Chapter V: Usurers and Curryers., 392 (6)

_’Tis a Necessary Rule in Alliances, Matches, Societies, Fraternities, Friendships, Partnerships, Commerce, and All Manner of Civil Dealings and Contracts, to have a Strict Regard to the Humour, the Nature, and the Disposition of those we have to do withall._

REFLEXION.

This is to bid us have a Care what Friendships we Contract, and what Company we keep; for Contrary Humours and Manners will never agree together. There can be no Thought of Uniting Those that Nature it self has Divided. And this Caution holds good in all the Bus’ness of a Sober Man’s Life; as Marriage, Studies, Pleasures, Society, Commerce, and the like: ’Tis in some sort, with _Friends_ (Pardon the Coursness of the Illustration) as it is with _Dogs in Couples_. They should be of the Same Size, and Humour; and That which pleases the One should Please the Other; But if they Draw Several Ways, and if One be too Strong for T’other, they’ll be ready to Hang themselves upon Every Gate, or Style they come at. This is the Moral of the Friendship betwixt a _Thrush_ and a _Swallow_, that can never Live together.

FAB. LXVI.

A _Fowler_ and a _Pigeon_.

As a _Country Fellow_ was making a Shoot at a _Pigeon_, he trod upon a _Snake_ that bit him by the Leg. The Surprize Startled him, and away flew the Bird.

The MORAL.

_We are to Distinguish betwixt the Benefits of Good Will, and those of Providence: For the Latter are immediately from Heaven, where no Humane Intention Intervenes._

REFLEXION.

The Mischief that we Meditate to Others, falls commonly upon our Own Heads, and Ends in a Judgment, as well as a Disappointment. Take it Another Way, and it may serve to Mind us how Happily People are Diverted Many Times from the Execution of a Malicious Design, by the Grace and Goodness of a Preventing Providence. A Pistol’s not taking Fire may save the Life of a Good Man; and the Innocent _Pigeon_ had Dy’d, if the Spiteful _Snake_ had not Broken the _Fowler’s_ Aim: That is to say; Good may be drawn out of Evil, and a Body’s Life may be Sav’d without having any Obligation to his Preserver.

FAB. LXVII.

A _Trumpeter_ taken Prisoner.

Upon the Rout of an Army there was a _Trumpeter_ made a Pris’ner, and as the Soldiers were about to Cut his Throat; _Gentlemen_, (says he) _Why should you Kill a Man that Kills No Body?_ You shall Die the rather for That, cry’s one of the Company, for being so mean a Rascal, as to set other People together by the Ears without fighting your self.

The MORAL.

_He that Provokes and Incites Mischief is the Doer of it. ’Tis the Man that Kills Me, the Bullet is only a Passive Instrument to serve his End that directs it._

REFLEXION.

This is to Reprove Those (according to the old Moral) that Stir up Men in Power to do Public Mischief; which is much Worse then any Man’s Doing a Private One Himself: And only a Safer Way of Committing greater Outrages.

The _Trumpeter’s_ Plea is so Arrant a Shuffle here, that an _Incendiary_ at the _Bar_, or in the _Pulpit_, has as much to say for Himself. He that Countenances, Encourages, or Abettes a Mischief, Does it. The Seditious Lawyer, or Divine, Kills No Body with his own Hand, but by a False Gloss perhaps, upon a Law, or a Text, he may Cause Ten Thousand Swords to be Drawn, without Spilling One Drop of Blood immediately Himself. Shall any Man now, that Wilfully, and Maliciously, procures the Cutting of whole Armies to Pieces, set up for an Innocent? As if the lives that were taken away by his Instigation, were not to be Charged upon his Account. He that Covers Murder, Oppression, Sacrilege, Rebellion, with a Cloak of Statute and Scripture, makes God and Government, Effectually the Authors of the Wickedness: And those are the Basest, and Worst of _Bravo’s_, that Employ _Journeymen Mercenaries_ under them to do the Work. What is This, but to Engage our Bibles, and our Law Books in a Conspiracy against Themselves? Shall He that gives Fire to the Train, pretend to Wash his Hands of the Hurt that’s done by the Playing of the Mine? Humane Corruptions are as Catching as Powder; as Easily Enflam’d, and the Fire afterwards as Hard to be Quench’d. That which a Man Causes to be Done, he Does Himself, and ’tis all a case whether he does it by Practice, Precept, or Example. In One Word, He that Kindles the Passions of the _Mobile_, is Answerable for the Following Conflagration. When the Men of the Long Robe have once Preach’d the People to Tinder, the Least Spark sets them a Fire: so that they have no more to do then to Inculcate the Doctrine of Disobedience, and then leave the Multitude to chew upon’t. A _Trumpeter_ in the _Pulpit_ is the very Emblem of a _Trumpeter_ in the _Field_; and the same Charge holds Good against Both. Only the _Spiritual Trumpeter_ is the more Pernicious Instrument of the Two; for the Latter serves only to Rouze the Courage of the Soldiers without any Doctrine of Application upon the Text, whereas the other infuses Malice over and above, and Preaches Death and Damnation, Both in One, and gives ye the very Chapter and Verse for’t.

FAB. LXVIII.

A _Dog_ and a _Wolfe_.

There was a Hagged Carrion of a _Wolfe_, and a Jolly Sort of a Gentile _Dog_, with Good Flesh upon’s Back, that fell into Company together upon the King’s High-Way. The _Wolfe_ was wonderfully pleas’d with his Companion, and as Inquisitive to Learn how he brought himself to That Blessed State of Body. Why, says the _Dog_, I keep my Master’s House from Thieves, and I have very Good Meat, Drink, and Lodging for my pains. Now if you’ll go along with Me, and do as I do, you may fare as I fare. The _Wolfe_ Struck up the Bargain, and so away they Trotted together: But as they were Jogging on, the _Wolfe_ spy’d a Bare Place about the _Dog’s_ Neck, where the Hair was worn off. Brother (says he) how comes this I prethee? Oh, That’s Nothing, says the _Dog_, but the Fretting of my _Collar_ a little. Nay, says T’other, if there be a _Collar_ in the Case, I know Better Things then to sell my Liberty for a Crust.

The MORAL.

_We are so Dazzel’d with the Glare of a Splendid Appearance, that we can hardly Discern the Inconveniences that Attend it. ’Tis a Comfort to have Good Meat and Drink at Command, and Warm Lodging: But He that sells his Freedom, for the Cramming of his Gutt, has but a hard Bargain of it._

REFLEXION.

In This Emblem is set forth the Blessing of Liberty, and the Sordid Meanness of those Wretches that sacrifice their Freedom to their Lusts, and their Palates. What Man in his Right Senses, that has wherewithal to Live Free, would make himself a Slave for Superfluities! The _Wolfe_ would have been well enough Content to have Barter’d away a Ragged Coat, and a Raw-Bon’d Carcass, for a Smooth and a Fat One; but when they came to talk of a _Collar_ once, away Marches He to his Old Trade in the Woods again, and makes the Better Choice of the Two.

To speak to the First Point, we are lyable to be Impos’d upon by Outsides and Appearances, for want of Searching things to the Bottom, and Examining what Really they are, and what they Only seem to be. This Fiction of the _Wolfe_, is a Reproof to Eager Appetites, and Over-Hasty Judgments, that will not give themselves time to Ballance Accounts, and Compute Beforehand, whether they are to get or Lose by the Bargain. It holds as well against Intemperate Curiosities, and Rash Wishes, That is to say, against the Folly of the One, and the Wickedness of the Other; for if we come once to take Evil for Good, _our very Prayers are turn’d into Sin_: But what with a Certain Itch of Prying into, and Meddling with Other Peoples Matters, and a Natural Levity that puts us upon Shifting and Changing, we fall Insensibly into a Thousand Inconveniences: and when it comes to That once, that we find our selves Uneasie at Home, and no Resting-Place in our Own Thoughts, (where Rest is Only to be had) we are e’en glad to run away from our Selves, and Hunt abroad for’t where ’tis never to be found. This is the Common Root of all our Wandrings and Errors. We Spend our Time, and our Peace, in Pursuit of Things wholly Forreign to our Business, and which will Certainly Deceive us at last.

Thus it Is, and Thus it must be, so long as we take Every thing by a Wrong Handle, and only Calculate upon our Own Misfortunes, without any Allowance for the Comforts that we Enjoy. And so we reckon upon our Neighbours Enjoyments, on the Other hand, without any Consideration for the Hardships that They Endure. Oh that I had but such a Palace! Says One; Such an Estate; Such a Retinue; This Glorious Train; That Lovely Woman, _&c._ Nay the Envious Freak Descends to the very Point, and Petticoat. Now these Idle Curiosities may be Specious Enough in the Contemplation; but what if This House, at the Foot of the Account, should Prove to be Haunted, That Gay Furniture Borrow’d; T’other fine Woman Clapt; The Curse of Sacrilege cleaving to such an Inheritance, and all the rest of the Gawdy Fooleries perhaps unpay’d for? (as these Incumbrances are no New Things in Nature) Who would not rather take up with the _Wolfe_ in the Woods again, then make such a Clutter in the World upon These Scandalous Conditions.

For the Obviating of All Cases of this Quality, Children should be Early Instructed, according to their Age and Capacity, in the True Estimate of Things, by Opposing the Good to the Evil, and the Evil to the Good; and Compensating, or Qualifying One Thing with Another. What’s Plenty without Health? What’s Ease without Plenty? And what’s Title and Greatness, with Carking Thoughts, and a Troubled Mind to Attend it? What does That Man Want that has Enough? Or What’s He the better for a Great deal, that can never be Satisfy’d? By This Method of Setting what we Have against What we have Not, the Equity of Providence will be made Manifest, and to All manner of purposes Justify’d; When it shall appear upon the Ballance, that Every man has his Share in the Bounties of Heaven to Mankind.

As to the Freedom here that _Æsop_ is so Tender of, it is to be Understood of the Freedom of the Mind: A Freedom to Attend the Motions of Right Reason; and a Freedom, in fine, not to be parted with for All the Sensual Satisfactions under the Sun. It is, I say, a Freedom under These Limits; for there’s No such Thing as Absolute Liberty: Neither is it possible that there should be any, without a Violence to the Order of the Universe, and to the Dictates of Reasonable Nature: For All Men Living are in Some sort or Other, and upon some Penalty or Other, Subjected to a Superior Power; That is to say, the Laws of Morality are Above them: But the Case wherein All Men are upon the Behaviour is not here the Question. To Wind up the Moral, in short; Liberty is a Jewel, and a Blessing. The _Wolfe_ was well enough pleas’d here with the State of the _Dog’s_ Body, but he had no fancy to his Collar.

FAB. LXIX.

A _Farmer_ and his _Dogs_.

A Certain _Farmer_ was put to such a Pinch in a Hard Winter for Provisions, that he was forc’d to Feed Himself and his Family upon the Main Stock. The Sheep went First to Pot; the Goats Next; and after Them, the Oxen; and All Little enough to keep Life and Soul together. The _Dogs_ call’d a Councel upon’t, and Resolv’d to shew their Master a Fair pair of Heels for’t, before it came to be Their Turn; for, (said they) after he has Cut the Throats of our Fellow Servants, that are so Necessary for his Bus’ness, it cannot be Expected that he will ever Spare us.

The MORAL.

_There’s No Contending with Necessity, and we should be very Tender how we Censure Those that Submit to’t. ’Tis One thing to be at Liberty to do what we Would do, and Another Thing to be Ty’d up to do what we Must._

REFLEXION.

’Tis a Common Thing for a Master to Sacrifice a Servant to his Own Ease and Interest; but there’s No Meddling with Men of that Inhospitable Humour, where the Domestiques, how Faithful soever, can never be Secure.

This is according to the Old Moral; but not without some Force (in My Opinion at least) to the Natural Biass of the Fable. The _Farmer_ has no Liberty of Choice before him, but either to do what he does, or to Perish: And in so Doing, (with all respect to the Rules of Honesty) he does but his Duty; without any way Incurring the Character of an ill Natur’d Man, or a Cruel Master. But there may be also Another Doctrine Rais’d from it; which is, That in Cases of Extreme Difficulty, the Laws of Conveniency, and Ordinary Practice must give place to the Laws of Necessity. This was the Naked Truth of the _Farmer’s_ Case.

FAB. LXX.

A _Camel_ at First Sight.

Upon the First Sight of a _Camel_, All people ran away from’t, in Amazement at so Monstrous a Bulk. Upon the Second Sight, finding that it did them No Hurt, they took Heart upon’t, went up to’t, and View’d it. But when they came, upon Further Experience, to take notice, how Stupid a Beast it was, they Ty’d it up, Bridled it, Loaded it with Packs and Burdens; Set Boys upon the Back on’t, and Treated it with the Last Degree of Contempt.

FAB. LXXI.

A _Fox_ and a _Lyon_.

A _Fox_ had the hap to fall into the Walk of a _Lyon_; (the First of the Kind that ever he saw) and he was ready to Drop down at the very sight of him. He came a While after, to see Another, and was Frighted still; but Nothing to What he was Before. It was his Chance, after This, to Meet a Third _Lyon_; and he had the Courage, Then, to Accost him, and to make a kind of an Acquaintance with him.

The MORAL of the Two FABLES above.

_Novelty Surprizes us, and we have Naturally a Horror for Uncouth Mis-shapen Monsters; but ’tis Our Ignorance that Staggers us, for upon Custom and Experience, All These Buggs grow Familiar, and Easy to us._

REFLEXION.

Things that at first seem Terrible, become Easy to us when we are Wonted to them; says the Old Moral; which holds, I confess, in the Case of the _Camel_, but not in That of the _Lyon_.

With leave of the Moralist, the Illustration does not come up to the Force and Intent of the Two Last Fables: Neither, in truth, is the very Design of them according to the True Reason of the Matter in Question. Things that seem Terrible, and are Not so, become not only Familiar, but Ridiculous to us, when we find that our Fears were Vain and Idle; as in the case of the _Camel_: But things on the contrary, that only Seem Terrible, but are found upon Experience to be more Dangerous then we took them for: (as in the Strength, the Nimbleness, the Fierceness, and the Appetite of a _Lyon_.) These are Things, I say, that the Better we Know them, the More we Dread them: So that though we have Apprehensions, as well where there is No Peril, as where there Is: Yet Time teaches us to Distinguish the One from the Other. The Allusion would much better have held in the case of a Battle, where the Soldier grows Every day less apprehensive of the Hazzard, by seeing so many People Scape; and by Computing upon the Disproportion of Those that Outlive it, to Those that Fall in’t. We may however Learn from hence, that people may be Frighted as well Without Reason as With it. Now, in Propriety of Speaking, and in a Right Understanding of the Thing too, People were not so much Frighted, as they were Surpriz’d at the Bigness, and Uncouth Deformity of the _Camel_: But I could Wish, the Fox had been More and More affraid of the _Lyon_, the Oftner he Saw him; and the Doctrine would then have been to Govern our Passions by the Truth and Reason of Things, not by Appearances; but it holds however, that Custom goes a Great Way in making Matters Indifferent to us. ’Tis much the same Case too, betwixt the _People_, and _Bugg-Laws_, and _Acts of State_, that it is here betwixt the _Fox_ and the _Lyon_. Men look, upon the _First_ Opening of a _Publique Fast_, as if Heaven and Earth were going together; Not a _Shop Open_; The _Streets_ Quiet, and so Dismal a Countenance Every where, as if it were to Rain _Fire_ and _Brimstone_ the Next Moment. The _Second_ Day is a Little Uneasy too, but not half so Frightful as the _Former_: and so in _Two or Three days more_, the Awe goes quite off, and the People come to their Wits, and fall to their Trade again, without any further Heed to the Matter.

FAB. LXXII.

An _Eagle_ and a _Fox_.

There was a Bargain struck up betwixt an _Eagle_ and a _Fox_, to be Wonderful Good Neighbours and Friends. The One Took Up in a Thicket of Brushwood, and the Other Timber’d upon a Tree hard by. The _Eagle_, One Day when the _Fox_ was abroad a Forraging, fell into his Quarters and Carry’d away a Whole Litter of Cubs at a Swoop. The _Fox_ came time enough back to see the _Eagle_ upon Wing, with her Prey in the Foot, and to send many a Heavy Curse after her; but there was No overtaking her. It happen’d in a very Short time after This, upon the Sacrificing of a _Goat_, that the same _Eagle_ made a Stoop at a piece of Flesh upon the Altar, and she took it away to her Young: But some Live-Coales it seems, that Stuck to’t, set the Nest a Fire. The Birds were not as yet Fledge enough to Shift for Themselves, but upon Sprawling and Struggling to get Clear of the Flame, down they Tumbled, half Roasted, into the very Mouth of the _Fox_ that stood Gaping under the Tree to see the End on’t: So that the _Fox_ had the Satisfaction at last, of Devouring the Children of her Enemy in the very Sight of the Dam.

The MORAL.

_God Referees to Himself the Punishment of Faithless, and Oppressing Governours, and the Vindication of his Own Worship and Altars._

REFLEXION.

This is to give Great Men to Understand, that no Power upon Earth can Protect them in the Exercise of Tyranny and Injustice; but that Sooner, or Later, Vengeance will Overtake Oppressors. It does likewise Condemn Treachery, and Breach of Faith, even toward the most Perfidious.

The Morality of This Fiction looks several Ways. Here’s first a League betwixt an _Eagle_ and a _Fox_; which would be a most Incongruous Advance, if it were not in the case of That Princely Birds Departure from the Dignity of her Character, and from the Obligation of Royal Justice: so that _Æsop_ has aptly enough Match’d a _Faith-Breaking Prince_; with a Perfidious Subject, and Fancy’d a Knavish Favourite, as the _Fittest Minister_ for such a _Governour_. In the _Eagles_ Destroying the _Foxes Cubs_, there’s Power Exercis’d with Oppression, and the Curses of the _Fox_ that Pursu’d the Oppressor, were not sent in Vain neither, as appears by the Sequel. We are likewise to take Notice that Justice is Sacred, and that No Provocation, either of Insolent Language, or Behaviour, can Warrant the Violation of it.

And it is further Suggested to us, that when People are in a Train of Wickedness, One Sin Treads upon the Heel of Another. The _Eagle_ begins with an Invasion upon the Rights of _Hospitality_, and _Common Faith_; and at the Next Step Advances to _Sacrilege_, in Robbing the Altar. And what follows upon it now, but a Divine Judgment, that sets Fire to her Nest, and Avenges the Cause of the very _Fox_, though One of the Falsest of Creatures! From hence we are to Gather These Two Doctrines for our Instruction. First, That the Misdemeanours of Temporal Sovereign Powers are subjected only to the Animadversion of the supreme Lord of the Universe. And secondly, That in the Case of Tyranny it self, it is not for Private Men to pretend to any Other Appeal.

FAB. LXXIII.

A _Husbandman_ and a _Stork_.

A Poor Innocent _Stork_ had the Ill Hap to be taken in a Net that was layd for _Geese_ and _Cranes_. The _Storks_ Plea for her self was Simplicity, and Piety: The Love she bare to Mankind, and the Service she did in Picking up Venemous Creatures. This is all True, says the _Husbandman_; But They that Keep Ill Company, if they be Catch’d with Ill Company, must Expect to suffer with Ill Company.

The MORAL.

_’Tis as much as a Man’s Life, Fortune, and Reputation, are Worth, to keep Good Company (over and above the Contagion of Lewd Examples) for as_ Birds of a Feather will Flock together, _so if the Good and the Bad be taken together, they must Expect to go the Way of All Flesh together_.

REFLEXION.

This is to bid Men have a care What Company they keep; for when the Good and the Bad are taken together, they must Go together. Not but that a Man may lie under some Obligation of Duty and Respect, to Visit, Eat and Correspond with Many People that he does not Like. And This may be well enough Done too; provided it be out of Decency, Discretion, or Good Manners, rather then upon Choice and Inclination. We cannot Honestly let a Civil Enemy into a Town that’s Besieg’d, or hold any sort of Intelligence with him (though but in a Bare Curiosity) about the Affairs of the Garrison. Let a Man Consider now, how much more Dangerous, and Unwarrantable it is to take an Enemy into our Souls, then into our Forts. With all Honour yet to a Brave Adversary, apart from his Cause.

’Tis the Fortune of many a Good Man to fall into Bad Company, and to be Undone by’t, and yet no way Guilty all this while, of the Iniquity of his Companions. The Letter of the Law Sweeps All in such a Case, without Distinction of Persons: To say Nothing of the Shame and Dishonour of being taken up with Rogues and Felons; over and above the Lash of Publique Justice, and the Contagion of a Lewd Conversation. _Shew me the Company_ (says the _Adage_) _and I’ll tell you the Man_. What would a body think now of a Prime _Minister_ that should Conjobble Matters of State with _Tumblers_ and _Buffoons_; Confer Politiques with Tinkers and Carr-men? would not any man Judge their Souls to be of the same Standard and Allay? and that there were no more betwixt them then Cross or Pile, which should be the Lord, and which the Scoundrel? Or, according to the Fable, which the _Stork_, and which the _Goose_? For ’tis not the Purple, but the Virtue, that makes a _Man of Honour_; truly so call’d.

FAB. LXXIV.

A _Boy_ and _False Alarms_.

A _Shepherd’s Boy_ had gotten a Roguy Trick of crying [a _Wolfe_, a _Wolfe_] when there was no such Matter, and Fooling the Country People with _False Alarms_. He had been at This Sport so many times in Jest, that they would not Believe him at last when he was in Earnest: And so the _Wolves_ Brake in upon the Flock, and Worry’d the _Sheep_ at Pleasure.

The MORAL.

_He must be a very Wise Man that knows the True Bounds, and Measures of Fooling, with a respect to Time, Place, Matters, Persons, &c. But Religion, Business and Cases of Consequence must be Excepted out of that sort of Liberty._

REFLEXION.

A Common Lyar (says the Old Moral) shall not be Believ’d, even when he speaks True: But there’s a Great deal more in’t, of which hereafter.

There’s not One Man of a Thousand that Understands the Just, the Safe, Warrantable, Decent, and Precise Limits, of that which we call Bantering, or Fooling: But it is either too Course, too Rude, too Churlish, too Bitter, too Much on’t, too Pedantique, too fine, out of Measure, or out of Season. Now the Least Errour or Mistake in the Manage of This Humour, lays People Open to Great Censure and Reproche. It is not Every Man’s Talent to know When and How to Cast out a Pleasant Word, with such a Regard to Modesty and Respect, as not to Transgress the True, and Fair Allowances of Wit, Good Nature, and Good Breeding. The Skill and Faculty of Governing This Freedom within the Terms of Sobriety and Discretion, Goes a Great Way in the Character of an Agreeable Conversation; for That which we call Raillery, in This Sense, is the very Sawce of Civil Entertainment: And without some such Tincture of Urbanity, even in Matters the most Serious, the Good Humour Flattens, for want of Refreshment and Relief: But there’s a _Medium_ yet betwixt _All-Fool_, and _All-Philosopher_. I mean, a Proper and a Discreet Mixture, that in some sort Partakes of Both, and renders Wisdom it self so much the more Grateful, and Effectual. The Gravity, in short, of the One, is Enliven’d with the Spirit and Quickness of the Other; and the Gayety of a Diverting Word serves as a Vehicle to Convey the Force of the Intent, and Meaning of it. But the Main Drift at last of this Fable, is to shew us the Dangerous Consequences of an Improper and an Unseasonable Fooling: With All Respect however to the Ornament and Advantage of a Facetious Freedom of Discourse, within the Compass of Sobriety and Honour. To Conclude; The _Shepherd’s Boy_ went too far upon the Topique that he did not Understand.

FAB. LXXV.

An _Eagle_ and a _Daw_.

An _Eagle_ made a Stoop at a _Lamb_; Truss’d it, and took it Cleverly away with her. A Mimical _Daw_, that saw This Exploit, would needs try the same Experiment upon a Ram: But his Claws were so Shackled in the Fleece with Lugging to get him up, that the Shepherd came in, and Caught him, before he could Clear Himself; He Clipt his Wings, and carried him Home to his Children to Play withal. They came Gaping about him, and asked their Father what Strange Bird that was? Why, says he, He’ll tell you Himself that he’s an _Eagle_; but if you’ll take my Word for’t, I know him to be a _Daw_.

The MORAL.

_’Tis a High Degree of Vanity and Folly, for Men to take More upon them then they are able to go through withall; And the End of Those Undertakings is only Mockery and Disappointment in the Conclusion._

REFLEXION.

’Tis Vain and Dangerous to Enter into Competitions with our Superiours, in what Kind soever, whether it be in Arms, Letters, Expence, Strength of Body, Arts and Sciences, or the like. ’Tis Impossible for any Man, in fine, to take a True Measure of Another, without an Exact Knowledge and a True Judgment of Himself. Nay the Attempt of any thing above our force, with Vanity, and Presumption, most certainly ends in a Miscarriage that makes the Pretender Ridiculous. The Out-doing of a Great Man in his Own Way, Savours in some degree of Ill Manners, as it is upon the Main, a High Point of Indiscretion. One Man takes it for an Affront to be Out-witted; Another to be Out-Fool’d, as _Nero_ could not Endure to be Out-Fiddled; But in short, be the Matter never so Great, or never so Trivial, ’tis the same Case as to the Envy of the Competition.

FAB. LXXVI.

A _Dog_ in a _Manger_.

A Churlish Envious _Cur_ was gotten into a _Manger_, and there lay Growling and Snarling to keep the Horses from their Provender. The _Dog_ Eat None himself, and yet rather Ventur’d the Starving his Own Carcase then he would suffer any thing else to be the Better for’t.

The MORAL.

_Envy pretends to No Other Happiness then what it derives from the Misery of Other People, and will rather Eat Nothing it self then not Starve Those that Would._

REFLEXION.

We have but too many Men in the World of This _Dog’s_ Humour; that will rather Punish Themselves, then not be Troublesome and Vexatious to Others. There’s an Envy of Good Things too, as well as of Good Men; but this Fable is so well known that it is Moraliz’d in a Common Proverb.

If some Men might have their Wills, the very Sun in the Firmament should withdraw his Light, and they would submit to Live in Perpetual Darkness Themselves, upon Condition that the rest of the World might do so for Company. Whatsoever their Neighbour Gets, They Lose, and the very Bread that One Eats, makes T’other Meager: which is the Genuine Moral of the Fable. There is in this Malevolence, somewhat of the Punishment, as well as of the Spite of the Damn’d: They take Delight in Other Peoples Miseries, and at the same Time are their Own Tormentors. This Diabolical Envy is Detestable even in Private Persons; but whenever the Governing Part of a Nation comes to be Tainted with it, there’s nothing so Sacred that a Corrupt, Supercilious, Ill Natur’d Minister will not sacrifice to This Execrable Passion. No Man should Eat, Live, or Breathe Common Air, if He could hinder it. ’Tis the Bus’ness of his Life, and the Delight of his Soul, to Blast all Sorts of Honest Men, and not only to Lessen their Characters, and their Services, but to Range them in the Number of Publique Enemies: And he had Twenty times rather see the Government Sink, then have it thought that any hand but his Own should have a Part in the Honour of Saving it. Now He that betrays his Master for _Envy_, will never fail of doing it for _Money_: For the Gratifying of This Canker’d Malignity is but Another way of selling him; Only the Spite is Antecedent and Subservient to the Corruption: But this _Court-Envy_ is not Altogether the Envy of the Dog in the Fable. For there’s a Mixture of Avarice and Interest in the Former, whereas the Other is a Spiteful Malignity purely for Mischief-sake. The _Dog_ will rather Starve himself then the _Oxe_ shall Eat; but the _Courtier_ will be sure to Look to One whoever else goes to the Devil.

FAB. LXXVII.

A _Sheep_ and a _Crow_.

There was a _Crow_ sat Chattering upon the Back of a _Sheep_; Well! Sirrah says the _Sheep_, You durst not ha’ done This to a _Dog_. Why I know that, says the _Crow_, as well as You can tell me, for I have the Wit to Consider Whom I have to do withall. I can be as Quiet as any body with Those that are Quarrelsome, and I can be as Troublesome as Another too, when I Meet with Those that will Take it.

The MORAL.

_’Tis the Nature and Practice of Drolls and Buffons, to be Insolent toward Those that will bear it, and as Slavish to Others that are more then their Match._

REFLEXION.

’Tis No New Thing for an Innocent Simplicity to be made the Sport of Bantering Drolls, and Buffons. This is to tell Modest and Well-Meaning Men what they are to Expect in this World, and what they are to Trust to where there is not a Power sufficient to Repel Force by Force: And it serves further to keep This Check upon the Insolent, that there are Others as much too Hard for Them, as They are for Those that they Oppress. This _Crow_ is much of the Humour of the _Mobile_. They are Tongue-Valiant, ’tis True, and as Bold as _Hercules_ where they know there’s No Danger, but throw a Volly of Shot among them, and they have not the Courage of so many Hares. And what is All This now, but according to the Guise of the World, _God Threatens Kings_, (as Dr. _Donne_ has it) _Kings Lords, as Lords do Us_. He that’s a Tyrant over One Man is a Slave to Another.

FAB. LXXVIII.

A _Camel_ Praying for _Horns_.

It stuck filthily in the _Camel’s_ Stomach, that _Bulls_, _Stags_, _Lions_, _Bears_, and the like, should be Armed with _Horns_, _Teeth_, and _Claws_, and that a Creature of his Size should be left Naked and Defenceless. Upon This Thought he fell down upon his Marrow-bones, and begg’d of _Jupiter_ to give him a Pair of Horns, but the Request was so Ridiculous, that _Jupiter_, instead of _Horning_ him, Order’d him to be Cropt, and so Punish him with the loss of his Ears which Nature had Allow’d him, for being so Unreasonable as to Ask for _Horns_, that Providence never intended him.

FAB. LXXIX.

A _Fox_ and a _Hare_ to _Jupiter_.

A _Fox_ and a _Hare_ Presented a Petition to _Jupiter_. The _Fox_ pray’d for the _Hare’s_ Swiftness of Foot, and the _Hare_ for the _Fox’s_ Craft, and Wyliness of Address. _Jupiter_ told them, that since every Creature had some Advantage or Other Peculiar to it self, it would not stand with Divine Justice, that had provided so well for Every One in Particular, to Confer All upon any One.

FAB. LXXX.

A _Peacock_ to _Juno_.

The _Peacock_, they say, laid it Extremely to Heart, that being _Juno’s Darling-Bird_, he had not the _Nightingale’s_ Voice super-added to the Beauty of his own Plumes. Upon This Subject he Petition’d his Patroness, who gave him for Answer, that Providence had Assign’d Every Bird its Proportion, and so bad him Content himself with his Lot.

The MORAL of the Three FABLES above.

_The Bounties of Heaven are in such manner Distributed, that Every Living Creature has its Share; beside, that to Desire Things against Nature, is Effectually to Blame the very Author of Nature it self._

REFLEXION.

In These Three Fables is set forth the Vanity of Unnatural Wishes, and Foolish Prayers; which are not only to be Rejected, but they deserve also to be Punish’d. Providence has made an Equal Distribution of Natural Gifts, whereof each Creature severally has a share; and it is not for This or That Particular to pretend to All: So that Considering the Equality of the Division, No Creature has Cause, either to Boast, or to Complain. We are never Content with the Bountyes of Providence. One would have a Voice; T’other Gay Cloaths; and while Every Man would have All, we Charge Providence with Injustice for not giving to Every Man Alike. _Socrates_ was in the Right in Saying, That in Case a Man were to go where he should have the Choice before him, of All the ill Things and All the Good Things in Nature, he would come home again the same Man that he went out.

It is to be Noted, upon the Distribution of the Matter of These Three Fables, that the _Camel_ prays for Weapons Offensive, and Defensive, either for the Encount’ring of Dangers, or the Repelling of them. The _Fox_ and the _Hare_, for the Means of Avoiding them. And the _Peacock_ for a Voice, answerable to his Beauty. And All their Prayers are to No Purpose, but to the Reproche of the Petitioners, and to the Confusion of Vain Desires. What is All This but an Appeal from Heaven to Heaven itself; and Petitioning Providence against Providence, in a Recourse from One Providence to Another? The Determinations and Appointments of Heaven are no more to be Disputed and Controll’d, then they are to be made Better, and Improv’d; And we must not Presume to Judge of the Goodness and Justice of Heaven, by the Frailties and Corruptions of Flesh and Blood. We were not of Councel with the Almighty, either in the Making, or in the Regulating of the World, and we have no more Right to Advise him in the Governing of it. The Power, in fine, that Rules in the Nature of Things, is no other then a Divine Influence.

Why should not the _Nightingale_ Envy the _Peacock’s Train_ as well as the _Peacock_ Envy the _Nightingale’s Note_? And why should not All the Work of the Creation Expostulate at the same Rate, and upon the same Grounds? Why has not _Man_ the Wings of an _Eagle_ to carry him from Danger, or to satisfie his Curiosity what the World’s a doing? Why has he not the Sagacity of a _Dog_, the _Paw_ of a _Lyon_; The Teeth of a _Leopard_; The Heels of a _Courser_, and the like? And have not Brute Animals the same Equity of Complaint on the Other Hand, for want of the Faculties and Advantages, Intellectual, and Moral of Mankind? So that here’s a Civil War that runs through all the Parts of the Universe, where Nothing is pleased with it’s Own Lot; and no Remedy at last; but by New Moulding the World over again. This Inordinate Appetite has been the Overthrow of many a Kingdom, Family and Commonwealth.

To Ask Impossibilities, in fine, is Ridiculous, and to Ask Things Unnatural is Impious; for to take upon us to Blame, or Mend the Works of Providence, is to suppose the Divine Wisdom lyable to Miscarriages and Mistakes. These Mutterings are Foolish also, even to the Degree of Madness it self; for there’s no Thought or Possibility of Relief in the Case. Such as we are God has made Us: our Post and our Station is appointed us, and the Decree is not to be Revers’d.

FAB. LXXXI.

An _Old Weazle_ and _Mice_.

An _Old Weazle_ that was now almost past Mousing, try’d what she could do by her Wits, when she found she could live no longer upon the Square, and so Conveys her self into a _Meal-Tub_ for the _Mice_ to come to _Her_, since she could not go to _Them_. They came thick and threefold for a time, as she expected they should, till at last, One Experienc’d Stager that had Baffled Twenty Traps and Tricks Before, Discover’d the Plot, and quite Spoyl’d the Jest.

The MORAL.

_The Want of Force, Strength, and other Abilities to Compass our Ends, must be Supply’d by Industry and Invention._

REFLEXION.

Knaves live as Naturally upon Fools, as Spiders do upon Flyes, and the Want of Downright Force must be Supply’d by Art. But Time that Discovers the Truth of Things, lays open Frauds too and Double Dealings; and after that Discovery, there’s No Passing the same Trick upon the _Mice_ and _Rats_ here over again. A Body would think now that Reasonable Creatures should at least have the Wit of Vermine, and not run their Necks over and over into the same Noose; But in Despite of Claps and Surfeits, Men we see will be Whoring and Fuddling on still. And the same Bait of Liberty and Property will serve for the Common People _in sæcula sæculorum_, Even after they have been Choak’d, Begger’d, and Poyson’d with it five Hundred times before.

FAB. LXXXII.

An _Old Tree_ Transplanted.

A Certain _Farmer_ had One Choice _Apple-Tree_ in his Orchard, that he Valu’d above all the rest, and made his _Landlord_ Every Year a Present of the Fruit on’t. He lik’d the Apples so very well, that Nothing would serve Him but _Transplanting_ the _Tree_ into his Own Grounds. It Wither’d presently upon the Removal, and so there was an End of both Fruit and Tree together. The News was no sooner brought to the Landlord, but he brake out into This Reflexion upon it: This comes, says he, of _Transplanting_ an _Old Tree_, to Gratifie an Extravagant Appetite: Whereas if I could have Contented myself with the fruit, and left my Tenant the Tree still, All had been Well.

The MORAL.

_Nature has her Certain Methods and Seasons for the Doing of Every Thing, and there must be no Trying of Experiments to put her out of her Course._

REFLEXION.

There’s No _forcing_ Nature against her Biass, or Inverting the Methods of Providence. Irregular Desires and Unreasonable Undertakings must expect to meet with Disappointments. There’s a Proper Time for All Things, and Nothing succeeds well, but what’s done in Season. And This is not the Only Case, neither, where an Extravagant Appetite, or Humour, makes People forget the Methods of Decency and Reason. As in _Unequal Matches_ for the Purpose: For Marrying is but a kind of _Transplanting_, and an _Old Fellow_ with a _Young Wench_, may very well pass for a _Counterpart_ of This Fable.

FAB. LXXXIII.

A _Fox_ and a _Goat_.

A _Fox_ and a _Goat_ went down by Consent into a Well to Drink, and when they had Quench’d their Thirst, the _Goat_ fell to Hunting up and down which way to get back again. Oh! says _Reynard_, Never Trouble your Head how to get back, but leave That to Me. Do but You Raise your self upon your Hinder Legs with your Fore-Feet Close to the Wall, and then stretch out your Head: I can Easily Whip up to your Horns, and so out of the Well, and Draw you after me. The _Goat_ puts himself in a Posture immediately as he was directed, gives the _Fox_ a Lift, and so Out he Springs; but _Reynard’s_ Bus’ness was now only to make Sport with his Companion, instead of Helping Him. Some Hard Words the _Goat_ gave him, but the _Fox_ puts off all with a Jest. If you had but half so much Brain as Beard, says he, you would have bethought your self how to get up again before you went down.

The MORAL.

_A Wise Man will Debate Every Thing_ Pro _and_ Con _before he comes to Fix upon any Resolution. He leaves Nothing to Chance more then Needs must. There must be No Bantering out of Season_.

REFLEXION.

It is Wisdom to Consider the End of Things before we Embarque, and to Forecast Consequences. It is also to be Expected that Men in Distress will look to themselves in the First Place, and leave their Companions to Shift as well as they can. When a Knave, and an Honest Man happen to be Embarqu’d together in the same Common Interest, the Sharper will be sure, if ever it comes to a Pinch, to shift for Himself; and leave T’other in the Lurch. It is the way of the World for Men to Abandon their Benefactors, and to make sport with Those that Rais’d them. This was the Trick, that the _Fox_ serv’d the _Goat_ here in the _Well_; to shew us that He that Helps Another out at a Plunge, runs the Risque of being left in the Mire himself. No Matter for the Morality of the Thing, so long as it is the Fashion; And that He that Advances himself upon the Ruine of Another gets the Reputation of a Man of Art, and Address. The Facility, in fine, and the Simplicity of the _Goat_, shews us what an Honest Man is to Trust to that keeps a Knave company.

We find in This _Fox_, the Roguery, the Invention, and the Wilyness of the Crafty People we meet with Abroad, and a Lively Image of the Faith, Friendship, Good Nature, and Justice that we are to Expect from them. We cannot therefore keep too strict an Eye upon the Life and Conversation of Those we have to do withall. If they be Men of Fraud, they’ll never stick at bringing their Friends and Companions into Dangers, Losses, and Inconveniences; Scoure off themselves, and leave Those that Trust them to pay the Reck’ning. But, in a Word, This Application extends to Men of Trick and Design of All Sorts; let it be in Pleasure, Fortune, Pride, Envy, Vain-Glory, Trade, Law, Marriages, Quarrels, Travels, Ambition, _&c._ Wherefore it Behoves us to _Look before we Leap_, and in Case of the Worst that can befall us, to secure an After-Game. The Want of this Foresight was the _Goats_ Ruine.

FAB. LXXXIV.

_Cocks_ and a _Partridge_.

A _Cock-Master_ bought a _Partridge_, and turn’d it among his _Fighting Cocks_, for them to Feed together. The _Cocks_ beat the _Partridge_ away from their Meat, which she lay’d the more to Heart, because it look’d like an Aversion to her purely as a Stranger. But the _Partridge_ finding These very _Cocks_ afterwards, Cutting one Another to pieces, she comforted her self with This Thought, that she had no Reason to expect they should be Kinder to Her, then they were to One Another.

The MORAL.

_’Tis No Wonder to find Those People Troublesome to Strangers, that Cannot Agree among Themselves. They Quarrel for the Love of Quarrelling; and provided the Peace be broken, No matter upon What Ground, or with Whom._

REFLEXION.

There’s no Peace to be Expected among those that are Naturally Fierce and Quarrelsome. But we are to Distinguish however, betwixt Injuries of Malice, and of Evil Nature, as we do betwixt Violences in Hot Bloud, and Those of Deliberate Spite and Intention; which we find in the Common Cases of _Manslaughter_, and _Murder_. The Doctrine may be briefly This, that so far as Possible, we are to Avoid Ill Company: but where we are forc’d upon’t, there’s No Remedy but Patience. The _Cocks_ here Did but according to their Kind; And it is the Same Thing with Wicked Men too, (as Birds of the same Feather) to be Troublesome to Other People as well as to One Another.

FAB. LXXXV.

A _Bragging Traveller_.

A _Vain Fellow_ that had been abroad in the World, would still be Tiring All Peoples Ears at his Return, with Stories of his Wonderful Actions and Adventures in his Travels; and particularly, he told of a Leap he took at _Rhodes_, that No Body there could come within Six Foot on’t. Now This (says he) I am able to Prove by several Witnesses upon the Place. If This be True (says one of the Company) there’s No Need of going to _Rhodes_ for Witnesses: Do but You fancy this to be _Rhodes_, and then shew us the Leap.

The MORAL.

_Travellers have a kind of Privilege to Romance it; and to Tell Stories at large. And for Those that Doubt the Truth of the Matter, they had e’en better pass it over then go to Disprove it._

REFLEXION.

’Tis Foolish to Appeal to Witnesses for the Proof of any thing, when ’tis not a Pin Matter, whether the Fact in Question be True or False; and so it is also to talk of Proofs that are not within Call: But Vain Boasters are Naturally Impertinent; for they Talk at Random, without any Regard to Truth and Judgment. There may be a Double Use made of this Fable: First, as a Dissuasive to Those that spend their Time in Idle Insipid Company. Secondly, As a Caution to Those that are Tainted with this Levity, not to make Themselves Ridiculous any longer. Nature has Written Fool upon the Tip of That Man’s Tongue that will be always telling Stories with an [_I did This_,] and [_I did That_.] Travellers, they say, may lie by Authority; and yet our Traveller’s Privilege here was not sufficient to Protect him in his Vanity from making Sport to the Company.

FAB. LXXXVI.

An _Impostor_ to the _Oracle_.

There was a certain _Bantering Droll_ that took a Journey to _Delphos_, a purpose to try if he could put a Trick upon _Apollo_. He carry’d a Sparrow in his Hand under his Coat, and told the God, _I have somewhat in my Hand_, says he, _Is it dead or Living?_ If the _Oracle_ should say ’twas Dead, he could shew it Alive; If Living, ’twas but squeezing it, and then ’twas Dead. Now He that saw the Malice of his Heart gave him this Answer: It shall e’en be which of the Two you please; for ’tis in Your Choice to have it either the One or the Other.

The MORAL.

_Presumption leads People to Infidelity in a Trice, and so by Insensible Degrees to Atheism: for when Men have once cast off a Reverence for Religion, they are come within One Step of Laughing at it._

REFLEXION.

This Points at the Folly and Wickedness of Those Men that think to play Fast and Loose with God Almighty, who sees the very Thoughts of our Hearts. This way of Fooling in Holy Things is much a Bolder sort of Impiety, then it is commonly Taken for. He that pretends to Doubt of an _All-knowing_ Power, has as much Right to Doubt of an _Almighty_ Power too, and the bringing of One Attribute in Question, Opens the Way to a Dissidence of all the Rest. It would prevent a great Deal of Wickedness in the World, if Men would but Live and Act in Religious Matters, so as to Own, and to Recognize the Force, and Awe of a Deity in their Practices, as well as in their Words: But when they come to _Querying_ and _Riddling_ upon’t, with an [_If_ it be so and _so_;] The Scandal of the Supposition is not to be Born; for such a way of Seeming to Affirm a Thing, is but one Remove from a Flat Denyal of it. Such was the _Impostors_ Question here to the _Oracle_: which Implyes both the Doubt of a _Divine Omniscience_, and a _Curiosity_ to Discover the _Truth_ of the Matter, with a Banter at the End on’t; and so makes a Consummated Wickedness.

FAB. LXXXVII.

A _Woman_ and a _Fat Hen_.

A _Good Woman_ had a _Hen_ that laid her Every Day an Egg. Now she fancy’d to her self, that upon a Larger Allowance of Corn, This _Hen_ might be brought in time to lay twice a day. She Try’d the Experiment; but the _Hen_ grew fat upon’t, and gave quite over Laying.

The MORAL.

_He that has a Great Deal already, and would have More, will never think he has enough till he has All; and That’s Impossible: wherefore we should set Bounds to our Desires, and Content our Selves when we are Well, for fear of Losing what we had._

REFLEXION.

Here’s a Figure of the Folly, and the Mischief of Vain Desires, and an Immoderate Love of Riches. Covetousness is enough to make the Master of the World as Poor as He that has just Nothing; for a Man may be brought to a Morsel of Bread, by Griping, as well as by Profusion. ’Tis a Madness for a Body that has enough already, to Hazzard All for the Getting of More, and then upon the Miscarriage to leave himself Nothing. This was the Woman’s Case and Fault here. In Few Words, there’s a Just _Medium_ betwixt Eating too much, and too Little; and this Dame had Undoubtedly Hit upon’t, when the Matter was so Order’d, that the Hen brought her Every Day an Egg. But when she came to Enlarge the Hens Allowance for her own Profit, Upon an Opinion that more Corn would Produce more Eggs, her Avarice Misled her into a Disappointment, which was both a Judgment upon the Sin in the Loss of what she had before, and an Error in the very Point of Manage, and Good Huswiv’ry; for Repletion Obstructs the most Necessary Offices of Nature.

FAB. LXXXVIII.

A _Man_ Bit by a _Dog_.

One that was Bitten by a Dog, was Advis’d, as the Best Remedy in the World, to Dip a Piece of Bread in the Bloud of the Wound, and give it the Dog to Eat. Pray hold Your Hand a little (says the Man) unless y’ave a mind to Draw All the Dogs in the Town upon me; For that will Certainly be the End on’t, when they shall find themselves Rewarded instead of Punish’d.

The MORAL.

_Good Nature is a Great Misfortune, where it is not Manag’d with Prudence. Christian Charity, ’tis true, bids us return Good for Evil; but it does not Oblige us yet to Reward where we should Punish._

REFLEXION.