The Cranes that were Light took Wing immediately and sav'd themselves but the Bustards were Taken for they were Fat and Heavy and could not Shift so well as the Other The MORAL Light of Body and Light of Purse comes much to a Case in Troublesome Times Only the One saves himself by his Activity and the Other scapes because he is not worth the Taking REFLEXION CAMERARIUS makes This to be an Emblem of the Taking of a Town where the Poor scape better then the Rich for the One is let go and the Other is Plunder'd and Coop'd up But with Favour of the Moralists it was not at the Fowler 's Choice which to Take and which to Let go for the Cranes were too Nimble and got away inspite of him So that This Phansie seems rather to Point at the Advantages that some have over Others to make Better shift in the World then their Fellows by a Felicity of Make and Constitution whether of Body or of Mind Provided always that they Play Fair and Manage all Those Faculties with a Strict Regard to Common Honesty and Justice FAB CCXIII. Iupiter and an Ape JUpiter took a Fancy once to Summon All the Birds and Beasts under the Canopy of Heaven to appear before him with their Brats and their Little ones to see which of 'em had the prettiest Children And who but the Ape to put her self Foremost with a Brace of her Cubbs in her Arms for the Greatest Beauties in the Company FAB CCXIV. An Eagle and an Owl A Certain Eagle that had a mind to be well serv'd took up a Resolution of Preferring Those that she found most agreeable for Person and Address and so there past an Order of Council for All Her Majesty's Subjects to bring their Children to Court They came accordingly and Every One in their Turn was for Advancing their Own Till at last the Owl fell a Mopping and Twinkling and told her Majesty that if a Gracious Meen and Countenance might Entitle any of her Subjects to a Preference she Doubted not but her Brood would be look'd upon in the First Place for they were as like the Mother as if they had been spit out of her Mouth Upon This the Bord fell all into a Fit of Laughing and call'd Another Cause The Moral of the Two Fables above No body ever saw an Ill-savour'd 〈◊〉 in the World yet Man or Woman that had not a Good Opinion of it's Own Wit and Beauty REFLEXION SELF Love is the Root of All the Vanities that are struck at in These Two Fables and it is so Natural an Infirmity that it makes us Partial even to Those that come of us as well as to our selves And then it is so Nicely Divided betwixt Piety Pride and Weakness that in Many Cases 't is a hard Matter to Distinguish the One from the Other 'T is a Frailty for a Man to Think Better of his Children then they Deserve But then there is an Impulse of Tenderness and of Duty that goes along with it and there must be some sort of an Esteem in the Case too for the setting of That In-bred Affection at Work The Difficulty lies in the Moderating of the Matter and in getting the True Medium betwixt being Wanting to our Own Flesh and Blood once Remov'd and Assuming too much to our selves Let the Attachment be what it will we must not suffer our Judgments to be either Perverted Blinded or Corrupted by any Partiality of Prepossessions whatsoever The Moral here before us Extends to the Fruits and Productions of the Brain as well as of the Body and to Deformities in the matter as well of Understanding as of Shape We are Taught here Principally Two Things First how Ridiculous it is for a Man to Dote upon Fops and Buffoons tho' never so much the Issue of his Own Head and Loins And yet 2ly How Prone we are to Indulge our Own Errors Follies and Miscarriages in Thought Word and Deed. The World has Abundance of These Apes and Owls in 't So that Whoever does but look about him will find so many Living Illustrations of This Emblem that more Words upon the Subject would be needless 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 Willfullness 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 't is 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 't is 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
was had brought these Calamities upon Them The Oracle gave them this Answer That they were to Expiate for the Death of Aesop. In the Conscience of their Barbarity they Erected a Pyramid to his Honor and it is upon Tradition that a Great Many of the Most Eminent Men among the Greeks of that Season went afterwards to Delphos upon the News of the Tragical End of Aesop to Learn the Truth of the History and found upon Enquiry That the Principal of the Conspirators had layd Violent hands upon Themselves UTILE DULCI THE FABLES OF AESOP c. FABLE I. A Cock and a Diamond AS a Cock was turning up a Dunghill he spy'd a Diamond Well says he to himself this sparkling Foolery now to a Lapidary in my place would have been the Making of him but as to any Use or Purpose of mine a Barley-Corn had been worth Forty on 't The MORAL He that 's Industrious in an Honest Calling shall never fail of a Blessing 'T is the part of a Wise Man to Prefer Things Necessary before Matters of Curiosity Ornament or Pleasure REFLEXION THE Moralists will have Wisdom and Virtue to be meant by the Diamond the World and the Pleasures of it by the Dunghill and by the Cock a Voluptuous Man that Abandons himself to his Lusts without any regard either to the Study the Practice or the Excellency of Better Things Now with favour of the Ancients this Fable seems to me rather to hold forth an Emblem of Industry and Moderation The Cock lives by his honest Labor and maintains his Family out of it His Scraping upon the Dunghill is but Working in his Calling The precious Stone is only a gawdy Temptation that Fortune throws in his way to divert him from his Business and his Duty He would have been glad he says of a Barley-Corn instead on 't and so casts it aside as a thing not worth the heeding What is all this now but the passing of a true Estimate upon the matter in question in preferring 〈◊〉 which Providence has made and pronounc'd to be the Staff of Life before a glittering Gew-Gaw that has no other Value then what Vanity Pride and Luxury have set upon 't The Price of the Market to a Ieweller in his Trade is one thing but the intrinfick Worth of a thing to a Man of Sense and Iudgment is another Nay that very Lapidary himself with a coming Stomach and in the Cock's place would have made the Cock's Choice The Doctrin in short may be this That we are to prefer things necessary before things superfluous the Comforts and the Blessings of Providence before the dazling and the splendid Curiosities of Mode and Imagination And finally that we are not to govern our Lives by Fancy but by Reason FAB II. A Cat and a Cock. IT was the hard Fortune once of a Cock to fall into the Clutches of a Cat. Puss had a Months Mind to be upon the Bones of him but was not willing to pick a Quarrel however without some plausible Color for 't Sirrah says she what do you keep such a bawling and screaming a Nights for that no body can sleep near you Alas says the Cock I never wake any body but when 't is time for People to rise and go about their Business Nay says the Cat and then there never was such an incestuous Rascal Why you make no more Conscience of Lying with your own Mother and your Sisters In truth says the Cock again that 's only to provide Eggs for my Master and Mistress Come come says Puss without any more ado 't is time for me to go to Breakfast and Cats don't live upon Dialogues at which word she gave him a Pinch and so made an end both of the Cock and of the Story FAB III. A Wolf and a Lamb. AS a Wolf was lapping at the Head of a Fountain he spy'd a Lamb paddling at the same time a good way off down the Stream The Wolf had no sooner the Prey in his Eye but away he runs open-mouth to 't Villain says he how dare you lye muddling the Water that I 'm a drinking Indeed says the poor Lamb I did not think that my drinking there below could have foul'd your Water so far above Nay says t'other you 'll never leave your chopping of Logick till your Skin 's turn'd over your Ears as your Fathers was a matter of six Months ago for prating at this sawcy rate you remember it full well Sirrah If you ll believe me Sir quoth the innocent Lamb with fear and trembling I was not come into the World then Why thou Impudence cries the Wolf hast thou neither Shame nor Conscience But it runs in the Blood of your whole Race Sirrah to hate our Family and therefore since Fortune has brought us together so conveniently you shall e'en pay some of your Fore-Fathers Scores before you and I part and so without any more ado he leapt at the Throat of the miserable helpless Lamb and tore him immediately to pieces The MORAL of the Two Fables above 'T is an Easie Matter to find a Staff to Beat a Dog Innocence is no Protection against the Arbitrary Cruelty of a Tyrannical Power But Reason and Conscience are yet so Sacred that the Greatest Villanies are still Contenanc'd under that Cloak and Color REFLEXION PRIDE and Cruelty never want a Pretence to do Mischief The Plea of Not Guilty goes for Nothing against Power For Accusing is Proving where Malice and Force are Joyn'd in the Prosecution When Innocence is to be oppress'd by Might Arguments are foolish things nay the very Merits Virtues and good Offices of the Person accus'd are improv'd to his Condemnation As the Industry and Watchfulness of the Cock here in the calling of People out of their Beds to work when 't is time to rise is turn'd upon him as a Crime Nay such is the Confidence of a spightful Cruelty that People shall be charg'd rather than fail with things utterly impossible and wholly foreign to the Matter in question The Lamb it self shall be made malicious And what is this now but the lively Image of a perverse Reason of State set up in opposition to Truth and Justice but under the August Name and Pretence however of Both As Loyalty for the purpose shall be call'd Rebellion and the Exercise of the most Necessary Powers of Government shall pass for Tyranny and Oppression Decency of Religious Worship shall be made Superstition Tenderness of Conscience shall be call'd Phanaticism Singularity and Faction and the very Articles of the Christian Faith shall be condemn'd for Heresie Villanies have not the same Countenance when there are Great Interests Potent Mediations Presents Friends Advocates Plausible Colours and Flourishes of Wit and Rhetorique Interpos'd betwixt the Sight and the Object There are ways of Deceiving the Eyes as well as of Blinding them so that the Cause of the Innocent must be Remitted at last to that Great and Final Decision where there
Mercury to the Eating of them that is to say to the Helping him off with ' em FAB CCCLXXVIII An Eagle and a Beetle A Hare that was hard put to 't by an Eagle took Sanctuary in a Ditch with a Beetle The Beetle Interceded for the Hare The Eagle Flapt off the former and Devoured the other The Beetle took this for an Affront to Hospitality as well as to her Self and so Meditated a Revenge watch'd the Eagle up to her Nest follow'd her and took her Time when the Eagle was Abroad and so made a shift to Roll out the Eggs and Destroy the Brood The Eagle upon this Disappointment Timber'd a great deal higher next Bout the Beetle watch'd her still and shew'd her the same Trick once again Whereupon the Eagle made her Appeal to Iupiter who gave her leave to lay her next Course of Eggs in his own Lap. But the Beetle found out a way to make Iupiter rise up from his Throne so that upon the Loosning of his Mantle the Eggs fell from him at Unawares and the Eagle was a Third time Defeated Iupiter stomach'd the Indignity but upon Hearing the Cause he found the Eagle to be the Aggressor and so Acquitted the Beetle The MORAL 'T is not for a Generous Prince to Countenance Oppression and Injustice even in his most Darling Favourites REFLEXION THE Rights and Priviledges of Hospitality are so Sacred that Iupiter himself would not Countenance the Violation of them even in his own Minion the Eagle Nor is there any thing so despicable as we see in the case of the Beetle but Access is open for the Cries of Distressed Innocence to Divine Justice Let no Man presume because he is Great and Powerful nor Despair because he is Low and Poor for the one may Rise and the other may Fall and the meanest Enemy may find a way to a Revenge Tyranny may prosper for a while 't is true and under the Countenance of a Divine Permission too as the Eagle got leave here to Deposite her Eggs or her Cause in Heaven But Iupiter's Lap it self we see is no Final Sanctuary for an Oppressor Though nothing is more common in the World then to mistake Providences and Judgments and to call the Wickedest and the worst of Men and of Things by Good Names FAB CCCLXXIX An Owl and Little Birds THere goes a Story of an Owl that was advised by the Little Birds to Build rather among the Boughs and Leaves as they did then in Walls and Hollow Trees and so they shew'd her a Young Tender Plant for her Purpose No No says the Owl those Twigs in time will come to be Lim'd and then your'e all Lost if you do but touch ' em The Birds gave little Heed to 't and so went on Playing and Chirping among the Leaves still and passing their Time there in Flocks as formerly till in the conclusion the Sprigs were all Daub'd with Lime and the Poor Wretches clamm'd and taken Their Repentance came now too Late but in Memory of this Notable Instance of the Owls Foresight the Birds never see an Owl to this very Day but they Flock about her and Follow her as if it were for a New Lesson But our Modern Owls have only the Eyes the Beak and the Plume of the Owls of Athens without the Wisdom The MORAL Good Counsel is lost upon those that have not the Grace to Hearken to 't or do not Understand it or will not Embrace and Follow it in the proper Season REFLEXION Wholesom Advice is worth nothing unless it be in Truth Given as well as taken in Season This Fable shews the Danger and the Mischief of either Rejecting not Heeding or not Entertaining it and likewise at the same time sets forth how hard a thing it is to fasten Profitable Advice upon Men that Indulge themselves in Ease and Pleasure They look upon it as so much time lost to employ the Present upon the thought of the Future and so by one Delay after another they spin out their whole Lives 'till there 's no more Future left before ' em This Dilatory Humour proceeds partly from a Sloathful Laziness of Temper as I knew a Man that would not be got out of his Bed when the House was afire over his Head Action is Death to some sort of People and they 'd as live Hang as Work It arises in a great measure too from an Habitual Heedless Inadvertency when Men are so intent upon the Present that they mind nothing else and Counsel is but cast away upon them Birds of Pleasure and Men of Pleasure are too Merry to be Wise and the case of this Fable is but the common case of the World Wholsom Advice comes in at one Ear and goes out at ' tother Men in short of Blood and Appetite have no Foresight 〈◊〉 and so Postpone Prudence as a Vertue of another Season FAB CCCLXXX A Gourd and a Pine THere was a Gourd Planted close by a Large Well-spread Pine The Season was Kindly and the Gourd shot it self up in a short time climbing by the Bows and twining about 'em 'till it topp'd and cover'd the Tree it self The Leaves were Large and the Flowers and the Fruit fair insomuch that the Gourd had the confidence to value it self above the Pine upon the comparison Why says the Gourd you have been more Years a Growing to this Stature then I have been Days Well says the Pine again but after so many Winters and Summers as I have endured after so many Blasting Colds and Parching Heats you see me the very same thing still that I was so long ago But when you come to the Proof once the First Blight or Frost shall most infallibly bring down that Stomach of yours and strip ye of all your Glory The MORAL Nothing so Insolent and Intolerable as a Proud Upstart that 's rais'd from a Dunghil he forgets both his Master and his Maker REFLEXION THE Gourd here is an Emblem of Vain Pride and Ingratitude and the Pine bids Princes and Great Men have a care what Favourites they prefer and what Friendships they Entertain and this for their own sakes as well as for the sake of the Publick He 's a Fool that takes himself to be Greater Richer Fairer or Better then he is or that reckons any thing his own which is either but Borrow'd or may be taken away next Moment He that lives barely upon Borrowing is effectually but a Beggar when his Debts are paid This Gourd in short is a Proud Upstart his Growth is quick but his Continuance short He values himself upon the Feather in his Cap and in a word upon those Fooleries that a Man of Honour and Substance would blush at And nothing else will serve him neither but to 〈◊〉 Excellencies with those that took him out of the Dirt nay and to elevate himself when a'lls done to the Dishonour of his Supporters And what 's the Issue at last of Encouraging these Minions but the
Seasons nor with the Earth for Poysonous Minerals and Exhalations nor with the Water for Inundations and Shipwrecks nor with the Fire for Conflagrations We must not take upon us to Dispute or to Correct the Wisdom of Providence but sit down Contented and Thankful and with this Reflexion upon the whole that we are Indebted to the Divine Bounty for all the Good we Enjoy and that for the Evil we Suffer we may thank our Selves FAB CCCCLXXII A Generous Lion AS a Lion was Bestriding an Ox that he had newly Pluck'd down a Robber Passing by Cry'd out to him Half-Shares You should go your Snip says the Lion if you were not so forward to be your own Carver The Thief had but just turn'd his Back when up comes an Innocent Traveller that so soon as ever he saw the Lion was going off again The Lion bad him Fear Nothing but take part of the Prey with him in Reward of his Modesty Whereupon the Lion went immediately into the Woods to make way for the Traveller The MORAL If Great Men in the World would but follow the Example of the Lion in this Fable Sharpers should not Ride in Triumph any longer while Honest Men go out at the Elbows REFLEXION THIS is an Instance of a Great and a Laudable Example but People are forwarder to Commend such Presidents then to Imitate them for the Bold and Rich Thrive in the World when the Poor and the Bashful go a Begging But Virtue is never the less Venerable for being out of Fashion FAB CCCCLXXIII A Brother and a Sister THere was a Brother and a Sister that happen'd to look in a Glass both together The Brother a very Lovely Youth and the Sister as hard favour'd as a Girl could well be Look ye says the Boy and have not I a very Good Face now This the Lass took for a Reproach as if hers were not so too What does this Envious Tit but away to her Father with a Tale of her Brother how Effeminately he Behav'd himself and that a Petticoat would become him better then a Sword The Good Man Kiss'd them both and Reconciled the Controversy My Dear Children says he I lay my Command upon ye Both to look often in a Glass You Son to keep a Guard upon your Self not to Dishonour the Advantages that Nature has given ye with Ill Manners And you Daughter says he to Mind you of Supplying the Defects of an External and a Transitory Beauty with the more substantial Ornaments of Piety and Virtue The MORAL There is not any Accident or Adventure in Nature that does not yield Matter and Occasion for Good Councel And the Excellency of that necessary Office lies in the Address of Managing it Pertinently and without Reproach REFLEXION THE Vanity of the Youth here in the Fable is doubly to Blame First he values himself upon a Trivial and an Uncertain Advantage Secondly 'T is below the Dignity of the Sex for a Man to Glory in and to Usurp upon the proper Ornaments and Privileges of a Woman The Sisters Envy may be better Reprov'd then Reform'd for to say that a Woman is not Handsom is a Sin never to be Forgiven The Father does excellently well Discharge the Part of a Wise Man and of a Tender Paâ—…ent both in One. And the Moral of his Part Resolves finally into this That Virtue attones for Bodily Defects and that Beauty is nothing worth without a Mind Answerable to the Person FAB CCCCLXXIV The Bees and the Drones THere was a Controversy betwixt the Bees and the Drones about some Hony-Combs that were found in a Hollow Oak They both laid Claim to 'em and a Wasp was to be Iudge as one that well understood the Matter Upon the Tryal of the Cause they seem'd both to stand fair for 't as being of the same Size Make and Colour Now says the Wasp I am upon my Oath and therefore let me see them work their Combs and fill 'em here before me in the Court and I shall be then the better able to Understand the Merits of the Cause The Drones would not Agree to 't and so the Verdict went for the Bees The MORAL Pretences go a great way in the World with Men that will take Fair Words and Magisterial Looks for Current Payment But the short and the certain way of bringing the Cause to a Fair Issue is to put the Pretenders to the Test of Doing what they say REFLEXION ALL People that set up for a Reputation in the World upon the Credit of other Mens Labours fall under the Reproof of this Fable and the Judges in those Cases are not always so Tender Circumspect and Conscientious as the Wasp was in this for they let False and Frivolous Pretenders run away many times not only with the Character but with the Reward both of Honester and 〈◊〉 Mens Virtues There 's no Proof like Matter of Fact and putting the Drones to the Test of making Wax and Hony FAB CCCCLXXV A Fox and a Dragon AS a Fox was Earthing Himself he Digg'd so Deep 'till at last he came to a Dragon's Den where he found a Prodigious Mass of Hidden Treasure He made his Excuse for his Intrusion and begg'd the Dragon's leave but to Ask him One Question Pray says he where 's the Pleasure or the Profit of Spending all your Days in a Hole thus without either Light or Sleep Why 't is my Fate says the Dragon and there 's no more to be said Here 's a Monstrous Hord says the Fox and I cannot find that you either give Give or Use One Peny out of all this Store 'T is a Misery says the other that I am Doom'd to and there 's no Avoiding it Why then says the Fox He that 's Born under Your Stars is certainly the most Wretched of Creatures The MORAL We are apt to do Amiss and to Persevere in so Doing and then lay the Blame upon our Stars or our Fortune as we call it which in truth is neither Better nor Worse then making Heaven the Author of Evil. The very sooth of it is that an Ill Habit has the Force of that which we call an Ill Fate and we Tye up our Selves where Providence has left us at Liberty REFLEXION Your Covetous Churl is Undoubtedly the most Miserable of Beggars the more he Has the more he Wants Beside that he wants what he Has too for 't is lost to all Intents and Purposes when neither he Himself nor any Body else is the Better for 't He Pines and Watches himself to Death for fear of losing that which he only Fancies that he has or which is the same thing that which he has not the Heart to Use. All this says the Dragon I suffer because I 'm Doom'd to 't which tells us most Emphatically that an Anxiety of Mind is a Just Judgment upon a Man for Delivering himself up to so Sordid an Appetite We must not Understand the Dragon here to be Condemn'd to this
is no longer any Place for Passion Partiality Corruption or Error But as to the Business of This World when the Cocks and the Lambs lie at the Mercy of Cats and Wolves they must never expect better Quarter especially where the Hearts Blood of the One is the Nourishment and Entertainment of the Other FAB IV. A Frog and a Mouse THere fell out a Bloody Quarrel once betwixt the Frogs and the Mice about the Sovereignty of the Fenns and whilst Two of their Champions were Disputing it at Swords Point Down comes a Kite Powdering upon them in the Interim and Gobbles up both together to Part the Fray FAB V. A Lion and a Bear THere was a Lion and a Bear had gotten a Fawn betwixt them and there were they at it Tooth and Nail which of the Two should carry 't off They Fought it out till they were e'en glad to lie down and take Breath In which Instant a Fox passing that way and finding how the case stood with the Two Combatants seiz'd upon the Fawn for his Own Use and so very fairly scamper'd away with him The Lion and the Bear saw the Whole Action but not being in condition to Rise and Hinder it they pass'd this Reflexion upon the whole matter Here have we been Worrying one another who should have the Booty 'till this Cursed Fox has Bobb'd us Both on 't The MORAL of the Two Fables above 'T is the Fate of All Gotham-Quarrels when Fools go together by the Ears to have Knaves run away with the Stakes REFLEXION THIS is no more than what we see Dayly in Popular Factions where Pragmatical Fools commonly begin the Squabble and Crafty Knaves reap the Benefit of it There is very rarely any Quarrel either Publique or Private whether betwixt Persons or Parties but a Third Watches and hopes to be the Better for 't And all is but according to the Old Proverb While Two Dogs are Fighting for a Bone a Third runs away with it Divide and Govern is a Rule of State that we see Confirm'd and Supported by Dayly Practice and Experience So that 't is none of the Slightest Arguments for the Necessity of a Common Peace that the Litigants Tear one another to pieces for the Benefit of some Third Interest that makes Advantage of their Disagreement This is no more than what we find upon Experience through the whole History of the World in All Notable Changes and Revolutions that is to say the Contendents have been still made a Prey to a Third Party And this has not been only the Fare and the Event of Popular Quarrels but the Punishment of them for the Judgment still Treads upon the Heel of the Wickedness People may talk of Liberty Property Conscience Right of Title c. but the Main Business and Earnest of the World is Mony Dominion and Power and how to Compass Those Ends and not a Rush matter at last whether it be by Force or by Cunning. Might and Right are Inseparable in the Opinion of the World and he that has the Longer Sword shall never want either Lawyers or Divines to Defend his Claim But then comes the Kite or the Fox in the Conclusion that is to say some Third Party that either by Strength or by Craft Masters both Plaintiff and Defendent and carries away the Booty FAB VI. A Dog and a Shadow AS a Dog was crossing a River with a Morsel of Good Flesh in his Mouth he saw as he thought Another Dog under the Water upon the very same Adventure He never consider'd that the One was only the Image of the Other but out of a Greediness to get Both he Chops at the Shadow and Loses the Substance The MORAL All Covet All Lose which may serve for a Reproof to Those that Govern their Lives by Fancy and Appetite without Consulting the Honor and the Iustice of the Case REFLEXION THIS is the Case of Unreasonable and Insatiable Desires as in Love Ambition and the Like where People are still reaching at More and More till they lose All in the Conclusion There are more Meanings of Substance and Shadow of Mistaking One for T'other and Losing All by Chopping at More than the Bare Sense and Letter of the Dog the Flesh and the Image here in the Fable Under these Heads are comprehended all Inordinate Desires Vain Hopes and Miserable Disappointments What shall we say of those that spend their Days in Gaping after Court-Favours and Preferments Servile Flatteries and Slavish Attendances That Live and Entertain themselves upon Blessings in Vision For Fair Words and Promises are no more than Empty Appearances What is all This but Sacrificing a Man's Honour Integrity Liberty Reason Body Soul Fortune and All for Shadows We place our Trust in Things that have no Being Disorder our Minds Discompose our Thoughts Entangle our Estates and Sell our selves in One Word for Bubbles How wretched is the Man that does not know when he 's Well but passes away the Peace and Comfort of his Life for the Gratifying of a Fantastical Appetite or Humour Nay and he Misses his Aim even in That too while he Squanders away his Interest and Forfeits his Discretion in the Pursuit of One Vanity after Another Ambition is a Ladder that reaches from Earth to Heaven and the First Round is but so many Inches in a Man's way toward the Mounting of All the Rest. He 's never well till he 's at the Top and when he can go no Higher he must either Hang in the Air or Fall For in This Case he has nothing above him to Aspire to nor any Foot-Hold left him to come down by Every Man has what 's Sufficient at Hand and in Catching at more than he can carry away he loses what he Had. Now there 's Ingratitude as well as Disappointment in All these Rambling and Extravagant Motions Beside that Avarice is always Beggerly for He that Wants has as good as Nothing The Desire of More and More rises by a Natural Gradation to Most and after that to All Till in the Conclusion we find our selves Sick and Weary of All that 's possible to be had sollicitous for something else and then when we have spent our Days in the Quest of the Meanest of Things and at the Feet too of the Worst of Men we find at the bottom of the Account that all the Enjoyments under the Sun are not worth Struggling for What can be Vainer now than to Lavish out our Lives and Fortunes in the Search and Purchase of Trifles and at the same time to lye Carking for the Unprofitable Goods of this World and in a restless Anxiety of Thought for what 's to come The Folly in fine of these Vexatious and Frivolous Pursuits shews it self in all the Transports of our Wild and Ungovern'd Affections Here is further set forth in this Emblem All the Fabulous Torments of Hell even Above-Ground Men that are Tainted with this Appetite are ready to dye of Thirst with Tantalus