Project Gutenberg's The Fables of Æsop, and Others, by Thomas Bewick This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. Title: The Fables of Æsop, and Others With Designs on Wood Author: Thomas Bewick Release Date: August 1, 2019 [EBook #60004] Language: English Character set encoding: UTF-8 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FABLES OF ÆSOP, AND OTHERS *** Produced by Chris Curnow, Charlie Howard, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) Newcastle 1st. October 1818 To Thomas Bewick & Son Dr., To an Impl. Copy of Esop’s Fables 1£ 11s 6d Received the above with thanks Thomas Bewick Robert Elliot Bewick Thomas Bewick his Mark THE FABLES OF ÆSOP, AND OTHERS, WITH DESIGNS ON WOOD, BY THOMAS BEWICK. “The wisest of the Ancients delivered their Conceptions of the Deity, and their Lessons of Morality, in Fables and Parables.” NEWCASTLE: PRINTED BY E. WALKER, FOR T. BEWICK AND SON. SOLD BY THEM, LONGMAN AND CO. LONDON, AND ALL BOOKSELLERS. 1818. Wise Men think Good Men Grieve Knaves invent and Fools believe. THE PREFACE DEDICATORY. To the Youth of the British Isles. In collecting together, for your use and benefit, some of the prudential maxims, and moral apothegms, of the ancient sages, the Publishers of this volume have been stimulated by an ardent desire to render this excellent mode of instruction as agreeable as possible; and, at the same time, to impress the precepts contained in the Fables more forcibly on your minds, they have endeavoured to make the embellishments worthy of your notice and examination. If the seeds of morality and patriotism be early sown, they will spring up, and ripen to maturity, in a confirmed love of truth, integrity and honour; and without these for his guide, no man can do credit to himself or his country. This consideration is of vital importance; for our comfort and happiness through life, mainly depend upon a strict adherence to the rules of morality and religion. The youth who is early tutored in an invincible regard for his own character, will soon perceive the duties imposed upon him by society, and will have pleasure in fulfilling them, as much for his own satisfaction as for the sake of his fellow men: but when the latent powers of the mind are neglected, or not directed into the paths of rectitude, by good precepts and worthy examples, vice and folly enter the opening, and lead their victim into evils and errors, which render his life miserable, and sometimes hurry him into an ignominious grave. To delineate the characters and passions of men, under the semblance of Lions, Tigers, Wolves, and Foxes, is not so extravagant a fiction as it may at first sight seem: for the innocent and inexperienced will find, when they engage in the busy scenes of the world, that they will have to deal with men of dispositions not unlike those animals; and that their utmost vigilance will be required to guard against their violence or machinations. In attempting to form an estimate of the characters of mankind, many gradations and shades will be found between the two extremes of virtue and vice. The philanthropist views with feelings of benevolence the wavering balance, and adds those he finds on the confines, to the number of the virtuous; while the misanthrope, with gloomy malignity, endeavours to include within the circle of vice, those who are standing upon the ill-defined line of division, and thus swells the number of the bad. Both observe with pain, that great numbers exist, whose whole lives seem to be spent in disfiguring the beautiful order which might otherwise reign in society, regardless of the misery which their wickedness scatters around them. They see men, who suffer their bad passions and gross appetites to be the sole rule of their conduct; and whether these shew themselves in an inordinate ambition, a thirst after false glory, or an insatiable avarice, their consequences are pernicious, and diffuse evil, distress, and ruin among mankind, in proportion to the extent to which their baneful influence reaches. The misanthrope, in contemplating the scene of mischief and disorder, is apt to arraign the wisdom and justice of Providence for permitting it to exist; but the philanthropist views it with a more extended range of vision; and while he laments the evil, he attributes the apparent want of human feelings in the actors, to an early perversion of intellect, or to a stifling of the reasoning power given by the Great Creator to man for his guide, and without which he is the worst animal in the creation, a mere two-legged Tiger. Upon the childhood and youth of such men, the great truth taught by the inspired and wisest writers of all ages, that “no life can be pleasing to God which is not useful to man,” has not been sufficiently impressed, or probably the energy with which they pursue their iii iv v vi Thomas Bewick wicked career might have been led into a different course, and instead of the scourges, they would have been the benefactors of mankind. When religion and morality are blended together in the mind, they impart their blessings to all who seek the aid of the one and obey the dictates of the other, and their joint effects are seen and felt in the perpetual cheerfulness they impart. They incite the innocent whistle of the ploughman at his plough, of the cobler in his stall, and the song of the milk-maid at her pail: and it is a sign of their being perverted, when they engender melancholy notions; for these are the offspring of bigotry, fanaticism, and ignorance. The service of the Omnipotent is not of this gloomy cast; he has spread out the table of this beautiful world of wonders, for the use of his creatures, and has placed man at the head of it, that he might enjoy its bounties, as well as prepare himself for the approaching change to another, which inspiration has powerfully impressed on his soul as the unknowable region of his next advance. The materialist, in his dreary reveries, cannot comprehend this, neither will he acknowledge that his being placed here is equally as miraculous as that he should be placed in another world or worlds, progressively to improve, to all eternity: but to harbour doubts on this subject, is like disputing the wisdom, the justice, and the mercy of the Author of our being, who, according to the conceptions we form of his goodness, as exhibited in the design, the grandeur, and the immensity of creation, where every thing is systematic, regular, and in order, would never decree that man should be placed here instinctively to know his Maker—to take a short peep at the stupendous, the amazing whole—to view all these, and have powers of mind given him only to know and repugnantly to feel, that after a life mixed with turmoil, grief, and disease, he is to be annihilated! In our conception of things, and to the limited understanding which has been given us, all this would appear to be labour in vain. The volume of the creation speaks alike to all, and cannot be defaced by man; but the ways of Providence are beyond his comprehension. Omnipotence has not been pleased to gratify his pride and vanity, nor to consult his understanding, in the government of the universe; but sufficient has been disclosed unto him to point out the moral duties he owes to society, and the religious worship due to his Maker, without groping after what is utterly beyond his reach: for our feeble reason is too weak to comprehend the divine essence; and our thoughts, on their utmost stretch, roll back on darkness. We reason, but we err: for how can we comprehend the immensity of endless space, of time and eternity, a beginning or an end; or what conceptions can we form of the Power which made the sun and worlds without number? Truly, this is far too much for a finite being, who does not know why he can move one of his own fingers, or cease to do so when he pleases! But all may know and fulfil their religious obligations, by reverencing and adoring their Creator, and walking humbly before him, and their moral duties, by being in their several stations, good sons, brothers, husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, neighbours, and members of society. Having, with humble diffidence, in this masquerade of life, attempted to point out to youth the exterior of the temple of virtue, and to lead them to its steps, the Editor leaves them there, respectfully recommending them to explore the whole interior, under the guidance of men more eminent for their mental powers and attainments in learning, philosophy, and piety. Of these, an illustrious band have placed, at every avenue and turning, their inestimable works, as directions to guide us to usefulness and respectability here, and eternal happiness hereafter. Newcastle, September, 1818. THE INTRODUCTION. From time to time, in all ages, men inspired, or gifted with a superior degree of intellectual power, have appeared upon the stage of life, in order (by enlightening others) to fulfil the designs of Omnipotence, in uniting the world in a state of civilized society. Patriarchs, or heads of families, at first directed or governed those who were immediately dependent upon them: these in time increased, and became clans; these again, by their quarrels, and their wars, were induced to elect chieftains or kings over a number of united clans,—from which were formed the various nations and kingdoms of the earth. In this early stage of the world, when men were ignorant and uncivilized, the chase and war seem almost wholly to have occupied their time and attention. Their kings ruled over them with despotic sway, and the will of the prince was the only law: and thus the barbarism of the subject and the tyranny of the ruler went hand in hand together. That over-swollen pride, which seems the natural accompaniment of despotic power, blinds the understandings of its possessors, and renders them wholly regardless of the important trust reposed in them. The evils arising out of their bad government, are felt, more or less, by the whole people over whom they preside; and pride and arrogance prevent the approach of sincerity and truth. The sycophant and the slave then only find admission, and all other men are kept at a distance. While kings and governors were of this character, the voice of truth could only reach their ears through allegory and fable, which took their rise in the infancy of learning, and seem to have been the only safe mode of conveying admonition to tyrants. This pleasing method of instilling instruction into the mind, has been found by experience to be the shortest and best way of accomplishing that end, among all ranks and vii viii ix x conditions of men. The first Fable upon record, is that of Jotham and the Trees, in the Bible; and the next, that of The Poor Man and his Lamb, as related by Nathan to King David, and which carried with it a blaze of truth that flashed conviction on the mind of the royal transgressor. Lessons of reproof, religion, and morality, were, we find, continually delivered in this mode, by the sages of old, to the exalted among mankind. It is asserted by authors, that Apologues and Fables had their origin in the Eastern world, and that the most ancient of them were the productions of Veesh-nou Sarma, commonly called Pilpay, whose beautiful collections of Apologues were esteemed as sacred books in India and Persia, whence they were spread abroad among other nations, and were by them celebrated and holden in much estimation. They were translated from the Persian and Arabian into Greek, by Simeon Seth, a man of great learning, who was an officer of the imperial household at Constantinople about the year 1070. Seth’s Version was imitated in Latin by Piers Alfonse, a converted Jew, as early as the year 1107; and this is supposed to have been the first version of Pilpay’s Apologues that made its way, and became familiarized in Europe. The time in which Pilpay lived, seems not to be certainly known to the learned; but some of them suppose that the Fables of Æsop and others were grounded upon his models. The time in which Æsop lived is better ascertained, and of all the Fabulists who have amused and instructed mankind by their writings, his name stands pre-eminent. Authors fix his birth-place at Cotieum, in Phrygia Major. But the history of this remarkable person, who lived about 572 years before Christ, and about 100 years before Herodotus, the Greek historian, has been so involved in mystery, traditionary stories, and absurd conjectures, that any attempt to give a detail from such materials, would only serve to bewilder youth, and lead them into a labyrinth of error; and it would be impertinent to trouble the learned reader with that which must be sufficiently familiar to him.A The whole of the absurd fictions concerning this wise and amiable man, were invented by Maximus Planudes, a Greek monk.B Plutarch, and other authentic historians,C have, however, given a very different account of the illustrious Fabulist. It would appear, according to some of these relations, that Æsop, originally a shepherd’s boy, had risen from the condition of a slave, to great eminence, and that he lived in the service of Xanthus and Judman, or Idmon, in the island of Samos, and afterwards at Athens. Phædrus speaks of him as living the greater part of his life at the latter place, where, it appears, a handsome statue, executed by the hand of the famous statuary Lysippus, was erected to his memory, and placed before those of the seven sages of Greece.D He also notices his living at Samos, and interesting himself in a public capacity, in the administration of the affairs of that place; where Aristotle also introduces him as a public speaker, and records the fact of his reciting the fable of the Fox and the Hedgehog,E while pleading on behalf of a minister, upon the occasion of his being impeached for embezzling the public treasure. Æsop is also mentioned as speaking in a public capacity to the Athenians, at the time when Pisistratus seized upon their liberties.F Upon each of these occasions he is represented as having introduced a Fable into his discourse, in a witty and pleasing manner. He was holden in the highest veneration and esteem in his day, by all men eminent for their wisdom and virtue. It appears there was scarcely an author among the ancient Greeks who mixed any thing of morality in his writings, that did not either quote or mention Æsop. Plato describes Socrates as turning some of Æsop’s Fables into verse, during those awful hours which he spent in prison, immediately before his death. Aristophanes not only takes hints from Æsop, but mentions him much to his honour, as one whose works were, or ought to be, read before any other. Ennius and Horace have embellished their poetry from his stores; and ancient sages and authors all concur in bearing the most ample testimony to his distinguished merits. Plutarch, in his imaginary banquet of the seven wise men, among several other illustrious persons of ancient times, celebrated for their wit and knowledge, introduces Æsop, and describes him as being very courtly and polite in his behaviour. Upon the authority of Plutarch also, we fix the life of Æsop in the time of Crœsus, king of Lydia, who invited him to the court of Sardis. By this prince, he was holden in such esteem, as to be sent as his envoy to Periander, king of Corinth, which was about three hundred and twenty years after the time in which Homer lived, and 550 before Christ. He was also deputed by Crœsus to consult the oracle of Delphi. While on this embassy, he was ordered to distribute to each of the citizens, four minæG of silver, but some disputes arising between them and Æsop, he reproached them for their indolence, in suffering their lands to lie uncultivated, and in depending on the gratuities of strangers for a precarious subsistence: the quarrel, which it would appear ran high between them, ended in Æsop’s sending back the money to Sardis. This so exasperated the Delphians, that they resolved upon his destruction; and that they might have some colour of justice for what they intended, they concealed among his effects, when he was taking his departure from Delphi, a gold cup, consecrated to Apollo; and afterwards pursuing him, easily found what they themselves had hidden. On the pretext that he had committed this sacrilegious theft, they carried him back to the city, and notwithstanding his imprecating upon them the vengeance of heaven, they immediately condemned him to be cast from the rock Hypania, as the punishment of the pretended crime. Ancient historians say, that for this wickedness, the Delphians were for a long time visited with pestilence and famine, until an expiation was made, and then the plague ceased. A The curious enquirer is referred to the Essay on the Æsopean Fable, by Sir Brooke Boothby, bart. from which this sketch is extracted. B Planudes lived at Constantinople in the 14th century. His Fables were printed at Milan, A.D. 1480. C The first person who took great pains to detect and expose the follies and absurdities of Planudes’s Life of Æsop, and collected what could be known, was Bachet de Mezeriac, a man of great learning, who flourished about the year 1632. D These sages were Solon, Thales, Chilo, Cleobulus, Bias, Pittacus, and Periander, to whom Laertius adds Anacharsis, Maro, Pherecydes, Epimenides, and Pisistratus. E “Ye men of Samos, let me entreat you to do as the Fox did; for this man, having got money enough, can have no further occasion to rob you; but if you put him to death, some needy person will fill his place, whose wants must be supplied out of your property.” The Fable of the Fox and the Hedgehog was applied by Themistocles to dissuade the Athenians from removing their magistrates.—B. Boothby. F The Fable of the Frogs desiring a King. xi xii xiii xiv G The mina of silver was 12 ounces, about £3 sterling. It was not until many ages after the death of Æsop, that his most prominent successor, Phædrus, arose. He translated Æsop’s Fables from the Greek into Latin, and added to them many of his own. Of Phædrus little is known, except from his works. He is said to have lived in the times of the Emperors Augustus and Tiberius, and to have died in the reign of the latter. The first printed edition of his Fables, with cuts, was published at Gauda, in 1482. Caxton published some of them in 1484, and Bonus Accursius in 1489, to which he prefixed Planudes’s Life of Æsop. But the most perfect edition of Phædrus’s Works was published in five volumes, by Peter Pithou, at Troyes, in 1596, from manuscripts discovered by him in the cities of Rheims and Dijon. To these have succeeded in later times, a numerous list of fabulists,H besides such of the poets as have occasionally interspersed Fables in their works. These, in their day, have had, and many of them still have, their several admirers; but Gay and Dodsley best maintain their ground in this country, as is proved by the regular demand for new editions. Croxall’s Fables, which were first published in 1722, with cuts on metal, in the manner of wood, have also had a most extensive sale; and Sir Brooke Boothby’s elegant little volumes, in verse, published in 1809, are now making their way into the public notice. The Editor of the present volume, in attempting to continue the same pleasing mode of conveying instruction, long since laid down as a guide to virtue, has quoted and compiled from other fabulists, whatever seemed best suited to his purpose. His sole object is utility, and he is not altogether without hope, that in attempting to embellish and perpetuate a fabric, which has its foundations laid in religion and morality, his efforts may not be wholly ineffectual to induce the young to keep steadily in view those great truths, which form the sure land-mark to the haven, where only they can attain peace and happiness. H Sir Roger L’Estrange, born 1616, died 1704. John de la Fontaine, born 1621, died 1695. John Dryden, born 1631, died 1701. Antoine Houdart de la Motte, born 1672, died 1731. John Gay, born 1688, died 1732. Samuel Croxall, D. D. Archdeacon of Hereford, died 1752. Edward Moore, died 1757. Draper. Robert Dodsley, born 1703, died 1764. William Wilkie, born 1721, died 1772. Abbe Brotier, born 1722, died 1789. THE TABLE OF CONTENTS. A PAGE The Ape and her Young Ones 3 The Sensible Ass 69 Æsop and the Impertinent Fellow 81 The Angler and the Little Fish 111 The Ass and the Lion hunting 161 The Ass in the Lion’s Skin 187 The Ape chosen King 195 The Ant and the Fly 269 The Ant and the Grasshopper 307 The Ape and the Fox 319 Æsop at Play 333 The Ass eating Thistles 369 xv xvi xvii B The Boy and his Mother 5 The Brother and Sister 31 The Shepherd’s Boy and the Wolf 61 The Bear and the Bee-Hives 119 The Bees, the Drones, and the Wasp 145 The Hunted Beaver 159 The Bull and the Goat 171 The Two Bitches 183 The Boar and the Ass 205 The Blackamoor 223 The Belly and the Members 275 The Boys and the Frogs 375 C The Two Crabs 1 The Collier and the Fuller 13 The Cock and the Jewel 47 The Wanton Calf 57 The Crow and the Pitcher 63 The Cat and the Fox 107 The Cat and the Mice 149 Cæsar and the Slave 177 The Clown and the Gnat 189 The Countryman and the Snake 217 The Cock and the Fox 219 The Fighting Cocks 349 The Cock and the Fox 359 D The Dog in the Manger 77 The Ship Dog 99 The Dog invited to Supper 109 The Dog and the Shadow 117 The Mischievous Dog 169 The Dog and the Sheep 207 The Dog and the Wolf 287 The One-eyed Doe 297 The Deer and the Lion 315 The Dove and the Bee 339 The Dog and the Cat 371 E The Eagle, the Cat, and the Sow 39 The Eagle and the Fox 273 The Eagle and the Crow 301 F The Proud Frog and the Ox 17 The Fox and the Vizor Mask 51 The Fox and the Crow 67 The Forester and the Lion 83 The Fox without a Tail 95 The Fox and the Ass 105 xviii xix The Fox and the Tiger 115 The Frogs and their King 135 The Fir and the Bramble 143 The Frog and the Fox 147 Fortune and the Boy 153 The Fox and the Grapes 167 The Fisherman 173 The Fox and the Boar 175 The Frogs and the Fighting Bulls 179 The Two Frogs 199 The Fox and the Briar 201 The Fox and the Stork 215 The Fox and the HedgeHog 227 The Fox and the Goat 235 The Fowler and the Ring-dove 249 The Fowler and the Blackbird 263 The Fatal Marriage 277 The Fox and the Lion 285 The Flying Fish and the Dolphin 289 The Fox in the Well 311 The Fox and the Sick Lion 323 The Fox and the Countryman 331 The Fox and the Wolf 335 The Frogs and the Mice 353 The Fowler and the Lark 355 The Fowler and the Partridge 363 G The Goat, the Kid, and the Wolf 29 The Goat and the Lion 101 The Gardener and his Dog 313 The Wild and the Tame Geese 351 H The Husbandman and his Sons 15 Hercules and the Carter 37 The Drunken Husband 121 The Hen and the Swallow 127 The Hart and the Vine 157 The Old Hound 181 The Hen and the Fox 185 The Hare and the Tortoise 221 The Hares and the Frogs 251 The Harper 267 The Horse and the Stag 303 The Horse and the Lion 309 The Horse and the Ass 327 The Hawk and the Farmer 329 The Horse and the over-loaded Ass 343 The Husbandman and the Stork 345 I Industry and Sloth 9 J xx xxi Jupiter and the Ass 79 Jupiter and the Camel 139 Jupiter and the Herdsman 209 Juno and the Peacock 237 Jupiter and Pallas 241 The Vain Jack-daw 255 K The Bald Knight 87 The Kite and the Pigeons 281 The Sick Kite 283 The Kid and the Wolf 293 L The Leopard and the Fox 21 The Lark and her Young Ones 41 The Lion and the Four Bulls 89 The Lion, the Tiger, and the Wolf 93 The Lioness and the Fox 123 The Lamb brought up by a Goat 125 The Old Lion 211 The Lion in Love 225 The Lion and other Beasts 239 The Lion and the Mouse 257 The Lion and the Frog 291 The Lion, the Wolf, and the Dog 367 M The Master and his Scholar 7 The Young Man and the Swallow 11 The Mole and her Dam 27 The Young Men and the Cook 43 The Mule 45 Mercury and the Woodman 49 The Man and his Goose 55 The Old Man and his Sons 91 The Miser and his Treasure 97 A Man bitten by a Dog 113 The Envious Man and the Covetous 129 The Mice in Council 193 The Old Man and Death 197 The Man and the Weasel 203 The Magpie and the Sheep 213 The Man and his Two Wives 231 Mercury and the Carver 233 The Mountains in Labour 253 The Mouse and the Weasel 271 The Young Man and the Lion 279 The Country and the City Mouse 295 The Miller, his Son, and their Ass 305 The Young Man and his Cat 361 The Blind Man and the Lame 365 N The Nurse and the Wolf 265 xxii O The Oak and the Reed 151 P The Peacock and the Crane 23 The Two Pots 25 The Partridge and the Cocks 65 The Porcupine and the Snakes 131 The Polecat and the Cock 261 The Ploughman and Fortune 317 R The Raven and the Serpent 337 S The Stag looking into the Water 19 The Sheep Biter 33 The Swallow and other Birds 71 The Sow and the Wolf 133 The Stag and the Fawn 141 The Sow and the Bitch 163 The Satyr and the Traveller 165 The Sparrow and the Hare 229 The Stag in the Ox-Stall 247 The Sun and the Wind 325 The Serpent and the Man 341 The Shepherd turned Merchant 357 T The Thief and the Dog 53 The Boasting Traveller 59 The Thieves and the Cock 73 The two Travellers 103 The Tortoise and the Eagle 259 The Trees and the Woodman 299 The Thief and the Boy 321 The Travellers and the Bear 347 The Trumpeter taken Prisoner 373 V The Viper and the File 243 W The Old Woman and her Maids 35 The Wolves and the Sick Ass 75 The Wolf, the Fox, and the Ape 85 The Old Woman and the Empty Cask 137 The Wolf and the Crane 155 The Wolf and the Lamb 191 The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing 245 xxiii xxiv THE FABLES OF ÆSOP, AND OTHERS. THE TWO CRABS. Two Crabs, the mother and daughter, having been left by the receding tide, were creeping again towards the water, when the former observing the awkward gait of her daughter, got into a great passion, and desired her to move straight forward, in a more becoming and sprightly manner, and not crawl sideling along in a way so contrary to all the rest of the world. Indeed mother, says the young Crab, I walk as properly as I can, and to the best of my knowledge; but if you would have me to go otherwise, I beg you would be so good as to practise it first, and shew me by your own example how you would have me to conduct myself. APPLICATION. Ill examples corrupt even the best natural disposition, and it is in vain to instruct our children, their talents being only imitation, to walk by one rule, if we ourselves go by another. The good precepts which we may lay down to them, will be bestowed in vain, if they see by our own conduct, that we pursue a contrary course to that which we recommend to them. Parents therefore, who are desirous of working an effectual reformation in their children, should begin by making a visible amendment in themselves; and this is a duty they owe to society, as well as to their offspring, it being of the utmost importance to both, that probity and honour be early instilled into their youthful minds, as these grow with their growth, and while at the same time they command respect, they lay the foundation of their individual happiness through life. THE APE AND HER YOUNG ONES. An Ape having two young ones, was dotingly fond of one, but disregarded and slighted the other. One day she chanced to be surprized by the hunters, and had much ado to get off. However, she did not forget her favourite young one, which she took up in her arms, that it might be the more secure: the other, which she neglected, by natural instinct, leapt upon her back, and so away they scampered together; but it unluckily fell out, in the over-anxiety of her precipitate flight, confused and blinded with haste, that she struck her favourite’s head against a branch, which threw it on the ground, where the darling bantling was seized by the dogs and killed. The hated one, clinging close to her rough back, escaped all the danger of the pursuit. APPLICATION. 1 2 3 4 By dear mamma’s o’er-weening fondness spoil’d, Caress’d and pamper’d, dies the fav’rite child: The boy she slights, rough, vig’rous, and well-grown, Unaided, bears the brunt, and shifts alone. The indulgence which parents shew to their children arises from the most amiable of human weaknesses; but it is not the less injurious in its effects, and therefore it is of great importance to guard against it, and not to suffer a blind fondness to transport us beyond the bounds of a discreet affection, for this often proves the ruin of the child. This fable is also intended to expose the folly of a system of favouritism in families, for experience shews that those children who are the least pampered and indulged usually make the best and cleverest men. THE BOY AND HIS MOTHER. A little Boy having stolen a book from one of his school-fellows, took it to his Mother, who, instead of correcting him, praised his sharpness, and rewarded him. In process of time, as he grew bigger, he increased also in villainy, till at length he was taken up for committing a great robbery, and was brought to justice and condemned for it. As the officers were conducting him to the gallows, he was attended by a vast crowd, and among the rest his Mother came sobbing along, and deploring her son’s unhappy fate; which the criminal observing, he begged leave to speak to her: this being granted, he put his mouth to her ear, as if he was going to whisper something, and bit it off! The officer, shocked at this behaviour, asked him if the crimes he had committed were not sufficient to glut his wickedness, without being also guilty of such an unnatural violence towards his mother? Let no one wonder, said he, that I have done this to her, for she deserves even worse at my hands. For if she had chastised instead of praising and encouraging me, when I stole my school-fellow’s book, I should not now have been brought to this ignominious and untimely end. APPLICATION. The approaches to vice are by slow degrees, and the good or evil bias given to youth is seldom eradicated. The first deviations from sound morality should therefore be most strictly watched, and wickedness checked or punished in time; for when vice grows into a habit, it becomes incurable, and both good governments and private families are deeply concerned in its attendant consequences. One need not scruple to affirm that most of the depravity which is so frequent in the world, and so pernicious to society, is owing to the bad education of youth; and to the connivance or ill example of their parents. It is therefore of the utmost consequence that parents, guardians, and tutors, should be of characters befitting them for the various and important offices they have to perform. The latter description of persons may and ought to be carefully selected; but it is to be lamented that the base and mean-spirited hosts of bad parents are out of the reach of controul, and nothing can prevent the evils arising from their tutorage. Perhaps it would be harsh to make laws to check the marriages of such; but there is no need to encourage the breed of them, for they are already over abundantly numerous. THE MASTER AND HIS SCHOLAR. As a School-master was walking upon the bank of a river, he heard a cry as of one in distress: advancing a few paces farther, he saw one of his Scholars in the water, hanging by the branch of a willow. The Boy had, it seems, been learning to swim with corks, and now thinking himself sufficiently experienced, had thrown these implements aside, and ventured into the water without them; but the 5 6 7 force of the stream having hurried him out of his depth, he had certainly been drowned, had not the branch of the tree providentially hung in his way. The Master took up the corks, which lay upon the ground, and throwing them to his Scholar, made use of this opportunity to read a lecture to him upon the inconsiderate rashness of youth. Let this be an example to you, says he, in the conduct of your future life, never to throw away your corks till time has given you strength and experience enough to swim without them. APPLICATION. Rashness is the peculiar vice of youth, and may be stiled the characteristic foible of that season of life. The foundation of this rashness is laid in a fond conceit of their own abilities, which tempts them to undertake affairs too great for their capacities, and to venture out of their depths, or to suffer themselves to be hurried into the most precipitate and dangerous measures, before they find out their own weakness and inability. It therefore behoves inexperienced young men to keep a cautious guard over their passions, to check the irregularities of their disposition, and to listen to the wholesome advice and good council of those whose judgments are matured by age and experience: for few are above the need of advice, nor are we ever too old to learn any thing for which we may be the better. But young men, above all, should not disdain to open their eyes to good example, and their ears to admonition: neither should they be ashamed to borrow rules for their behaviour in the world, until they are enabled from their own knowledge of men and things, to stem its crooked tides and currents with ease and honour to themselves. Consult your elders, use their sense alone, Till age and practice have confirm’d your own. INDUSTRY AND SLOTH. An indolent Young Man being asked why he lay in bed so long? jocosely answered, “Every morning of my life I am hearing causes. I have two fine girls, their names are Industry and Sloth, close at my bed-side as soon as I awake, pressing their different suits. One intreats me to get up, the other persuades me to lie still; and then they alternately give me various reasons why I should rise, and why I should not. This detains me so long, (it being the duty of an impartial judge to hear all that can be said on either side) that before the pleadings are over, it is time to go to dinner.” APPLICATION. “He who defers his work from day to day, Does on a river’s brink expecting stay, ’Till the whole stream which stopt him shall be gone, Which, as it runs, for ever will run on.” Indolence is like a stream which flows slowly on, but yet it undermines every virtue; it rusts the mind, and gives a tincture to every action of one’s life, the term of which does not allow time for long protracted deliberations; and yet how many waste more of their time in idly considering which of two affairs to begin first, than would have ended them both? To-morrow is still the fatal time when all is to be done; to-morrow comes, it goes, and still indolence pleases itself with the shadow, while it loses the substance: and thus men pass through life like a bird through the air, and leave no track behind them, unmindful that the present time alone is ours, and should be managed with judicious care, since we cannot secure a moment to come, nor recal one that is past. It is no matter how many good qualities the mind may be possessed of; they all lie dormant if we want the necessary vigour and resolution to draw them forth; for this slumber of the mind leaves no difference between the greatest genius and the meanest understanding. Neither the mind nor the body can be active and vigorous without proper exertion, and trouble springs from idleness, and grievous toil from useless ease; therefore, “whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might, for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave, whither thou goest.” 8 9 10 THE YOUNG MAN AND THE SWALLOW. A prodigal thoughtless young Man, who had wasted his whole patrimony in taverns and gaming-houses, among his lewd idle companions, was taking a melancholy walk near a brook. It was in the spring, while the hills were yet capped with snow, but it happened to be one of those clear sunny days which some times occur at that time of the year; and to make appearances the more flattering, a Swallow which had been invited forth by the warmth, flew skimming along upon the surface of the water. The Youth observing this, concluded that the summer was now come, and that he should have little or no occasion for clothes, so went and pawned them, and ventured the money for one stake more, among his sharping associates. When this too was gone, like all the rest of his property, he took another solitary walk in the same place as before, but the weather being severe and frosty, every thing had put on a very different aspect; the brook was frozen over, and the poor Swallow lay dead upon the bank. At this, the Youth, smarting under the sense of his own misery, mistakingly reproached the Swallow as the cause of all his misfortunes: he cried out, oh, unhappy bird, thou hast undone both thyself and me, who was so credulous as to trust to thy appearance. APPLICATION. They who frequent taverns and gaming-houses, and keep bad company, should not wonder if they are reduced in a very short time to penury and want. The wretched young fellows who once addict themselves to such a scandalous course of life, scarcely think of or attend to any thing besides: they seem to have nothing else in their heads but how they may squander what they have got, and where they may get more when that is gone. They do not make the same use of their reason as other people, but like the jaundiced eye, view every thing in a false light, and having turned a deaf ear to all advice, and pursued their unaltered course until all their property is irrecoverably lost, when at length misery forces upon them a sense of their situation, they still lay the blame upon any cause but the right one—their own extravagance and folly; like the Prodigal in the fable, who would not have considered a solitary occurrence as a general indication of the season, had not his own wicked desires blinded his understanding. THE COLLIER AND THE FULLER. The Collier and the Fuller being old acquaintances, happened upon a time to meet together, and the latter being but ill provided with a habitation, was invited by the former to come and live in the same house with him. I thank you, my dear friend, replied the Fuller, for your kind offer; but it cannot be, for if I were to dwell with you, whatever I should take pains to scour and make clean in the morning, the dust of you and your coals would blacken and defile before night. APPLICATION. It is of no small importance in life to be cautious what company we keep, and with whom we enter into friendship; for though we are ever so well disposed ourselves, and free from vice, yet if those with whom we frequently converse, are engaged in a lewd, wicked course, it will be almost impossible for us to escape being drawn in with them. If we are truly wise, and would shun those rocks of pleasure upon which so many have split, we should forbid ourselves all manner of commerce and correspondence with those who are steering a course, which reason tells us is not only not for our advantage, but would end in our destruction. All the virtue we can boast of, will not be sufficient to insure our safety, if we embark in bad company; for though our philosophy were such as would preserve us from being tainted and infected with their manners, yet their characters would twist and entwine themselves along with ours, in so intricate a fold, that the world would not take the trouble to unravel and separate them. Reputation is of a blending nature, like water; that which is derived from the clearest spring, if it chance to mix with a foul current, runs on undistinguished, in one muddy stream, and must ever partake of the colour and condition of its associate. 11 12 13 14 THE HUSBANDMAN AND HIS SONS. A Husbandman, at the point of death, being desirous that his Sons should pursue the same innocent course of agriculture in which he himself had been engaged all his life, made use of this expedient. He called them to his bed-side, and said: All the patrimony I have to bequeath to you, my sons, is my farm and my vine-yard, of which I make you joint heirs; but I charge you not to let them go out of your own occupation, for if I have any treasure besides, it lies buried somewhere in the ground within a foot of the surface. This made the Sons conclude that he talked of money which he had hidden: so after their father’s death, with unwearied diligence, they carefully dug up every inch, and though they found not the money they expected, the ground, by being well stirred and loosened, produced so plentiful a crop of all that was sown in it, as proved a real, and that no inconsiderable treasure. APPLICATION. The good name and the good counsel of a father, are the best legacies he can leave to his children; and they ought to revere the one, and keep in mind the other. The wealth which a man acquires by his honest industry affords him greater pleasure in the enjoyment, than when acquired in any other way; and men who by personal labour have obtained a competency, know its value better than those can who have had it showered upon them without any efforts of their own. Idleness engenders disease, while exercise is the great prop of health, and health is the greatest blessing of life, which consideration alone ought to stimulate men to pursue some useful employment; and among the almost endless number of those, to which good laws and well-organized society give birth and encouragement, there are none equal to the culture of the earth, none which yield a more grateful return. The pleasures derived both from agriculture and horticulture, are so various, so delightful, and so natural to man, that they are not easily to be described, and are never to be excelled: for in whatever way they are pursued, the mind may be constantly entertained with the wonderful œconomy of the vegetable world; and the nerves are invigorated and kept in proper tone by the freshness of the earth, and the fragrancy of the air, which blush the countenance with health, and give a relish to every meal. THE PROUD FROG AND THE OX. An Ox, grazing in a meadow, chanced to set his foot among a parcel of young Frogs, and trod one of them to death. The rest informed their mother, when she came home, what had happened; telling her, that the beast which did it, was the hugest creature that they ever saw in their lives. What, was it so big? says the old Frog, swelling and blowing up her speckled belly to a great degree. Oh! bigger by a vast deal, say they: and so big? says she, straining herself yet more. Indeed, say they, if you were to burst yourself, you would never be so big. She strove yet again, and burst herself indeed. APPLICATION. How many vain people, of moderate easy circumstances, by entertaining the silly ambition of vying with their superiors in station and fortune, get into the direct road to ruin. In whatever station of life it may have pleased Providence to place us, we ought to determine upon living within our income, and to endeavour by honesty, sobriety, and industry, to maintain our ground. Young men, upon their launching out into the world, would do well deeply to reflect upon this, for their future peace of mind and happiness greatly depend upon it. They need only look a little about them to see how a contrary conduct has operated upon thousands; and it is to be feared, will continue to fill our gaols with debtors, and Bedlam with lunatics. 15 16 17 18 THE STAG LOOKING INTO THE WATER. A Stag drinking, saw himself in the water, and pleased with the sight, stood contemplating his shape. Ah, says he, what a glorious pair of branching horns are here, how gracefully do these antlers project over my forehead, and give an agreeable turn to my whole face; but I have such legs as really make me ashamed; they look so very long and unsightly, that I had rather have none at all. In the midst of this soliloquy, he was alarmed with the cry of a pack of hounds. Away he flies in some consternation, and bounding nimbly over the plain, threw dogs and men at a vast distance behind him. After which, taking a very thick copse, he had the ill fortune to be entangled by his horns in the branches, where he was held fast till the hounds came up and seized him. In the pangs of death, he is said to have uttered these words: Unhappy creature that I am, I am too late convinced that what I prided myself in, has been the cause of my undoing; and what I so much disliked, was the only thing that could have saved me. APPLICATION. We often make a false estimate, in preferring our ornamental talents to our useful ones, and are apt to place our love and admiration on wrong objects. When our vanity is stronger than our reason, show and ostentation find easy admission into our hearts, and we are much fonder of specious trifles than useful plainness. But the truest mark of wisdom is to estimate things at their just value, and to know whence the most solid advantages may be derived: otherwise, like the Stag in the Fable, we may happen to admire those accomplishments which are not only of no real use, but often prove prejudicial to us, while we despise those things on which our safety may depend. He that does not know himself, will often form a false judgment upon other matters that most materially concern him; and thus it fares with many, who suffer themselves to be deluded with the false pomp of high life, and whose vanity prompts them to conceive they possess talents which qualify them to shine in that circle, into which, had they judged rightly, they never would have entered, but rather have applied themselves to improve other qualifications, which might have insured their own happiness, and have rendered them useful members of society. THE LEOPARD AND THE FOX. The Leopard, one day, took it into his head to value himself upon the great variety and beauty of his spots, and truly he saw no reason why even the Lion should take place of him, since he could not shew so beautiful a skin. As for the rest of the wild beasts of the forest, he treated them all without distinction in the most haughty and disdainful manner. But the Fox being among them, went up to him with a great deal of spirit and resolution, and told him that he was mistaken in the value he was pleased to set upon himself, since people of judgment were not used to form their opinion of merit from an outside appearance, but by considering the good qualities and endowments with which the mind was stored within. APPLICATION. Wise men are chiefly captivated with the beauty of the mind, rather than that of the person; and whenever they are infatuated with a passion for any thing else, it is generally observed that they cease, during that time at least, to be what they were, and indeed are only considered to be playing the fool. It too often happens that women of remarkable beauty are so fully satisfied with their outward excellencies, that they totally neglect the improvement of their minds; not considering that it is only a combination of mental and personal charms that can entitle them to be ranked as Nature’s greatest ornaments. Unmindful of this, however, they are too apt to consider beauty as the only thing requisite in their sex; and since they are endowed with it in such an eminent degree, they look down with disdain on females less happy in personal charms. Beauty has undoubtedly great influence over the hearts of mankind, but when it is overrun with affectation and conceit, their admiration will soon be turned into disgust; while women of more ordinary persons, but blessed with good sense and good humour, will captivate the hearts of worthy men, and more effectually secure their constancy. 19 20 21 22