The Project Gutenberg eBook of Bewick’s Select Fables of Æsop and others, by Æsop.

Friendship! source of bliss sedate,

Best balm for all the wounds of fate!

’Tis thine the sinking heart to raise,

When love retires, and health decays;

Unmix’d with thy sublimer fire,

Love’s but a fev’rish low desire,

And ill the self-destroying flame

Deserves that soft angelic name.

Oh! could this verse, this fabling lay,

Extend or but confirm thy sway!

Or, warn’d by this, if only one

Thy foes’ destructive arts shall shun!

Since dangers rise with every sun,

With ev’ry sand united run;

Four Bulls, by mutual vows ally’d,

The morrow’s unknown ills defy’d;

As one they mov’d, they fought, they fed,

And safety rose by union bred,

Nor this alone the good they found,

The private bliss of each went round;

Hence doubly bless’d the gen’rous heart,

Which scorns the bliss it can’t impart.

From day to day the Lion came,

But matters still appear’d the same:

This smote his inmost soul with grief,

For much he long’d for fav’rite beef;

What can he do? he fears to wage

Unequal war, and four engage.

Thought follows thought—he finds in vain:

Yet thought to thought succeeds again.

Half-form’d resolves, and embryo schemes,

And all the train of statesmen’s dreams,

With conflict rude disturb his mind,

To this nor that success inclin’d.

Suspense presides with fluttering wings,

From which she shakes a thousand stings.

In this disastrous doubting case,

The Fox appears—with thinking face;

On him his royal master laid

His load of care, secure of aid;

Who paus’d a while with sober grace,

Then thus refin’d upon the case:—

Not things of moment most, I find,

Have broke the union of the mind;

Ev’n mere mistakes, that pet or pride

Have made, the sacred band divide,

And deepest enmities arise.

From trifling things among the wise.

In friendship, slight’s the deepest wound,

And that is fancy’d more than found.

These hints improv’d, our ends may gain,

The Bulls divided, count ’em slain;

The Lion, pleas’d, reply’d, he knew

The Fox could forge a lie—or two;

Which he opin’d, in points like this,

Would not be very much amiss.

Here wiser Reynard shook his head,

And this would never do, he said:

’Tis ours to make these foolish elves,

My lord, be liars to themselves:

Suspicion rais’d, the very eye

Will unsuspected gravely lie,

And, when a friend it shall survey,

Th’ idea of a foe display,

As you shall see—— Away he flew,

And, to the friends as near he drew,

He smooth’d his brow, he coin’d a smile,

And put on all the masks of guile.

Then whispers one with friendly nod,

“Mark, is not yon behaviour odd?

The Bull must surely mean affront,

His tail is next you—fie upon’t!

How slighting that! and there’s another

Can scarce some high resentment smother;

He snorts, he paws, and fain would shew

By vengeance whence his troubles flow.

The third, how dull! regardless still,

What fate you prove, or good or ill.”

Appearance (treach’rous witness) here

Confirms the sounds that cheat his ear;

Suspicion soon alarm’d, and pride,

At once, to self the whole apply’d.

The Bull withdraws, resolv’d as due,

They first for his return should sue.

The Fox returns, and boasts his arts,

And to his liege the truth imparts:

“The Bull who turn’d his tail so rude,

Meant only not his ear t’ intrude;

And he that spurn’d so fierce the ground

With anguish felt a hornet wound.

The third, the downy turf who prest,

Sought but the sweets of peaceful rest.

But come, to his remote retreat

I’ll guide my royal master’s feet.”

They go; the victim mourns too late

His absent friends and helpless state.

And slain, the Fox exulting cries,

“Not one but all shall be our prize.”

Away he goes, and thus again

Infus’d soft flatt’ry, deadly bane!

“Great sir (says he to one), I swear

Your friends are rude, indeed they are;

Friendship a decent due respect

Should, rather than destroy, protect.

Superior far to these you rise,

The wise affirm: we trust the wise;

Your nobler port, your finer wit,

All with united voice admit;

And yet no just distinction’s made

No deference shewn, no homage paid.

I wonder at your choice, but here

’Tis silence best becomes my sphere,

Tho’ might your slave presume to tell

What all the forest thinks as well,

These are perhaps the only Two

With whom your worth would lose its due.”

The Bull (how easy praise deceives!)

With pleasure hears, with pride believes;

Puts on the lofty looks and airs

Which humble merit never wears.

To treat him as an equal now

Inflames his heart, contracts his brow

’Tis envy, or, ’tis worse, ’tis hate,

Denies due honour to his state;

He could not bear th’ affronts they gave,

They break his peace, they make him rave;

They lov’d and they rever’d, he thought,

Less than the wretches knew they ought;

And (as is usual) storm’d and swore

That they might love and rev’rence more.

His friends, alarm’d, in deep amaze

On him, and on each other, gaze,

Disgust, in either’s bosom bred,

Was shewn as diff’ring tempers led,

One bold and warm the taunts returns,

And with contagious anger burns,

Than this, not plagues are sooner caught,

Nor with more dreadful evils fraught,

The other, meek, in secret pines,

And friends he could not keep resigns;

Resigns, tho’ late, with yearning heart,

And mourns persuasion’s useless art.

Retiring now he leaves the fray,

The Fox still mark’d his pensive way,

The Lion found and seiz’d his prize,

And, like the first, the second dies.

The two who yet alive remain,

In dreadful conflict shake the plain;

The Fox observes the doubtful fight,

One drops—he smiles with fell delight;

Flies with the joyful news, and brings

The King to take what’s now the King’s.

Faint, breathless, bleeding on the ground,

The hapless victor soon they found;

He falls an unresisting prey,

And crowns the triumphs of the day.

This tale a sage once told his son,

And thus apply’d it when he’d done:—

“Do you, my child, with unsuspecting eye,

O’erlook what others labour to descry;

Kind to all faults, and to all failings blind,

Be you the last to think affronts design’d.

Cold seems thy friend?—by the severest laws

Thy conduct try, to find the latent cause.

Let thy heart pant for universal praise,

Such as, unbrib’d, to virtue, virtue pays.

Is this withheld? try ev’ry winning art

To melt the hard, to soothe the froward heart.

Sue for esteem—to all but fawning bend,

Whom this will purchase is a worthless friend;

But scorn the thought as vainest of the vain,

That what good-nature loses, pride will gain.

Less than your merit does your friend approve?

Still merit more—his love constrain with love.

This conduct try’d remains he still the same?

Learn you to pity what the world will blame.

The gen’ral censure, his neglect ensures,

Thy honour brightens and thy praise secures.”

The ’squire had din’d alone one day,

And Tom was call’d to take away:

Tom clear’d the board with dextrous art:

But, willing to secure a tart,

The liquorish youth had made an halt,

And left the pepper-box and salt

Alone upon the marble table:

Who thus, like men, were heard to squabble.

Pepper began, “Pray, sir,” says he,

“What business have you here with me?

Is’t fit that spices of my birth

Should rank with thee, thou scum of earth?

I’d have you know, sir, I’ve a spirit

Suited to my superior merit—

Tho’ now, confin’d within this caster,

I serve a Northern Gothic master;

Yet born in Java’s fragrant wood,

To warm an Eastern monarch’s blood,

The sun those rich perfections gave me,

Which tempted Dutchmen to enslave me.

“Nor are my virtues here unknown,

Tho’ old and wrinkled now I’m grown.

Black as I am, the fairest maid

Invokes my stimulating aid,

To give her food the poignant flavour,

And, to each sauce, its proper savour.

Pasties, ragouts, and fricassees,

Without my seasoning, fail to please:

’Tis I, like wit, must give a zest,

And sprightliness to ev’ry feast.

“Physicians too my use confess;

My influence sagest matrons bless;

When drams prove vain, and cholics teaze,

To me they fly for certain ease.

Nay, I fresh vigour can dispense,

And cure ev’n age and impotence:

And when of dulness wits complain,

I brace the nerves, and clear the brain.

“But to the ’squire here, I appeal—

He knows my real value well:

Who, with one pepper-corn content,

Remits the vassal’s annual rent—

Hence then, Sir Brine, and keep your distance,

Go lend the scullion your assistance;

For culinary uses fit,

To salt the meat upon the spit;

Or just to keep our meat from stinking—

And then—a special friend to drinking!”

“Your folly moves me with surprise,”

The silver tripod thus replies,

“Pray, Master Pepper, why so hot?

First cousin to the mustard-pot!

What boots it how our life began?

’Tis breeding makes the Gentleman;

Yet would you search my pedigree,

I rose like Venus from the sea:

The sun, whose influence you boast,

Nurs’d me upon the British coast.

“The chymists know my rank and place,

When nature’s principles they trace:

And wisest moderns yield to me

The elemental monarchy.

By me all nature is supply’d

With all her beauty, all her pride!

In vegetation I ascend;

To animals their vigour lend;

Corruption’s foe, I life preserve,

And stimulate each slacken’d nerve.

I give jonquils their high perfume;

The peach its flavour, rose its bloom:

Nay, I’m the cause, when rightly trac’d,

Of Pepper’s aromatic taste.

“Such claims you teach me to produce;

But need I plead my obvious use,

In seasoning all terrestrial food;

When heaven declares, that Salt is good.

“Grant then, some few thy virtues find;

Yet Salt gives health to all mankind:

Physicians sure will side with me,

While cooks alone shall plead for thee:

In short, with all thine airs about thee,

The world were happier far without thee.”

The ’squire, who all this time sat mute,

Now put an end to their dispute:

He rung the bell—bade Tom convey

The doughty disputants away—

The Salt, refresh’d by shaking up,

At night did with his master sup:

The Pepper, Tom assign’d his lot

With vinegar, and mustard pot:

A fop with bites and sharpers join’d,

And, to the side-board, well confin’d.

A thick-twisted brake in the time of a storm,

Seem’d kindly to cover a sheep:

So snug, for a while, he lay shelter’d and warm.

It quietly sooth’d him asleep.

The clouds are now scatter’d—the winds are at peace,

The sheep’s to his pasture inclin’d;

But ah! the fell thicket lays hold of his fleece,

His coat is left forfeit behind.

My friend, who the thicket of law never tried,

Consider before you get in;

Tho’ judgment and sentence are pass’d on your side,

By Jove, you’ll be fleec’d to your skin.

Perch’d on a poplar’s verdant spray,

A Blackbird sung the hours away;

Charm’d all around, and seem’d to call

On echo from his Lordship’s hall.

Confin’d in state a Bullfinch there,

The melting music chanc’d to hear—

Bursting with envy, silence broke,

And thus from gilded cage he spoke:—

“Cease, bungler, thy discordant noise,

Untun’d thy throat, and harsh thy voice;

How dar’st thou, vagrant, as thou art,

To me thy dissonance impart?

Know’st thou I sing by studied rules,

And brag the learning of the schools?

Soft rapture to the heart convey,

And charm the list’ning soul away?

To please my Lord, and soothe his cares,

I warble soft Italian airs;

Which he in gratitude repays

With costly food, and gen’rous praise:

Whilst thou, condemn’d through air to rove,

Or hide thee in the gloomy grove,

To feebly suck thy beverage scant,

And pine in endless care and want;

To rocks and woods thy tale belongs,

Fit audience for thy stupid songs!

Away! no more my palace dun,

Or Dick, or Tom, shall fetch the gun.”

He ceas’d—The fable bird returns

(With rising scorn his bosom burns),

“Thou little lordling, void of sense,

Dar’st thou, imperious, warn me hence?

Know, parasite, thy threats are nought,

Nor boast thy cage too dearly bought:

Above the frigid rules of art,

’Tis nature’s dictates I impart;

Nor ever prostitute my lays,

But grateful sing my Maker’s praise;

Whilst echoing o’er the hills and plains,

I cheer the nymphs and lab’ring swains;

Whether the rising notes I swell,

Or lightly load the passing gale;

With bolder music fill the grove,

Or gently call my mate to love:

Whether the joys of summer sing,

Or chant the beauties of the spring;

The varied notes still new appear,

And sweet transition charms the ear:

Whilst thou, puff’d up with self-conceit,

And idle thoughts of being great,

Nor freedom canst thyself allow,

Nor give to others what is due;

But pedant-like, in pride, elate

(With notions, as thy prison, strait),

Think’st thou alone can urge the strain,

Thy boasted learning then, how vain!

Attend this truth, and know for once,

That learning ne’er unmade the dunce.”

’Twas in the charming month of May

(No matter, critics, for the day),

When Phœbus had his noon attain’d,

And in his blaze of glory reign’d;

A Fly as gay as e’er was seen,

Clad o’er in azure, jet, and green;

Gay, for his part, as birthday beau,

Whose soul is vanish’d into show;

On Paul’s famed temple chanc’d to light,

To ease his long laborious flight:

There, as his optics gaz’d around

(An inch or two their utmost bound),

He thus began:—“Men vainly tell

How they in works of skill excel:

This edifice they proudly show

To prove what human art can do;

’Tis all a cheat—before my eyes

What infinite disorders rise!

Here hideous cavities appear,

And broken precipices There:

They never us’d the plane or line,

But jumbled heaps without design.”

He ceas’d contemptuous;—and as Flies

Discern with microscopic eyes,

From what he saw he reason’d right,

But how inadequate the sight!

To mark the building from its base,

The pillar’d pomp, the sculptur’d grace,

The dome, the cross, the golden ball,

Much less the grand result of all!

So impious wits, with proud disdain,

Redemption’s hidden ways arraign,

Deem it beneath a being wise,

And, judging with their insect eyes,

View but a part, and then deny

Th’ eternal wisdom of the sky.

But can thy ken, presumptuous man,

Unfold this deep and wondrous plan?

As well might insect organs see

Th’ harmonious structure rais’d by thee,

As thine imperfect tube explore

This wise and gracious system o’er.

	PAGE
PART I.
Ass and his Master	25
Ant and Caterpillar	52
Bee and the Fly	11
Bear and the Bees	31
Bear and Two Friends	33
Belly and the Limbs	37
Beggar and his Dog	61
Blind Man and Lame	47
Boy and the Nettle	60
Butterfly and the Rose	4
Clock and the Dial	5
Country Maid and the Milk-Pail	8
Daw with borrowed Feathers	40
Dog and the Crocodile	23
Eagle and the Crow	27
Eagle and the Owl	43
Fortune and School-boy	36
Fox and the Bramble	3
Fox and the Stork	63
Genius, Virtue, and Reputation	15
Hermit and the Bear	18
Huron and Frenchman	12
Industry and Sloth	16
Jupiter’s Lottery	54
Lion and the Gnat	22
Lion, Bear, Monkey, and Fox	48
Lion and the Ass	29
Lion, Tiger, and Fox	28
Miller, his Son, and Ass	1
Mock-bird	51
Oak and the Willow	32
Partial Judge	20
Passenger and Pilot	19
Sick Lion, Fox, and Wolf	45
Snipe Shooter	56
Spider and Silkworm	10
Sun and the Wind	59
Tortoise and Two Crows	7
Trees and the Bramble	65
Trumpeter	30
Two Horses	49
Two Dogs	57
Trouts and Gudgeon	58
Two Lizards	53
Wasps and the Bees	35
Wolf in Disguise	24
Wolf and the Lamb	39
Wolf and Shepherds	42
PART II.
Age to be Honoured	164
Ant and Fly	79
Ants and Grasshopper	130
Ass, Ape, and Mole	76
Bald Cavalier	132
Boar and Fox	140
Boy and False Alarms	91
Boy and his Mother	218
Brother and Sister	172
Cat and Fox	201
City Mouse and Country Mouse	69
Cock and the Jewel	67
Cock and Fox	161
Collier and Fuller	216
Countryman and Snake	100
Countryman and Ass	148
Crow and Pitcher	180
Discontented Ass	142
Dog and the Shadow	87
Dog, Cock, and Fox	128
Dog and Cat	134
Dog and Sheep	209
Dog and Bee	214
Eagle, Cat, and Sow	158
Father and his Sons	93
Fir and Bramble	106
Fox and the Crow	73
Fox and Countryman	109
Fox and Ass	138
Fox and Ape	153
Fox and Grapes	182
Fox that had lost his Tail	117
Gnat and Bee	102
Hares and the Frogs	76
Hercules and Carter	192
Horse and Ass	82
Husbandman and Stork	85
Impertinent and Philosopher	136
Joy and Sorrow	150
Jupiter and Herdsman	224
Mercury and Woodman	104
Mice in Council	175
Mountains in Labour	186
Old Man and Death	177
Old Hound	204
One-eyed Stag	111
Peacock and Crane	89
Proud Frog	211
Satyr and Traveller	155
Seamen Praying to Saints	115
Sick Father and Children	95
Sick Kite	195
Scoffer Punished	120
Shepherd and Young Wolf	119
Sparrow and Hare	199
Splenetic Traveller	166
Stag looking into the Water	97
Swan and Stork	123
Swallow and Spider	126
Thief and Dog	190
There’s no To-morrow	226
Two Frogs	188
Two Pots	197
Two Young Men and Cook	206
Undutiful Young Lion	146
Viper and File	184
Wanton Calf	221
Young Man and Swallow	169
PART III.
Angler and Philosopher	276
Ant and Grasshopper	231
Bears and Bees	269
Beau and Butterfly	267
Blackbird and Bullfinch	304
Butterfly and Boy	239
Camelion	250
Caterpillar and Butterfly	257
Cuckoo Traveller	229
Four Bulls	293
Conceited Fly	306
Goat and Fox	284
Hounds in Couples	241
King-Dove	247
Kite and Nightingale	290
Lion and other Beasts in Council	278
Pepper-box and Salt-cellar	299
Philosopher and Glow-worm	274
Sheep and Bramble-bush	303
Sow and Peacock	244
The Nightingale	235
Two Foxes	237
Three Warnings	253
Trees	271
Two Doves	263
Wolf and Dog	233

Fable XXII.
The Four Bulls.

Fable XXIII.
The Pepper-Box and Salt-Cellar.

Fable XXIV.
The Sheep and the Bramble-Bush.

Fable XXV.
The Blackbird and Bullfinch.

Fable XXVI.
The Conceited Fly.

FOOTNOTES

THE INDEX.

Fable XXII. The Four Bulls.

Fable XXIII. The Pepper-Box and Salt-Cellar.

Fable XXIV. The Sheep and the Bramble-Bush.

Fable XXV. The Blackbird and Bullfinch.