In the time of the Judges the unprincipled Abimelech contrived to have
himself proclaimed king in Shechem. Knowing his unfitness for the throne,
and vexed at his successful machinations, Jotham, a man of ready wit,
ridicules the pretensions of the monarch and the folly of the people, in
an admirable fable. Addison says: "Fables were the first pieces of wit
that made their appearance in the world, and have been still highly
valued, not only in times of the greatest simplicity, but among the most
polite ages of mankind. Jotham's fable of the Trees is the oldest that is
extant, and as beautiful as any that have been made since that time."
Perching himself upon the top of a hill, that his parable may not be
brought to an untimely end, he speaks to the multitude: "The Trees went
forth on a time to anoint a king over them. And they said to the Olive
Tree, Reign thou over us. But the Olive Tree said unto them, Should I
leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honor God and men, and go to be
promoted over the Trees? Then said the Trees unto the Fig Tree, Come thou
and reign over us. But the Fig Tree said unto them, Should I forsake my
sweetness and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the Trees? Then
said the Trees unto the Vine, Come thou and reign over us. And the Vine
said unto them, Should I leave my wine which cheereth God and Man, and go
to be promoted over the Trees?" Thus far the Trees have been unsuccessful.
They have found among their fellows of the forest no available candidate
whose character and record are good. They anticipated a difficulty of more
modern times. But they are becoming desperate. They are determined to have
a king. In this extremity what step do they take? "Then said all the Trees
unto the _Bramble_, Come thou and reign over us." The Bramble cannot plead
business. It cannot say, as do the Olive and Fig and Vine, "I am of some
better use." There is no reason, so far as any beneficent occupation is
concerned, why it should not be king. The offer is eagerly accepted, and
the pompous bush delivers itself of this high and mighty coronation
address: "If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and put your
trust in my shadow; and if not, let fire come out of the Bramble and
destroy the cedars of Lebanon!"
This Bramble, Jotham explains, represents Abimelech, while the misguided
trees are the men of Shechem. Having made this application, Jotham became
convinced that his mission was ended, and abandoned Mount Gerezim for a
place of greater security. "And Jotham ran away and fled, and went to Beer
and dwelt there for fear of Abimelech his brother." He did not wait to see
what impression he had made. He was willing to let his story, moral and
all, take care of itself; for in that day, as in every subsequent age,
there was no room for a satirist in the kingdom of an incompetent ruler.