Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n
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A45463
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The fables of young Æsop, with their morals with a moral history of his life and death, illustrated with forty curious cuts applicable to each fable.; Aesop's fables. English.
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Aesop.; Harris, Benjamin, d. 1716?
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1700
(1700)
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Wing H6; ESTC R39503
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27,046
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102
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and day expect the Punishment that their Crimes deserve This World affords at best no other Life Than what is Complicated up with Strife For in this lesser Orb we Mortals see The very Eliments at Variance be The flitting Air and solid Earth make War And th' Fire and Water nothing do but Jar No Wonder then we Mortals Change and Fade When we of Fickle Elements are made Wealth Beauty Honour and Preferment high No sooner come from Heav'n but back they fly Whilst those poor Souls who fix therein their trust By Heav'ns Blasts are blown away like Dust And plung'd in Mis'ry with the Ambitious Soul For where 's the Mortal can the Fates Controul But if we would Live Undisturb'd and Free And shun the Labyrinth of Misery Let 's seek ah seek and find poor Souls distrest A humble Cottage where Life lives at Rest And feed our Vitals maugre horrid Strife On that we Mortals call The Bread of Life Quenchin◠that Thirst which doth our Spirits cloy By Drinking everlastig Streams of Joy This Summum Bonum if we hope to have We must Conform to th' Advice which Solon gave Contemn this World and follow Wisdom's Rule 〈◊〉 is most Wise who thinks himself most Fool. 1. The ROSE crop'd by Youth LOOK in the Morning and you 'll see the Rose-buds to awake And from their Beds most fragrantly a pleasant Odour make And when the Gard'ner to it goes it can't his Knife withstand But strait descends this Damask Rose to wither in his Hand Ah! gentle Youth thus strive to crop from off this Bush a Flower Turn back behold one ready stands thy Youth for to devour The MORAL T IS most expedient that Man first of all should Meditate upon Death whether he will be a Philosopher or not For we find but two Certainties in this World Life and Death From whence I infer As soon as Nature has done her Duty in the first and set the Wheels at work the latter should be put in Practice i. e. We should be putting our selves in the Grave every day we live To which end consider O my Reader that thou art brought forth in a Garden whereof God is supream Lord and Master thou art set as a Plant in such a Soil to grow up according to its Fertility Death is thy Gardener who is appointed to Root up evil Weeds and to gather fragrant Herbs and Flowers for his Master's Palace therefore is it not better for thee to Converse with thy Gardener to understand his Natural Qualities that thou mayst be the more Potent in Pruning-time to lose a Branch or two than to have the whole trodden despicably amongst Briars and Thorns Consider thou canst not Fee Death nor evade his Darts and that every one must kiss his cold Lips and fall asleep in the Dust. 2 The Innocent Lambs Sporting and Playing HOW innocent and lovingly the tender Lambs do play Bah Bah they cry most chearfully as trav'ling on their way They think no hurt With quiet Mirth they 're drove with Whip in hand Nor do they Dream at all of Death when Butchers by them stand Amongst the Grass i' th' pleasant Fields these harmless Lambs Consort They leap for Joy and toss their Heels till Death does end their Sport The MORAL WHY wilt thou Delight thy self O my Child in provoking thy Brother to Wrath Is it for thy Credit to be Quarrelling one with another when every day Providence drives thee nearer towards the Slaughter-house Thou little think'st of this but know that thou art going where-ever thou art to the Court of Justice and is it not better to take thy Brother by the Hand and run quietly that the Judge may Smile on thee and Sing thee Asleep in his Arms. Consider Brotherly Love is as Chains of Gold about the Neck and without it we are worse than Savage Beasts Love Sweetens our Dispositions and flings away all Acts of Hostility constraining us to turn and Kiss one another in the Heat of Broils and Animosities But where is this to be sought for In Relations there 's very little Sympathy to be found every one's Heart is case hardened to the Afflictions of his Friend and to say in Extremity I am thy Brother or Kinsman by Blood c. is like Whistling to the Wind or rowling Stones up-hill 3. The Turtle Surpriz'd and took Sleeping WHen blust'ring storms are blown away and Waves begin to fall Then Sol with his warm glitt'ring Rays most calmly up does call The Turtle pleasingly to float asleep upon the Sea But when it 's catch'd by Men i' th' Boat it wakes immediately And when too late it sees it self surpriz'd and taken fast It sighs and sobs with briny Tears so long as Life doth last The MORAL IF thou wilt Hunt be sure let it be with all the innocent Diversion imaginable For what occasion hast thou to Curse thy Horse because thy Game out runs him Or thy Game because it endeavours to escape thee with its Life Surely thou art asleep when thou dost so and no Wonder if thou art taken Napping when thy Horse is Leaping a Hedge or Style by the common Hunt who is at the Back of every one to catch'em when they fall Let this be thy Rule in all thy Recreation and thou wilt Discern him plain enough to Shun him Besides when thou art about a Journey or Some other Sporting Exercise of Body form an Idea of its Nature and Quality thereby no Mischief shall ensue nor will thy Senses be Stupify'd with the Fatiegues thereof Farther let this Consideration rouse my young Schollar out of that Lethargy of childish Pleasures which terminate in Affliction So he shall have true Pleasure and Delight in his Satchel the Love of his Superiors and escape the Epidemical Consequents of Excess and Wantonness when the impure Child shall be devour'd by the Jaws of Satan and Weep when 't is too late 4. A Dog returning to his Vomit IS' t not a Nasty sight to see a Dog to Spue amain And when 't is out immediately to eat it up again So strangely does this Cur delight to swallow down his Throat What he before with all his might most loathfully cast out Would it not make Man's Stomach loathe the daintiest Dish of Meat To see this nasty brutish Dog its Vomit up to Eat The MORAL T IS common with School-Boys to Spue out Repentance upon one anothers Backs when they are under their Master's Correction and as frequent to wipe it off with their Tears For how many irreiterated Promises will they make to save a little Smart But when it 's over they forget 'em and run to their unlawful Exercise with as much Celerity and Egregiousness as before Indeed some Cry up Correction as the Chief to be used in Governing Youth but for my Part I abhor it especially the Excess and esteem it as Bestiality and fit for none but Irrational Creatures Slaves and Criminals But rather on the other Hand that they should be manag'd
Launched when Born some fall in pieces before they set to Sea some founder half way their Voyage others are swallowed up in Sands within sight of the Harbour and few escape Pirates the Dangers of the Sea and other Casualties to arrive with full Sails at the highest Akme of Perfection There is a Pilot to guide us which because he is invisible and his Being in Dispute we will not accept as we ought Some will weigh Anchor and drop again some pretend an Imbargo others steal away in the Night whilst most fall short of the desired Port. 10. The Ants and Sluggard THE Ants a People are not strong yet Pains they daily take Before the Summer-time is gone their Winter-store to make For what does make this little Ant i' th' Season dry to get Her Food unless she fears to want when Winter's Cold and Wet The Sluggard fast a sleep does lye and Idly takes his Ease Because 't is now Prosperity he thinks 't will never cease The MORAL AS Providence has allotted every Creature its respective Office or Duty to Exercise its Powers and Faculties upon So Man the Nobler of all others more especially is Commanded to Work and Labour with his own Hands to feed his Mouth He is not enjoyned to seek after more than is sufficient for himself and Family and occasional Acts of Charity nor allow'd to live in Idleness till what has been complicated up by the Confluence of Heaven's Blessings is Exhausted through Riot and Excess Nature in it self is not Extravagant but Generous and Liberal but through Speculation it is Corrupt and Degenerate Lust cannot be without Sight whence it comes that the Passions are set to Work so soon as the Opticks inspect a Beauty From whence I infer That the Simple will not Labour for Necessaries any longer than they can form the least Idea of Substance or forc'd to by Acts of Compulsion 11. A Boy taking a Birds nest WHen Spring her Sun-shine Mantle weilds upon the hoary Earth Then Madam Flora decks the Fields and gives the Flow'rs new Birth Which makes the Idle Boy abroad oft-times a Truant make To travel o'er each Field and Road a Birds nest for to take When e'er he ' spies it up he crawls the Tree in hopes to find Live Birds or Eggs but Oh he falls and leaves them all behind The MORAL THere is a Proverb that saith Nature is never Content Nor will it be satisfied give it never so much And he whose Nature is such is continually pester'd with Ambition which saith Seneca hath this Vice Non respicit Not to look back Now the Ambitious Man cannot be Courted to Consider What he was that he takes another's Place and that he knows not how soon some One or Other may justle him out All he Ruminates on is Honour Wealth Authority Glory and a Thousand Extravagancies These are the Nests he looks up after and crawls up on other Mens Shoulders too till his Ambition is too Heavy for its Supporters which sinks and slips from under him whilst he tumbles Headlong down the Precipice of Despair In fine 't is a Vice restless and Vexations and hath no Bounds Present to the Ambitious Soul the Sight of Children catching frothy Bladders in the Air he will Laugh at you when at the same time his Actions are far more Ridiculous in the Eyes of all Wise Men. 12. Two Drunkards pretending to Travel Kill themselves TWO Drunken Sots had both agreed a Journey long to take Who had not gone 'bove half a League when to a House they make Then call'd for Drink and drank so long their Senses flew away One Swore the other did him wrong but could not tell which way Thus they contend at length they fight to end the Drunken Strife In rage each drew his Knife and quite depriv'd themselves of Life The MORAL OF all Vices there 's none more Odious more Destructive and more Abusive than Drinking to Excess The Drunkard is by our new Critic's leave an Element of Noise and Impiety a Chaos Complicated up with every thing his confus'd Fancy forms into an Idea The Drunkard not only Confounds the Business he just before ingag'd in but acts Arbitrary to the Law of Nature and Unravels Oathes Vows and sacred Obligations that have been Scores of Years winding to a Bottom The Drunkard will hasten from Prayer to Curse an Adversary And will promise to do That for Another which when he 's Sober he wants to have done for Himself He will endeavour to divert you with a long Harangue of the Ill of others when at the same time if you happen to Misconstrue one of his Words you yourself shall be the greatest Enemy he has Nay thô thou art his Brother he will believe thee to be no other than a Dog and a Dog's Life wilt thou Live all the time it is thy Fate to be in Subjection to a Sot 13. The Lyon and Lamb. A Lamb by chance had gone astray And wand'ring thrô a Wood A Lyon met in Masquerade Who Fauning by him stood Good Lyon quoth the Lamb I crave My Liege will lend an Ear And save me from the rav'nous Wolves Whose Jaws I daily fear Ne'er heed I 'll see you safe from them The Lyon strait did Rore 'Till to his Den he came when he The Lamb in pieces tore The MORAL HEre 's a Mystery Men will not forbear running into By-paths to hunt after Shadows when they may travel in a pleasant Road and have the Substance brought ' em Immoralists will seek the Pleasures of this Life thô it cost 'em never so dear never so many Oathes Lies Cheats Lusts Murders Villanies and the like Believe it then O thou guilty Man That thou art alone thô thou hast Three Parts of the World to bear thee Company For where are thy Companions when thy Reason is fled You and they are all like Senseless Posts jostling one another into the Fire Well then if thou lovest Wisdom thou wilt not come within the Decoys of this World where Sins are by-paths to lead us till the Devil finds us Neither ask thy Neighbour which way thou must go for who knows but he hath worldly Business near the Lyon's Den and may desire thy Company But pull thy Conscience by the Sleeve Consult That and thou shalt escape the Snares of Satan No Wonder Satan makes of Men a Prey When from a conscious Byass they do stray 14. The Apish Fox IN Parayn breeds a certain Beast Whose Head 's much like an Ape The hinder part like to a Fox In Colour and in Shape This Creature takes a Wondrous care To suckle all her Young 'Till they 're full grown and able are From th' Enemy to run But if by chance the Hunters come For fear her Young should lag She puts them in a Skinny place Much like a Leather Bag. Yet she her Young will always smother Whene'er they chance to Suck another The MORAL LIke begets Like It 's true it does so in