THE FABLES OF ÆSOP, &c. (continued 4)

Here’s an Ape chosen King, in Succession to a Lyon; which stands for a Short, and a Plain Representation of the Best and the Worst of Governments under the Dignity of the One, and the Indignity of the Other. It sets forth the Case and Unhappiness of Elective Kingdoms, where Canvassing and Faction has commonly too great a hand in the Election. Nor is there any Wonder, to see Drolls and Tumblers Advanc’d to Charges of Honor and Profit, where Ignorance and Popularity sways the Choice: And nothing so fit as an Ape, for a Commission of State, where a Gambole, or a Grimace, passes for a Qualifying Title to the Exercise of Power.

It is no Wonder again, where People are so Mistaken in the Faculties and Capacities of Government, that they depart also from the Veneration that’s due to’t; and when the Main Ends of it shall come to be Disappointed. For every Jack-Pudding with Æsop’s Fox here, will be Ridiculing Palpable Weaknesses, and Exposing those (almost Sacred) Imperfections, and Defects which they ought to Cover. What’s a Character of Honor upon the Shoulders of a Man that has neither a Soul Answerable to’t, nor a True Sense of the Dignity, but a Mark set up for every Common Fool to shoot his Bolt at! When Apes are in Power, there will never want Foxes to Play upon them.

Fab. CXVII. A Smith and his Dog.

A Blacksmith took Notice of a Cur he had, that would be perpetually Sleeping, so long as his Master was at his Hammer; but whenever he went to Dinner, the Dog would be sure to make One. So he Ask’d the Dog the Reason on’t. What’s the Meaning of it, says he, that so long as I’m at the Forge, you are still taking your Nap; but so soon as my Chops begin to Walk, yours must be Walking too for Company? There’s a Time to Sleep (says the Dog) and a Time to Wake; and Every thing is Well done that is done in Due Season.

The Moral.

All Creatures do Naturally look to the Main Chance; that is to say, the Bus’ness of Food and Propagation.

REFLEXION.

That which Men do by Reason, Beasts do by Instinct. There’s No Living without Food and Rest; and Nature appoints the Season, both for the One, and for the Other. A Dog Wakes to his Dinner, as a Man that’s to Travel next day, does for his Journey, and his Bus’ness. He lies down to Sleep with the Hour in’s Head, and when the Time comes, he needs neither Clock nor Cock to call him. Custom puts Nature into a Method of Expecting, and Attending all the Offices of Life at such and such Certain Hours and Seasons, as we are us’d to: And there needed no more then This, to make the Master’s Dining Time, the Dog’s Waking Time.

Fab. CXVIII. A Boasting Mule.

There was a Favourite Mule, that was High Fed, and in the Pride of Flesh and Mettle, would still be Bragging of his Family, and his Ancestors. My Father (says he) was a Courser, and though I say it that should not say’t, I my self take after him. He had no sooner spoke the Words, but he was put to the Tryal of his Heels, and did not only shew himself a Jade; but in the very Heat of his Ostentation, his Father fell a Braying, which Minded him of his Original, and the Whole Field made Sport on’t, when they found him to be the Son of an Ass.

The Moral.

A Bragging Fool that’s Rais’d out of a Dunghill, and sets up for a Man of Quality, is Ashamed of Nothing in This World but of his Own Father.

REFLEXION.

This touches the Case of Those Mean Upstarts, that when they come once to be preferr’d, forget their Fathers, and have not the Wit to Consider, how soon Fortune may set them Down again where she took ’em up; but yet at last, when they come to be minded of their Original, it makes many a Proud Fool sensible of a Scandalous Extraction, that has no Shame at all for a Scandalous Life.

’Tis hardly safe to Descant upon a Boasting Mule, in a Fable, when there are so many of his Brethren in the World, that will Take it to Themselves. Nay, and Over and Above the Self-conceited Vanity of These Brutes, there are none so forward neither, to Bespatter Men of Bloud and Quality, as those that have most Reason to be Asham’d of their Descent. This Pride of Pedigree is Easily run down, if there be not Power Joyn’d to the Ostentation: But where there is Authority given to the Folly, as well as to the Fool, the Indignation that it raises makes the Insolence Insupportable. Nothing Dash’d the Confidence of the Mule like the Braying of the Ass in the very Interim, while he was Dilating upon his Genealogy. As who should say, Remember your Father, Sirrah. This comes to the Case of a Spaniard, that was Wonderfully upon the Huff about his Extraction, and would needs Prove himself of such a Family by the Spelling of his Name; a Cavalier in the Company, with whom he had the Controversy, very Civilly yielded him the Point; for (says he) I have Examin’d the Records of a certain House of Correction, and I find your Grandfather was Whipt there by That Name. We have in fine a World of Boasting Mules among us, that don’t care for being Minded of their Braying Fathers: But ’tis the Fate of These Vain-Glorious Fops to be Thus Met withal, and your Counterfeit Men of Honor seldom Come off better; Wherefore let every Man look well about him before he boasts of his Pedigree, to make sure that there be not an Asse in the Family.

Fab. CXIX. A Dog and a Wolf.

A Wolf took a Dog napping at his Master’s Door, and when he was Just about to Worry him, the Poor Creature beg’d hard only for a Reprieve. Alas (says he) I’m as Lean at present as Carrion; but we have a Wedding at our House within these Two or Three Days, that will Plump me up you shall see with Good Chear. Pray have but Patience till Then, and when I’m in a Little Better Case, I’ll throw my self in the very Mouth of ye. The Wolf took his Word, and so let him go; but passing some Few Days after by the same House again, he spy’d the Dog in the Hall, and bad him Remember his Promise. Heark ye, my Friend, says the Dog; Whenever you Catch me Asleep again, on the Wrong side of the Door, never Trouble your Head to Wait for a Wedding.

The Moral.

Experience Works upon many Brutes more than upon Some Men. They are not to be Gull’d twice with the same Trick; And at the Worst, a Bad Shift is Better than None.

REFLEXION.

’Tis good to Provide against All Chances both Sleeping and Waking; for a Man cannot be too Circumspect, upon Condition on the other hand, that his Caution do not make him Over-sollicitous. Past Dangers make us Wiser for the Future; As the Dog, after he had been snapt at the Door, had the Wit to lie in the Hall; which tells us that a Wise Body is not to be Caught Twice by the same Snare and Trick. His Promise to the Wolf was a kind of a Dog-Case of Conscience, and the Wolf play’d the Fool in Taking his Word, for That which he was not obliged to Perform.

Fab. CXX. A Lyon and a Bull.

In the Days of Yore, when Bulls liv’d upon Mutton, there was a Lyon had a Design upon a Mighty Bull, and gave him a very Civil Invitation to come and Sup with him; for, says he, I have gotten a Sheep, and you must needs take Part on’t. The Bull Promis’d, and Went; but so soon as ever he saw what a Clutter there was with Huge, Over-grown Pots, Pans, and Spits, away he scowr’d Immediately. The Lyon presently call’d after him, and Ask’d him, Whither in such Haste? Oh, says the Bull, ’tis High Time for me to be Jogging, when I see such Preparation: for this Provision looks as if you were to have a Bull for your Supper, rather then a Mutton.

The Moral.

When a Man has both an Interest and an Inclination to Betray us, there’s No Trusting him.

REFLEXION.

There’s No Trusting to the Fair Words and Countenances of Bloudy Men: He’s sure to be Ruin’d that lays himself at the Mercy of those that Live upon the Spoil. Their very Complements are Snares; as the Lyon’s Invitation of the Bull to Sup with him, was but the Cover of a Design he had to Sup upon the Bull himself.

Fab. CXXI. A Lyon in Love.

A Lyon in Love with a Country Lass, and desir’d her Father’s Consent to have her in Marriage. The Answer he gave was Churlish enough. He’d never Agree to’t he said, upon any Terms, to marry his Daughter to a Beast. The Lyon gave him a Sour Look upon’t, which brought the Bumkin, upon Second Thoughts, to strike up a Bargain with him, upon these Conditions: that his Teeth should be Drawn, and his Nails Par’d; for Those were Things, he said, that the Foolish Girl was Terribly afraid of. The Lyon sends for a Surgeon immediately to do the Work; (as what will not Love make a Body do?) And so soon as ever the Operation was Over, he goes and Challenges the Father upon his Promise. The Countryman seeing the Lyon Disarm’d, Pluck’d up a Good Heart, and with a Swinging Cudgel so order’d the Matter, that he brake off the Match.

The Moral.

An Extravagant Love, consults neither Life, Fortune, nor Reputation, but Sacrifices All that can be Dear to a Man of Sense and Honour, to the Transports of an Inconsiderate Passion.

REFLEXION.

This Fable will look well enough in the Moral, how Fantastical soever it may appear at first Blush, in the Lines and Traces of it. Here’s a Beast in Love with a Virgin; which is but a Reverse of the Preposterous Passions we meet with Frequently in the World, when Reasonable Creatures of Both Sexes fall in love with Those, that in the Allusion may (almost without a Figure) pass for Beasts. There’s Nothing so Fierce, or so Savage, but Love will Soften it; Nothing so Generous, but it will Debauch it; Nothing so sharp-sighted in Other Matters, but it throws a Mist before the Eyes on’t. It puts the Philosopher beside his Latin; and to sum up All in a Little, where This Passion Domineers, neither Honour, nor Virtue, is able to stand before it. The Lyons parting with his Teeth, and his Clawes, in a Complement to his New Mistress, is no more then what we see Every Day Exemplify’d in the Case of making over Estates and Joyntures, with the Malice Prepense all this While of holding their Noses to the Grindstone, and with the Girls Father here, of Jilting them at last.

Fab. CXXII. A Lyoness and a Fox.

A Numerous Issue passes in the World for a Blessing; and This Consideration made a Fox cast it in the Teeth of a Lyoness, that she brought forth but One Whelp at a time. Very Right, says the Other, but then That One is a Lyon.

The Moral.

’Tis a Common Thing to value things more by the Number, then by the Excellency of them.

REFLEXION.

There are more Fools in the World then Wise Men, and more Knaves then Honest Men; so that it is not Number, but Excellency, that Inhances the Value of Any thing. The most copious Writers are commonly the Arrantest Scriblers; and in so much Talking, the Tongue is apt to run before the Wit: In Many Words there is Folly, but a Word in Season is like Apples of Gold in Pictures of Silver: Says the Oracle of Truth it self. And we have it from the same Authority, that our very Prayers, when they are Loud and Long, are in the Sight of Heaven no better then so much Babbling; and that they have more in them of Hypocrisy and Ostentation, then of Affection and Judgment. The Great Creator of the Universe, whose single FIAT was sufficient to have made Ten Thousand Worlds in the Twinkling of an Eye, Allowed himself Six Days yet for the Finishing of his Purpose: Paus’d upon Every Days Work, Consider’d of it, Review’d it, and Pronounc’d it Good, and so Proceeded. Right Reason Moves, in some Proportion, by the same Steps and Degrees with This Inimitable Example: It Deliberates, Projects, Executes, Weighs, and Approves. Nature does Nothing in a Huddle, and Human Prudence should Govern it self by the same Measures. A Plurality of Voices, ’tis true, carries the Question in all our Debates, but rather as an Expedient for Peace, then an Eviction of the Right; for there are Millions of Errors to one Reason, and Truth; And a Point is not so Easy to be Hit: In a Word, the Old Saying is a shrewd One; that Wise Men Propose, and Fools Determine. Take the World to pieces, and there are a thousand Sots to one Philosopher: and as many Swarms of Flyes to One Eagle. Lyons do not come into the World in Litters.

Fab. CXXIII. Two Cocks Fighting.

Two Cocks fought a Duel for the Mastery of a Dunghil. He that was Worsted, slunk away into a Corner, and Hid himself; T’other takes his Flight up to the Top of the House, and there with Crowing and Clapping of his Wings makes Proclamation of his Victory. An Eagle made a Stoop at him in the Middle of his Exultation, and carry’d him away. By This Accident, the Other Cock had a Good Riddance of his Rival; took Possession of the Province they Contended for, and had all his Mistresses to Himself again.

The Moral.

A Wise, and a Generous Enemy will make a Modest Use of a Victory; for Fortune is Variable.

REFLEXION.

This Combat of Two Cocks for a Dunghil, may be Moraliz’d by an Application of it to the Competition of the Greatest Princes, for Empire and Dominion. For what’s the World more than a Mass of Dirt on the One hand, as to the Subject of the Quarrel; and there’s the same Thirst of Blood too, betwixt the Combatants, on the other. We have again, the Various Chance of War Exhibited on Both Sides; For ’tis with Kings, as with These Cocks. He that’s a Victor This Moment, may be a Slave the Next: And this Volubility of Human Affairs, what is it but either the Sport, or the Judgment of Providence, in the Punishment of Arrogance and Oppression! We are given finally to Understand, that as the Levity of Fortune leaves us Nothing to Trust to, or to Presume upon, so at the same Time there’s Nothing to Despair of. The Conquering Cock was Cut off in the very Song of his Triumph: and the Conquer’d re-instated in the Possession of his former Pretences.

Fab. CXXIV. A Fawn and a Stag.

A Fawn was Reasoning the Matter with a Stag, why he should run away from the Dogs still; for, says he, you are Bigger and Stronger then they. If you have a Mind to stand, y’are better Arm’d; and then y’are Fleeter if you’ll Run for’t. I can’t Imagine what should make you so Fearful of a Company of Pityful Curs. Nay, says the Stag, ’tis All True that you say, and ’tis no more then I say to my self Many Times, and yet whatever the Matter is, let me take up what Resolutions I please, when I hear the Hounds once, I cannot but betake my self to my Heels.

The Moral.

’Tis One thing to know what we ought to do, and Another thing to Execute it; and to bring up our Practice to our Philosophy: He that is naturally a Coward is not to be made Valiant by Councel.

REFLEXION.

Natural Infirmities are well nigh Insuperable; and Men that are Cowards by Complexion, are hardly ever to be made Valiant by Discourse. But They are Conscious yet of the Scandal of that Weakness, and may make a shift perhaps to Reason themselves now and then into a kind of Temporary Resolution, which they have not the Power afterwards to go Thorough with. We find it to be much the same Case in the Government of our Affections and Appetites, that it is in These Bodily Frailties of Temperament and Complexion. Providence has Arm’d us with Powers and Faculties, sufficient for the Confounding all the Enemies we have to Encounter. We have Life and Death before us: That is to say, Good and Evil; And we know which is which too: Beside that it is at our Choice to Take or to Refuse. So that we understand what we ought to do; but when we come to Deliberate, we play Booty against our selves: And while our Judgments and our Consciences direct us One Way, our Corruptions Hurry us Another. This Stag, in fine, is a Thorough Emblem of the State and Infirmity of Mankind. We are Both of us Arm’d and Provided, either for the Combat, or for Flight. We see the Danger; we Ponder upon it; and now and then by Fits, take up some Faint Resolutions to Outbrave and break through it: But in the Conclusion, we shrink upon the Trial; We betake our selves from our Heads to our Heels; from Reason to Flesh and Blood; from our Strength to our Weaknesses, and suffer under One Common Fate.

Fab. CXXV. Jupiter and a Bee.

A Bee made Jupiter a Present of a Pot of Honey, which was so kindly Taken, that he bad her Ask what she would, and it should be Granted her. The Bee desir’d, that wherever she should set her Sting, it might be Mortal. Jupiter was loth to leave Mankind at the Mercy of a Little Spiteful Insect, and so bad her have a care how she Kill’d any Body; for what Person soever she Attacqu’d, if she left her Sting behind her, it should cost her Her Life.

The Moral.

Spiteful Prayers are no better then Curses in a Disguise, and the Granting of them turns commonly to the Mischief of the Petitioner.

REFLEXION.

Cruelty and Revenge are directly contrary to the very Nature of the Divine Goodness, and the Mischief that is Design’d for Other People returns commonly upon the Head of the Author.

How many Men are there in the World, that put up as Malicious Prayers in Christian Assemblies to the True God, as the Bee does to Jupiter here in the Fable! And Prayers too against their very Patrons and Masters; their Benefactors, that Entertain, Feed, and Protect them. Will Heaven Hear These Prayers, shall we think, (or Curses rather) and not Punish them? This Bee did not Pray for a Power to Kill, without a Previous Disposition and Design to put that Venemous Power in Execution. She had Mischief in her Heart already, and only Wanted some Destructive Faculty, answerable to her Will: And so pray’d to Jupiter, as Men do in many Cases to the Jehovah, for the Blessing of an Ability to Commit Murder.

Fab. CXXVI. Wasps in a Honey-Pot.

There was a Whole Swarm of Wasps got into a Honey-Pot, and there they Cloy’d and Clamm’d themselves, till there was no getting Out again; which brought them to Understand in the Conclusion, that they had paid Dear for their Sweet-Meats.

The Moral.

Loose Pleasures become Necessary to Us by the frequent Use of them, and when they come once to be Habitual, there’s no getting Clear again.

REFLEXION.

These Wasps in a Honey-Pot, are so many Sensual Men that are Plung’d in their Lusts and Pleasures; and when they are once Glu’d to them, ’tis a very Hard Matter to Work themselves Out. We have an Emblem here of those Foolish Voluptuous Men, that Sacrifice the Peace, the Honour, the Comfort, and all other Substantial Satisfactions of Life, to the Temptation of a Liquorish Palate. And so for the Liberties of Wine, Women, Feasting, and Jolly Company; The Pomp and Splendor of Courts and Parades, &c. It comes All to the same Point; for when Men are once Dipt; what with the Engagements of Sense, Custom, Facility; Nay and I might have said, with the very Shame of Departing from what they have given themselves up to, they go on with Æsop’s Flyes, till they are Stifled in their very Pleasures.

Fab. CXXVII. A Young Man and a Swallow.

A Prodigal Young Fellow that had sold his Cloths to his very Shirt, upon the Sight of a Swallow that came before her Time, made Account that Summer was now at Hand, and away went That too. There happen’d after This, a Fit of Bitter Cold Weather, that almost starv’d both the Bird, and the Spendthrift. Well (says the Fellow to Himself) This Sot of a Swallow has been the Ruin of us Both.

The Moral.

Extraordinary Cases are Excepted out of the General Rules of Life: So that Irregular Accidents and Instances are not to be drawn into President.

REFLEXION.

Every Man Stands or Falls to his Own Reason; and it is No Excuse to say that I was Misled by Example, or Conjecture, when I had the Means before me of Informing my self Better. If This Prodigal had but Consulted the Almanack, or his own Experience, it would have set him Right in the Course of the Seasons, or the Old Proverb Methinks might have satisfy’d him, that One Swallow makes no Summer, Unless the Fable perchance should fall out to be the Ancienter of the Two, and the Occasion of that Proverb: But there are Certain Extravagants among People of all Sizes and Professions, and there must be no Drawing of General Rules from Particular Exceptions.

Fab. CXXVIII. Mercury and a Carpenter.

A Carpenter dropt his Ax into a River, and put up a Prayer to Mercury to help him to’t again. Mercury Div’d for’t, and brought him up a Golden One: but That was not it, the Fellow said: And so he Plung’d a Second Time, and Fetch’d up Another, of Silver. He said That was not it neither. He try’d once again, and then Up comes an Ax with a Wooden Handle, which the Carpenter said, was the very Tool that he had Lost. Well! (says Mercury) thou art so Just a Poor Wretch, that I’ll give thee All three now for thy Honesty. This Story was got into Every body’s Mouth, and the Rumour being Spread, it came into a Knave’s Head to Try the Same Experiment over again. And so away goes, He, and Down he Sits, Sniv’ling and Yelping upon the Bank of a River, that he had Dropt his Ax into the Water there. Mercury that was at hand it seems, heard his Lamentation, and Dipping once again for his Ax, as he had done for the Other; up he brings him a Golden Ax, and Asks the Fellow if That were it. Yes, Yes, says he, This is it. Oh thou Impudent Sot, cries Mercury; to think of putting Tricks upon Him that sees through the very Heart of thee.

The Moral.

The Great Searcher of our Hearts is not to be Impos’d upon, but he will take his Own Time either to Reward or Punish.

REFLEXION.

Heaven Hates Dissemblers, and Hypocrites, as it Loves Men of Truth and Integrity. He that fancies he can Impose upon Jupiter takes him for a Cully.

Baudoin Moralizes the Matter thus; that Mercury’s called upon, and Sent as the Patron of Artizans. The Practice of Truth and Justice can never fail of a Reward in the Conclusion, and the bringing in of a God to the Relief of a Poor Man, shews that it is from Heaven that the Needy are to Expect Redress.

Here are Two Men at their Prayers; The One a Downright Plain Dealer; and the Other a Trimming, Designing Hypocrite. The Former has a Reverence in his Heart for the Power that he Invokes; He is not to be Corrupted with Gold, or Silver. He stands in Awe of his Conscience, and makes good his Profession, with his Practice; Receiving in the End, the Blessing of a Reward for his Integrity. The Other Worships with his Eyes, his Hands, and his Voice; but All This is only to Cover the Cheat of a Rotten Heart. He acknowledges a Divine Power, but at the Same Time he makes a Mock on’t, and Provokes it. He stands Convinc’d that God knows All the Secrets of his Heart, and yet tells him a Lye to his Face. There is No such Masque, in fine, for the Greatest of Impieties, as a Veil of Religion. This Praying Carpenter here would have made Mercury a Broker to his Knavery: and we have a world of Praying Christians too, that write after his Copy.

Fab. CXXIX. A Fox and Grapes.

There was a Time, when a Fox would have Ventur’d as far for a Bunch of Grapes, as for a Shoulder of Mutton, and it was a Fox of Those days, and That Palate, that stood Gaping under a Vine, and licking his Lips at a most Delicious Cluster of Grapes that he had Spy’d out there; He fetch’d a Hundred and a Hundred Leaps at it, till at last, when he was as Weary as a Dog, and found that there was No Good to be done; Hang ’em (says He) they are as Sour as Crabs; and so away he went, turning off the Disappointment with a Jest.

Fab. CXXX. A Wolf and a Lyon.

As a Wolf and a Lyon were abroad upon Adventure together, Heark, (says the Wolf) Don’t you hear the Bleating of Sheep? My Life for Yours Sir, I’ll go fetch ye a Purchase. Away he goes, and follows his Ear, till he came just under the Sheepfold: But it was so well fortify’d, and the Dogs asleep so Near it, that back he comes Sneaking to the Lyon again, and tells him, There are Sheep Yonder (says he) ’tis true, but they are as Lean as Carrion, and we had e’en as good let ’em alone till they have more Flesh on their Backs.

The Moral of the Two Fables above.

’Tis Matter of Skill and Address, when a man cannot Honestly Compass what he would be at, to Appear Easy and Indifferent upon All Repulses and Disappointments.

REFLEXION.

’Tis a Point of Good Discretion to make a Virtue of Necessity, and to Content our selves without what we cannot get, though we have never so much a Mind to’t; for ’tis a Turn of Art to seem to Despise what we cannot Compass, and to put off a Miscarriage with a Jest; Beside, that it is Better to have People think a man could Gain Such or such a Point if he Would, then that he Would, but cannot.

The Foxes Put-off in This Fable, is a most Instructive Point of Philosophy towards the Government of our Lives; Provided that His Fooling may be made Our Earnest; as it would be much for our Honour and Quiet so to be. No man shall ever be Miserable, if he can but keep Clear of the Snare of Hopes and Fears; and Antidote himself against the Flatteries of the One, and the Alarms of the Other: It is a High Point of Christian, as well as of Civil Prudence; for a Man to say Thus to Himself before-hand, of a Thing that he has a Mind to [If I cannot get it, I shall be Better without it.] Or if he can but say after the Missing of it, [It was better Lost then found.] Now if we cannot Arrive at the Pitch of making This Indifference a Virtue indeed, we may however so Disguise it yet, (though in a case of Necessity) as to make it Look like one: Not but that it would be much better if we could Attain to the Perfection it self, as well as we may in Appearance Cover the Disgrace.

I knew a Fine Lady once, and she was a Woman of Sense, Quality, and a very Generous Mind. She lay under Mortifications in abundance, and yet was never Observ’d to be Peevish or Angry upon any Provocation Whatsoever; and the Reason she gave for’t was This: [It Will make Me Look Old,] So that it is not so much the want of Ability to master our Affections, as the want of Resolution to go thorough with the Experiment. This is a way to keep us Firm in All Tryals: or if He, that upon a True Principle, lives without any Disquiet of Thought, may be said to be Happy: It Emproves all our Disappointments into Providences, when he can let fall the Vain Desire of any thing without feeling the Loss of it. It comes All to a Case now, upon the force of the Moral, whether we Quit, as the Fox did the Grapes, because he could not come at them, or as the Wolf did the Sheep, because he durst not Venture upon ’em. But be it either the One or the Other, there’s a Virtue, and a Blessing in’t, Both ways, in getting the Better of our Passions: which might certainly be done, if we had but half the Tenderness for our Minds and Consciences, that we have for our Carcasses, and our Fortunes.

Fab. CXXXI. A Boy and a Snake.

A Boy was Groping for Eeles, and laid his hand upon a Snake, but the Snake, finding it was Pure Simplicity, and not Malice, Admonish’d him of his Mistake; Keep yourself Well while you are Well, says the Snake; for if you Meddle with Me, You’ll Repent your Bargain.

The Moral.

’Tis the Intention, Morally Speaking, that makes the Action Good or Bad; and even Brutes themselves will put a Difference betwixt Harms of Ill Will and Mischance.

REFLEXION.

’Tis Wisdom as well as Justice, to Distinguish betwixt Actions of Misadventure, and of Design. Every Thing has at least Two Handles to’t, and Both Parts should be well Examin’d, before a Man can make either a Warrantable Judgment, or a Prudent Choice. The Boy’s Mistake here is no more than what we have Every day before our Eyes in common Practice: And That which the Snake says to the Boy, Every Man’s Reason says to Himself. What is his taking a Snake for an Eele, but our taking Vice for Virtue? He did it Unwarily: And so do We Many times too. He took the One for the Other, because they were so much Alike, that at first View he could not Distinguish them. And are not Virtue and Vice as Like, in several Instances, as One Egg is to Another? How shall a Man know, at first Blush, Hypocrisie from Piety; True Charity from Ostentation? or the Devil Himself with a Glory about him, from an Angel of Light? Time and Examination may do much, but the Boy was Groping, and in the Dark, and so might Well be Mistaken. The Snake Told him of his Error, and the Danger of it, but Pass’d it over, because there was no Ill Will in’t. This is the very Case of Our Reason to us, in all our Misdoings: It Checks us for what’s Past, and Advises us for the Future, to have a care of False Appearances: Just as the Snake did to the Child here.

Fab. CXXXII. A Fowler and a Partridge.

A Fowler had taken a Partridge, and the Bird offer’d her self to Decoy as many of her Companions into the Snare as she could, upon Condition that he would give her Quarter. No, says he, You shall Dye the rather for that very Reason, because you would be so Base as to Betray your Friends to save your self.

The Moral.

Of all Scandalous and Lewd Offices, That of a Traytor is Certainly the Basest; for it Undermines the very Foundations of Society.

REFLEXION.

Treachery is a Sin against Common Faith, Honour, and Human Society, A Villany, in short, that’s never to be Approv’d, how Convenient soever in some Cases to be made use of. The Fowler’s here, was a Wise and a Generous Resolution, upon the Partridges Proposal; for all Traytors are Mercenaries; and Whoever Betrays One Master for Advantage, will Betray Another for a Better Price. But as all manner of Treachery is Abominable in the Sight both of God and Man, and stands Reprehended in this Fable: So there are Certain Kinds and Degrees of it, that are yet more Execrable and Odious, One than Another. There is first a Treachery by Complexion, which was the Partridges Case. Her Heart Fail’d her, and she would fain have Compounded for her Own Life, by the Betraying of her Fellows. This was an Unhappy Infirmity, but the Weakness all this while, does not Excuse the Perfidy, though it may seem in some Measure to Extenuate the Crime, by the Poor Creatures lying under almost an Insuperable Frailty. The Fowler however made an Example of her for a Terror to Others. Now if a Treachery of this Quality be so Unpardonable, what shall we say to Those Judases that Dip in the Dish with their Masters, and then for so many Pieces of Silver, deliver them up to be Crucify’d? What shall we say to Those that Sell their Country, their Souls and their Religion, for Mony, and Rate Divinity at so much a Pound? And then to Consummate the Wickedness, Finish the Work with Malice, that they began with Avarice.

Fab. CXXXIII. A Hare and a Tortoise.

What a Dull Heavy Creature (says a Hare) is This same Tortoise! And yet (says the Tortoise) I’ll run with you for a Wager. ’Twas Done and Done, and the Fox, by Consent, was to be the Judg. They started together, and the Tortoise kept Jogging on still, ’till he came to the End of the Course. The Hare lay’d himself down about Midway, and took a Nap; for, says he, I can fetch up the Tortoise when I please: But he Over-slept himself it seems, for when he came to wake, though he scudded away as fast as ’twas possible, the Tortoise got to the Post before him, and Won the Wager.

The Moral.

Up and be Doing, is an Edifying Text; for Action is the Bus’ness of Life, and there’s no Thought of ever coming to the End of our Journey in time, if we Sleep by the Way.

REFLEXION.

Unnecessary Delays in all Pressing Affairs are but just so much time Lost, beside the Hazard of Intervening Contingencies that may Endanger a Total Disappointment. Let not the Work of to day be put off ’till to morrow; for the Future is Uncertain; and he that lyes down to Sleep in the Middle of Bus’ness that requires Action, does not know whether he shall live to ’wake again: Or with the Hare in the Fable here, Out-sleep his Opportunity. A Plodding Diligence brings us sooner to our Journey’s End, then a Fluttering Way of Advancing by Starts and by Stops; for ’tis Perseverance Alone that can carry us Thorough-Stitch.

Fab. CXXXIV. Apples and Horse-Turds.

Upon a very great Fall of Rain, the Current carried Away a Huge Heap of Apples, together with a Dunghill that lay in the Water-Course. They Floated a good while together like Brethren and Companions; and as they went thus Dancing down in the Stream, the Horse-Turds would be every foot crying out still, Alack a day! How We Apples Swim!

Fab. CXXXV. A Peach, an Apple, and a Blackberry.

There happen’d a Controversy once betwixt a Peach and an Apple, which was the Fairer Fruit of the Two. They were so Loud in their Discourse, that a Blackberry from the next Hedg, Over-heard them. Come (says the Blackberry) We are All Friends, and pray let’s have No Jangling among our selves.

The Moral of the Two Fables above.

Every Thing would be Thought Greater in the World then it is, and the Root of it is This, that it first thinks it self so.

REFLEXION.

’Tis a Vanity Common in the World, for Every Pretending Coxcomb to make himself One of the Party still with his Betters. They cry [We] to Every thing, and make themselves Necessary upon all Occasions, and to All Purposes and People, when upon the Truth of the Matter, they are found to be good for Just Nothing at all.

[We] Apples cry the Horse-Turds. [We] the King’s Officers, crys the Fellow that carrys Guts to the Bears. [We] crys the Scum of the Nation to the Bench, to the Court, to the City, to the Church, to Parliaments, and Councils. There’s Nothing so Great, but the Little People cry [We] to’t still. [We’ll] do This, and [We’ll] do That, and [We’ll] Undertake for This and T’other. This is in a Familiar Way, the Common Style of the Licentious Multitude, to the Scandal of all Honorable Commissions, and of Those that Manage them. And This Humour of [Weing] holds as well in Matters of State, and of Understanding, as in the Point of Honour and Quality. ’Twas [We] in the Persons of the Fish-Wives and the Broom-Men. [We] again in the Resolutions of Billingsgate, and Grub-street, that took upon them to Prescribe in Matters of Religion and Government. [We] won’t lose our Religion, was the Cry of Every Ignorant Atheist. [We’ll] stand up for our Properties was the Beggers Song that liv’d upon the Alms Basket. And [We] for our Liberties, cry the Slaves of All Times and Interests; Nay and None so streight Lac’d as Common Cheats upon the Topique of Conscience. And so it was [We] again in the name of the Multitude, that did Every thing that was thought worth the Doing. Now if the Dregs of the People will be Opening, and Crying [We] to Every thing; the Mobile has a Wide Mouth, and there’s No Stopping it. But the Arrogance of the Rabbles Assuming at This Rate, is Nothing to the Meanness of their Superiors, when they shall descend to keep such Company; or to make use of such Tools or Engines. ’Tis not half so bad for the Apples to cry [We] Horse-Turds, as it would be for Men of State, and Caball, to cry [We] Tinkers and Carr-Men. But this is a Supposition, not to enter so much as into the Thought of any Man of Sense or Honour. This Fable will also bear as Edifying, and as Pertinent a Moral, in the Inversion, as it does the Other Way. We Rogues, on the One Hand, is Every jot as Emphatical, as We Princes on the Other.

Fab. CXXXVI. A Mole and her Dam.

Mother (says a Mole to her Dam) Here’s a Strange Smell Methinks. And then she was at it again, There’s a Mulberry-Tree I perceive. And so a Third Time, What a Clattering of Hammers do I hear. Daughter says the Old One, You have now quite Betray’d your self; for I thought You had Wanted only One Sense, and now I find you want Three; for you can neither Hear, nor Smell, any more then you can See.

The Moral.

Men Labour under Many Imperfections that No Body would take Notice of, if themselves were not Over sollicitous to Conceal them.

REFLEXION.

Boasters are Naturally Falsifyers, and the People of All Others that put their Shams the Worst together. Their Imperfections would not be Half so much taken Notice of, if their Own Vanity did not make Proclamation of them; As a Blind Lady that I knew, was never Well, but when she was Discoursing of Colours. ’Tis a Strange Thing, the Impudence of some Women! Was a Word often in the Mouth of a Precise Dame, who her self was as Common as the King’s High-Way. I knew Another that was never without Limon-Pill in her Mouth, to Correct an Unsavoury Vapour of her Own, and yet would be Perpetually Inveighing against Foul Breaths. Now This way of Covering Defects, Scandals or Inconveniences, is the Only Way of Exposing them.

Fab. CXXXVII. Wasps, Partridges, and a Husbandman.

A Flight of Wasps, and a Covy of Partridges that were hard put to’t for Water, went to a Farmer, and begg’d a Soup of him to Quench their Thirst. The Partridges offer’d to Dig his Vineyard for’t, and the Wasps to secure him from Thieves. Pray hold your Hand, says the Good Man; I have Oxen and Dogs that do me These Offices already, without standing upon Terms. And therefore it will become me to Provide for them in the First Place.

The Moral.

Charity begins at Home, but the Necessary Duty of it in One Place, does not Discharge the Christian Exercise of it in another.

REFLEXION.

Charity is a Humane, as well as a Christian Virtue, and there is a place for it, even upon Brutes, under the Duty of Tenderness and Good Nature, as well as upon Men; but still with a Distinction by way of Preference, that it is to be Employ’d in the First Place upon those that have the Fairest Right to’t: ’Tis One thing I must Confess, to Condition for a Good Office, and Another thing to do it Gratis; so that the Husbandman took the Proposal by the Right Handle in that Respect: But his being provided of Servants already, to do his Work was no Excuse for his Want of Charity to Relieve his Distressed Neighbor.

Fab. CXXXVIII. Jupiter and a Serpent.

Jupiter had Presents made him upon his Wedding-Day, Greater, or Less, from All Living Creatures. A Serpent brought him a Rose in his Mouth for an Offering. The Thing was Acceptable enough, but not the Presenter; for (says Jupiter) though Gifts are Welcome to me, of Themselves, I must not yet receive any from a Serpent.

The Moral.

He that receives a Present, Contracts an Obligation; which a Body would be Asham’d of in the Case of an Ill Man; for it looks toward making a Friendship with him.

REFLEXION.

A Good Man would not Willingly lye under any Obligation to a Person of a Lewd Character and Conversation; for beside the Danger he Incurs, it would not be for his Credit neither, where Presents are Scandals, and rather Snares than Benefits. ’Tis a kind of Incumbrance upon the freedom of a Generous Mind, to be in debt to an Ill Man, even upon any Score whatsoever, that does but carry the face of Good Will, or Respect; for ’tis a Debt that a Man’s both Asham’d and Weary of, ’till ’tis paid off. He lives uneasily under the Burden of it, and Consequently, it is the Debt of All Others that ought first to be Answer’d. And there’s no Cancelling the Bonds of Honor and Justice. Kindnesses are to be paid in specie, as well as Money. That is to say, there must be Affection in the Return, as well as Justice. Now as there can be No True Friendship betwixt a Good Man and a Wicked Man, there should be no Intercourse betwixt them that looks like Friendship, and therefore the Less Commerce the Better. As Jupiter, we see, would have Nothing to do with the Serpent.

Fab. CXXXIX. A Flea and a Man.

A Fellow finding somewhat Prick him, Popt his finger upon the Place, and it prov’d to be a Flea. What art thou, says he, for an Animal, to Suck thy Livelyhood out of my Carcass? Why ’tis the Livelyhood, (says the Flea) that Nature has Allotted me, and My Stinging is not Mortal neither. Well, says the Man, but ’tis Troublesome however; and now I Have ye, I’ll secure ye for ever Hurting me again, either Little or Much.

The Moral.

Live and Let Live, is the Rule of Common Justice, but if People will be Troublesome on the One hand, the Obligation is Discharg’d on the Other.

REFLEXION.

It is as Natural for a Man to Kill a Flea, as it is for a Flea to Bite a Man. There’s a kind of self-Preservation on Both sides, and without Any Malice on Either Hand. The Flea cannot Live without Nourishment, nor the Man without Rest. So that here’s only a Present Dispatch on the One Hand, to prevent a Lingring Death on the Other, (as a Restless Life is in Truth no Better). There are in the World as many Illustrations of This Fable, as there are Instances of Petulant, Pragmatical, and Impertinent People that Break in upon Men of Government and Business. Distractions have much in them of Flea-bitings; That is to say, they keep us Waking, and Hinder our Repose. The Flea thought it hard to suffer Death for an Importunity: But to a Man that knows how to Value his Time and his Quiet, One Importunity upon the Neck of Another, is the Killing of a Man Alive, and the very Worst of Deaths.

Fab. CXL. A Flea and Hercules.

There was a Fellow, that upon a Flea-Biting call’d out to Hercules for Help. The Flea gets away, and the Man Expostulates upon the Matter. Well! Hercules; (says he) You that would not take My Part against a Sorry Flea, will never stand by me in a Time of Need, against a more Powerful Enemy.

The Moral.

We Neglect God in Greater Matters, and Petition him for Trifles, nay and Take Pet at last if we cannot have our Askings.

REFLEXION.

’Tis an Ill Habit to turn Offices and Duties of Piety into Matters and Words only of Course; and to Squander away our Wishes and our Prayers upon Paltry Fooleries, when the Great Concerns of Life and Death, Heaven and Hell, lye all at stake. Who but a Mad man, that has so many Necessary and Capital Duties of Christianity to think of, would ever have made a Deliverance from a Flea-biting a part of his Litany? It makes our Devotions Ridiculous, to be so Unfeeling on the One side, and so Oversensible, and Sollicitous on the Other. By this Foolish and Impertinent Way of our Proceeding toward the Almighty, Men Slide by little and little into some sort of Doubt, if not a Direct Disbelief and Contempt of his Power. And then with the Country Fellow here, if we cannot Obtain Every Vain Thing we ask, our next Bus’ness is to take Pet at the Refusal, nay and in Revenge to give over Praying for Good and All; and so to Renounce Heaven for a Flea-biting.

Fab. CXLI. A Man and Two Wives.

It was now Cuckow-Time, and a Certain Middle-Ag’d Man, that was Half-Gray, Half-Brown, took a Fancy to Marry Two Wives, of an Age One under Another, and Happy was the Woman that could please him Best. They took Mighty Care of him to All manner of Purposes, and still as they were Combing the Good Man’s Head, they’d be Picking out here and there a Hair to make it all of a Colour. The Matronly Wife, she Pluck’d out All the Brown Hairs, and the Younger the White: So that they left the Man in the Conclusion no better than a Bald Buzzard betwixt them.

The Moral.

’Tis a much Harder Thing to Please Two Wives then Two Masters; and He’s a Bold Man that offers at it.

REFLEXION.

Marriages are Govern’d, rather by an Over-ruling Fatality, then by any Solemnity of Choice and Judgment; though ’tis a Hard Matter to find out a Woman, even at the Best, that’s of a Just Scantling for her Age, Person, Humour, and Fortune to make a Wife of. This Fable presents us with One single Disparity that is of it self Sufficient, without a more then Ordinary Measure of Virtue and Prudence, to make a Man Miserable and Ridiculous. I speak of a Disparity of Years, which, in the Moral, takes in all Other Disproportions. The One’s too Young, T’other too Old; to shew us that Marriage is out of Season if it does not Hit the very Critical Point betwixt them. ’Tis much with Wedlock, as it is with our Sovereign Cordials and Antidotes. There go a Thousand Ingredients to the making of the Composition: But then it they be not Tim’d, Proportion’d, and Prepar’d according to Art, ’tis a Clog to us rather then a Relief. So that it would have been Well, if Nature had Prescrib’d the Dos of Woman’s Flesh, as she has Determin’d the Necessity of it.

Fab. CXLII. Two Frogs that wanted Water.

Upon the Drying up of a Lake, Two Frogs were forc’d to Quit, and to seek for Water elsewhere. As they were upon the Search, they Discover’d a very deep Well. Come (says One to T’other) Let us e’en go down here, without Looking any further. You say well, says her Companion; but what if the Water should fail us Here too? How shall we get Out again?

The Moral.

’Tis Good Advice to Look before we Leap.

REFLEXION.

Hasty Resolutions are seldom fortunate, and it is a piece of Necessary Prudence, for a Man, before he resolves any thing, to Consider what may be the Consequences of it.

We are taught by the Providence of These Frogs, to Consider the End of Things before we Resolve upon the Means; for when the Die is Cast, ’tis too late to Wish for Another Chance. In our Deliberations what to do, we should Distinguish betwixt Lawful and Unlawful, Prudential and Foolish, a Less Present Good, and a Consequence of greater Evils, that we be not Betray’d by the Fair Appearances of Things Specious; Frauds and Fallacies, Glittering Outsides, &c. into Inconveniencies and Mistakes.

When a Man wants any thing, let him look for’t in Time, and Consider Well before-hand what Occasion he has for’t, and upon What Terms it is to be Had; for there may be such Conditions that a Man would not Comply with, even for the Saving, or Redeeming of his Life. There are Other Cases where a Man must Part with More for the Getting of a Thing, then that Thing is Worth. Some again, where a Body runs the Risque of an Absolute Ruin, for the Gaining of a Present Supply: Wherefore there’s No Remedy either Way, without a Strict Calculation of the Profit or Loss on Both Sides. I want Money, but I will not make myself a Slave for’t. I want a Friend at Court, but I will not Forfeit the Character of a Man of Honour, or the Conscience of a Christian, and an Honest Man, to Purchase such a Friend: I am in Prison; but I will not play the Knave to set my self at Liberty. These are All Necessary Deliberations upon the Matter here in Question. Let us see how we shall get Out again, says the Frog, before we go In.

Fab. CXLIII. A Dog and a Cock upon a Journey.

A Dog and a Cock took a Journey together. The Dog Kennell’d in the Body of a Hollow Tree, and the Cock Roosted at night upon the Boughs. The Cock crow’d about Midnight; (at his Usual Hour) which brought a Fox that was abroad upon the Hunt, immediately to the Tree; and there he stood Licking of his Lips, at the Cock, and Wheedling him to get him Down. He Protested he never heard so Angelical a Voice since he was Born, and what would not He do now, to Hug the Creature that had given him To Admirable a Serenade! Pray, says the Cock, speak to the Porter below to open the Door, and I’ll come Down to ye: The Fox did as he was directed, and the Dog presently Seiz’d and Worry’d him.

The Moral.

The Main Bus’ness of the World is Nothing but Sharping, and putting Tricks upon One Another by Turns.

REFLEXION.

’Tis Good Discretion, when a Body has to do with an Adversary, that is either too Crafty, or too Strong for him, to turn him off to his Match; but it would be a Cleverer Way yet, to Encounter the Stratagem, and to Defeat One Sham with Another, as the Simplicity of the Cock here was too hard for the Wiliness of the Fox. Experience makes many a Wise Man of a Fool, and Security makes many a Fool of a Wise Man. We have an Instance of the Former in the Cocks Over-reaching the Fox, and of the Other, in the Foxes Supine Confidence, that made him so Intent upon his Prey, as to neglect his Safety. Now the Cock, that upon Long Tryal and Observation, knew the Fox to be the Common Enemy of all Poultrey; had likewise a Dread and Suspicion of him by Instinct, which made him Naturally Cautious upon the very Principle of Self-Preservation. Whereas the Fox, that Trusted to his Address and Manage, without so much as Dreaming of a Cross Bite from so silly an Animal, fell Himself into the Pit that he had Digg’d for Another. It is much the same Case in the World when Providence is pleas’d to Confound the False, the Mighty, and the Blood-Thirsty, by Judgments of Lice and Frogs: That is to say, by the most Despicable of Instruments. To put an End to This Moral, It is a wonderful Thing how the very Force of Nature will Exert it self, in the Meanest and the Weakest of Creatures, in Cases of Extream Necessity and Danger: As it made the Cock here too hard for the Fox.

Fab. CXLIV. A Bat, Bramble, and Cormorant.

A Bat, a Bramble, and a Cormorant, Enter’d into Covenants with Articles, to joyn Stocks, and Trade in Partnership together. The Bat’s Adventure was Ready Money that he took up at Interest; The Brambles, was in Cloaths; and the Cormorants, in Brass. They Put to Sea, and so it fell out, that Ship and Goods were Both Lost by Stress of Weather: But the Three Merchants by Providence got safe to Land. Since the Time of this Miscarriage, the Bat never Stirs abroad till Night for fear of his Creditors. The Bramble lays hold of All the Cloaths he can come at in hope to Light upon his Own again: And the Cormorant is still Sauntering by the Sea side, to see if he can find any of his Brass cast up.

The Moral.

The Impression of any Notable Misfortune will commonly stick by a Man as long as he Lives.

REFLEXION.

Things that a Man has once set his Heart upon, will hardly be ever got out of his Head, but Every Hint and Occasion will be putting him in mind of ’em again. Ill Habits are not Easily Cur’d. ’Tis with almost All People in cases of Fright or Distraction of Mind, as it was with our Merchant Adventurers here. The Last Impression sticks Closest to us. There was a Miserable Wretch in Bedlam that had lost his Wits upon the Firing of a Ship at Sea, and His Head was still running upon Fire and Water; insomuch that the very Sight of either of them would put him into an Outrageous Fury. Another that was Mad for Love, would be Beating his Brains perpetually upon Anagrams and Sonnets. Oliver’s Enthusiastick Porter, was directly Bible-Mad, and up to the Ears still in the Dark Prophets, and the Revelation. In the Year 1658, When the Original Contracters were met in Council about Settling the Government, a very good Poor Woman carried her Little Trunks and Boxes to Weld-House for Protection, for fear of the Mobile. The House was Rifled, and her Trinkets went away with the Rest. Upon this Loss she fell Idle-Headed; and to This very Day she stands like the Bramble in the Fable, near the place still, (where the Innocent Creature Lives) Catching of People by the Coats, and Asking them about her Trunks and Boxes: Pray, says she, When shall I have my Things again? My Trunks are not come home yet, &c. The Doctrine upon the Whole is no more then This, That we are not to set our Hearts upon the Things of This World; for All Emotions of the Mind have somewhat in them of This Freak; and the only Way to be Happy and Quiet, is to make all Contingencies Indifferent to us.

Fab. CXLV. A Lark in a Net.

A Poor Lark Enter’d into a Miserable Expostulation with a Bird-Catcher, that had Taken her in his Net, and was just about to put her to Death. Alas (says she) What am I to Dye for now? I am no Thief; I have Stoln neither Gold, nor Silver; but for Making Bold with One Pitiful Grain of Corn am I now to Suffer.

The Moral.

’Tis to no Purpose to stand Reasoning, where the Adversary is both Party and Judge.

REFLEXION.

’Tis a Folly, says the Old Moral, for People to run Great Hazards for small Advantage. And why may it not as well Reflect upon the Cruelty of taking away the Life of a Poor Innocent Creature for making bold with One Miserable Grain of Corn, when she was Hungry. But This is All Forc’d, and in Truth, it is a Dry Fable with Little or Nothing in’t.

Or to Turn it Another Way yet, Here’s the Life of a Poor Creature in Question, and the Lark Expostulates, and Pleads Not Guilty, but the Belly has No Ears, and the Bird-Catcher is so Intent upon his Interest, and Appetite, that he gives no Heed at all to the Equity of the Plea, which is but according to the Course of the World, when people Measure Right or Wrong by the Rule of their Own Profit or Loss. ’Tis Passion and Partiality that Govern in All These Cases.

Fab. CXLVI. A Miser Burying his Gold.

A Certain Covetous, Rich Churl Sold his Whole Estate, and put it into Mony, and then Melted down That Mony again into One Mass, which he Bury’d in the ground, with his very Heart and Soul in the Pot for Company. He gave it a Visit Every Morning, which it seems was taken Notice of, and Somebody that Observ’d him, found out his Hoard one Night, and Carry’d it away. The Next day he missed it, and ran almost out of his Wits for the Loss of his Gold. Well, (says a Neighbour to him) And what’s All This Rage for? Why you had no Gold at all, and so you Lost None. You did but Fancy all this while that you Had it, and you may e’en as well Fancy again that you have it still. ’Tis but laying a Stone where you laid your Mony, and Fancying That Stone to be your Treasure, and there’s your Gold again. You did not Use it when you Had it; and you do not Want it so long as you Resolve not to Use it.

The Moral.

Better no Estate at all, then the Cares and Vexations that attend the Possession of it, without the Use on’t.

REFLEXION.

We are never the better for the Possession of any thing, Barely for the Propriety sake, but ’tis the Use and Application of it towards the Conveniences of Life, and the Comforts of Humane Society, that gives Every thing its Value. The Divine Goodness we see is perpetually at Work; Nature keeps on in her Course, and the Heavens shed their Influences without Intermission; and what’s the Doctrine now of This Great Example, but that the Blessings of Providence, which are Common and Diffusive, ought not to lie Idle; and that Whoever Buries his Talent, either of Understanding, or of Fortune, breaks a Sacred Trust, and Couzens Those that stand in Need on’t. But we have a sort of Sordid Wretches among us, that had rather Cast their Silver and Gold into the very Mine again from whence it was Taken, or leave it at the Mercy of Thieves and Common Hazards, then that any Man Living should be the Better for’t.

Fab. CXLVII. A Stag with One Eye.

A One-Eyed-Stag that was afraid of the Huntsmen at Land, kept a Watch That Way with T’other Eye, and fed with his Blind Side still toward an Arm of the Sea, where he thought there was no Danger. In this Prospect of Security, he was Struck with an Arrow from a Boat, and so Ended his Days with This Lamentation: Here am I destroy’d, says he, where I reckon’d my Self to be Safe on the One Hand; and No Evil has befall’n me, where I most Dreaded it, on the Other.

The Moral.

We are lyable to Many Unlucky Accidents that no Care or Foresight can Prevent: But we are to provide however the Best we can against them, and leave the Rest to Providence.

REFLEXION.

We are many times Preserv’d or Destroy’d, by Those Accidents or Counsels, that in All Probability should have had quite Contrary Effects. But it is Our Part yet to Act according to Reason, and commit our selves to Heaven for the rest. We have our Blind Sides in the World, as well as the Stag had his by the Sea-side, and we have our Enemies too, that are still Watching to make Advantage of that Weakness. One Man is Transported out of his Reason, and his Honesty, by Sensual Pleasures: Another by Money, perhaps, or by Ambition. Every Man, in short, by Somewhat or other: And it is but striking him in the Right Vein, to do his Bus’ness. The Wisest of Men have their Follies; The Justest, their Iniquities, and the most Temperate of Men have now and then by Fits, their Excesses. Achilles himself (after all that his Mother could do for him) was left Vulnerable yet in the Heel, and Paris’s Arrow found him Out there. We are taught further also to look to our selves on the Blind Side, as the Part that lyes most Expos’d to an Attacque. And finally; That it is not in the Power of Humane Wisdom to secure us against Plots and Practices upon Humane Frailty: Nay, and when we have done our Best to Prevent Mischief, the very Precaution it self serves many times to Contribute to our Ruin. The Stag did All that was to be done here; but the Ways and Workings of Providence are unsearchable; and it is not in the Power of Humane Prudence to Obviate all the Accidents of Humane Life.

Fab. CXLVIII. A Stag and a Lyon.

A Stag that was close Pursu’d by Huntsmen, fled for Safety into a Lyon’s Den; and as he was just Expiring under the Paw of the Lyon: Miserable Creature that I am, says he, to fly for Protection from Men, to the most Unmerciful of Beasts!

The Moral.

There are Harder and Gentler Ways, even of Ruin it self; as ’tis Common we see for Men under a Capital Sentence to Petition even for the Change of the Death.

REFLEXION.

’Tis a Common Case for People to be Reduc’d to This Miserable Choice; That is to say, by what Hand or Means they’ll rather Perish; under the Certainty of an Inevitable Destruction One Way or other. The Ancients have Moraliz’d it This Way. But it seems to Me (under favour) that the Stag’s was a Forc’d Put; and a Chance rather then a Choice, he did not fly from the Huntsmen to the Lyon for Protection; but it so fell out, that while he fled to Avoid a Less Danger, he ran into a Greater; We find This to be the Case of many Men, as well as Beasts, that are Forc’d to fly for Refuge, to Murderers and Oppressors, instead of Patrons and Protectors.

Fab. CXLIX. A Goat and a Vine.

A Goat that was hard Press’d by the Huntsmen, took Sanctuary in a Vineyard, and there he lay Close, under the Covert of a Vine. So soon as he thought the Danger was Over, he fell presently to Browzing upon the Leaves; and whether it was the Rusling, or the Motion of the Boughs, that gave the Huntsmen an Occasion for a Stricter Search, is Uncertain: but a Search there was, and in the End he was Discover’d, and shot. He dy’d in fine, with this Conviction upon him, that his Punishment was Just, for Offering Violence to his Protector.

The Moral.

Ingratitude Perverts all the Measures of Religion and Society, by making it Dangerous to be Charitable and Good Natur’d.

REFLEXION.

Ingratitude is Abhorr’d both by God and Man, and there is a Certain Vengeance Attends those that Repay Evil for Good, and seek the Ruin of their Protectors. This Fable Exposes the Baseness of That Horrid Vice, and it Preaches Thankfulness and Justice. The Obligations of Hospitality and Protection are so Sacred, that Nothing can Absolve us from the Discharge of Those Duties. ’Tis True, that This particular Instance holds better in the Morality of the Application, then it does in the Reason of the Thing: for the Question is not what the Beast does in his Kind; but what Ought to be done, with a respect to such a Benefit receiv’d. If a Man should Launch into the History and Practice of Humane Nature, we should find Nothing more Common there, then one Rebellion Started upon the Pardoning of Another; and the very Minions of Princes Link’d in Conspiracies against their Master. But Those Things ever were, and ever will be, so long as Men are Men, and carry their Corruptions about them. There will be Goats, in fine, and there will be Vines, to answer This Moral, in Sæcula Sæculorum.

Fab. CL. An Ass, a Lyon, and a Cock.

As a Cock and an Ass were Feeding together, up comes a Lyon Open-mouth toward the Ass: The Cock presently cries out; Away Scoures the Lyon, and the Ass after him: Now ’twas the Crowing of the Cock that Frighted the Lyon, not the Braying of the Ass, as That Stupid Animal Vainly Fancy’d to Himself, for so soon as ever they were gotten out of the Hearing of the Cock, the Lyon turn’d short upon him, and tore him to pieces, with These Words in his Mouth: Let never any Creature hereafter that has not the Courage of a Hare, Provoke a Lyon.

The Moral.

The Force of Unaccountable Aversions, is Insuperable. The Fool that is Wise and Brave Only in his Own Conceit, runs on without Fear or Wit, but Noise does no Bus’ness.

REFLEXION.

Many a Bragging Coxcomb is Ruin’d by a Mistake of Fear in an Enemy, and a Fancy of Courage in Himself. Baudoin Remarks upon the Lyon’s Aversion to the Cock, that there’s Nothing so Great but it has its Failings, and so he makes the Pursuit of the Lyon to be a Particular Mark of the Ass’s Weakness. Meslier will have the Fear to be Counterfeited, with a Design to Surprize the Pursuer; but This Fable seems still to look Another way.

It may appear a very Extravagant, Surprizing Encounter, that Æsop has Exhibited to us in This Fable. Here’s a Lyon running away from a Cock, and an Ass Pursuing a Lyon: That is to say, here are Two of the most Unlikely Things in Nature brought together, in the Semblance of Fear in the One, and of Resolution in the Other: But the Moral is never the Worse yet for the Seeming Disproportions of the Figure; and the Characters in the Fiction, are well enough Suited to the Truth, and Life of the Case. The Flight of the Lyon must be Imputed here to the Natural Aversion that he has to the Crowing of a Cock. This is the Tradition; but it shall break No Squares whether it be so or not: For the Philosophy holds good in Other Instances No less Wonderful, whether it be True or False in This. How many Insuperable Disagreements do we Meet with, in the Bus’ness of Meats, Drinks, and Medicines; in Plants, Minerals, and Living Creatures! Now These Impulses are no more to be Controll’d, then the Primary, and the Unchangeable Powers and Laws of Nature: And These Instincts, after All, are no more to be Reason’d upon, then they are to be Resisted; and therefore it is, that we call them Occult Qualities; which is All One with Saying that we do not Understand How they Work, or What they Are. Now ’tis One Thing to Submit to an Absolute Force, Another Thing to Fly, and Yield to a Natural Infirmity: So that ’tis No Departure from the Dignity of a Lyon to Fly, when Nature Drives him: Neither is it at all to the Ass’s Reputation, to Pursue, when Vanity, Folly and Rashness Transport him.

The Ass, we see, lies under Many Mistakes here, and the More, and the Grosser they are, the more Suitable still to his Character. How many such Asses are there in the World, that Huff, Look Big, Stare, Dress, Cock, Swagger, at the same Noisy, Blustring Rate; and Nothing more Familiar then for a Whiffling Fop, that has not so much as One Grain of the Sense, or Soul of a Man of Honour in him, to play the part of a Hero. Nay, there are Fanfarons in the Tryals of Wit too, as well as in Feats of Arms, and none so forward to engage in Argument, or Discourse, as Those that are least able to go through with it. In One Word for All, the whole Race of Bawling, Fluttering Noddyes, by what Name or Title soever Dignify’d or Distinguish’d, are a Kin to the Ass in This Fable.

Fab. CLI. A Gardiner and his Dog.

A Gardiner’s Dog dropt into a Well, and his Master let himself down to Help him Out again. He reach’d forth his Hand to take hold of the Dog, and the Cur Snapt him by the Fingers: For he thought ’twas only to Duck him deeper. The Master went his Way upon’t, and e’en Left him as he Found him. Nay (says he) I’m well enough Served, to take so much Pains for the Saving of One that is Resolv’d to make away Himself.

The Moral.

Obligations and Benefits are Cast away upon Two sorts of People; Those that do not Understand them, and those that are not sensible of them.

REFLEXION.

There’s No Fastening an Obligation upon Those that have neither Justice, Gratitude, nor Good Faith; and it is the same Case in Effect, with Those that do not Understand when they are Well-us’d: From whence we may infer this Doctrine, that Fools and Knaves are not Company for Honest Men. The Course and Violent Part of the Common People have much in them of this Currs Humour. They Plunge themselves into Difficulties by Mistaking their Way, and then fly in the Face of Those that would Set them Right again. In This Opposition to Duty and Discretion, they Pursue their Errors, ’till in the End, they are left to the Fate of their Own Madness and Folly; and Consequently Perish without Any Hope, or Means of Pity or Redress. The Gard’ner would have sav’d his Dog from Drowning, and the Curr bit his Master by the Fingers for his Pains.

Fab. CLII. A Sow and a Dog.

There pass’d some Hard Words betwixt a Sow and a Dog, and the Sow swore by Venus, that she’d tear his Guts out, if he did not mend his Manners. Ay, says the Dog, You do well to call upon her for your Patroness, that will not so much as Endure any Creature about her that Eats Swines Flesh. Well (says the Sow) and That’s a Token of her Love, to Hate Any thing that hurts me; but for Dogs Flesh, ’tis good neither Dead, nor Living.

The Moral.

Where the Matter in Controversie will not bear an Argument, ’tis a Turn of Art to bring it off with a Paradox.

REFLEXION.

’Tis an Ordinary Thing for People to Boast of an Interest where they have None, and then when they are Detected, ’tis a Stroak of Art to Divert the Reproach, by Emproving a Spiteful Word, or Thing, to a Bodies Own Advantage. This way of Dialogue, is a kind of Tick-Tack; Where the One’s Bus’ness is to keep from making a Blot, and the Other’s is to Hit it when ’tis made. It is a Happy Presence of Mind, to Anticipate Another Man’s Thought, by Considering well beforehand what Construction, or Allusion his own Words will bear; for Otherwise, the Casting out an Inconsiderate Hint, is but the setting of a Trap to Catch Himself. As the Sow’s Appealing to Venus here, was as good as an Answer thrown into the very Mouth of the Dog, which she might Easily have foreseen would be turn’d back upon her in the Bitterness of a Reproche: For the Reply lay so Open, the Other could not Well Miss it: But when all is done, Both Parts are to keep themselves upon their Guard; Or if either of ’em has Overshot himself, it is some sort of Reputation still, to make the Best of a Bad Game: As the Sow turn’d off the Scandal here with a jest.

Fab. CLIII. A Sow and a Bitch.

A Sow and a Bitch had a Dispute once, which was the Fruitfuller of the Two. The Sow Yielded it at last to the Bitch; but you are to take Notice at the Same time, says she, that your Puppies are All Blind.

The Moral.

The Question among all sorts of Competitors is not Who does Most, but who does Best.

REFLEXION.

We are not to put an Estimate upon Things by the Quantity, or the Number of them, but by their Quality and Virtue: Taking for Granted, that Æsop’s Bitch was Fruitfuller then our Sows. See the Moral of A Lyoness and a Fox. Fab. 122.

Fab. CLIV. A Snake and a Crab.

There was a Familiarity Contracted betwixt a Snake and a Crab. The Crab was a plain dealing Creature, that advis’d his Companion to give over Shuffling and Doubling, and to Practice Good Faith. The Snake went on in his Old Way: So that the Crab finding that he would not mend his Manners, set upon him in his Sleep, and Strangled him; and then looking upon him as he lay Dead at his Length: This had never befall’n ye, says he, if You had but Liv’d as Straight as You Dy’d.

The Moral.

There’s Nothing more Agreeable in Conversation, then a Franke Open way of Dealing, and a Simplicity of Manners.

REFLEXION.

Good Councel is lost upon an Habitual Hardness of Ill Nature: And in That Case it must be a Diamond that Cuts a Diamond: for One Fraud is best Undermin’d and Disappointed by Another. This Fable is a Figure upon a Figure, in Opposing the Straitness of the Body of the Snake after he was Dead, to the Crookedness of his Manners when he was Living. But the License of Mythology will bear out the Hardness of the Allusion.

Fab. CLV. A Shepherd and a Wolves Whelp.

A Shepherd took a Sucking Whelp of a Wolfe, and Train’d it up with his Dogs. This Whelp fed with ’em; Grew up with ’em, and whensoever they went out upon the Chace of a Wolfe, the Whelp would be sure to make one. It fell out sometimes that the Wolfe scap’d, and the Dogs were forc’d to go Home again: But this Domestique Wolfe would be still Hunting on, ’till he came up to his Brethren, where he took part of the Prey with them; and so back again to his Master. It happen’d now and then, that the Wolves abroad were pretty Quiet for a Fit: So that this Whelp of a Wolfe was fain to make Bold ever and anon with a Sheep in Private by the By; but in the Conclusion, the Shepherd came to find out the Roguery, and Hang’d him up for his Pains.

The Moral.

False Men are no more to be Reclaim’d then Wolves, and the Leven of the Predecessors Sowers the Bloud, in the very Veins of the Whole Family.

REFLEXION.

Ill Dispositions may be Suppress’d, or Dissembled for a while, but Nature is very hardly to be Alter’d, either by Councell, or by Education. It may do well enough, for Curiosity, and Experiment, to try how far Ill Natur’d Men and Other Creatures may be Wrought upon by Fair Usage, and Good Breeding; But the Inclination and Cruelty of the Damm will never out of the Whelp. It may Suspend peradventure, or intermit, for want of Occasion to shew it self: but Nature is like Mercury, there’s No Killing it Quite. The Wolfe in the House has a Kindness still for the Wolves in the Woods, and continues in the Interest of the same Common Enemy. Cat will to Kind, as they say, and Wicked Men will be True to their Principles, how False soever to their Masters.

We may read in the Moral of This Fable, the common Practice of the World, and a Doctrine that we find Every day Verify’d, as well in Men, as in Beasts; for there are Wolfe-Whelps in Palaces, and Governments, as well as in Cotages, and Forrests. Do we not find in History, and Experience, Instances in abundance, even of Publick Ministers Themselves, that though taken up out of the very Herds of the Common Enemy; Admitted into Special Trusts; Fed by the Hand, and Treated with the Grace and Character of Particular Favourites, have their Hearts in the Woods, yet all this while among their Fellows. So that there’s No Reclaiming of them. They go out however, as there is Occasion, and Hunt and Growle for Company; but at the same time, they give the Sign out of their Master’s Hand, hold Intelligence with the Enemy; and make use of their Power and Credit to Worry Honester Men then Themselves. It wants Nothing after This, but that they may live to have their Due; and with the Dog here in the Fable, go to Heaven in a String, according to the True Intent of the Allegory.

Fab. CLVI. A Lyon, Fox, and a Wolfe.

The King of Beasts was now grown Old, and Sickly, and All the Subjects of the Forrest, (saving only the Fox) were to pay their Duties to him. The Wolfe, and the Fox like a Couple of Sly Knaves, were still putting Tricks One upon Another, and the Wolfe took this Occasion to do the Fox a Good Office. I can Assure your Majesty, says the Wolfe, that ’tis Nothing but Pride and Insolence that keeps the Fox from shewing himself at Court as well as his Companions. Now the Fox had the Good Luck to be within Hearing, and so Presented himself before the Lyon, and finding him Extreamly Enrag’d, begs his Majesties Patience, and a Little Time only for his Defence. Sir (says he) I must presume to Value my self upon my Respect and Loyalty to your Majesty, Equal at least to any of your other Subjects; and I will be bold to say, that put them all together, they have not taken Half the pains for your Majesties Service now upon This very Occasion, that I have done. I have been Hunting up and down far and near, since your Unhappy Indisposition, to find out a Remedy for ye, which with much ado I have now Compass’d at last, and it is that which I Promised my self will prove an Infallible Cure. Tell me immediately (says the Lyon) what it is then: Nothing in the World, says the Fox, but to Flay a Wolfe Alive, and Wrap your Body up in the Warm Skin. The Wolfe was by all This while; and the Fox in a Snearing way advised him for the Future, not to irritate a Prince against his Subjects, but rather to Sweeten him with Peaceable and Healing Councells.

The Moral.

The Bus’ness of a Pickthank is the Basest of Offices, but yet Diverting enough sometimes, when One Rascal happens to be Encounter’d with another.

REFLEXION.

There’s Nothing more Common in the World than these Wolvish Back-Friends, in all our Pretensions; whether it be in Law, in Government, or in a Hundred other sorts of Clayme and Competition; Especially for the running down of a Man that’s Declining in his Credit already. Calumny is Base at best; though Pleasant enough sometimes, where it falls out, that One Rascal is Countermining Another. But let the Reproche be never so True, it can hardly be Honest, Where the Office is done in Hugger-Mugger; and where the Intention is not Guided by a Conscience of the Duty. It is a way to Confound the Good and the Bad, where Knaves have Credit enough to be Believ’d, to the Wrong of Honest Men, and the Innocent left without Means of Defence.

He that would live Clear of the Envy and Hatred of Potent Calumniators, must lay his Finger upon his Mouth, and Keep his Hand out of the Ink-Pot; for to do a Good Office upon the Point of Opinion, Intelligence, Brains, or Conscience, where this Wolvish Humour prevails, is little better then a Scandalum Magnatum, or a Libel upon his Superiors: But where it happens that there’s a Fox and a Wolfe in the Case; and One Sharper to Encounter Another, the Scene is Diverting enough.

Fab. CLVII. A Wife and a Drunken Husband.

A Woman that lay under the Mortification of a Fudling Husband, took him once when he was Dead Drunk; and had his Body lay’d in a Charnel-House. By the time that she thought he might be come to Himself again, away goes she, and Knocks at the Door. Who’s There? (says the Toper) One, says the Woman, that brings Meat for the Dead. Friend, says he, Bring me Drink rather. I wonder any Body that Knows me, should bring me One without T’other. Nay then, says she, the Humour I perceive has taken Possession of him; He has gotten a Habit, and his Case is Desperate.

The Moral.

Inveterate Ill Habits become Another Nature to us, and we may almost as well be Taken to Pieces, and New put together again, as Mended.

REFLEXION.

The Intent of This Fable is to Work a Reformation of Manners, by shewing that Evil Habits are very hard to be Cur’d; for they take Root by Degrees, ’till they come in the End to be past both Remedy and Shame. Habitual Debauches make Excess of Drink as Necessary to a Man as Common Air, Especially when his Mind comes to be Wholly taken up with the Contemplation of his Vice. There are Those that can never Sleep without their Load, nor Enjoy One Easie Thought, till they have laid All their Cares to Rest with a Bottle. ’Tis much the same Thing with Other Sensual Pleasures, where Mens Bodies and Minds are given up to the Entertainment of them. But the Extravagance is never so Desperate, as when the Understanding is Taken up with the Study and Meditation of Those Pleasures, which the Body is no longer in Condition to Practice, and that’s the most Deplorate, Hopeless, and Incurable State of an Evil Disposition; when Drink upon Drink is made Use of for a Remedy.

Fab. CLVIII. A Swan and a Goose.

The Master of a House brought up a Swan and a Goose both together; The One for his Ear, the Other for his Belly. He gave Orders for the Goose to be Taken up, and Dress’d for Dinner. But the Place was so Dark, that the Cook took One for T’other. This Mistake had Cost the Swan her Life, if she had not Sung in That very Instant, and discover’d her self; by which Means she both sav’d her Life, and Express’d her Nature.

The Moral.

A Man cannot be too Careful of what he does, where the Life of any Creature is in Question.

REFLEXION.

There’s a Providence attends Innocency and Virtue, the Power of Musique apart. ’Tis a Rule that goes a Great way in the Government of a Sober Man’s Life, not to put any thing to Hazard that may be Secur’d by Industry, Consideration, or Circumspection. And this Caution reaches to a Thousand Cases in the Ordinary Course of Life. Men should Look before they Leap; Deliberate before they Resolve; Try, Weigh, Examine, and Bethink themselves well of the Matter before they Execute. We fall into some Inconveniencies out of Pure Lazyness, and for want of taking Pains to Enform our selves Better: Into Others, out of Rashness; by doing Things in a Hurry, and Hand over Head at a Venture. Now there’s no Excuse for a Blunder upon any of these Topiques, where there was both Time and Means to prevent it. What are we the better for the Faculty of Reason, without the Exercise of it? If the Cook would but have been at the Trouble of Carrying a Candle with him, he would have been in no Danger of taking a Swan for a Goose.

Fab. CLIX. The Washing of a Blackmore.

A Man gave Money for a Black, upon an Opinion that his Swarthy Colour was rather Sluttery then Nature, and the Fault of his last Master, in a Great Measure, that he kept him no Cleaner: He took him Home with him, and try’d All manner of Washes to bring him to a Better Complexion: But there was no Good to be Done upon him; besides, that the very tampering Cast him into a Disease.

Fab. CLX. A Raven and a Swan.

A Raven had a Great Mind to be as White as a Swan, and fancy’d to Himself that the Swan’s Beauty proceeded in a High Degree, from his often Washing and Dyet. The Raven, upon this, Quitted his Former Course of Life and Food, and betook himself to the Lakes and Rivers: But as the Water did him no Good at all for his Complexion, so the Experiment Cost him his Life too for want of Sustenance.

The Moral of the Two Fables above.

Natural Inclinations may be Moulded and Wrought upon by Good Councel and Discipline; but there are Certain specifick Properties and Impressions, that are never to be Alter’d or Defac’d.

REFLEXION.

’Tis a Vain Thing to Attempt the Forcing of Nature; for What’s Bred in the Bone will never out of the Flesh: And there can be no Thought of Altering the Qualities, the Colour, or the Condition of Life, that Providence has Allotted us.

’Tis Labour in Vain, to all manner of Purposes, to Endeavour the Mending of any of the Works of Nature; for she never did Any thing Amiss. And then ’tis as Great a Madness to Attempt any Alteration upon them, because What Nature does, God does; whose Decrees are Unchangeable, and All his Works are Perfection in the Kind; but next to the Force of Natural Impressions, we may reckon That of Customs and Habits.

Fab. CLXI. A Swallow and a Crow.

Upon a Dispute betwixt a Swallow and a Crow, which was the Greater Beauty of the Two: Yours, says the Crow, is only a Spring-Beauty, but mine lasts all the Year round.

The Moral.

Of Two Things Equally Good, that’s the Best that lasts longest.

REFLEXION.

The Greatest of Temporal Blessings, are Health, and Long Life; and the most Durable of Good Things must Consequently be the Best. The Question here betwixt the Crow and the Swallow, has somewhat in it of the Case betwixt Virtue and Sensual Pleasures, as (for the purpose) of Youth, Wine, Women, and All other Entertainments whatsoever, that may serve to Gratify a Carnal Appetite. Here’s Temporary Oppos’d to Eternal; Joys that shall Endure for Ever, Fresh, and in Vigor; to Satisfactions that are attended with Satiety and Surfeits, and Flatten in the very Tasting.

Fab. CLXII. A Nightingale and a Bat.

As a Nightingale was Singing in a Cage at a Window, up comes a Bat to her, and Asks her why she did not Sing in the Day, as well as in the Night. Why (says the Nightingale) I was Catch’d Singing in the Day, and so I took it for a Warning: You should have thought of This then, says T’other, before you were Taken; for as the Case stands now, Y’are in no Danger to be Snapt Singing again.

The Moral.

A Wrong Reason for the Doing of a Thing is worse then no Reason at all.

REFLEXION.

There’s No Recalling of what’s Gone and Past; so that After-Wit comes too Late when the Mischief is Done. That is to say, it comes too late for That Bout. But it is not Amiss, however, for a Man that has gone astray, to call to Mind where he went out of his Way, and to look back Step by Step into all his Miscarriages and Mistakes. The Glass of Life is Behind us, and we must look into what’s Past, if we would take a View of what’s to Come. A Fault Committed, or a Misfortune Incurr’d, cannot be Recall’d ’tis True; but yet the Meditating upon One False Step may help to Prevent Another. Wherefore ’tis Good, upon the Point of Common Prudence, to be Thoughtful, provided we be not more Sollicitous then the Thing is worth, and that we make a Right Use of Those Reflexions; that is to say, an Use of Repentance, where we did Morally Amiss; an Use of Rectifying our Judgments, where we did Foolishly; and an Use of Caution in both Cases, never to do the same Thing over again. This is no more then what in Conscience, Equity, and Reason we are Bound to do. But we must have a care all this while, not to run into False Consequences for want of laying Things and Things together, and to Sham Fallacies upon the World for Current Reason, as the Nightingale was taken Singing in the Day when she was at Liberty. And what’s This to her Resolution of Singing only in the Night, now she’s in the Cage.

Fab. CLXIII. A Boy and Cockles.

Some People were Roasting of Cockles, and they Hiss’d in the Fire. Well (says a Blockheaded Boy) These are Villanous Creatures sure, to Sing when their Houses are a-fire over their Heads.

The Moral.

Nothing can be Well that’s out of Season.

REFLEXION.

There’s a Time for Jest, and a Time for Earnest, and it is a Dangerous Mistake, not to Distinguish the One from the Other. The Fool’s Conceit here, had both Clownery, and Ill Nature in’t, for there’s Nothing more Brutal, or Barbarous, then the Humor of Insulting over the Miserable; Nothing more Contrary to Humanity, and Common Sense, then this Scandalous Way of Grinning and Jeering out of Season. But a Childish Conceit does well enough out of the Mouth of a Foolish Boy; for it is but Congruous, that Silly People should be pleas’d with Silly Words and Things.

Fab. CLXIV. Two Travellers and a Bag of Money.

As Two Travellers were upon the Way together, One of ’em Stoops, and Takes up Something. Look ye here (says he) I have found a Bag of Money: No, says T’other, When Two Friends are together, You must not say [I] have found it, but [WE] have found it. The Word was no sooner Out, but immediately comes a Hue and Cry after a Gang of Thieves that had taken a Purse upon the Road. Lord! Brother (says He that had the Bag) We shall be Utterly Undone. Oh Phy, says T’other, You must not say [WE] shall be undone, but [I] shall be undone; for if I’m to have no Part in the Finding, sure I’ll never go Halves in the Hanging.

The Moral.

They that will Enter into Leagues and Partnerships must take the Good and the Bad One with Another.

REFLEXION.

The Doctrine of This Fable is according to Reason and Nature. People that are not Allow’d to be Sharers with their Companions in Good Fortune, will hardly ever agree to be Sharers in Bad. An Open, and an Honest Candor of Mind carries a Body Safe and Dry through all Ways and Weathers: Whereas in shifting and Shuffling, a Man puts himself off his Guard; and the same Rule that serves him at One time, will not serve him at Another; Men are willing enough to have Partners in Loss, but not in Profit; and ’tis not the Traveller alone that cries [I] have found a Purse of Gold, and then Changes his Note upon Hue and Cry, and says [WE] shall be hang’d for’t; but ’tis the Course of All People of Intrigue, to give Every thing two Faces, and to Deal with the World, as the Spark did with the Oracle. The Bird shall be Dead or Living, which himself Pleases.

To Emprove the Moral yet a little farther, we have a Thousand Disappointments in the Ordinary Course of Life, to Answer This in the Fable. Many a Man finds this Purse of Gold in a Mistress, in a Bottle, in an Office, and in All other the vain Satisfactions of this World: And what’s the End on’t at last, but when he has Compass’d his Longing, Gratify’d his Appetite, or, as he fancies, made his Fortune perhaps: He grows presently Sick of his Purchase; His Conscience is the Hue and Cry That pursues him, and when he reckons upon it that he has gotten a Booty, he has only caught a Tartar. The Bag of Money burnt the Poor Fellow’s Fingers in the very Taking of it up.

Fab. CLXV. Two Neighbour-Frogs.

There were Two Neighbour-Frogs; One of them Liv’d in a Pond, and the Other in the High-way hard-by. The Pond Frog finding the Water begin to fail upon the Road, would fain have gotten T’other Frog over to her in the Pool; where she might have been Safe; but she was wonted to the Place, she said, and would not Remove. And what was the End on’t now, but the Wheel of a Cart drove over her a while after, and Crush’d her to pieces?

The Moral.

Some People are so Listless and Slothful, that they’ll rather lie still and Die in a Ditch, then Stir one Finger to Help themselves out on’t.

REFLEXION.

Custom is Another Nature; and what betwixt Obstinacy, and Sloth, let it be never so ill, and inconvenient, People are very Hard yet to Quit it. He that does Nothing at all, does Worse then He, that upon the Account of Humane Frailty, does Amiss; for nothing can be more contrary to God Himself, who is a Pure Act, then the Sleeping and Drowsing away of our Life and Reason, that was given us for so many Better Purposes. The Frog in the High-way here, is the Lively Figure of such a Man; for a Life of Sloth is the Life of a Log, rather then the Life of a Reasonable Creature. ’Tis as much as a Body can well do, even with the Uttermost of his Prudence and Industry, to Rub through the Difficulties of the World, though he should keep himself perpetually a Doing. There is not perchance a more Insupportable Misery in Nature, then it would be, to put the Body into a Frame, that should keep it always in the same Posture. What can be said worse of Slothfulness now, when the very Vice is Equal to the most Exquisite of Torments? It is Odious to God and Man, Useless to the World, Irksom to it Self, Miserable in All Estates, and utterly Incapable either of Tasting, or Enjoying any thing of Comfort. The Frog was used to the Place, she said, and rather then Stir to help her Self, there she lay till her Guts were Pash’d out.