND THE DOG.
A Thief coming to rob a certain house in the night, was thwarted in his
attempts by a fierce vigilant Dog, who kept barking at him continually.
Upon which the Thief, thinking to stop his mouth, threw him a piece
of bread; but the Dog refused it with indignation, telling him that
before he only suspected him to be a bad man, but now upon his offering
to bribe him, his suspicions were fully confirmed; and that as he was
entrusted with the guardianship of his master’s house, he would never
cease barking while such a rogue was lurking about it.
APPLICATION.
Nothing can alter the honest purpose of him whose mind is embued with
good principles. He will despise an insidious bribe, and the greater
the offer which is designed to buy his silence, the louder and more
indignantly will he open out against the miscreant who would thus
practise upon him. He knows that the favours held out to him are not
marks of the love and regard of him who would confer them, but are
meant as the price at which he is to sell his honour and his virtue.
With a mind unpolluted, his noble resolution never fails to produce
the happiest consequences, by preserving his friends and himself from
the mischievous projects laid against them. So true it is, that virtue
is its own reward; while corruption and venality are sure in the end
to bring the greatest miseries on those, and their adherents, who are
so base, or perhaps inconsiderate, as to subject themselves to future
evils of the most fatal nature, for the sake of a little present profit.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 55]
THE MAN AND HIS GOOSE.
A certain Man had a Goose, which laid him a golden egg every day.
But not contented with this, which rather increased than abated his
avarice, he was resolved to kill the Goose, and cut up her belly,
that by so doing he might come at the inexhaustible treasure which he
fancied she had within her. He did so, and to his great sorrow and
disappointment, found nothing.
APPLICATION.
No passion can be a greater torment to those who are led by it, or more
frequently mistakes its aim, than insatiable covetousness. It makes
men blind to their present happiness, and conjures up ideal prospects
of increasing felicity, which often tempt its deluded votaries to
their ruin. Men who give themselves up to this propensity, know not
how to be contented with the constant and continued sufficiency with
which Providence may have blessed them: their minds are haunted with
the prospect of becoming rich, and their impatient craving tempers are
perpetually prompting them to try to obtain their object all at once.
They lose all present enjoyment in remotely contemplating the future;
and while they are shewing by their conduct how insensible they are
to the bounty of Providence, they are at the same time laying the
foundation of their own unhappiness.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 57]
THE WANTON CALF.
A Calf, which had been some time fattening in a rich pasture, full of
wantonness and arrogance, could not forbear insulting an old Ox every
time he saw him at the plough. What a sorry drudge art thou, says he,
to bear that heavy yoke, and draw all day a plough at thy tail! See,
what a fat, sleek, and comely appearance I make, and what a life of
ease I lead: I go where I please, and frisk about in the sunshine, or
lie down under the cool shade, just as my own fancy prompts me. The Ox,
not moved by this insolence, made no reply, but pursued his daily round
of alternate labour and rest, until he saw the Calf taken and delivered
to a priest, who immediately led him to the altar, and prepared to
sacrifice him. When the fatal knife was just at his throat, the Ox drew
near, and whispered him to this purpose: see what your wanton and lazy
life has brought you to, a premature and painful death.
APPLICATION.
We may learn by this Fable the general consequence of an idle life,
and how well rewarded laborious diligent men are in the end, when
they quietly enjoy the fruits of their industry. They who by little
tricks and chicanery, or by open violence and robbery, are enabled
to live in a high expensive way, often despise the poor honest man,
who is contented with the humble produce of his daily labour. But how
often is the poor man comforted, by seeing these wanton villains led
in disgrace and misery to the altar of justice, while he has many a
cheerful summer’s morning to enjoy abroad, and many a long winter’s
evening to indulge in at home, by a quiet hearth, and under an unenvied
roof: blessings, which often attend a sober industrious man, though
the idle and the profligate are utter strangers to them. Luxury and
intemperance, besides their inevitable tendency to shorten a man’s
days, are very apt to engage their besotted votaries in a debauched
life, not only prejudicial to their health, but which engenders in
them a contempt for those whose good sense and true taste of happiness
inspire them with an aversion to idleness and effeminacy, and put them
upon hardening their constitution by innocent exercise and laudable
employment. How many do gluttony and sloth tumble into an untimely
grave! while the temperate and the active drink sober draughts of
life, and spin out the thread of their existence to the most desirable
length.
[Illustration] [Page 59]
THE BOASTING TRAVELLER.
One who had been abroad, was giving an account of his travels,
and among other places, said he had been at Rhodes, where he had
distinguished himself so much in leaping, an exercise which that city
was famous for, that not a Rhodian could come near him. When those
who were present did not seem to credit this relation so readily as
he intended they should, he took some pains to convince them of it by
oaths and protestations: upon which, one of the company told him he
need not give himself so much trouble about it, since he would put him
in a way to demonstrate the fact; which was, to suppose the place they
were in to be Rhodes, and to perform his extraordinary leap over again.
The boaster, not liking this proposal, sat down quietly, and had no
more to say for himself.
APPLICATION.
We had better be contented to keep our exploits to ourselves, than to
appear ridiculous by attempting to force a belief of that which is
improbable; and travelled gentlemen should have a care how they import
falsehoods and inventions of their own from foreign parts, and attempt
to vend them at home for staple truths. It cannot be too strongly
impressed upon the mind, that a lie is upon all occasions degrading
to the person who utters it, and should be most scrupulously avoided,
not only on account of its baseness, but because it is impossible to
foresee in how many troubles it may involve him who passes it off.
It will not always receive credit, and is ever liable to detection.
When it is calculated for wicked purposes, it will deservedly incur
punishment; and when it is of a harmless or insignificant nature, it
will even then often expose its author to contempt and ridicule; and
vanity never mistakes its end more grossly, than when it attempts to
aggrandize itself at the expence of truth.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 61]
THE SHEPHERD’S BOY AND THE WOLF.
A Shepherd’s Boy, while attending his flock, used frequently to
divert himself by crying out, “the Wolf! the Wolf!” The Husbandmen in
the adjoining grounds, thus alarmed, left their work and ran to his
assistance, but finding that he was only sporting with their feelings,
and bantering them, they resolved at last to take no notice of his
alarms. It was not long, however, before the Wolf really came, and the
Boy bawled out “the Wolf! the Wolf!” as he had done before; but the men
having been so often deceived, paid no attention to his cries, and the
sheep were devoured without mercy.
APPLICATION.
The man who would go through the world with reputation and success,
must preserve a religious adherence to truth: for no talents or
industry can give him weight with others, or induce the sensible part
of mankind to place any confidence in him, if he be known to deviate
without scruple from veracity. Men of this stamp soon become notorious;
and besides the ignominy which attaches to their characters, they have
to undergo the mortification of not being believed even when they
do speak the truth. Whatever misfortune may befal them, and however
sincere they may be in making known their distress, yet, like the boy
in the Fable, their complaints and most earnest asseverations cannot
procure them credit, and are received at best with doubt and suspicion.
The same consequences follow falsehood and deception, whether practised
by individuals or public governors, and they will both find in the end
that they have been guided by cunning, and not by wisdom: for although
the ignorant part of mankind may, to serve the temporary purposes of a
bad government, be acted upon by false alarms of imaginary dangers, yet
even these in time will see through the stale tricks and artifices of
those whose designs are to gull and impose upon them.
[Illustration:
This Stone (like many
10000000 of Men in the World)
has held up its bare
useless head for many
Centuries past.
]
[Illustration] [Page 63]
THE CROW AND THE PITCHER.
A Crow, ready to die with thirst, flew with joy to a Pitcher which he
beheld at some distance. When he came, he found water in it, indeed,
but so near the bottom, that with all his stooping and straining, he
was not able to reach it. He then endeavoured to overturn the Pitcher,
that at least he might be able to get a little of it; but his strength
was not sufficient for the accomplishment of this purpose. At last
seeing some pebbles lie near the place, he cast them one by one into
the Pitcher, and thus, by degrees, raised the water up to the very
brim, and satisfied his thirst.
APPLICATION.
What we cannot accomplish by strength, we may by ingenuity and
industry. A man of sagacity and penetration, upon meeting with a few
difficulties, does not drop his pursuits, but if he cannot succeed in
one way, sets his mind to work upon another, and does not hesitate
about stepping out of the old beaten track which had been thoughtlessly
pursued in a roundabout way by thousands before him. The present
state of the world, enlightened by arts and sciences, is a proof that
difficulties seemingly unsurmountable, and undertakings once imagined
to be impossible, have been accomplished; and this ought to be kept in
mind as a spur to continued exertion: for we are not acquainted with
the strength of our own minds till we exercise them, nor to what length
our abilities will carry us, till we put them to the trial.
“What is discovered only serves to shew,
That nothing’s known to what is yet to know.”
The man who enriches the present fund of knowledge with some new and
useful improvement, does an honour to himself, and ought invariably
to be rewarded by the public: for, like a happy adventurer by sea,
he discovers as it were an unknown land, and imports an additional
treasure to his own country.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 65]
THE PARTRIDGE AND THE COCKS.
A Man having caught a Partridge, plucked the feathers out of one of
its wings, and turned it into a little yard where he kept Game Cocks.
The Cocks led the poor bird a sad life, continually pecking at and
driving it away from the meat. This treatment was taken the more
unkindly, because offered to a stranger; and the Partridge could not
help concluding that they were the most uncivil inhospitable people he
had ever met with. But observing how very frequently they quarrelled
and fought with each other, he comforted himself with reflecting, that
it was no wonder they were so cruel to him, since they shewed the same
disposition to each other.
APPLICATION.
No peace is to be expected among those who are naturally fierce,
quarrelsome, and inhospitable; and people of a different disposition
should avoid, as much as possible, having any thing to do with them.
But when we cannot help coming into contact with such characters, there
is no remedy but patience; and this virtue a wise man will call to his
aid under every misfortune. When our sufferings are inflicted by the
wickedness of others, it is some consolation to reflect, that people
of this character are continually waging war among themselves, and
punishing each other; and that the consequences of their own wickedness
follow them like their shadow, besides rendering them the objects of
general aversion. No virtue was more universally practised, or more
strongly recommended, by the ancients, than a mild conduct to our
companions, and an hospitable entertainment of strangers; and when this
is not the general character of any people, it shews, in greater or
less degrees, the wretched state of society in which they live.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 67]
THE FOX AND THE CROW.
A Crow having taken a piece of meat out of a cottage window, flew
up into a tree with it; which a Fox observing, came underneath, and
began to compliment the Crow upon her beauty. I protest, says he, your
feathers are of a more delicate white than I ever saw in my life! Ah!
what a fine shape and graceful turn of body is there! and I make no
question but you have a tolerable voice: if it be but as fine as your
complexion, I do not know a bird that can stand in competition with
you. The Crow, tickled with this very civil language, wriggled about,
and hardly knew where she was; and having a mind to convince the Fox
in the matter of her voice, attempted to sing, and in the same instant
let the meat drop out of her mouth. This being what the Fox wanted,
he chopped it up in a moment, and trotted away, laughing at the easy
credulity of the Crow.
APPLICATION.
“It is a maxim in the schools,
That flattery is the food of fools.”
They that love flattery will have cause to repent of their foible
in the long run; and yet how few there are among the whole race of
mankind, who are proof against its attacks. The gross way in which it
is managed by some silly practitioners, is enough to alarm the dullest
apprehension; but let the ambuscade be disposed with judgment, and it
will scarcely fail of seizing the most guarded heart. How many are
tickled to the last degree with the pleasure of flattery, even while
they are applauded for their honest detestation of it. There is no
way to baffle the force of this engine, but by every one’s examining
impartially for himself, the true estimate of his own qualities. If he
deal sincerely in the matter, nobody can tell so well as himself, what
degree of esteem ought to attend any of his actions; and therefore he
should be entirely easy as to the opinion others have of them. If they
attribute more to him than is his due, they are either designing, or
mistaken; if they allow him less, they are envious, or possibly still
mistaken; and in either case are to be despised or disregarded: for he
that flatters without designing to make advantage of it, is a fool;
and whoever encourages that flattery which he has sense enough to see
through, is a vain coxcomb.
[Illustration] [Page 69]
THE SENSIBLE ASS.
An old Man who was feeding his Ass in a fine green meadow, being
alarmed by the sudden approach of an enemy, began urging the Ass to put
himself forward, and fly with all the speed he was able. The Ass asked
him whether he thought the enemy would clap two pair of panniers upon
his back? The Man said, No, there was no fear of that. Why then, says
the Ass, I will not stir an inch, for what is it to me who my master
is, since I shall but carry my panniers as usual.
APPLICATION.
This Fable shews us how much in the wrong the poorer sort of people
most commonly are, when they are under any concern about the
revolutions of a government. All the alteration which they can feel, is
perhaps in the name of their sovereign, or some such important trifle;
but they cannot well be poorer, or made to work harder, than they did
before. And yet how are they sometimes imposed upon and drawn in by
the artifices of a few mistaken or designing men, to foment factions,
and raise rebellions, in cases where they can get nothing by success;
but if they miscarry, are in danger of suffering an ignominious and
untimely end.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 71]
THE SWALLOW AND OTHER BIRDS.
A Swallow, observing a Farmer sowing his field with flax, called the
Birds together, and informed them what he was about. She told them that
flax was the material of which the thread was made that composed the
fowler’s nets, so fatal to the feathered race, and strongly advised
them to assist her in picking up the seed, and destroying it. The Birds
heard her with indifference, and gave themselves no trouble about the
matter. In a little time the flax sprung up, and appeared above the
ground. She then put them in mind once more of their impending danger,
and wished them to pluck it up in the bud, before it grew any farther.
But they still slighted her warnings, and the flax grew up into stalk.
She again urged them to attack it, for it was not yet too late; but
they only ridiculed her for a silly pretending prophet. The Swallow,
finding all her remonstrances availed nothing, was resolved to leave
the society of such careless unthinking creatures, before it was too
late: so quitting the woods, she repaired to the houses; and, forsaking
the conversation of the Birds, has ever since taken up her abode among
the dwellings of men.
APPLICATION.
Wise men read effects in their causes, and profit by them; but their
advice is thrown away when given to the arrogant and self-conceited,
who are too proud to listen to it. It is equally lost upon fools, who
stupidly or obstinately shut their eyes against impending danger,
till it is too late to prevent it. In both cases, those who have no
foresight of their own, and those who despise the wholesome admonitions
of their friends, deserve to suffer from the misfortunes which their
own obstinacy, folly, or negligence, brings upon their heads. A great
portion of mankind, from an overweening conceit of their own abilities,
are unwilling to be advised by any one, and through this stubborn
disposition, deprive themselves of the aids of friendship, and the
benefits which the good-will of their more sensible neighbours would
have conferred on them with pleasure.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 73]
THE THIEVES AND THE COCK.
Two Thieves broke into a house with a design to rob it; but when they
had pried into every corner, found nothing worth taking away but a
Cock, which they seized upon and carried off. When they were about to
kill him, he begged very hard that they would spare his life, putting
them in mind how useful he was to mankind, by crowing and calling them
up betimes to their work. You villain, replied they, it is for that
very reason we will wring your head off; for you alarm and keep the
people waking, so that we cannot rob in quiet for you.
APPLICATION.
The same thing which recommends us to the esteem of good people, will
make those that are bad have nothing but hatred and ill-will towards
us; for every man who has engaged himself in a vicious or wicked
course of life, fiend-like, makes himself, as it were, the natural
adversary of virtue. It is in vain for innocent men, under oppression,
to complain to those who are the occasion of it: all they can urge
will but make against them; and even their very innocence, though
they should say nothing, would render them sufficiently suspected.
The moral, therefore, that this Fable brings along with it, is to
inform us that there is no trusting, nor any hopes of living well,
with wicked unjust men; for their disposition is such, that they will
do mischief to others as soon as they have the opportunity. When vice
flourishes, and is in power, were it possible for a good man to live
quietly in its neighbourhood, and preserve his integrity, it might be
sometimes perhaps convenient for him to do so, rather than quarrel
with and provoke it against him. But as it is certain that rogues are
irreconcileable enemies to men of worth, if the latter would be secure,
they must take methods to free themselves from the power and society of
the former.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 75]
THE WOLVES AND THE SICK ASS.
An Ass being sick, the report was spread abroad in the country, and
some did not scruple to say, that she would die before another night
went over her head. Upon this, several Wolves went to the stable where
she lay, under pretence of making her a visit; but rapping at the door,
and asking how she did, the young Ass came out, and told them that his
mother was much better than they desired.
APPLICATION.
If the kind enquiries after the sick were all to be interpreted with as
much frankness as those in the Fable, the porters of the great might
commonly answer with the strictest propriety, that their masters were
much better than was wished or desired. The charitable visits which
are made to many sick people, proceed from much the same motive with
that which induced the hungry Wolves to make their enquiries after
the sick Ass, namely, that they may come in for some share of their
remains, and feast themselves upon the reversion of their goods and
chattels. The sick man’s heir longs for his estate; one friend waits
in anxious expectation of a legacy, and another wants his place; it,
however, does not unfrequently happen, that the mask of these selfish
visitants, and their counterfeit sorrow, are seen through, and their
impertinent officiousness treated with the contempt it so justly
deserves.
[Illustration: ’Tis \the\ a world! floating about, like an illumined
mote, in the immensity of endless space--and is inhabited by nations of
proud pismires.--]
[Illustration] [Page 77]
THE DOG IN THE MANGER.
A Dog was lying upon a stall full of hay. An Ox, being hungry, came
near, and offered to eat of the hay; but the ill-natured Cur getting up
and snarling at him, would not suffer him to touch it. Upon which the
Ox, in the bitterness of his heart, said, A curse light on thee for a
malicious wretch, who will neither eat hay thyself, nor suffer others
to do it.
APPLICATION.
There are men in the world of so snarling, malevolent, and ill-natured
a disposition, that they will even punish themselves, rather than
put forth a finger to serve any one. It gives them a malignant kind
of pleasure to have it in their power to cause trouble and vexation
to others, whenever they have an opportunity of doing so; and could
they have their will, they would shut out the light and warmth of
the sun, and suffer the fruits of the earth to rot upon it, provided
they could see those about them unhappy; and in thus taking delight
in other people’s miseries, it of course follows that they are their
own tormentors. These characters, in common life, are diabolical and
detestable; but the evils they inflict, are only like a drop to the
ocean, when compared to those which men of the same stamp shed abroad
in the world, when, in an evil hour, they happen to be exalted to
govern the affairs of a nation. Then, indeed, their baleful influence
is felt in every direction: they may be termed fiends in human shape;
for, as far as they are able, they thwart the benevolent intentions of
Omnipotence, and the very breath of their nostrils seems to blast the
happiness of mankind.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 79]
JUPITER AND THE ASS.
An Ass which had been some time in the service of a Gardener, and
carried his vegetables to market, became tired of his place, and
petitioned Jupiter that he would permit him to enter upon the service
of a neighbouring Potter. Jupiter granted his request. He here,
however, soon found that the latter loaded him with heavier burthens,
and kept him on poorer fare than he had been used to before. He again
prayed to Jupiter to grant that he might be allowed to better his
condition by engaging himself to a Tanner. Jupiter again heard his
prayer; but here he soon found he had changed for the worse: for,
besides being hard worked, he was also often cruelly treated; and
seeing what was going on in this place, he could not forbear upbraiding
himself with his folly and inconstancy. Oh, tofo that I was! said he to
himself, for leaving my former mild master, to become the servant of
one, who, after working me to death, will not spare my very hide after
I am dead.
APPLICATION.
The man that carries about with him the plague of a restless mind, can
never be pleased; he is ever shifting and changing, and is in truth
not so weary of his condition as of himself. Seldom or never contented
with his lot, he is ever hunting after happiness where it is not to
be found, without ever looking for it where it is. He indulges in the
strange propensity of his nature, which leads him to suppose that his
own lot is the most miserable, and therefore concludes that any change
he can make must be for the better. He loses sight of the virtues of
patience, constancy, and resignation, and seems not to know that every
station in life has its real or imaginary inconveniences; and that
it is better to bear with those which we are accustomed to endure,
and of which we know the utmost extent, than by aiming at the seeming
advantages of another way of life, to subject ourselves to all its
hidden miseries.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 81]
ÆSOP AND THE IMPERTINENT FELLOW.
Æsop having occasion to go out to seek a light to kindle his fire, went
from house to house for some time before he could succeed; but having
at last got what he wanted, he posted back in haste with his lighted
candle in his hand. An impudent Fellow, leaving his companions, caught
hold of Æsop by the sleeve, and would fain have shewn off his wit, and
been arch upon him. Hey day! oh, rare Æsop! says he, what occasion for
a candle, old boy! what, are you going to light the sun to bed? Let me
alone, says Æsop, for with it I am looking for an honest man.
APPLICATION.
It is plain that our old philosopher in the Fable did not take the
impertinent fellow for an honest man, and he gave him to understand
that it required a good light to find out one who fully came up to
that character; and he might have added, that the world very much
abounded with ignorant and impudent ones, who, with their empty
nonsense, which they call wit, often unseasonably interrupt men of
thought and business: for to those whose minds are wholly intent upon
matters of importance, nothing is so offensive as the intrusion of a
fool. Men of eminent parts and great natural abilities, make their
appearance in the world only now and then. These qualifications are
the gift of Providence, and seem to be intended to throw fresh lights
on the understandings of mankind; but in all the gradations from these
downwards, it is in the power of every one to improve their manners,
and integrity is within the reach of those of the meanest capacity, if
they will endeavour to amend their lives, and take it for their guide.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 83]
THE FORESTER AND THE LION.
The Forester meeting with the Lion one day, they discoursed together
for a while without much differing in opinion. At last, a dispute
happening to arise about the point of superiority between a Man and a
Lion, the former wanting a better argument, shewed the latter a marble
monument, on which was placed the statue of a Man striding over a
vanquished Lion. If this, says the Lion, is all you have to say for it,
let us be the sculptors, and we will make the Lion striding over the
Man.
APPLICATION.
Such is the partiality of mankind in favour of themselves and their
own actions, that it is extremely difficult, nay almost impossible
to come at any certainty, by reading the accounts that are written
on one side only. The simple truth is still perverted, as prejudice,
vanity, or interest warps the mind, and it is not discovered in all
its brilliancy, till the mists which obscure it are swept away by the
most rigid investigation. In what an odious light would our party men
place each other, if the transactions of the times were handed down
to posterity by a warm zealot on either side; and were such records
to survive a few centuries, with what perplexities and difficulties
would they embarrass the historian, as by turns he consulted them for
the character of his great forefathers. The same difficulties would
occur in writing the history of nations, both ancient and modern. Some
of those who flourish at this day, and consider themselves as having
reached perfection in civilization and polished manners, will perhaps,
not unjustly, be branded in after-times with cruelty, injustice,
and oppression, in having confounded all simplicity of manners, and
disturbed the peace of whole nations, by carrying the horrors of
war, of murder, and desolation, into regions formerly blessed with
uninterrupted tranquillity.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 85]
THE WOLF, THE FOX, AND THE APE.
The Wolf indicted the Fox for felony before the Ape, who upon that
occasion was appointed special judge of the cause. The Fox gave in his
answer to the Wolf’s accusation, and denied the fact. After hearing
both sides, the Ape, penetrating the character of the parties, gave
judgment to this purpose: I am of opinion, that you, says he to the
Wolf, never lost the goods you sue for; and as for you, turning to the
Fox, I make no question but you at least have stolen what is laid to
your charge. And thus the court was dismissed with this public censure
upon each party.
APPLICATION.
Well may both judge and jury, in the outset of trial, be puzzled to
decide between and do justice to men whose quarrels are made up of
baseness and villainy, and carried on with mutual treachery, fraud,
and violence, and whose witnesses are perhaps of the same character
with themselves. Each party may justly enough accuse the other, though
neither of them are worthy of belief, and deserve even no credit for
the imputations with which they asperse each other’s characters. But
such men need not hope long to deceive the world: a penetrating judge
and an honest jury will, upon sifting the matter, clearly see what kind
of men they have been occupying their attention with, and shew a proper
disgust at the wicked impudence of both plaintiff and defendant.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 87]
THE BALD KNIGHT.
A certain Knight growing old, his hair fell off, and he became bald;
to hide which imperfection he wore a periwig. But as he was riding out
with some others a hunting, a sudden gust of wind blew off the periwig,
and exposed his bald pate. The company could not forbear laughing at
the accident; and he himself laughed as loud as any body, saying, how
was it to be expected that I could keep strange hair upon my head, when
my own would not stay there?
APPLICATION.
There is no disposition, or turn of mind, which on many occasions
contributes more to keep us easy, than that which enables us to rally
any of our failings, or joke upon our own infirmities: this blunts
the edge, and baffles and turns aside the malignant sneers of little
wits, and the ill nature and ridicule of others. If we should at any
time happen to incur the laughter of those about us, we cannot stifle
it sooner or better than by receiving it all with a cheerful look,
and by an ingenuous and pleasant remark, parry the jest which another
is ready to throw out at our expence. To appear fretted or nettled,
only serves to gratify the wishes of those who take a secret pleasure
in seeing such an effect produced; and, besides, a testy or captious
temper is a source of perpetual disquietude, both to ourselves and our
acquaintances, and like a little leaven, sours the whole mass of our
good qualities. If we had no other imperfections, this of itself would
be sufficient to cause our company to be shunned.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 89]
THE LION AND THE FOUR BULLS.
Four Bulls, who had entered into a very strict friendship, kept always
near one another, and fed together. The Lion often saw them, and as
often had a mind to make one of them his prey; but though he could
easily have subdued any of them singly, yet he was afraid to attack
the whole alliance, knowing they would have been too powerful for him,
and therefore was obliged to keep himself at a distance. At last,
perceiving that no attempt was to be made upon them as long as their
combination lasted, he artfully contrived, by the whispers and hints of
his emissaries, to foment jealousies, and raise divisions among them.
This stratagem succeeded so well, that the Bulls grew cold and reserved
to one another, which soon after ripened into a downright hatred and
aversion, and at last ended in a total separation. The Lion had now
attained his ends; and though it had been impossible for him to hurt
them while they were united, he found no difficulty, now they were
parted, to seize and devour every Bull of them, one after another.
APPLICATION.
Since friendships and alliances are of the greatest importance to our
well-being and happiness, we cannot be too often cautioned against
suffering them to be broken by tale bearers and whisperers, or by
any dark plots and contrivances of our enemies: for when by such
wicked means as these, or by our own imprudence, we lose a friend,
we shake the very basis of our interest, and remove the pillar that
contributed to support it. Whatever in cases of this kind is applicable
to individuals, is equally so to kingdoms and states; and it is as
undisputed a maxim as ever was urged upon the attention of mankind, by
the best man that ever lived, that a “kingdom divided against itself
cannot stand:” the people are invincible when united.
Faction and feuds will overturn the state
Which union renders flourishing and great.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 91]
THE OLD MAN AND HIS SONS.
An old Man had several Sons, who were constantly quarrelling with each
other, notwithstanding he used every means in his power to persuade
them to cease their contentions, and to live in amity together. At last
he had recourse to the following expedient:--He ordered his Sons to
be called before him, and a bundle of sticks to be brought, and then
commanded them to try if, with all their strength, any of them could
break it. They all tried, but without effect: for the sticks being
closely and compactly bound together, it was impossible for the force
of man to break them. After this, the Father ordered the bundle to be
untied, and gave a single stick to each of his Sons, at the same time
bidding them try to break it. This they did with ease, and soon snapped
every stick asunder. The Father then addressed them to this effect: O,
my Sons, behold the power of unity! for if you, in like manner, would
but keep yourselves strictly conjoined in the bands of friendship, it
would not be in the power of any mortal to hurt you; but when you are
divided by quarrels and animosities, you fall a prey to the weakest
enemies.
APPLICATION.
A kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and the
same holds good in all societies and corporations of men, from the
constitution of the nation, down to every little parochial vestry.
Every private family should consider itself a little state, in which
the several members ought to be united by one common interest. Quarrels
with each other are as fatal to their welfare, as factions are
dangerous to the peace of the commonwealth. But indeed the necessity
of union and friendship extends itself to all kinds of relations in
life, and they conduce mightily to the advantage of those who cherish
and cultivate them. No enemy will dare to attack a body of men firmly
attached to each other, and will fear to offend one of the number,
lest he should incur the resentment of the rest; but if they split
into parties, and are disunited by quarrels, every petty opponent will
venture to attack them, and the whole fraternity will be liable to
wrongs and violence.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 93]
THE LION, THE TIGER, AND THE WOLF.
A Lion and a Tiger, at the same instant seized on a young Fawn, which
they immediately killed. This they had no sooner performed, than they
fell to fighting, in order to decide whose property it should be. The
battle was so obstinate, that they were both compelled, by weariness
and loss of blood, to desist and lie down breathless and quite
disabled. A Wolf passing that way, perceiving how the case stood, very
impudently stepped up and seized the booty, which they had all this
while been contending for, and carried it off. The two combatants, who
beheld this without being able to prevent it, could only make this
reflection: How foolish, said they, has been our conduct! Instead of
being contented, as we ought, with our respective shares, our senseless
rage has rendered us unable to prevent this rascally Wolf from robbing
us of the whole.
APPLICATION.
When people go to law about an uncertain title, and have spent the
value of their whole estate in the contest, nothing is more common
than to find that some unprincipled attorney has secured the object
in dispute to himself. The very name of law seems to imply equity and
justice, and that is the bait which has drawn in many to their ruin.
If we would lay aside passion, prejudice, and folly, and think calmly
of the matter, we should find that going to law is not the best way
of deciding differences about property; it being, generally speaking,
much safer to trust to the arbitration of two or three honest sensible
neighbours, than at a vast expence of money, time, and trouble, to run
through the tedious frivolous forms, with which, by the artifices of
greedy lawyers, a court of judicature is contrived to be attended. Or
if a case should happen to be so intricate that a man of common sense
cannot distinguish who has the best title, how easy would it be to have
the opinion of the best counsel in the land, and agree to abide by his
decision. If it should appear dubious, even after that, how much better
would it be to divide the thing in dispute, rather than go to law, and
hazard the losing, not only of the whole, but costs and damages into
the bargain!
[Illustration] [Page 95]
THE FOX WITHOUT A TAIL.
A Fox being caught in a trap, escaped after much difficulty with the
loss of his tail. He was, however, a good deal ashamed of appearing in
public without this ornament, and at last, to avoid being singular and
ridiculous in the eyes of his own species, he formed the project of
calling together an assembly of Foxes, and of persuading them that the
docking of their tails was a fashion that would be very agreeable and
becoming. Accordingly he made a long harangue to them for that purpose,
and endeavoured chiefly to shew the awkwardness and inconvenience of a
Fox’s tail, adding that they were quite useless, and that they would be
a very great deal better without them. He asserted, that what he had
only conjectured and imagined before, he now found by experience to be
true, for he never enjoyed himself so much, and found himself so easy
as he had done since he cut off his tail. He then looked round with a
brisk air, to see what proselytes he had gained; when a sly old Fox
in company answered him, with a leer: I believe you may have found a
convenience in parting with your tail, and perhaps when we are in the
same circumstances, we may do so too.
APPLICATION.
Many of the fashions which obtain in the world, originate in the whim
or caprice of some vain conceited creature, who takes a pride in
leading the giddy multitude in a career of folly. Others again take
their rise from an artful design to cover some vice, or hide some
deformity in the person of the inventor. Projectors and planners of a
higher stamp are also not uncommon in the world. These men appear to
toil only for the public good, and the sacred name of patriotism is
their shield. It, however, often happens that when their deep schemes
are opened out, they are found to proceed from nothing better than
self-interested motives, and a sincere desire to serve themselves.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 97]
THE MISER AND HIS TREASURE.
A certain Miser, having got together a large sum of money, sought
out a sequestered spot, where he dug a hole and hid it. His greatest
pleasure was to go and look upon his treasure; which one of his
servants observing, and guessing there was something more than ordinary
in the place, came at night, found the hoard, and carried it off. The
next day, the Miser returning as usual to the scene of his delight,
and perceiving the money gone, tore his hair for grief, and uttered
the most doleful accents of despair. A neighbour, who knew his temper,
overhearing him, said, Cheer up, man! thou hast lost nothing: there is
still a hole to peep at: and if thou canst but fancy the money there,
it will do just as well.
APPLICATION.
Of all the appetites to which human nature is subject, none is so
lasting, so strong, and so unaccountable, as avarice. Other desires
generally cool at the approach of old age; but this flourishes under
grey hairs, and triumphs amidst infirmities. All our other longings
have something to be said in excuse for them; but it is above reason,
and therefore truly incomprehensible, why a man should be passionately
fond of money only for the sake of gazing upon it. His treasure is as
useless to him as a heap of oyster shells; for though he knows how
many substantial pleasures it might procure, yet he dares not touch
it, and is as destitute, to all intents and purposes, as the man who
is not worth a groat. This is the true state of a covetous person, to
which one of that fraternity perhaps may reply, that when we have said
all, since pleasure is the grand aim of life, if there arise a delight
to some, from the bare possession of riches, though they do not use,
or even intend to use them, we may be puzzled how to account for it,
and think it strange, but ought not absolutely to condemn those who
thus closely, but innocently, pursue what they esteem the greatest
happiness. True! people would be in the wrong to paint covetousness in
such odious colours, were it compatible with innocence. But here arises
the mischief: a covetous man will stop at nothing to attain his ends;
and when once avarice takes the field, honesty, charity, humanity, and
every virtue which opposes it, are sure to be put to the rout.
[Illustration] [Page 99]
THE SHIP DOG.
A young saucy Dog, having been found not to like any employment at
home, was taken by a sea captain on board his ship, where, being well
fed, he soon became both stout and fierce, and shewed himself off as
such in every foreign port. He no sooner got ashore, than he held up
his leg against every post and corner, and scraped the ground with his
feet, quite regardless what dog he might bespatter; and if any of them
happened to look sulkily at him, he thought nothing of seizing upon
and rolling them in the kennel. If he happened to fall into company,
he always began to give himself airs, to talk big, and to express his
contempt for the dogs of the place. He would boast that he was from
a better country, and belonged to a better family than any dog among
them. In short, said he, “I come from Cheviot, the highest mountain in
the world, and the very heart of all England, where my forefathers,
thousands of years ago, assembled to hunt the Wild Bull, the Wolf, and
the Boar.” He was once going on at this rate, when he was interrupted
by a sedate, experienced Bitch, who assured him that there were good
dogs and bad dogs in every country, and that the only difference arose
from their education; that many of the forefathers he boasted of, had
long since worried each other, and the remainder of them had become so
troublesome, that part had been transported across the sea to another
place; and she knew, from good authority, that both his father and his
mother were hanged.
APPLICATION.
When foreigners speak slightingly of the country they happen to be in,
and praise their own, it shews in them a want of good sense and good
breeding. It is indeed natural to have an affection for one’s native
land, nor can we help preferring it to every other; but to express this
in another country, to people whose opinion it must needs contradict,
by the same rule that it is conformable to our own, cannot fail of
giving them just offence. It matters not how highly some particular
countries may stand in the estimation of the rest of the world: this
has little to do with private individuals; the advantage of having
been born in one of those favoured countries, is accidental, and no
man ought to be esteemed merely on that account. In order to merit the
respect of virtuous and wise men in every foreign land, it must appear
to them that by our talents, our acquirements, and our patriotism, we
do credit to the country which gave us birth.
[Illustration] [Page 101]
THE GOAT AND THE LION.
The Lion, seeing a Goat upon a steep craggy rock, where he could not
come at him, asked him what delight he could take to skip from one
precipice to another all day, and venture the breaking of his neck
every moment? I wonder, says he, you will not come down and feed on the
plain here, when there is such plenty of grass, and fine sweet herbs.
Why, replies the Goat, I cannot but say your opinion is right; but you
look so very hungry and designing, that, to tell you the truth, I do
not care to venture my person where you are.
APPLICATION.
Advice, though good in itself, is to be suspected when it is given
by a tricking, self-interested man. Perhaps we should take upon
ourselves not only a very great, but an unnecessary trouble, if we
were to suspect every man who offers to advise us; but this however
is necessary, that when we have reason to question any one in point
of honour and justice, we not only consider well before we suffer
ourselves to be persuaded by him, but even resolve to have nothing to
do in any affair where such treacherous slippery sparks are concerned,
if we can avoid it without much inconvenience.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 103]
THE TWO TRAVELLERS.
Two Men travelling upon the road, one of them saw an Axe lying upon
the ground, where somebody had been hewing timber: so taking it up,
says he, I have found an Axe. Do not say I, says the other, but we have
found; for as we are companions, we ought to share the value between
us: but the first would not consent. They had not gone far, before the
owner of the Axe, hearing what was become of it, pursued them with a
warrant; which, when the fellow that had it, perceived, Alas! says he
to his companion, we are undone. Nay, says the other, do not say we,
but I am undone: for, as you would not let me share the prize, neither
will I share the danger with you.
APPLICATION.
We cannot reasonably expect those to bear a part in our ill-fortune,
whom we never permitted to share in our prosperity; and whoever is so
over-selfish and narrow-minded, as to exclude his friend from a portion
of the benefits to which an intimate connection entitles him, may,
perhaps, engross some petty advantages to himself, but he must lay his
account on being left to do as well as he can for himself in times of
difficulty and distress. The very life and soul of friendship subsist
upon mutual benevolence, and in conferring and receiving obligations
on either hand, with a free, open, and unreserved behaviour, without
the least tincture of jealousy, suspicion, or distrust, guided by a
strict observance of the rules of honour and generosity; and as no
man includes within himself every thing necessary for his security,
defence, preservation, and support, these rules are the requisites of
friendship, to make it firm and lasting, and the foundation on which it
must be built.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 105]
THE FOX AND THE ASS.
An Ass finding a Lion’s skin, disguised himself in it, and ranged
about the forest, putting all the beasts in bodily fear. After he had
diverted himself thus for some time, he met a Fox, and being desirous
to frighten him too, as well as the rest, he leapt at him with some
fierceness, and endeavoured to imitate the roaring of a Lion. Your
humble servant, says the Fox, if you had held your tongue, I might have
taken you for a Lion, as others did, but now you bray, I know who you
are.
APPLICATION.
A man is known by his words, as a tree is by the fruit; and if we
would be apprized of the nature and qualities of any one, let him
but discourse, and he will speak them to us better than another can
describe them. We may therefore perceive, from this Fable, how proper
it is for those to hold their tongues, who would not discover the
shallowness of their understandings. “Empty vessels make the greatest
sound,” and the deepest rivers are most silent; the greatest noise
is ever found where there is the least depth of water. It is a true
observation, that those who are the weakest in understanding, and most
slow of apprehension, are generally the most precipitate in uttering
their crude conceptions. Grave looks, an aspect of dignity, and a
solemn deportment, may sometimes deceive even an accurate observer; but
wise discourse cannot be successfully counterfeited or assumed, and the
sententious blockhead is as easily recognised as the pert coxcomb. It
matters not what disguise one of these may assume; he utters himself,
and undeceives us: he brays, and tells the whole company what he is.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 107]
THE CAT AND THE FOX.
As the Cat and the Fox were once talking politics together, in the
middle of a forest, Reynard said, let things turn out ever so bad, he
did not care, for he had a thousand tricks for them yet, before they
should hurt him; but pray, says he, Mrs Puss, suppose there should be
an invasion, what course do you design to take? Nay, says the Cat, I
have but one shift for it, and if that won’t do, I am undone. I am
sorry for you, replies Reynard, with all my heart, and would gladly
furnish you with one or two of mine; but indeed neighbour, as times go,
it is not good to trust, we must even be every one for himself, as the
saying is, and so your humble servant. These words were scarcely out of
his mouth, when they were alarmed with a pack of hounds, that came upon
them in full cry. The Cat, by the help of her single shift, ran up a
tree and sat securely among the branches, whence she beheld Reynard,
who had not been able to get out of sight, overtaken with his thousand
tricks, and torn into as many pieces by the Dogs, which had surrounded
him.
APPLICATION.
One good discreet expedient made use of upon an emergency, will do
a man more real service, and make others think better of him, than
to have passed all his life for a shrewd crafty fellow, full of his
stratagems and expedients, and valuing himself upon his having a deeper
knowledge of the world than his neighbours. Plain good sense, and a
downright honest meaning, are a better guide through life, and more
trusty security against danger, than the low shifts of cunning, and the
refinements of artifice. Cunning is of a deep entangling nature, and
is a sign of a small genius; though when it happens to be successful,
it often makes an ostentatious pretension to wisdom; but simplicity of
manners is the ally of integrity, and plain common sense is the main
requisite of wisdom.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 109]
THE DOG INVITED TO SUPPER.
A Gentleman having invited several friends to supper, his Dog thought
this a fit opportunity to invite another Dog, an intimate of his own,
to partake with him of the good cheer, in the kitchen. Accordingly the
stranger punctually attended, and seeing the mighty preparations going
forward, promised himself a most delicious repast. He began to smell
about, and, with his eyes intent upon the victuals, to lick his lips,
and wag his tail. This drew the attention of the Cook, who stole slyly
up, and seizing him by the hind legs, whirled him out of the window
into the street. The Dog, stunned and hurt by his hard fall on the
pavement, began to howl, the noise of which drew several Dogs about
him, who knowing of the invitation, began to enquire how he had fared?
O! charmingly, said he; only I ate and drank till I scarce knew which
way I came out of the house.
APPLICATION.
There is no depending upon a second-hand interest; unless we know
ourselves to be well with the principal, and are assured of his favour
and protection, we stand upon a slippery foundation. They are strangers
to the world who are so weak as to think they can be well with any
one by proxy; they may by this means be cajoled, bubbled, and imposed
upon, but are under great uncertainty as to gaining their point, and
may probably be treated with scorn and derision in the end. Yet there
are not wanting among the several species of fops, silly people of this
sort, who pride themselves in an imaginary happiness, from being in
the good graces of a great man’s friend’s friend. Alas! the great men
themselves are but too apt to deceive and fail in making good their
promises, how then can we expect any good from those who do but promise
and vow in their names? To place a confidence in such sparks, is
indeed so false a reliance, that we ought to be ashamed to be detected
in it; and, like the Dog in the Fable, rather own we had been well
treated, than let the world see how justly we had been punished for our
ridiculous credulity.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 111]
THE ANGLER AND THE LITTLE FISH.
An Angler caught a small Trout, and as he was taking it off the hook,
and going to put it into his basket, it opened its little throat, and
begged most piteously that he would throw it into the river again. The
man demanded what reason it had to expect this indulgence? Why, says
the Fish, because I am so young and so little, that it is not worth
your while taking me now, and certainly I shall be better worth your
notice, if you take me a twelvemonth afterwards, when I shall be grown
a great deal larger. That may be, replied the Angler, but I am sure of
you now; and I am not one of those who quit a certainty in expectation
of an uncertainty.
APPLICATION.
They who neglect the present opportunity of reaping a small advantage,
in the hope that they shall obtain a greater afterwards, are far from
acting upon a reasonable and well advised foundation. We ought never
thus to deceive ourselves, and suffer the favourable moment to slip
away; but secure to ourselves every fair advantage, however small, at
the moment that it offers, without placing a vain reliance upon the
visionary expectation of something better in time to come. Prudence
advises us always to lay hold of time by the forelock, and to remember
that “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.”
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 113]
A MAN BITTEN BY A DOG.
A Man, who had been sadly torn by a Dog, was advised by some Old Woman,
as a cure, to dip a piece of bread in the wound, and give it to the
Cur that bit him. He did so, and Æsop happening to pass by just at the
time, asked him what he meant by it? The man informed him. Why then,
says Æsop, do it as privately as you can, I beseech you; for if the
rest of the Dogs of the town were to see you, we should all be eaten up
alive by them.
APPLICATION.
Vice should always be considered as the proper object of punishment,
and we should on no account connive at offences of an atrocious nature,
much less confer rewards on the criminals: for nothing contributes so
much to the increase of roguery, as when the undertakings of a knave
are attended with success. If it were not for the fear of punishment, a
great part of mankind, who now make a shift to keep themselves honest,
would be great villains. But if criminals, instead of meeting with
punishment, were, by having been such, to attain honour and preferment,
our natural inclination to mischief would be increased, and we should
be wicked out of emulation. We should rather strive to make virtue as
tempting as possible, and throw out every allurement in our power to
draw the minds of the wavering and unsettled to espouse her cause.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 115]
THE FOX AND THE TIGER.
A skilful Archer coming into the woods, directed his arrows so
successfully, that he slew many wild beasts, and wounded several
others. This put the whole savage kind into a great consternation, and
made them fly into the most retired thickets for refuge. At last, the
Tiger resumed courage, and bidding them not be afraid, said that he
alone would engage the enemy, telling them they might depend on his
valour to avenge their wrongs. In the midst of these threats, while
he was lashing himself with his tail, and tearing up the ground with
anger, an arrow pierced his ribs, and hung by its barbed point in his
side. He set up a loud and hideous roar, occasioned by the anguish he
felt, and endeavoured to draw out the painful dart with his teeth: when
the Fox approaching him, enquired with an air of surprise, who it was
that could have strength and courage enough to wound so mighty and
valorous a beast? Ah! says the Tiger, I was mistaken in my reckoning:
it was that invincible Man yonder.
APPLICATION.
Though strength and courage are very good ingredients towards
making us secure and formidable in the world, yet unless there be a
proper portion of wisdom or policy to direct them, instead of being
serviceable, they often prove detrimental to their proprietors. A
rash forward man, who depends upon the excellence of his own parts
and accomplishments, is likewise apt to expose a weak side, which his
enemies might not otherwise have observed; and gives an advantage to
others by those very means which he fancied might have secured it to
himself. Counsel and conduct always did and always will govern the
world; and the strong, in spite of all their force, can never avoid
being tools to the crafty. Some men are as much superior to others in
wisdom and policy, as man in general is above the brute. Strength,
ill-governed, opposed to them, is like a quarter staff in the hands
of a huge, robust, but bungling fellow, who fights against a master
of the science. The latter, though without a weapon, would have skill
and address enough to disarm his adversary, and drub him with his own
staff. In a word, savage fierceness and brutal strength, must not
pretend to stand in competition with policy and stratagem.
[Illustration] [Page 117]
THE DOG AND THE SHADOW.
A Dog, crossing a rivulet with a piece of flesh in his mouth, saw his
own shadow represented in the clear mirror of the stream; and believing
it to be another Dog, who was carrying another piece of flesh, he could
not forbear catching at it; but was so far from getting any thing by
his greedy design, that he dropt the piece he had in his mouth, which
immediately sunk to the bottom, and was irrecoverably lost.
APPLICATION.
Base is the man who pines amidst his store,
And fat with plenty, griping covets more.
Excessive greediness, in the end, mostly misses what it aims at, and
he that catches at more than belongs to him, justly deserves to lose
what he has. Yet nothing is more common, and, at the same time more
pernicious, than this selfish principle. It prevails from the king
to the peasant; and all orders and degrees of men are more or less
infected with it. Great monarchs have been drawn in by this greedy
humour to grasp at the dominions of their neighbours; not that they
wanted any thing more to feed their luxury, but to gratify their
insatiable appetite for vain glory; and many states have been reduced
to the last extremity by attempting such unjust encroachments. He that
thinks he sees the estate of another in a pack of cards, or a box and
dice, and ventures his own in the pursuit of it, should not repine, if
he finds himself a beggar in the end.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 119]
THE BEAR AND THE BEE-HIVES.
A Bear, climbing over the fence into a place where Bees were kept,
began to plunder the hives, and rob them of their honey; but the Bees,
to revenge the injury, attacked him in a whole swarm together; and
though they were not able to pierce his rugged hide, yet, with their
little stings they so annoyed his eyes and nostrils, that, unable to
endure the smarting pain, with impatience he tore the skin over his
ears, with his own claws, and suffered ample punishment for the injury
he had done the Bees, in breaking open their waxen cells.
APPLICATION.
Many and great are the injuries of which men are guilty towards each
other, for the sake of gratifying some base appetite: for there are
those who would not scruple to bring desolation upon their country, and
run the hazard of their own necks into the bargain, rather than balk
a wicked inclination, either of cruelty, ambition, or avarice. But it
were to be wished, that all who are hurried on by such blind impulses,
would consider a moment before they proceed to irrevocable execution.
Injuries and wrongs not only call for revenge and reparation with the
voice of equity itself, but oftentimes carry their punishment along
with them; and, by an unforeseen train of events, are retorted on the
head of the actor, who not seldom, from a deep remorse, expiates them
upon himself by his own hand.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 121]
THE DRUNKEN HUSBAND.
A certain Woman had a Drunken Husband, whom she had endeavoured to
reclaim by several ways, without effect. She, at last, tried this
stratagem: when he was brought home one night dead drunk, she ordered
him to be carried to a burial-place, and there laid in a vault, as if
he had been dead indeed. Thus she left him, and went away till she
thought he might be come to himself, and grown sober again. When she
returned, and knocked at the door of the vault, the man cried out,
who’s there? I am the person, says she, in a dismal tone of voice, that
waits upon the dead folks, and I am come to bring you some victuals.
Ah, good waiter, says he, let the victuals alone and bring me a little
drink, I beseech thee. The Woman hearing this, fell to tearing her
hair, and beating her breast in a woeful manner: Unhappy wretch that I
am, says she, this was the only way that I could think of to reform the
beastly sot; but instead of gaining my point, I am only convinced that
his drunkenness is an incurable habit, which he intends to carry with
him into the other world.
APPLICATION.
This Fable is intended to shew us the prevalence of custom; and how
by using ourselves to any evil practice, we may let it grow into
such a habit as we shall never be able to divest ourselves of. “O!
that men should put an enemy into their mouths to steal away their
brains!” There is no vice which gains an ascendant over us more
insensibly, or more incurably, than drunkenness: it takes root by
degrees, and comes at length to be past both remedy and shame. Habitual
drunkenness stupifies the senses, destroys the understanding, fills
its votaries with diseases, and makes them incapable of business. It
cuts short the thread of life, or brings on an early old age, besides
the mischief it does in the mean time to a man’s family and affairs,
and the scandal it brings upon himself: for a sot is one of the most
despicable and disgusting characters in life. After he has destroyed
his reasoning faculties, and thus shewn his ingratitude to the giver of
them, he flies to palliatives as a remedy for the diseases which his
intemperance has caused, and goes on in a course of taking whets and
cordials, and more drink, till he falls a martyr to the vice, to which
through life he has been a slave.
[Illustration] [Page 123]
THE LIONESS AND THE FOX.
The Lioness and the Fox meeting together, fell into discourse, and
the conversation turning upon the breeding and fruitfulness of some
living creatures above others, the Fox could not forbear taking the
opportunity of observing to the Lioness, that for her part, she thought
Foxes were as happy in that respect as almost any other creatures; for
they bred constantly once a year, if not oftener, and always had a
good litter of cubs at every birth; and yet, says she, there are some
folks who are never delivered of more than one at a time, and that
perhaps not above once or twice in their whole lives, who hold up their
noses, and value themselves so much upon it, that they think all other
creatures beneath them, and scarce worthy to be spoken to. The Lioness,
who all the time perceived at whom this reflection pointed, replied,
what you have observed is true. You litter often, and produce a great
many at a time; but what are they? Foxes! I, indeed, may have but one
at a time; but you should remember that that one is a Lion.
APPLICATION.
Our productions, of whatsoever kind, are not to be esteemed so much by
their quantity as by their quality. It is not being employed much, but
well, and to the purpose, which will make us useful to the age we live
in, and celebrated by those which are to come. As the multiplication
of foxes and other vermin is a misfortune to the countries which are
infested with them, so one cannot help throwing out a melancholy
reflection, when one sees some particular classes of the human kind
increase so fast as they do. But the most obvious meaning of this
Fable is the hint it gives us in relation to authors. These gentlemen
should never attempt to raise themselves a reputation by trumping up
a long catalogue of their various productions, since there is more
glory in having written one tolerable piece than a thousand indifferent
ones; and whoever has had the good fortune to please in one literary
performance, should be very cautious how he stakes his reputation in a
second attempt.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 125]
THE LAMB BROUGHT UP BY A GOAT.
A Wolf, prowling about for his prey, espied a Lamb sucking a Goat. You
silly creature! says he, you quite mistake; this is not your mother;
she is yonder among a flock of sheep: do allow me to conduct you to
her. No, no, replies the Lamb, the mother that bore me may indeed be
yonder; but when she dropped me, she shewed no further care, but left
me unprovided for, to shift for myself, regardless of what might become
of me; and had it not been for the kindness of this honest Goat, who
took compassion upon my helplessness, I must have suffered all the
miseries to which inexperienced youth and innocence are exposed, when
left without a guide to the mercy of the world.
APPLICATION.
This Fable is levelled at those parents, too often met with in society,
who, through negligence or ignorance of their duty, suffer their
offspring to grow up to maturity, without instilling into their minds
a single good principle of morality, or a reverence for religion,
to guide them through life, and to guard them from falling into the
snares of every wolf who may seek their destruction. Others again,
more abandoned indeed, and callous to the tender ties of nature,
bring forth an offspring whom they neither cherish nor provide for.
Such a description of persons are not fit to become parents, and they
must not be surprized, if their want of parental affection produce a
corresponding want of filial attachment and respect: for the duties
between parents and children are reciprocal. It is the goodness of
parents which chiefly entitles them to the respect due to that name;
and it is a paramount duty of children to honour, obey, and revere such
parents as fulfil the obligations which the laws of God and nature
impose upon those who bring children into the world.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 127]
THE HEN AND THE SWALLOW.
A Hen, having found a nest of Serpent’s eggs in a dung-hill,
immediately, with a fostering care, sat upon them, with a design to
hatch them. A Swallow observing this, flew towards her, and with great
earnestness forewarned her of her danger. What! said she, are you mad,
to bring forth a brood of such pernicious creatures? Be assured, the
instant they are warmed into life, you are the first they will attack
and wreak their venomous spite upon: but the Hen persisted in her
folly, and the end verified the Swallow’s prediction.
APPLICATION.
It is too often the hard fortune of many a kind good-natured man in the
world to breed up a bird to pick out his own eyes, in despite of all
cautions to the contrary; but they who want foresight should hearken to
the council of the wise, as this might have the effect of preventing
their spending much time and good offices on the undeserving, perhaps
to the utter ruin of themselves. It is the duty of all men to act
fairly, openly, and honestly, in all their transactions in life; to
do justice to all; but to consider well the character of those on
whom they would confer favours: for gratitude is one of the rarest
as well as the greatest of virtues. The Fable is intended to shew
that we should never have any dealings with bad men, even to do them
kindnesses. Men of evil principles are a generation of vipers, that
ought to be crushed; and every rogue should be looked upon by honest
men as a venomous serpent. The man who is occasionally, or by accident,
one’s enemy, may be mollified by kindness, and reclaimed by good usage:
such a behaviour both reason and morality expect from us: but we should
ever resolve, if not to suppress, at least to have no connexion with
those whose blood is tinctured with hereditary, habitual villainy, and
their nature leavened with evil, to such a degree as to be incapable of
a reformation.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 129]
THE ENVIOUS MAN AND THE COVETOUS.
An Envious Man happened to be offering up his prayers to Jupiter, at
the same time and in the same place with a covetous miserable Fellow.
Jupiter sent Apollo to examine the merits of their petitions, and to
give them such relief as he should think proper. Apollo therefore
opened his commission, and told them, that to make short of the matter,
whatever the one asked, the other should have doubled. Upon this, the
Covetous Man, who had a thousand things to request, forebore to ask
first, hoping to receive a double quantity; for he concluded that
all men’s wishes sympathized with his own. By this circumstance, the
Envious Man had the opportunity of giving vent to his malignity, and of
preferring his petition first, which was what he aimed at; so without
hesitation he prayed to have one of his eyes put out, knowing that of
consequence his companion would be deprived of both.
APPLICATION.
This Fable is levelled at two of the most odious passions which degrade
the mind of man. In the extremes of their unsocial views, envy places
its happiness in the misery and the misfortunes of others, and pines
and sickens at their joy; and avarice, unblest amidst its stores,
is never satisfied unless it can get all to itself, although its
insatiable cravings are at once unaccountable, miserable, and absurd.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 131]
THE PORCUPINE AND THE SNAKES.
A Porcupine, wanting a shelter for himself, begged a nest of Snakes to
give him admittance into their snug cave. They were prevailed upon,
and let him in accordingly; but were so annoyed with his sharp prickly
quills, that they soon repented of their easy compliance, and intreated
the Porcupine to withdraw, and leave them their hole to themselves. No,
said he, let them quit the place that dont like it; for my part, I am
well enough satisfied as I am.
APPLICATION.
This Fable points out the danger of entering into any degree of
friendship, alliance, or partnership with any person whatever,
before we have thoroughly considered his nature and qualities, his
circumstances, and his humour; and also the necessity of examining
our own temper and disposition, to discover, if we can, how far these
may accord with the genius of those with whom we are about to form
a connection; otherwise our associations, of whatever kind they be,
may prove the greatest plague of our life. Young people, who are warm
in all their passions, and suffer them, like a veil, to hoodwink
their reason, often throw open their arms at once, and admit into the
greatest intimacy persons whom they know little of, but by false and
uncertain lights, and thus, perhaps, take a Porcupine into their bosom,
instead of an inmate who might sooth the cares of life, as an amiable
consort, or a valuable friend.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 133]
THE SOW AND THE WOLF.
A Sow that had just farrowed, and lay in her sty with her whole litter
of Pigs, was visited by a Wolf, who secretly longed to make a meal of
one of them, but knew not how to come at it. So, under the pretence
of a friendly visit, he gave her a call, and endeavoured to insinuate
himself into her good graces by his apparently kind enquiries after the
welfare of herself and her young family. Can I be of any service to
you, Mrs Sow? said he: if I can, it shall not on my part be wanting;
and if you have a mind to go abroad for a little fresh air, you may
depend upon my taking as much care of your young family as you could
do yourself. No, I thank you, Mr Wolf, I thoroughly understand your
meaning, and the greatest favour you can do to me and my Pigs, is to
keep your distance.
APPLICATION.
When an entire stranger, or any one of whom we have no reason to
entertain a good opinion, obtrudes upon us an offer of his services,
we ought to look to our own safety, and shew a shyness and coldness
towards him. But there are also many men with whom it is dangerous to
have the least connection, and with whom any commerce or correspondence
will certainly be to our detriment. From these we should, therefore,
resolve not to accept even favours, but carefully avoid being under
any obligation to them: for in the end, their apparent kindness will
shew itself to be a real injury; and there is no method of guarding so
effectually against such people, as that of entirely avoiding their
society, or shutting our doors against them, as we would do against a
thief.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 135]
THE FROGS AND THEIR KING.
In antient times, the nation of Frogs lived an easy free life among
their lakes and ponds; but at length grew dissatisfied with such a
continuance of undisturbed tranquillity, and petitioned Jupiter for
a king. Jupiter smiled at their folly, and threw them down a log of
wood, and with a thundering voice said, “there is a king for you.” With
this, and the sudden splash it made in the water, they were at first
quite panic-struck, and for some time durst not put their heads up; but
by degrees they ventured to take a peep, and at length even to leap
upon the log. Not being pleased with so tame and insipid a king, they
again petitioned Jupiter for another, who would exert more authority.
Jupiter, disgusted at their importunate folly, sent them a Stork for
their king, who, without ceremony, eat them up whenever his craving
appetite required a supply.
APPLICATION.
This Fable is said to have been spoken by Æsop to the Athenians, who
had flourished under their commonwealth, and lived under good and
wholesome laws of their own enacting, until, in process of time,
they suffered their liberty to run into licentiousness; and factious
designing men fomented divisions, and raised animosities among them.
When thus rendered weak, Pisistratus took the advantage, and seized
upon their citadel and liberties both together. The Athenians finding
themselves in a state of slavery, though their tyrant happened to be a
merciful one, could not bear the thoughts of it; but Æsop in reciting
the Fable to them, prescribes patience where there was no other remedy,
and adds, at last, “Wherefore, my dear countrymen, be contented with
your present condition, bad as it is, for fear a change should make it
worse.”
[Illustration: _Set them up with a king indeed!_]
[Illustration] [Page 137]
THE OLD WOMAN AND THE EMPTY CASK.
An Old Woman, seeing a Wine Cask, which had been emptied of its
contents, but the very lees of which still perfumed the air with a
grateful cordial scent, applied her nose to the bunghole, and snuffing
very heartily for some time, at last broke out into this exclamation: O
delicious smell! How good! how charming must you have been once, when
your very dregs are so agreeable and refreshing!
APPLICATION.
Phædrus was an old man when he wrote his Fables, and this he applies
to himself; intimating what we ought to judge of his youth, when his
old age was capable of such productions. It is at once a pleasing
and melancholy idea that is given us by the intercourse with elderly
persons, whose conversation is relishing and agreeable, and we cannot
help concluding that they must have been very engaging in the prime of
life, when in their decline they are still capable of yielding us so
much pleasure. Nor can we help feeling regret, that this fountain of
delight is now almost dried up, and going to forsake us for ever. On
the contrary, when people have neglected to cultivate their minds in
youth, their whole deportment through life is marked with the effects
of this great want, and their old age is burthensome to themselves, and
their conversation insipid to others; and like liquor of a thin body,
and vile quality, soon becomes sour, vapid, or good for nothing.
[Illustration: _An old filtering stone_]
[Illustration] [Page 139]
JUPITER AND THE CAMEL.
The Camel presented a petition to Jupiter, complaining of the hardships
of his case, in not having, like bulls and other creatures, horns,
or any weapon of defence to protect himself from the attacks of his
enemies; and praying that relief might be granted him in such manner as
should be thought most expedient. Jupiter could not help smiling at his
impertinent address; but, however, rejected the petition, and told him,
that so far from granting his unreasonable request, he would take care
that henceforward his ears should be shortened, as a punishment for his
presumptuous importunity.
APPLICATION.
The nature of things is so fixed in every particular, that they are
very weak, superstitious people, who think that it can be altered.
But besides the impossibility of producing a change by foolish
importunities, they who employ much of their time in that way, instead
of getting, are sure to lose in the end. When any man is so silly and
vexatious as to make unreasonable complaints, and to harbour undue
repinings in his heart, his peevishness will lessen the real good which
he possesses, and the sourness of his temper shorten that allowance
of comfort which he already thinks too scanty. Thus, in truth, it is
not Providence, but ourselves, who punish our own importunity, in
soliciting for impossibilities, with a sharp corroding care, which
abridges us of some part of that little pleasure which Heaven has cast
into our lot.
Happy the man without a wish for more,
Who quietly enjoys his little store,
And knows to heaven, with gratitude to pay
Thanks for what’s given, and what is ta’en away.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 141]
THE STAG AND THE FAWN.
A Stag, grown old and mischievous, was, according to custom, stamping
with his foot, making threatening motions with his head, and bellowing
so terribly, that the whole herd quaked for fear of him; when one of
the little Fawns coming up, addressed him to this purpose: Pray what
is the reason that you, who are so stout and formidable at all other
times, if you do but hear the cry of the hounds, are ready to fly out
of your skin for fear? What you observe is true, replied the Stag,
though I know not how to account for it: I am indeed vigorous and
able enough, I think, to defend myself against all attacks, and often
resolve with myself, that nothing shall ever dismay my courage for the
future; but, alas! I no sooner hear the voice of the hounds, but all my
spirits fail, and I cannot help making off as fast as my legs can carry
me.
APPLICATION.
Try what we can, do what we will,
Yet nature will be nature still.
The predominance of nature will generally shew itself through all
the disguises which artful men endeavour to throw over it. Cowardice
particularly gives us but the more suspicion of its existence, when it
would conceal itself under an affected fierceness, as they who would
smother an ill smell by a cloud of perfume, are imagined to be but the
more offensive. When we have done all, nature will remain what she was,
and shew herself whenever she is called upon: therefore, whatever we do
in contradiction to her laws, is so forced and affected, that it must
needs expose and make us truly ridiculous.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 143]
THE FIR AND THE BRAMBLE.
A tall Fir, that stood towering up in the forest, was so proud of his
dignity and high station, that he looked with disdain upon the little
shrubs that grew beneath him. A lowly Bramble had often been made to
feel the insults and gloomy frowns of his lofty neighbour, who, on the
slightest rufflings of the winds, shook his extended arms over the
humble shrub, and upbraided him with his contemptible situation. As for
me, said the Fir, I am the first in the forest for beauty and rank:
my top shoots up into the clouds, and my branches display a perpetual
verdure, whilst you lie grovelling upon the ground, and could not live
were I to leave off sprinkling you with the drops from my extremities.
At this the Bramble set up his prickles, and replied, that this
haughtiness arose from pride and ignorance; for He that made thee a
lofty tree, could, with equal ease, have made thee an humble Bramble;
and high as thou art, a puff of His breath, in the message of a north
wind, can rob thee of thy verdure, or lay thee low; and further, I
pray thee tell me, when the woodman comes with his axe to fell timber,
whether thou wouldst not rather be a Bramble than a Fir?
APPLICATION.
Pride, which was implanted in the human breast for wise purposes,
should carefully be directed aright. It was intended only to exalt the
minds of all ranks and conditions of men, to that pitch, which will
make them spurn at, and despise the doing of a mean or dishonourable
action; and it is only misapplied, when it puffs up those whom fortune
has placed in high stations, or overloaded with riches, and tempts
them to look down with derision on those below them. The higher a man
is exalted in life, but especially if he have risen by dishonourable
means, the more unlikely it is that he will escape a storm, or the
mischiefs to which he may be exposed in his public capacity, in any
convulsion that may befal his country. When public justice overtakes
him, and he finds the day of reckoning near at hand, the honest monitor
within will put him in mind of his true situation, and he will then be
enabled to make a just comparison between his own lofty station, and
that of the poor, but honest, man.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 145]
THE BEES, THE DRONES, AND THE WASP.
A number of Drones, who had long lived at their ease in a hive of Bees,
without contributing by their labour to make any honey, at length began
to dispute the right of the Bees, and insisted that both the honey and
the combs were their property. The Bees, after much altercation, at
last offered to leave the dispute to reference, and this being assented
to by the Drones, the Wasp was chosen umpire. Accordingly, he began by
declaring, that as both parties, he hoped, were his friends, and he
wished them well, he would instantly proceed upon the investigation. I
must own, says he, that the point is somewhat dubious, for I have often
seen you both in the same hive, and excepting that the Drones are of a
more portly size and appearance, you are all otherwise nearly alike in
person: but as I have not been able to see who worked, and who did not,
I know of no mode in which I shall be enabled to judge so correctly, as
by setting each party to work at the making of the honey. Therefore,
addressing himself to the Bees, you take one hive; and you, speaking to
the Drones, will be so good as to take another, and both go to work to
make honey as fast as you can. The Bees readily accepted the proposal;
but the Drones hung back, and would not agree to it. So, so! says
Judge Wasp, I see clearly how the matter stands; and without further
ceremony, declared in favour of the Bees.
APPLICATION.
The surest method of detecting ignorance and inability, is to put
arrogant pretenders to the test, and appreciate their claims by a fair
trial; and when those who assume the merit due to works of ingenuity,
refuse to prove their title by a display of their talents, we may well
conclude that their pretensions are unfounded, and that they are mere
impostors. When men, who are at the head of national affairs, will not
be at the pains to find out merit (for men of that character are too
modest to obtrude themselves) they will be surrounded by a swarm of
idle, impudent, good-for-nothing drones; and these too often succeed in
obtaining those benefits which should be the reward of men of parts,
integrity, and industry.
[Illustration] [Page 147]
THE FROG AND THE FOX.
A Frog leaping out of the lake, and taking the advantage of a rising
ground, made a proclamation to all the beasts of the forest, that he
was an able physician, and for curing all manner of distempers, would
turn his back to no person living. This discourse, with the aid of some
hard cramp words, which nobody understood, made the beasts admire his
learning, and give credit to every thing he said. At last, the Fox,
who was present, with indignation asked him, how he could have the
impudence, with those thin lanthorn jaws, that meagre pale phiz, and
blotched spotted body, to pretend to cure the infirmities of others?
APPLICATION.
A sickly and infirm look is as disadvantageous in a physician, as a
rakish one in a clergyman, or a sheepish one in a soldier. We should
not set up for correctors of the faults of others, whilst we labour
under the same ourselves. Good advice ought always to be followed,
without our being prejudiced upon account of the person from whom it
comes; but it is seldom that men can be brought to think us worth
minding, when we prescribe cures for maladies with which we ourselves
are afflicted. Physician heal thyself, is too scriptural, not to be
applied upon such an occasion; and if we would avoid being the jest of
an audience, we must be sound and free from those diseases of which we
would endeavour to cure others. How shocked must people have been to
hear a preacher for a whole hour declaim against drunkenness, when his
own weaknesses have been such, that he could neither bear nor forbear
drinking, and perhaps was the only person in the congregation who
made the doctrine at that time necessary! Others, too, have been very
zealous in censuring crimes, of which none were suspected more than
themselves: but let such silly hypocrites remember, that they whose
eyes want couching, are the most improper people in the world to set up
for oculists.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 149]
THE CAT AND THE MICE.
A certain house being much infested with Mice, a Cat was at length
procured, who very diligently hunted after them, and killed great
numbers every night. The Mice, being exceedingly alarmed at this
destruction among their family, consulted together upon what was
best to be done for their preservation against so terrible and cruel
an enemy. After some debate, they came to the resolution, that no
one should, in future, descend below the uppermost shelf. The Cat,
observing their extreme caution, endeavoured to draw them down to their
old haunts by stratagem, for which purpose, she suspended herself by
her hinder legs upon a peg in the pantry, and hoped by this trick
to lull their suspicions, and to entice them to venture within her
reach. She had not long been in this posture, before a cunning old
Mouse peeped over the edge of the shelf, and squeaked out thus: Aha!
Mrs Puss, are you there then? There may you be; but I would not trust
myself with you, though your skin were stuffed with straw.
APPLICATION.
We cannot be too much upon our guard against fraud and imposition of
every kind; and prudence in many cases would rather counsel us to
forego some advantages, than endeavour to gain them at a risk of which
we cannot certainly ascertain the amount. We should more particularly
suspect some design in the professions of those who have once injured
us; and though they may promise fairly for the future, it is no breach
of charity to doubt their sincerity, and decline their proposals,
however plausible they may appear; for experience shews that many of
the misfortunes which we experience through life, are caused by our own
too great credulity.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 151]
THE OAK AND THE REED.
An Oak, which hung over the bank of a river, was blown down by a
violent storm of wind, and as it was carried along by the stream, some
of its boughs brushed against a Reed which grew near the shore. This
struck the Oak with a thought of admiration, and he could not forbear
asking the Reed how he came to stand so secure and unhurt, in a tempest
which had been furious enough to tear up an Oak by the roots? Why, says
the Reed, I secure myself by a conduct the reverse of yours: instead
of being stubborn and stiff, and confiding in my strength, I yield
and bend to the blast, and let it go over me, knowing how vain and
fruitless it would be to resist.
APPLICATION.
Though a tame submission to injuries which it is in our power to
redress, be generally esteemed a base and dishonourable thing, yet
to resist where there is no probability, or even hope of getting the
better, may also be looked upon as the effect of a blind temerity, and
perhaps of a weak understanding. The strokes of fortune are oftentimes
as irresistible as they are severe, and he who with an impatient spirit
fights against her, instead of alleviating, does but double the blows
upon himself. A person of a quiet still temper, whether it be given him
by nature, or acquired by art, calmly composes himself in the midst
of a storm, so as to elude the shock, or receive it with the least
detriment,--like a prudent experienced sailor, who, in swimming to the
shore from a wrecked vessel, in a swelling sea, does not oppose the
fury of the waves, but stoops and gives way, that they may roll over
his head without obstruction. The doctrine of absolute submission in
all cases, is an absurd dogmatical precept, with nothing but ignorance
and superstition to support it; but, upon particular occasions, and
where it is impossible for us to overcome, to submit patiently is one
of the most reasonable maxims of life.
[Illustration:
_O God of infinite Wisdom
Truth Justice & Mercy
I thank Thee_
]
[Illustration] [Page 153]
FORTUNE AND THE BOY.
A School Boy, fatigued with play, laid himself down by the brink of a
deep well, where he fell fast asleep. Fortune, whose wheel is always
in motion, passing by, kindly gave him a tap on the head, and awoke
him. My good boy, said she, arise and depart from this dangerous
situation immediately; for if you had tumbled into this well, and been
drowned, your friends would not have attributed the accident to your
carelessness, but would have laid the whole blame upon me.
APPLICATION.
Mankind suffer more evils from their own imprudence, than from events
which it is not in their power to controul; but they are ever ready
to complain of the perverseness of chance, and the capriciousness of
fortune, and to impute the blame to her for whatever mischiefs may
befal them, when these clearly arise from their own misconduct. Few
men pass through life without having had reason at one time or another
to thank Fortune for her favours; and great is the number of those who
have, through their own folly, indolence, or inattention, neglected
to profit by her kindness. Prudent people take every care not to put
themselves in the power of accidents; but those who carelessly give
up all their concerns to the guidance of blind chance, must not be
surprised if by some of the revolutions of Fortune’s wheel, they feel
the punishment due to their negligence and folly.
[Illustration: BLOODO ET GUTTO
_The Butchers Coat
of Arms_
]
[Illustration] [Page 155]
THE WOLF AND THE CRANE.
A Wolf, after devouring his prey, happened to have a bone stick in his
throat, which gave him so much pain, that he went howling up and down,
and importuning every creature he met to lend him a kind hand in order
to his relief; nay, he promised a reasonable reward to any one who
should perform the operation with success. At last, the Crane undertook
the business, ventured his long neck into the rapacious felon’s throat,
plucked out the bone, and asked for the promised reward. The Wolf,
turning his eyes disdainfully towards him, said, I did not think you
had been so unconscionable: I had your head in my mouth, and could have
bit it off whenever I pleased, but suffered you to take it away without
any damage, and yet you are not contented!
Who serves a villain, might as wisely free
The hardened murderer from the fatal tree.
APPLICATION.
There are people in the world to whom it may be wrong to do services,
upon a double score: first, because they never deserve to have a good
office done them; and secondly, because when once engaged, it is so
hard a matter to get well rid of their acquaintance. We ought to
consider what kind of people they are, to whom we are desired to do
good offices, before we do them: for he that grants a favour, or even
confides in a person of no honour, instead of finding his account in
it, comes off well, if he be no sufferer in the end.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 157]
THE HART AND THE VINE.
A Hart being closely pursued by the Hunters, concealed himself under
the broad leaves of a shady Vine. When the Hunters were gone by, and
had given him over for lost, he thinking himself very secure, began to
crop and eat the leaves of his shelter. By this, the branches being
put into a rustling motion drew the attention of some of the Hunters
that way, who seeing the Vine stir, and fancying some wild beast had
taken covert there, shot their arrows at a venture, and killed the
Deer. Before he expired, he uttered his dying words to this purpose:
“Ah!” says he, “I suffer justly for my ingratitude; because I could not
forbear doing an injury to the Vine, which so kindly concealed me in
time of danger.”
APPLICATION.
There is no maxim which deserves more frequent repetition, and if the
heart be capable of amendment by precept and admonition, no virtue
should be more strongly enforced and recommended than gratitude.
Where sentiments of this kind are wanting, our natures soon become
debased, and our minds depraved. Ingratitude has ever been justly
branded as the blackest of crimes, and, as it were, comprehending
all other vices within it. Nor can we say that this opinion is too
severe: for if a man be capable of injuring his benefactor, what will
he scruple doing towards another? We may fairly conclude that he
who is guilty of ingratitude, will not hesitate at any other crime
of an inferior nature. Since there are no human laws to punish this
infamous prevailing vice, it would only be doing an act of justice, and
supplying the want, to point out criminals of this description to the
reprobation of mankind, that men of worth might avoid all intercourse
and communication with them. The ingrate should also bear in mind, that
he strips himself of the protection which might have been afforded by
his friends, and exposes himself to the shafts of his enemies, who will
not fail to take advantage of the defenceless state to which his folly
and depravity have reduced him.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 159]
THE HUNTED BEAVER.
A Beaver, having strayed far from his dwelling, (which it is well known
these animals construct with infinite sagacity) was closely pursued by
the hunters, and knowing that he was thus persecuted for the sake of
the castor, which is contained in two little bags placed underneath and
near the tail, he, with great resolution and presence of mind, bit them
off with his teeth, and leaving them behind him, thus escaped with his
life.
APPLICATION.
It is in vain for individuals to contend against an overwhelming power,
and an ineffectual resistance to violence only tends to double our
sufferings. When life is pursued, and in danger, whoever values it
should give up every thing but his honour to preserve it; and there
can be no disgrace in yielding voluntarily to our persecutors, when we
are certain that resistance is in vain: but this doctrine can seldom be
applied to the case of a whole nation, for when tyranny and rapine are
making their wicked strides over a country (as has sometimes happened
even in Europe) the people would seldom fail to rid themselves of their
oppressors, if they resolved to rise as one man, and bravely oppose
them.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 161]
THE ASS AND THE LION HUNTING.
The Lion, having thinned the forest of great numbers of the beasts upon
which he preyed, and so scared and intimidated the rest, that he found
it very difficult to get hold of any more of them, bethought himself of
a new expedient to obtain more readily a fresh supply. He invited the
Ass to assist him in his plan, and gave him instructions how to act.
Go, said the Lion, and hide thyself in yonder thicket, and then let me
hear thee bray in the most frightful manner thou possibly canst. The
stratagem took effect accordingly. The Ass brayed most hideously, and
the timorous beasts, not knowing what to think of it, began to scour
off as fast as they could; when the Lion, who was posted at a proper
avenue, seized and killed them as he pleased. Having got his belly
full, he called out to the Ass, and bade him leave off, telling him
he had done enough. Upon this, the long-eared brute came out of his
ambush, and approaching the Lion, asked him, with an air of conceit,
how he liked his performance? Prodigiously! says he, you did it so
well, that I protest had I not known your nature and temper, I might
have been frightened myself.
APPLICATION.
A bragging cowardly fellow may impose upon people that do not know him;
but is the greatest jest imaginable to those who do. There are many
men who appear very terrible and big in their manner of expressing
themselves, and if you could be persuaded to take their own word for
it, are perfect Lions; but if we take the pains to enquire a little
into their true nature, are as arrant Asses as ever brayed.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 163]
THE SOW AND THE BITCH.
A Sow and a Bitch happening to meet, a debate arose between them
concerning their fruitfulness. The Bitch insisted upon it, that she
brought forth more at a litter, and oftener, than any other four-legged
creature. Nay, said the Sow, you do not do so, for others are as
prolific as you; and besides, you are always in such a hurry, that you
bring your puppies into the world blind.
APPLICATION.
It is no wonder that our productions should come into the world blind
or lame, or otherwise defective, when by forced or unnatural methods
we accelerate their birth, and impatiently refuse to let them go their
full time. Then it is that the excellent proverb of the more haste the
worse speed, is felt and fully verified. This Fable has been pointed
at those authors whose itch for scribbling has been an annoyance to
the world, rather than of any real use to it; and who have been proud
of, and boasted of the numerous but flimsy productions of their vain
and shallow brains. It is proper to put such people in mind, that it
is not he who does most, but he who does the best, that will meet the
approbation of mankind.
[Illustration: _Who told the Lamb to suck its Mother’s Paps?_]
[Illustration] [Page 165]
THE SATYR AND THE TRAVELLER.
A Satyr, as he was ranging the forest in an exceeding cold snowy
season, met with a Traveller half-starved with the extremity of the
weather. He took compassion on him, and kindly invited him home to a
warm cave he had in the hollow of a rock. As soon as they had entered
and sat down, notwithstanding there was a good fire in the place, the
chilly Traveller could not forbear blowing his fingers. Upon the Satyr
asking him why he did so? He answered, that he did it to warm his
hands. The honest Sylvan having seen little of the world, admired a
man who was master of so valuable a quality as that of blowing heat;
and therefore resolved to entertain him in the best manner he could.
He spread the table with dried fruits of several sorts, and produced a
remnant of old cordial wine, which he mulled with some warm spices over
the fire, and presented to his shivering guest. But this the Traveller
thought fit to blow upon likewise; and when the Satyr demanded a
reason why he did so, he replied, to cool his dish. This second answer
provoked the Satyr’s indignation as much as the first had kindled his
surprise; so, taking the man by the shoulders, he thrust him out of the
place, saying, he would have nothing to do with a wretch who had so
vile a quality as to blow hot and cold with the same breath.
APPLICATION.
Nothing can be more offensive to a man of a sincere honest heart, than
he who blows with different breaths from the same mouth: who flatters a
man to his face, and reviles him behind his back. Such double-dealing
false friends ought and will always be considered as unworthy of being
treated otherwise than as worthless and disagreeable persons: for
unless the tenor of a man’s life be always true and consistent with
itself, the less one has to do with him the better. It is unfortunately
too common with persons of this cast of character, in the exalted
stations of life, to serve a present view, or perhaps only the caprice
or whim of the moment, to blow nothing but what is warm, benevolent,
and cherishing, to raise up the expectations of a dependent to the
highest degree; and when they suspect he may prove troublesome, they
then, by a sudden cold forbidding air, easily blast all his hopes and
expectations: but such a temper, whether it proceed from a designed or
natural levity, is detestable, and has been the cause of much trouble
and mortification to many a brave deserving man.
[Illustration] [Page 167]
THE FOX AND THE GRAPES.
A hungry Fox coming into a vineyard where there hung delicious
clusters of ripe Grapes, his mouth watered to be at them; but they
were nailed up to a trellis so high, that with all his springing and
leaping he could not reach a single bunch. At last, growing tired and
disappointed, Let who will take them! says he, they are but green and
sour; so I’ll e’en let them alone.
APPLICATION.
To affect to despise that which they have long ineffectually laboured
to obtain, is the only consolation to which weak minds can have
recourse, both to palliate their inability, and to take off the
bitterness of disappointment. There is a strange propensity in mankind
to this temper, and there is a numerous class of vain coxcombs in the
world, who, because they would never be thought to be disappointed in
any of their pursuits, pretend a dislike to every thing they cannot
obtain. The discarded statesman, considering the corruption of the
times, would not have any hand in the administration of affairs for
the world! The needy adventurer, and pretended patriot, would fain
persuade all who will listen to them, that they would not go cringing
and creeping into a drawing-room, for the best place the king has in
his disposal! Worthless young fellows, who find that their addresses to
virtue and beauty are rejected; and poor rogues who laugh to scorn the
rich and great, are all alike in saying, like sly Reynard, the Grapes
are sour!
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 169]
THE MISCHIEVOUS DOG.
A certain Man had a Dog which was so ferocious and surly, that he
was compelled to fasten a heavy clog to his collar, to keep him from
running at and indiscriminately seizing upon every animal that came in
his way. This the vain Cur took for a badge of honourable distinction,
and grew so insolent upon it, that he looked down with an air of scorn
upon the neighbouring Dogs, and refused to keep them company: but a sly
old poacher, who was one of the gang, assured him that he had no reason
to value himself upon the favour he wore, since it was fixed upon him
as a badge of disgrace, not of honour.
APPLICATION.
The only true way of estimating the value of tokens of distinction,
is to reflect on what account they were conferred. Those which have
been acquired for virtuous actions, will be regarded as illustrious
signs of dignity; but if they have been bestowed upon the worthless and
base, as the reward of vice or corruption, all the stars and garters,
and collars of an illustrious order,--all the tinsel glories in which
such creatures may strut about in fancied superiority, will not mask
them from the sight of men of discernment, who will always consider the
means by which their honours have been obtained, and truly estimate
them as badges of abasement and disgrace.
[Illustration: THE WAGES OF CRUELTY.]
[Illustration] [Page 171]
THE BULL AND THE GOAT.
A Bull being pursued by a Lion, fled towards a cave, in which he
designed to secure himself; but was opposed at the entrance by a Goat,
who had got possession before him, and, threatening a kind of defiance
with his horns, seemed resolved to dispute the pass. The Bull, who
thought he had no time to lose in a contest of this nature, immediately
made off; but told the Goat, that it was not for fear of him or his
defiances: for, says he, if the Lion were not so near, I would soon
teach you the difference between a Bull and a Goat.
APPLICATION.
O’er-match’d, unaided, and his foes at hand,
Safely the coward may the brave withstand;
But think not, dastard, thus thy glories shine--
He fears a greater force, but scoffs at thine.
It is very inhuman to deny succour and comfort to people in
tribulation; but to insult them, and add to their misfortunes, is
something superlatively brutish and cruel. There is, however, in
the world, a sort of people of this vile temper, and littleness of
mind, who wait for an opportunity of aggravating their neighbour’s
affliction, and defer the execution of their evil inclinations until
they can do it with the severest effect. If a person suffer under an
expensive law-suit, lest he should escape from that, one of these
gentlemen will take care to arrest him in a second action, hoping, at
least, to keep him at bay, while the more powerful adversary attacks
him on the other side. One cannot consider this temper, without
observing something remarkably cowardly in it: for these shuffling
antagonists never begin their encounter till they are very sure the
person they aim at is already over-matched.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 173]
THE FISHERMAN.
A certain Fisherman having laid his nets in the river, and placed
them across the whole stream from one side to the other, took a long
pole, and fell to beating the water to make the fish strike into his
nets. One of his neighbours seeing him do so, wondered what he meant,
and going up to him, Friend, says he, what are you doing here? Do you
think it is to be suffered that you shall stand splashing and dashing
the water, and making it so muddy, that it is not fit for use? Who do
you think can live at this rate? He was going on in a great fury, when
the other interrupted him, and replied, I do not much trouble myself
how you are to live with my doing this; but I assure you I cannot live
without it.
APPLICATION.
This Fable is levelled at those who love to “fish in troubled waters,”
and whose execrable principles are such, that they care not what
mischief or what confusion they occasion in the world, provided they
can obtain their ends, or even gratify some little selfish appetite.
Little villains would set fire to a town, provided they could rake
something of value to themselves out of its ashes; or kindle the flames
of discord among friends and neighbours, purely to gratify their own
malicious temper; and among the great ones there are those who, to
succeed in their ambitious designs, will make no scruple of involving
their country in divisions and animosities at home, and sometimes in
war and bloodshed abroad: provided they do but maintain themselves in
power, they care not what havoc and desolation they bring upon the rest
of mankind. Their only reason is, that it must be so, because they
cannot live as they wish without it. But brutish unsocial sentiments
like these, are such as a mere state of nature would scarcely suggest;
and it is perverting the very end, and overturning the first principles
of society, when, instead of contributing to the welfare of mankind,
in return for the benefits we receive from them, we thrive by their
misfortunes, or subsist by their ruin. Those, therefore, who have
the happiness of mankind at heart, (for happiness and morality are
inseparably connected) should enter their protest against such wicked
selfish notions, and oppose them with all their might; at the same time
shunning the society of their possessors as a plague, and consigning
their characters to the detestation of posterity.
[Illustration] [Page 175]
THE FOX AND THE BOAR.
The Fox, in traversing the forest, observed a Boar rubbing his tusks
against a tree. Why how now, said the Fox, why make those martial
preparations of whetting the teeth, since there is no enemy near that I
can perceive? That may be, said the Boar; but you ought to know, Master
Reynard, that we should scour up our arms while we have leisure: for
in time of danger we shall have something else to do; and it is a good
thing always to be prepared against the worst that can happen.
APPLICATION.
All business that is necessary to be done should be done betimes: for
there is as little trouble in doing it in season as out of season; and
he that is always ready can never be taken by surprize. Wise, just,
and vigilant governments know that they cannot be safe in peace, unless
they are always prepared for war, and are ready to meet the worst that
can happen. When they become corrupt, or supine, and off their guard,
they thereby invite and expose their country to the sudden attacks of
its enemies. In private life, many evils and calamities befal those
who make no provision against unforeseen or untoward accidents, which
the prudent man prevents by looking forward to probable contingencies,
and having a reserve of every thing necessary before-hand,--that he
may not be put into hurry and confusion, nor thrown into dilemmas and
difficulties, when the time comes that he may have to encounter them.
It cannot be too strongly impressed upon the minds of all men, that
day by day they are approaching towards old age, and that they should
honourably endeavour to provide a store of conveniences against that
time, when they will be most in want of them, and least able to procure
them. To reflect properly upon this, will give them pleasure instead
of pain; and they will not die a day sooner for being always ready for
that certain event: to do otherwise is acting like weak-minded men, who
delay making their wills, and properly settling their worldly affairs,
because to them it looks so like the near approach of death.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 177]
CÆSAR AND THE SLAVE.
As Tiberius Cæsar was upon a journey to Naples, he stopped at a house
which he had upon the mountain Misenus. As he was walking in the
gardens attached to the house, one of his domestic slaves appeared
in the walks, sprinkling the ground with a watering pot, in order to
lay the dust, and this he did so officiously, and ran with so much
alertness from one walk to another, that wherever the Emperor went,
he still found this fellow mighty busy with his watering pot. But at
last his design being discovered, which was to attract the notice of
Cæsar by his extraordinary diligence, in the hope that he would make
him free,--part of the ceremony of doing which consisted in giving the
Slave a gentle stroke on one side of his face,--his imperial Majesty
being disposed to be merry, called the Man to him, and when he came
up, full of the joyful expectation of his liberty, Hark you friend,
says he, I have observed that you have been very busy a great while;
but you were officiously meddling where you had nothing to do, while
you might have employed your time better elsewhere; and therefore I
must tell you, that I cannot afford a box on the ear at so low a price
as you bid for it.
APPLICATION.
Phædrus tells us upon his word, that this is a true story, and that
he wrote it for the sake of a set of industrious idle gentlemen at
Rome, who were harassed and fatigued with a daily succession of care
and trouble, because they had nothing to do. Always in a hurry, but
without business; busy, but to no purpose; labouring under a voluntary
necessity, and taking abundance of pains to shew they were good for
nothing. But what great town or city is so entirely free of this sect,
as to render the moral of this Fable useless any where? For it points
at all those officious good-natured people, who are eternally running
up and down to serve their friends, without doing them any good; who,
by a complaisance wrong judged or ill applied, displease whilst they
endeavour to oblige, and are never doing less to the purpose than when
they are most employed. In a word, this Fable is designed for the
reformation of all those who endeavour to gain for themselves benefits
and applause, from a misapplied industry. It is not our being busy and
officious that will procure us the esteem of men of sense; but the
application of our actions to some noble useful purpose, and for the
general good of mankind.
[Illustration] [Page 179]
THE FROGS AND THE FIGHTING BULLS.
A Frog, one day, peeping out of the lake, and looking about him, saw
two Bulls fighting at some distance off in the meadow, and calling
to his associates, Look, says he, what dreadful work is yonder! Dear
sirs, what will become of us? Tush, said one of his companions, do not
frighten yourself so about nothing; how can their quarrels affect us?
They are of a different kind, and are at present only contending which
shall be master of the herd. That is true, replies the first, their
quality and station in life are different from ours; but as one of them
will certainly prove conqueror, he that is worsted, being beaten out of
the meadow, will take refuge here in the marshes, and possibly tread
some of us to death; so you see we are more nearly concerned in this
dispute of theirs, than you were at first aware.
APPLICATION.
A wise man, however low his condition in life, looks forward through
the proper and natural course and connection of causes and effects;
and in so doing, he fortifies his mind against the worst that can
befal him. It is of no small importance to the honest and quiet part
of mankind, who desire nothing so much as to see peace and virtue
flourish, to consider well the consequences that may arise to them out
of the quarrels and feuds of the great, and to endeavour, by every
means in their power, to avoid being in any way drawn in by their
influence to become a party concerned in their broils and disputes: for
no matter in which way the strife between the high contending parties
may terminate, those who may have had the misfortune to be concerned
with them, ought to think themselves well off if they do not smart for
it severely in the end. How often has it happened, that men in eminent
stations, who want to engross all power into their own hands, begin,
under the mask of patriotism, to foment divisions and form factions,
and excite animosities between well-meaning, but undiscerning people,
without whose aid in one way or another they could not succeed; but
who, at the same time, little think that the great aim of their leaders
is nothing more than the advancement of their own private interest, or
ambitious ends. The good of the public is always pretended upon such
occasions, and may sometimes happen to be tacked to their own; but then
it is purely accidental, and never was originally intended.
[Illustration] [Page 181]
THE OLD HOUND.
An Old Hound, who had excelled in his time, and given his Master great
satisfaction in many a chace, at last, through age, became feeble and
unserviceable. However, being in the field one day, when the Stag was
almost run down, he happened to be the first that came in with him,
and seized him by the haunch; but his decayed and broken teeth not
being able to keep their hold, the Deer escaped; upon which, his Master
fell into a great passion, and began to whip him severely. The honest
old creature is said to have barked out this apology: Ah! do not thus
strike your poor old servant: it is not my heart and inclination, but
my strength and speed, that fail me. If what I now am displease you,
pray do not forget what I have been!
APPLICATION.
O let not those, whom honest servants bless,
With cruel hands their age infirm oppress;
Forget their service past, their former truth,
And all the cares and labours of their youth.
This Fable is intended to reprove the ingratitude too common among
mankind, which leaves the faithful servant to want and wretchedness,
after he has spent the prime of his life in our service for a bare
subsistence. Where slavery is allowed, the laws compel the master to
provide for the worn-out slave; and where there is no law to enforce
the debt of gratitude, none but those who are insensible to all the
finer feelings of humanity will neglect it. Those who forget past
services, and treat their faithful servants or friends unkindly or
injuriously, when they are no longer of use to them, however high
their pride, are unworthy of the name of gentleman. They are, indeed,
commonly of an upstart breed, with whom the failure of human nature
itself is imputed as a crime; and servants and dependents, instead of
being considered their fellow-men, are treated like brutes for not
being more than men. The imprudence of this conduct is equal to its
wickedness, inasmuch as it directly tends to extinguish the honest
desire to please and to act faithfully, in the younger servants,
when they see that worn-out merit thus goes unrewarded. Humanity and
gratitude are the greatest ornaments of the human mind, and when they
are extinguished, every generous and noble sentiment perishes along
with them.
[Illustration] [Page 183]
THE TWO BITCHES.
A Bitch, who was just ready to whelp, intreated another to lend her
her kennel only till her month was up, and assured her that then she
should have it again. The other very readily consented, and with a
great deal of civility, resigned it to her immediately. However, when
the time was elapsed, she came and made her a visit, and very modestly
intimated, that now she was up and well, she hoped she should see her
abroad again; for that, really, it would be inconvenient for her to be
without her kennel any longer, and therefore, she told her, she must
be so free as to desire her to provide herself with other lodgings
as soon as she could. The lying-in Bitch replied, that truly she was
ashamed of having kept her so long out of her own house; but it was not
upon her own account (for indeed she was well enough to go any where)
so much as that of her puppies, who were yet so weak, that she was
afraid they would not be able to follow her; and, if she would be so
good as to let her stay a fortnight longer, she would take it as the
greatest obligation in the world. The other Bitch was so good-natured
and compassionate as to comply with this request also; but at the
expiration of the term, came and told her positively that she must
turn out, for she could not possibly let her be there a day longer.
Must turn out, says the other; we will see to that: for I promise you,
unless you can beat me and my whole litter of whelps, you are never
likely to have any thing more to do here.
APPLICATION.
Wise and good-natured men do not shut their ears, nor harden their
hearts, against the calls of humanity, and the cries of distress; but
how often are their generous natures imposed upon by the artifices of
the base and worthless! These fail not to lay their plans with deep
cunning, to work themselves into the good graces of the benevolent, and
having accomplished their ends, the return they often make is abusive
language, or the most open acts of violence. One of the evil and
lamentable consequences arising out of this, is, that worth in distress
suffers by it: for distrust and suspicion take hold of the minds of
good men, and the hand of charity is thus benumbed. This Fable may
also serve to caution us never to let any thing we value go out of our
possession without good security. The man who means to act prudently,
ought never to put himself in the power of others, or to run any risk
of involving his own family in ruin.
[Illustration] [Page 185]
THE HEN AND THE FOX.
A Fox having crept into an out-house, looked up and down, seeking what
he might devour, and at last spied a Hen perched up so high, that he
could by no means come at her. My dear friend, says he, how do you
do? I heard that you were ill, and kept within; at which I was so
concerned, that I could not rest till I came to see you. Pray how is it
with you now? Let me feel your pulse a little: indeed you do not look
well at all. He was running on after this fulsome manner, when the Hen
answered him from the roost, Truly, friend Reynard, you are judging
rightly, for I never was in more pain in my life: I must beg your
pardon for being so free as to tell you that I see no company; and you
must excuse me too for not coming down to you, for, to say the truth,
my condition is such, that I fear I should catch my death by it.
APPLICATION.
It is generally the design of hypocritical persons to delude and
impose upon others, with an eye to derive some benefit to themselves,
when they pretend to feel a flattering anxiety for their welfare; or
sometimes they may perhaps, with impertinent folly, mean no more than
merely to mock and befool men who are weak enough to become their
dupes. In both cases they are enemies to truth and sincerity, which
adorn and tend so greatly to promote the happiness of society, and
they ought to be exposed as such. For although men of penetration see
through the pretence, and escape its dangers, yet the weak, the vain,
and the unsuspicious are put off their guard, and have not discernment
enough to shun the trap so pleasingly baited. The Fable also furnishes
a hint against hypocritical, legacy hunters, whose regard is generally
of the same nature as that of the Fox for the Hen.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 187]
THE ASS IN THE LION’S SKIN.
An Ass, while feeding upon the coarse herbage by the edge of a wood,
found a Lion’s skin, and putting it on, went in this disguise into the
adjoining forests and pastures, and threw all the flocks and herds
into the greatest consternation and dismay. At length, his master,
who was in search of him, made his appearance, and the silly beast,
entertaining the idea of frightening him also, capered forward with a
terrific gait towards him; but the good man seeing his long ears stick
out, presently knew him, and with a stout cudgel made him sensible,
that notwithstanding his being dressed in a Lion’s skin, he was really
no more than an Ass.
APPLICATION.
As all affectation is wrong, and tends to expose and make a man
ridiculous, so the more distant he is from the thing which he affects
to appear, the stronger will be the ridicule which he excites, and
the greater the inconvenience into which he thereby runs himself. How
strangely absurd it is for a timorous person to procure a military
post, in order to keep himself out of danger! and to fancy a red coat
the surest protection for cowardice! Yet there have been those who
have purchased a commission to avoid being insulted; and have been so
silly as to think courage was interwoven with a sash, or tied up in
a cockade. But it would not be amiss for such gentlemen to consider
that it is not in the power of scarlet cloth to alter nature, and that
as it is expected a soldier should shew himself a man of courage and
intrepidity upon all proper occasions, they may by this means meet the
disgrace they intended to avoid, and appear greater Asses than they
needed to have done. However, it is not in point of fortitude only
that people are liable to expose themselves, by assuming a character
to which they are not equal; but he who puts on a shew of learning,
of religion, of a superior capacity in any respect, or in short, of
any virtue or knowledge, to which he has no proper claim, is, and will
always be found to be, an Ass in a Lion’s skin.
[Illustration] [Page 189]
THE CLOWN AND THE GNAT.
As a clownish Fellow was sitting musing upon a bank, a Gnat alighted
upon his leg and bit it. He slapped his hand upon the place, with the
intention of crushing the assailant; but the little nimble insect
escaped between his fingers, and repeated its attacks. Every time he
struck at it, he gave himself a smart blow upon the leg, but missed his
aim. At this he became enraged, and in the height of his peevish and
impatient humour, he earnestly prayed to Hercules, beseeching him with
his mighty power to stretch forth his arm against a pernicious insect,
by which he was so miserably tormented.
APPLICATION.
He who suffers his mind to be ruffled by every little inconvenience,
subjects himself to perpetual uneasiness and disquiet. There is no
accident, however trivial, but is capable of disconcerting him, and
he becomes absurdly miserable on the most foolish occasion. His good
humour is soured in an instant, and he is rendered uncomfortable to
himself, and odious or ridiculous to all about him. He prays with
earnestness to the Supreme Being to aid him in all his paltry selfish
schemes, or to gratify vanities, for which, as a rational being, he
ought to blush and be ashamed. The imaginary distresses, which his
unfortunate disposition heightens into severe calamities, are matter
of diversion to those who are disposed to sneer at him; and when his
pettish humour makes him rave like a madman, and curse his fate, at the
dropping of a hat, or the blunder of a servant, even his friends must
view his behaviour with a mixed emotion of pity and contempt.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 191]
THE WOLF AND THE LAMB.
One hot sultry day, a Wolf and a Lamb happened to come just at the
same time, to quench their thirst in the stream of a brook that fell
tumbling down the side of a rocky mountain. The Wolf stood upon the
higher ground, and the Lamb at some distance below him. However, the
Wolf, having a mind to pick a quarrel with the Lamb, asked him what he
meant by disturbing the water, and making it so muddy that he could
not drink? and, at the same time, demanded satisfaction. The Lamb,
frightened at this threatening charge, told him, in a tone as mild as
possible, that with humble submission, he could not conceive how that
could be, since the water which he drank ran down from the Wolf to him,
and therefore could not be disturbed so far up the stream. Be that as
it may, replies the Wolf, you are a rascal, and I have been told that
you used ill language concerning me behind my back, about half a year
ago. Upon my word, says the Lamb, the time you mention was before I was
born. The Wolf, finding it to no purpose to argue any longer against
truth, fell into a great passion, snarling and foaming at the mouth as
if he had been mad; and drawing nearer to the Lamb, Sirrah, says he, if
it were not you, it was your father, and that is the same. So he seized
the poor innocent helpless thing, tore it to pieces, and made a meal of
it.
APPLICATION.
Where’er oppression rules, fell Wolves devour;
And the worst crimes are want of strength and pow’r.
They who do not feel the sentiments of humanity, will seldom listen
to the voice of reason; and when cruelty and injustice are armed with
power, and determined on oppression, the strongest pleas of innocence
are preferred in vain, and nothing is more easy than finding pretences
to criminate the unsuspecting victims of tyranny. How many of the
degenerate, corrupt, and arbitrary governments with which the civilized
world has been disfigured, have exercised their vengeance upon the
honest and virtuous, who have dared in bad times to speak the truth;
and how many men in private life are to be met with, whose wolfish
dispositions, and envious and rapacious tempers cannot bear to see
honest industry rear its head!
[Illustration] [Page 193]
THE MICE IN COUNCIL.
The Mice called a general council, and after the doors were locked,
entered into a free consultation about ways and means how to render
themselves more secure from the danger of the Cat. Many schemes were
proposed, and much debate took place upon the matter. At last, a
young Mouse, in a fine florid speech, broached an expedient, which he
contended was the only one to put them entirely out of the power of the
enemy, and this was, that the Cat should wear a bell about her neck,
which, upon the least motion, would give the alarm, and be a signal for
them, to retire into their holes. This speech was received with great
applause, and it was even proposed by some, that the Mouse who had made
it should have the thanks of the assembly. Upon which, an old Mouse,
who had sat silent hitherto, gravely observed, that the contrivance
was admirable, and the author of it, without doubt, very ingenious; but
he thought it would not be so proper to vote him thanks, till he should
further inform them how the bell was to be fastened about the Cat’s
neck, and who would undertake the task.
APPLICATION.
It is easy for visionary projectors to devise schemes, and to descant
on their utility, which, after all, are found to be so impracticable,
or so difficult, that no man of solid judgment can be prevailed upon to
attempt putting them into execution. In all matters where the good of
the community is at stake, new projects should be carefully examined
in all their bearings, that the ruinous consequences which might
follow them may be avoided. All business of this import ought to be
left to the decision of such men only as are distinguished for their
good sense, probity, honour, and patriotism. When these have examined
them in all their different bearings, we may place confidence in their
labours, and adopt their plans; but the Fable teaches us not to listen
to those rash and ignorant politicians, who are always foisting their
schemes upon the public upon every occurrence of mal-administration,
without looking beneath the surface, or considering whether they be
practicable or otherwise.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 195]
THE APE CHOSEN KING.
On the death of the old Lion, without his leaving an heir, the beasts
assembled to choose another king of the forest in his stead. The crown
was tried on many a head, but did not sit easy upon any one. At length
the Ape putting it upon his own, declared that it fitted him quite
well, and after shewing them many antic tricks, he with a great deal
of grimace, and an affected air of wisdom, offered himself to fill the
high office. The silly creatures being pleased with him at the moment,
instantly, by a great majority, proclaimed him king. The Fox, quite
vexed to see his fellow-subjects act so foolishly, resolved to convince
them of their sorry choice, and knowing of a trap ready baited, at no
great distance, he addressed himself to King Ape, and told him that he
had discovered a treasure, which being found on the waste, belonged to
his Majesty. The Ape presently went to take possession of the prize;
but no sooner had he laid his paws upon the bait, than he was caught
fast in the trap. In this situation, between shame and anger, he
chattered out many bitter reproaches against the Fox, calling him rebel
and traitor, and threatening revenge: to all which Reynard gravely
replied, that this was nothing but a beginning of what he would meet
with in the high station his vanity had prompted him to aspire to, as
it was only one of the many traps that would be laid for him, and in
which he would be caught; but he hoped, this one might be a treasure to
him, if it operated as a caution, and served to put him in mind of the
false estimate he had put upon his abilities, in supposing, that with
his inexperienced empty pate, he could manage the weighty affairs of
state. He then, with a laugh, left him to be relieved from his peril by
one or other of his foolish loving subjects.
APPLICATION.
When Apes are in power, Foxes will never be wanting to play upon them.
Men shew their folly, rashness, and want of consideration, when they
elect rulers without the qualifications of integrity and abilities to
recommend them to the office; and the higher it is, the more important
it is to the interests of the community that it should be properly
filled. The Fable also shews the weakness of those who, through
self-conceit, aspire to any high station without the requisites to
befit them for it, and the want of which exposes authority to scorn.
[Illustration] [Page 197]
THE OLD MAN AND DEATH.
A poor feeble old Man, who had crawled from his cottage into a
neighbouring wood to gather a few sticks, had made up his bundle, and
laying it over his shoulders, was trudging homewards; but what with
age, and the length of the way, he grew so faint and weak, that he sunk
under it, and as he sat upon the ground, called upon Death to come once
for all and ease him of his troubles. Death no sooner heard him, than
he came and demanded what he wanted? The poor old Creature, who little
thought Death was so near, frightened almost out of his senses with his
terrible aspect, answered him trembling, That having by chance let his
bundle of sticks fall, and being too infirm to get it up himself, he
had made bold to call upon him to help him; and he hoped his worship
was not offended with him for the liberty he had taken in craving his
assistance.
APPLICATION.
This Fable gives us a lively representation of the general behaviour
of mankind towards that grim king of terrors, Death. Such liberties do
they take with him behind his back, that upon every little accident
which happens in their way, Death is immediately called upon, and they
even wish it might be lawful for them to finish with their own hands
a life so odious, so perpetually tormenting, and vexatious. When, let
but Death make his appearance, and the very sense of his near approach
almost does the business: then it is that they change their minds,
and would be glad to come off so well as to have their old burthen
laid upon their shoulders again. But wise and good men know that care
and numberless disappointments must be their portion in their passage
through life, and know also that it is their duty to endure them with
patience; for he is the best and happiest man who neither wishes nor
fears the approach of Death.
[Illustration: TEMPERANCE IN THE GRAND BUSINESS OF LIFE.]
[Illustration] [Page 199]
THE TWO FROGS.
One hot sultry summer, the lakes and ponds being almost every where
dried up, a couple of Frogs agreed to travel together in search of
water. At last they came to a deep well, and sitting upon the brink of
it, began to consult whether they should leap in or not. One of them
was for it, urging that there was plenty of clear spring water, and no
danger of being disturbed. Well, says the other, all this may be true,
and yet I cannot come into your opinion for my life; for if the water
should happen to dry there too, how should we get out again?
APPLICATION.
In human affairs, many stations we meet,
Where ’tis easy to enter, but hard to retreat.
We ought never to change our situation in life, nor undertake any
action of importance, without first duly and deliberately weighing
the consequences that may follow, in all their different bearings. It
is commonly owing to the neglect of such wholesome precautions, that
numbers of young people are led into unfortunate matches, suddenly made
up; and others are from the same causes led into a round of profuse
living, or into gaming and other extravagant conduct, which is sure
to terminate in ruin. To look before we leap, is a maxim worthy of
being remembered by all ranks and conditions of men, from the lowest
to the highest: even kings may reap benefit by it; for when they
inconsiderately execute those schemes which their wicked counsellors
advise, they have often abundant reason to repent. By this blind
stupidity, wars are commenced, from which a state cannot be extricated
either with honour or safety; and unwise projects are encouraged by the
rash accession of those who never considered the consequences, or how
they were to get out, till they had plunged themselves irrecoverably
into them.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 201]
THE FOX AND THE BRIAR.
A Fox scrambling hastily over a hedge, in his flight from the hounds,
got his foot severely torn by a Briar. Smarting with the pain, he burst
into revilings and complaints at this treatment, which he declared he
little expected to meet with for only passing over a hedge; and he
could not help thinking it was very bad usage to be thus grappled by
the long arms, and cut and wounded by the sharp crooked spines of a
Briar. True, says the Briar, but recollect that you intended to have
made me serve your turn, and would, without ceremony, have trampled me
down to the ground: but none of your freedoms with me, Master Reynard;
you may make a convenience of others perhaps, but the family of the
Briars are not of that cast. Whoever presumes to use any impudent
familiarities with them, is sure to smart for it.
APPLICATION.
Presuming and arrogant people do not hesitate to make a convenience,
or a kind of stepping stone, of any one who will suffer them to do so;
and if they can only get their turn served, no matter how, they use no
ceremony, nor shew any delicacy in accomplishing their ends. But the
selfish and impudent gentry, who are so apt to take liberties of this
kind, now and then mistake their men, and are justly retorted upon; and
however upon these occasions they may be surprized and angry, others,
who are indifferent spectators, instead of viewing them as objects
of pity, feel a secret satisfaction in seeing them suffer, as proper
examples of justice.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 203]
THE MAN AND THE WEASEL.
A Man having caught a Weasel in his pantry, was just going to kill it,
when the little captive begged that he would not do so cruel a deed,
but spare his life; and he assured the Man that he was his friend, and
only entered his pantry with a view of destroying the mice with which
it was infested. That may be, said the Man, but you do not do this
with the intention of serving me, nor with any other view but that
of serving yourself; and besides, you are so ferocious and cruel a
little creature, that you kill every animal you have within your power,
without the least compunction, and seem to delight in killing for
killing’s sake; therefore, your pretensions to serve me, and your plea
for mercy, are good for nothing.
APPLICATION.
Many people in the world are ever ready to set up the pretensions of
their acting with zeal, purely to serve the public, and pretend that
it is through the warmth of their friendship that they do the same to
individuals; but the main spring of all the actions of the agents of
treachery, and of bad men, is set a-going with the view only of serving
themselves. It is thus that the unprincipled and mercenary thief-taker
would like well to be accounted a public spirited man; and he cannot
help boasting of his services as such. The hangman’s pretensions are
of the same kind: but however useful and necessary some of such a
description of men may be, to keep down the wicked part of mankind, who
are a nuisance to civilized society, yet the instruments themselves are
very like in character to the Weasel in the Fable. The same may be said
of those factious writers, who pester the public with their clamorous
charges, under the mask of patriotism, but whose real motive is either
to gain money by the sale of their highly seasoned scandals, or to run
down their corrupt opponents in order to obtain their places.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 205]
THE BOAR AND THE ASS.
An Ass happening to meet with a Boar, and being in a frolicsome
humour, and having a mind to shew some of his silly wit, began in a
sneering familiar style to accost the Boar with, So ho, brother, your
humble servant, how is all at home with you? The Boar, nettled at his
familiarity, muttered out, Brother indeed! then bristled up towards
him, told him he was surprized at his impudence, and was just going
to shew his resentment by giving him a rip in the flank: but wisely
stifling his passion, he contented himself with only saying, Go, thou
sorry beast! I could be easily and amply revenged upon thee; but I dont
care to foul my tusks with the blood of so base a creature!
APPLICATION.
It is no uncommon thing to meet with impudent fools, so very eager of
being thought wits, that they will run great hazards in attempting to
shew themselves such, and will often persist in their awkward raillery
to the last degree of offence. But these kind of folks, instead of
raising themselves into esteem, are held in contempt by men of sense;
and though the generous and the brave may scorn to suffer themselves to
be ruffled by the insolent behaviour of every ass that offends them,
yet such sparks must not from thence conclude, that they will not meet
with retorts in kind from men far superior to themselves in mental
endowments; or that their unseasoned wit will always escape a more
proper, but a different chastisement.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 207]
THE DOG AND THE SHEEP.
The Dog sued the Sheep for a debt, of which the Kite and the Wolf
were to be the judges. They, without debating long upon the matter,
or making any scruple for want of evidence, gave sentence for the
plaintiff, who immediately tore the poor Sheep in pieces, and divided
the spoil with the unjust judges.
APPLICATION.
Of the many evils which throw back the well-being of society, none
raise in the honest mind more painful and indignant feelings, than
beholding the judgment seat of mercy and justice filled by an unjust,
corrupt, and wicked judge, who has become, step by step, hardened in
his impious enormities, and is the fully-prepared tool and supporter
of tyranny and arbitrary power. Fraud and oppression follow in his
train: the righteous laws of a just government are frittered away, or
superseded: truth and innocence are obnoxious; honesty is sneered at,
and it becomes criminal to espouse the cause of virtue. In this state
of things, wickedness predominates, and its rapacious abettors give
full scope to the exercise of all kind of oppression and injustice,
to gratify their own vicious lusts. Then it is that mankind are made
to feel the evils of power being in the hands of the worst of their
species, who, without hesitation, rob them of their property, and
divide the spoils. If there be not a sufficiency of the most spirited
and virtuous patriotism to rescue the country from their fangs, then is
despotism and degradation near at hand.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 209]
JUPITER AND THE HERDSMAN.
A Herdsman missing a young heifer, went up and down the forest to seek
it; and having walked over a great deal of ground to no purpose, he
fell a praying to Jupiter for relief, promising to sacrifice a kid
to him, if he would help him to a discovery of the thief. After this
he went on a little farther, and came near a grove of oaks, where he
espied the carcase of his heifer, and a Lion growling over it, and
feeding upon it. This sight almost scared him out of his wits; so down
he fell upon his knees once more, and addressing himself to Jupiter, O
Jupiter, says he, I promised thee a kid to shew me the thief; but now I
promise thee a bull, if thou wilt be so merciful as to deliver me out
of his clutches.
APPLICATION.
We ought never to supplicate the Divine power, but through motives
of religion and virtue. Prayers dictated by blind self-interest,
or to gratify some misguided passion, cannot, it is presumed, be
acceptable to the Deity; and of all the involuntary sins which men
commit, scarcely any are more frequent than their praying absurdly
and improperly, as well as unseasonably, when their time might have
been employed to a better purpose. Would men, as they ought to do,
obey the commands of Omnipotence, by fulfilling their moral duties,
and endeavour with all their might to live as justly as they can, a
just Providence would give them what they ought to have: but stupidity
and ignorance, until better informed, and divested of superstition
and bigotry, will continue to form their notions of the Supreme Being
from their own poor shallow conceptions; and nothing contributes
more to keep up this injudicious practice among simple, but perhaps
well-meaning people, than the numerous collections of those crude
rhapsodies, the offspring of itinerant bigotry, with which the country
overflows; while most of those prayers are neglected which have been
composed with due reflection and matured deliberation, by the most
learned and pious of men. This Fable also teaches us, that frequently
the gratification of our vain prayers would only lead us into dangers
and evils, of the existence of which we had no previous suspicion.
[Illustration] [Page 211]
THE OLD LION.
A Lion, that in the prime of his life had been very rapacious and
cruel, was reduced by age and infirmities to extreme feebleness.
Several of the beasts of the forest, who had been great sufferers
by him, now came and revenged themselves upon him. The Boar ripped
him with his tusks, the Bull gored him with his horns, and others in
various ways had each a stroke at him. When the Ass saw that they might
do all this without any danger, he also came and threw his heels in
the Lion’s face. Upon which, the poor expiring tyrant is said to have
groaned out these words: Alas! how grievous is it to suffer insults,
even from the brave and valiant; but to be spurned at by so base a
creature as this, is worse than dying ten thousand deaths!
APPLICATION.
When men in power lose sight of justice and mercy, and cruelly and
unjustly tyrannise over the people under their sway, they never will
gain sincere reverence or respect from the rest of mankind. The
injuries they inflict in the hey-day of their wicked career, will be
remembered with detestation through life; and when age and impotence
lay hold of them, they must not expect to meet with friends they
never deserved; but may be certain of being treated with neglect and
contempt, and the baser their enemies are, the more insolent and
intolerable will be the affront. It will then be discovered, with
bitter remorse, that the days have passed away, in which virtue and
dignity ought to have laid the foundation of a reputation which would
have been the solace of old age, and also extended a good name to
posterity with feelings of veneration; instead of which the remembrance
of past crimes will haunt the guilty mind, and the unjust man will at
last be thrown into the grave with the common dust, amidst the whispers
of “Let him go,” and he will be no more remembered than the animals on
which he feasted, or the herbage which was cut down when he was a child.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 213]
THE MAGPIE AND THE SHEEP.
A Magpie sat chattering upon the back of a Sheep, and pulling off the
wool to line her nest. Peace, you noisy thing, says the Sheep: if I
were a dog, you durst not serve me so. That is true enough, replies
the Magpie, I know very well whom I have to deal with: I never meddle
with the surly and revengeful; but I love to plague such poor helpless
creatures as you are, who cannot do me any harm.
APPLICATION.
It is the characteristic of a mean, low, base spirit, to be insolent
or tyrannical to those who are obliged to submit to it, and slavishly
submissive to those who have the spirit and the power to resist. Men of
this stamp take especial care not to meddle with people of their own
malicious principles, for fear of meeting with a suitable return; but
they delight in doing mischief for mischief’s sake, and seem pleased
when they can insult the innocent with impunity. This kind of behaviour
is inconsistent with all the rules of honour and generosity, and is
opposite to every thing that is great, good, amiable, and praise-worthy.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 215]
THE FOX AND THE STORK.
The Fox invited the Stork to dinner, and, being disposed to divert
himself at the expence of his guest, provided nothing for the
entertainment but soup, which he served up in a wide shallow dish.
This the Fox could lap up with a great deal of ease; but the Stork,
who could but just dip in the point of his bill, was not a bit the
better for his entertainment. However, a few days after, he returned
the compliment, and invited the Fox; but suffered nothing to be brought
to table excepting some minced meat in a glass jar, the neck of which
was so deep, and so narrow, that, though the Stork with his long bill
made a shift to fill his belly, all that the Fox, who was very hungry,
could do, was to lick the brims as the Stork slabbered them with his
eating. Reynard was heartily vexed at first; but when he came to take
his leave, owned ingenuously, that he had been used as he deserved; and
that he had no reason to take any treatment ill, of which himself had
set the example.
APPLICATION.
It is very imprudent, as well as uncivil, to affront any one, and we
should always reflect, before we rally another, whether we can bear to
have the jest retorted. Whoever takes the liberty to exercise his witty
talent in that way, must not be surprised if he meet reprisals in the
end. Indeed, if all those who are thus paid in their own coin, would
take it with the same frankness that the Fox did, the matter would not
be much; but we are too apt, when the jest comes to be turned home upon
ourselves, to think that insufferable in another which we looked upon
as pretty and facetious when the humour was our own. The rule of doing
as we would be done by, so proper to be our model in every transaction
of life, may more particularly be of use in this respect. People seldom
or never receive any advantage by these little ludicrous impositions;
and yet, if they were to ask themselves the question, would find, that
they would receive the same treatment from another with a very bad
grace.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 217]
THE COUNTRYMAN AND THE SNAKE.
A Villager found a Snake under a hedge, almost dead with cold. Having
compassion on the poor creature, he brought it home, and laid it upon
the hearth near the fire, where it had not lain long before it revived
with the heat, and began to erect itself, and fly at the wife and
children of its preserver, filling the whole cottage with its frightful
hissings. The Countryman hearing an outcry, came in, and perceiving how
the matter stood, took up a mattock, and soon dispatched the ingrate,
upbraiding him at the same time in these words: Is this, vile wretch,
the reward you make to him that saved your life? Die, as you deserve;
but a single death is too good for you.
APPLICATION.
There are some minds so depraved, and entirely abandoned to wickedness,
so dead to all virtuous feelings, that the tenderness and humanity of
others, though exerted in their own favour, not only fail to make a
proper impression of gratitude upon them, but are not able to restrain
them from repaying benevolence with injuries. Moralists, in all
ages, have incessantly declaimed against the enormity of this crime,
concluding that they who are capable of injuring their benefactors,
are not fit to live in a community; being such as the natural ties of
parent, friend, or country are too weak to restrain within the bounds
of society. Indeed, the sin of ingratitude is so detestable, that none
but the basest tempers can be guilty of it. Men of low grovelling
minds, who have been rescued from indigence by the hand of benevolence,
or of charity, forget their benefactors, as well as their original
wretchedness; and as soon as prosperity flows upon them, it too often
serves only to rekindle their native rancour and venom, and they hiss
and brandish their tongues against those who are so inadvertent or
unfortunate as to have served them. But prudent people need not to be
admonished on this subject; for they know how much it behoves them to
beware of taking a snake into their bosom.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 219]
THE COCK AND THE FOX.
A Cock, perched upon a lofty tree, crowed so loud, that his voice
echoed through the wood, and drew to the place a Fox, who was prowling
in quest of prey. But Reynard finding the Cock was inaccessible, had
recourse to stratagem to decoy him down. Approaching the tree, Cousin,
says he, I am heartily glad to see you; but I cannot forbear expressing
my uneasiness at the inconvenience of the place, which will not let
me pay my respects to you in a better manner, though I suppose you
will come down presently, and that difficulty will be removed. Indeed,
cousin, says the Cock, to tell you the truth, I do not think it safe to
venture upon the ground; for, though I am convinced how much you are my
friend, yet I may have the misfortune to fall into the clutches of some
other beast, and what will become of me then? O dear, says Reynard,
is it possible you do not know of the peace that has been so lately
proclaimed between all kinds of birds and beasts; and that we are for
the future to forbear hostilities, and to live in harmony, under the
severest penalties. All this while the Cock seemed to give little
attention to what was said, but stretched out his neck as if he saw
something at a distance. Cousin, says the Fox, what is that you look
at so earnestly? Why, says the Cock, I think I see a pack of hounds
yonder, a good way off. O then, says the Fox, your humble servant, I
must be gone. Nay, pray cousin do not go, says the Cock, I am just
coming down; sure you are not afraid of the dogs in these peaceable
times. No, no, says he; but ten to one whether they have yet heard of
the proclamation!
APPLICATION.
The moral of this Fable principally instructs us not to be too
credulous in believing the insinuations of those who are already
distinguished by their want of faith and honesty, for perfidious
people ought ever to be suspected in the reports that favour their own
interest. When, therefore, any such would draw us into a compliance
with their destructive measures, by a pretended civility, or plausible
relation, we should consider such proposals as a bait, artfully
placed to conceal some fatal hook, which is intended to draw us into
danger; and if by any simple counterplot we can unmask the design and
defeat the schemes of the wicked, it will not only be innocent, but
praise-worthy.
[Illustration] [Page 221]
THE HARE AND THE TORTOISE.
A Hare vainly boasting of her great speed in running, and casting a
look of disdain upon a Tortoise, that was slowly moving along, What
a poor crawling thing are you! said she: I can go over a territory
of country with the velocity of the wind, while you are an hour in
accomplishing a journey of half a furlong. In a race I could leave you
twenty miles behind me, in the time you were about reaching the end of
one. I don’t know that, said the Tortoise, and will give you a trial.
Upon this, a match was made to run a certain distance, and the Fox, who
had heard the dispute, was chosen umpire of the race. They then started
together, and away went the Hare with great swiftness, and soon left
the Tortoise out of sight, and thinking herself certain of winning the
race, she made a jest of the matter, squatted down in a tuft of fern,
and took a nap, concluding she could easily make up the lost ground,
should the Tortoise at any time pass by. Indulging in this security,
she over-slept herself, until the Tortoise, in a continued steady pace,
arrived first at the fixed distance, and won the race.
APPLICATION.
We must not flatter ourselves with coming to the end of our journey in
time, if we sleep by the way; and unnecessary delays, in all pressing
affairs, are just so much time lost. Action is an important part of the
business of life; and “up and be doing” is a motto we ought to keep
in mind, as it has guided many a plain plodding man, with steady aim,
to carry his point effectually in making his own fortune, and at the
same time gaining the esteem of the world. Industry and application to
business make amends for the want of a quick and ready wit; but men of
great natural abilities, and vivacity of imagination, often presume too
much upon the superiority of their genius, and if to this presumption
they add pride and conceit, they despise the drudgery of business, and
suffer their affairs to go to disorder or ruin, through idleness and
neglect.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 223]
THE BLACKAMOOR.
A Man having bought a Blackamoor, was so simple as to think that the
colour of his skin was only dirt which he had contracted for want of
due care under his former master. This fault he fancied might easily
be removed by washing, so he ordered the poor Black to be put into a
tub, and was at a considerable charge in providing ashes, soap, and
scrubbing brushes for the operation. To work they went, rubbing and
scouring his skin all over, but to no manner of purpose: for when they
had repeated their washings several times, and were grown quite weary,
all they got by it was, that the Blackamoor caught cold and died.
APPLICATION.
“What’s bred in the bone will never come out of the flesh.”
Nature cannot by any art or labour be changed; she may indeed be
wrought upon and moulded by good council and discipline; but it is
in vain to attempt a total transformation of our genius, person, or
complexion: therefore our application, assiduity, and pains, when
wrong directed, are of no avail. We should, indeed, strive to discover
which way the bent of our genius lies, that we may apply ourselves
to a judicious cultivation and improvement of it; but we ought to be
sure never to thwart or oppose nature’s fixed laws. When men aspire to
eminence in any of the various arts or sciences, without being gifted
with the innate powers or abilities for such attainments, it is only
like attempting to wash the Blackamoor white.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 225]
THE LION IN LOVE.
The Lion by chance saw a fair maid, the forester’s daughter, as she
was tripping over a lawn, and fell in love with her. Nay, so violent
was his passion, that he could not live unless he made her his own;
therefore, without more delay, he broke his mind to the father, and
demanded the damsel for his wife. The man, odd as the proposal seemed
at first, soon recollected that, by complying, he might get the Lion
into his power; but, by refusing him, should only exasperate and
provoke his rage. Accordingly, he seemed to consent; but told him it
must be upon these conditions: that, considering the girl was young and
tender, he must let his teeth be plucked out, and his claws be cut off,
lest he should hurt her, or at least frighten her with the apprehension
of them. The Lion was too much in love to hesitate; but was no sooner
deprived of his teeth and claws, than the treacherous forester
attacked him with a huge club, and knocked out his brains.
APPLICATION.
Of all the ill consequences that may attend the blind passion of love,
few prove so fatal as that of its drawing people into a sudden and
ill-concerted marriage. In the midst of a fit of madness, they commit
a rash act, of which, as soon as they come to themselves, they find
reason to repent as long as they live. Many an unthinking young man
has been treated as much like a savage in this respect as the Lion in
the Fable. He has, perhaps, had nothing valuable belonging to him but
his estate, and the documents which formed his title to it; and if he
is so far captivated, as to be persuaded to part with these, his teeth
and his claws are gone, and he lies entirely at the mercy of madam and
her relations, who will most likely not fail to keep him in complete
subjection, after they have stripped him of all his power. Nothing but
a true friendship, and a mutual interest, can keep up a reciprocal love
between the conjugal pair, and when these are wanting, contempt and
aversion soon step in to supply their place. Matrimony then becomes a
state of downright enmity and hostility; and what a miserable case he
must be in, who has put himself and his whole power into the hands of
his enemy. Let those reflect upon this (while they are in their sober
senses) who abhor the thoughts of being betrayed into their ruin, by
following the impulse of a blind unheeding passion.
[Illustration] [Page 227]
THE FOX AND THE HEDGEHOG.
A Fox, in swimming across a river, was forced down by the rapidity of
the stream to a place where the bank was so steep and slippery, that he
could not ascend it. While he was struggling in this situation, a swarm
of flies settled on his head and eyes, and tormented him grievously.
A Hedgehog, who saw and pitied his condition, offered to call in the
assistance of the Swallow to drive them away. No, no, friend, replies
the Fox, I thank you for your kind offer; but it is better to let this
swarm alone, for they are already pretty well filled, and should they
be driven away, a fresh and more hungry set would succeed them, and
suck me until I should not have a drop of blood left in my veins.
APPLICATION.
This Fable is recorded by Aristotle, who tells us that Æsop spoke it to
the Samians on occasion of a popular sedition, to dissuade them from
deposing their great minister of state, lest they might, in getting
rid of one who was already glutted with their spoils, make room for a
more hungry and rapacious one in his stead. By this it would appear,
that some ministers of state in ancient times, instead of being guided
by integrity and patriotism, were intent only upon filling their own
coffers, and aggrandizing and enriching their own relations, from the
plunder of the people whose affairs they were entrusted with; and
that they considered them as their prey, rather than their charge. A
succession of such ministers, who can be countenanced by weak monarchs
only, is more calamitous to a nation than plague, pestilence, and
famine; for the effects of their mal-administration do not end with
their wicked lives, but lay the foundation of ruin to nations that
would, under a patriotic government, have been virtuous, great, and
flourishing.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 229]
THE SPARROW AND THE HARE.
A Hare being seized by an Eagle, squeaked out in a most woful manner.
A Sparrow, that sat upon a tree just by, and saw the affair, could not
forbear being unseasonably witty, but called out to the Hare: So, ho!
what, sit there and be killed! prithee up and away; I dare say if you
would but try, so swift a creature as you are would easily escape from
an Eagle. As he was going on with his cruel raillery, down came a Hawk
and snapped him up, and notwithstanding his cries and lamentations,
fell to devouring him in an instant. The Hare, who was just expiring,
addressing her last words to the Sparrow, said, You who just now
insulted my misfortune, with so much security as you thought, may
please to shew us how well you can bear the like, now it has befallen
you.
APPLICATION.
To insult people in distress, is the characteristic of a cruel,
indiscreet, and giddy temper; and he must surely have a very bad
heart, and no very good head, who can look on the day of grief, and
the hour of distress, as a time for impertinent raillery. If any other
arguments were necessary, or might be supposed capable of enforcing
moral precepts on those who cannot be actuated by humanity, it might
be added, that the vicissitudes of human affairs render such behaviour
imprudent, as well as barbarous; since we cannot tell how soon we may
be ourselves reduced to lament the woes which are now the objects of
our derision: for nobody knows whose turn may be the next.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 231]
THE MAN AND HIS TWO WIVES.
A Man, in times when polygamy was allowed, had two wives, one of
whom, like himself, had seen her best days, and was verging upon the
decline of life, but possessed many engaging qualities. The other was
young and beautiful, and shared the affection of her husband, whom
she made as happy as he was capable of being, but was not completely
so herself. The white hairs mixed with the black upon the good man’s
head, gave her some uneasiness, by proclaiming the great disparity of
their years; wherefore, under colour of dressing his head, she plucked
out the silver hairs, that he might still have as few visible signs
of an advanced age as possible. The older dame, for reasons directly
opposite, esteemed these grey locks as the honours of his head, and
thought, while they gave him a venerable look, they made her appear
something younger, so that every time she combed his head, she took
equal pains to extirpate the black hairs. Each continued her project,
unknown to the other, until the poor man, who thought their desire to
oblige him put them upon this extraordinary officiousness in dressing
his head, found himself without any hair at all!
APPLICATION.
As Christianity has banished polygamy, no immediate moral can be
derived by husbands from this Fable, unless we conclude, that it is
as impossible to serve two mistresses as two masters; for whatever we
do to please the one, will probably offend the other. To conciliate
the affections of persons whose tempers are opposite, is extremely
difficult, if not impracticable. To wives it may teach, that those
whose love is tempered with a tolerable share of good sense, will
be sure to have no separate views of their own, nor do any thing
immediately relating to their husbands, without consulting them first.
All that we shall add to what has been said, is to observe, that many
women may ignorantly, out of a pure effect of complaisance, do a
thousand disagreeable things to their husbands. But in a married state,
one party should not be guessing at or presuming, but inform themselves
certainly, what will please the other; and if a wife use her husband
like a friend only, the least she can do is first to communicate to
him all the important enterprizes she undertakes, and especially those
which she intends should be for his honour and advantage.
[Illustration] [Page 233]
MERCURY AND THE CARVER.
Mercury being very desirous to know what credit he had obtained in
the world, and how he was esteemed among mankind, disguised himself,
and went to the shop of a famous Statuary, where images were to be
sold. He saw Jupiter, Juno, and himself, and most of the other gods
and goddesses: so, pretending that he wanted to buy, he asked the
prices of several, and at length pointing to Jupiter, What, says he,
is the lowest price you will take for that? A crown, says the other;
and what for that? pointing to Juno: I must have something more for
that. Mercury then, casting his eye upon the figure of himself, with
all his symbols about it, Here am I, said he to himself, in quality of
Jupiter’s messenger, and the patron of artisans, with all my trades
about me; and then smiling with a self-sufficient air, and pointing to
the image, and pray friend, what is the price of this elegant figure?
Oh, replied the Statuary, if you will buy Jupiter and Juno, I will
throw you that into the bargain.
APPLICATION.
If we knew ourselves, of what could any of us be vain? Vanity is the
fruit of ignorance, and the froth of perverted pride. Humility is the
constant attendant on men of great talents and good qualities: these
enable them to see how far they are short of perfection; but the vain
and arrogant conceive they have attained its height. All vain men, who
affect popularity, fancy other people have the same opinion of them
that they have of themselves; but nothing makes them look so cheap
and little in the eyes of discerning people as their enquiring (like
Mercury in the Fable) after their own worth, and wanting to know what
value others set upon them: and those who are so full of themselves,
as to hunt for praise, and lay traps for commendation, will generally
be disappointed, and be marked out as the emptiest of fellows; for
it argues a littleness of mind to be too anxious and solicitous
concerning our fame. He that behaves himself as he should do, need not
fear procuring a good share of respect, and a fair reputation; but
then these should not be the end or the motive of our pursuits: our
principal aim should be the welfare of our country, our friends, and
ourselves, and should be directed by the rules of honour and virtue.
[Illustration] [Page 235]
THE FOX AND THE GOAT.
A Fox having tumbled, by chance, into a well, had been ineffectually
endeavouring a long while to get out again, when, at last, a Goat came
to the place, and wanting to drink, asked Reynard whether the water was
good? Good! said he, aye, so sweet, that I am afraid I have surfeited
myself, I have drank so abundantly. The Goat, upon this, without more
consideration, leapt in; when the Fox mounted upon his back, and taking
the advantage of his horns, bounded up in an instant, and left the poor
simple Goat at the bottom of the well to shift for himself. Upon the
Goat’s reproaching him for his perfidy, Ah, Master Goat, said he, you
have far more hairs in your beard than brains in your head.
APPLICATION.
Credulity may be said to be the child of ignorance, and the mother
of distress. A wise man will not suffer himself to be imposed upon
by slender artifices and idle tales; but the credulous man is easily
deluded, and subjects himself to numberless misfortunes. He is ever
the dupe of designing knaves, and of needy adventurers, who are always
intent upon serving themselves at the expence of others. They fasten
upon opulent men of weak minds, as the objects of delusion, and for
this purpose, tempt them with proposals of apparently advantageous
schemes, which they have ready made out, to entice their victims to
embark along with them. By credulity, they hope to establish their own
fortune, and provided this be done, they care not, even if the ruin of
their unsuspecting associates follow. It will likewise ever be found
that when an honest man and a knave happen to become partners in the
same common interest, the latter, whenever necessity pinches, will be
sure to shift for himself, and leave the former in the lurch.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 237]
JUNO AND THE PEACOCK.
The Peacock complained to Juno, how hardly he was used in not having
so good a voice as the Nightingale. That little bird, says he, charms
every ear with his melody, while my hoarse screamings disgust every
one who hears them. The Goddess, concerned at the uneasiness of her
favourite bird, answered him very kindly to this purpose: If the
Nightingale be blest with a fine voice, you have the advantage in point
of beauty and majesty of person. Ah! said the Peacock, but what avails
my silent unmeaning beauty, when I am so far excelled in voice? The
Goddess dismissed him with this advice: Consider that the properties
of every creature were appointed by the decree of fate: to you beauty;
strength to the Eagle; to the Nightingale a voice of melody; the
faculty of speech to the Parrot; and to the Dove innocence. Each of
these is contented with his own peculiar quality; and unless you have a
mind to be miserable, you must learn to be so too.
APPLICATION.
The most useful lesson that we can possibly learn, towards the
attainment of happiness in this world, is to enjoy those blessings
that we have in our power, without vainly pining after those which
we have not. Instead of being ambitious of having more endowments
than nature has allotted to us, we should spare no pains to cultivate
those we have; and which a sourness or peevishness of temper, instead
of improving, will certainly lessen and impair. Whoever neglects the
happiness within his reach, in order to brood over the consideration
of how much happier he might have been, had his situation been like
that of others, ingeniously contrives to torment himself, and opens a
perpetual source of discontent, which prevents his ever being at ease.
He does not reflect, or he would soon discover, that all the desirable
properties in the world never centered in one man, and that those who
have had the greatest share of them, if of an unhappy disposition,
still wished for something more, and wanted to possess some inherent
gifts which shone forth in other men: but such persons ought to be
put in mind, that it does not become mortals to repine at the will of
Heaven, which distributes happiness with an equal hand upon the highest
and the lowest of mankind, if they were wise enough, and grateful
enough, to perceive it.
[Illustration] [Page 239]
THE LION AND OTHER BEASTS.
The Lion having entered into an alliance with other Beasts of prey,
it was agreed, for their mutual advantage, that they should hunt in
company, and divide the spoil. They accordingly met on a certain day,
and commenced the chase, and ere long they ran down and killed a fine
fat Deer, which was instantly divided into four parts, there happening
to be then only the Lion and three others present. After the division
was made, the Lion advancing forward with an air of majesty, and
pointing to one of the shares, was pleased to declare himself after the
following manner: This I take possession of as my right, which devolves
to me, as I am descended by a true, lineal, hereditary succession from
the royal family of Lion: that, pointing to the second, I claim by, I
think, no unreasonable title, considering that the success of all the
engagements you have with the enemy depends chiefly upon my courage
and conduct; and you very well know that wars are too expensive to
be carried on without large supplies. Then, nodding his head towards
the third, that I shall take by virtue of my prerogative, to which I
make no question but so dutiful and loyal a people will pay all the
deference and regard that I can desire. Now, as for the remaining part,
the necessity of our present affairs is so very urgent, our stock so
low, and our credit so impaired and weakened, that I must insist upon
your granting that without hesitation or demur; and hereof fail not at
your peril.
APPLICATION.
No alliance is safe which is made with the wicked, if they be superior
to us in power. The most solemn treaties will be disregarded as soon as
they can be broken with advantage. Powerful potentates, when they are
regardless of moral obligation, and consider might only to be right,
will never want specious pretences to furbish out their declarations
of war, nor hesitate about inveigling less powerful states to join
them, and after subduing the enemy, and seizing upon the spoils, will
fall upon their allies on the slightest pretences, or for no better
reason but because they are powerful enough to do so. No man ought to
be entrusted with unlimited power; and when a community has been stupid
enough to put the management of their affairs into such hands, they
have ever found their confidence abused, and their property invaded.
[Illustration] [Page 241]
JUPITER AND PALLAS.
Once upon a time, the Heathen Gods agreed to adopt each a particular
tree into their patronage. Jupiter chose the Oak; Venus was pleased
to name the Myrtle; Apollo pitched upon the Laurel; Cybele took the
Pine; and Hercules the Poplar. Pallas being present, expressed her
surprise at their fancy, in making choice of trees that bore nothing.
Oh, says Jupiter, the reason of that is plain enough, for we would not
be thought to dispense our favours with any mercenary view. You may do
as you please, says she, but let the Olive be my tree; and I declare
my reason for choosing it is, because it bears plenty of noble useful
fruit. Upon which the Thunderer, putting on a serious composed gravity,
spoke thus to the Goddess: Indeed daughter, it is not without cause
that you are so celebrated for your wisdom; for unless some benefit
attend our actions, to perform them for the sake of glory is but a
silly business.
APPLICATION.
In all our actions, we should intend something useful and beneficial;
for the standing value of all things is in proportion to their use. To
undertake affairs with no other view but that of empty glory, whatever
some curious dreamers may fancy, is employing our time after a very
foolish manner. The Almighty created the world out of his infinite
goodness, for the good of his creatures, and not out of a passion for
glory, which is a vain, silly, mean principle; and when we talk of
glorifying the Author of our being, if we think reasonably, we must
mean shewing our gratitude to him, by imitating this goodness of his,
as far as we are able, and endeavouring to make some good or other the
aim of all our undertakings. For if empty glory be unworthy the pursuit
of a wise man, how vastly improper must it be to make an offering of it
to an all-wise Deity.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 243]
THE VIPER AND THE FILE.
A Viper having entered a smith’s shop, looked up and down for something
to eat; when, casting his eye upon a file, he greedily seized upon it,
and fell to gnawing it with his teeth. After he had spent some time
in his attempts to devour it, the File told him very gruffly, that he
had better be quiet and let him alone; for he would get very little by
nibbling at one who, upon occasion, could bite iron and steel.
APPLICATION.
This Fable is levelled at those spiteful people who take so malignant a
pleasure in the design of hurting others, as not to feel and understand
that they hurt only themselves; and at those who are blinded by
envy, which prompts them rather than not bite at all, to fall foul
where they cannot expect their nibbling will meet with any thing but
disappointment, as every one must who is biting at that which is too
hard for his teeth. Thus it is that spite and malignity, which are twin
brothers, and the offspring of envy, are, as well as their parent,
their own tormentors. They intend that the wounds they inflict should
be deadly, and the greatest wits and brightest characters in all ages
have been the objects of their attacks; but the brilliancy of truth
and justice at length shines forth, and shews the deformity of such
characters in the clearest light. Other people, of the same character
and disposition, though of minor consideration indeed, ought not to
be passed over unnoticed. These may be called nibblers, who let their
tongues slip very freely, in censuring the actions of persons who, in
the esteem of the world, are of such an unquestionable reputation,
that nobody will believe what is insinuated against them, and of such
influence through their own veracity, that the least word from them
would ruin the credit of such adversaries to all intents and purposes.
The efforts of little villains of this stamp, like dirty liquor
squirted against the wind, recoil back and bespatter their own faces;
or like the shades of a picture, serve to set off the brilliant tints
of the opposite virtues, which support and adorn society.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 245]
THE WOLF IN SHEEP’S CLOTHING.
A Wolf disguising himself in the skin of a sheep, and getting in
among the flock, easily caught and devoured many of them. At last the
Shepherd discovered him, and cunningly watched the opportunity of
slipping a noose about his neck, and immediately hung him up on the
branch of a tree. Some other Shepherds observing what he was about,
drew near and expressed their surprize at it. Brother Shepherd! says
one of them, what! are you hanging your sheep? No, replies the other,
but I am hanging a Wolf in Sheep’s clothing, and shall never fail to do
the same, whenever I can catch one of them in that garb. The Shepherds
then expressed themselves pleased at his dexterity, and applauded the
justice of the execution.
APPLICATION.
We ought not to judge of men by their looks, or their dress and
appearances, but by the character of their lives and conversation,
and by their works; for when we do not examine these, we must not be
surprized if we find that we have mistaken evil for good, and instead
of an innocent sheep, taken a wolf in disguise under our protection.
The finished hypocrite, by assuming the character of virtue, makes the
vice more odious and abominable, and when the mask is torn off, and
fraud and imposture are detected, every honest man rejoices in the
punishment of the offender. Men who have not had good, religious, and
moral principles early instilled into their minds, find no barrier to
check their propensity to evil, and get hardened as they advance in
years; and even the most liberal education, if it want the foundation
of truth and honesty, is often a curse instead of a blessing, and
the objects of it fail to do honour either to themselves or to their
country. Thus it is we see tyranny stalking along under the mask of
care and protection. Injustice sets up the letter of the law against
its spirit. Oppression strips the widow and the orphan, and at the same
time preaches up mercy and compassion. Treachery covers itself under
a cloak of kindness; and above all, it is peculiarly painful to find
numbers of men, even of the learned professions, who ought to set an
example of probity and honour, misapply their abilities to twist and
pervert the sacred meaning of both law and gospel to the basest and
worst of purposes.
[Illustration] [Page 247]
THE STAG IN THE OX-STALL.
A Stag, pursued by the hunters, took refuge in a stable, and begged
of the Oxen, to suffer him to conceal himself under the straw in one
of the stalls. They told him that he would be in great danger there,
for both the master and the servants would soon come to fodder them,
and then he might be sure of meeting his doom. Ah! says the Stag, if
you will be so good as not betray me, I hope I shall be safe enough.
Presently, in came a servant, who gave a careless look around, and
then went out without any discovery. All the other servants of the
farm came and went like the first. Upon this, the Stag began to exult,
imagining himself quite secure; but a shrewd old Ox told him that he
was reckoning upon his safety too soon, for there was another person to
come, by whom he would not so readily be looked over. Accordingly, by
and by came the master, who carefully peeped into every corner, and at
last, in turning over the litter, discovered the Stag’s horns sticking
out of the straw: upon which, he called all his servants back, and soon
made prize of the poor creature.
APPLICATION.
This Fable is levelled against those worthless hirelings, who slide
over their time in negligent disorder, and this not so much for want of
capacity as honesty; their own private interest almost solely occupying
their attention, while that of their master, whose wages they receive,
and whose bread they eat, is postponed, or entirely neglected. Such
servants deserve not to be inmates in any good man’s house; but where
they are, it is absolutely necessary for the governors of families to
look into their affairs with their own eyes; for though they may happen
not to be in personal danger from the treachery of their domestics,
they are perpetually liable to injuries from their negligence, which
leaves the master open to the artifices of those who would defraud him.
Few families are reduced to poverty merely by their own extravagance:
the inattention of servants swells every article of expence in domestic
economy; and the retinue of great men, instead of exerting their
industry to increase their master’s wealth, commonly exercise no other
office than that of caterpillars, to consume and devour it. The fate
of the Stag also warns us not to engage in any hazardous speculation,
the success of which is to depend upon the ignorance or carelessness
of those with whom we have to deal; for though we may over-reach one
or two, yet some master-eye is sure at last to pierce our covering of
straw, and make us pay dearly for deviating from the straight road of
candour and prudence.
[Illustration] [Page 249]
THE FOWLER AND THE RING-DOVE.
A Fowler took his gun, and went into the woods a-shooting. He spied a
Ring-dove among the branches of an Oak, and clapping the piece to his
shoulder, took his aim, and made himself sure of killing it. But just
as he was going to pull the trigger, an Adder, which he had trod upon
under the grass, bit him so painfully in the leg, that he was obliged
to quit his design, and throw his gun down in an agony. The venom
immediately infected his blood, and his whole body began to mortify;
which, when he perceived, he could not help owning it to be just. Fate,
says he, has brought destruction upon me, while I was contriving the
death of another.
APPLICATION.
The mischief that bad men meditate to others, commonly, like a
judgment, falls upon their own heads; and the punishment of wickedness
is so just in itself that the sufferer, who has made others feel it,
cannot, if he think rightly, but confess that he deserves the like
inflicted on himself. The hardened unfeeling heart of a cruel and
unjust man, can, however, continue to do a thousand bitter things to
others, until he tastes calamity himself, and then only it is that he
feels the insupportable uneasiness it occasions. Why should we think
others born to hard treatment more than ourselves, or imagine it can be
reasonable to do to another what we should think very hard to suffer in
our own persons?
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 251]
THE HARES AND THE FROGS.
The Hares in a certain park having met to consult upon some plan to
preserve themselves from their numerous enemies, all agreed that life
was full of care and misery, and that they saw no prospect of things
changing for the better. Full of these desponding thoughts, and just as
it had been proposed that they should put an end to their existence, a
storm arose, which tore the branches from the trees, and whirled the
leaves about their ears. Panic-struck, they ran like mad creatures,
until they were stopped by a lake, into which they hastily resolved to
throw themselves headlong, rather than lead a life so full of dangers
and crosses: but upon their approaching its margin, a number of Frogs,
which were sitting there, frightened at their sudden approach, in the
greatest confusion leapt into the water, and dived to the bottom; which
an old Hare, more sedate than the rest, observing, called out, Have
a care what ye do! Here are other creatures I perceive, which have
their fears as well as we. Dont then let us fancy ourselves the most
miserable of any upon earth; but rather, by their example, learn to
bear patiently those inconveniences which nature has thrown upon us.
APPLICATION.
This Fable is designed to shew us how unreasonable many people are, who
live in continual fears and disquiet about the miserableness of their
condition. There is hardly any state of life great enough to satisfy
the wishes of an ambitious man; and scarcely any so mean, but may
supply the necessities of him that is moderate. There are few beings so
very wretched, that they cannot pick out others in a more deplorable
situation, and with whom they would not change cases. The rich man
envies the poor man’s health, without considering his wants; and the
poor man envies the other’s treasure, without considering his diseases.
The miseries of others should serve to add vigour to our minds, and
teach us to bear up against the load of lighter misfortunes. But what
shall we say to those who have a way of creating themselves panics from
the rustling of the wind, the scratching of a rat or a mouse behind the
hangings, the fluttering of a moth, or the motion of their own shadow
by moon-light! Their whole life is as full of alarms as that of a Hare,
and they never think themselves so easy as when, like the timorous
folks in the Fable, they meet with a set of creatures as fearful as
themselves.
[Illustration] [Page 253]
THE MOUNTAINS IN LABOUR.
The Mountains were said to be in labour, and uttered the most dreadful
groans. People came together, far and near, to see what birth would be
produced; and after they had waited a considerable time in expectation,
out crept a Mouse.
APPLICATION.
Projectors of all kinds, who endeavour by artful rumours, large
promises, and vast preparations, to raise the expectations of mankind,
and then by their mean performances disappoint them, have, time out of
mind, been lashed with the recital of this Fable. It should teach us
to suspect those who promise very largely, and to examine cautiously
what grounds they proceed upon, and whether their pretensions are not
intended to render us their tools, or the dupes of their artifices.
It likewise teaches us not to rely implicitly upon those constant
declarations for liberty and the public good, which artful politicians
use as stepping stones to power; but who having raised the people’s
expectations to the highest pitch, and obtained their desire by the
public enthusiasm, then turn their whole art and cunning to embezzling
the public treasure for their own private wicked ends, or to ruin
and enslave their country; or at best but imitate the bad conduct of
those whom they turned out by their clamour, while the sanguine hopes
of all those that wished well to virtue, and flattered themselves
with a reformation of every thing that opposed the well-being of the
community, vanish away in smoke, and are lost in a gloomy uncomfortable
prospect. The Fable likewise intimates, that the uncertain issue of
all human undertakings should induce us not to make pompous boasts of
ourselves, but to guard against promising any thing exceedingly great,
for fear of coming off with a production ridiculously little. If we set
out modestly, and perform more than we engaged to do, we shall find
our fame grow upon us, and every unexpected addition we make to our
plan will raise us more and more in the good opinion of the world; but
if, on the contrary, we make ample professions of the greatness of our
designs, and the excellence of our own abilities, it will too often
happen, that instead of swelling our reputation, we shall only blow the
trumpet to our shame.
[Illustration] [Page 255]
THE VAIN JACK-DAW.
A certain Jack-daw was so proud and ambitious, that, not contented
to live within his own sphere, he picked up the feathers which fell
from the Peacocks, stuck them in among his own, and very confidently
introduced himself into an assembly of those beautiful birds. They soon
found him out, stripped him of his borrowed plumes, and falling upon
him with their sharp bills, punished him as his presumption deserved.
Upon this, full of grief and affliction, he returned to his old
companions, and would have lived with them again; but they, knowing his
late life and conversation, industriously avoided him, and refused to
admit him into their company; and one of them, at the same time, gave
him this serious reproof: If, friend, you could have been contented
with our station, and had not disdained the rank in which nature had
placed you, you had not been used so scurvily by those upon whom you
intruded yourself, nor suffered the notorious slight which now we think
ourselves obliged to put upon you.
APPLICATION.
To aim at making a figure by the means of either borrowed wit, or
borrowed money, generally subjects us at last to a ten-fold ridicule.
A wise man, therefore, will take his post quietly, in his own station,
without pretending to fill that of another, and never affect to look
bigger than he really is, by means of a false or borrowed light. It
shews great weakness and vanity in any man to be pleased at making an
appearance above what he really is; but if to enable him to do so with
something of a better grace, he has clandestinely feathered his nest
out of his neighbour’s goods, it is a pity if he should not be found
out, stripped of his plunder, and treated like a felonious rogue into
the bargain.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 257]
THE LION AND THE MOUSE.
A Lion having laid down to take his repose under the spreading boughs
of a shady tree, a company of Mice scampered over his back and waked
him. Upon which, starting up, he clapped his paw upon one of them, and
was just going to put it to death, when the little suppliant implored
his mercy, begging him not to stain his noble character with the blood
of so small and insignificant a creature. The Lion, touched with
compassion, instantly released his little trembling captive. Not long
after, traversing the forest in search of his prey, he chanced to run
into the toils of the hunters, and not being able to disengage himself,
he set up a loud roar. The Mouse hearing the voice, and knowing it to
be the Lion’s, immediately repaired to the place, and bade him fear
nothing, for that he was his friend. Instantly he fell to work, and
with his little sharp teeth gnawed asunder the knots and fastenings of
the toils, and set the royal brute at liberty.
APPLICATION.
They who generously shower benefits on their fellow-creatures, seldom
fail of inspiring the great bulk of them with a benevolent regard for
their benefactors, and often receive returns of kindness which they
never expected. Mercy is of all other virtues the most likely to kindle
gratitude in those to whom it is extended, and it is difficult to find
an instance of a conqueror who ever had occasion to repent of his
humanity and clemency. The Fable gives us to understand, that there is
no person in the world so little, but even the greatest may, at some
time or other, stand in need of his assistance; and consequently, it
is good to shew favour, when there is room for it, towards those who
fall into our power. As the lowest people in life may, upon occasion,
be able either to serve or hurt us, it is as much our interest as our
duty to behave with good-nature and lenity towards all with whom we
have any intercourse. A great soul is never so much delighted as when
an opportunity offers of making a return for favours received; and a
sensible man, however exalted his station, will never consider himself
secure from the necessity of accepting a service from the poorest.
[Illustration] [Page 259]
THE TORTOISE AND THE EAGLE.
A Tortoise, weary of his condition, by which he was confined to
creep upon the ground, and ambitious to look about him with a larger
prospect, proclaimed that if any bird would take him up into the air,
and shew him the world, he would reward him with the discovery of an
invaluable treasure, which he knew was hidden in a certain place of
the earth. The Eagle accepted the offer, and having performed his
undertaking, gently set the Tortoise again on the ground, and demanded
the reward. The Tortoise was obliged to confess that he could not
fulfil his promise, which he had made only with the view of having his
fancy gratified. The Eagle, stung with resentment at being thus duped,
grasped him again in his talons, and then soaring to a great height,
let him fall, by which he was dashed to pieces.
APPLICATION.
Men of honour are careful not to tarnish their reputations by
falsifying their word, and always consider well how far it may be in
their power to fulfil their promises before they make them. They always
strive to walk on the straight line of rectitude; and should they, in
an unguarded moment, happen to stagger from it, they instantly retrace
their steps, and feel unhappy until they have regained their station.
There is a simplicity in truth and virtue, which requires no artifices,
and never leads us into difficulties, but points out the plain and safe
way. Deceit and cunning, on the contrary, involve those who practise
them in a maze, and they are bewildered in their own falsehoods, from
which no dexterity can extricate them. The brain-racking schemes which
villains practise to delude others, are commonly detected, and end in
the unpitied punishment of themselves; for they seldom discover the
folly of being wicked, until it has betrayed them into their ruin. But
such persons would do well to refresh their memories with the old adage
which says, that “all knaves are fools, but all fools are not knaves.”
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 261]
THE POLECAT AND THE COCK.
A Polecat, that had long committed depredations on the farm-yard,
having a mind to make a meal of the blood of the Cock, seized him one
morning by surprize, and asked him what he could say for himself why
slaughter should not pass upon him? The Cock replied, that he was
serviceable to mankind by crowing in the morning, and calling them
up to their daily labour. That is true, says the Polecat, and is the
very objection that I have against you, for you make such a shrill
impertinent noise, that people cannot sleep for you. Besides, you are
an incestuous rascal, and make no scruple of lying with your mother
and sisters. Well, says the Cock, this I do not deny; but I do it to
procure eggs and chickens for my master. Ah! villain, says the Polecat,
hold your wicked tongue, such impieties as these declare that you are
no longer fit to live.
APPLICATION.
When a wicked man in power has a mind to glut his appetite in any
respect, innocence or even merit is no protection against him. The
cries of justice and the voice of reason, are of no effect upon a
conscience hardened in iniquity, and a mind versed in a long practice
of wrong and robbery. Remonstrances, however reasonably urged, or
movingly couched, have no more influence upon the hearts of such,
than the gentle evening breeze has upon the oak, when it whispers
among its branches; or the rising surges upon the deaf rock, when they
dash and break upon its sides. Power should never be trusted in the
hands of an impious selfish man, and one that has more regard to the
gratification of his own insatiable desires, than to public peace and
justice; but as a wicked son may succeed to the station of a virtuous
and patriotic father, care should be taken to guard against a surprise,
by a vigilant watchfulness of the encroaching nature of power, even
when in benevolent hands, that those checks may not be undermined which
counteract its abuse in bad ones. Had the poor Cock exerted his usual
vigilance, it would have served him much more effectually than either
his innocence or his eloquence.
[Illustration] [Page 263]
THE FOWLER AND THE BLACKBIRD.
A Fowler was busy placing his nets, and putting his tackle in order,
by the side of a coppice, when a Blackbird, who was perched on an
adjacent tree, eyed him with great attention; but being at a loss to
know the use of all this apparatus and preparation, had the curiosity
to ask him what he was doing. I am, says the Fowler, building a fine
city for you birds to live in, and providing it with meat and all
manner of conveniences for you. Having said this, he departed and hid
himself, and the Blackbird, believing his words, came into the nets and
was taken; but when the man ran up to seize his captive, the Bird thus
addressed him: If this be your faith, and these the cities you build,
it will be a great pity if you should ever again persuade any poor
simple bird to try to inhabit them.
APPLICATION.
The fowler’s professions of friendship for the birds, while he aimed
at their destruction, may be paralleled by too many instances in
real life; and however mortifying it may be to reflect upon, yet
so it is, that the designing knave far too often succeeds in his
deep-laid schemes to ensnare, over-reach, and ruin the honest and the
unsuspecting man. Planners and projectors of this character, both of
high and low degree, are suffered to roam at large, and it behoves the
inexperienced to guard against their plots with a watchful eye; for
while they smoothly disclaim taking any mean advantage over those they
are addressing, with their plausible pretensions, their sole study and
aim is to fill their own pockets, and then to hug themselves with the
thoughts of their success, and to laugh at those whom they have duped.
As long as people can be found credulous enough to suffer themselves to
be imposed upon, so long will there arise gentry of this description,
who will live in affluence by taking advantage of their weakness.
[Illustration: _There will be sleeping enough in the Grave._]
[Illustration] [Page 265]
THE NURSE AND THE WOLF.
A Nurse, who was endeavouring to quiet a froward child, among other
things threatened to throw it out of doors to the Wolf, if it did not
leave off crying. A Wolf, who chanced to be prowling near the door
just at the time, heard the expression, and believing the woman to be
in earnest, waited a long while about the house, in expectation of
having her words made good. But at last the child, wearied with its own
perverseness, fell asleep, and the Wolf was forced to return back into
the woods, empty and supperless. The Fox meeting him, and surprized to
see him going home so thin and disconsolate, asked him what the matter
was, and how he came to speed no better that night? Ah! do not ask me,
says he, I was so silly as to believe what the Nurse said, and have
been disappointed.
APPLICATION.
Many of the old moralists have interpreted this Fable as a caution
never to trust a woman: a barbarous inference, which neither the
obvious sense of the apologue, nor the disposition of the softer sex
will warrant. For though some women may be fickle and unstable, yet the
generality exceed their calumniators in truth and constancy, and have
more frequently to complain of being the victims, than to be arraigned
as the authors of broken vows. To us this Fable appears to mean little
more than merely to shew how easily inclined we are, in all our various
expectations through life, to delude ourselves into a belief of any
thing which we desire to be true. The lover interprets every smile of
his mistress in his own favour, and is then perhaps neglected. The
beauty believes all mankind are dying for her, and is then deserted by
her train of admirers. The followers of the great reckon a smile or a
nod very auspicious omens, and deceive themselves with groundless hopes
of employment or promotion, in expectation of which, they, like the
Wolf at the Nurse’s door, dangle away the time that might be usefully
employed elsewhere, and at last are obliged to retire disappointed
and hungry, crying out perhaps against the perfidy of those in power,
instead of blaming their own sanguine credulity.
[Illustration] [Page 267]
THE HARPER.
A Man who used to play upon the harp, and sing to it, in little
ale-houses, and made a shift in those narrow confined walls to please
the dull sots who heard him, from hence entertained an ambition of
shewing his parts in the public theatre, where he fancied he could not
fail of raising a great reputation and fortune in a very short time. He
was accordingly admitted upon trial; but the spaciousness of the place,
and the throng of the people, so deadened and weakened both his voice
and instrument, that scarcely either of them could be heard, and where
they could, his performance sounded so poor, so low, and wretched, in
the ears of his refined audience, that he was universally hissed off
the stage.
APPLICATION.
When we are commended for our performances by people of much flattery
or little judgment, we should be sure not to value ourselves upon
it; for want of this caution, many a vain unthinking man has at once
exposed himself to the censure of the world. A buffoon, though he would
not be fit to open his mouth in a senate, or upon a subject where sound
sense and a grave and serious behaviour are expected, may be very
agreeable to a company disposed to be mirthful over a glass of wine.
It is not the diverting a little, insignificant, injudicious audience
or society, which can gain us a proper esteem, or insure our success,
in a place which calls for a performance of the first rate. We should
have either allowed abilities to please the most refined tastes, or
judgment enough to know that we want them, and to have a care how we
submit ourselves to the trial. And, if we have a mind to pursue a
just and true ambition, it is not sufficient that we study barely to
please; but it is of the greatest moment whom we please, and in what
respect, otherwise we may not only lose our labour, but make ourselves
ridiculous into the bargain.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 269]
THE ANT AND THE FLY.
In a dispute between the Ant and the Fly concerning precedency, the
latter thus boasted: I have, said he, the uppermost seats at church,
and even frequent the altars; I am taster to the gods, and a partaker
of all their sacrifices; I am admitted into the palaces of kings, and
enjoy myself at every entertainment provided for the princes of the
earth, and all this without having occasion to labour. What have you to
boast of, poor sorry drudge, crawling upon the earth, living in caverns
and holes, and with constant exertion gathering up a grain of corn
to support a wretched existence? Indeed! said the Ant, I pretend to
none of these fine things. Visiting the great, and partaking of their
festivals and sacrifices, might be entitled to some consideration, were
you invited; but you are only an impudent intruder in such places. My
time, indeed, is spent differently: I lead a life of industry, which
is crowned with health and vigour, and I am constantly held up as an
example of prudence and foresight. I provide for present comforts
and future wants, and court not the favors, nor dread the frowns, of
any one; while your laziness and vanity make you a beggarly intruder
wherever you hope to get a present supply. You may, perhaps, sip honey
one day, but on the next you batten on carrion; and having propagated
a numerous progeny, equally as noxious and useless as yourself, I then
behold you from my comfortable, warm, well-stored mansion, in the
winter of your days, starving to death with hunger and cold.
APPLICATION.
The worthless part of mankind, who pass through the world without being
of any service in it, and without acquiring the least reputation,
seldom fail of adding empty pride to all their other failings, and
behave with arrogance towards those who contribute to the comforts
and happiness of society. They treat industrious persons as wretched
drudges, appointed to labour for a poor subsistence, while they think
themselves entitled to enjoy all the good things of this life, though
they of all others least deserve them. But the worthy and industrious
will generally find that the pride and extravagance of these idle
flies, bring them at last to shame, if not to want, while their own
honest labours secure a good name, a happy mind, and a sufficiency for
their wants, if not a state of affluence. In short, no one is a better
gentleman than he whose own honest industry supplies him with all
necessaries, and who pretends to no more acquaintance with honour than
never to say or do a mean or an unjust thing.
[Illustration] [Page 271]
THE MOUSE AND THE WEASEL.
A thin hungry Mouse, after much pushing and twisting, crept through a
small hole, into a corn basket, where he gorged himself so plentifully,
that on his attempting to retire by the same passage, he found himself
so swelled out, that, with all his endeavours, he could not squeeze
through again. A Weasel, who stood at some distance, and had been
diverting himself with the vain efforts of the little glutton, called
to him sneeringly, Hark ye, Mr Mouse! remember that you were lean and
half-starved when you got in at that small hole; and take my word for
it, you must be as lean and half-starved before you can make your way
out again.
APPLICATION.
That portion of mankind, whose inordinate desires push them on to
stick at nothing in acquiring wealth, are seldom the most happy; for
covetousness, which never produced one noble sentiment, often urges
its votaries to break through the rules of justice, and then deprives
them of the expected fruits of their iniquity. Besides great riches and
care are almost inseparable; and there is often a quiet and content
attending upon people of moderate circumstances, to which the wealthy
man is an utter stranger. It has happened, even to monarchs, that their
inroads on the possessions of others have tended to the detriment of
the aggressor, who has been obliged to resign the rich spoils obtained
by unjustifiable hostilities, and to refund the ill-gotten wealth, with
a very bad grace: a punishment which Providence has wisely annexed to
acts of violence and fraud, as the best security of the possessions
of the just and virtuous, against the attempts of the wicked. Some
men, from creeping in the lowest stations of life, have in process of
time reached the greatest places, and grown so bulky by pursuing their
insatiate appetite for money, that when they would have retired, they
found themselves too opulent and full to get off. There has been no
expedient for them to creep out, till they were squeezed and reduced in
some measure to their primitive littleness. They that fill themselves
with that which is the property of others, should always be so served
before they are suffered to escape.
[Illustration] [Page 273]
THE EAGLE AND THE FOX.
An Eagle that had young ones, looking for something to feed them
with, happened to spy a Fox’s Cub that lay basking itself abroad in
the sun: she made a stoop, and trussed it immediately; but before she
had carried it quite off, the old Fox coming home, implored her, with
tears, to spare her Cub, and pity the distress of a poor fond mother,
who would think no affliction so great as that of losing her child.
The Eagle, whose nest was high in an old hollow tree, thought herself
secure from all projects of revenge, and so bore away the Cub to her
young ones, without shewing any regard to the supplications of the Fox.
But that subtle creature, highly incensed at this outrageous barbarity,
ran to an altar, where some country people had been sacrificing a kid
in the open fields, and catching up a fire-brand in her mouth, made
towards the tree where the Eagle’s nest was, with a resolution of
revenge. She had scarcely reached its root, when the Eagle, terrified
with the approaching ruin of herself and family, begged of the Fox to
desist, and, with much submission, returned her the Cub safe and sound.
APPLICATION.
When men in high situations happen to be wicked, how little scruple do
they make of oppressing their poor neighbours! They are perched upon
a lofty station, and, having outgrown all feelings of humanity, are
insensible to the pangs of remorse. The widow’s tears, the orphan’s
cries, and the curses of the miserable, fall by the way, and never
reach their hearts. But let such, in the midst of their flagrant
injustice, remember how easy it is, notwithstanding their superior
distance, for the meanest vassal to take his revenge. The bitterness
of affliction (even where cunning is wanting) may animate the poorest
spirit with desperate resolutions; and when once the fury of revenge
is thoroughly awakened, we know not what she may effect before she
is lulled to rest again. The most powerful tyrants cannot prevent a
resolved assassination: there are a thousand different ways for any
private man to do the business, who is heartily disposed to it, and
willing to satisfy his appetite for revenge, at the expence of his
life. An old woman may clap a fire-brand to the palace of a prince, and
a poor weak fool may destroy the children of the mighty.
[Illustration] [Page 275]
THE BELLY AND THE MEMBERS.
In former days, it happened that the Members of the human body,
taking some offence at the conduct of the Belly, resolved no longer
to grant it the usual supplies. The Tongue first, in a seditious
speech, aggravated their grievances; and after highly extolling the
activity and diligence of the Hands and Feet, set forth how hard
and unreasonable it was, that the fruits of their labour should be
squandered away upon the insatiable cravings of a fat and indolent
paunch. In short, it was resolved for the future to strike off his
allowance, and let him shift for himself as well as he could. The Hands
protested they would not lift a Finger to keep him from starving; and
the Teeth refused to chew a single morsel more for his use. In this
distress, the Belly remonstrated with them in vain; for during the
clamour of passion the voice of reason is always disregarded. This
unnatural resolution was kept as long as any thing of that kind can be
kept, which was, until each of the rebel members pined away to the skin
and bone, and could hold out no longer. Then they found there was no
doing without the Belly, and, that idle and insatiable as it seemed, it
contributed as much to the welfare of all the other parts, as they in
their several stations did towards its maintenance.
APPLICATION.
This Fable was spoken by Menenius Agrippa, a Roman consul and general,
when he was deputed by the senate to appease a dangerous tumult and
insurrection of the people. The many wars the Romans were engaged in,
and the frequent supplies they were obliged to raise, had so soured
and inflamed the minds of the populace, that they were resolved to
endure it no longer, and obstinately refused to pay the taxes. It is
easy to discern how the great man applied this Fable: for, if the
branches and members of a community refuse the government that aid
which its necessities require, the whole must perish together. The
rulers of a state, useless or frivolous as they may sometimes seem, are
yet as necessary to be kept up and maintained in a proper and decent
grandeur, as the family of each private person is, in a condition
suitable to itself. Every man’s enjoyment of that little which he gains
by his daily labour, depends upon the government’s being maintained
in a condition to defend and secure him in the unmolested control and
possession of it.
[Illustration] [Page 277]
THE FATAL MARRIAGE.
A Mouse being ambitious of marrying into a noble family, paid his
addresses to a young Lioness, and at length succeeded in entering into
a treaty of marriage with her. When the day appointed for the nuptials
arrived, the bridegroom set out in a transport of joy to meet his
beloved bride; and coming up to her, passionately threw himself at
her feet; but she, like a giddy thing as she was, not minding how she
walked, accidentally set her foot upon her little spouse, and crushed
him to death.
APPLICATION.
It is very unsafe for persons of low estate to form connections with
those of a very superior situation. When wealthy persons of mean
extraction and unrefined education, as an equivalent for their money,
demand brides out of the nursery of the peerage, if they should not
be ruined by the giddy extravagance of their high-born wives, their
being despised, or at least treated with neglect, is almost certain.
But indeed, much unhappiness follows the want of a sound judgment in
the choice of a partner for life, whether it be in high or low, rich
or poor. No human contract is of so important, as well as delicate
a nature, as marriage. It is one of the grand epochs in the history
of a man. It is an engagement which should be voluntary, judicious,
and disinterested, and can never be attended with honour, or blessed
with happiness, if it has not its origin in mutual affection. If it
be either unsuitable or compulsory, it produces not only individual
misery, but consequences universally pernicious. Sordid interest and
vile dependence may indeed sometimes act so powerfully, as to set
nature and true convenience aside, so as to make the yoke which is
jointly borne by the improper union of the high and low, or by age
and youth, put on an appearance of regard for each other; but natural
affection must needs be wanting on one side or the other. Nature has,
however, with a strong hand, pointed out the path to be pursued, and a
few prudential rules only are necessary to keep us within it. If a man
is of an unsound constitution, or if he cannot provide for a family,
let him forbear matrimony: it is the duty of every man who marries, to
take a healthy woman for his wife, for the sake of his children, and an
amiable one, for his own comfort. The same precaution ought to be taken
by the fair sex, unless they can make up their minds to become nurses
to tainted worn-out husbands, and their puny nerveless offspring.
[Illustration] [Page 279]
THE YOUNG MAN AND THE LION.
An opulent Old Man, who believed in omens and dreams, had an only Son,
of whom he was dotingly fond. One night he dreamt that he saw the Young
Man, while he was eagerly engaged in the chase, seized upon and torn in
pieces by a Lion. This operated upon his fears to such a degree, that
he instantly determined upon breaking off his Son’s strong propensity
to hunting, that he might be kept out of harm’s way. For this purpose,
he spared neither pains nor expence to make home agreeable to him. He
had the rooms decorated with the finest paintings of forest scenery,
and the hunting of wild beasts, with the reality of which the youth had
been so much delighted; but the Young Man, debarred from his favourite
pleasures, considered the palace a prison, and his father as the
keeper. One day, when looking at the pictures, he cast his eye upon
that of a Lion, and, enraged that he was confined for a dream about
such a beast, he struck at the painting with his fist, with all his
might. There happened to be a nail in the wall behind the canvas, which
lacerated the hand terribly. The wound festered, and threw the Young
Man into a fever, of which he died; so that the Father’s dream was
fulfilled by the very step he took to prevent it.
APPLICATION.
Those people who govern their lives by forebodings and dreams, and
signs of ill-luck, are kept in a state of constant anxiety and
uneasiness. Such a disposition is grounded on superstition, which is
the offspring of a narrow mind, and adds greatly to the evils with
which life is sufficiently loaded. Heaven has kindly concealed from
us the knowledge of futurity, and it is therefore foolish for us to
attempt to pry into it, or to disturb our minds with absurd conceptions
of events which are only realised by our ridiculous precautions against
them. How inconsistent is the conduct of people who imagine things to
be predestined, and yet busy themselves in endeavours to prevent their
coming to pass; as if the vain efforts of human power or prudence were
able to counteract the will, or reverse the decrees of the Omnipotent.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 281]
THE KITE AND THE PIGEONS.
A Kite who had kept sailing in the air for many days near a dove-house,
and made a stoop at several Pigeons to no purpose, for they were
too nimble for him, at last had recourse to stratagem, and made a
declaration to them, in which he set forth his own just and good
intentions, and that he had nothing more at heart than the defence
and protection of the Pigeons in their ancient rights and liberties,
and how concerned he was at their unjust and unreasonable suspicions
of himself, as if he intended by force of arms to break in upon their
constitution, and erect a tyrannical government over them. To prevent
all which, and thoroughly to quiet their minds, he thought proper
to propose such terms of alliance, as might for ever cement a good
understanding between them; one of which was, that they should accept
of him for their king, and invest him with all kingly privilege and
prerogative over them; in return for which he promised them protection
from all their enemies. The poor simple Pigeons consented: the Kite
took the coronation oath, after a very solemn manner, on his part, and
the Doves the oaths of allegiance and fidelity on theirs. But much time
had not passed over their heads before the good Kite pretended that it
was part of his prerogative to devour a Pigeon whenever he pleased;
and this he was not contented to do himself only, but instructed the
rest of the royal family in the same kingly arts. The Pigeons, reduced
to this miserable condition, said one to the other, Ah! we deserve no
better! Why did we let him come in?
APPLICATION.
What can this Fable be applied to, but the exceeding blindness and
stupidity of that part of mankind, who wantonly and foolishly trust
their native rights of liberty without good security? Who often chuse
for guardians of their lives and fortunes, persons abandoned to the
most unsociable of vices; and seldom have any better excuse for such an
error in politics, than that they were deceived in their expectation,
or never thoroughly knew the manners of their king, till he had got
them entirely in his power. We ought not to incur the possibility of
being deceived in so important a matter as this; an unlimited power
should not be trusted in the hands of any one who is not endowed with a
perfection more than human.
[Illustration] [Page 283]
THE SICK KITE.
A Kite who had been sick a long time, beginning to be doubtful of
recovery, begged of his Mother to go to all the churches and religious
houses in the country, to try what prayers and offerings would effect
in his behalf. The old Kite replied, Indeed, my dear son, I would
willingly undertake any thing to save your life; but I have great
reason to despair of doing you any service in the way you propose: for,
with what face can I ask any thing of the Gods, in favour of one whose
whole life has been a continued scene of rapine and injustice, and who
has not scrupled, upon occasion, to rob even their altars?
APPLICATION.
The rehearsal of this Fable almost unavoidably draws our attention
to that very serious and important point, the consideration of a
death-bed repentance, the sincerity of which we may justly suspect in
one whose whole life has been spent in acts of wickedness and impiety.
To expose the absurdity of relying upon such a weak foundation, we need
only ask the same question with the Kite in the Fable: how can he,
who has offended the Gods all his life-time by acts of dishonour and
injustice, expect that they will be pleased with him at last, for no
other reason but because he fears he shall not be able to offend them
any longer? Since the summons to “pass that bourn whence no traveller
returns,” must one day come, we ought always to be prepared to meet it.
But when the whole life has been wasted, without communion with, or
totally estranged from that Almighty Being, by whose fiat it was called
into existence, then indeed the polluted soul must be distracted with
the agonizing thoughts of appearing before Him, who created it for a
very different purpose. Nothing but the consciousness of having led a
virtuous life, can in the awful moment, disarm death of his terrors,
and fortify the mind with cheering hopes and resignation. But this is a
subject of the utmost importance, and the due enforcing of it is one of
the most solemn duties of the pulpit.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 285]
THE FOX AND THE LION.
The first time the Fox saw the Lion, he fell down at his feet, and was
ready to die with fear. The second time he took courage, and could even
bear to look upon him. The third time he had the impudence to come up
to him, to salute him, and to enter into familiar conversation with him.
APPLICATION.
From this Fable we may observe the two extremes in which we may
fail as to a proper behaviour towards our superiors. The one is a
bashfulness, proceeding either from a vicious guilty mind, or a
timorous rusticity; the other an over-bearing impudence, which assumes
more than becomes it, and so renders the person insufferable to the
conversation of well-bred reasonable people. But there is a difference
between the bashfulness which arises from a want of education, and the
shame-facedness that accompanies conscious guilt: the first by time and
a nearer acquaintance, may be ripened into a proper liberal behaviour;
the other no sooner finds an easy practicable access, but it throws off
all manner of reverence, grows every day more and more familiar, and
branches out at last into the utmost indecency and irregularity. Indeed
there are many occasions which may happen to cast an awe, or even a
terror, upon our minds at first view, without any just or reasonable
grounds; but upon a little recollection, or a nearer insight, we
recover ourselves, and can appear indifferent and unconcerned, where
before we were ready to sink under a load of diffidence and fear. We
should upon such occasions use our endeavours to regain a due degree
of steadiness and resolution; but at the same time we must have a care
that our efforts in that respect do not force the balance too much, and
make it rise to an unbecoming freedom, and an offensive familiarity.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 287]
THE DOG AND THE WOLF.
A Wolf in quest of prey, happened to fall in with a well-fed Mastiff.
Ah, Tray, said he, one does not need to ask how you do, you look so
plump and hearty. I wish I were as well provided for; but my gaunt
looks shew that I fare very differently, although I dare say I venture
my life ten times more than you do, in searching for a precarious
subsistence, amidst woods and wilds, exposed to rain, and frost, and
snow. If you will follow me, replies the Dog, and do as I do, I have no
doubt you will change for the better, and soon be in as good plight as
I am. The Wolf eagerly requested to be informed what would be required
of him. Very little, replied the Mastiff; only drive away beggars,
guard the master’s house, caress him, and be submissive to his family,
and you will be well fed and warmly lodged. To these conditions the
Wolf had no objections; but as they were jogging along, he observed
the hair worn off around the Dog’s neck, and enquired the cause. O
nothing, answered he, or a mere trifle; perhaps the collar, to which
my chain is fastened, has left a mark. Chain! replied the Wolf, with
some surprize; so then you are not permitted to go where and when
you please? Not always, said Tray; but what does that signify? It
signifies so much, rejoined the Wolf, that I am resolved to partake of
no sumptuous fare with a chain about my neck; for half a meal, with
liberty, is preferable to a full one without it.
APPLICATION.
True greatness of soul will never give up liberty for any consideration
whatever; for what are riches, grandeur, titles, or any other worldly
good, if they are holden by so precarious a tenure as the arbitrary
will of a tyrant! A mere competency, with liberty, is preferable to
servitude amidst the greatest affluence; and even the lowest condition
in life, with freedom, is better than the most exalted station without
it. But liberty in a state of society does not consist in doing
whatsoever we please; but only permits those actions by which we do
no injustice to our neighbour, or to the community. The well-being of
society requires the efforts of all, from the highest to the lowest,
to preserve and support it; and since it appears to be the will of
Omnipotence, that mankind should live in this state of social union
(which does not admit of the unbridled freedom of the savage state) a
certain portion of individual liberty must be given up for the good of
the whole; but the sacrifice should be bounded by the common good: all
beyond approaches towards slavery, and degrades the people who submit
to it.
[Illustration] [Page 289]
THE FLYING FISH AND THE DOLPHIN.
The Flying Fish, to avoid its enemies, leaves the water, takes wing,
and mounts up into the air. The Dolphin is one of the most constant
of these enemies; and its velocity through the liquid element, it is
said, surpasses that of every living creature, insomuch that as it
darts along, the brilliancy and changeableness of its colours, which
cannot be described, appear like the flash of a meteor. A Flying Fish
being pursued by a Dolphin, in his eagerness to escape, took too long
a flight, and his wings becoming dry, he fell upon a rock, where his
death was inevitable. The Dolphin, in the keenness of his pursuit, ran
himself on shore at the foot of the rock, and was left by the wave,
gasping in the same condition as the other. Well, says the Flying Fish,
I must die it is certain; but it is some consolation to behold my
merciless enemy involved in the same fate.
APPLICATION.
When brought low by a cruel and insolent oppressor, there is no torture
we feel more poignantly, than to see him triumphantly exulting in our
downfal; and the opposite extreme must take place in our minds, on
seeing our enemy over-shoot his mark, and in his turn brought down
to the same level of distress with ourselves. The temper that is not
touched with feelings of this kind, must be of a highly philosophical
cast indeed. The great and powerful, for the sake of their own peace
of mind, should not unfeelingly persecute their inferiors; for nothing
is more sweet to some tempers, and scarcely any thing more easy to
compass, than revenge.
[Illustration: _It is not so ugly as a purse-proud, ignorant, wicked
man._]
[Illustration] [Page 291]
THE LION AND THE FROG.
The Lion hearing an odd kind of hollow voice, and seeing nobody,
started up: he listened again, and hearing the noise repeated, he
trembled and quaked for fear. At last, seeing a Frog crawl out of the
lake, and finding that the noise he had heard was nothing but the
croaking of that little creature, he went up to it with great anger;
but checking himself, turned away from it, ashamed of his own timidity.
APPLICATION.
The early prejudices of a wrong education can only be eradicated from
the strongest minds. The weak retain them through life. This Fable is
a pretty image of the vain fears and empty terrors, with which our
weak misguided nature is so apt to be alarmed and disturbed. If we
hear but ever so little noise which we are not able to account for,
immediately, nay, often before we give ourselves time to consider
about it, we are struck with fear, and labour under a most unmanly and
unreasonable trepidation; more especially if the alarm happens when we
are alone, and in the dark. These fears are ingrafted into our minds
very early, and therefore it is the more difficult, even when we are
grown up, and ashamed of them, to root them out of our nature. They
are chiefly the offspring of the nursery, and originate in the many
terrific tales, and lying stories, of those who have the management
there; and though every pains be afterwards taken to free the mind from
the impression of such groundless fears, the weaker part of mankind are
still apt to be terrified at the empty phantoms of ghosts, spectres,
apparitions, and hobgoblins. But whatever effect such phantasies
may have upon the guilty mind, innocence has nothing to dread from
supernatural causes. Fear is however a natural passion, and its use
is to put us upon our guard against danger, by alarming the spirits;
but it, like all our other passions, should be kept in a state of
subjection: for though they are all good and useful servants, yet if
once they get the better of our reason, they prove the most domineering
tyrants imaginable; nor do any of them treat us in so abject and
slavish a manner as fear: it unnerves and enfeebles our limbs, while
it fetters our understandings; and at the same time that it represents
a danger near at hand, disarms and makes us incapable of defending
ourselves from it. But we ought to call forth a sense of honour and
shame, to correct such weaknesses; and for this purpose it will be
useful to remember the Fable of the Lion and the Frog.
[Illustration] [Page 293]
THE KID AND THE WOLF.
A Kid being mounted upon the roof of a high shed, and seeing a Wolf
below, took the opportunity of affronting him with the foulest
reproaches: upon which the Wolf looking up, replied, Do not value
yourself, vain creature, upon thinking you mortify me, for I look upon
this ill-language not as coming from you, but from the place which
protects you.
APPLICATION.
Place a coward out of the reach of danger, and then no man can put on
an appearance of greater courage. In his castle he makes a great deal
more bluster and threatening than a man of spirit and honour would
do, if placed in the same situation. A similar kind of overbearing
behaviour too often shews itself in the upstart worthless placeman,
who taking advantage of his situation, which protects him, and knowing
that he is out of the reach of our resentment, exhibits all the
“insolence of office:” but such should be put in mind, that a saucy
deportment is no sign of either courage, good sense, or good manners,
and that a gentleman and a man of spirit will use no ill or unbecoming
language to any person, however low in station.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 295]
THE COUNTRY AND THE CITY MOUSE.
A plain Country Mouse was one day unexpectedly visited at his hole,
by a fine Mouse of the town, who had formerly been his play-fellow.
The honest rustic, pleased with the honour, resolved to entertain his
friend as sumptuously as possible. He set before him a reserve of
delicate grey pease and bacon, a dish of fine oatmeal, some parings
of new cheese, and to crown all with a dessert, a remnant of a
charming mellow apple. When the repast was nearly finished, the spark
of the town, taking breath, said, Old Crony, give me leave to be a
little free with you; how can you bear to live in this melancholy
hole here, with nothing but woods, and meadows, and mountains, and
rivulets about you? Do you not prefer the conversation of the world
to the chirping of birds, and the splendour of the court, to the rude
aspect of a wild like this? With many flowery arguments, he at last
prevailed upon his country friend to accompany him to town, and about
midnight they safely entered a certain great house, where there had
been an entertainment the day before. Here it was the courtier’s turn
to entertain, and placing his guest on a rich Persian carpet, they
both began to regale most deliciously, when on a sudden the noise of
somebody opening the door, made them scuttle in confusion about the
dining-room. The rustic in particular was ready to die with fear at the
many hair-breadth escapes which followed. At last, recovering himself,
Well, says he, if this be your town-life, much good may it do you. Give
me my poor quiet hole again, with my homely, but comfortable grey pease.
APPLICATION.
A moderate fortune, with a quiet retirement in the country, is
preferable to the greatest affluence, attended with the care and the
perplexity of business. How often are we deceived by the specious
shows of splendour and magnificence; and what a poor exchange does he
make, who gives up ease and content in an humble situation, to engage
in difficulties, and encounter perils in affluence and luxury! The
ploughman in the field, who labours for his daily pittance, earns his
bread with less uneasiness and fatigue, than the man who haunts levees
to obtain wealth and preferment. Riches, properly used, are indeed
very conducive to ease and happiness; but if we leave any comfortable
situation to procure them, or abuse the possession of them by riot and
intemperance, we resign the end for the means, mistake the shadow for
the substance, and convert the instruments of good fortune into the
engines of anxiety and solicitude.
[Illustration] [Page 297]
THE ONE-EYED DOE.
A Doe that had lost an eye, used to graze near the sea; and that she
might be the more secure from harm, she kept her blind side towards
the water, from whence she had no apprehension of danger, and with
the other surveyed the country as she fed. By this vigilance and
precaution, she thought herself in the utmost security; but a sly
fellow, with two poaching companions, who had watched her several days
to no purpose, at last took a boat, and came gently down upon her, and
shot her. The Doe, in the agonies of death, breathed out this doleful
complaint: O hard fate, that I should receive my death’s wound from
the side whence I expected no ill, and be safe in that quarter where I
looked for the most danger.
APPLICATION.
We are liable to many misfortunes that no care or foresight can
prevent; but we ought to provide in the best way we can against them,
and leave the rest to Providence. The wisest of men have their foibles
or blind sides, and have their enemies too, who watch to take advantage
of their weaknesses. It behoves us therefore to look to ourselves
on the blind side, as the part that lies most exposed to an attack.
Vigilance and caution are commonly our best preservatives from evil,
and security is often a fatal enemy, when we cherish it so as to lull
all our apprehensions to rest. We should not however encourage in
ourselves the slavish principle of fear, nor make ourselves miserable
on account of latent evils, which it is not in our power to prevent.
The ways and workings of Providence are inscrutable; and it is not in
the power of human prudence to obviate all the accidents of life.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 299]
THE TREES AND THE WOODMAN.
A Countryman being in want of a handle for his hatchet, entered a wood
and looked among the branches for one that would suit his purpose. The
Trees, with a curiosity natural to some other creatures, asked him what
he was seeking? He replied that he only wanted a piece of wood to make
a handle to his axe, and begged they would be so good as to permit him
to serve himself. Since that is all, said the Trees, help yourself,
and welcome. He immediately availed himself of the permission, and had
no sooner fitted up his instrument, than he began pell-mell to cut and
hack about him, felling the noblest trees in all the forest, without
distinction. The Oak is said to have spoke thus to the Beech, in a low
whisper: Brother, we must take all this for our easy credulity, and
imprudent generosity.
APPLICATION.
One would imagine that the natural principle of self-preservation
implanted in us, would make it unnecessary to caution any one not to
furnish an enemy with arms against himself. Yet daily experience shews
us that such instances of imprudence are not uncommon. In this life we
are liable to be surrounded with calamities and distresses: we should
therefore be cautious of adding to our misfortunes, by our own want
of caution, and of putting power into the hands of those enemies,
which our merit or our affluence may tempt to rise up against us. Any
person in a community, by what name or title soever distinguished,
who affects a power which may possibly hurt a people, is their enemy,
and therefore they ought not to trust him: for though he were ever
so fully determined not to abuse such a power, yet he is so far a
bad man, as he disturbs a nation’s quiet, and makes them jealous and
uneasy, by desiring to have it, or even retaining it, when it may prove
mischievous. If we consult history, we shall find that the thing called
prerogative, has been claimed and contended for chiefly by those who
never intended to make a good use of it; and as readily resigned by
wise and just princes, who had the true interest of their people at
heart. How like senseless stocks do they act, who, by complimenting
some capricious mortal, from time to time, with scraps of prerogative,
at last put it out of their power to maintain their just and natural
liberty!
[Illustration] [Page 301]
THE EAGLE AND THE CROW.
An Eagle flew down from the top of a high rock, and making a stoop at
a Lamb, seized it with her strong talons, and bore aloft her bleating
prize to her young. A Crow observing what passed, was ambitious of
performing the same exploit, and darted down upon a Ram; but instead of
being able to carry it up into the air, she found she had got her claws
entangled in its fleece, and could neither move herself nor her fancied
prize. Thus fixed, she was soon taken by the Shepherd, and given away
to some boys, who eagerly enquired what bird it was? An hour ago, said
he, she fancied herself an Eagle; however I suppose she is by this time
convinced that she is but a Crow.
APPLICATION.
It is impossible for any man to take a true measure of the abilities
of another, without an exact knowledge and true judgment of his own; a
false estimate of which always exposes him to ridicule, and sometimes
to danger. Every man ought therefore to examine the strength of his own
mind with attention and impartiality, and not fondly to flatter himself
that he can by an awkward and ill-judged emulation soar to the height
which has been attained by men endowed by nature with great abilities
and original talents, matured by industry. We can no more adopt the
genius of another man, than we can assume his shape and person. The
bright original in every department of the arts and sciences will be
valued and esteemed, whilst his puny imitators will be treated with
neglect, or be despised. Almost every man has something original in
himself, which, if duly cultivated, might perhaps procure him respect
and applause, and it is creditable for him to endeavour justly to
obtain them.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 303]
THE HORSE AND THE STAG.
In ancient times, when the Horse and the Deer ranged the forest with
uncontrolled freedom, it happened that contentions arose between them
about grazing in particular meadows. These disputes ended in a conflict
between them, in which the Deer proved victorious, and with his sharp
horns drove the Horse from the pasture. Full of disappointment and
chagrin, the Horse applied to the Man, and craved his assistance, in
order to re-establish him in the possession of his rights. The request
was granted, on condition that he would suffer himself to be bridled,
saddled, and mounted by his new ally, with whose assistance he entirely
defeated his enemy; but the poor Horse was mightily disappointed when,
upon returning thanks to the Man, and desiring to be dismissed, he
received this answer: No, I never knew before how useful a drudge you
were; now I have found what you are good for, you may be assured I will
keep you to it.
APPLICATION.
Victories may be purchased at too dear a rate, if we solicit the
assistance of allies capable of becoming our most formidable enemies,
and it will be vain to flatter ourselves, that the yoke of slavery,
if we once willingly suffer it to be laid upon our shoulders, can be
easily shaken off, when the ends for which we bore it are accomplished.
The Fable is intended to caution us against consenting to any thing
that might prejudice public liberty, as well as to keep us upon our
guard in the preservation of that which is of a private nature. This
is the use and interpretation given of it by Horace, one of the best
and most polite philosophers that ever wrote. After reciting the Fable,
he applies it thus: This, says he, is the case of him, who, dreading
poverty, parts with that invaluable jewel, liberty; like a wretch as he
is, he will always be subject to a tyrant of some sort or another, and
be a slave for ever, because his avaricious spirit knew not how to be
contented with that moderate competency, which he might have possessed
independent of all the world.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 305]
THE MILLER, HIS SON, AND THEIR ASS.
A Miller and his Son were taking their Ass to market to sell him, and
that he might get thither in good condition, they drove him gently
before them. They had not proceeded far before they met a company of
travellers: Sure, say they, you are mighty careful of your Ass; one
of you might as well get up and ride, as suffer him to walk on at his
ease, while you trudge after on foot. In compliance with this advice,
the Old Man set his Son upon the beast. And now, they had scarcely
advanced a quarter of a mile further, before they met another company.
You idle young rogue, said one, why dont you get down, and let your
poor father ride? Upon this, the Old Man made his Son dismount, and got
up himself. While they were marching in this manner, a third company
began to insult the father. You hard-hearted wretch, say they, how can
you suffer that poor lad to wade through the dirt, while you, like an
alderman, ride at your ease? The good-natured Miller stood corrected,
and immediately took his Son up behind him. And now the next man
they met exclaimed, with more vehemence and indignation than all the
rest, Was there ever such a couple of lazy loobies! to overload in so
unconscionable a manner, a poor dumb creature, who is far less able
to carry you, than you are to carry him! The complying Old Man would
have been half inclined to make the trial, had not experience by this
time sufficiently convinced him, that there cannot be a more fruitless
attempt, than to endeavour to please all mankind.
APPLICATION.
It is better to pursue the dictates of one’s own reason, than attempt
to please every body; for to do this is next to impossible. Therefore
we ought to decide according to the best of our judgment, and correct
our mistakes from our own experience. Wise men are instructed by
reason; men of less understanding by experience; the most ignorant by
necessity; and beasts by instinct. When a man so neglects himself,
as not to make a just use of his reason and his mental powers, in
combating with prejudice and folly, as well as the caprice of others,
he will ever be led on in a maze of error, wavering and embarrassed
about pursuing this or that path, until between them he is lost in a
labyrinth, from which he will never be able to extricate himself as
long as he lives.
[Illustration] [Page 307]
THE ANT AND THE GRASSHOPPER.
A commonwealth of Ants, having, after a busy summer, provided every
thing for their wants in the winter, were about shutting themselves up
for that dreary season, when a Grasshopper in great distress, and in
dread of perishing with cold and hunger, approached their avenues, and
with great humility begged they would relieve his wants, and permit
him to take shelter in any corner of their comfortable mansion. One of
the Ants asked him how he had disposed of his time in summer, that he
had not taken pains and laid in a stock, as they had done? Alas! my
friends, says he, I passed away the time merrily and pleasantly, in
drinking, singing, and dancing, and never once thought of winter. If
that be the case, replied the Ant, all I have to say is this: that they
who drink, sing, and dance in the summer, run a great risk of starving
in the winter.
APPLICATION.
As summer is the season in which the industrious laborious husbandman
lays up his supplies for the winter, so youth and manhood are the
times of life which we should employ in laying in such a stock as may
suffice for helpless old age; yet there are many whom we call rational
creatures, who squander away in a profuse prodigality, whatever they
get in their younger days, as if the infirmity of age would require no
supplies to support it, or at least would find them administered to it
in some miraculous way. From this Fable we learn this admirable lesson,
never to lose the present opportunity of fairly and honestly providing
against the future evils and accidents of life; and while health and
the vigour of our faculties remain firm and entire, to lay them out
to the best advantage; so that when age and infirmities despoil us of
our strength and abilities, we may not have to bewail that we have
neglected to provide for the wants of our latter days: for it should
always be remembered, that “a youth of revels breeds an age of care,”
and that temperance in youth lays the foundation of health and comfort
for old age.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 309]
THE HORSE AND THE LION.
An old Lion, finding that many of the beasts had become too nimble
for him, and that he could not come at his prey so readily as before,
craftily gave out that he had long studied physic and surgery in
foreign countries, and that he could cure every kind of disorder
to which the beasts were liable. These professions having been
spread abroad, he hoped to get many of the animals to come within
his clutches. The Horse seeing through the whole of the scheme, was
resolved to be even with him; and so humouring the thing as if he
suspected nothing, he feigned himself to be in great pain from a wound
in his foot, and limping up to the Lion, he begged he would examine the
part and administer relief. The Lion, though intent only upon making
a good meal of horse-flesh, begged the Horse to hold up his foot that
he might see it: this was no sooner done, than the Horse gave him so
violent a blow on the nose, as quite stunned him, and scampered off,
neighing at the success of a trick, which had defeated the purpose of
one who intended to have tricked him out of his life.
APPLICATION.
We ought never to put trust in the fair words and pretensions of those
who have both an interest and inclination to ruin us; and where we find
foul play thus intended against us, it is not in the nature of things
to expect that we should not, if we can, turn the tables upon the
plotters. Treachery has something so wicked and worthy of punishment in
its nature, that it deserves to meet with a return of its own kind. An
open revenge is too liberal for it, and nothing matches it but itself.
Though a man of sense and honour will always view tricking and fraud
of all kinds as mean and beneath him, and will despise setting such an
example, yet it cannot be inconsistent with virtue to counteract the
schemes of those who are taking all manner of undue advantages, and
hatching wicked plots to undermine us.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 311]
THE FOX IN THE WELL.
A Fox having fallen into a well, made a shift, by sticking his claws
into the sides, to keep his head above water. Soon after, a Wolf came
and peeped over the brink, to whom the Fox applied, and very earnestly
implored his assistance to help him out, or he should be lost. Ah! poor
Reynard, says he, I pity your misfortune; poor creature, I am sorry for
you with all my heart: how did you happen to slip into this well? pray
how long have you been in this melancholy situation? Nay, I prithee
friend, replies the Fox, if you wish me well, do not stand pitying
me, but lend me some succour as soon as you can; for pity is but cold
comfort when one is up to the chin in water, and within a hair’s
breadth of starving or drowning.
APPLICATION.
If we would really manifest our sorrow for the sufferings of another,
let our pity be shewn by our friendly endeavours to relieve him; for
indeed pity of itself is but poor comfort at any time, unless it
produces something more substantial. If we cannot do this, let us not
offend the sensibility, and add to the anguish of a delicate mind, by
empty professions and unmeaning compassion. For, to stand bemoaning
the misfortunes of our friends, without offering some expedient to
alleviate them, is only echoing their grief, and putting them in mind
that they are miserable. He is truly my friend, who with a ready
presence of mind supports me; not he who merely condoles with me upon
my ill success, and expresses his sorrow for my mishap.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 313]
THE GARDENER AND HIS DOG.
A Gardener’s Dog happened by some mischance to fall into the well: his
Master ran immediately to his assistance; but when helping him out, the
surly brute bit his hand. The Gardener took this ungrateful treatment
so ill, that he shook him off, and left him to shift for himself. Thou
wicked wretch! said he, to injure the hand that was stretched forth to
save thy life! The hand of thy Master, who has hitherto fed and taken
care of thee! Die there as thou deservest; for so base and unnatural a
creature is not fit to live.
APPLICATION.
When a man has suffered his mind to become so debased as to be capable
to doing injuries to him who has showered benefits on his head, he can
scarcely be treated with too much severity. He deserves at least to
be scouted as an outcast to society. All the favours that are bestowed
upon men of this worthless disposition, are thrown away; for the envy
and malevolence of the ingrate, work him up into a hatred of his
benefactor. Generous men should therefore use a just circumspection in
the choice of the objects of their benevolence, before they give way
to the feelings of the heart, or waste its bountiful overflowings upon
those who, instead of making a grateful return, will bite them like a
drowning but spiteful dog. The Fable is also intended as an admonition
to servants, who owe an especial duty to their masters; whose kindness
should be met by their faithful exertions to serve them; and whose
interest they ever ought to make their own.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 315]
THE DEER AND THE LION.
A Deer, terrified by the cry of the Hunters, instead of trusting to
his fleetness, made towards a cave which he chanced to espy, and in
which he hoped to conceal himself until they were passed by; but he
had scarcely reached the entrance before he was seized by a Lion who
lay crouching there, ready to spring upon his prey, and who instantly
killed and tore him to pieces. In the last agonies of death, he thus
gave vent to his feelings: Ah, me! said he, unhappy creature that I am.
I hoped in this cave to escape the pursuit of men; but have fallen into
the jaws of the most cruel and rapacious of wild beasts.
APPLICATION.
This Fable points out the dangers to which we expose ourselves, when,
for want of presence of mind, we suffer ourselves to be guided by our
unreasoning fears, which no sooner shew us an evil, than they throw
us into the utmost confusion in our manner of escaping, and prevent
us from discerning the safe path by which we ought to avoid it. Thus,
in a rash endeavour to shun a less danger, we oftentimes blindly
run headlong into a greater. The fate of the Deer should warn us to
consider well what may be the ultimate consequences, before we take any
important step; for many paths which appear smooth and pleasant at a
distance, are found to be rough and dangerous, when we come to tread
them; and many a plausible scheme, which promises us ease and safety,
is no better than a tempting bower, with a Lion crouching among its
foliage, ready to spring upon and devour us.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 317]
THE PLOUGHMAN AND FORTUNE.
As a Ploughman was turning up the soil, his plough uncovered a treasure
which had been hidden there. Transported with joy, he seized upon it,
and fervently began to thank the ground for being so liberal to him.
Fortune passing by, observed what he was about, and could not forbear
shewing her resentment at it. You stupid creature, said she, to lie
thus thanking the ground, and take no notice of me! If you had lost
such a treasure, instead of finding one, I should have been the first
you would have laid the blame upon.
APPLICATION.
How often do we ascribe our success or misfortunes to wrong causes!
Vanity sometimes leads us to consider our prosperity as the natural
result of our own sagacity, and inattention sometimes induces us to
make acknowledgments to wrong persons. But if we would have our praises
valued, we should be cautious to direct them properly. Our thanks are
an indirect affront to those who receive them without deserving them;
and at the same time an act of open ingratitude to those who merit them
without receiving them. In prosperity, as well as in adversity, let us
not forget the power and goodness of Heaven; and if we implore the aid
of the Almighty in our distress, we should not neglect to send up our
acknowledgments of his goodness with the voice of gratitude.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 319]
THE APE AND THE FOX.
An Ape meeting with a Fox, humbly requested he would be so good as to
give him some of the superfluous hair from his bushy tail, to make
into a covering for his bare posteriors, which were exposed to all the
inclemency of the weather; and he endeavoured to further his suit by
observing to Reynard, that he had far more than he had any occasion
for, and a great part even dragged along in the dirt. The Fox answered,
that as to his having too much, it was more than he knew; but be it as
it would, he had rather sweep the ground with his tail as long as he
lived, than part with the least bit of it for a covering to the filthy
posteriors of an Ape.
APPLICATION.
Riches, in the hands of a wise and generous man, are a blessing to the
community in which he lives: they are like the light and the rain, and
diffuse a good all around them. But wealth, when it falls to the lot of
those who want benevolence and humanity, serves only as an instrument
of mischief, or at best produces no advantage to the rest of mankind.
The good man considers himself as a kind of steward to those from whom
fortune has withheld her smiles, and thus shews his gratitude to Heaven
for the abundance which has been showered down upon him. He directs the
superfluous part of his wealth at least, to the necessities of such of
his fellow-creatures as are worthy of it, and this he would do from
feeling, though there were no religion which enjoined it. But selfish
avaricious persons, who are generally knaves, how much soever they may
have, will never think they have enough, much less be induced, by any
consideration of virtue or religion, to part with any portion for the
purposes of charity and beneficence. If the riches and power of the
world were to be always in the hands of the virtuous part of mankind,
it would seem, according to our human conceptions, that they would
produce more good than in those of the vile and grovelling mortals,
who often possess them. Without any merit, these move apparently in
a sphere of ease and splendour, while good sense and honesty have to
struggle in adversity, or walk in the dirt. But the all-wise Disposer
of Events does certainly permit this order of things for just, good,
and wise purposes, though our shallow understandings are not able to
fathom them.
[Illustration] [Page 321]
THE THIEF AND THE BOY.
An arch mischievous Boy, sitting by the side of a well, observed a
noted Thief coming towards him. The little dissembler, wiping his
eyes, affected to be in great distress. The Thief asking him what was
the matter? ah! says the Boy, I shall be severely flogged, for in
attempting to get some water, I have dropped the silver tankard into
the well. Upon this the Thief, eager for a prize, stripped off his
cloaths, and went down to the bottom to search for it; where having
groped about to no purpose, he came up again, but found neither the Boy
nor the cloaths, the little wag having run off with and hidden them,
and left the Thief to look for the tankard at his leisure.
APPLICATION.
Nothing gives more entertainment to honest men than to see rogues
and sharpers tricked and punished in the pursuit of their schemes of
villainy, by making their own contrivances instrumental in bringing
down their wickedness upon their own heads. In these instances,
Justice seems as it were to be acting in person, and saves the trouble
of publicly enforcing punishment by the penal laws; but indeed vice
carries with it its own punishment, and the misery attendant upon it in
this world, seems always pretty exactly balanced to its various degrees
of enormity. The abandoned man drags on a contemptible or infamous
life, with a constantly deadened or disturbed conscience, and amidst
associates like himself, where he can never hope to meet with either
friendship or fidelity.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 323]
THE FOX AND THE SICK LION.
It was reported that the Lion was sick, and the beasts were given to
understand that they could not make their court better than by going to
visit him. Upon this they generally went; but it was particularly taken
notice of, that the Fox was not one of the number. The Lion therefore
dispatched one of his Jackalls to enquire why he had so little charity
and respect as never to come near him, at a time when he lay so
dangerously ill, and every body else had been to see him? Why, replies
the Fox, pray present my duty to his majesty, and tell him that I have
the same respect for him as ever, and have been coming several times,
but was fearful of being troublesome, as I have observed, from the
prints of their footsteps, that great numbers have gone into the royal
den; but I have not seen a single trace of their coming out again.
APPLICATION.
He that embarks implicitly in any scheme, may be mistaken,
notwithstanding the number who keep him company; but he that keeps out
till he sees reason to enter, acts upon true maxims of policy; and it
is the quintessence of prudence not to be too easy of belief: for a
rash and hasty credulity has been the ruin of many. Men who habituate
themselves to think, will profit by the experience of others, as well
as their own: but commonly the multitude do not reason, but stupidly
follow each other step by step; not moving out of the sphere in which
chance has placed them: and the notions or prejudices they may have
imbibed in youth, remain with them to the last. There is no opinion,
however impious or absurd, that has not its advocates in some quarter
of the world. Whoever, therefore, takes up his creed upon trust, and
grounds his principles on no better reason than his being a native or
inhabitant of the regions wherein they prevail, becomes a disciple of
Mahomet in Turkey, and of Confucius in China; a Jew, or a Pagan, as the
accident of birth decides.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 325]
THE SUN AND THE WIND.
A dispute arose between the North Wind and the Sun, about the
superiority of their power, and they agreed to determine matters by
trying which of them could first compel a Traveller to throw off his
cloak. The North Wind began, and blew a very cold blast, accompanied
by a sharp driving shower; but this, and whatever else he could do,
instead of making the Man quit his cloak, induced him to gird it about
him more closely. Next came the Sun, who, breaking out from a cloud,
drove away the cold vapours, and darted his warm sultry beams upon the
weather-beaten Traveller. The Man growing faint with the heat, first
threw off his heavy cloak, and then flew for protection to the shade of
a neighbouring grove.
APPLICATION.
There is something in the temper of man so averse to severe and
boisterous treatment, that he who endeavours to carry his point in that
way, instead of prevailing, generally leaves the mind of him whom he
has thus attempted to subdue, in a more confirmed and obstinate state.
Bitter words and hard usage freeze the heart into an obduracy, which
mild, persuasive, and gentle language only can dissolve. Persecution
has always fixed those opinions which it was intended to dispel; and
the quick growth of christianity in early times, is attributed in a
great measure to the barbarous reception which its first teachers
met with in the Pagan world; and since that time the different modes
of faith which have grown out of christianity itself, have been each
established by the same kind of intolerant spirit. To reflect upon
these things, furnishes matter of wonder and regret, for the benevolent
Author of the christian religion taught neither intolerance nor
persecution. The doctrines he laid down are plain, pure, and simple.
They teach mercy to the contrite, aid to the humble, and eternal
happiness to the good. In short, persecution is the scandal of all
religion, and like the north wind in the Fable, only tends to make a
man wrap his notions more closely about him.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 327]
THE HORSE AND THE ASS.
The Horse, adorned with his great war-saddle, and champing his foaming
bridle, came thundering along the high-way, and made the mountains echo
with his neighing. He had not gone far before he overtook an Ass, who
was labouring under a heavy burthen, and moving slowly on in the same
track. In an imperious tone he threatened to trample him in the dirt,
if he did not get out of the way. The poor Ass, not daring to dispute,
quietly got aside as fast as he could, and let him go by. Not long
after this, the same Horse, in an engagement, happened to be shot in
the eye, which made him unfit for show, or any military business, so he
was stripped of his ornaments, and sold to a carrier. The Ass meeting
him in this forlorn condition, thought that now it was his time to
retort: Hey-day, friend, says he, is it you! Well, I always believed
that pride of your’s would one day have a fall.
APPLICATION.
It is an affectation of appearing considerable, that puts men upon
being proud and insolent; but this very affectation infallibly makes
them appear little and despicable in the eyes of discerning people.
Did the proud man but rightly consider what kind of ingredients
pride is composed of and fed with, and the unstable foundation, and
the tottering pinnacle upon which it stands, he would blush at the
thoughts of it, and cease to be puffed up by the little supernumerary
advantages, whether of birth, fortune, or title, which he may enjoy
above his neighbours. These might indeed be a blessing to him, and
to the community in which he lives, if wisely used; but if guided by
pride, and consequently by want of sense, they will prove only a curse;
and the reverence and respect which he looks for, will not be paid with
sincerity, nor does he deserve it; and should the tide of misfortune
set in against him, instead of friendship and commiseration, he will
meet with nothing but contempt, and that with much more justice than
ever he himself expressed it towards others. The vain proud man ought
to be put in mind, that the time is not far distant, when his skull
will not be distinguished from that of the beggar; and that there is no
state, however exalted, so permanent, that it may not be reduced to a
level with the lowest.
[Illustration] [Page 329]
THE HAWK AND THE FARMER.
A Hawk, in the eagerness of his pursuit after a Pigeon, flew with
such violence against the corner of a hedge, that he was stunned and
fell. A Farmer, who had been looking about his fields, saw the whole
transaction, and instantly ran and picked up the Hawk, and was going to
kill him; but the latter begged the Man would let him go, assuring him
he was only following a Pigeon, and neither intending, nor had done,
any harm to him. To which the Farmer replied, and what harm had the
Pigeon done to you? and wrung his head off immediately.
APPLICATION.
In all our transactions through life, to suppose ourselves in the place
of those we may be dealing with, will be the most certain check upon
our own conduct; and we ought always to consult our conscience about
the rectitude of our behaviour: for this we may be assured of, that we
are acting wrong, whenever we are doing any thing to another, which we
should think unjust, if it were done to us. Let those, therefore, who
intend to act justly, but take this view of things, and all will be
well. There will be no danger of their oppressing others, or fear of
their falling into error or danger themselves. Nothing but an habitual
inadvertency as to this particular, can be the occasion of so many
ingenuous noble spirits being so often engaged in courses opposite to
virtue and honour.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 331]
THE FOX AND THE COUNTRYMAN.
A Fox being closely pursued by the Hunters, and almost run down,
begged of a Countryman to give him protection, and save his life. The
Man consented, and pointed out a hovel, into which the Fox crept, and
covered himself up among some straw. Presently up came the Hunters, and
enquired of the Man it he had seen the Fox, and which way he had taken?
No, said he, I have not seen him here, he has passed another way; but
all the while he nodded with his head, and pointed with his finger
to the place where the Fox was hidden. These signals the Hunters, in
the eagerness of pursuit, did not notice, but calling off the dogs,
they dashed along in another direction. Soon after, the Fox came out
of his hiding-place, and was sneaking off; when the Man calling after
him,--Hollo, says he, is this the way you behave then, to go without
thanking the benefactor who has saved your life? Reynard, who had
peeped all the while, and had seen what passed, answered, I know what
obligation I owe you well enough, and I assure you if your actions had
agreed with your words, I should have endeavoured, however incapable of
it, to have returned you suitable thanks.
APPLICATION.
Dissimulation and double dealing are among the most odious vices,
and a hollow friend is worse than an open enemy; for in the full
confidence of friendship, we are led to depend upon the man who uses
that confidence to betray us. To pretend to keep another’s council, and
appear in his interest, while underhand we are giving intelligence to
his enemies, is treacherous, knavish, and base. Truth is a plain and
open virtue, and cannot be practised in part; and truth and sincerity
are the same; wherefore he that equivocates and adheres to his promise
in one sense, without preserving it inviolably in its full extent and
meaning, departs as much from truth and sincerity as the most direct
liar.
“And be those juggling friends no more believ’d,
That palter with us in a double sense;
That keep the word of promise to the ear,
And break it to our hope.”
[Illustration] [Page 333]
ÆSOP AT PLAY.
An Athenian one day found Æsop entertaining himself with a company of
little Boys at their childish diversions, and began to jeer and laugh
at him for it. Æsop, who was too much a wag himself to suffer others to
ridicule him, took a bow unstrung, and laid it upon the ground. Then
calling the censorious Athenian, Now philosopher, says he, expound
the riddle if you can, and tell us what the unstrained bow implies.
The Man, after racking his brains a considerable time to no purpose,
at last gave it up, and declared he knew not what to make of it. Why,
says Æsop, smiling, if you keep a bow always bent, it will lose its
elasticity presently; but if you let it go slack, it will be fitter for
use when you want it.
APPLICATION.
The mind of man is not formed for unremitted attention, nor his body
for uninterrupted labour; and both are in this respect like a bow.
We cannot go through any business requiring intense thought, without
unbending the mind, any more than we can perform a long journey without
refreshing ourselves by due rest at the several stages of it. Continual
labour, as in the case of the bended bow, destroys the elasticity and
energy of both body and mind. It is, therefore, absolutely necessary
for the studious man to unbend, and the laborious one to take his rest,
or both lose their tone and vigour, and become dull and languid. It
is to remedy these extremes, that pastimes and diversions ought to be
kept up, provided they are innocent. The heart that never tastes of
pleasure, shuts up, grows stiff, and is at last incapable of enjoyment.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 335]
THE FOX AND THE WOLF.
The Wolf having laid in a store of provisions, snugly kept in his den,
and indulged himself in feasting upon them. The Fox observing this
seclusion of the Wolf, became inquisitive to know the cause, and by
way of satisfying his curiosity and his suspicions, he went and paid
the Wolf a visit. The latter excused himself from seeing the Fox,
by pretending he was very much indisposed. The Fox having smelt how
matters stood, took his leave, and immediately went to a Shepherd to
inform him of the discovery he had made, and that he had nothing else
to do but to take a good weapon with him, and with it easily dispatch
the Wolf as he lay dosing in his cave. The Shepherd following his
directions, presently went and killed the Wolf. The wicked Fox then
slily took possession of the cave and the provisions to himself; but
he did not enjoy them long, for the same Shepherd shortly afterwards
passing by the place, and seeing the Fox there, dispatched him also.
APPLICATION.
A villain, whose only aim is to get what he can, will as soon betray
the innocent as the guilty. Let him but know where there is a suspected
person, and propose a reward, and he will seldom fail to work the
suspicion up to high treason, and will be at no loss to produce
sufficient proofs of it. Men of this stamp will not be content with
practising one single villainy; for having never laid down any good
principles for their guide, they will go on triumphantly in their
wickedness for a time, and though, perhaps, they may be the instruments
of bringing other villains to punishment, yet they will at last suffer
in their turn; for, after being detested by all good men, justice will,
sooner or later, overtake their crimes, and hurl down its vengeance
on their heads, with a measure equal at least to the sufferings their
perfidy has occasioned to others. The fate of such wretches can never
excite the smallest commiseration; for no character is so truly
detestable, as that of a spy and informer.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 337]
THE RAVEN AND THE SERPENT.
A Raven in quest of food, seeing a Serpent basking in the sun, soused
down, seized it with his horny beak, and attempted to carry it off.
But the Serpent, writhing with the pain, twisted its elastic coils so
firmly about the Raven, and bit him with such envenomed fierceness,
that he fell to the ground mortally wounded. In the agonies of death,
the Raven confessed this was a just punishment upon him, for having
attempted to satisfy his greedy appetite at the expence of another’s
welfare.
APPLICATION.
When men suffer their passions to set aside their reason, they soon
become sensual in their appetites, and inordinate in their desires.
Moral rectitude takes its departure from their minds, and led by
their evil spirit, they soon become fitted for the commission of
any enormity. They give the rein to their unbridled lusts, and
regardless of consequences, stop at nothing to gratify their brutal
desires. But if we mark the progress of such men through life, it
will be found that, besides losing the great and virtuous pleasures
of self-approbation, and incurring the stings of a guilty conscience,
their wicked career often meets just punishment from retaliations in
kind, which the objects of their iniquitous proceedings unexpectedly
retort upon them.
[Illustration: _Waiting for Death_]
[Illustration] [Page 339]
THE DOVE AND THE BEE.
A Bee, whose business had led her to the brink of a purling stream,
was snatched away by its circling eddy, and carried down its current.
A Dove, pitying her distressed situation, cropped a twig from a tree,
and dropt it before her in the water, by means of which the Bee saved
herself, and got ashore. Not long after, a Fowler having a design upon
the Dove, espied her sitting on a tree, and keeping out of her sight,
was waiting the opportunity of shooting her. This the Bee perceiving,
stung him on the ear, which made him give so sudden a start, that the
Dove instantly took the alarm, and flew away.
APPLICATION.
We ought ever with a ready zeal to extend our arm to relieve a sinking
friend from distress and danger, or endeavour to forewarn him against
the wicked plots of his enemies. The benevolent man, from the most
disinterested motives, will always be disposed to do good offices to
all, and the grateful man will never forget to return them in kind, if
it be possible; and there is not one good man in the world who may not
on some occasion stand in need of the help of another. But gratitude
is not very common among mankind. It is a heavenly spark, from which
many virtues spring; and the source of pleasures which never enter the
breast of the vile ingrate. The favours and kindnesses bestowed upon
the grateful man, he cannot forget; those which are conferred upon the
ungrateful, are lost: he concludes he would not have had them, if he
had not deserved them.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 341]
THE SERPENT AND THE MAN.
A Child was playing in a meadow, and by chance trod upon a Serpent.
The Serpent, in the fury of his passion, turned up and bit the Child
with his venomous teeth, so that he died immediately. The Father of the
Child, inspired with grief and revenge, took a weapon, and pursuing the
Serpent, before he could get into his hole, struck at him and lopped
off a piece of his tail. The next day, hoping by stratagem to finish
his revenge, he brought to the Serpent’s hole honey, and meal, and
salt, and desired him to come forth, protesting that he only sought a
reconciliation on both sides; but the Serpent answered him with a hiss
to this purpose: In vain you attempt a reconciliation; for as long as
the memory of the dead Child and the mangled tail subsists, it will be
impossible for you and I to have any charity for each other.
APPLICATION.
When persons have carried their differences to an extreme length, it
is in vain for them to think of renewing a cordial friendship; for in
the heat of their quarrel, many injuries must have been reciprocally
offered and received, which must tear asunder the strongest bands
of amity. The fury of their dissentions may indeed subside, yet
neither party can forgive the wrongs which neither can forget. The
consciousness of having provoked the resentment of another, will dwell
so continually upon the mind of the aggressor, that he cannot rest till
he has finished his work, and put it as much as possible out of his
enemy’s power to make any return upon him; and the old proverb will be
verified which says, “The man who has injured you, will never forgive
you.” Morality bids us forgive our enemies, and the voice of reason
confirms the same; but neither reason nor morality bids us enter into
a friendship with, or repose a confidence in, those who have injured
us, and of whom we have a bad opinion. We may resolve not to return
ill-usage; but ought never to put ourselves into the power of an enemy.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 343]
THE HORSE AND THE OVER-LOADED ASS.
A clownish stupid Fellow, in travelling to market with his goods,
loaded his Horse very lightly, and put a heavy burden upon his Ass, and
was trudging along the road with them on foot. They had not travelled
half-way to their journey’s end, when the Ass felt greatly overpowered
with the weight he carried, and begged the Horse would be so good
as to assist him by taking a part of it upon his back, and lighten
the grievous burden, assuring him that through weakness he was quite
exhausted, and was ready to faint. No! said the Horse, keep your burden
to yourself, it does not concern me. Upon hearing this cruel reply,
the poor Ass dropped down, and soon expired. The Master then ungirded
the pack-saddle, and awkwardly tried several ways to relieve his Ass,
but all to no purpose; it was too late. When he perceived how matters
stood, he took the whole burden and laid it upon the Horse, together
with the skin of the dead Ass, and when he felt tired with walking, he
also mounted himself. The Horse is said to have often muttered as he
went along, Well, this is my proper punishment, for refusing to help my
fellow-servant in the depth of his distress.
APPLICATION.
He who has no compassion in his breast, is unworthy the title of a man;
and the heart that feels no anguish at the misfortunes of others, nor a
desire to relieve those who groan under a load of sorrow, is destitute
of the very grounds and principles of virtue. The eye that has no tear
for the griefs of a friend, is also blind to its own interest; for the
burden of human affairs must be borne by some or other of us, and the
duty, as well as the common necessity of helping one another, ought
not to be shuffled off by the unworthy expression of “it is none of my
business:” for the business of society is more or less the business
of every man who lives in it; and he who permits his weak brother,
for want of timely assistance, to sink under a greater weight than he
is able to sustain, deserves to be punished for his cruelty, by being
obliged to bear the whole of his own distressing burdens himself.
The Fable also hints at the miseries which poor dumb useful animals
undergo, from the injudicious management or cruel treatment of those
under whose government they have the misfortune to fall. These kind
of “hogs in armour” ought to be taught by their own sufferings, the
benevolent text, that “A merciful man will be merciful to his beast.”
[Illustration] [Page 345]
THE HUSBANDMAN AND THE STORK.
A Husbandman having placed nets in his fields to catch the Rooks and
the Geese, which came to feed upon the new-sown corn, found among his
prisoners a single Stork, who happened to be in their company. The
Stork pleaded hard for his life, and among other arguments, alleged
that he was neither Goose nor Crow, but a poor harmless Stork, whose
attachment to mankind, and his services to them in picking up noxious
creatures, as well as fulfilling his duties to his aged parents, he
trusted, were well known. All this may be true, says the Husbandman,
for what I know; but as I have taken you in company with thieves, and
in the same crime, you must also share the same fate with them.
APPLICATION.
When we become so abandoned to stupidity and a disregard of our
reputation, as to keep bad company, however little we may be criminal
in reality, we must expect the same censure and punishment as is due
to the most notorious of our companions. The world will always form an
idea of the character of every man from his associates: nor is this
rule founded on wrong principles; for, generally speaking, those who
are constant companions, are either drawn together by a similitude of
manners and principles, or form such a similitude by daily commerce and
conversation. If, therefore, we are tender of our reputation, we should
be particularly delicate in the choice of our company, since some
portion of their fame or infamy must unavoidably be reflected upon us.
It is not enough to be virtuous ourselves, but we must be cautious not
to associate with those who are devoted to vice: for, though we cannot
confer any degree of our own credit upon them, we may suffer much
discredit, and incur much danger, from mixing with such bad companions.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 347]
THE TRAVELLERS AND THE BEAR.
Two Men being to travel through a forest together, mutually engaged
to stand by each other in any danger they might encounter on the way.
They had not gone far, before a Bear rushed towards them out of a
thicket; upon which, one of them, being a light nimble fellow, got up
the branches of a tree, and kept out of sight. The other falling flat
upon his face, and holding his breath, lay still, while the Bear came
up and smelled at him, but not discovering any marks of life, he walked
quietly away again to the place of his retreat, without doing the Man
the least harm. When all was over, the Spark who had climbed the tree,
came down to his Companion, and asked him, what the Bear said to him?
for, says he, I took notice that he clapt his mouth very close to your
ear. Why, said the other, he advised me, for the future never to place
any confidence in such a faithless poltroon as you.
APPLICATION.
There is nothing in this world that can lighten our burdens, in
passing through it, or contribute more to our happiness, than our
knowing we have a true friend, who will commiserate with and help us
in our misfortunes, and on whom we can rely in times of difficulty and
distress. There are many, indeed, who, with fair words, pretend to
that character, and are ever ready to offer their services when there
is no occasion for their help. But the real friend, like gold from
the furnace, shines forth in his true lustre, and with heart and hand
is ever ready to succour us, in times of tribulation and peril. It
is on such only we ought to place a confidence in any undertaking of
importance; for the man who is wholly actuated by the selfish unsocial
principle of caring only for himself, is not fit to be associated
with others of a more generous character; and he who will desert them
in adversity ought not to be made a partaker of the prosperity of
others. It therefore behoves us diligently to examine into the fidelity
of those we have to deal with, before we embark with them in any
enterprise, in which our lives and fortunes may be put to hazard by
their breach of faith.
[Illustration] [Page 349]
THE FIGHTING COCKS.
After a fierce battle between two Cocks for the sovereignty of the
dunghill, one of them having beaten his antagonist, he that was
vanquished slunk away and crept into a corner, where he for some time
hid himself; but the conqueror flew up to a high place, and clapped his
wings, crowing and proclaiming his victory. An Eagle, who was watching
for his prey, saw him from afar off, and in the midst of his exultation
darted down upon him, trussed him up, and bore him away. The vanquished
Cock perceiving this, quitted the place of his retreat, and shaking
his feathers and throwing off all remembrance of his late disgrace,
returned to the dunghill, and gallanted the Hens, as if nothing had
happened.
APPLICATION.
This Fable shews us the impropriety and inconvenience of running
into extremes, and teaches us, that under all the various and sudden
vicissitudes of human life, we ought to bear success with moderation,
and misfortune with fortitude and equinamity; to repress immoderate
exultation, and unmanly despair. Much of our happiness depends upon
keeping an even balance in our words and actions, and in not suffering
circumstances to mount us too high in time of prosperity, nor to sink
us too low with the weight of adverse fortune. A wise man will not
place too high a value on blessings which he knows to be no more than
temporary; nor will he repine at evils, whose duration may perhaps be
but short, and cannot be eternal. He will submit himself with humility
and resignation to the decrees of providence, and the will of heaven.
In prosperity, the fear of evil will check the insolence of triumph;
and in adversity, the hope of good will sustain his spirit, and teach
him to endure his misfortunes with constancy and fortitude.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 351]
THE WILD AND THE TAME GEESE.
A flock of Wild Geese and a parcel of Tame ones used often to feed
together in a corn field. At last, the Owner of the corn, with his
servants, coming upon them of a sudden, surprised them in the very
fact, and the Tame Geese being heavy, and fat full-bodied creatures,
were most of them sufferers; but the wild ones being thin and light,
easily flew away.
APPLICATION.
When the enemy comes to make a seizure, they are sure to suffer most
whose circumstances are the richest and fattest. In any case of
persecution, money hangs like a dead weight about a man; and we never
feel gold so heavy as when we are endeavouring to make off with it.
Great wealth has many cares annexed to it, with which the poor and
needy are not afflicted. A competency to supply the necessities of
nature, and the wants of old age, is indeed to be desired; but we
should rather endeavour to contract our wants, than to multiply them,
and not too eagerly grasp at the augmentation of our possessions,
which will increase our cares by adding to our danger. Persons of
small fortune have as much reason to be contented as the rich: their
situation is full as happy, considered altogether, for if they are
deprived of some of the gratifications which the rich enjoy, they are
also exempted from many troubles and uneasinesses necessarily cleaving
to riches.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 353]
THE FROGS AND THE MICE.
The Frogs and the Mice, who inhabited part of a most extensive fen,
(of which there remained unoccupied sufficient room to hold many
whole nations of both) could not agree with each other so as to live
in peace: many bitter disputes arose between them about the right to
particular pools, and their tuft-covered margins. At length, national
jealousies and animosities arose to such a height, that each claimed
the sovereignty of the whole fen, and the most rancorous war was waged
between them, in order to settle, by force of arms, their respective
pretensions. While their hostile armies were drawn up in battle array,
on a plain of several square yards in extent, protected on both flanks
and rear by dark pools and gloomy forests of sedges, reeds, and
bulrushes, their two chieftains advanced to meet each other, and to
it they fell as fierce as tigers. While these two combatants were thus
engaged, a Kite sailing in the air, beheld them from a great distance,
and darting down upon them, instantly bore them off in his talons;
while the field of battle presented a delicious repast to some Ravens,
who had chanced to spy the movements of these hostile armies.
APPLICATION.
The leading feature in the character of men, in all ages of the world,
has ever been self-interest; and when this is not kept within due
bounds, by a just sense of morality and honour, their bad passions
are let loose, and money, power, or dominion, are the chief objects
they keep in view. When men thus depraved, have long soared above
restraint, and their numbers and power become predominant in a nation,
the accumulation of their wickedness hurries them blindly on to break
out into offensive wars with other nations, on the most frivolous
pretences, and rapine, plunder, and innumerable murders succeed, by
which humanity is outraged, and the fair face of nature is deluged
with blood. “Peace is the natural happy state of man, and war is his
disgrace.” The mighty among the Frogs and Mice attend not to this: they
strut and exult for a time; but their pride, tyranny, and injustice,
will have an end: for opposed to these vices are the attributes of
Omnipotence, and they are eternal. It often happens (as in the case of
the combatants in the Fable) that when national depravity has attained
its height, the Kites and Ravens of other regions are invited forth,
and made the instruments of a just retribution.
[Illustration] [Page 355]
THE FOWLER AND THE LARK.
A Fowler set his snares to catch birds in the open field. A Lark was
caught; and finding herself entangled, could not forbear lamenting her
hard fate. Ah! woe is me, says she, what crime have I committed that
man should be plotting my destruction? I have not taken either his
silver or gold, or any thing of value to him; and while other rapacious
birds deal about destruction and go unpunished, I must die for only
picking up a single grain of corn.
APPLICATION.
The irregular administration of justice in the world, is indeed a
melancholy subject to think of. A poor fellow shall be hanged for
stealing a sheep, perhaps to keep his family from starving; while
one, who is already great and opulent, will not scruple to add to his
overflowing wealth by the most bare-faced peculation upon the public,
and yet shall escape punishment, and even censure, through powerful
interest with those who ought to be his judges, but allow themselves
to be swayed by the splendour of his connections, or corrupted by his
money. When justice is intrusted in such hands, then shall we see the
description given by one of our satirical poets, of a corrupt court of
law, realized. He calls it a place,
Where little villains must submit to fate,
That great ones may enjoy the world in state.
However, let no one, who violates the law, rest his defence on this
plea; for though crimes, committed by his superiors, ought not to
escape with impunity, yet his own nevertheless deserve punishment.
Hence we may also draw a hint, not unworthy of our attention, to
endeavour to preserve our own integrity, unshaken in the midst of
iniquity, and to shew ourselves unstained by the corruption even of the
worst of times.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 357]
THE SHEPHERD TURNED MERCHANT.
A Shepherd was feeding his flock, on a very fine day, near the
sea-side. The beauty of the weather, the smoothness of the water, and
the ships with spreading sails floating along its surface, formed
altogether so charming a scene, that he lost all relish for a pastoral
life; and lured also by the prospect of gain, he determined to quit
an employment, which he now despised as yielding neither honour
nor profit. He quickly sold off his flocks, and commenced merchant
adventurer; and ere long, he embarked with his whole property on the
ocean. The ship had not long been at sea before a dreadful tempest
arose, which wrecked her and all her cargo; but our merchant and the
crew were fortunate enough to escape with their lives. The adventurer
having thus lost his all, returned to his former farm, and was glad to
hire himself to the man who had bought his stock, to attend the sheep
which were once his own. One day, as he sat meditating upon the change
that had happened, and viewing the sea calm and unruffled as before,
Ah! says he, thou deceitful tempting element, experience has made me
so wise, that if I should again acquire a property, I will never more
trust it upon thy faithless bosom.
APPLICATION.
This Fable is intended to put men of fickle unsettled minds upon their
guard against that propensity which often inclines them so strongly
to shifting and changing, and leads them to imagine they would be
happier in any profession than the one to which they have been brought
up. By this disposition they are led away from an honest competency,
to adventure their all upon untried schemes, in the hope of bettering
their condition. But men of this wavering temper, who are comfortably
settled in the world, would do well to reflect, before they change
their situation, and rashly venture, perhaps, the acquisitions of their
whole life, on projects, the failure of which may subject them to great
calamities, which will be the more intolerable to bear, as they will
not have adverse fortune to blame, but merely their own folly. Of this
truth, experience will convince them when it is too late.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 359]
THE COCK AND THE FOX.
A Fox, in one of his early visits to the farm-yard, happened to be
caught in a springe, which had been set for that very purpose; and
while he was struggling to escape, he was observed by the Cock, who,
with his Hens, was feeding near the place. The Cock, dreading so
dangerous a foe, approached him with the utmost caution. Reynard no
sooner cast his eye upon him, than with all the smooth and designing
artifice imaginable, thus addressed him. My dear friend, says he,
you see what an unfortunate accident has befallen me here, and all
upon your account, for not having heard you crow for a long time
past, I was resolved on my way homeward to pay you a friendly visit;
I therefore beg you will bring me something to cut this tormenting
wire, or at least be so good as to conceal my misfortune till I have
knawed it asunder. Yes, said the Cock, I can guess what kind of a
visit you intended to pay me, and will fetch you the proper assistance
immediately. He then hastened and told the Farmer, who instantly went
to the place, and knocked the Fox on the head.
APPLICATION.
When the innocent fall into misfortune, it is the part of a generous
and brave spirit to contribute as far as possible to their relief; and
there is no quality of mind more amiable than that of tenderly feeling
for the distressed: but we ought not to let our compassion flow out
upon improper objects, lest we may, by saving a villain, be doing an
act of injustice to the community. When wicked men are entrapped in
their own pernicious schemes, and laid hold of by the arm of justice,
it is a misplaced lenity to endeavour to screen or protect them from
it, as by letting them loose to continue their depredations, we become
the advocates for their crimes, and in some degree partakers in their
enormities.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 361]
THE YOUNG MAN AND HIS CAT.
A certain Young Man used to play with a beautiful Cat, of which he grew
so fond, that at last he fell in love with it to such a degree, that
he could rest neither night nor day for the excess of his passion. In
this condition he prayed to Venus, the goddess of beauty, to pity and
relieve his pain. The good-natured goddess was propitious, and heard
his prayers; and the Cat, which he held in his arms, was instantly
transformed into a beautiful Young Woman. The Youth was transported
with joy, and married her that very day. At night, while they were in
bed, the bride unfortunately heard a mouse behind the hangings, and
sprang from the arms of her lover to pursue it: the Youth was ashamed,
and Venus offended, to see her sacred rites thus profaned by such
unbecoming behaviour; and perceiving that her new convert, though a
woman in outward appearance, was a Cat in her heart, she caused her
to return to her old form again, that her manners and person might be
suitable to each other.
APPLICATION.
This Fable, however extravagant and unnatural in its composition, is
intended to depicture and check the blind instinctive ardour of the
passion of love, the transports of which cover all imperfections, so
that its devotees consider neither quality nor merit. It is like an
idol of our own creating, which we fashion into whatever figure or
shape we please, and then run mad for it. The Fable also shews that
“No charm can raise from dirt a grov’ling mind;”
And that people of a low turn of spirit and mean education, cannot
change their principles by changing their situation: for in the midst
of splendour and magnificence, they still retain the same narrow
sentiments, and seldom fail to betray, by some dirty action, their
original baseness, which no embroidery can conceal; and though fortune
has been pleased to lift them out of the mire, we still see the silly
awkward blockheads displaying their lack of mind and education through
all their ensigns of dignity. If any thing more need be added, it can
only be with a view of more plainly putting inexperienced youth on
their guard against making inconsiderate connections, lest they take a
Cat into their bosom, instead of an amiable consort and companion for
life.
[Illustration] [Page 363]
THE FOWLER AND THE PARTRIDGE.
A Fowler having taken a Partridge in his nets, the bird begged hard
for a reprieve, and promised the man, if he would let him go, to decoy
the other Partridges into his snares. No, replies the Fowler, if I had
before been undetermined what to do with you, now you have condemned
yourself by your own words: for he who is such a scoundrel as to offer
to betray his friends, to save himself, deserves if possible worse than
death.
APPLICATION.
To betray our friends is one of the blackest of crimes; and however
much traitors may suppose they recommend themselves by their successful
acts of treachery, they will find that those who employ them as useful
instruments in any dirty business of faction or party, are shocked at
the baseness of their minds; and however convenient it may be to “like
the treason, the traitor will be despised.” History furnishes us with
many instances of kings and great men who have punished the actors of
treachery with death, though the part they acted had been so conducive
to their interests as to give them a victory, or perhaps the quiet
possession of a throne: nor can princes pursue a more just maxim than
this, for a traitor is a villain, and sticks at nothing to promote his
own selfish ends. He that will betray one master for a bribe, will
betray another on the same account. It is therefore impolitic in any
state to suffer such wretches to live under its protection. Since then
this maxim is so good, and likely at all times to be acted upon, what
stupid rogues must they be who undertake such precarious dirty work!
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 365]
THE BLIND MAN AND THE LAME.
A blind Man and a lame Man happening to come at the same time to a
piece of very bad road, the former begged of the latter that he would
be so kind as to guide him through the difficulty. How can I do that,
said the lame Man, since I am scarcely able to drag myself along? But
as you appear to be very strong, if you will carry me, we will seek our
fortunes together. It will then be my interest to warn you against any
thing that may obstruct your way; your feet shall be my feet, and my
eyes your’s. With all my heart, replied the blind Man; let us mutually
serve each other. So, taking his lame companion on his back, they by
means of this union travelled on with safety and pleasure.
APPLICATION.
There is no such thing as absolute independence, in a state of society,
and the defects and weaknesses of individuals form the cement by which
it is bound together. All men have their imperfections and wants, and
must help each other as a matter of expediency as well as virtue; for
Providence has so ordered things in this life, that like the blind
man and the lame in the Fable, we may be serviceable to each other in
almost every instance. What one man wants another supplies. Without
these failings there would be neither friendship nor company; so that
it is our interest to be both charitable and sociable, when our very
wants and necessities are converted by Providence into blessings. The
whole race of mankind ought indeed to be but so many members of the
same body; and in contributing to the ease and convenience of each
other, we are not only serviceable to the whole, but kind to ourselves.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 367]
THE LION, THE WOLF, AND THE DOG.
A Lion having seized upon a Doe, while he was standing over his prize,
a Wolf stepped up to him, and impudently claimed to go halves. No! said
the Lion, you are too apt to take what is not your due. I therefore
shall never have any thing to do with you, and I peremptorily insist
on your immediate departure out of my sight. A poor honest Dog, who
happened to be passing, and heard what was going on, modestly withdrew,
intending to go about another way. Upon which the Lion kindly invited
him to come forward and partake with him of the feast, to which his
modesty had given him so good a title.
APPLICATION.
There is something in modesty which ought ever strongly to prepossess
us in favour of those persons in whose nature it is interwoven; and
men of discerning and generous minds have a pleasure in discovering
it, and in bringing into notice the worthy man, who is diffident of
his merit, and cannot prevail upon himself to challenge the praise or
tribute he deserves. It is, however, to be lamented, that such patrons
are not very numerous, and that the assuming arrogance and teasing
importunities of the greedy forward man should so commonly succeed in
attaining his ends, while modesty in silence starves unnoticed, and
is for ever poor. Were men in exalted stations of life to pay more
attention to the importance of this, and endeavour to discover modest
worth, to draw merit from the shade, and virtue from obscurity, and
distribute their patronage and their favours to such only, their own
affairs, as well as those of the public, would be better managed, and
the difference between the conduct of upstart pride and sensible plain
honesty would soon shew itself in its true unvarnished colours.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 369]
THE ASS EATING THISTLES.
An Ass was loaded with provisions of several sorts, which he was
carrying home for a grand entertainment. By the way, he met with a fine
large Thistle, and being very hungry, immediately eat it up, which,
while he was doing, he entered into this reflection: How many greedy
epicures would think themselves happy amidst such a variety of delicate
viands as I now carry! But to me, this bitter prickly Thistle is more
savory and relishing than the most exquisite and sumptuous banquet.
APPLICATION.
Temperance and exercise may be regarded as the constituents of natural
luxury. It is not in the power of the whole art of cookery, to give
such an exquisite relish and seasoning to a dish, as these two will
confer on the plainest fare. Indolent epicures have no true taste:
they subsist entirely by whets and provocatives of appetite; but he
whose stomach is braced and strengthened by exercise, has a whet
within himself, which adds a poignancy to every morsel that he eats.
Providence seems to have carved out its blessings with an equal hand,
and what it has denied to the poor in one way, it has amply supplied
them with in another: if it have withheld riches, it has given them
a greater store of health; and if it have refused them the means of
luxury, it has at least formed them with the capacity of living as
happily without it. And it may further be observed, that if we except
hereditary diseases, almost every other ailment may be laid to the
account of indolence, intemperance, or anxiety of mind.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 371]
THE DOG AND THE CAT.
Never were two creatures happier together than a Dog and a Cat, reared
in the same house from the time of their birth. They were so kind, so
gamesome, and diverting, that it was half the entertainment of the
family to see the gambols and love tricks that passed between them.
Still it was observed, that at mealtimes, when scraps fell from the
table, or a tit-bit was thrown to them, they would be snarling and
spitting at one another like the bitterest foes.
APPLICATION.
This Fable is too true a picture of the practices and friendships
of the world. We first enter into agreeable conversations, contract
likings, and form close intimacies and connections, which one would
think nothing could ever break up; but clashing interests at length
come in the way, and dissolve the charm. An unreasonable desire to
engross more than we can enjoy, is the bone of contention, which in
greater or less degrees sets mankind together by the ears. A jealous
thought, a mistaken word or look, is then sufficient to cancel all
former bonds: the league is broken, and the farce concludes like the
Dog and the Cat in the Fable, with biting and scratching out one
another’s eyes. The same kind of over-grasping selfishness which
operates so powerfully upon and blinds individuals, may with equal
truth be charged against all public associations or societies of men,
from the greatest to the least, when they are under the influence of
that mistaken patriotism, which, instead of applying its powers to
the improvement of what they already possess, seeks aggrandizement by
engrossing the colonies or privileges of their less powerful neighbours.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 373]
THE TRUMPETER TAKEN PRISONER.
A Trumpeter, being taken prisoner in battle, begged hard for quarter,
declaring his innocence, and protesting, that he neither had killed
nor could kill any man, bearing no arms but his trumpet, which he was
obliged to sound at the word of command. For that reason, replied his
enemies, we are determined not to spare you; for though you yourself
never fight, yet, with that wicked instrument of yours, you blow up
animosity among other people, and so become the cause of much bloodshed.
APPLICATION.
The fomenter of mischief is at least as culpable as he who puts it
in execution. A man may be guilty of murder, who never has handled a
sword or pulled a trigger, or lifted up his arm with any mischievous
weapon. There is a little incendiary called the tongue, which is more
venomous than a poisoned arrow, and more killing than a two-edged
sword. The moral of the Fable therefore is this, that if in any civil
insurrection, the persons taken in arms against the government deserve
to die, much more do they whose devilish tongues or pens gave birth
to the sedition, and excited the tumult. The Fable is also equally
applicable to those evil counsellors, who excite corrupt or wicked
governments to sap and undermine, and then to overturn the just laws
and liberties of a whole people; or involve them in cruel offensive
wars, in which they cause thousands upon thousands of swords to
be drawn, and whole armies of men to be cut in pieces, while they
themselves coolly sit out of danger, and calculate the gains they
derive from the wide-spreading desolation. War is the most horrid
custom that ever resulted from human wickedness, and is caused only by
the ignorance of the people, or the wickedness of governments.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] [Page 375]
THE BOYS AND THE FROGS.
A company of idle Boys used to assemble on the margin of a lake,
inhabited by a great number of Frogs, and divert themselves by throwing
vollies of stones into the water, to the great annoyance and danger
of the poor terrified Frogs, who were thus pelted to death as soon as
any of them put up their heads. At length, one of the boldest of the
Frogs ventured, in behalf of the whole community, to croak out their
complaints. Ah, my Boys, said he, why will you learn so soon the cruel
practices of your race? Consider, I beseech you, that though this may
be sport to you, it is death to us!
APPLICATION.
This Fable shews the propensity of unguided youth to do evil, and
points out the need of inculcating benignity of conduct upon their
minds, and giving them a direction towards a manly and generous
humanity, which in manhood will shew itself in actions and habits that
cannot fail to do honour to themselves, and qualify them for any office
in the service of their country. The contrary of all this will be
found to predominate in society, when youth are suffered to go on with
impunity, in indulging their wicked inclinations for cruelty, by which
their minds are hardened and debased. This hard-heartedness in boys
will grow into brutality and tyranny in man; and that cruelty which
was at first inflicted upon poor dumb animals, will soon shew itself
upon their fellows. The great man of this cast will tyrannize over
those below him: these again will shew the same hateful disposition to
their dependants, and so downwards to the lowest, who, guided only by
ignorance, will give vent to their natural baseness, by goading and
distressing the poor animals which are wretchedly toiling in their
service.
[Illustration]
FINIS.
NEWCASTLE: PRINTED BY EDWARD WALKER.
Transcriber’s Notes
Punctuation, hyphenation, and spelling were made consistent when a
predominant preference was found in the original book; otherwise they
were not changed.
This book often uses commas where periods might be expected,
particularly when the next text might be expected to be in quotation
marks, but is not.
Simple typographical errors were corrected; unbalanced quotation
marks were remedied when the change was obvious, and otherwise left
unbalanced.
The first page is handwritten, with a woodcut illustration in the
middle and a fingerprint between the words “his mark.”
Every Fable begins with a framed illustration and a Title; many Fables
end with an unframed illustration.
Page viii: The illustration captioned "Thomas Beswick" is his signature.
Page 36: In the caption of the illustration, “Brains” was crossed-out
(by the artist).
Page 76: In the caption of the illustration, the first “the” was
crossed out (by the artist).
Page 350: “equinamity” was printed that way.
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