Æsop _Expounds upon an Augury, and is made Free_.
_Æsop_ had thus far born All the Indignities of a Tedious Slavery, with
the Constancy of a Wise Man, and without either Vanity or Abjection
of Mind. He was not Ignorant however of his own Value; Neither did he
Neglect any honest Way or Occasion of Advancing his Name and his Credit
in the World; as in One Particular Instance among the _Samians_, on a
Strange Thing that happen’d There upon a Very Solemn Day. The Ring,
it seems, that had the Town-Seal upon’t was laid somewhere in Sight,
Where an Eagle could come at it; She took it up in the Air, and dropt
it into the Bosom of a Slave. The _Samians_ took this for a Foreboding,
that Threat’ned some dismal Calamity to the State, and in a general
Consternation They presently called a Counsel of their Wise Men; and
_Xanthus_ in the first Place, to give their Opinions upon This Mysterious
Accident. They were All at a Loss what to Think on’t; only _Xanthus_
desired some few Days time for further Consideration. Upon This, he
betook himself to his Study, and the More he Beat his Brains about it,
the further he found himself from any hope of Expounding The Secret.
This put him into a deep Melancholly; which made Æsop very Importune,
and Impatient, to know the Cause of it; with Assurances, That he would
serve his Master in The Affair, Whatever it was, to the Uttermost of his
Power. _Xanthus_ hereupon laid the Whole Matter before him, and told him
in Conclusion, that he was not only lost in his Reputation, but in Danger
to be Torn to Pieces by the Rabble. When Æsop found how the Case stood,
Never trouble your Head any further, says he, Do but follow my Advice,
and I’ll bring you off as well now as ever I did before. When you Appear
to Morrow to give in your Answer, I would have you Speak to the People
after this Manner.
_I need not tell your Wisdoms, That_ so Many Heads so Many Minds, _and so
many several Men, so many several Conceptions of Things; Nay and further,
that every several Art, or Profession requires a Distinct Faculty or
Disposition, that is more or less Peculiar to it self. It is the Custom
of the World for People in All Cases where They are either Ignorant or
Doubtful, to Repair to Men that have the Reputation of Philosophers, for
Counsel and Satisfaction. But this, under favour, is a Great Mistake; for
it is with Philosophers, as it is, I say, with other Arts and Professions
that have their Functions apart the One from the Other. Wisdom ’tis true,
may be call’d properly enough the Knowledge of Things Divine and Humane,
but will you therefore expect that a Philosopher should do the Office
of a Shoomaker or a Barber, because the Trades are conversant about
Humane Things? No No Gentlemen, a Man may be a Great Philosopher without
any Skill at All in the Handling of the Awl, or the Razor. But if the
Question were concerning the Government of Life and Manners, the Nature
of Things Celestial or Terrestrial; The Duties that we owe to God or Man;
you could not do better then repair to Philosophers for satisfaction. But
for Reading upon Prodigies; or Commenting upon the Flight of Birds, or
the Entrails of Beasts, These are Things quite Beside the Philosophers
Business. If there be any thing you doubt of that falls under the
Cognizance of Philosophy, I am ready to serve you in’t; But your present
Point being_ Augury, _I shall take leave to Acquaint you that a Servant
I have at home, is as likely to make a Right Judgement that way as any
Man I know. I should not presume to name a Servant; Neither Perchance
would you think fit to make use of one; If the Necessity of your present
distress, were not a very Competent and Reasonable Excuse._
Here’s your Speech, says Æsop; and your Credit sav’d whether They’ll
hear me or Not. If they send for me, The Honour will be yours, in case I
Deliver my self to their Liking, and the Disgrace will be Mine then if I
Miscarry. His Master was pleased beyond Measure with the Advice, but he
did not as yet Understand Whither it Tended.
_Xanthus_ Presented himself Early the next Morning before the Council,
Where he Dilated Upon The Matter according to his Instructions, and so
referr’d Them to his Servant for the Clearing of the Difficulty. The
People with one Voice cry’d out _Where is he? Why does not he Appear?
Why has not his Master brought him along with him?_ In short, Æsop was
Immediately fetch’d into the Court, and at the very First Sight of him,
They All burst out a Laughing by Consent. This Fellow, says one, may have
Skill perhaps in Divining, but he has Nothing that’s Humane about him.
Another asked Where he was Born, and whether or no Blocks had the Faculty
of Speech in his Country. Æsop, upon This, Address’d himself to the
Council.
_You have here before ye_, (says Æsop) _an Ungracious Figure of a Man,
which in truth is not a Subject for your Contempt, Nor is it a Reasonable
Ground for your Despair, upon the Matter in Question. One Wise Man values
Another for his Understanding, not for his Beauty; Beside that the
Deformity of my Person is no incapacity at All as to your Business. Did
you never taste Delicious drink out of an Ill Look’d Vessel? or did you
never drink Wine that was Vapid, or Eager, out of a Vessel of Gold? ’Tis
Sagacity and Strength of Reason that you have Occasion for, not the force
of Robust Limbs, nor the Delicacies of Colour and Proportion. Wherefore
I must beseech you not to Judge of My Mind by My Body, nor to Condemn me
Unheard._ Upon this, they All cry’d out to him, If he had any thing to
say for the Common Good, That he would speak it. _With your favour_, says
he, _It is for that End I presume, that ye have called me hither, and it
is with a Great Zeal for your Service, that I stand now before ye: But
when I consider the Weight of the Matter in hand, and the Office That I
am now to Perform, it will as little stand with your Honors Perhaps, to
take the Opinion of a Slave into your Councils and Debates, as it will
with my Condition to offer it. Beside the Risque I run of my Master’s
Displeasure upon the Event. But All This yet may be Obviated, my Fears
secured, my Modesty gratifi’d, and your own Dignity preserved, 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 Liberty, and order’d the _Quæstors_ to pay down the Money.
When _Xanthus_ saw that the thing must be done, He could not Decently
stand Higgling about the Price; But making a Virtue of Necessity, he
chose rather to _Present_ Æsop to the Common-Wealth, then to _Sell_ him.
The _Samians_ took it very kindly, And Æsop was Presently _Manumiz’d_ and
made a Citizen in Form, Proclaim’d a Freeman; and after this Ceremony,
he Discoursed upon the Subject 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 Bosome of a Slave that has no Power over himself, portends
the Loss of Your Liberties, if you do not look to your selves in Time;
And that some Potent Prince has a Design upon ye._ This put the _Samians_
all a-fire to hear the Issue of the Prediction. In some short time after
there came Ambassadors from _Crœsus_ the King of _Lydia_, to Demand a
Tribute on Behalf of their Master, and Threat’ned the _Samians_ with
a War in the Case of a Refusal. This Affair came to be Debated in the
Council, where the Majority was rather for Peace with Slavery, then for
running the Risque of a Dispute; but they would not come to a Resolution
yet, without first Consulting Æsop What They had best to do; Who gave
Them his Thought upon’t in Words to This Effect.
_Every Man in this World has Two Ways before him, That is to say_, First,
_The Way of Liberty, that’s Narrow and Rugged at the Entrance, but
Plainer and Smoother still the further you go_. Secondly, _The Way of
Servitude or Slavery, that seems to be Easie at first, but you’ll find
it afterwards to be full of Intolerable Difficulties_. The _Samians_,
upon These Words, Declared themselves Unanimously 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 there was a War
Denounced.
When _Crœsus_ came to Understand the Resolution the _Samians_ had taken,
and how Inclinable they were to a Compliance, till Æsop, by the Power
only of a few words, Diverted them from it, he Resolv’d to send for and
Discourse with Æsop. So He made an offer to the _Samians_, upon their
sending Æsop to him, to put a Stop at present to the course of his Arms.
When Æsop came to hear of their 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) _when some Beasts talked better Sence then
Many Men do now a days, there happen’d to be a Fierce War betwixt the
Wolves and the Sheep, And the Sheep, by the help of the Dogs, had rather
the Better on’t. The Wolves, upon This, offer’d the Sheep a Peace, on
Condition only that they might have their Dogs for Hostages. The Silly,
credulous Sheep agreed to’t, and as soon as ever they had parted with the
Dogs, The Wolves break in upon them, and Destroy’d them at pleasure._ See
_Fab. 45_.
The _Samians_ quickly smelt out the Moral of this Fable, and cry’d out,
One and All, that they would not part with Æsop: But this did not hinder
Æsop however from putting himself abord, and taking a Passage for _Lydia_
with the Ambassadors.