One good turn deserves another; and gratitude is excited by so noble and
natural a spirit, that he ought to be looked upon as the vilest of
creatures who has no sense of it. It is, indeed, so very just and
equitable a thing, and so much every man's duty, that, to speak of it
properly, one should not mention it as any thing meritorious, or that
may claim praise and admiration, any more than we should say a man ought
to be rewarded or commended for not killing his father, or forbearing to
set fire to his neighbour's house. The bright and shining piece of
morality, therefore, which is recommended to us in this fable, is set
forth in this example of the Dove, who, without any obligation or
expectation, does a voluntary office of charity to its fellow creature
in distress. The constant uninterrupted practice of this virtue, is the
only thing in which we are capable of imitating the great Author of our
being; whose beloved Son, besides the many precepts he has given to
enforce this duty, used this expression as a common saying, 'It is more
blessed to give than to receive.'