PREFACE. WHEN there are so many Editions of Æsop's Fables, it will be expected, that some Reasons should be given for the Appearance of a new one; and we shall be as brief on this Head, as the Nature of the Thing will admit. Of all theEn glish Editions, we shall consider only two, as worthy of Notice; to wit, That of the celebrated SirRoger Lestrange, and that which appears under the Name ofS. Croxal, subscribed to the Dedication. And when we have given an Ac count of what each says for his own Performance, it will be our Turn to offer some things to the Reader with regard to our present Undertaking. ‘ When first I put Pen to Paper upon this De sign, says SirRoger, I had in my Eye only the common School Book, as it stands in theCam bridge andOxford Editions of it, under the Title ofÆsopi Phrygis Fabulæ; una cum non nullis variorum Auctorum Fabulis adjectis: Propounding to myself at that Time, to follow the very Course and Series of that Collection; and in one Word, to try what might be done by making the best of the Whole, and adapting proper and useful Doctrines to the several Parts of it, toward the turning of anexcellent Latin Manual of Morals and good Counsels, into a tolerable English one. But upon jumbling Mat ters and Thoughts together, and laying one Thing by another, the very State and Condition of the Case before me, together with the Na ture and the Reason of the Thing, gave me to understand, that this Way of proceeding would never answer my End: Insomuch that, upon this Consideration, I consulted other Ver sions of the same Fables, and made my best of the Choice. Some that weretwice or thrice over, and only the self-same Thing in other Words; these I struck out, and made one Spe cimen serve for the rest. To say nothing of here and there atrivial, or aloose Conceit in the Medly, more than this; that such as they are, I was under some sort of Obligation to take them in for Company; and in short,good, bad, andindifferent, one with another, to the Num ber, in the Total, of 383 Fables. To these I have likewise subjoin'd a considerable Addition of other selectApologues, out of the most cele brated Authors that are extant upon that Sub ject, towards the finishing of the Work.’ And a little farther, ‘ThisRhapsody ofFables, says he, is a Book universally read, and taught in all our Schools; but almost at such a Rate as we teachPyes andParrots, that pronounce the Words without so much as guessing at the Meaning of them: Or, to take it another way, the Boys break their Teeth upon the Shells, without ever coming near the Kernel. They learn Fables by Lessons, and the Moral is the least Part of our Care in a Child's Institution: So that take both together, and the one is stark Nonsense, without the Application of the other; beside that, the Doctrine itself, as we have it, even at the best, falls infinitely short of the Vigour and Spirit of the Fable. To supply this Defect now, we have had several English Paraphrases and Essays uponÆsop, and divers of his Followers, both in Prose and Verse. The latter have perchance ventur'd a little too far from the precise Scope of the Au thor upon the Privilege of a poetical Licence: And for the other of antient Date, the Morals are so insipid and flat, and the Style and Diction of the Fables so coarse and uncouth, that they are rather dangerous, than profitable, as to the Purpose they were principally intended for; and likely to do forty times more Mischief by the one than Good by the other. An Emblem without a Key to't, is no more than aTale of a Tub; and that Tale sillily told too, is but one Folly grafted upon another. Children are to be taught in the first Place, what they ought to do: 2dly, The Manner of doing it: And in the third Place, they are to be inur'd by the Force of Instruction and good Example, to the Love and Practice of doing their Duty; whereas, on the contrary, one Step out of the Way in the Institution, is enough to poison the Peace, and the Reputation of a whole Life. Whether I have in this Attempt, adds SirRoger, contributed or not, to the Improvement of these Fables, either in the Wording, or the Meaning of them, the Book must stand or fall to itself: But this I shall adventure to pronounce upon the whole Matter, that the Text isEnglish, and the Morals, in some fort, accommodate to theAllegory; which could hardly be said of all the Translations or Reflections before-mentioned, which have serv'd, in Truth, (or at least some of them) rather to teach us what we shouldnot do, than what we should. So that in the publishing of these Papers I have done my best to obviate a common Incon venience, or, to speak plainly, the mortal Error of pretending to erect a Building upon a false Foundation: Leaving the whole World to take the same Freedom with me, that I have done with others.’ Thus far SirRoger Lestrange. Now we come to what the other Gentleman has to sayfor him self, or rather, as he has manag'd the matter, what he has to sayagainst Sir Roger, the depre ciating of whose Work, seems to be the Corner- Stone of his own Building. ‘ Nothing of this Nature, says he, has been done sinceLestrange's Time, worth mentioning; and we had nothing before, but what (as he observes,Pref. to Part I.) was soinsipid and flat in the Moral, and so coarse and uncouth in the Style and Diction, that they were rather dan gerous than profitable, as to the Purpose for which they were principally intended;and likely to do forty times more Harm than Good. I shall therefore only observe to my Reader the Insufficiency ofLestrange's own Performance, as to the Purpose for which he professes to have principally intended it; with some other Cir cumstances, which will help to excuse, if not justify, what I have enterpriz'd upon the same Subject. Now the Purpose for which he principally intended his Book, as in his Preface he spends a great many Words to inform us, was for the Use and Instruction of Children; who being, as it were, a mererasa Tabula, or blank Paper, are ready indifferently for any Opinions, good or bad, taking all upon Credit;and that it is in the Power of the first Comer, to write Saint or Devil upon them, which he pleases. This be ing truly and certainly the Case, what Devils, nay, what poor Devils, wouldLestrange make of those Children, who should be so unfortu nate as to read his Book, and imbibe his perni cious Principles! Principles coined and suited to promote the Growth, and serve the Ends, of Popery and arbitrary Power. Tho' we had never been told he was a Pensioner to a Popish Prince, and that he himself* profess'd the same unaccountable Religion, yet his Reflections uponÆsop would discover it to us: In every political Touch, he shews himself to be the Tool and Hireling of the Popish Faction; since even a Slave, without some mercenary View, would not bring Arguments to justify Slavery, nor endeavour to establish arbitrary Power upon the Basis of right Reason. What sort of Chil dren therefore are theBlank Paper, upon which such Morality as this ought to be written? Not the Children ofBritain, I hope; for they are born with free Blood in their Veins, and suck in Liberty with their very Milk. This they should be taught to love and cherish above all things, and, upon Occasion, to defend and vin dicate it; as it is the Glory of their Country, the greatest Blessing of their Lives, and the pe culiar happy Privilege, in which they excel all the World besides. Let thereforeLestrange with his slavish Doctrine be banish'd to the barren Desarts ofArabia, to the Nurseries of Turkey, Persia, andMorocco, where all Foot steps of Liberty have long since been worn out, and the Minds of the People, by a narrow Way of Thinking, contracted and inur'd to Fear, Poverty, and miserable Servitude. Let the Chil dren ofItaly, France, Spain, and the rest of the Popish Countries,continues this tedious Declaimer, 1 furnish him with Blank Paper for Principles, of which free bornBritons are not capable The earlier such Notions are instill'd into such Minds as theirs indeed, the better it will be for them, as it will keep them from thinking of any other than the abject, servile Condition to which they are born. But let the Minds of ourBritish Youth be for ever educated and improv'd in that Spirit of Truth and Liberty, for the Sup port of which their Ancestors have often bravely exhausted so much Blood and Treasure.’ Thus we see the chief Quarrel of the worthy Centleman is against thePoliticks of SirRoger; and we heartily join with him on this Head. Sir Roger was certainly listed in a bad Cause as to Po liticks, and his Reflections have many of them a pernicious Tendency. But the Time in which he wrote, within View, in a manner, of the Civil Wars so lately concluded, and the Anarchy intro duced by them, to so great an Extreme of one Side, was so naturally productive of an Extreme on the other, that many very great Men of that Time fell into the same Error with SirRoger: And perhaps a charitable Mind, duly reflecting upon this, and not intent uponpartial orselfish Views, would have found something to have said, if not inExcuse, yet inExtenuation, of the Fault. The Doctor, for such I am told the Gentleman is, proceeds to strengthen his own Cause, by fur ther observing, ‘ ThatLestrange (as he every where calls the deceased Knight) made not fair Reflections upon the Fables in political Points: ThatÆsop, tho' a Slave, was a Lover of Liberty, and gives not one Hint to favourLestrange's In sinuations: But that, on the contrary, he takes all Occasions to recommend a Love for Liberty, and an Abhorrence of Tyranny, and all arbi trary Proceedings: ThatLestrange (again!) noto riously perverts both the Sense and Meaning of several Fables, particularly when any political Instruction (for this is still the Burden of the Doctor's Song) is couched in the Application;’ and then gives an Example in SirRoger's Fable of theDog and the Wolf, and further objects against the Knight, ‘that he has swelled his Work, which was designed for the Use of* Chil dren, to a voluminous Bulk; and by that Means rais'd it to an exorbitant Price, so as to make it unsuitable to the Hand or Pocket of the Generality of Children.’ And here follows a very extraordinary Conclusion of the Doctor, which we shall giveverbatim: ‘ If I were,says the good Man, to put Constructions upon the Ways of Providence, I should fansy this Prolixity of his, was order'd as a Preservative against his noxious Principles; for however his Book may have been used byMen, I dare say, fewChildren have been conversant with it.’ So that we see, at last, all the terrible Apprehensions of the Mischiefs of SirRoger's Book, are merely the Effects of the good Doctor's Imagination, which, 'tis generally said, has run away with his Judgment in more In stances than the present. If this then be the Case, we presume to hope, that, even in the good Doctor's Opinion, there will not be any Necessity to banish poorLestrange to the barren Desarts ofArabia, to the Nurseries ofTurkey, Persia, andMorocco; nor that he should be confined to the Children ofItaly, France, Spain, and the rest of the Popish Countries; but, for the sake of the excellent Sense con tain'd in his other Reflections, where Politicks are not concern'd; for the sake of the Benefit 2 which the †English Tongue has received from his masterly Hand; for the sake of that fine Hu mour, apposite Language, accurate and lively Manner, which will always render SirRoger de lightful, and which this severe Critick has in some Places so wretchedly endeavour'd to imitate: For all these sakes, I say, let him remain among us still, since our Author thinks he can do no Harm toChildren, andMen may be supposed guarded by Years and Experience; and the rather, if it be only to shew the Difference be tween a fine Original, and a bungling Imitation; and that no pratingJays may strut about in the beautiful Plumage of thePeacock. The Doctor proceeds, and fixes a Stigma on the Second Volume of SirRoger's Fables, and, in the main, I join with him in it; For, as a Book of Fables, it is truly unworthy of that celebrated Hand; and for that Reason we have made very little Use of it in our present Edition; tho' we cannot but apprehend, that he was put upon it rather by the Importunity of Booksellers, encou rag'd by the Success of the first Volume, than by his own Choice or Judgment: And after all, some Allowance ought to be made for his Circumstanc s, and his Years, being, as he tells us, on the wrong Side of Fourscore when he wrote it. It is but just to transcribe the concluding Para graph of the Doctor's Preface: ‘ Whether,says he, I have mended the Faults I find with him, in this, or any other respect, I must leave to the Judgment of the Reader: 3 Professing (according to the Principle on which the following Applications are built) that I am a Lover of Liberty and Truth; an Enemy to Tyranny, either in Church or State; and one who detests Party-Animosities, and factious Di visions, as much as I wish the Peace and Prospe rity of my Country.’ We greatly applaud this pompous Declaration of the good Gentleman's Principles: But tho' we might observe, that he has strain'd the natural Import of some of the Fables, near as much one way, as SirRoger has done the other, and may be censur'd for giving too frequently into political Reflexions, which had, on all Occasions, if the Book be meant for Children, better be avoided, where the Moral will bear a more general and inoffensive Turn; yet we shall only observe, That had this Gentleman, who cloaths himself in the Skin of the departed Knight, and, at first Sight, makes so formidable an Appearance in it, lived in the Days of SirRoger, and had SirRoger lived in his, it is not impossible that the Sentiments of both might have changed. What I mean, is, TheRestoration of Monarchy under KingCharles II. made these now exploded Doctrines as much the Fashion then, as the glo riousRevolution under KingWilliam III. has made the Doctor's Principles the Fashion now. And for aught that appears from the Moderation of the Doctor's Principles, if we may judge of a Man's Temper by his Disposition, as shewn in several Instances of his Preface, had the Doctor lived when SirRoger did, he might have been the Lestrange of theone Court; asLestrange, had he been in the Doctor's Place, might have taken Orders, and become Chaplain in theother. If the living Gentleman reflects, as he ought, upon the little Mercy he has shewn to the Dead, he will not think this too severe. And the Com parison will appear the less invidious, to any one who considers, that SirRoger suffer'd for his Principles, bad as they were: And the Doctor, we hope, for the sake of thePublick, as well as for hisown sake, will never be called upon to such Trials. We have thus set the Pretensions of the two Gen tlemen in a proper Light: It remains for us, now, to say something of our own Undertaking. The Usefulness and Benefit of such a Work to Children is allow'd on all Hands; and therefore we shall not insist upon a Topick, which has been so much labour'd by the Gentlemen who have gone before us. We have seen, that the only Objections which a scrutinizing Adversary, who had it in View to supplant the Knight, and thrust himself into his Place, can find against him, are thePolitical Part, and theBulk andPrice of the Performance: As to the rest, on comparing the Works, we find a very great Disparity between them: We therefore were assur'd, that we should do an acceptable Service, if we could give theexceptionable Re flections a moregeneral anduseful Turn; and if we could reduce the Work to such aSize as should be fit for theHands andPockets for which it was principally designed; and at the same time preserve to SirRoger the principal Graces and Beauties for which he is so justly admired: And this only, tho' we found afterwards, on a closer Review, a Necessity of going further, was ourfirst Intention. We were the rather prevailed upon to take this Liberty with SirRoger, because he ingenuously declares, in what we have quoted from his Pre face, ‘ That he was under some Sort of Obliga tion to take into his Medly, as he modestly calls it, here and there a trivial or a loose Con ceit, for Company.’ An Obligation imposed upon him, we presume, by his unhappy Circum stances (and which hardlythose could excuse,) in order to add to the Bulk of his Book, which he first published in Folio. This, with other proper Alterations,{et}c. where the Sense and Poignance of the Fable and Re flections would best bear it, we thought would give us the Opportunity of answering the Obje ction about theBulk andPrice. And on looking closer into the Subject, we found sufficient Reason to justify our Opinion. Thus then, instead of banishing SirRoger to the Desarts ofArabia, we confess that it was our In tention, every-where, except in hisPolitical Re flections, to keep that celebrated Writer close in our Eye: And in some Places we have accordingly contented ourselves with the inferior Glory of having only abridged him, where we could not, withequal Beauty and Propriety, give Words and Sentences different from his own; rather chusing to acknowledge our Obligations to so great a Master, than to arrogate to ourselves the Praises due to another. We have not, however, spar'd any of those Conceits, as SirRoger calls them, which we ima gin'd capable only of a trivial, or liable to a loose Construction. We have also presumed to alter, and put a stronger Point to several of the Fables themselves, which we thought capable of more forcible Morals. And instead of the Political Re flections, we have every-where substituted such as we hope will be found more general and in structive. For we think it in no wise excusable to inflame Childrens Minds with Distinctions, which they will imbibe fast enough from the At tachments of Parents,{et}c. and the Warmth of their own Imaginations. But nevertheless, we must add, That where-ever the Fablecompell'd, as we may say, a Political Turn, we have, in our Reflections upon it, always given that Pre ference to the Principles ofLiberty, which we hope will for ever be the distinguishing Cha racteristic of aBriton. As we are sensible of the alluring Force which Cuts or Pictures suited to the respective Subjects, have on the Minds of Children, we have in a quite new manner ingrav'd on Copper-Plates, at no small Expence, the Subject of every Fable; and presume, that the little Trouble which Chil dren will have to turn to the Cuts, as Ten of them are included in one Plate, will rather excite their Curiosity, and stimulate their Attention, than puzzle or confuse them, especially as the Readers are distinctly referr'd both to Page and Fable in every Representation. What we have said, may be thought sufficient to justify us with regard to the Equity of our De sign: But that we may intirely clear ourselves on this Head, we will subjoin the four following Lists, which will set the matter in a clear Light; and likewise convince every one concerned in the Busi ness of Education, how careful we have been to collect only such Fables, as were fit for the Instru ction of the Youth of both Sexes, at the same time that we hope it will not be found unworthy of the Perusal of Persons of riper Years and Understand ings. I. ALIST of suchFables of SirRoger Lestrange, which we have omitted, as being either of the like Nature, and affording the like Morals and Reflexions with others inserted; or from which such pertinent Morals could not be drawn, as we were de sirous to select for general Use.

Fab.	Fab.	Fab.	Fab.	Fab.	Fab.	Fab.	Fab.
37	57	89	112	139	175	198	213
41	60	92	114	152	178	199	216
47	65	93	115	153	181	203	222
48	70	95	117	158	182	205	231
49	71	103	120	159	183	210	232
51	78	107	135	171	184	211	233
53	80	111	138	173	185	212	247
55	83

II. ALIST of such Fables of SirRoger, as we have omit ted, as being rather to be deemed witty Conceits, facetious Tales, and sometimes ludicrous Stories, than instructive Apologues.

Fab.	Fab.	Fab.	Fab.	Fab.	Fab.	Fab.	Fab.
183	273	303	337	370	405	436	465
184	275	304	338	371	406	437	466
185	276	305	339	372	407	438	467
232	278	306	340	373	408	439	468
242	279	307	341	374	409	440	469
244	280	308	342	375	410	441	470
245	281	309	343	376	411	442	471
247	282	311	344	377	412	443	472
249	283	312	348	378	413	444	473
250	284	313	349	379	414	446	474
251	285	315	351	380	415	447	475
252	286	316	354	381	416	448	476
253	287	318	355	384	417	451	481
255	288	321	356	385	418	452	482
256	289	322	357	386	419	453	483
259	291	323	359	387	420	454	485
260	292	325	360	389	421	455	486
261	293	326	361	391	423	456	489
263	294	328	362	392	424	457	490
264	295	329	363	394	425	458	493
265	296	330	364	395	426	459	494
266	297	331	365	396	427	460	496
268	298	332	366	397	428	461	497
269	299	334	367	399	429	462	498
270	301	335	368	401	432	463	499
271	302	336	369	402	434	464	500

III. ALIST of such Fables to which we have presumed to give entirely either new Morals or new Reflections, as we tho ught the Design of the Fables more naturally required, in order to direct them to general Use; or to avoid Party or Political Re flections.

Fab.	Fab.	Fab.	Fab.	Fab.	Fab.	Fab.	Fab.
77	104	123	142	162	177	193	272
81	105	125	144	164	178	194	274
82	106	126	145	165	179	195	277
87	109	127	147	166	180	198	300
89	110	128	148	167	181	199	310
90	111	132	149	168	182	200	314
92	112	133	150	169	183	202	327
94	114	134	151	170	184	204	353
97	117	135	153	171	185	207	358
99	118	136	157	173	186	208	430
101	119	137	158	174	187	209	449
102	122	139	159	176	188	262	491
103

IV. ALIST of such Fables of SirRoger, as we have taken the Liberty to alter, or enforce, that we might accommodate them to more useful Morals and Reflections.

Fab.	Fab.	Fab.	Fab.	Fab.	Fab.	Fab.	Fab.
2	121	150	165	177	189	206	333
66	123	151	166	178	193	208	388
71	124	153	171	180	196	209	435
105	136	157	174	181	203	319	495
114	148

The following Fables as they stand in this Work are all that we are beholden for toVol. II. of Sir Roger; and we have not only taken great Liberty with them, but have fitted such Morals and Re flections to them, as we hope will be found equally agreeable and instructive. These are,

	234.	Traveller and Grasshoppers.
	236.	Partridges and Setting-Dog.
	237.	Lame Man and Blind.
	238.	The three pretended Penitents.
	239.	Disappointed Milkmaid.
AndFab	240.	No To-Morrow, (which standsFab. 495.

in SirRoger's first Volume) we have turn'd from a most ludicrous one, to a very edifying Fable, as we presume will be found on Comparison; and therefore have chosen to conclude our Work with it. If thus we have banished from SirRoger all that his most partial Enemy could except against him; and have preserved all that has gained him the Approbation of the best Judges: If we have avoided the Faults of both Gentlemen (and we think we could point out, if we were put upon it, where the one has been faulty as well as the other; and a thousand Instances wherein he has infinitely fallen short of the Author he aims to supplant): Why should we not presume, that there may be Room for this Performance, which we now present to the Publick? To whose Judg ment we therefore submit it; and are willing to stand or fall by its Determination.

THE LIFE of ÆSOP. WE have had the History ofÆsop so many times over and over, as SirRoger Lestrange observes, and dress'd up so many several Ways, that it would be but Labour lost to multiply un profitable Conjectures upon a Tradition of so great Un certainty. Writers are divided about him, almost to all manner of Purposes; and particularly concerning the Authority even of the greater Part of those Composi tions that pass the World in his Name: For the Story is come down to us so dark and doubtful, that it is im possible to distinguish the Original from the Copy; and to say which of the Fables areÆsop's, and which not; which are genuine, and which are spurious; beside, that there are divers Inconsistencies upon the Point of Chronology, in the Account of his Life, (asMaximus Planudes and others have deliver'd it) which can never be reconciled. This is enough in all Conscience to excuse any Man, says SirRoger, from laying over-much Stress upon the historical Credit of a Relation that comes so blindly and so variously transmitted to us; over and above, that it is not one Jot to our Business (further than to gratify an idle Curiosity) whether the Fact be true or false; whether the Man was strait or crooked; and his Name Æsop, or (as some will have it)Lochman: In all which Cases the Reader is left at Liberty to believe his Plea sure. This Uncertainty at first inclined us to avoid en tring into the Life ofÆsop, which we find mingled with so many trifling Circumstances, and subject to so great Confusion: But our Booksellers acquainting us, that something of this kind would be very acceptable to the Generality of Readers, and that those Editions had been most inquired after, which contained the Life of this excel lent Person; in Compliance with their Request, we will give a brief Summary of it, as we find it collected by the celebrated SirRoger Lestrange, omitting however such Parts of it, as seem either trivial or improbable. Æsop then (according toPlanudes, Camerarius and others) was by Birth ofAmmorius, a Town in theGreater Phrygia, (though some will have him to be aThracian, others aSamian) of a mean Condition, and his Person deformed, to the highest Degree: Flat-nosed, hunch back'd, blobber-lipp'd; a long mis-shapen Head; his Body crooked all over, big-belly'd, badger-legg'd, and his Complexion so swarthy, that he took his very Name from it; forÆsop is the same withÆthiop. And he was not only thus unhappy in his Figure; but we are told, that he had besides such an Impediment in his Speech, that People could very hardly understand what he said. Whether this was so or not, or how he came to be cur'd of it, if it was, the Reader is at Liberty to believe what he pleases: And so likewise of twenty other Passages up and down this History. Let it suffice, that (according to the common Tradition) he had been already twice bought and sold; and so, with SirRoger Lestrange, we shall date the Story of his Adventures, from his Entrance into the Service of at least a third Master. As to the Age he liv'd in, it is agreed upon among the Antients, that it was whenCrœsus govern'dLydia; as also thatXanthus, aSamian, was his Master And as this was his Condition, no wonder that many of the Things recorded of him were low and mean, and suited to the Circumstance of Life in which he was placed; but by which however he so signalized his Wisdom, as to raise himself to that Pitch of Honour to which he afterwards arrived. Among these the first we find recorded, is, That his Master having many Burdens to send by his Slaves to Ephesus, andÆsop being permitted, on Account of his bodily Weakness, to chuse which he would carry, he fixed upon a Panier of Bread, which was to support them on their Journey; but which was looked upon to be the heaviest of all. His Companions laughed at him for his Choice; but when they had dined and af ter wards supped out of his Panier upon their Journey, and found that the Provisions were quite consumed, and that he had nothing left to carry but an empty Basket, the Ridicule was turn'd upon themselves, and they began to considerÆsop in a much more advantageous Light than they had done before. The next thing we find mentioned of him, is, The famous Detection of the Villainies of his Fellow-Servants, who having a mind to some choice Figs, which were presented to their Master, confederated together to chargeÆsop with the Theft, and so eat them up with great Greediness; and as they had agreed, boldly accused Æsop of the Fact. His Master being incensed at him, order'd him to be punished; upon which he instantly had recourse to a large Draught of warm Water, and intreated that his Companions might be try'd the same way: and the Proof turn'd out according to his Wish; for he brought up the Water again, clear as he drank it, while the others brought up the Figs along with it, and so met with the Punishment and Disgrace designed for him. Æsop's Master having sold all his Slayes at Ephesus, except three, to wit, a Musician, an Orator, andÆsop, he carry'd them toSamos, and shew'd them there in the open Market; and while they were there, one Xan thus, an eminent Philosopher of that City, came to see them, with a Train of his Disciples at his Heels. The Philosopher was mightily pleased with the two Youths, and ask'd them one after another about their Profession, and what they could do. The one told him he could do any thing, the other that he could do every thing; and thenXanthus, interrogatedÆsop what he could do. Nothing at all, says he. How comes that, says the Phi losopher? My Companions, saysÆsop, undertake every thing, and there's nothing left for me to do. Well! saysXanthus, but if I should give Money for you now, would you be good and honest? I'll be that, says Æsop, whether you buy me or no. Ay, but tell me again, says the Philosopher, won't you run away? Pray, says Æsop, did you ever hear of a Bird in a Cage, that told his Master he intended to make his Escape?Xanthus was well enough pleas'd with the Turn and Quickness of his Wit; But, says he, that unlucky Shape of yours, will set People a hooting and gaping at you where-ever you go. A Philosopher, saysÆsop, should value a Man for his Mind, not for his Body. This Presence of Thought gaveXanthus a high Opinion of the Wisdom of the Man; and so he bad the Merchant set him his lowest Price of that miserable Creature. Why, says he, if you'il bid me like a Chapman for either of the other two, you shall have this Monster into the Bargain. The Philosopher, without any more ado, paid the Price agreed upon, and takingÆsop and his other Purchase away with him, presented him to his Wife, who at first was greatly offended at his mis-shapen Appearance, and up braided her Husband, as intending to affront her by so ill-favour'd a Present; but when she came to hear his witty Answers, and to know the Value of his intel lectual Qualities, she was better reconciled to him. Xanthus a while after, attended byÆsop, went to a Garden to buy some Herbs; and the Gardener, among other things, told him the Admiration he was in to find how much faster those Plants shot up that grew of their own accord, than those that he set himself, though he took never so much Care about them; and desired him, that as he was a Philosopher, he would tell him the Meaning of it?Xanthus had no better Answer at hand, than, That Providence would have it so. This not satisfying the Gardener, andXanthus see ingÆsop smile at it, he told him, with a supercilious Air, That it was below a Philosopher to busy his Head about such Trifles; But, says he, if you have a Curio sity to be better inform'd, you shall do well to ask my Slave here, and see what he'll say to you. Upon this the Gardener put the Question to Æsop, who gave him this Answer: The Earth is in the Nature of a Mother to what she brings forth of herself out of her own Bowels; whereas she is only a kind of Step Dame in the Production of Plants that are cultivated and assisted by the Help and Industry of another: So that it is natural for her to withdraw her Nourishment from the one, towards the Relief of the other. The Gar dener, upon this, was so well satisfy'd, that he would take no Money for his Herbs, and desiredÆsop to make use of his Garden for the future, as if it were his own. After this,Xanthus, and his Wife, who lived toge ther but upon indifferent Terms in the general, had a very great Quarrel, which was carry'd to such an Height on her Part, that she pack'd up her Apparel, and other things, left his House, and went to her own Relations; and no Persuasions or Intreaties could incline her to re turn. Æsop seeingXanthus much disturbed at her Obsti nacy, said, Come, Master, pluck up a good Heart; for I have a Project that shall bring my Mistress to you back again, with as good a Will as ever she went from you. Away immediately he hies to the Market, among the Butchers, Poulterers, Fishmongers, Con fectioners, {et}c. for the best of every thing that was in Season; giving out where-ever he came, that his Master's Wife having run away from him, he had married an other; and this was to be the Wedding-Feast. The News flew like Lightning, and soon reach'd the Ears of the run-away Lady (for every body knewÆsop to be a Servant in that Family); and she was so moved upon it, that away she posts back to her Husband, falls upon him with Outrages of Looks and Language; and after the easing of her Mind a little, No,Xanthus, says she, do not you flatter yourself with the Hopes of en joying another Woman while I am alive.Xanthus receiv'd her very gladly, and was highly pleased with Æsop's Contrivance; nor was his Mistress less pleased at so agreeable an Imposture, and all was well again. Xanthus would needs give a Feast upon his Reconci liation with his Wife; and having invited his Frieds, order'dÆsop to procure the best Provisions he could think of for their Entertainment: And when they were all sat down to Table, the first Service was Neats Tongues sliced, which the Philosophers took Occasion to dis course and quibble upon in a grave formal Way, as thatthe Tongue is the Oracle of Wisdom, and the like. Xanthus, upon this, calls for a second Course, and after that for a third, and so for a fourth, which were all Tongues, over and over again still, only several ways dressed, which put him into a furious Passion. Thou Villain, says he, is this according to my Order, to have nothing butTongues upon Tongues? Sir, saysÆsop, your Order was, That I should make the best Provision that I could think of, for the Entertainment of these excel lent Persons; and if the Tongue be the Key that leads us in to all Knowledge, what could be more proper and suitable thana Feast of Tongues for a Philosophical Ban quet? WhenXanthus found the Sense of the Table to be onÆsop's Side; Well, my Friends, says he, pray will you eat with me to Morrow, and I'll try if I can mend your Chear: And pray, says he toÆsop, let it be your Care to provide us a Supper to Morrow, since you seem to be set on Contradictions, of the veryworst things you can think of. Next Day, the Guests being again met according to Appointment,Æsop had provided them the very same Services ofTongues over and over, as they had the Day before. Sirrah, saysXanthus in a Passion, what's the Meaning of this, thatTongues should be thebest of Meatsone Day, and theworst the other? Why, Sir, says he, there is not any Wickedness under the Sun, that theTongue has not a Part in; and you, of all Men, have Reason to know as well its mischievous as good Quali ties, both as a Husband and a Philosopher. To what else is this Banquet owing?--For was it not an evil Tongue that occasion'd that great Breach in your Family, the making up of which you and your Friends are met to rejoice over? And was it not also owing to soft Speeches, and mild Expostulations, from the same Tongue, that all is well again? Surely, Sir, you have found a Tongue to be thebest and theworst Entertainment, if ever Man did; and have Cause to be satisfy'd with the Banquet of both Days. The Story ofÆsop's bringing a Guest to his Master Xanthus, who had no sort of Curiosity in him, we think not worth inserting; for besides the Improbabi lity of it, it was more to be attributed, if true, to his good Fortune than to his Sagacity, that he could find one so very incurious and careless of all that happen'd; for 'twas impossible, were he ever so good a Physiog mist, that he could answer for all the Event from the Lines of the Fellow's Countenance, or to know that he would not be mov'd by the Trials that would be put to him byXanthus. Xanthus, after this, having some Business at the Pub lick-Hall, sentÆsop to see if the Court was sat, and many People there In his Way, a Magistrate meets him, and asks him whither he was going? Why truly, saysÆsop, I don't know. The Magistrate took it that he banter'd him, and order'd an Officer to carry him to Prison. Well, saysÆsop, to the Magistrate; is it not true now, that I did not know whither I was going? The Magistrate, pleased at the Fancy, discharg'd him, and so he went forward to the Hall; where, among a world of People, some gazing, some litigating, he saw one Man, who had arrested another for Debt, agree to discharge his Debtor, on being paid down half what was owing.Æsop, upon this, went back and told his Master that he had been at the Hall, and saw but one Man there.Xanthus going himself to learn the Truth of the Matter, found the Court extremely throng'd; and turn ing short uponÆsop, in great Indignation, Sirrah, says he, are all these People come since you told me there was but one Man here? 'Tis very true, saysÆsop, there was a huge Crowd, and yet but one Man that I could see in that vast Multitude, who deserved the Name. Xanthus, not long after, being in his Cups, wager'd all he was worth, that he would drink the Sea dry, and bound the extravagant Wager, with a very valuable Signet-Ring, that he wore on his Finger. Next Day, finding what he had done, he was much concern'd at his Folly, especially as he knew he was in such Hands, as would make an Advantage of it.Æsop undertook to bring him off, and put him in Mind, that he had only conditioned to drink the Sea, but not the Rivers and Streams that run into it; and bid him insist on his Adversary's stopping all those Inlets, and then he might undertake to drink up the Sea. Xanthus follow'd his Advice, and the Persons who were chosen Judges on the Occasion, agreed that there was Justice in the Plea; and so he got rid of the Wager with Honour, to the Confusion of his Antagonist, who was obliged to give up the Ring again. In the Days ofÆsop, the World was mightily addicted to Augury; that is to say, to the Gathering of Omens from the Cry and Flight of Birds. Upon this Account it was, thatXanthus one Day sentÆsop into the Yard, and bad him look well about him: If you see two Crows, says he, you'il have good Luck after it; but if you should chance to spy one single Crow, 'tis a bad Omen, and some Ill will betide you.Æsop stept out, and came immediately back again, and told his Master he had seen two Crows. Hereupon Xanthus went out himself, and finding but one, (for the other was flown away) he fell outrageously uponÆsop for making Sport with him, and ordered him to be soundly lashed for it; but just as they were stripping him for the Discipline, in comes one to inviteXanthus abroad to supper. Well, Master, saysÆsop, and where's the Credit of yourAu gury now? When I, that saw two Crows, am to be beaten like a Dog, and you, that saw but one, are going to make merry with your Friends? The Reason and Quickness of this Reflection pacify'd the Master, and sav'dÆsop a severe Correction. The Writers ofÆsop's Life, next, give us a Story of Æsop's finding hidden Treasure, by virtue of an obsolete Greek Inscription: But it contains such idle and childisn Play upon Letters and Words, that we chuse to pass it over, only observing, thatXanthus who on this Occa sion had promised him his Liberty, and half the Trea sure, broke both Promises with him, and gave him neither. But it was not long before he obtained his Liberty, on another Occasion, which was as follows: On a certain solemn Day, the Ring that had the Town-Seal ofSamos upon it, was carry'd away by an Eagle, which took it up in the Air, and dropt it into the Bosom of a Slave. TheSamians took this for a Foreboding, that threaten'd some dismal Calamity to the State, and in a general Consternation, they presently call'd a Council of their wise Men, andXanthus among the rest, to give their Opinions upon this mysterious Accident. They were all at a Loss what to think of it, onlyXanthus desired some few Days Time for further Consideration. And not finding himself capable of giving any probable Solution of an Incident so odd, he laid the Matter before Æsop, who desiring to be introduced to the Council, promised to give them Satisfaction on the Point, and to take upon himself the Issue of the Matter, let it end either in Credit or Disgrace. Xanthus, willing to be freed from the Uneasiness, which the Expectations of the City had given him, follow'd this Advice, and next Morning introducedÆsop to the Council, many of whom mocked and ridiculed his uncouth Shape and Appearance; but being at last convinced by his prudent Observations, that the outward Shape of a Man ought not to be regarded, but the Fa culties of his Mind only, they attended to what he had to say. He then told them, that when he considered the Weight of the Matter in Hand, and the Office that he was then to perform, he imagined it would as little stand with their Honour to take the Opinion of a Slave into their Councils and Debates, as it would with his Condition to offer it; beside the Risque he run of his Master's Displeasure upon the Event. But all this yet may be obviated, said he, my Fears secur'd, my Modesty gratify'd, and your own Dignity preserv'd, only by making me a Freeman before-hand to qualify me for the Function. They all said it was a most reasonable Thing, and presently treated about the Price of his Li berty, and order'd theQuæstors to pay down the Money. WhenXanthus saw the thing must be done, he could not decently stand higgling about the Price; but making a Virtue of Necessity, he chose rather topresent Æsop to the Commonwealth, than tosell him. Thesamians took it very kindly, andÆsop was presentlymanumiz'd, made a Citizen in Form, and proclaim'd a Freeman; and after this Ceremony, he discoursed upon the Sub ject of the Portent as follows: I shall not need to tell so many wise and knowing Men, that the Eagle is a Royal Bird, and signifies a great King; that the dropping of the Ring in the Bosom of a Slave that has no Power over himself, portends the Loss of your Liber ties, if you do not look to yourselves in time; and that some potent Prince has a Design upon you; and who should this be, said he, so likely asCrœsus King ofLydia, who is actu ally arming for some Enterprize, as you well know; and which may as probably fall upon your State, as any other? In a very little Time the Event justified the Pre diction; for KingCrœsus sent Ambassadors to demand a Tribute on the behalf of their Master, and threatened theSamians with an Invasion in case of a Refusal. This Affair came to be debated in the Council, where the Majo rity was rather for Peace with Slavery, than for running the Risque of a Dispute with so powerful a Prince; but they would not come to a Resolution yet, without first consultingÆsop what they had best to do; who gave them his Thoughts upon it in Words to this Effect: You have two Ways before you, says he, one of which you must take; the First is,The Way of Liberty, which is narrow and rugged at the Entrance, but plainer and smoother still the farther you go. Secondly,The Way of Servitude, that seems to be easy at first, but you will find it afterwards to be full of intolerable Difficulties. The Samians, upon these Words, declar'd themselves unani mously for Liberty, and that since they were at present free, they would never make themselves Slaves by their own Consent: So the Ambassadors departed, and a War was denounced. WhenCrœsus came to understand the Resolution the Samians had taken, and how inclinable they were to a Compliance, tillÆsop, by the Power only of a few Words, diverted them from it, he made an Offer to the Samians, upon their sendingÆsop to him, to put a Stop at present to the Course of his Arms. WhenÆsop came to hear of this Proposition, he told them, that he was not against their sending of him, provided only that he might tell them one Story before he left them. ‘ In old Time, says he, there happened to be a fierce War betwixt the Wolves and the Sheep; and the Sheep, by the Help of the Dogs, had rather the better of it. The Wolves, upon this, offer'd the Sheep a Peace, on Condition only, that they might have their Dogs for Hostages; the credulous Sheep agreed to it, and as soon as ever they had parted with the Dogs, the Wolves broke in upon them, and destroy'd them at Pleasure.‘ SeeFab. 44. TheSamians quickly apprehended the Moral of this Fable, and cried out, one and all, that they would not part withÆsop: But this did not hinder him how ever from putting himself aboard, and taking a Passage forLydia with the Ambassadors. On his Arrival at theLydian Court,Æsop presented himself before the King, who looking upon him with Contempt, Hatred, and Indignation; Is this a Man, says he, to hinder the King ofLydia from being Master of Samos? Æsop then, with a Reverence after theLydian Fashion, deliver'd what he had to say: ‘ I am not here, says he, Great King, in the Quality of a Man that is given up by his Country, or under the Compulsion of any Force; but it is of my own accord that I am now come to lay myself at your Majesty's -Feet, and with this only Request, that you will vouchsafe me the Honour of your Royal Ear and Patience but for a few Words: „ There was a Boy hunting of Locusts, and he had the Fortune to take a Grasshopper. She found he was about to kill her, and pleaded after this manner for her Life. Alas! says she, I never did any body an Injury, and never had it either in my Will or my Power to do it. All my Business is my Song; and what will you be the better for my Death? The Youth's Heart relented, and he set the simple Grass hopper at Liberty.„ ‘ Your Majesty has now that innocent Creature before you: There's nothing that I can pretend tobut my Voice, which I have ever employ'd, so far as in me lay, to the Service of Mankind.’ The King was so tenderly moved with the Modesty and Prudence of the Man, that he did not only give him his Life, but bad him ask any thing farther that he had a Mind to, and it should be granted him. Why then, saysÆsop, with that Veneration, Gratitude and Respect that the Case required, I do most humbly im plore your Majesty's Favour for my Countrymen the Samians. The King granted him his Request, and con firmed it under his Seal; beside that the Piety of making that Petition his Choice, was a farther Recommendation of him to his Royal Kindness and Esteem. Æsop soon after this returned toSamos with the News of the Peace, where he was welcomed with all the Instances of Joy and Thankfulness imaginable; inso much that they erected a Statue for him, with an In scription upon it, in Honour of his Memory. FromSamos he return'd afterwards toCrœsus, for whose sake he compos'd several of thoseApologues that pass in the World to this Day under his Name. His Fancy lay extremely to travelling; but above all other Places he had the greatest Mind to seeBabylon: To which end he got Letters of Recommendation from Crœsus to the King there; who, according toHerodotus, was a Friend and an Ally ofCrœsus's, and his Name, Labynetus, notLycerus, asPlanudes has handed it down to us upon a great Mistake. But his Curiosity led him first to pass throughGreece, for the sake of theseven wise Men, whose Reputation was at that Time famous all over the World. He had the good Hap in his Tra vels to find them atCorinth, together withAnacharsis, and several of their Followers and Disciples, where they were all treated byPeriander, at aVilla of his not far from the Town. This Encounter was to the common Satisfaction of the whole Company; the Entertainment philosophical and agreeable; and among other Discourses, they had some Controversy upon the Subject of Go vernment, and which was the most excellent Form; Æsop being still forMonarchy, and therest for aCommon wealth. He travell'd thence, a while after, intoAsia, and so toBabylon, according to his first Intention. It was the Fashion in those Days for Princes to exer cise Trials of Skill in the putting and resolving of Rid dles, and intricate Questions; and he that was the best at the clearing or untying of knotty Difficulties, carried the Prize.Æsop's Faculty lay notably that way, and render'd him so serviceable to the King, that it brought him both Reputation and Reward. It was his Unhap piness to have no Children, for the Comfort and Sup port of his old Age; so that, with the King's Consent, he adopted a youug Man, who was well born, and in ge ious enough, but poor; his Name wasEnnus. Æsop took as much care of his Institution as if he had been his own Child, and train'd him up in those Principles of Virtue and Knowledge, that might most probably render him great and happy. But there is no working upon a flagitious and perverse Nature, by Kindness and Discipline; andEnnus, after the Manner of other wicked Men, heaping one Villainy upon another, counterfeits his FatherÆsop's Name and Hand to certain Letters, where he promises his Assistance to the neighbour Princes againstLabynetus. These LettersEnnus carries to the King, and charges his Father with Treason, tho' in Appearance with all the Trouble and Unwillingness that was possible; only a Sense of his Duty to his King and his Country swallow'd up all other Respects of Reverence and Modesty that a Son owes to a Father. The King took all these Calumnies for Instances of Ennus's Affection to him, without the least Suspicion of any Fraud in the Matter: So that without any fur ther Enquiry, he order'dÆsop to be put to Death. The Persons to whom the Care of his Execution was com mitted, being well assured of his Innocence, and of the King's ungovernable Passions, took him out of the Way, and gave it out that he was dead. Some few Days after this, there came Letters toLa bynetus fromAmasis the King ofÆgypt, whereinLa bynetus was desir'd byAmasis, to send him a certain Architect that could raise a Tower that should hang in the Air, and likewise resolve all Questions.Labynetus was at a great Loss what Answer to return; and the Fierceness of his Displeasure againstÆsop being by this time somewhat abated, he would often profess, that if the parting with one half of his Kingdom could bring him to Life again, he would give it.Hermippus and others, who had kept him out of the Way, told the King, upon the Hearing of this, that Æsop was yet alive: So they were commanded to bring him forth, and he no sooner appear'd, but he made his Innocence so manifest, thatLabynetus, in extreme Displeasure and Indignation, commanded the false Accuser to be put to Death with the most exquisite Torments; but Æsop, after all this, interceded for him, and obtain'd his Pardon, upon a charitable Presumption, that the Sense of so great a Goodness and Obligation would yet work upon him. UponÆsop's coming again into Favour, he had the King ofÆgypt's Letter given him to consider of, and advisedLabynetus to send him for Answer, That early the next Spring he should have the Satisfaction he de sired. Things being in this State,Æsop tookEnnus home to him again, and so order'd the Matter, that he wanted neither Counsels nor Instructions, nor any other Helps or Lights that might dispose him to the leading of a virtuous Life, as will appear by the following Pre cepts: My Son, says he,worship God with Care and Reve rence, and with a Sincerity of Heart, void of all Hy pocrisy or Ostentation: Not as if that divine Name and Power were only an Invention to fright Women and Chil dren;but know that God is Omnipresent, True, and Almighty. Have a Care even of your most private Actions and Thoughts;for God sees through you, and your Conscience will bear witness against you. It is according to Prudence as well as Nature, to pay that Honour to your Parents, that you expect your Chil dren should pay to you. Do all the Good you can to all Men, but in the first Place to your nearest Relations;and do no Hurt however, where you can de no Good. Keep a Guard upon your Wordsas well as upon your Actions,that there be no Impurity in either. Follow the Dictates of your Reason, and you are safe; and have a Care of impotent Affections. Apply yourself to learn more, so long as there is any thing left that you do not know, and value good Counsel before Money. Our Minds must be cultivated as well as our Plants; the Improvement of our Reason makes us like Angels, whereas the Neglect of it turns us into Beasts. There is no permanent and inviolable Good, but Wisdom and Virtue, tho' the Study of it signisies little without the Practice. Do not think it impossible to be a wise Man, without looking over-sour. Wisdom makes Men grave, but not morose or inhuman. Keep Faith with all Men. Have a Care of a Lye, as you would of Sacrilege. Great Babblers have no regard either to Honesty or Truth. Take Delight in, and frequent the Company of good Men; for it will give you a Tincture of their Manners. Take heed of that vulgar Error, of thinking that there is any Good in Evil. It is a Mistake when Men talk of profitable Knavery, or of starving Honesty; for Virtue and Justice carry all that is good and profitable along with them. Let every Man mind his own Business;for Curiosity is restless. Speak not Ill of any body. You are no more to hear Ca lumnies, than to report them. Beside that, they who practise the one, commonly love the other. Propose honest Things, follow wholsome Counsels, and leave the Event to God. Let no Man despair in Adversity, nor presume in Pro sperity; for all Things are changeable. Rise early to your Busmess, learn good Things, and ob lige good Men;these are three Things you shall never repent of. Have a Care of Luxury and Gluttony; but of Drunk enness especially;for Wine, as well as Age, makes a Man a Child. Watch for the proper Opportunities of doing things;for there is nothing well done but what is done in Season. Love and Honour Kings, Princes, and Magistrates; for they are the Bands of Society, in punishing of the Guilty, and protecting the Innocent. These, or such as these, were the Lessons thatÆsop read daily to his Son; but so far was he from mending upon them, that he grew every Day worse and worse, shewing that it is not in the Power of Art or Disci pline to rectify a perverse Nature, or, asEuripides says, tomake a Man wise that has no Soul. But however, according toNeveletus, he came soon after to be touch'd in Conscience for his barbarous Ingratitude, and died in a raging Remorse for what he had done. The Spring was now at Hand, andÆsop was pre paring for the Task he had undertaken about the Build ing of a Tower in the Air, and resolving all manner of Questions: But, says our judicious Author, I shall say no more of that romantick Part of the History, than that he went intoEgypt, and acquitted himself of his Commission toAmasis with great Reputation. From thence he went back toLabynetus, laden with Honours and Rewards; from whom he got leave once more to visitGreece; but upon Condition of returning toBa bylon by the first Opportunity. WhenÆsop had almost taken the whole Tour of Greece, he went toDelphos, either for theOracle's sake, or for the sake of thewise Men who frequented that Place. But when he came thither, he found Matters to be quite otherwise than he expected, and so far from deserving the Reputation they had in the World for Piety, Learning and Wisdom, that he found them im moral, ignorant, and conceited, and hereupon deliver'd his Opinion of them under this Fable: ‘ I find, says he, the Curiosity that brought me hither, to be much the Case of People at the Sea-fide, that see something come hulling toward them a great Way off at Sea, and take it at first to be some mighty Mat ter, but upon driving nearer and nearer the Shore, it proves at last to be only a heap of Weeds and Rub bish.’ SeeFab. 145. The Magistrates of the Place took infinite Offence at this Liberty, and presently enter'd into a Conspiracy against him, to take away his Life, for fear he should give them the same Character elsewhere in his Travels, that he had done there upon the Place. It was not so safe, they thought, nor so effectual a Revenge to make him away in private; but if they could so contrive it, as to bring him to a shameful End under a Form of Justice, it would better answer their Design. To which Purpose, they caused a golden Cup belonging to their Temple, to be secretly convey'd into his Baggage, when he was packing up to depart. He was no sooner out of the Town upon his Journey, but he was pursued and taken by the Officers, and charg'd with Sacrilege. Æsop deny'd the Matter, and laugh'd at them all for a Company of mad Men; but upon the searching of his Boxes, they found the Cup, and shew'd it to the People, hurrying him away to Prison in the middle of his Defence. They brought him the next Day into Court, where notwithstanding the Proof of his Innocence, as clear as the Day, he was condemned to die; and his Sentence was to be thrown headlong from a Rock, down a steep Precipice. After his Doom was past, he prevailed upon them, with much ado, to be heard a few Words, and so told them the Story of the Frog and the Mouse, as it stands in the Fable. This wrought nothing upon the Hearts of theDel phians; but as they were bawling at the Executioner to dispatch, and do his Office,Æsop on a sudden gave them the Slip, and fled to an Altar hard by there, in hopes the Religion of the Place might have protected him; but theDelphians told him, that the Altars of the Gods were not to be any Sanctuary to those that robbed their Temples; whereupon he took Occasion to tell them a Fable of aBeetle, who being injur'd by an Eagle, found means to draw down Vengeance upon her powerful Oppressor, notwithstanding his supetior Might. Now, saysÆsop, after the telling of this Fable, you are not to flatter yourselves that the Violators of holy Altars, and the Oppressors of the Innocent, shall ever escape divine Vengeance. This enraged the Magistrates to such a Degree, that they commanded the Officers immediately to takeÆsop from the Altar, and dispatch him away to his Execution. WhenÆsop found that neither the Sanctity of the Place, nor the Clearness of his Innocence were sufficient to protect him, and that he was to fall a Sacrifice to Subornation and Power, he gave them yet one Fable more as he was upon the Way to Execution: ‘ There was an old Fellow, says he, that had spent his whole Life in the Country without ever seeing the Town; he found himself weak and decaying, and nothing would serve, but his Friends must needs shew him the Town once before he died. Their Asses were very well acquainted with the Way, and so they caused them to be made ready, and turned the old Man and Asses loose, without a Guide, to try their Fortune. They were overtaken upon the Road by a terrible Tempest, so that what with the Darkness, and the Violence of the Storm, the Asses were beaten out of the Way, and tumbled with the old Man into a Pit, where he had only Time to deliver his last Breath with this Ex clamation: Miserable Wretch that I am, to be de stroy'd, since die I must, by the basest of Beasts, by Asses!’ And that's my Fate now, continuedÆsop, in suffer ing by the Hands of a barbarous sottish People, that understand neither Humanity or Honour; and act con trary to the Tyes of Hospitality and Justice. But the Gods will not suffer my Blood to lie unreveng'd, and I doubt not, but that in Time the Judgment of Heaven will give you to understand your Wickedness by your Punishment. He was speaking on, but they push'd him off headlong from the Rock, and he was dash'd to pieces with the Fall. TheDelphians soon after this, were visited with Fa mine and Pestilence, to such a Degree, that they went to consult the Oracle ofApollo, to know what Wicked ness it was, had brought these Calamities upon them. The Oracle gave them this Answer, That they were to expiate for the Death ofÆsop. In the Conscience of their Barbarity, they erected aPyramid to his Honour; and it is upon Tradition, that a great many of the most eminent Men among the Greeks of that Time, went afterwards toDelphos, upon the News of the tragical End ofÆsop, to learn the Truth of the History; and found upon Enquiry, that the principal of the Conspira tors had laid violent Hands upon themselves. This is the Account which theGreeks have given us ofÆsop, of his deplorable End, and of the Judgment which overtook those who were the Occasion of it. But it having been already said, (Seepag. xv.) that some will haveÆsop to be the same asLochman among the Persians, it may not be amiss to give the Substance of what the learned Authors of theUniversal History, now publishing with great Applause, have delivered us in re lation to this Point. Having first given thatPersian Sage his deserved Character for Wisdom, (Vol. II.p. 198, 199.) they say; ‘ What we have reported, is sufficient to shew that there is a strong Resemblance between the History ofLochman, as reported by theEastern Writers, and that ofÆsop, as we find it written by theGreeks. Both were mean in their Original; both Slaves thro' the Severity of Fortune; both famous for their Wis dom; and both delivered their Maxims in the same Manner; that is, by way of Apologue. But there is a wide Difference between the Times, in which the oriental Authors sayLochman lived, and those wherein theGreeks place Æsop. As to the first, it is generally al lowed thatLochman lived in the Reign ofSolomon; whereasÆsop is said to have been cotemporary with Crœsus King ofLydia, andSolon theAthenian Legisla tor. From the History of their Lives, and the Com parison of their Fables, there is all the Reason in the World to believe thatLochman andÆsop were the same Person: The Difficulty seems to lie here, Whe ther theGreeks stole him from the Orientals, or whe ther the Orientals took him from theGreeks. It seems most natural to believe the former, since in such Cases, theGreeks are known to have been notorious Thieves, and to have alter'd every Point of ancient History they were able to turn to their own Advan tage. Besides, the Apologue was certainly the fa vourite Mode of Teaching in theEast, long before that, or any other kind of Learning, was known to theGreeks.’ The same Authors give us, among several others, the following Instance of the Wisdom ofLochman: They tell us, That standing one Day in the midst of a great Throng of People, who were greedily listening to his wise Precepts, a certain Man of Rank asked him, If he was not the black Slave whom he had formerly seen tending Sheep; and he answering in the Affirmative, How then, said the Gentleman, have you attained to so high a Degree of Virtue? By these three easy Steps, saysLochman, I have always spoke the Truth;I have constantly kept my Word;and I have never meddled in any thing which did not concern me. A Persian Poet also gives the like Story ofLochman, which we have inserted ofÆsop in relation to the Figs and warm Water. Sir John Chardin tells us, that at this Day thePersians are so fond of his Fables, that they are the first Things they teach their Children, and spare no Pains to make them enter into, and comprehend their Meaning. AndMa homet himself has a whole Chapter in hisKoran, in Praise of this wise Man; which makes his Character and Maxims not a little rever'd among theMahometans of all Nations. One Passage relating to the Duty of Children to Pa rents we shall extract from this Chapter, as a proper Conclusion to the Life ofÆsop, and an useful Preface to the following Collection of Fables; but which, at the same Time, was probably borrowed from that ex cellent Commandment of God,Honour thy Father and thy Mother, that thy Days may be long in the Land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee. That Passage is to this Purpose: ‘ Remember whatLochman has injoined to Man, to honour his Father and his Mother; his Mo ther bringeth him forth in Sorrow, and weaneth him at two Years old: Be not then forgetful of God's Benefits: Honour thy Father and thy Mother; for thou shalt one Day be judged before God.’

An Alphabetical Index to the FABLES.

Apag.

↑

• AGEto be honour'd

  175

• Antand Fly

  26
• Antand Grass-hopper 128

• Apeand Dolphin

  104

• Apeand Two Brats

  146

• Apeelected King

  71

• Applesand Horse-Turds

  84

• Arbitrary Eagle

  183

• Assespetition Jupiter

  113

• Assand Frogs

  114

• Assand Ungrateful Master

  19

• Assand Whelp

  13

• Assand Wolf

  28

• Ass, Apeand Mole

  20

• Asscarrying an Image

  162

• Assin Lion's Skin

  133

• Ass, Lionand Cock

  92

• Astrologeradmonish'd

  61

• Axand Forest

  35

Bpag.

↑

• BAld Cavalier

  136

• Batand Weazle

  31

• Bat, Brambleand Cormorant

  89

• Bearand Bees

  176

• Bee-master

  102

• Beesand Partridges

  85

• Bellyand Members

  36

• Boarand Fox

  167

• Boarand Horse

  39

• Boasting Mule

  72

• Boyand False Alarms

  50

• Boyand Mother

  63

• Boyand Snake

  81

• Boyand Thief

  144

• Boysand Frogs

  156

• Bragging Traveller

  56

• Bulland Gnat

  184

• Bulland Goat

  130

Cpag.

↑

• CATand Venus

  41
• City-Mouseand Country- Mouse8

• Cockand Fox

  155

• Cockand Precious Stone

  1

• Cocksand Partridges

  56

• Collierand Fuller

  44

• Conceited Musician

  107

• Covetous Landlord

  54

• Covetous Manand Envious

  142

• Country-manand Ass

  173

• Country-manand Hawk

  147

• Country-manand Hercules

  145

• Country-manand Snake

  7,23

• Creaturespetition Jupiter

  53

• Crowand Dog

  108

• Crowand Muscle

  10

• Crowand Pitcher

  143

• Curst Dog

  135

D

↑

• DAWand borrow'd Feathers

  25

• Deathand Old Man

  71,153

• Disappointed Milkmaid

  190

• Discontented Ass

  165

• Dogand Butcher

  41

• Dogand Cat

  162

• Dogand Master

  161

• Dogand Shadow

  4

• Dogand Thief

  18

• Dogand Wolf

  46,73

• Dog, Cockand Fox

  88

• Dogin the Manger

  52

• Dog, Sheepand Wolf

  23

• Drunkardand Wife

  97

E

↑

• EAGLEand Daw

  51

• Eagleand Fox

  48

• Eagleand Owl

  126

• Eagleand Rabbets

  185

• Eagleand Tortoise

  131

• Eagle, Catand Sow

  181

F

↑

• FArmerand Dogs

  47

• Fatherand Children

  69

• Fatherand Sons

  42

• Fawnand Stag

  76

• Firand Bramble

  141

• Fishermanand Pipe

  70

• Fisherman'sgood Luck

  ibid.

• Fishingin troubled Waters

  104

• Flatteryunrestrainable

  160

• Fowlerand Black-bird

  62

• Fowlerand Partridge

  82

• Fowlerand Pigeon

  45

• Foxand Bramble

  pag. 67

• Foxand carv'd Head

  25

• Foxand Cock

  2

• Foxand Goat

  55

• Foxand Grapes

  80

• Foxand Hedgehog

  147

• Foxand Huntsman

  67

• Foxand Raven

  11

• Foxand Stork

  24

• Foxthat lost his Tail

  66

• Frogand Ox

  27

• Frog, Mouseand Kite

  3

• Frogsand Bulls

  157

• Frogsdesire a King

  16

• Frogswanting Water

  87

• Frogturn'd Physician

  134

G

↑

• GArdenerand Dog

  94

• Gaul'd Assand Raven

  115

• Gnatand Bee

  151

• Gnatand Lion

  121

• Goatand Vine

  92

• Good Luckand Bad Luck

  137

H

↑

• HAREand Sparrow

  157

• Hareand Tortoise

  83

• Haresand Frogs

  21

• Hares, Foxesand Eagles

  110

• Hedgehogand Snake

  150

• Henand Swallow

  117

• Horseand Ass

  29

• Houndand Mastiff

  106

• Huntsmanand Currier

  177

• Husbandmanand Stork

  49

I

↑

• IGnorant Sea-passenger

  29

• Impertinentand Philosopher

  168

• Impracticable League

  175

• Imprudentyoung Landlord

  183

• Industryand Sloth

  154

• Joyand Sorrow

  172

• Jupiterand Ass

  124

• Jupiterand Bee

  77

• Jupiterand Farmer

  171

• Jupiterand Herds-man

  120

• Jupiter's Two Wallets

  179

K

↑

• Kingsfisher

  103

• Kite, Hawk,and Pigeons

  17

L

↑

• LAden Assand Horse

  43

• Lame Manand Blind

  188

• Larkand Fowler

  89

• Larkand her Young

  37

• Lionand Ass

  7

• Lionand Bullspag. 140

• Lionand Frog

  121

• Lionand Man

  143

• Lionand Mouse

  13

• Lionand other Beastsa hunting

  5

• Lion, Assand Fox

  116

• Lion, Assand Foxa hunting

  123

• Lion, Assand Hare

  152

• Lion, Bearand Fox

  3

• Lionessand Fox

  75

• Lion, Foxand Wolf

  96

• Lionin Love

  74

M

↑

• Manand Satyr

  145

• Manand Two Wives

  86

• Manand Wooden God

  68

• Manbit by a Dog

  59

• Manbit by a Flea

  85

• Man of Qualityand Lion

  65

• Manturn'd into a Pismire

  110

• Mastiffand Ass

  163

• Menand supposed Sea-wreck

  111

• Merchantand Mariner

  180

• Mercuryand Carpenter

  79

• Mercuryand Statuary

  105

• Mercuryand Traveller

  62

• Miserburying Gold

  90

• Moleand Dam

  84

• Mountainin Labour

  19

• Mountebankand Bear

  159

N

↑

• NEutral Bat

  32

• Nightingaleand Bat

  99

• No Pleasing Every-body

  178

• Nurseand Froward Child

  130

O

↑

• OAKand Willow

  127

• Old Craband Young

  132

• Old Dogand Master

  19

• Old Lion

  12

• One-eyed Stag

  91

P

↑

• PArtridgesand Setting-Dog

  186

• Peacockand Crane

  138

• Peacockand Magpye

  122

• Pigeonand Crow

  119

• Pigeonand Painter

  118

• Pigeonsand Hawks

  153

R

↑

• RAvenand Snake

  109

• Ravenand Swan

  98

• Roasted Cockles

  100

• Rustickand River

  182

S

↑

• SCofferpunished

  57

• Seamenpraying to Saints

  174

• Shoepand Crow

  pag. 52

• Shepherdand young Wolf

  95

• Shepherdturn'd Merchant

  64

• Sick Kiteand Mother

  14

• Sick Lionand Fox

  39

• Skittish Horse

  159

• Snakeand Crab

  94

• Snakeand File

  34

• Splenetick Traveller

  169

• Stagand Lion

  91

• Stagdrinking

  33

• Sunand Wind

  132

• Swallowand Crow

  99

• Swallowand other Birds

  15

• Swallowand Spider

  148

• Swanand Stork

  149

T

↑

• THere's no To-Morrow

  191

• Thievesand Cock

  108

• Three pretended Penitents

  188

• Thunnyand Dolphin

  59

• Travellerand Grasshoppers

  185

• Trumpetertaken Prisoner

  45

• Two Cocksfighting

  75

• Two Enemiesat Sea

  60

• Two Friendsand Bear

  135

• Two Menand Halter

  158

• Two Neighbour Frogs

  102

• Two Pots

  137
• Two Travellersand Money-bag
• 101

• Two young Menand Cock

  40

• Tygerand Fox

  139

U

↑

• UNdutiful young Lion

  170

W

↑

• WASPSin Honey-Pot

  77

• Wild Assand Tame

  112

• Wolfand Crane

  6

• Wolfand Fox

  33

• Wolfand Kid

  106, 124

• Wolfand Lamb

  2

• Wolfand Lion

  80

• Wolfand Porcupine

  167

• Wolfand Sheep

  109

• Wolfand Sick Ass

  165

• Wolfand Sow

  18

• Wolf, Kid, and Goat

  22

• Wolves, Sheepand Dogs

  35

• Womanand Death

  164

• Womanand fat Hen

  58

• Womanand Maids

  126

Y

↑

• YOung Manand Swallow

  78

• Fables in all

  240

THE FABLES OF ÆSOP, &c. ------------------------------------------------------------