A SUPPLEMENT OF FABLES, OUT OF Phædrus, Avienus, Camerarius, Neveletus, Apththonius, Gabrias, Babrias, Abstemius, Alciatus, Boccalini, Baudoin, De la Fontaine, Æsope en Belle Humeur, Meslier, &c.

Fab. CCCLXXXIV. A Lamb, a Wolf and a Goat.

A Wolf overheard a Lamb Bleating among the Goats. D’ye hear Little One, (says the Wolf,) if it be your Dam you want, she’s yonder in the Field. Ay (says the Lamb,) but I am not looking for her that was my Mother for her Own sake, but for her that Nurses me up, and Suckles me out of Pure Charity, and Good Nature. Can any thing be Dearer to you, says the Wolf, then she that brought you forth? Very Right, says the Lamb; and without knowing or caring what she did: And pray what did she bring me forth for too, but to Ease her self of a Burden, and to deliver me out of her own Belly, into the Hands of the Butcher? I am more Beholden to her that took Pity of me when I was in the World already, then to her that brought me into’t, I know not how. ’Tis Charity, not Nature, or Necessity that does the Office of a Tender Mother.

The Moral.

There’s a difference betwixt Reverence and Affection; the one goes to the Character, and the other to the Person, and so distinguishes Duty from Inclination. Our Mothers brought us into the World; a Stranger takes us up, and Preserves us in’t. So that here’s both a Friend and a Parent in the case, and the Obligation of the one, must not destroy the Respect I owe to the other; nor the Respect the Obligation: And none but an Enemy will advise us to quit either.

REFLEXION.

Men are not so sensible of Laws and Duty, as they are of Kindness and Good Nature; beside, that the Wolfs Pretence or Care for the Poor Lamb, was a Charity that began at Home.

There is an Affection of Nature, and that which we call a Filial Duty; and there is an Affection that is grounded upon the Moral Considerations of Benevolence and Friendship. In the one, we lye under an Obligation of Reverence and Respect to a Parent, be the Father or Mother what they will; in the other, we pay a Regard to Civil Acknowledgements and Virtue. Nature, and the Principles of Nature must be kept Sacred; but Men cannot Love to what degree, or whom, or what they please: So that in many Cases, we pay a Veneration upon One Score, and an Affection upon Another; and this Fable does very well distinguish the Gratitude from the Respect. The Wolf’s Preaching to the Lamb, is no Ill Emblem of a Scandalous Minister, that Discredits a very Good Sermon with an Ill Life, and gives the Lie to his Doctrin, in his Practice. The Wolf took the same Care of the Lamb, that the Keepers of our Liberties in former days did of the Innocent People of England. They pretended to put us out of Harms way from others, that they might Devour us themselves.

Fab. CCCLXXXV. Jupiter’s Altar Robb’d.

A Thief Kindled his Torch at Jupiter’s Altar, and then Robb’d the Temple by the Light on’t. As he was Packing away with his Sacrilegious Burden, a Voice, either of Heaven, or of Conscience, Pursu’d him. The Time will come (says that Voice) when this Impious Villany of Yours shall cost ye Dear; not for the Value of what you have Stoll’n, but for the Contempt of Heaven and Religion, that you ought to have a Veneration for. Jupiter has taken care however to prevent these Insolent Affronts for the Time to come, by an Express Prohibition of any Communication for the future, betwixt the Fire upon his Altars, and that of Common Use.

The Moral.

Nothing more Familiar then to cover Sacrilege, Murder, Treason, &c. with a Text. And we are also to learn from hence, that we have no greater Enemies many times, then those we have Nurs’d and Bred up; and that Divine Vengeance comes sure at Last, though it may be long first.

REFLEXION.

The Kindling of a Torch at the Altar, and then Robbing the Church by the Light on’t, is an Old Invention contriv’d betwixt the World, the Flesh and the Devil; and will never be out of Date, so long as we hold any Intelligence with the Common Enemies of Mankind. There’s nothing cuts Religion, like Religion it self: Texts are put up against Texts, and one Scripture made to fight against another; insomuch, that the Rule of Faith is Perverted into a Doctrin of Heresie and Schism; and the Gospel of Peace is made a Voucher for Sedition and Rebellion. There’s nothing commoner then to cite Holy Writ for the Overturning of Religion, and to Over-rule one Divine Authority with another; nay, and when all is done, to Justifie the Sacrilege of Seizing and Employing the Revenues of the Church to Prophane Uses. And whence comes this Confusion and Self-Contradiction all this while? but that the Manage of Holy Matters falls many times into the Hands of Men of more Polite Curiosity and Skill, then Evangelical Zeal and Affection. The School-men have spun the Thread too fine, and made Christianity look liker a Course of Philosophy, then a System of Faith and Supernatural Revelation: So that the Spirit of it Evaporates into Niceties and Exercises of the Brain; and the Contention is not for Truth, but Victory. The whole Business in fine, is sour’d into Altercation and Cavil; but all must be Remitted to the Judgment of the Great Day, when every Man shall receive according to his Works: And Wo be then to the Church Robbers that shall be found among them that serve at the Altar. But ’tis no New Thing for Men that call themselves Professors and Disciples, to Sell and to Betray their Lord and Master; For Men that wear the Livery of the Church, and Eat the Bread on’t, to offer Sacrilegious Violence to their Holy Mother. And this is the case of Jupiter’s Altar Robb’d by the Light of his own Torch: When the House of God is Rifl’d and Dishonour’d by his own Domesticks; that is to say, when the Sacrilege is Countenanc’d by the Authority of a Holy Character, and the Violence supported by a Text.

Fab. CCCLXXXVI. The Crows and the Pigeons.

There happen’d a Suit in Law betwixt the Two Families of the Crows and the Pigeons; but for Quietness sake, they agreed upon an Order of Reference, and the Kite was to be Arbitrator. The Cause was Heard, and Judgment given for the Crows.

The Moral.

Ask my Brother if I’m a Thief. One Criminal upon the Bench, will be sure to bring off another at the Barr.

REFLEXION.

Innocency is almost sure to be worsted, wherever it may be Abus’d with Security and Advantage. Guilty or not Guilty, is not so much the Point in the Case here of the Crows and the Pigeons; for the matter in question, is the Person or Party, not the Fact. The One’s in the Plot, let him be never so Innocent; and the other is as white as the Driven Snow, let him be never so Criminal. There are Cabals, Ignoramus’s, False Witnesses, among Men, as well as among Birds, with all the Pompous Formalities of Countenancing Fraud and Corruption, with the Sacred Name of Justice. Set a Kite upon the Bench, and ’tis Forty to one he’ll bring off a Crow at the Barr. Briefly, there is nothing more in the Iniquity of this Fiction, then what we see every day made good in common Business and Practice. ’Tis but dressing up a Bird of Prey in his Cap and Furs, to make a Judge of him; and so for a Knight of the Post, ’tis but dubbing him with the Title of a King’s Evidence, and the Work is done: For in these Cases, Judge, Jury, and Witnesses are all of a Piece.

Fab. CCCLXXXVII. A Gard’ner and his Landlord.

A Man that had made himself a very Fine Garden, was so Pester’d with a Hare among his Roots, his Plants, and his Flowers, that away goes he immediately to his Landlord, (a great Huntsman it seems,) and tells him a Lamentable Story of the Havock that this poor Hare had made in his Grounds. The Gentleman takes Pity of his Tenant, and early the next Morning goes over to him with all his People and his Dogs about him: They call in the First Place for Breakfast, Eat up his Victuals, Drink him Dry, and Kiss his Pretty Daughter into the Bargain. So soon as they have done all the Mischief they can within Doors, out they march into the Gardens to Beat for the Hare: And there down with the Hedges; the Garden-Stuff goes all to Wreck, and not so much as a Leaf scapes ’em toward the Picking of a Sallad. Well, (says the Gard’ner) this is the way of the World, when the Poor sue for Relief to the Great. My Noble Friend here has done me more Damage in the Civility and Respect of these Two Hours, then the uttermost Spite of the Hare could have done me in twice as many Ages.

The Moral.

Appeals are Dangerous from the Weaker to the Stronger, where the Remedy proves many times worse then the Disease.

REFLEXION.

He that finds himself Uneasie, and proposes to mend his Condition in what case or in what manner soever, should do well to sit down and Compute within himself; What do I suffer by this Grievance? Can I Remove it or no? What will it Cost me? Shall I get or Lose by the Change? Will it be worth my while, or not? Now this is all matter of Course in our ordinary Dealings upon the Truck, and in common Bargains; and yet where the Peace and Liberty of the Mind, or the Character of a Wise or a Good Man lyes at Stake, we take up Resolutions Hand over Head, without Calculating upon the Profit or Loss of the Thing in Question; as in the Instance of the Poor Gard’ner here. He might have Treated a Brace of Hares sure, much Cheaper that a Troup of Horsemen, with so many Packs of Dogs, and such a Gang of Ruffians at the Heels of ’em. Had not he better have born Wat’s Nibling of his Plants and Roots now, then the Huntsman’s Fooling with his Daughter, and the Eating him out of House and Home? The Breaking down of his Fences; the Laying of his Garden Wast, and taking his Childrens Meat out of their Mouths, over and above? But all this Befel him for want of Deliberating beforehand, and setting one thing against another. Now if the Allusion of this Fable be so Instructive to us, and so necessary to be well attended and apply’d, even in the common Affairs and Dealings of this World, what shall that Man say for himself, that’s Guilty of the same Temerity and Imprudence over and over, in the case of Temporal and Eternal! Is it that we do not Believe the Doctrin of a Future State, or that we do not think on’t; or (which is worst of all,) that we do not Mind it? For we Live as if we were more sensible of the Hares, then of the Devils.

Fab. CCCLXXXVIII. Jupiter’s Two Wallets.

When Jupiter made Man, he gave him Two Satchels; one for his Neighbours Faults, t’other for his Own. These Bags he threw over his Shoulders, and the Former he carried Before him, the Other Behind. So that this Fashion came up a great while ago it seems, and it has continu’d in the World ever since.

The Moral.

Every Man living is partial in his own Case; but it is the Humour of Mankind to have our Neighbours Faults always in our Eye, and to cast our own over our Shoulders, out of sight.

REFLEXION.

That which Jupiter does in the Fable, Nature does in the Life. We are here admonish’d of a Double Fault; want of Charity and Justice toward others, and want of a Christian Scrutiny and Examination into our Selves: So that here’s the Sin of Detraction in making other People worse then they are, and the Sin of Pride and Hypocrisie, in Boasting our Selves to be better. It were well if we could Place our Transgressions out of the Ken, as well of our Consciences as of our Eyes: But these are only Amusements to put off the Evil Day a little longer, that will certainly overtake us at last. The Mythologist does well enough however; in Assigning that to Jupiter, which we our selves are but too prone to do, upon a Propension of Nature; that is to say, of Nature corrupted; for there is both a Sin and a Frailty in’t, to be over Censorious of our Neighbours, and as Partial to our selves.

Out of Sight, Out of Mind, they say; and at this rate one Fault is made use of to excuse another. We do not Repent, because we do not Think on’t; and so the Neglect is made an Excuse for the Impenitence. We live like Spendthrifts, that know themselves to be desperately in Debt, and dare not look into their Accounts to see how the Reckoning stands. Nay ’tis the Case of too many of us, that we keep no Books neither; or at the Best, do not know where to find them. Self-Love is still attended with a Contempt of others, and a Common Mistake of Matters at Home as well as Abroad; For we keep Registers of our Neighbours Faults, and none of their Good Deeds; and no Memorials all this while, of what we do amiss our Selves. But [I am not as this Publican] is the very Top of our Righteousness.

Thus goes the World, and a lewd Practice it is, for one Man to value himself upon the Wickedness of another: But the Worst of all is yet behind; that is to say, to think our selves safe, so long as we keep our Iniquities from the Knowledge of Men, and out of our own View and Memory, without any Awe of that Justice that never Sleeps, and of that All-seeing Eye and Wisdom that Observes all our Mis-doings, and has them perpetually in his Sight.

Fab. CCCLXXXIX. A King and a Rich Subject.

A Certain Prince that had a very wealthy overgrown Subject, found it convenient to make a Traitor of him, provided it could but handsomly be brought about: So the Man was taken into Custody, and the King’s Evidence produced against him for Consults at this Place, and at that, against the Life of the King, and the Peace of the Government; and for Receiving, Comforting, and Abetting the Enemies of the Crown. The Man had the Character of a very Loyal Person, and People were almost at their Wits end, to hear of so horrid an Accusation against him. But the Witnesses Swore Home, and one of them Extremely Positive, that if his House at that very Instant were but narrowly Search’d for Men and Arms, they would find such a Provision, that the Modern Discoveries at Tichbourn and Flixham, were Nothing to’t. The pretended Criminal began now to Moralize upon the Story, and so away goes he to His Majesty; casts himself at his Feet, and promises that if he might but have as Ample a Pardon as other Witnesses to Consults have had before him, he would shew him the very Bottom of the Plot. I cannot deny, says he, but I have a great many of the Enemies of your Royal Crown and Dignity at this time Conceal’d in my House; and if your Majesty shall be pleased to appoint any Person to make Seizure of them, they shall be immediately Delivered up. So the Prince Order’d a Squadron of his Guards, and a Trusty Officer in the Head of ’em, to go along with him. The Gentleman led them very Frankly to his Coffers, and shew’d them his Treasure. These are the Traytors, says he, that you are to take care of, and pray be pleas’d to see that they may be kept in safe Custody till they shall be Deliver’d by Due Course of Law.

The Moral.

We may gather from hence, that Riches are many times but a Snare to us; and that Money makes many a Man a Traitor: But if a Body will Compound at last with his Estate to save his Life, when he has nothing left him, he may be at Rest. For a Certificate of Poverty is as good as a Protection.

REFLEXION.

The Story of Ahab and Naboth comes directly to the Point of this Fable; that is to say, as the King and Subject, with the Iniquity of the Subornation and Practice: Only the one was a Poor Subject, and the other a Rich, which does not one jot alter the Morality of the Case. The Old Saying, that [Money does all things] is not much wide of the Truth; for it gives, and it takes away, it makes Honest Men and Knaves, Fools and Philosophers; and so forward Mutatis Mutandis, to the End of the Chapter. There’s not any Corruption in Nature, but Money is at one end on’t; The whole World is under the Dominion of it; for all things under the Sun are Bought and Sold. But as it gives Men Reputation, so it brings People into Snares and Dangers too; It exposes them to Factions, Robbers, Cheats, Knights of the Post, and the like: It fills their Heads and their Hearts with Cares and Disquiets. And what at last are all the Baggs and Possessions that Rich Men take so much Pride and Pleasure in, but Spunges Deposited in their own Hands, till there shall be occasion to squeeze them for the Publick Use!

Fab. CCCXC. A Merchant and a Seaman.

A Merchant at Sea was asking the Ships-Master, What Death his Father Dy’d? He told him that his Father, his Grandfather, and his Great Grandfather were all Drown’d. Well, says the Merchant, and are not you your self afraid of being Drown’d too? No, not I, says the Skipper. But Pray, says t’other again, What Death did Your Father, Grandfather, and Great Grandfather Dye? Why they Dy’d all in their Beds, says the Merchant. Very good, says the Skipper, and why should I be any more afraid of going to Sea, then you are of going to Bed?

The Moral.

He that troubles his Head with drawing Consequences from meer Contingencies, shall never be at Rest: And this is further to mind us, that in an Honest Course of Life, we are not to fear Death.

REFLEXION.

’Tis much in our own Power how to Live, but not at all, when, or how to Dye: So that our part is only to submit to Fate, and to bid Death Welcome at what Time, and in what Place or Manner soever it shall please God to send it. The Reason and the Doctrine of this Fable is Clear, Strong and Edifying: We are either not to Fear Death at all, or to Fear it every moment of our Lives; nay, and in all the Forms that ever it appear’d in, which will put us to such a stand, that we shall not dare even to Live for fear of Dying. We must neither Eat, nor Drink, nor Breathe, nor Sleep, if we come once to boggle at Presidents, and at the doing of those things over again, that ever any Man dy’d of before. There is not one instant of Life in fine, but may be our Last. Beside, that we Live, not only in the daily Danger of Death, but in a continual Certainty of it: So that the Question is not how, or of what this or that Man Dy’d, but the inevitable Fate and Mortality of Mankind. One Man Dies in his Bed, another at Sea, a Third in the Field; this Man of one Accident or Distemper, that of another: And what is there more in all this now, then so many several ways to the same Journey’s End? There is no such Preservative against the Fear of Death, as the Conscience of a Good Life; and if we would have it Easie, we must make the Thought of it Familiar to us.

Fab. CCCXCI. Mice, Cat and a Bell.

There was a Devilish Sly Cat it seems, in a certain House, and the Mice were so Plagu’d with her at every turn, that they call’d a Court to advise upon some way to prevent being surpriz’d. If you’ll be Rul’d by me, (says a Member of the Board,) there’s nothing like Hanging a Bell about the Cat’s Neck, to give Warning before-hand, when Puss is a coming. They all look’d upon’t as the best Contrivance that the Case would bear. Well (says another) and now we are agreed upon the Bell, say who shall put it about the Cat’s Neck. There was no body in fine that would undertake it, and so the Expedient fell to the Ground.

The Moral.

The Boldest Talkers are not always the Greatest Doers.

REFLEXION.

This is the course of the World, to the very Life, we can never want Advisers and Councellors in Matters of the Greatest Hazzard: But let the Reason be ever so clear, we are still at a Loss for an Instrument to put Dangerous Projects in Execution.

Desperate Cases require Desperate Remedies; but let the Hazzard of this or that part of a Body be what it will, it is a matter of Duty, Justice and Policy to consult the Good of the whole. It was the Interest of the Mice to have a Bell put about the Cats Neck, and they all agreed upon’t to be a very good Expedient: But when it came to the Issue, the Counsel fell to the Ground for want of one to put it in execution. This is no more then what we see frequently in difficulties of State; but the true Reason of failing in that Case, proceeds rather from some Failings in the Administration, then from any want of necessary Instruments. As for the Purpose, where Reward and Punishment are inverted, and where Men of Faith and Zeal for the Honour and Service of the Common-wealth are only made Sacrifices to the Passions and Interests of the Corrupt and Fearful. Where Matters are thus Manag’d, I say, every Man is not of a Constitution to Leap a Gulf for the Saving of his Country: Especially, when over and above the certainty of Ruin, Men are no less sure of having their very Names and Memories abandon’d to Infamy and Contempt for their Pains; But on the other hand, where Christian as well as Political Justice has its Course, every part of the Community suffers by Consent with the whole: and such a Government in the uttermost of Extremities, shall never fail of Devotes.

Fab. CCCXCII. Usurers and Curriers.

A Parcel of Curriers fell into Company with a Gang of Usurers, and past this Complement upon ’em; What a Blessing they accounted it to meet with so many worthy Men of their own Trade. One of the Usurers was a Head Man of the City, it seems, and took it a little in Dudgeon to be Rank’d Cheek by Joul with a Scab of a Currier; and so ask’d one of ’em what he meant, by saying they were all of a Trade? Nay, I must confess, says the Fell-monger, there is some difference yet betwixt your Trade and ours; for we deal but in Flaying of Dead Horses, and Asses, and the People of your Trade Flay Living Men.

The Moral.

A Reproof has more Effect when it comes by a Side Wind, then if it were Levell’d directly at the very Vice or Person.

REFLEXION.

’Tis a very great Mistake in the World, to give Reputation to many Unconscionable and notorious Practices, that ought rather to be Punished. One would try all ways of setting People Right in their Wits and Manners: Authority and Friendship works upon some; Dry and Sober Reason works upon others: but these Means are only effectual, where there’s Place for Modesty and Conscience. Some are reclaim’d by Punishment; some by Example, and some again are set Right by good Nature or upon Second Thoughts: But there are a sort of Men that will not be Reason’d into their Senses, and may yet be Laugh’d or Droll’d into them. A Jest works more many times then a Text. Every Man, in fine, has a weak Side, if a body could but hit upon’t: The Figure of a Currier applied to an Usurer, sinks deeper with him, then all the Woes in Holy Scripture, upon the Topick of Grinding the Faces of the Poor. Men must Angle for Converts as they do for Fishes. There’s no good to be done, without fitting the Bait to the liking of the Fish, and to the Course of the Season: As the Currier here struck the Usurer upon the Right Vein.

Fab. CCCXCIII. Two Travellers of Differing Humours.

There were Two Men together upon a Journey, of very differing Humours; one of them went Slugging on, with a Thousand Cares and Troubles in his Head, exclaiming over and over, Lord, What shall I do to Live! T’other Jogg’d Merrily away, and left his Matters to Providence and Good Fortune. Well Brother (says the Sorrowful Wight,) How can you be so Frolick now? As I am a Sinner, my Heart’s e’en ready to break for fear I should want Bread. Come, come says t’other, Fall Back, Fall Edge, the Resolution’s taken, and my Mind’s at Rest. What Resolution says his Companion? Why, a Resolution, says he, to make the best Shift I can, and commit my self to Heaven for the Rest. Ay, but for all that, says t’other, again, I have known as Resolute People as your self, that their Confidence has Deceiv’d them in the Conclusion; and so the Poor man fell into another Fit of Doubting and Musing, till he started out of it all on a sudden: Good Lord, says he, What if I should fall Blind! And so he walk’d a good way before his Companion with his Eyes shut, to try how ’twould be, if that Misfortune should befall him. In this Interim his Fellow-Traveller that follow’d him, found a Purse of Money upon the way, which made good his Doctrine of leaving things to Providence; whereas the other miss’d that Encounter, as a punishment of his Distrust; for the Purse had been His, if he had not put himself out of condition of Seeing it.

The Moral.

He that Commits himself to Providence, is sure of a Friend in time of need; While an Anxious Distrust of the Divine Goodness, makes a Man more and more unworthy of it; and miserable before-hand, for fear of being so afterward.

REFLEXION.

The Two opposite Humours of a Chearful Trust in Providence, and a Suspicious Diffidence of it, with the ordinary Effects and Consequences of the one and the other, are very well set forth here for our Instruction and Comfort. The Divine Goodness never fails those that Depend upon it, provided, that according to the Advice of Hercules to the Carter, they put their own Shoulders to the Work.

The most wretched sort of People under the Sun, are your Dreamers upon Events; your Foreboders, Supposers, and Putters of Cases: They are still Calculating within themselves, What if this, or that Calamity, Judgment or Disaster should befall them; and so they form it in their own Imagination, for fear it should come another way. It is most certain, that what we Fear, we Feel; beside that, Fancy breeds Misery as Naturally as it does the Small Pox. Set a Whimsical Head agog once upon Sprights and Goblins, and he’ll be ready to Squirt his Wits at his own Shadow. I’ll suppose my self Blind, (says one of the Travellers,) and try what will come on’t: And what is this more then the Experiment many and many a Man makes in the World? Well, I shut my Eyes, I Stumble, I Lose my Way, Break a Leg or an Arm perhaps; step over a Bag of Money, for him to find that comes after me with his Eyes open: In one Word, I flip my Fortune in a Fantastical Freak, to no manner of Purpose but for my own Ruin. There is no surer Remedy for this Superstitious and Desponding Weakness, then first to Govern our Selves by the best Improvement of that Reason which Providence has given us for a Guide; and then when we have done our own parts, to commit all chearfully for the rest, to the good Pleasure of Heaven, with Trust and Resignation. Why should not I as well Comfort my self with the Hope of what may be, as Torment my self with the fear on’t? He that distrusts God’s Providence, does effectually put himself out of his Protection.

Fab. CCCXCIV. An Agreement between the Wolves and the Dogs.

The Wolves found themselves in a great Streight once how to deal with the Dogs; they could do well enough with ’em one by one they saw, but were still worsted and over-born by Numbers. They took the Matter into Debate, and came at last to this conclusion, That unless they could make a Party among them, and by a parcel of Fair Words and Pretences, engage them into a Confederacy against their Masters and Themselves, there was no good to be done in the Matter. Upon this, they sent out their Spies among the Dogs, with Instructions to go to those among them that were nearest their own Make, Size and Colour, and to reason the matter with them, after this or the like manner. [Why should not we that are all of a Colour, and in a manner all of a Kind, be all of a Party too, and all of an Interest? You’ll say perhaps, that your Masters, and your Fellows may take it Ill, and pick a Quarrel with ye. Well, and what will they be able to make on’t then, against You and us together? If it comes to that once, ’twill be but one Push for all, and the Work is done.] This Discourse wrought as well as Heart could wish; for a great many of the Wolfe-Colour Dogs cry’d out Well mov’d upon’t, and so went over to the other side. And what came on’t at last, but that after the Dogs had Deserted, the Wolves Worry’d one Part of their Enemies by the help of the Currs that went over to them; and they were strong enough to destroy the Revolters themselves.

The Moral.

A House divided against it self cannot stand.

REFLEXION.

This Fiction may be matched with a Thousand common Cases, where Parties are divided with Factions from abroad, into Feuds and Animosities among themselves. ’Tis an easie matter to form and to invent Specious Colours and Arguments to all manner of Purposes, and to Paradox the Multitude into what Opinion any Man pleases, that is but a Master of Art, and Address, and in any sort of Credit with the Mobile; for ’tis not the Reason of the thing in Question, but Passion and Prejudice that Governs in the Case. What will not Ignorance and Credulity swallow, if they can be but once prevail’d upon to believe, that it is the common Interest of all the Dogs, for one part of them to enter into an Alliance with the Wolves against the other; and to draw Inferences from the Complexion of the Ministers, to the Reason of the Government; as the Wolfe-Colour of the Dog is made an Argument for a Resemblance in the Nature of them: But the very Proposition points out the ready way to Destruction: And the dividing of the Guards, leads manifestly, First to the Worrying of one another; and Secondly, to the utter Ruin of the whole; Only the Dogs of the Conspiracy are to be Last Eaten. The Wolves Proposal was Practicable and Natural enough, and a perfect Emblem of the Confusions and Politicks abroad in the World. The Wolves sit in Council, and so does the Cabal; and the Subject Matter of Both their Debates is Division. The one sends out their Spies and their Agents, to Tamper and Seduce the Dogs from their Faith and Duty: The other have their Instruments at work too, in their Clubs and Pulpits, and to stagger the People in their Allegiance. The Dogs are to be Debauch’d; that is to say, the Guards are to be corrupted: The Wolfe Colour’d Currs to be dealt with in the First Place; that is to say, those Courtiers, Officers, Soldiers, and others that have somewhat of Agreement in Principle and Persuasion with the Common Enemy. Nay, and the very same Argument is put in their Mouths too, We are all of a Colour: And what’s the Issue of all this at last, but the same Fate to the People where these Liberties are taken, that attended the Dogs and the Sheep here in the Fable?

Fab. CCCXCV. A Wolf turn’d Shepherd.

There was a Crafty Wolf that Dress’d himself up like a Shepherd, with his Crook, and all his Trade about him, to the very Pipe and Posture. This Masquerade succeeded so well with him, that in the Dead of the Night once, when the Men and their Dogs were all fast asleep, he would be offering at the Shepherd’s Voice and Call too: But there was somewhat of a Howle in the Tone, that the Country presently took an Alarm at, and so they fell in upon him in his Disguise; when he was so Shackled and Hamper’d, that he could neither Fight nor Fly.

The Moral.

’Tis the highest Pitch of a Publick Calamity, when the People are Worry’d and Seduc’d by those that should Protect and Instruct them. No Impostor is so Exquisite, as not to lye open some way or other to a Discovery.

REFLEXION.

This is in some sort the Reverse of Boccalini’s Advice from the West-Indies; that the Spaniards Dogs there, that were sent to preserve their Flocks from Wolves, were grown Wolves themselves. Now here’s a Wolf turn’d Shepherd, with the same Design, only better Dress’d up: For there is no Treachery so plausible, as that which is cover’d with the Robe of a Guide or Governor. Nothing like a Mercenary Bar-Gown to make a Sedition Warrantable; nothing like an Assembly of Pye-Ball’d Divines, to make it a Point of Conscience; and nothing again like a Popular Ordinance, to make it both Law and Gospel. There are hardly any more Dangerous Instruments of Mischief, then Corrupt Officers and Ministers, that Abuse their Authority, commit Publick Violence in their Masters Name, and do Wrong under a Colour of Right and Justice. But this does not come up yet to the Force and Point of the Fiction; for ’tis one thing to abuse a Lawful Authority, to the Degree of Tyranny and Oppression; and it is another thing to exercise a worse Tyranny and Oppression, without any Authority at all. The Wolf turn’d Shepherd, is only an Usurper in the Shape of a Protector; a Persecutor under the Cloak of a Governor; a Creature that’s Cruel and False by Nature, in Opposition to all the Methods of Piety and good Manners: So that here’s all summ’d up in a few words, to make the Case Miserable and Shameful. The Morality in fine, of this Fable, may be fairly enough apply’d to the Errors on Both Hands: That is to say, of those that put a Lawful Authority upon the Stretch, to the Abuse of that Power, under the Colour of Prerogative; and of those that take upon them to Exercise the Offices of Power, without any Right to’t at all. But the Sheep however are well Guarded in the mean time, that have a Wolf for their Keeper.

Fab. CCCXCVI. An Ass and a Lyon.

In Old Time when a Generous Beast made more Conscience of his Word, then many a Modern Christian has done of an Oath; a Lion shook hands with an Ass, and so they agreed upon’t to Jog on up and down in the Woods, Lovingly and Peaceably together. As they were upon this Adventure, they discover’d a Herd of Wolves; the Ass immediately sets up a Hideous Bray, and fetches a Run at them Open Mouth, as if he would have Eaten ’em. The Wolves only Snear’d at him for his Pains, but Scamper’d away however as hard as they could drive. By and by comes the Ass back again, Puffing and Blowing from the Chase. Well, says the Lion, and what was that Horrid Scream for, I Prithee? Why, (says t’other,) I frighten’d ’em all away, you see. And did they run away from you, says the Lion, or from me, d’ye think?

The Moral.

Noise and Bluster is so far from doing Business, that instead of Awing and Frighting People, it serves only to make them Sport, when the Vanity of it comes to be Discover’d.

REFLEXION.

There are Braying Men in the World, as well as Braying Asses; for, what’s Loud and Senseless Talking, Huffing, Damming and Blaspheming, any other then a more fashionable way of Braying? Only the one is that to the Ear, which the other is to the Mind; and a Man may better endure the Shocking of his Sense, then the Affronting of his Reason. The Lion, ’tis True, might have kept better Company; but so long as it was only for his Diversion, it gives us to Understand how far Great Men may be allow’d to make themselves Merry with Buffons. The Wolves running away from the Ass, while the Lion was looking on, tells us in the Allegory, That Favourite Asses have the Privilege of Favourite Dogs; they may Snap and Snarl where they please Gratis: But ’tis for their Master’s sake at last, that they come off with a whole Skin. And what’s the Issue now of all this Noise in the Conclusion, but the making of the Noise-Makers still the more Ridiculous?

Fab. CCCXCVII. An Ape and a Mountebank.

There was a Mountebank Tric’d up as Fine as a Lord; a certain Ape, that had a Mind to set up for a Beau, spies him out, and nothing would serve him, but he must have a Suit and Dress after the same Pattern; he press’d the Quack so hard for’t, that at last he told him plainly, Upon condition, says he, that you shall wear a Silver Chain about your Neck, I’ll give ye the very Fellow on’t; for you’ll be running away with your Livery else. Jack agrees to’t, and is presently rigg’d out in his Gold and Silver Lace, with a Feather in’s Cap, and as Figures go now a-days, a very pretty Figure he made in the World, I can assure ye; though upon Second Thoughts, when the heat of the Vanity was over, he grew Sick of his Bargain; for he found that he had sold his Liberty for a Fool’s Coat.

The Moral.

’Tis with us in our Lives, as with the Indians in their Trade, that truck Gold and Pearl, for Beads and Glasses. We part with the Blessings of Both Worlds for Pleasures, Court-Favours, and Commissions; and at last, when we have sold our selves to our Lusts, we grow Sick of our Bargain.

REFLEXION.

A Vain Fool can hardly be more Miserable then the Granting of his own Prayers and Wishes would make him. How many Spectacles does every Day afford us, of Apes and Mountebanks in Gay-Coats, that pass in the World for Philosophers, and Men of Honour; and it is no wonder for one Fool to value himself upon the same Vanity, for which he esteems another. He that Judges of Men and of Things by Sense, Governs himself by Sense too: and he that well considers the Practices and Opinions of the Age he lives in, will find, that Folly and Passion have more Disciples then Wisdom and Virtue. The Feather in a Fool’s Cap, is a Fool’s Inclination; nay, it is his Ambition too; for he that measures the Character of another Man by his Outside, seldom looks further then the Business of Dress and Appearance in himself. Beside, that Ill Examples work more upon us then Good; and that we are Forwarder to imitate the one, then to Emulate the other. This now is the Highest Pitch of Infelicity, when we do not only square our Lives in General, according to Vicious Presidents, but set out Hearts in particular (with the Fantastical Ape here,) upon this or that Extravagance. No other Sort of Fool would please him, then the very Counter-part of this Quack. His Mistake was double; First, he plac’d an Opinion of Happiness where there was no Ground at all to expect it. Secondly, he parted with his Liberty in Exchange for’t; which is the same thing with Trucking the Greatest Blessing of Human Nature for the Handy-Work of a Taylor.

Fab. CCCXCVIII. Boys and Frogs.

A Company of Waggish Boys were watching of Frogs at the side of a Pond, and still as any of ’em put up their Heads, they’d be Pelting them down again with Stones. Children, (says one of the Frogs,) you never Consider, that though this may be Play to you, ’tis Death to us.

The Moral.

Hard-heartedness and Cruelty is not only an Inhuman Vice, but worse then Brutal: For such Men take Delight in Blood, which Beasts spill only in Self-Defence, or in case of Necessity to satisfie Hunger.

REFLEXION.

’Tis a Dangerous and an Ill Natur’d Liberty, the Wonting or the Suffering of Children to play with Birds and Flies. The Cudgelling of Shroving-Cocks is a Barbarous Custom; and so is the common License that Roguy Boys take in the Streets, of Tearing and Tormenting of Puppies and Kitlings. The very Sport is Cruelty; for ’tis no longer a Laughing Matter, when the Life of a Creature comes to be concern’d. This is a Freedom not to be endur’d, so much as in the Spectacle, but much less to be Approv’d or Practis’d especially by those that are Born and Train’d up to any considerable Figure in a Government: For, Hard-heartedness in Boys, will be Brutality and Tyranny in Men. Softness and Tenderness of Nature, are the Seeds of a Generous Humanity: Provided always that Children be taught to distinguish betwixt a Benignity and a Facility of Disposition, and that they may not confound Gracious with Effeminate. By this means there may be a Foundation laid of worthy Thoughts, which will ripen in due time into Glorious Actions and Habits, to qualifie Men for the Honour and Service of their Country. This Foundation, I say, of a Pious and a Virtuous Compassion, will Dispose Men afterward, instead of adding Affliction to Affliction, and of Grinding the Faces of the Weak and Innocent, to Minister Protection to those that are Oppressed.

Fab. CCCXCIX. A Council of Beasts.

The Beasts (a great while ago) were so harass’d out with Perpetual Feuds and Factions, that they call’d a General Council, in the nature of a Committee of Grievances, to Advise upon some way for the Adjusting of Differences, in order to a Publick Peace. After a great many Notable Things said upon the Debate, Pro and Con, the Hares at last, (according to the Printed Votes of those Days,) deliver’d their Sense to this Effect: There can never be any Quiet in this World, so long as one Beast shall be allow’d Nails, Teeth, or Horns, more then Another; but the Weaker will still be a Prey to the Stronger: Wherefore we humbly propose an Universal Parity, and that we may be all upon the same Level, both for Dignity and Power; for we may then, and not till then, promise our selves a Blessed State of Agreement, when no one Creature shall be able to Hurt another.

The Moral.

The Mobile are still for Levelling; that is to say, for Advancing themselves: For ’tis as Broad as ’tis Long, whether they Rise to others, or bring others down to them. Beside, that the Doctrin of Levelling strikes at the very Order of Providence.

REFLEXION.

’Tis a Foolish Thing for People to talk Boldly, without a Power to Execute; for upon the Upshot, they serve only for Sport to their Superiors. The World is like to be well Govern’d, where those that have neither Resolution not Courage, shall take upon them to give Laws to’t: When Fools shall correct the Works of the Heavenly Wisdom, and pass reviews upon the Order of the Universe. It might be every jot as Cheap, New-made as Mended; and the whole Creation taken to Pieces and Rebuilt, as any part of the Work of Providence Improv’d. If God Pronounc’d upon every thing that he made, that it was Good, who shall presume to think he can make it Better?

The Question is the Procuring of an Universal Peace; and the Hares are of Opinion, that the Disarming of Lions, Tygers, &c. and the bringing of Matters to a Level, would do the Work. Let it now be consider’d, that there is an Ambition in the very Affectation of that Equality; for ’tis as Broad as ’tis long, whether the other shall be brought down, or they themselves Advanc’d. ’Tis Sottish, I say, to offer at things that cannot be brought about; it is Wicked to meddle towards the Altering or Unsetling of Things Sacred; and it is a Madness for the Weaker to talk of Binding the Hands of the Stronger. The Simple are not to direct the Wise nor the Inferiors to Impose upon those that are Above them. ’Tis Nonsense to suppose a Level in the several Parts of the Universe, when the very Frame of it is only an Orderly Pile, or Scale of one thing above another.

Now there are Hares in Councils and in Commissions of State, as well as in Fields, and in Fables, where the Multitude are for Levelling too, and for Paring the Claws, and Drawing the Teeth of Governors, as well as of Beasts. The True English of leaving no Power to do Hurt, is the leaving no Power to do Good neither; and to make short Work on’t, the leaving no Power at all. ’Tis a Juggle of the Levellers, (says Mr. Selden,) They would have no body Above them, they say, but they do not tell ye they’d have no Body Under them.

Fab. CCCC. A Cock and a Fox-Case.

There was a Fox-Case set up near a Hen-Roost, to hold forth the Doctrin of Terror and Example. A Cock spy’d it, and scour’d away from’t, as fast as his Legs and his Wings could carry him, and the Birds hooted at him for’t. Hark ye my Masters, (says he,) there are Live-Foxes as well as Dead Ones, by the Token one of ’em had me by the Back but t’other day, and a Thousand Pound to a Nut-shell I had never got off again. And pray tell me now, if any of you had but been in my condition, whether the very Print of a Foxes Foot would not have started ye; and much more the Image of him in his Skin.

The Moral.

The Burnt Child Dreads the Fire.

REFLEXION.

We find this to be true upon daily Experience, that narrow Escapes out of great Dangers, make People take Alarums at less; especially of the same Kind. One had better be Laugh’d at for taking a Fox-Case for a Fox then be Destroy’d by taking a Live-Fox only for a Case. The very Fancy has somewhat of Reason in’t, for ’tis but a Measuring Cast, upon such a Supposition as this, whether it proves the one or the other. A Lark we see will Dare at a Painted Hobby. I sing’d the Toes of an Ape through a Burning-Glass my self once, and he would never be brought to endure the sight of a Burning-Glass after. I knew another Ape that was Shot behind his Master in the Long Rebellion here, and would never after that Endure the sight of a Pistol. Now there’s no more in all this, then what’s Natural, Reasonable and Familiar.

Fab. CCCCI. A Cobler turn’d Doctor.

A Bungling Cobler that was ready to Starve at his own Trade, changes his Quarter, and sets up for a Doctor; and by the force of Sour Looks, and Hard Words, Conjures himself into some sort of Reputation with the Common People. His Master-piece was a Composition that he Bill’d about, under the Name of a Sovereign Antidote. This Physician came in time to fall Sick himself, and the Governor of the Place gave him a Visit. He calls for a Cup and a Dose of his Antidote, put’s a little Fair Water in’t, under a Pretence of so much Poison; stirs it together, and gives it his Patient. This (says he) is only to try the Force of your Medicine; and if you out-live it, I’ll give ye a considerable Sum of Money for your Receit. The poor Quack had more Care of his Life then of his Credit, and so for fear of being Poison’d, told the whole Truth of the Matter, and how he came to be a Physician. The Governor upon this Discovery, call’d the People together, and bad them consider the Folly and Madness of their Confidence, that would venture the Patching up of their Carcases, upon the Skill of an Ignorant Fellow, that no body that knew him would trust so much as with the Mending of a pair of Old Shooes.

The Moral.

There’s Quacking in all Trades: Bold Ignorance passes upon the Multitude for Science; and it is with Men as ’tis with Brutes, some are to Eat, and others to be Eaten. Confident Knaves, live upon Credulous Fools.

REFLEXION.

No Fable can be Pleasant, Profitable or Instructive in Emblem, that is not drawn to the very Life of Nature; and we have a Horror for the Monstrous Productions of the Brain, as well as for those of the Body. Wherefore the Test of an Edifying Parable, is a Congruity of the Moral to the Lines of Practice, and to the Image of Truth. The Resemblance must be Touching, and a Man must have a Feeling of it to be Mov’d with it. ’Tis never Right, till I can say to my self, How many Instances have I seen in the World of this Cobler turn’d Doctor? How many Underlayers, that when they could not live upon their Trade, have rais’d themselves from Cobling to Fluxing, and taken upon them to cast the Water of a Body Politick, as well as of a Body Natural? This minds me of a Cobling Colonel of Famous Memory, (and he was a Statesman too of the Long Parliament Edition,) to a Lady of Quality in Ireland. She had been so terribly Plunder’d, that the Poor Woman went almost Bare-foot: And as she was warming her Feet once in the Chimney Corner, the Colonel took notice that her Shooes wanted Capping; Lord, Madam (says he) Why d’ye wear no better Shooes? Why truly Sir, says she, all the Coblers are turn’d Colonels, and I can get no body to Mend ’em. Now to do Right to the Apologue; there are several Remarkable Innuendo’s in’t: Here’s First a Coxcomb that Commences Doctor. Secondly, A kind of an Individuum Vagum, dress’d up in the Character of a Man of Quality. Thirdly, From being ready to Starve Himself, he makes a very good Living out of the Priviledge of Poisoning and Destroying other People. Fourthly, It gives us to Understand the Force of Impudence on the one hand, and of Ignorance on the other; for what was it but the brazen-Face of the Quack, assisted by the Silliness of the Mobile, that advanc’d this Upstart from the Stall to the Stage? It is not to be imagin’d the Power of Tumour and Pretence, Bold Looks, Hard Words, and a Supercilious Brow, upon the Passions of the Multitude. To say the Truth on’t, we are impos’d upon by Botchers, and Men of Forehead, without Common Sense, in all Trades and Professions, even to the venturing of Soul, Body, Life and Estate upon their Skill, Honesty and Credit. Can any Man look about him in the World now, and cast his Eye and Thought upon every Days Instances of some of these wonderful Improvements and Conversions, without saying to Himself, The Mythologist Pointed at all these Men in this Fable? For it holds as well from Foppery to Policy; from Baseness to Honour, and from Beggery to Superfluity, as from Patching to Purging, and from the Stall to the Urinal. But a Tryal of Skill at last puts him past his Latin; and when it comes to that once, he’ll have more Wit than to venture his Life upon his Antidote.

Fab. CCCCII. A Cobler and a Financier.

There was a Droll of a Cobler that led a Life as Merry as the Day was Long, and Singing and Joking was his Delight. But it was not altogether so well with a Neighbour of his, though a Great Officer in the Treasury; for there was no Singing, nor hardly any Sleeping under his Roof: Or if he happen’d to Doze a little now and then in a Morning, twas Forty to One the Jolly Cobler Wak’d him. How often would he be Wishing to Himself that Sleep were to be bought in the Market as well as Meat and Drink! While his Head was working upon this Thought, the Toy took him in the Crown to send for the Songster. Come Neighbour, says he, thou liv’st like a Prince here, How much a Year canst thou get by thy Trade? Nay, Faith Master, says the Cobler, I keep no ’Count Books; but if I can get Bread from Hand to Mouth, and make Even at the Years End, I never trouble my self for to Morrow. Well, says the Officer, but if you know what you can Earn by the Day, you may easily cast up what that comes to a Year: Ay, says he, but that’s more or less as it falls out; for we have such a World of Holy-Days, Festivals, and New Saints, that ’tis a Woundy Hindrance to a Poor Man that Lives by his Labour. This Dry, Blunt Way, took with the Officer, and so he went on with him: Come my Friend, says he, you came into my House a Cobler, what will you say now if I send you out on’t an Emperor? And so he put a Purse of an Hundred Crowns into his Hand. Go your ways, says he; there’s an Estate for ye, and be a good Husband of it. Away goes the Cobler with his Gold, and in Conceit as Rich as if the Mines of Peru had been emptied into his Lap. Up he Locks it immediately, and all the Comforts of his Life together with his Crowns in the same Chest. From the time that he was Master of this Treasure, there was no more Singing or Sleeping at our House: not a Cat stirr’d in the Garret, but an Out-cry of Thieves; and his Cottage was so haunted with Cares, Jealousies, and Wild Alarms, that his very Life was become a Burden to him. So that after a short time away trudges he to the Officer again; Ah Sir, says he, if you have any Charity for a Miserable Creature, do but let me have my Songs and my Sleep again, and do you take back your Hundred Crowns, with an Hundred Thousand Thanks into the Bargain.

The Moral.

The Poor Man that has but from Hand to Mouth, passes his Time Merrily and without any Fear or Danger of Thieves, Public or Private; but the House that has Money in’t, is as good as haunted.

REFLEXION.

This Fable makes Riches to be a great Enemy to our Repose, and tells us that the Cares of Money lye heavier upon a Good Man, then the Inconveniences of an Honest Poverty. He that sets the Anxiety, Fears and Dangers that accompany Riches, against the Chearful and the Easie Security of a Private Fortune and Condition, may very well be Thankful for the One, without Repining at the other. He that sets his Heart upon any thing in this World, makes himself a Slave to his Hopes and Fears, and is as sure of being Disappointed, as he is of the Uncertainty of Human Affairs. Let it be Love, Preferment, Court-Favours, Popularity, or what else it will, some Rival or other he must expect to meet with in all his Pretensions. The Proud Man’s Inclination is Glory, High Place in the World, and the Applause of People. The Envious Man’s Heart is set upon doing shrew’d Turns, Defamatory Calumnies and Revenge. In few Words, Violent Affections never fail of being Uneasie and Importune: but of all Extravagant Passions, the Love of Mony is the most Dangerous, in regard of the greatest Variety of Difficulties that attend it. There may be some few Pretenders to a Beautiful Lady; some few Candidates for the favour of a Popular Choice; But these are Competitions that Intermit, and go off and on as it happens, upon this or that Occasion. But Mony is an Universal Mistriss; Men are always Watching, Spying, and Designing upon’t; and all the Engines of Worldly Wisdom are perpetually at Work about it: So that whosoever is Possess’d of, and Sollicitous for that Interest, shall never Close his Eyes, so long as Craft, Violence, or Conspiracy, shall be able to keep them Waking.

Fab. CCCCIII. The Eagle, Cat and Sow.

There was an Eagle, a Cat and a Sow, that bred in a Wood together. The Eagle Timber’d upon the top of a High Oak; the Cat Kitten’d in the hollow Trunk of it, and the Sow lay Pigging at the Bottom. The Cat’s Heart was set upon Mischief, and so she went with her Tale to the Eagle. Your Majesty had best look to your self, says Puss; for there is most certainly a Plot upon ye, and perchance upon poor me too; for yonder’s a Sow lies Grubbing every Day at the Root of this Tree; She’ll bring it down at last, and then your Little Ones and Mine are all at Mercy. So soon as ever she had Hammer’d a Jealousie into the Head of the Eagle, away to the Sow she goes, and Figs her in the Crown with another Story; Little do you think what a Danger your Litter is in; there’s an Eagle watching constantly upon this Tree to make a Prey of your Pigs, and so soon as ever you are but out of the way, she will certainly Execute her Design. The Cat upon this, goes presently to her Kittens again, keeping her Self upon her Guard all Day, as if she were afraid; and steals out still at Night to provide for her Family. In one Word, the Eagle durst not stir for fear of the Sow; and the Sow durst not budge for fear of the Eagle: So that they kept themselves upon their Guard till they were both Starv’d, and left the Care of their Children to Puss and her Kittens.

The Moral.

There can be no Peace in any State or Family, where Whisperers and Tale-bearers are Encouraged.

REFLEXION.

Busie-bodies and Intermedlers, are a Dangerous sort of People to have to do withal; for there’s no Mischief that may not be wrought by the Craft and Manage of a Double Tongue, with a Foolish Credulity to work upon. There’s hardly a greater Pest to Government, Conversation, the Peace of Societies, Relations and Families, then Officious Tale-bearers, and Busie Intermedlers. These Pick-thanks are enough to set Mankind together by the Ears; they live upon Calumny and Slander, and cover themselves too under the Seal of Secresie and Friendship: These are the People that set their Neighbours Houses on Fire to Roast their own Eggs. The Sin of Traducing is Diabolical, according to the very Letter; and if the Office be Artificially Manag’d, ’tis enough to put the whole World into a Flame, and no body the Wiser which way it came. The Mischief may be promoted, by Mis-representing, Mis-understanding, or Mis-interpreting our Neighbours Thoughts, Words and Deeds; and no Wound so Mortal as that where the Poison works under a Pretence of Kindness. Nay, there are ways of Commendation and Insinuations, of Affection and Esteem, that Kill a Man as sure as a Gun. This Practice is the Bane of all Trust and Confidence; and it is as frequent in the Intrigues of Courts and States, as in the most Ordinary Accidents of Life. ’Tis enough to break the Neck of all Honest Purposes, to Kill all Generous and Publick-Spirited Motions, and to stifle all Honourable Inclinations in the very Conception. But next to the Practice of these Lewd Offices, Deliver all Honest Men from lying at the Mercy of those that Encourage and Entertain them.

Fab. CCCCIV. The Frogs and the Bulls.

There happen’d a desperate Duel betwixt a couple of Bulls upon a Point of Honour; for the Quarrel was about a Mistriss. There was a Frog at the same time upon the Bank of a Lake, looking on to see the Combat. Ah, says the Frog, What will become of Us now? Why prithee, says one of his Companions, What are the Bulls to the Frogs, or the Lakes to the Meadows? Very much I can assure ye, says the Frog again, for he that’s worsted will be sure to take Sanctuary in the Fens, and then are we to be trode to Pieces.

The Moral.

Delirant Reges, Plectuntur Achivi. When Princes fall out, the Commonalty Suffers, and the Little go to Wreck for the Quarrels of the Great.

REFLEXION.

Let Ill Consequences be never so Remote, ’tis good however, with the Frogs here in the Fable, to have the Reason of Things at Hand. The Design of many Actions looks one way, and the Event works another; as a Young Gamester’s Couzen’d with a Bricole at Tennis. But Mischiefs, whether meant or not, are to be Provided against and Prevented, with as much Care and Industry as if they had been designed from the Beginning; and the Application of Foresight in the one Case, must supply the want of Foresight in the other. ’Tis the Fool that lives ex Tempore, and from Hand to Mouth, as we say, without carrying his Thoughts into the Future. But a Wise Man looks forward, thorough the proper and natural Course and Connexion of Causes and Effects; and in so doing, he fortifies Himself against the worst that can Befall him. The Frogs Case, in some Respect, is that of a Civil War; where People must expect to be crush’d and squeez’d in the Consequence, toward the Charge and Burden on’t. The Lords make Merry, but ’tis the Commons must pay the Piper.

Fab. CCCCV. The Frogs and the Sun.

In the Innocent Age of the World, when there were no Children in Nature, but those that were begot in Lawful Wedlock, it was in every Bodies Mouth, that the Sun was about to Marry. The Frogs in General were ready to Leap out of their Skins for Joy at it; till one Crafty Old Slut in the Company, advis’d ’em to Consider a little Better on’t, before they appointed a Day of Thanksgiving for the Blessing. Nor (says she) if we are almost scorch’d to Death already with One Sun, What will become of us when that Sun shall have Children, and the Heat increase upon us with the Family?

The Moral.

We take many things at First Blush, for Blessings, that upon Second Thoughts we find would be most pernicious to us.

REFLEXION.

It requires great Care and Circumspection, that we Weigh and Ballance things before we pronounce them to be either Good or Evil: For Men are Thankful many times for Direct Maledictions, and Mortifie themselves upon the Mistake of Imaginary Blessings. ’Twas a Wise Frog that Advis’d her Fellows to think well on’t, before they rung the Bells for the Sun’s Wedding. This Fancy looks toward the Case of a Republican Humour that has got a Head in a Monarchical State. Now Empire is not to be shar’d in Consort; and when Sovereignty Marries, ’tis no longer Single but Popular; and still the Greater the Number of Governors, the Heavier is the Weight of the Government. Now though the Order of Superiority and Subjection be of Absolute Necessity for the good of Mankind, this does not yet hinder it in many Respects, from being Grievous to those that live under it; every common Man would be Free, and thinks himself wrong’d if he be not so. Now this is for want of Understanding the True and Natural Reason of the Matter; which is, that when One Government comes to be Dissolv’d, the First thing to be done is to fall to Cutting of Throats toward the setting up of Another.

Fab. CCCCVI. The Fox Condemn’d.

There was a Fox (as the Story has it) of a Lewd Life and Conversation, that happen’d at last to be catch’d in his Roguery, and call’d to an Account for the Innocent Blood he had spilt of Lambs, Pullets, and Geese without Number, and without any Sense either of Shame or of Conscience. While he was in the hands of Justice, and on his way to the Gibbet, a Freak took him in the Head to go off with a Conceit. You Gentlemen the King’s Officers, says he, I have no Mind in the World to go to the Gallows by the Common Road; but if you’ll carry me through the little Wood there on the Right Hand, I should take it very kindly. The People fancy’d a Trick in’t at first, and that there might be some Thought of a Rescue, or an Escape in the Case; till Reynard assur’d them upon his Honour, that he had no such Design: Only he was a great Lover of Musick, and he had rather have one Chirping Madrigal in the Woods, then Forty from Turks and Popes upon the Ladder.

The Moral.

Many People are harden’d in an Habitual Defiance of Heaven and Hell, that they’ll sport with them at the very Gallows; and value themselves upon Living and Dying all of a piece.

REFLEXION.

This Fable hits the Humour of a great many loose People in the World, that are so Wicked as to value themselves upon their Ill Manners, and the contempt of all Goodness; Nay, to the Degree even of taking a Pride in their Iniquity, and affecting a Reputation by it, in proportion to the Measure of the Extravagance. Some Men are so Harden’d in Lewdness, that they make it a Point of Honour to be True to’t, and to go to the Devil with a Frolick betwixt their Teeth. They have gotten a Habit of Laughing Honesty and Good Manners out of Countenance, and a Reprobated Hardness of Heart, does them the Office of Philosophy towards a Contempt of Death. Our common Executions yield but too many Instances of this kind; and it helps mightily to keep up the Humour, that instead of Owning and Professing an Abhorrence for these Affronts upon God and Nature, the Impiety is celebrated for a Jest. And whence comes it now, that Men should be so Insensible, either of a Present Calamity, or of a Future Judgment; but from the Custom of a Scoffing Atheistical Life; where Licentiousness has so long pass’d for Sharpness of Wit, and Greatness of Mind, that the Conscience is grown Callous; and after this, it is by a Natural Congruity for Men to Dye as they have Liv’d. Now a Liberty in this Latitude is not more Execrable, then the Example is Pernicious; especially where it is attended with the Pleasure of a Frothy and a Surprizing Wit to Recommend the Wickedness.

Fab. CCCCVII. A Man at a Fish Dinner.

A Certain Prince took a Learned Man to Dinner with him: It was a Fasting Day it seems, and a great deal of Large Grown Fish there was at the Table; only at the Lower End, where the Philosopher sate, there were none but Little Ones. He took out several of them One by One, and first put his Mouth to the Fishes Ear, and then the Fishes Mouth to his own Ear, and so laid ’em in whole again, without so much as Tasting one Bit of ’em. Come Sir, says the Master of the Feast, You have some pleasant Thought or other in your Head now, Pray let the Company take part with ye. Why Sir, says he, My Father had the Ill Fortune about Two Years ago to be Cast away upon this Coast; and I was asking these Little Fishes if they could tell me what became of his Body: They said No, they could not, for ’twas before their Time: But if I Examin’d the Great Ones, ’tis possible they might be able to say somewhat to’t. The Prince was so well pleas’d with the Fancy, that he Order’d his Mess to be Chang’d, and from that time forward, no body welcomer to the Table then this Man.

The Moral.

It is a Master-piece in Conversation, to intermix Wit and Liberty so Discreetly, that there may be nothing in’t that’s Bitter, Course, or out of Season.

REFLEXION.

This is to tell us, that Good Humour goes further many times in the Reputation of the World, then Profound Learning; though Undoubtedly both together are Best. There is a certain Knack in the Art of Conversation, that gives a good Grace to many things, by the Manner and Address of Handling ’em, which in the ordinary way of bringing Matters about, would give great Offence to the Common Rules, even of Civility and Discretion. The Skill on’t lies in the Nicety of Distinguishing, First, what Liberty is necessary in such and such a Case. And Secondly, How to Temper and Accommodate that Freedom to a Consistence with Good Manners: And this must be done too without Formality and Affectation; for a Studied and a Labour’d Forecast toward the Setting of such a Humour Abroach, is Putrid and Nauseous to the Highest Degree; and better Fifty such Conceits were lost, then that any thing of Contrivance or Premeditation should appear in’t. There are a sort of People, that when they have once hit upon a Thought that Tickles them, will be still bringing it in by Head and Shoulders, over and over in several Companies, and upon several Occasions; but ’tis below the Dignity of a Man of Weight, to Value himself upon such a Levity; for it makes him look as if Trifling were his Master-piece. Now these Turns of Fancy and Entertainment, should pass off as they came on, Carelesly and Easily, without laying any stress upon them; for they are then only Happy and Agreeable, when they are Play’d off at Volly, and pro Re Nata, and only made use of, in fine, as a Sauce to the Conversation. The Philosopher in this Instance, was not without some Difficulty how to gain his Point: There were better Fish at the Table, and the Question was how to come at them, without being either Rude or Importune; and yet if he were not clear enough to be Understood, he was in danger still to lose his Longing. So that he found out such a way of Asking, as to Provoke a Question without speaking a Word to’t; and he did it in such a Fashion of Respect too, that it might not look like Begging on the one Hand, or Reproaching on the other. And he was much in the Right once again too, when the Riddle was already set a Foot, rather to wait till the Explanation should be Desir’d, then to prompt the Master of the Feast to call for’t.

Fab. CCCCVIII. Two Laden Asses.

As Two Asses were Fording a River, the one Laden with Salt, the other with Sponge: The Salt-Ass fell down under his Burden, but quickly got up again, and went on the Merrier for’t. The Sponge-Ass found it agreed so well with his Companion, that down lies he too, upon the same Experiment; but the Water that Dissolv’d the Salt, made the Sponge Forty times Heavier then it was before; and that which Eas’d the One Drown’d the Other.

The Moral.

The Deceiver may be Deceived: Many People take false Measures for their own Relief, without Considering that what’s Good in one Case, may be Bad in another.

REFLEXION.

A Wise Man lives by Reason, not by Example; or if he does, ’tis odds, he goes out of his Way. We have a common Saying that holds in a Thousand ordinary Cases, where the same thing Ruins one, that Saves another. It is the part also of an Honest Man to deal Above-board, and without Tricks. The Ass with the Sponge, fail’d in both; For First, he would be trying Conclusion, without Examining either the Nature of the thing in Question, or what the Matter would bear. Secondly, He was False to his Master too, in Abusing a Trust for the Easing of his own Carkass; and then it cost him his Life Over and Above, which was both his Mishap and Punishment.

Fab. CCCCIX. A Black Bird afraid of a Kite.

A Poor Simple Black Bird was frighted almost to Death with a Huge Flopping Kite that she saw over her Head, Screaming and Scouring about for her Prey. Come Sister, says a Thrush to her, Pluck up a good Heart; for all this Fluttering and Shrieking is but Fooling; and you shall see this Lazy Buzzard at last, e’en take up with some Pittiful Frog or Mouse to her Supper, and be Glad on’t too. No, no, the Hawks are the Dangerous Birds, Child, that Bite, as they say, without Barking, and do Execution in Silence.

The Moral.

The more Noise and Flutter, the less Danger.

REFLEXION.

There’s no great Danger in Men of Huff and Bluster: Noise and Pretence without Execution, is only much ado about Nothing; and yet this way of Trifling, is the very Bus’ness and Practice of many that pass in the World for Great Men, though they are much Mistaken that think them so. But there are Reverend Appearers in all manner of Glorious Professions and Adventures, as in Arms, Letters, Religion, Law, Policy, &c. There are Quacks, in short, of all sorts, as Bullies, Pedants, Hypocrites, Empyricks, Law-Jobbers, Politicasters, and the like; and there are Men as well as Black-Birds that are Silly enough not to Distinguish betwixt a Hawk and a Buzzard.

Fab. CCCCX. A Fox and Wolf.

An Unlucky Fox dropt into a Well, and cry’d out for Help: A Wolf overheard him, and looks down to see what the Matter was. Ah, (says Reynard,) Pray lend me your Hand Friend, or I’m lost else. Poor Creature! says the Wolf, Why how comes this about? Prithee how long hast thou been here? Thou canst not but be mighty Cold sure. Come, come, this is no Time for Fooling, says the Fox; set me upon Terra Firma first, and then I’ll tell ye the History.

The Moral.

When a Man is in Misery, there must be no Trifling in the Case. ’Tis a Barbarous Humour to stand Bantering out of Season. ’Tis no Time or Place for Raillery, when a Life’s at Stake.

REFLEXION.

Here are Three Calamities in One: First, The Foxes falling into a Pit, and not being able to get out again. Secondly, The Misery of being put to beg Relief of an Enemy, for want of a Friend. Thirdly, The Affront of the Refusal, as it was accompanied with Raillery and Scorn. ’Twere well if we had not too many of these Brutal Mockeries in our Daily Conversations; for we have Banterers in Religion, in Point of Honour, and upon all the Distresses of Human Life. He that has no Pity or Compassion for the Miserable, is not in Truth of a Reasonable Make; for Tenderness of Nature is but a kind of Lay-Charity; and a Body can be no more a Good Man without the One, then a Good Christian without the other. Let a Man be never so Wicked, ’tis a Base and an Unmanly thing to Insult upon him in his Calamity. His Punishment may be Just; and when he suffers Justice, ’tis all that a Good and a Generous Man can wish for in the Case.

The Scomms of Great Men, or Buffons of Quality, are every jot as Wolvish in Conversation, as they are here in the Fable; tho’ ’tis looked upon, I know, as a Mark of Breeding, and the Indication of a Man that has Notable Skill in the World, to turn the Earnest of all Things and Duties, Sacred and Civil, into a Jest, and to put the Common Principles of Faith, Truth, Justice and Respect, out of Countenance. Now in all these Cases, the Precedent is as Dangerous, as the Practice is Odious, where the Quality of the Droll serves to Authorise the Indignity: But from a Fox, that’s made up of Trick and Treachery, there’s no better to be Expected.

Fab. CCCCXI. Two Travellers find an Oyster.

As Two Men were Walking by the Sea-side, at a Low-water, they saw an Oyster, and they both Pointed at it together: The One Stoops to take it up; the Other gives him a Push, and tells him, ’Tis not yet Decided whether it shall be Yours or Mine. In the Interim, while they were Disputing their Title to’t, comes a Passenger that way, and to him they referr’d the Matter by Consent, which of the Two had the Better Right to the Oyster. The Arbitrator very Gravely takes out his Knife, and opens it; the Plaintiff and Defendant at the same time Gaping at the Man, to see what would come on’t. He Loosens the Fish, Gulps it down, and so soon as ever the Morsel was gone the way of all Flesh, wipes his Mouth, and pronounces Judgment. My Masters, (says he, with the Voice of Authority,) The Court has Order’d each of ye a Shell, without Costs; and so pray go Home again, and live Peaceably among your Neighbours.

The Moral.

Referrees and Arbitrators seldom forget Themselves.

REFLEXION.

The Scope of this Fable, is to divert People from Contentious, Expensive and Vain Law-Suits. Agree, Agree, (says the Old Saw,) the Law is Costly. The whole Bus’ness of the World is about Meum & Tuum; either by Right, in Good Earnest, or by Wrong, under the colour of Right: And while the Clients are Contending about the Title, the Council runs away with the Estate. This Litigious Humour, where Men are as well Stubborn and Wilful, as Captious and Quarrelsome, burns like the Fire of Hell; for ’tis never to be Quench’d: Beside, that whoever is given to Wrangling, can never want Matter or Occasion for’t. And this is not only the Case in Matters of Propriety, and in Legal Claims before a Bench of Justice, but it works in a Thousand Instances of Vain Disputations, Competitions, and other Tryals of Mastery and Skill, where there’s little more then Pride, Stomach, Will and Vanity, to uphold the Contest. Nay, and he that has the better on’t at last, is only the more Fortunate Fool of the Two. Let but any Man set before him the Vexatious Delays, Quirks and Expences of most of our Barretry Suits at Law, and ’tis odds he finds at the Foot of the Account, the Play not worth the Candle.

Fab. CCCCXII. A Raging Lion.

There was a Lion ran Stark Mad, and the very Fright on’t put all the Beasts of the Forrest out of their Wits for Company. Why what a Condition are we in, they cry’d, to fall under the Power of a Mad Lion; when a Lion at the very Soberest, is little better then Frantick?

The Moral.

Rage upon Rage is a Double Madness.

REFLEXION.

Governors had need be very well Principled, and good Natur’d, to keep their Passions in Order and Obedience: But when an Absolute Power shall come to be put upon the Stretch by an Outragious Humour, there’s no Living under it. By a Raging Lion, is meant an Unruly and a Cruel Governor, which is a sad Calamity, but not without somewhat of Dignity yet in the Misfortune; for ’tis a Lion still, how Mad soever. Now if it had been a Raging Ape, the Fancy had been Ridiculous and Scandalous to the Last Degree; and therefore the Moral is Restrain’d to the True and Genuine Character of Sovereignty, without Descending to the Counterfeit.

The Moralists that make this Raging of a Lion to be a Surcharge of One Madness upon another, must not be Understood Simply, as if they took Government for a Burden and an Oppression; but it refers to the Infelicity of that State where an Impotent Will puts an Unbounded Power upon the Tenter. But let the Oppression be never so Sanguinary, there’s no Appeal left from the Tyranny; for if a General Insurrection had been thought Lawful, the Fable would not have made the Case so Desperate: So that this is only to Insinuate the Sacredness of Power, let the Administration of it be what it will: And the Reason of it is so plain, that it is impossible for Human Frailty to be better Secur’d then it is by the Determinations of Providence in this Particular. An Unlimited Power ’tis true is a strong Temptation, and where ’tis Screw’d up to the Highest Pitch, ’tis a great Unhappiness; but it is not for Men that have their Fortunes and their Stations in this World Assign’d them, to take upon themselves to be their own Carvers, and to Grumble at the Orders and Resolutions of their Masters and Rulers. ’Tis a Great Unhappiness to lye at the Mercy of a Raging Lyon; but it is a Christian Duty nevertheless to suffer Patiently under the Justice of such a Judgment.

Fab. CCCCXIII. The Kingdom of Apes.

Two Men took a Voyage together into the Kingdom of Apes; the one a Trimmer, the other a Plain Dealer. They were taken into Custody, and carried to the Prince of the Country, as he sat in State, and a mighty Court about him. Well, says the King to the Trimmer, Look me in the Face now, and say, What do you take me to be? A Great Emperor, Undoubtedly, says the Trimmer. Well, says his Majesty once again, and what d’ye take all these People about me for? Why Sir, says he, I take them for your Majesties Nobility and Great Officers. The Prince was wonderfully pleas’d with the Civility and Respect of the Man, and Order’d him a Bushel of Pippins, as a singular Mark of his Royal Favour. His Majesty after this, put the same Questions to the Plain Dealer, who fell to computing with Himself, that if his Companion had gotten a Reward for a damn’d Lye, certainly he should have twice as much for a Plain Honest Truth; and so he told the King Bluntly, that he took him for a very Extraordinary Ape, and all those People about him for his Trusty and Well-beloved Counsellors and Cozens: But the Poor Man Paid dearly for his Simplicity; for upon a Signal from the Emperor, the whole Band of Apes fell Tooth and Nail upon him, and tore him one Limb from another.

The Moral.

Where the Rules and Measures of Policy are Perverted, there must needs Ensue a Failure of Justice, and a Corruption of Manners: And in a Kingdom of Apes, Buffons may well put in for Commission-Officers.

REFLEXION.

This (says Camerarius) is to reprove the Practices of perverse Courts, and Extravagant Princes.

It is proper Bus’ness of Mythology to Point out, and Represent the Images of Good and Evil, and under those Shadows to Teach us what we ought to do, and what not, either Severally and Apart, or as Members of a Society; that is to say, Simply, as Men in a State of Right Nature, or as Parents, or Children, Masters or Servants, Husbands or Wives, Rulers or Subjects, Friends, Countrymen, Relations, and the like. Now as there are Good and Bad of all sorts; so their Virtues and their Vices, their good Behaviour and their Misdemeanors are to be set forth, Circumstanc’d and Distinguish’d in such sort, as by Rewards or Punishments, to Encourage the One, and to Discountenance the Other, in proportion to the Dignity of the Action, or the Degree of the Offence; by conferring Marks and Characters of Honour, Offices of Trust, or Beneficial Commissions on the one hand, and by inflicting Sentences of Shame, Infamy, Pains Corporal, or Pecuniary on the other. Without this Distribution, one main end of Emblem is lost; neither is it the true Figure of Life. For, Wicked Men, False Brethren, Unnatural Parents, Disobedient Children, Barbarous Husbands, Undutiful Wives, Tyrannical, Weak or Fantastical Governors; Rebellious Subjects, Cruel Masters, Faithless Servants, Perfidious Kindred and Acquaintance: All these Lewd Characters are as Absolutely necessary to the Perfecting of the Design, as the most Laudable Excellencies in Nature.

In this Fable of the Kingdom of Apes, the Author according to Camerarius, intended the Picture of an Extravagant Government, where he gives Flattery and Corruption the advantages that in Policy and Justice belong to Services of Honour and of Truth: And at the same time Delivers up a Man of Honesty, Justice and plain Dealing to be torn to Pieces. This Kingdom of Apes has been Moralliz’d a Thousand and a Thousand times over in the Practice of the World, and such as the Fountain is, such will be the Stream. Let Government it self be never so Sacred, Governors are still but Men; and how Necessary and Beneficial soever the Order is at all Hands Confess’d to be, the Officers yet, and the Administrators are but Flesh and Blood, and liable to the Passions and Frailties of other Mortals.

There are in fine, many Distempers, Errors, and Extravagances, that shew themselves in the Exercise of Political Powers; as an inexorable Rigour for the Purpose, or as a Lasche Demission of Sovereign Authority. There are Cases of Sensuality, Pleasure, and Appetite, where Governours have only the Name of Rulers, while some over-grown Subject perhaps Usurps upon the Prerogative in Effect, and does the worst things imaginable in the Name of the Publick. But this rarely happens, save where the Master wants Resolution to check the License and Presumption of a Daring Servant.

There is also a certain Manage that leaves all at Six and Seven, and thinks to support Greatness without either Rule, Weight or Measure; and that’s a dangerous Point, when Prudence and Fidelity shall turn to Loss, and wickedness be supported by the Reputation of Favour and Applause. The Misery of these false Measures is excellently well Pointed out to us in this Fable; and consequently the Blessings of a steady Admiration, where the Ends of Government are Conscientiously observ’d, and the Divine Priviledges of Power maintain’d; and where Truth and Justice are impartially Asserted and Administer’d, and as resolutely Defended.

Fab. CCCCXIV. An Ass made a Judge of Musick.

There was a Question started betwixt a Cuckow and a Nightingale, which of the Two had the Better Voice, and the better way of Singing. It came at last to a Tryal of Skill, and an Ass was to be the Judge; who upon Hearing both Sides, gave it clearly for the Cuckow.

The Moral.

’Tis a Hard Case for Philosophers to be Try’d by Fools, and the Multitude to sit Judges upon the Niceties of Honour and Government.

REFLEXION.

The Old Adage of Asinus ad Lyram, answers this Figure to the very Letter. The Fable extends to all Incompetent Judges, Umpires or Arbitrators, in what Case or Matter, or under what Incapacity or Disability soever. It Points at the Folly and Scandal of the Choice too, as well as the Iniquity of the Sentence; for the Honour of the Governor, and the Well-being of the Government, depend in a great Measure upon the Fitness of the Officer, let his Commission be Ecclesiastical, Civil, Military, or what else it will. Here’s an Ass made a Judge of Musick; a Faculty that he neither Loves nor Understands; for there’s no Song to One Ass, like the Braying off Another. Let any Man fancy to Himself, how it would look to put a Law-Case to a Jack-Pudding; a Question of State to a Corn Cutter; a Point of Conscience to a Knight of the Post. In short, let every Man be Consulted and Credited in his own Way and Trade. Neither can it be Expected that a Fool should judge according to Wisdom, Truth, Reason and Justice. There may be very proper Exceptions too upon the Matter, as well of Morals, as of Abilities. One would not trust a Covetous Man in Mony Matters, where there’s anything to be Gotten, either by Fraud or Corruption; nor a Vain Man, where there’s a Temptation to Popularity. False men are not to be taken into Confidence; nor Fearful Men into a Post that requires Resolution; nor Cruel, Insolent Men, into a Station where Power may be Abus’d to Oppression. All these Absurdities fall within the Dint of this Fable; for want of Honesty makes a Judge as Incompetent, as want of Understanding.

Fab. CCCCXV. An Ape Judge betwixt a Fox and a Wolf.

A Wolf charges a Fox with a Piece of Pilfery. The Fox Denies it. The Ape tries the Cause, and upon a fair Hearing, Pronounces them both to be Guilty. You (says the Judge to the Wolf) have the Face to Challenge that which you never Lost; and you (says he to the Fox) have the Confidence to deny that which you have certainly Stoll’n.

The Moral.

When both Plaintiff and Defendant happen to be a Couple of Crafty Knaves, there’s Equity against them Both.

REFLEXION.

This Fable tells us what Credit is to be given to Witnesses of a False and Lewd Conversation, and that a known Liar is of no Authority in a Judgment of Law, even when he speaks Truth. Where a Brace of Sharpers will be going to Law, none so fit as an Ape to try the Cause; and it was a Sentence worthy of such a Judge, to pronounce them both Guilty; which in Equity they were, with a respect to their Character and Reputation; tho’ in Law they could not be so, upon the Fact in Question. If the Ape in this Fable had too little regard to the Letter of the Law, we have seen some Cases where more stress has been laid upon the rigour and strictness of it, then Conscientiously did belong to’t: For when one Man of an Exemplary Improbity, Charges another of the same Stamp, in a Court of Justice, he lies under the Disadvantage of a strong Suspicion, even before he is Heard; and People are Prepar’d to believe the Worst of him by Anticipation, and before his Case is known. So that the Bare Prejudice is sufficient to turn the Scale, where it was Gold-weight before; unless we Ballance the Improbity of the one, with the Improbity of the other, as the Ape did here in the Fable.

We are to understand upon the whole Matter, that it is more Advisable to give too little Credit in a Court of Judicature to Men of Profligate Lives, then too Much: For ’tis a Scandal to Publick Justice, to make use of such Instruments for the Supporters of a State.

Fab. CCCCXVI. An Ape and a Lion in his Kingdom.

We are told of a Lion, that (after the Laudable Example of other Princes) pass’d an Act of Grace upon his Accession to the Crown, wherein he was pleas’d to Declare himself wonderfully in favour of the Liberties and Properties of his Subjects. He did not hold in this Mind long; and yet he could not think it convenient neither, to make any Attempts upon the Beasts by open Force; so that he chose rather to take them One by One in Private to him, and sift them all upon this General Question; Put your Nose just to my Mouth, says he, when I Gape, and then tell me truly, is my Breath Sweet or no? Some told him that it was not Sweet, others that it was; and so he pick’d a Quarrel with them Both: The one Sort went to Pot for their Hypocrisie; and the other for their Insolence. It came to the Ape at last, to deliver his Opinion upon the Matter; the Ape Smelt and Snuffled, and consider’d on’t: Why certainly Sir, says he, You have some Rich Perfume in your Mouth, for I never smelt any thing so fragrant since I was Born. The Roguy Ape in fine, Wheedled him so Artificially, that the Lion had not the face to Chop him up immediately upon the Spot, and yet he was Resolv’d he should not Scape neither: So the Lion counterfeited Sick, and there was notable Puzzling among the Doctors I warrant ye, about his Pulse and his Water: But they told him however upon due consideration, that they found no Mortal Symptoms about him, only a kind of Heavy Indisposition, that might be easily Rectified by a Careful Diet; and so they Desir’d him by all means to bethink himself what Flesh he lov’d best, and e’en make a Hearty Meal on’t. Why then (says the Lion) I have a strange Fancy for a Mouthful of Good Sound Apes-Flesh, if you find it proper for me: Nothing like it, they cry’d; and so the Poor Flattering Ape was presently Taken up, Dress’d and Eaten by way of Prescription.

The Moral.

There’s no Hope for an Honest Man, where Flattery is Encourag’d and Rewarded, and Plain-Dealing Punish’d.

REFLEXION.

This Fable gives to Understand, that where Men of Power happen to be Unjust and Cruel, all the Prudence and Innocency in the World will not save a Man: He that would Thrive in such a Court, must Govern himself betwixt Sincerity and Adulation. The Art of Pleasing is not every Man’s Talent, neither will the same way of Manage work upon all Humours alike. The Art of Pleasing, is in Truth but the Art of Living; and the Skill of Cutting to a Third, betwixt Flattery and Ill Manners; but so as to Accomodate the Method and the Application, to the Genius of the Man, or of the People, and to the Quality of the Bus’ness in hand: Not but that there are some Cases and Natures that a Man cannot so much as Touch, without Burning his Fingers, and where Truth, Flattery, and Trimming are all Mortal.