In a dispute between the Ant and the Fly concerning precedency, the
latter thus boasted: I have, said he, the uppermost seats at church,
and even frequent the altars; I am taster to the gods, and a partaker
of all their sacrifices; I am admitted into the palaces of kings, and
enjoy myself at every entertainment provided for the princes of the
earth, and all this without having occasion to labour. What have you to
boast of, poor sorry drudge, crawling upon the earth, living in caverns
and holes, and with constant exertion gathering up a grain of corn
to support a wretched existence? Indeed! said the Ant, I pretend to
none of these fine things. Visiting the great, and partaking of their
festivals and sacrifices, might be entitled to some consideration, were
you invited; but you are only an impudent intruder in such places. My
time, indeed, is spent differently: I lead a life of industry, which
is crowned with health and vigour, and I am constantly held up as an
example of prudence and foresight. I provide for present comforts
and future wants, and court not the favors, nor dread the frowns, of
any one; while your laziness and vanity make you a beggarly intruder
wherever you hope to get a present supply. You may, perhaps, sip honey
one day, but on the next you batten on carrion; and having propagated
a numerous progeny, equally as noxious and useless as yourself, I then
behold you from my comfortable, warm, well-stored mansion, in the
winter of your days, starving to death with hunger and cold.