Our productions, of whatsoever kind, are not to be esteemed so much by
their quantity as by their quality. It is not being employed much, but
well, and to the purpose, which will make us useful to the age we live
in, and celebrated by those which are to come. As the multiplication
of foxes and other vermin is a misfortune to the countries which are
infested with them, so one cannot help throwing out a melancholy
reflection, when one sees some particular classes of the human kind
increase so fast as they do. But the most obvious meaning of this
Fable is the hint it gives us in relation to authors. These gentlemen
should never attempt to raise themselves a reputation by trumping up
a long catalogue of their various productions, since there is more
glory in having written one tolerable piece than a thousand indifferent
ones; and whoever has had the good fortune to please in one literary
performance, should be very cautious how he stakes his reputation in a
second attempt.
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