THE FABLES OF ANIANUS, &c.

Fab. CCXV. An Oak and a Willow.

There happen’d a Controversie betwixt an Oak and a Willow, upon the Subject of Strength, Constancy, and Patience, and which of the Two should have the Preference. The Oak Upbraided the Willow, that it was Weak and Wavering, and gave way to Every Blast. The Willow made no Other Reply, then that the next Tempest should Resolve That Question. Some very little while after This Dispute, it Blew a Violent Storm. The Willow Ply’d, and gave way to the Gust, and still recover’d it self again, without receiving any Damage: But the Oak was Stubborn, and chose rather to Break then Bend.

The Moral.

A Stiff and a Stubborn Obstinacy, is not so much Firmness, and Resolution, as Wilfulness. A Wise and a Steady Man, bends only in the Prospect of Rising again.

REFLEXION.

There are Many Cases, and Many Seasons, wherein, Men must either Bend or Break: But Conscience, Honour, and Good Manners, are first to be Consulted. When a Tree is Press’d with a strong Wind, the Branches may Yield, and yet the Root remain Firm. But Discretion is to Govern us, where and when we may be Allow’d to Temporize, and where and when not. When Bending or Breaking is the Question, and Men have No Other Choice before them, then either of Complying, or of being Undone; ’tis No Easie Matter to Distinguish, Where, When, How, or to What Degree, to Yield to the Importunity of the Occasion, or the Difficulty of the Times. It is a Certain Rule, ’tis true (but a General One) That No Ill is to be done that Good may come of it: Now the Point will be at last, what’s Simply Good or Evil; What in the Contemplation; and how far the Intention, or the Probable Consequences of such, or such an Action, may Qualifie the Case: Taking This Consideration along with us too, that we are under a Great Temptation to be Partial in favour of our selves, in the Matter of Ease, Profit, or Safety.

The First Point to be Preserv’d Sacred, and from whence a Man is never to Depart, though for the Saving of his Life, Liberty, Popular Credit, or Estate; That First Point, I say, is Conscience. Now All Duties are Matter of Conscience, respectively to the Subject that they are Exercis’d upon; Only with this Restriction, that a Superior Obligation Discharges, or at least Suspends the Force of an Inferior: As to such a Circumstance for the Purpose, such a Degree, or such a Season. Now there are other Niceties also, as of Honour, Decency, and Discretion, Humanity, Modesty, Respect, &c. that border even upon the Indispensable Tyes of Religion it self; and though they are Not Matter of Conscience, Simply, and Apart, they are yet so Reductively, with a Regard to Other Considerations: That is to say, though they are Not so in the Abstract, they Become so by Affinity and Connexion: And such Civil Matters they are, as fall within the Purlews of Religion. There are Tryals of Men, as well as Tryals of Trees. Storms or Inundations are the same Thing to the One, that the Iniquity of such or such an Age, or Conjuncture, is to the Other. Now ’tis not Courage but Stomack, that makes many People Break, rather then they will Bend; even though a Yielding upon that Puntillo (and with a Good Conscience too) might perhaps have sav’d a State. Fractures Undoubtedly are Dangerous, where the Publick is to be Crush’d under the Ruine: But yet after All This Discanting, and Modifying upon the Matter, there’s no less Hazzard on the Yielding side too, then there is on the other. Men may be Stiff and Obstinate, upon a Wrong Ground, and Men may Ply, and Truckle too, upon as False a Foundation. Our Bodies may be forc’d, but our Minds Cannot: So that Humane Frailty is No Excuse for a Criminal Immorality. Where the Law of God and Nature Obliges me, the Plea of Humane Frailty can Never Discharge me. There’s as much Difference betwixt Bending and Sinking, as there is betwixt Breaking and Bending. There must be no Contending with Insuperable Powers on the One Hand, and no Departing from Indispensable Duties on the Other: Nor is it the Part, either of a Christian, or of a Man, to abandon his Post. Now the Just Medium of This Case lies betwixt the Pride, and the Abjection of the Two Extreams. As the Willow, for the Purpose, Bows, and Recovers, and the Resignation is Crown’d and Rewarded in the Success. The Oak is Stubborn, and Inflexible, and the Punishment of that Stiffness, is One Branch of the Allegory of This Fable.

Fab. CCXVI. A Fisherman and a Little Fish.

As an Angler was at his Sport, he had the Hap to Draw up a very little Fish from among the Fry. The Poor Wretch begg’d heartily to be thrown in again; for, says he, I’m not come to my Growth yet, and if you’ll let me alone till I am Bigger, Your Purchase will turn to a Better Account. Well! says the Man, but I’d rather have a Little Fish in Possession, then a Great One in Reversion.

The Moral.

’Tis Wisdom to take what we May, while ’tis to be Had, even if it were but for Mortality sake.

REFLEXION.

There’s no Parting with a Certainty for an Uncertainty. But This Fable is abundantly Moraliz’d Elsewhere.

Fab. CCXVII. An Ant and a Grasshopper.

As the Ants were Airing their Provisions One Winter, Up comes a Hungry Grasshopper to ’em, and begs a Charity. They told him that he should have Wrought in Summer, if he would not have Wanted in Winter. Well, says the Grasshopper, but I was not Idle neither; for I Sung out the Whole Season. Nay then, said they, You shall e’en do Well to make a Merry Year on’t, and Dance in Winter to the Tune that You Sung in Summer.

The Moral.

A Life of Sloth is the Life of a Brute; but Action and Industry is the Bus’ness of a Great, a Wise, and a Good Man.

REFLEXION.

Here’s a Reproof to Men of Sensuality, and Pleasure. The Moral Preaches Industry, and Beats down Sloth; and Shews that After-wit is Nothing Worth. It must be an Industrious Youth that provides against the Inconveniences and Necessities of Old Age; And he that Fools away the One, must either Beg or Starve in the Other. Go to the Ant, thou Sluggard; (says the Wise Man) which in a Few Words Sums up the Moral of This Fable. ’Tis Hard to say of Laziness, or Luxury, whether it be the more Scandalous, or the more Dangerous Evil. The very Soul of the Slothful, does Effectually but lie Drowzing in his Body, and the Whole Man is Totally given up to his Senses: Whereas the Profit and the Comfort of Industry, is Substantial, Firm, and Lasting; The Blessings of Security and Plenty go along with it, and it is never out of Season. What’s the Grasshopper’s Entertainment now, but a Summers Song? A Vain, and an Empty Pleasure? Let it be Understood however, that we are not to Pass Avarice upon the World under the Title of Good Husbandry, and Thrift: and under That Cover to Extinguish Charity by not Distributing the Fruits of it. We are in the First Place, to Consult our Own Necessities, but we are Then to Consider in the Second Place, that the Necessities of our Neighbours have a Christian Right to a Part of what we have to Spare. For the Common Offices of Humanity, are as much Duties of Self-Preservation, as what Every Individual Contributes to its Own Well-Being. It is in Short, the Great Interest and Obligation of Particulars, to advance the Good of the Community.

The Stress of This Moral lies upon the Preference of Honest Labour to Idleness; and the Refusal of Relief on the One Hand, is intended only for a Reproof to the Inconsiderate Loss of Opportunity on the Other. This does not hinder yet, but that the Ants, out of their Abundance, ought to have Reliev’d the Grasshopper in her Distress, though ’twas her Own Fault that Brought her to’t: For if One Man’s Faults could Discharge Another Man of his Duty, there would be no longer any Place left for the Common Offices of Society. To Conclude, We have our Failings, Every Mothers Child of us, and the Improvidence of my Neighbour must not make me Inhumane. The Ant did well to Reprove the Grasshopper for her Slothfulness; but she did Ill then to refuse her a Charity in her Distress.

Fab. CCXVIII. A Bull and a Goat.

A Bull that was Hard Press’d by a Lyon, ran directly toward a Goat-Stall, to Save Himself. The Goat made Good the Door, and Head to Head Disputed the Passage with him. Well! says the Bull, with Indignation, If I had not a more Dangerous Enemy at my Heels, then I have Before me, I should soon Teach you the Difference betwixt the Force of a Bull, and of a Goat.

The Moral.

’Tis no Time to Stand Quarrelling with Every Little Fellow, when Men of Power are Pursuing us upon the Heel to the very Death.

REFLEXION.

It is Matter of Prudence, and Necessity; for People in many Cases to put up the Injuries of a Weaker Enemy, for fear of Incurring the Displeasure of a Stronger. Baudoin fancies the Bull to be the Emblem of a Man in Distress, and the Goat Insulting over him; and Moralizes upon it after This Manner. [There’s Nothing that a Courtier more Dreads and Abhors, then a Man in Disgrace; and he is presently made All the Fools and Knaves in Nature upon’t: For He that’s unfortunate is Consequently Guilty of All manner of Crimes.] He Applies This Character to those that Persecute Widows and Orphans, and Trample upon the Afflicted; though not without some Violence Methinks, to the Genuine Intent of This Figure; for the Goat was only Passive; and his Bus’ness was, without any Insolence, or Injustice, to Defend his Free Hold.

Fab. CCXIX. A Nurse and a Wolfe.

As a Wolfe was Hunting up and down for his Supper, he pass’d by a Door where a Little Child was Bawling, and an Old Woman Chiding it. Leave your Vixen-Tricks, says the Woman, or I’ll throw ye to the Wolfe. The Wolfe Over-heard her, and Waited a pretty While, in hope the Woman would be as good as her Word; but No Child coming, away goes the Wolfe for That Bout. He took his Walk the Same Way again toward the Evening, and the Nurse he found had Chang’d her Note; for she was Then Muzzling, and Cokesing of it. That’s a Good Dear, says she, If the Wolfe comes for My Child, We’ll e’en Beat his Brains out. The Wolfe went Muttering away upon’t. There’s No Meddling with People, says he, that Say One Thing and Mean Another.

The Moral.

’Tis Fear more then Love that makes Good Men, as well as Good Children, and when Fair Words, and Good Councel will not Prevail upon us, we must be Frighted into our Duty.

REFLEXION.

The Heart and Tongue of a Woman are commonly a Great way a sunder. And it may bear Another Moral; which is, that ’tis with Froward Men, and Froward Factions too; as ’tis with Froward Children, They’ll be sooner Quieted by Fear, and Rough Dealing, then by any Sense of Duty or Good Nature. There would be no Living in This World without Penal Laws, and Conditions. And Do or Do not, This or That at Your Peril, is as Reasonable, and Necessary in Families as it is in Governments. It is a Truth Imprinted in the Hearts of All Mankind, that the Gibbets, Pillories, and the Whipping-Posts make more Converts then the Pulpits: As the Child did more here for fear of the Wolfe, then for the Love of the Nurse.

Fab. CCXX. An Eagle and a Tortoise.

A Tortoise was thinking with himself, how Irksom a sort of Life it was, to spend All his Days in a Hole, with a House upon his Head, when so many Other Creatures had the Liberty to Divert Themselves in the Free, Fresh Air, and to Ramble about at Pleasure. So that the Humor took him One Day, and he must needs get an Eagle to teach him to Fly. The Eagle would fain have put him off, and told him, ’twas a Thing against Nature, and Common Sense; but (according to a Freak of the Wilful Part of the World) the More the One was Against it, the More the Other was For it: And when the Eagle saw that the Tortoise would not be said Nay, she took him up a matter of Steeple-high into the Air, and there turn’d him Loose to shift for Himself. That is to say; she dropt him down, Squab upon a Rock, that Dash’d him to Pieces.

The Moral.

Nothing can be either Safe, or Easy that’s Unnatural.

REFLEXION.

This shews us, how Unnatural a Vanity it is, for a Creature that was Made for One Condition, to Aspire to Another. The Tortoises Place was upon the Sands, not among the Stars; and if he had kept to his Station, he would have been in No Danger of Falling. Many a Fool has Good Councel Offer’d him, that has not either the Wit, or the Grace to Take it; and his Willfulness commonly Ends in his Ruine.

Every thing in Nature has it’s Appointed Place, and Condition, and there’s No putting a Force upon any thing, contrary to the Biass and Intent of it’s Institution. What Bus’ness has a Tortoise among the Clouds? Or why may not the Earth it self as well Covet a Higher Place, as any Creature that’s Confin’d to’t? It is, in short, a Silly, an Extravagant, and in Truth, so Impious a Fancy, that there can hardly be a Greater Folly, then to Wish, or but so much as Suppose it: But there’s an Ambition in mean Creatures, as well as in Mean Souls. So many Ridiculous Upstarts as we find Promoted in the World, we may Imagin to be so many Tortoises in the Air; and when they have Flutter’d there a While, like Paper Kites, for the Boys to stare at, He that took them up, grows either Asham’d, or Weary of them, and so lets them Drop again; and, with the Devil Himself, e’en leaves them where he found them. This may serve to put a Check to the Vanity and Folly of an Unruly Ambition; that’s Deaf, not only to the Advice of Friends, but to the Councels and Monitions of the very Spirit of Reason it self: For flying without Wings is All one with Working without Means. We see a Thousand Instances in the World, Every jot as Ridiculous as This in the Fable. That is to say, of Men that are Made for One Condition, and yet Affect Another. What signifies the Fiction of Phaeton in the Chariot of the Sun? The Frog vying Bulk with an Oxe; or the Tortoise Riding upon the Wings of the Wind; but to Prescribe Bounds and Measures to our Exorbitant Passions; and at the same time, to shew us upon the Issue, that All Unnatural Pretensions are Attended with a Certain Ruine?

Fab. CCXXI. An Old Crab and a Young.

Child, (says the Mother) You must Use your self to Walk Streight, without Skewing, and Shailing so Every Step you set; Pray Mother (says the Young Crab) do but set the Example your self, and I’ll follow ye.

Fab. CCXXII. The Goose and Gosselin.

Why do you go Nodding and Waggling so like a Fool, as if you were Hipshot? says the Goose to her Gosselin. The Young One try’d to Mend it, but Could not; and so the Mother ty’d Little Sticks to her Legs, to keep her Upright: But the Little One Complain’d then, that she could neither Swim, nor Dabble with ’em. Well, says the Mother, Do but hold up your Head at least. The Gosselin Endeavour’d to do That too; but upon the Stretching out of her Long Neck, she complain’d that she could not see the Way before her; Nay then, says the Goose, if it will be no Better, e’en carry your Head and your Feet, as your Elders have done before ye.

The Moral of the Two Fables above.

Ill Examples Corrupt even the Best Dispositions, but we must Distinguish betwixt Natural and Moral Actions.

REFLEXION.

It is Time Lost to Advise Others to do what we either Do not, or Cannot do Our Selves. There’s no Crossing of Nature; but the Best way is to rest Contented with the Ordinary Condition of Things. ’Tis but so much Labour thrown away, to Attempt the Altering of Instincts, or the Curing of Ill Habits.

Example Works a great Deal more then Precept; for Words without Practice, are but Councels without Effect. When we do as we say, ’tis a Confirmation of the Rule; but when our Lives and Doctrines do not Agree, it looks as if the Lesson were either too Hard for us, or the Advice not worth the While to Follow. We should see to Mend our Own Manners, before we Meddle to Reform our Neighbours, and not Condemn Others for what we do our Selves: Especially where they follow the Nature of their Kind, and in so doing, Do as they Ought to do. Let Every thing Move, March, and Govern it self, according to the Proper Disposition of the Creature; for it would be Every Jot as Incongruous, for a Crab to Walk like a Man, as for a Man to Walk like a Crab. This may be apply’d to the Lessons that are given us for the Ordering our Lives and Families. But above All Things, Children should not be Betray’d into the Love and Practice of any thing that is Amiss, by Setting Evil Examples before them; for their Talent is only Imitation; and ’tis Ill Trusting Methinks in such a Case, without a Judgment to Distinguish.

This Allegory may pass for a very Good Lecture to Governors, Parents, and Tutors, to behave themselves Reverently both in Word and Deed, before their Pupils, with a kind of Awful Tenderness for the Innocency and Simplicity of Youth. For Examples of Vices, or Weaknesses, have the same Effect upon Children, with Examples of Virtue; Nay, it holds in Publique too as well as in Private, that the Words and Actions of our Superiors have the Authority and Force of a Recommendation. Regis ad Exemplum, is so True, that ’tis Morally Impossible to have a Sober People under a Mad Government. For where Lewdness is the Way to Preferment, Men are Wicked by Interest, as well as by Imitation: But to Return to the Stress of the Fable, Let a Goose Walk like a Goose, and leave Nature to do her Own Bus’ness her Own Way.

Fab. CCXXIII. The Sun and the Wind.

There happen’d a Controversie betwixt the Sun and the Wind, which was the Stronger of the Two; and they put the Point upon This Issue: There was a Traveller upon the Way, and which of the Two could make That Fellow Quit his Cloak should carry the Cause. The Wind fell presently a Storming, and threw Hail-Shot over and above in the very Teeth of him. The Man Wraps himself up, and keeps Advancing still in spight of the Weather: But this Gust in a short Time Blew over; and then the Sun Brake out, and fell to Work upon him with his Beams; but still he Pushes forward, Sweating, and Panting, till in the End he was forc’d to Quit his Cloak, and lay himself down upon the Ground in a Cool Shade for his Relief. So that the Sun, in the Conclusion, carry’d the Point.

The Moral.

Reason and Resolution will Support a Man against All the Violences of Malice and Fortune; but in a Wallowing Qualm, a Man’s Heart and Resolution fails him, for want of Fit Matter to Work upon.

REFLEXION.

’Tis a Part of Good Discretion in All Contests, to Consider over and over, the Power, the Strength, and the Interest of our Adversary; and likewise again, that though One Man may be more Robust then Another, That Force may be Baffled yet by Skill and Address. It is in the Bus’ness of Life as it is in a Storm, or a Calm at Sea: The Blast may be Impetuous; but seldom lasts long; and though the Vessel be Press’d never so Hard, a Skilful Steers-man will yet bear up against it: But in a Dead Calm, a Man loses his Spirits, and lies in a Manner Expos’d, as the Scorn and Spectacle of Ill Fortune.

Fab. CCXXIV. An Ass and a Lyon’s Skin.

There was a Freak took an Ass in the Head, to Scoure abroad upon the Ramble; and away he goes into the Woods, Masquerading up and down in a Lyon’s Skin. The World was his Own for a while, and where ever he went, Man and Beast Fled before him: But he had the Hap in the Conclusion, partly by his Voice, and partly by his Ears, to be Discover’d, and consequently Uncas’d, well Laugh’d at, and well Cudgell’d for his Pains.

The Moral.

The World abounds in Terrible Fanfarons, in the Masque of Men of Honour: But These Braggadocio’s are Easie to be Detected; for no Counterfeit of any Good Quality or Virtue whatsoever, will abide the Test.

REFLEXION.

There’s Nothing more Frequent, or more Ridiculous in the World then for an Ass to Dress himself up like a Lyon: A Dunce sets up for a Doctor; a Beggar for a Man of Estate; a Scoundrel for a Cavalier; a Poltron for a Swordman: But Every Fool still has some Mark or other to be Known by, through All Disguises; and the More he takes upon him, the Arranter Sot he makes Himself, when he comes to be Unmasqu’d.

Every Fool, or Fools Fellow, carries More or Less, in his Face, the Signature of his Manners, though the Character may be much more Legible in some, then in Others; As the Ass was found out by his Voice, and by his Ears. Let him keep his Words betwixt his Teeth, and he may pass Muster perhaps for a Man of some Sense; but if he comes to Open once, he’s Lost: For Nature never put the Tongue of a Philosopher into the Mouth of a Coxcomb: but however, let him be, in truth, what he Will, he is yet so Conscious of what he Ought to be, that he makes it his Bus’ness to pass for what he is Not: And in the Matter of Counterfeits, it is with Men, as it is with False Money: One Piece is more or less Passable then Another, as it happens to have more or less Sense, or Sterling in the Mixture. One General Mark of an Impostor, is This; That he Out-does the Original; As the Ass here in the Lyon Skin, made Fifty times more Clutter then the Lyon would have done in his Own; And Himself Fifty times the more Ridiculous for the Disguise.

If a Man turn his Thoughts now from This Fancy in the Forrest, to the Sober Truth of Daily Experience in the World, he shall find Asses in the Skins of Men, Infinitely more Contemptible then This Ass in the Skin of a Lyon. How many Terrible Asses have we seen in the Garb of Men of Honour! How many Insipid, and Illiterate Fops, that take upon them to Retail Politiques, and fit for the Picture of Men of State! How many Judas’s with Hail Master in their Mouths! How many Church Robbers that Write themselves Reformers! In One Word, Men do Naturally love to be thought Greater, Wiser, Holier, Braver, and Juster then they Are; and in fine, Better Qualify’d in All Those Faculties that may give them Reputation among the People, then we find ’em to be.

The Moral of This Fable Hits all sorts of Arrogant Pretenders, and runs Effectually into the Whole Bus’ness of Humane Life. We have it in the very Cabinets, and Councels of State, the Bar, the Bench, the Change, the Schools, the Pulpits, All Places, in short, are full of Quacks, Juglers, and Plagiaries, that set up for Men of Quality, Conscience, Philosophy, and Religion. So that there are Asses with Short Ears, as well as with Long, and in Robes of Silk and Dignity, as well as in Skins of Hair. In Conclusion, An Ass of the Long-Robe, when he comes once to be Detected, looks Infinitely Sillier, then he would have done in his own Shape: Neither is Æsop’s Ass Laugh’d at here for his Ears, or for his Voice, but for his Vanity, and Pretence; for T’other is but according to his own Kind and Nature; and Every thing is Well and Best, while it Continues to be as God made it.

Fab. CCXXV. A Fox and a Worm.

A Worm put forth his Head out of a Dunghil, and made Proclamation of his Skill in Physick. Pray, says the Fox, Begin with your Own Infirmities before you Meddle with other Peoples.

The Moral.

Physician Cure thy Self.

REFLEXION.

Saying and Doing are Two Things. Physician Cure thy Self, Preaches to us upon This Fable. Every Man does Best in his own Trade, and the Cobler is not to go beyond his Last. We have of these Dunghil-Pretenders, in All Professions, and but too many of them that Thrive upon their Arrogance. If This Worm had met with an Ass to Encourage his Vanity, instead of a Fox to Correct it, he might have been Advanc’d to a Doctor of the College perhaps: Or to some more Considerable Post of Honour, either in Church or State.

Fab. CCXXVI. A Curst Dog.

There was a very Good House-Dog, but so Dangerous a Cur to Strangers, that his Master put a Bell about his Neck, to give People Notice before-hand when he was a Coming. The Dog took this Bell for a Particular Mark of his Master’s Favour, till One of his Companions shew’d him his Mistake. You are Mightily Out (says he) to take this for an Ornament, or a Token of Esteem, which is in truth, no Other then a Note of Infamy set upon you for your Ill Manners.

The Moral.

This may serve for an Admonition to Those that make a Glory of the Marks of their Shame, and Value themselves upon the Reputation of an Ill Character.

REFLEXION.

’Tis a Bad World, when the Rules and Measures of Good and Evil, are either Inverted, or Mistaken; and when a Brand of Infamy passes for a Badge of Honour. But the Common People do not Judge of Vice or Virtue, by the Morality, or the Immorality of the Matter, so much as by the Stamp that is set upon’t by Men of President and Figure. What’s more Familiar then an Ostentation of Wickedness, where Impiety has the Reputation of Virtue? As in the Excesses of Wine and Women, and the Vanity of bearing up against all the Laws of God and Man. When Lewdness comes once to be a Fashion, it has the Credit in the World that other Fashions have, as we see many times an Affectation even of Deformity it self, where some Exemplary Defect has brought that Deformity to be a Mode. The Fancy of This Dog was somewhat like the French Woman’s Freak, that stood up for the Honour of her Family: Her Coat was Quarter’d, she said, with the Arms of France; which was so far True, that she had the Flower-de-Luce Stamp’d, we must not say Branded upon her Shoulder.

Fab. CCXXVII. Two Friends and a Bear.

Two Friends that were Travelling together, had the Fortune to Meet a Bear upon the Way. They found there was no Running for’t. So the One Whips up a Tree, and the Other throws himself Flat with his Face upon the Ground. The Bear comes directly up to him, Muzzles, and Smells to him, puts his Nose to his Mouth, and to his Ears, and at last, taking for Granted that ’twas only a Carcass, there he leaves him. The Bear was no sooner gone, but Down comes his Companion, and ask’d him, what it was the Bear Whisper’d him in the Ear. He bad me have a Care, says he, how I keep Company with those, that when they find themselves upon a Pinch, will leave their Friends in the Lurch.

The Moral.

Every Man for Himself, and God for us All.

REFLEXION.

This Fable has in a Few Words a Great many Useful, and Instructive Morals. The Man upon the Tree Preaches to us upon the Text of [Charity begins at Home] According to the False and Perverse Practice of the World when their Companions are in Distress. The Bear passes Judgment upon the Abandoning of a Friend in a Time of Need, as an Offence both to Honour and Virtue; And moreover, Cautions us, above All Things, to have a Care what Company we keep. There’s no Living in This World without Friendship; No Society, No Security without it; Besides that, the Only Tryal of it is in Adversity. And yet nothing Commoner in times of Danger, then for States-men, Sword-men, Church-men, Law-men, and in truth, all sorts of Men, more or less, to leave their Masters, Leaders, or Friends, to Bears and Tygers; Shew them a Fair pair of Heels for’t, and cry, The Devil take the Hindmost.

Fab. CCXXVIII. A Horse-Man’s Whig Blown off.

There was a Horse-man had a Cap on with a False Head of Hair Tack’d to’t. There comes a Puff of Wind, and Blows off Cap and Whig together. The People made sport, he saw, with his Bald Crown, and so very fairly he put In with them to Laugh for Company. Why Gentlemen (says he) would you have me keep other Peoples Hair Better then I did my Own.

The Moral.

Many a Man would be Extremely Ridiculous, if he did not Spoil the Jest by Playing upon Himself first.

REFLEXION.

’Tis a Turn of Art, in many Cases, either of Deformity, or Mischance, where a Man lies open to a Reproch to Anticipate an Abuse, and to make Sport with Himself first. A Man may be Shame-Fac’d, and a Woman, Modest, to the Degree of Scandalous. I knew a Lady had one of the most Bashful, Scrupulous Persons to her Daughter that ever was Born. Well, says she, I am mightily afraid, This Girl will prove a Whore; for she is so Infinitely Modest, that in my Conscience, if any Man should ever Ask her the Question, she would not have the Face to Deny him. A Frank Easy way of Openness and Candor agrees Best with All Humours; and He that’s Over-solicitous to Conceal a Thing, does as good as make Proclamation of it. Wherefore the Horse-man here Laugh’d first; and so Prevented the Jest.

Fab. CCXXIX. Two Pots.

There were Two Pots that stood near One Another by the Side of a River, the One of Brass, and the Other of Clay. The Water overflow’d the Banks, and Carry’d them both away: The Earthen Vessel kept Aloof from T’other, as much as Possible. Fear Nothing, says the Brass Pot, I’ll do you No Hurt: No, No, says T’other, not willingly; but if we should happen to Knock by Chance, ’twould be the same Thing to Me: So that You and I shall never do well together.

The Moral.

Unequal Fellowships and Alliances are Dangerous. Not but that Great and Small, Hard and Brittle, Rich and Poor, may sort Well enough together so long as the Good Humour Lasts; but wherever there are Men there will be Clashing some time or other, and a Knock, or a Contest spoils All.

REFLEXION.

There can be no True Friendship, properly so Call’d, but betwixt Equals. The Rich and the Poor, the Strong and the Weak will never agree together: For there’s Danger on the One side, and None on the Other, and ’tis the Common Interest of All Leagues and Societies, to have the Respective Parties Necessary to One Another. And there needs no Ill Will, or Malice neither, to do the Mischief, but the Disparity, or Disproportion Alone is enough to do the Work. The same Quantity of Wine that makes One Man Drunk, will not Quench Another Man’s Thirst. The same Expence that breaks One Man’s Back is not a Flea-biting to Another: Wherefore, Men should sort themselves with their Equals; for a Rich Man that Converses upon the Square with a Poor Man, shall as certainly Undoe him, as a Brass-Pot shall break an Earthen One, if they Meet and Knock together.

Fab. CCXXX. Good Luck and Bad Luck.

There was a Middling sort of a Man that was left well enough to pass by his Father, but could never think he had enough, so long as any Man had more. He took Notice what Huge Estates many Merchants got in a very short Time; and so Sold his Inheritance, and betook himself to a way of Traffique and Commerce. Matters succeeded so Wonderfully well with him, that Every body was in Admiration to see how Mighty Rich he was grown all on a Sudden. Why Ay, says he, This ’tis when a Man Understands his Bus’ness; for I have done all This by my Industry. It would have been well if he had stopt there: But Avarice is Insatiable, and so he went Pushing on still for More; till, what by Wrecks, Bankrupts, Pyrates, and I know not how many other Disappointments, One upon the Neck of Another, he was reduc’d in Half the Time that he was a Rising, to a Morsel of Bread. Upon these Miscarriages, People were at him over, and over again, to know how This came About. Why says he, My Damn’d Fortune would have it so. Fortune happen’d to be at That Time within Hearing, and told him in his Ear, that he was an Arrogant, Ungrateful Clown; to Charge Her with All the Evil that Befel him, and to take the Good to Himself.

Fab. CCXXXI. A Country-man and Fortune.

As a Labourer was at his Work a Digging, he Chops his Spade upon a Pot of Money; Takes it up, Blesses the Place where he found it, and away he goes with his Treasure. It so fell out, that Fortune Saw and Heard All that Past, and so she call’d out to him upon the Way. Heark ye Friend, says she; You are very Thankful, I perceive, to the Place where you found This Money; but ’tis the Jade Fortune, I warrant ye, that’s to be Claw’d away for’t: if you should happen to Lose it again. Pray tell me now why should not you Thank Fortune for the One, as well as Curse her for the Other.

Fab. CCXXXII. An Old Woman and the Devil.

’Tis a Common Practice, when People draw Mischiefs upon their Own Heads, to cry, the Devil’s in’t, and the Devil’s in’t. Now the Devil happen’d to spy an Old Woman upon on Apple-Tree. Look ye (says he) You shall see that Beldam Catch a Fall there by and by, and Break her Bones, and then say ’twas all long of me. Pray Good People will you bear me Witness, that I was none of her Adviser. The Woman got a Tumble, as the Devil said she would, and there was she at it. The Devil Ought her a Shame, and it was the Devil that put her upon’t: But the Devil Clear’d himself by sufficient Evidence that he had no Hand in’t at all.

Fab. CCXXXIII. A Boy and Fortune.

There was a Boy fast asleep upon the very Brink of a River. Fortune came to him, and wak’d him. Child, says she, prithee get up, and go thy ways, thou’t Tumble in and be Drown’d else, and then the Fault will be laid upon Me.

The Moral of the Four Fables Above.

We are apt to Ascribe our Successes in This World, and to Impute our Misfortunes, to Wrong Causes. We Assume the One to our Selves, and Charge the Other upon Providence.

REFLEXION.

These Four Fables run upon the same Biass; That is to say, the Moral is a Lash at the Vanity of Arrogating That to our selves, which succeeds Well; and the Ingratitude of making Providence the Author of Evil, which seldom scapes without a Judgment in the Tayl on’t. But our Hearts are so much set upon the Value of the Benefits we receive, that we never Think of the Bestower of them, and so our Acknowledgments are commonly paid to the Second Hand, without any Regard to the Principal. We run into Mistakes, and Misfortunes, of our Own Accord; and then when we are once Hamper’d, we lay the Blame of our Own Faults and Corruptions upon Others. This is much the Humour of the World too in Common Bus’ness. If any thing Hits, we take it to our Selves; if it Miscarries, we shuffle it off to our Neighbours. This Arises, partly from Pride, and in part from a Certain Canker’d Malignity of Nature. Nay rather then Impute our Miscarriages and Disappointments to our Own Corruptions, or Frailties, we do not Stick to Arraign Providence it self, though under Another Name, in all our Exclamations against the Rigour, and the Iniquity of Fortune. Now this Fortune in the Fable, is Effectually, God Himself, in the Moral. We are apt to Value our selves upon our Own Strength and Abilities, and to Entitle Carnal Reason to the very Works of Grace: And where any thing goes Wrong with us, we lay our Faults, as we do our Bastards, at Other Peoples Doors. This or That was not well done, we say, but alas it was none of our Fault. We did it by Constraint, Advice, Importunity, or the Authority perhaps of Great Examples, and the Like. At This rate do we Palliate our Own Weaknesses and Corruptions, and at the same Rate do We likewise Assume to our selves Other Peoples Merits. The Thing to be done, in fine, is to Correct the Arrogance of Claiming to our selves the Good that does not belong to us, on the One Hand, and of Imputing to our Neighbours the Ill that they are not Guilty of, on the Other. This is the Sum of the Doctrine that’s Pointed at in the Case and Custom of Dividing our Miscarriages betwixt Fortune and the Devil.

Fab. CCXXXIV. A Peacock and a Crane.

As a Peacock and a Crane were in Company together, the Peacock spreads his Tail, and Challenges the Other, to shew him such a Fan of Feathers. The Crane, upon This, Springs up into the Air, and calls to the Peacock to Follow him if he could. You brag of your Plumes, says he, that are fair indeed to the Eye, but no way Useful or Fit for any manner of Service.

The Moral.

Heaven has provided not only for our Necessities, but for our Delights and Pleasures too; but still the Blessings that are most Useful to us, must be preferr’d before the Ornaments of Beauty.

REFLEXION.

No Man is to be Despis’d for any Natural Infirmity, or Defect; for Every Man has something or other in him of Good too, and That which One Man Wants, Another Has. And it is all according to the Good Pleasure of Providence. Nature is pleas’d to Entertain her self with Variety. Some of her Works are for Ornament, others for the Use and Service of Mankind. But they have All Respectively, their Properties, and their Virtues; for she does nothing in Vain. The Peacock Values himself upon the Gracefulness of his Train. The Crane’s Pride is in the Rankness of her Wing: Which are only Two Excellencies in several Kinds. Take them apart, and they are Both Equally Perfect: but Good Things Themselves have their Degrees, and That which is most Necessary and Useful, must be Allow’d a Preference to the Other.

Fab. CCXXXV. A Tyger and a Fox.

As a Huntsman was upon the Chase, and the Beasts flying before him; Let Me alone, says a Tyger, and I’ll put an end to This War my self: At which Word, he Advanced towards the Enemy in his Single Person. The Resolution was no sooner Taken, but he found himself Struck through the Body with an Arrow. He fasten’d upon it presently with his Teeth, and while he was Trying to Draw it out, a Fox Ask’d him, from what Bold Hand it was that he Receiv’d This Wound. I know Nothing of That, says the Tyger, but by the Circumstances, it should be a Man.

The Moral.

There’s No Opposing Brutal Force to the Stratagems of Humane Reason.

REFLEXION.

Boldness without Counsel, is no better then an Impetus, which is commonly Worsted by Conduct and Design. There’s No Man so Daring but some time or Other he Meets with his Match. The Moral, in short, holds forth This Doctrine, that Reason is too Hard for Force; and that Temerity puts a Man off his Guard. ’Tis a High Point of Honour, Philosophy and Virtue, for a Man to be so Present to Himself as to be always Provided against All Encounters, and Accidents whatsoever; but This will not Hinder him from Enquiring Diligently into the Character, the Strength, Motions, and Designs of an Enemy. The Tyger lost his Life for want of This Circumspection.

Fab. CCXXXVI. A Lyon and Bulls.

There was a Party of Bulls that Struck up a League to Keep and Feed together, and to be One and All, in case of a Common Enemy. If the Lyon could have Met with any of them Single, he would have done His Work, but so long as they Stuck to This Confederacy, there was No Dealing with them. They fell to Variance at last among Themselves: The Lyon made his Advantage of it, and then with Great Ease he Gain’d his End.

The Moral.

This is to tell us the Advantage, the Necessity, and the Force of Union; And that Division brings Ruine.

REFLEXION.

There’s No Resisting of a Common Enemy; No Maintaining of a Civil Community, without an Union for a Mutual Defence; and there may be also, on the Other Hand, a Conspiracy of Common Enmity and Aggression. There are Cases indeed of Great Nicety that fall under the Topique of the Right and Lawfulness of Joyning in such Leagues. He that is not Sui Juris, must not Enter into any Covenants or Contracts to the Wrong of his Master: But there are Certain Rules of Honesty, and Methods of Government, to Direct us in all Agreements of This Quality. A Thing simply Good in it self, may become Unjust and Unrighteous, under such and such Circumstances. In a Word, the Main Bond of All Bodies and Interests is Union, which is No Other in Effect then a Common Stock of Strength and Counsel Joyn’d in One. While the Bulls kept together, they were Safe; but as soon as ever they separated, they became a Prey to the Lyon.

Fab. CCXXXVII. A Fir and a Bramble.

There goes a Story of a Fir-Tree, that in a Vain Spiteful Humour, was mightily upon the Pin of Commending it self, and Despising the Bramble. My Head (says the Fir) is advanc’d among the Stars. I furnish Beams for Palaces, Masts for Shipping: The very Sweat of my Body is a Sovereign Remedy for the Sick and Wounded; Whereas the Rascally Bramble runs creeping in the Dirt, and serves for Nothing in the World but Mischief. Well, says the Bramble, (that Over-heard all This) You might have said somewhat of your Own Misfortune, and to My Advantage too, if Your Pride and Envy would have suffer’d you to do it. But pray will you tell me however, when the Carpenter comes next with his Axe into the Wood to Fell Timber, whether you had not rather be a Bramble, then a Fir-Tree.

The Moral.

Poverty Secures a Man from Thieves, Great and Small: Whereas the Rich, and the Mighty are the Mark of Malice; and Cross Fortune, and still the Higher they Are, the Nearer the Thunder.

REFLEXION.

There is no State of Life without a Mixture in’t of Good and Evil; and the Highest Pitch of Fortune is not without Dangers, Cares, and Fears. This Doctrine is Verify’d by Examples Innumerable, through the Whole History of the World, and that the Mean is Best, both for Body, Mind, and Estate. Pride is not only Uneasie, but Unsafe too, for it has the Power and Justice of Heaven, and the Malicious Envy of Men to Encounter at the same Time; and the Axe that Cuts down the Fir, is Rightly Moraliz’d in the Stroke of Divine Vengeance, that brings down the Arrogant, while the Bramble Contents it self in its Station: That is to say; Humanity is a Vertue, that never goes without a Blessing.

Fab. CCXXXVIII. A Covetous Man and an Envious.

There was a Covetous, and an Envious Man, that Joyn’d in a Petition to Jupiter; who very Graciously Order’d Apollo to tell them that their Desire should be Granted at a Venture; provided only, that whatever the One Ask’d, should be Doubled to the Other. The Covetous Man, that thought he could never have enough, was a good while at a Stand; Considering, that let him Ask never so much, the Other should have Twice as much. But he came however by Degrees, to Pitch upon One Thing after another, and his companion had it Double. It was now the Envious Man’s turn to Offer up His Request, which was, that One of his Own Eyes might be put out, for his Companion was then to lose Both.

The Moral.

Avarice and Envy are Two of the most Diabolical, and Insociable Vices under Heaven. The One Assumes All to it self, and the Other Wishes Every bit it’s Neighbour Eats may Choak him.

REFLEXION.

There are some Pestilent Humours and Froward Natures, that Heaven it self has much ado to please. Envy Places it’s Happiness in the Misery and Misfortune of Others; and Avarice is never to be Pleas’d, unless it can get All to it self. They may seem to be nearer a-Kin then in truth they Are, though the One is seldom or never to be found without the Other. The Best Use of This Application, is to Possess us with a True Sense of the Restlesness of these Two Passions; and Consequently to make Those Weaknesses Odious to our selves, that are so Troublesom to the World; and in truth, no Better then the Common Pest of Mankind.

Fab. CCXXXIX. A Crow and a Pitcher.

A Crow that was Extream Thirsty, found a Pitcher with a Little Water in’t, but it lay so Low he could not come at it. He try’d first to Break the Pot, and then to Over-turn it, but it was both too Strong, and too Heavy for him. He Bethought Himself however of a Device at last that did his Bus’ness; which was, by Dropping a great many Little Pebbles into the Water, and Raising it That Way, till he had it within Reach.

The Moral.

There is a Natural Logick in Animals, over and above the Instinct of their Kinds.

REFLEXION.

’Tis a Kind of a School Question that we find started in This Fable, upon the Subject of Reason and Instinct: And whether This Deliberative Proceeding of the Crow was not rather a Logical Agitation of the Matter, then the Bare Analogy, as we call it, of a Simple Impulse. It will be Objected, that we are not to Draw Conclusions from the Fictions of a Case, but whoever Consults his Experience, may satisfie Himself in many Instances that come up to This Supposition. We are also taught, that what we cannot Compass Directly, by the Force of Natural Faculties, may be brought to pass many Times by Art and Invention.

Fab. CCXL. A Lyon and a Man.

There was a Controversie Started betwixt a Lyon and a Man, which was the Braver, and the Stronger Creature of the Two. Why look ye, says the Man, (after a long Dispute) we’ll Appeal to that Statue there, and so he shew’d him the Figure of a Man Cut in Stone, with a Lyon under his Feet. Well! says the Lyon, if We had been brought up to Painting and Carving, as You are, where you have One Lyon under the Feet of a Man, you should have had Twenty Men under the Paw of a Lyon.

The Moral.

’Tis against the Rules of Common Justice for Men to be Judges in their Own Case.

REFLEXION.

The Fancies of Poets, Painters, and Gravers, are No Evidences of Truth; for People are Partial in their Own Cases, and Every Man will make the Best of his Own Tale. ’Tis against Common Equity for the same People to be both Parties and Judges, and That’s the Case here betwixt the Man and the Lyon. Now the Lyon is much in the Right, that Characters, Pictures, and Images, are All as the Painter, the Carver, or the Statuary pleases; and that there’s a Great Difference betwixt a Flight of Fancy, and the History of Nature. ’Tis much Easier for a Man to make an Ass of a Lyon upon a Pedestal, then in a Forrest; and where it lies at his Choice, whether the Giant shall Kill the Squire, or the Squire the Giant. Argument is not the Work of the Chissel; neither does the Design of the Artist conclude the Truth of the Fact: but there is somewhat Heroical yet in the Imagination, though the Piece was never Drawn from the Life.

Fab. CCXLI. A Boy and a Thief.

A Thief came to a Boy, that was Blubbering by the Side of a Well, and Ask’d him what he cry’d for. Why, says he, the String’s Broke here, and I’ve dropt a Silver Cup into the Well. The Fellow presently Strips, and down he goes to search for’t. After a while, he comes up again, with his Labour for his Pains, and the Roguy Boy, in the Mean time, was run away with his Cloaths.

The Moral.

Some Thieves are Ripe for the Gallows sooner than Others.

REFLEXION.

It must be a Diamond that cuts a Diamond, and there is No Pleasanter Encounter, then a Tryal of Skill betwixt a Couple of Sharpers to Overreach One Another. The Boy’s beginning so Early, tells us that there are Cheats by a Natural Propensity of Inclination, as well as by a Corruption of Manners. It was Nature that taught this Boy to Shark; not Discipline, or Experience. And so it was with Two Ladies that I have known (and Women of Plentiful Fortunes too) they could not for their Bloods keep themselves Honest of their Fingers, but would still be Nimming something or other for the very Love of Thieving. ’Tis an Unhappy Thing, that the Temperament of the Body should have such an Influence upon our Minds, according to the Instance of the Boy in This Fable: For the Morality, or Immorality of the Matter, is not the Whole of the Case.

Fab. CCXLII. A Country-man and an Oxe.

A Country-man had got a Stubborn Oxe, that would still be Pushing and Flinging, whenever they went to Yoak, or to Tye him up. The Man Cuts off his Horns, and puts him to the Plough, and by That Means Secures Himself, both against his Head and his Heels; and in the Mean time, He Himself Guides the Plough: But though the Oxe, when he was thus Shackled and Disarmed, could not either Strike, or Gore him, he made a shift yet to throw Dust enough into his Eyes, and his Mouth, almost to Blind, and to Choak him.

The Moral.

A Malicious Man may be Bound Hand and Foot, and put out of Condition of doing Mischief, but a Malicious Will is never to be Master’d.

REFLEXION.

There are some Natures so Untractable, that there’s No Good to be done upon them by Generosity, Kindness, Artifice, or Councel, nay, the more pains a Man takes to Reclaim them, the Worse they are; and when they are put out of Condition to do Mischief by Violence, they will find a Way yet to Teize and Plague People with Restless, and Vexatious Importunities. They love to be Troublesome, and with the Shrew upon the Ducking-stool, when their Mouths are Stopt, they’ll call Pricklouse still with their Thumbs.

Fab. CCXLIII. A Man and a Satyr.

There was a Man and a Satyr that kept much together. The Man Clapt his Fingers one day to his Mouth, and Blew upon ’em. What’s That for? (says the Satyr) why says he, My Hands are extream Cold, and I do’t to Warm ’em. The Satyr, at Another time, found This Man Blowing his Porridge: And pray, says he, What’s the Meaning of that now? Oh! says the Man, My Porridge is Hot, and I do’t to Cool it. Nay, says the Satyr, if you have gotten a Trick of Blowing Hot and Cold out of the same Mouth, I have e’en Done with ye.

The Moral.

There’s No Conversing with any Man that Carries Two Faces under One Hood.

REFLEXION.

The Moral of this Fable must be Abstracted from the Philosophy of it, and taken in the Sense of carrying Two Faces under One Hood. It sets forth, however, the Simplicity of the Satyr, in Not Understanding how Two such Contrary Effects should come from the same Lips: But it was Honestly done in him yet, to Renounce the Conversation of One that he took for a Double-Dealer; and that could Accommodate himself to make Fair with All Companies, and Occasions, without any regard to Truth, or Justice. It was This Fable that gave Rise to the Old Adage of Blowing Hot and Cold; which is taken for the Mark and Character of a Dissembler.

Fab. CCXLIV. A Country-man and a Boar.

A Country-man took a Boar in his Corn once, and Cut off One of his Ears. He took him a Second Time, and cut off T’other. He took him a Third Time, and made a Present of him to his Landlord. Upon the Opening of his Head, they found he had no Brains, and Every Body fell a Wond’ring, and Discoursing upon it. Sir, says the Clown, If This Boar had had any Brains, he would have taken the Loss of Both his Ears for a Warning, never to come into My Corn again. These Words of the Silly Bumpkin set the whole Company a Laughing.

The Moral.

An Incorrigible Fool that will take no Warning, there’s no Hope of him.

REFLEXION.

The Life and Conversation of some Men is so Brutal, as if they had only the Shape, without the Faculties of Reasonable Creatures. What’s He better then the Boar in This Fable now, that Abandons himself wholly to his Appetites, and Pleasures; and after so many Repeated Poxes, and Qualms, One upon the Neck of Another, Drinks and Whores on still, in Despite of all Punishments, and Warnings. The Boar’s Intemperance, and the Note upon him afterwards, on the Cutting of him up, that he had no Brains in’s Head, may be Moraliz’d into the Figure of a Sensual Man, that has neither Grace nor Knowledge, but runs headlong on to his Ruine, without either Consideration, or Conscience.

Fab. CCXLV. A Bull and a Mouse.

A Mouse Pinch’d a Bull by the Foot, and then slunk into her Hole. The Bull Tears up the Ground upon’t, and Tosses his Head in the Air, looking about, in a Rage, for his Enemy, but sees None. As he was in the Height of his Fury, the Mouse puts out her Head, and Laughs at him. Your Pride (says she) may be brought down I see, for all Your Blustering, and your Horns; for here’s a Poor Mouse has got the Better of ye, and You do not know how to Help your self.

The Moral.

There’s no such way of Revenging an Affront upon a Creature that’s below an Honest Man’s Anger, as Neglect and Contempt.

REFLEXION.

No Man lives without Enemies, and no Enemy is so Despicable, but some time or other he may do a Body a shrewd Turn. ’Tis Prudence to pass over Those Indignities, which are either too Little for our Consideration, or out of our Power to Reach, and Punish. For there’s Nothing more Ridiculous, then an Impotent Anger, that spends it self to no manner of Purpose; and there’s no Better way of Dealing with it, then to Laugh it Out of Countenance. All Men in the World that we see Transported into Outrages, for small Trivial Matters, fall under the Innuendo of This Bull in the Fable, that ran Tearing Mad for the Pinching of a Mouse.

Fab. CCXLVI. A Country-man and Hercules.

A Carter that had laid his Wagon Fast in a Slough, stood Gaping and Bawling to as many of the Gods and Goddesses as he could Muster up, and to Hercules Especially, to Help him out of the Mire. Why ye Lazy Puppy you, says Hercules, lay your Shoulder to the Wheel, and Prick your Oxen first, and Then’s your Time to Pray. Are the Gods to do your Drudgery, d’ye think, and you lie Bellowing with Your Finger in your Mouth?

The Moral.

Men in Distress must Work as well as Pray, they shall be never the Better else.

REFLEXION.

This is but after the Common Guise of the World, for the People when they are put to a Plunge, to cry out to Heaven for Help, without Helping Themselves; whereas Providence Assists No Body that does not put his Own Shoulders to the Work. Prayers without Works, are Nothing Worth, either for Other People, or for Our selves. [For Other People] I say, because there is a Double Duty Incumbent upon us in the Exercise of Those Powers, and Abilities, which Providence has given us for the Common Good of Both. There must be the Penny as well as the Pater-noster. ’Tis not a Bare Lord have Mercy upon us, that will help the Cart out of the Mire, or our Neighbour out of the Ditch, without putting our Hands to the Work. What signifies the Sound of Words in Prayer, without the Affection of the Heart, and a sedulous Application of the Proper Means that may Naturally lead to such an End: This is to say, Body and Soul must go together, in All the Offices of a Christian, as well as of a Civil Life, where there is place for the Exercise of the Faculties of Both.

There is also a Pompous and a Noisy Devotion, that cries aloud to be heard of Men; which is by so much the more Odious in the sight of God then the Other, as an Hypocritical Affectation of Religion, is Worse then a Drowsie Heartlessness of Duty. The Moral of This Fable may be Understood to look Both Ways, but Care must be Taken however, not to let the Scandals of Theatrical Appearances, Divert, or Deter us from the Practice of Holy Offices, within the Bounds of Piety and Good Conscience: after the Example of Those, that set up for Atheists, for fear they should be taken for Enthusiasts. He, in fine, that Made Body and Soul, will be Serv’d and Glorify’d by Both. Besides that, Hercules helps no Body that will not help Himself.

Fab. CCXLVII. A Hen and Golden Eggs.

A Certain Good Woman had a Hen, that Laid her Golden Eggs, which could not be, she thought, without a Mine in the Belly of Her. Upon This Presumption, she Cut her up to Search for Hidden Treasure: But upon the Dissection found her just like Other Hens, and that the Hope of Getting more had betray’d her to the Loss of what she had in Possession.

The Moral.

This is the Fate, Folly and Mischief of Vain Desires, and of an Immoderate Love of Riches. Content wants Nothing, and Covetousness brings Beggery.

REFLEXION.

They that would still have more and more, can never have Enough; No, Not if a Miracle should Interpose to Gratify their Avarice; for it makes Men Unthankful to the Highest Degree, not only in General, for the Benefits they Receive, but in particular also to the very Benefactors Themselves. If the Nearest Friend a Covetous Man has in the World, had really a Mine in his Guts, he’d Rip him up to Find it: For his Bus’ness is to make the Most of what he has, and of what he can get, without any regard to the Course of Providence, or of Nature: And what’s the End of All These Unreasonable Desires, but Loss, Sorrow, and Disappointment? The True Intent of This Fable is to Possess us of a Just Sense of the Vanity and Folly of these Craving Appetites. If the Woman could have been Contented with Golden Eggs, she might have kept That Revenue on still; but when Nothing less then the Mine it self would serve her, she lost Hen, Eggs and All.

Fab. CCXLVIII. An Ape and her Two Brats.

There was an Ape that had Twins: She Doted upon One of them, and did not much Care for T’other. She took a sudden Fright once, and in a Hurry whips up her Darling under her Arm, and carries the Other a Pick-a-Pack upon her Shoulders. In This Haste and Maze, Down she comes, and beats out her Favourites Brains against a Stone; but That which she had at her Back came off Safe and Sound.

The Moral.

Fondlings are Commonly Unfortunate.

REFLEXION.

Partiality in a Parent is commonly Unlucky, if not a little Unnatural, for Fondlings are in danger to be made Fools, by the very Error of their Education, and we find it Experimentally that the Children that are least Cocker’d, make the Best, and Wisest Men. ’Tis well to be Tender, but to set the Heart too much upon any thing, is what we cannot Justify, either in Religion, or in Reason. I was Saying that Partiality was a little Unnatural too. I do not mean a Partiality of Inclination; for we cannot Command our Likings, or our Aversions; but I speak of a Partiality that shews it self in a Distinguishing Preference of One to the Other, and therefore what Hankering Dispositions soever we may have, That Fondness should not Transport us beyond the Bounds of a Discreet Affection; and Other Circumstances apart, we should no more be kinder to One Child then to Another, then we are Tender of One Eye more then of the Other; for they are Both our Own Flesh and Blood alike. Children are Naturally Jealous, and Envious, and the Quenching of their Spirits so Early, hazards the Damping of them for ever. Beside, that there is no such Fop in Fine, as my Young Master, that has the Honour to be a Fool of his Lady Mother’s making. She Blows him up into a Conceit of Himself, and there he Stops, without ever Advancing One Step further. In short, she makes a Man of him at Sixteen, and a Boy all the Days of his Life after. And what is All This now, but the True Moral of the Ape with her Brats here in the Fable? The Cub that she carry’d at her Back had the Wit to Shift for it self; but the Other, that she Hugg’d as the Devil did the Witch, Perish’d in her very Arms.

Fab. CCXLIX. An Oxe and an Heifer.

A Wanton Heifer that had little else to do then to Frisk up and down in a Meadow, at Ease and Pleasure, came up to a Working Oxe with a Thousand Reproaches in her Mouth; Bless me, says the Heifer, what a Difference there is betwixt your Coat and Condition, and Mine! Why, What a Gall’d Nasty Neck have we here! Look ye, Mine’s as clean as a Penny, and as smooth as Silk I warrant ye. ’Tis a Slavish Life to be Yoak’d thus, and in Perpetual Labour. What would you give to be as Free and as Easy now as I am? The Oxe kept These Things in his Thought, without One Word in Answer at present; but seeing the Heifer taken up a While after for a Sacrifice: Well Sister, says he, and have not you Frisk’d fair now, when the Ease and Liberty you Valu’d your self upon, has brought you to This End?

The Moral.

’Tis No New Thing for Men of Liberty and Pleasure, to make Sport with the Plain, Honest Servants of their Prince and Country. But Mark the End on’t, and while the One Labours in his Duty with a Good Conscience, the Other, like a Beast, is but Fatting up for the Shambles.

REFLEXION.

There was never any thing gotten By Sensuality and Sloth, either in Matter of Profit or of Reputation; whereas an Active, Industrious Life carries not only Credit and Advantage, but a Good Conscience also along with it. The Lazy, the Voluptuous, the Proud, and the Delicate, are Struck at in This Fable: Men that set their Hearts only upon the Present, without either Entering into the Reason, or looking forward into the End of Things: Little Dreaming that all this Pomp of Vanity, Plenty, and Pleasure, is but a Fattening of them for the Slaughter. ’Tis the Case of Great and Rich Men in the World; the very Advantages they Glory in, are the Cause of their Ruine. The Heifer that Valu’d it self upon a Smooth Coat, and a Plump habit of Body, was taken up for a Sacrifice; but the Oxe that was Despis’d for his Drudgery, and his Raw-Bones, went on with his Work still in the Way of a Safe and an Honest Labour.

Fab. CCL. A Dog and a Lyon.

What a Miserable Life dost thou lead, says a Dog to a Lyon, to run Starving up and down thus in Woods and Deserts, without either Meat, or Ease: I am Fat and Fair you see, and it Costs me neither Labour, nor Pains. Nay, says the Lyon, you have many a Good Bit no Doubt on’t; but then like a Fool you subject your self to the Clogs and Chains that go along with it: But for my Own Part, let him serve that serve Can, and serve Will, I’ll Live and Die Free.

The Moral.

That Man deserves to be a Slave, that Sacrifices his Liberty to his Appetite.

REFLEXION.

The Moral of This is the Same with That of Dog and Wolfe, Fab. 68.

Fab. CCLI. A River-Fish and a Sea-Fish.

There was a Large Over-grown Pike that had the Fortune to be Carry’d out to Sea by a Strong Current, and had there the Vanity to Value himself above All the Fish in the Ocean. We’ll refer That (says a Sturgeon) to the Judgment of the Market, and see which of the Two yields the Better Price.

The Moral.

Every Man has his Province Assign’d him, and none but a Mad-man will pretend to Impose; and to give Laws where he has Nothing to do.

REFLEXION.

There’s no Folly like That of Vain Glory, nor any thing more Ridiculous then for a Vain Man to be still Boasting of Himself: For ’tis against All Law and Equity, for a Body to be admitted a Judge in ones Own Case. A second Doctrine may be This (and we find it true by Experience) that Mony Governs the World; and that the Market-Price is the Measure of the Worth of Men as well as of Fishes; As the Sturgeon left it to the Fish-monger to Determine the Controversy betwixt Him and the Pike.

Fab. CCLII. A Fox and a Leopard.

As a Leopard was Valuing himself upon the Lustre of his Party-colour’d Skin; a Fox gave him a Jog, and Whisper’d him, that the Beauty of the Mind was an Excellence, Infinitely above That of a Painted Out-side.

The Moral.

A Good Understanding is a Blessing Infinitely beyond All External Beauties.

REFLEXION.

There are Degrees in Good Things. There are Blessings of Fortune, and Those are of the Lowest Rate. The Next above Those Blessings are the Bodily Advantages of Strength, Gracefulness and Health; but the Superlative Blessings, in fine, are the Blessings of the Mind: Fools ’tis true may be allow’d to Brag of Foolish Things; but the Leopard’s Beauty without the Foxes Wit is no better then a Fop in a Gay Coat.