_We have had the History of_ Æsop _so many times over and over, and
dress’d up so many several Ways; that it would be but Labour-Lost
to Multiply Unprofitable Conjectures upon a Tradition of so Great
Uncertainty._ _Writers are divided about him, almost to all manner
of purposes: And particularly concerning the Authority, even of the
greater part of Those Compositions that pass the World in his Name:
For, the Story is come down to us so Dark and Doubtful, that it is
Impossible to Distinguish the_ Original _from the_ Copy: _And to say,
which of the Fables are_ Æsops, _and which not; which are_ Genuine,
_and which_ Spurious: _Beside, that there are divers Inconsistencies
upon the Point of_ Chronology, _in the Account of his Life_, (_as_
Maximus Planudes, _and Others have Deliver’d it_) _which the whole Earth
can never Reconcile_. Vavasor _the_ Jesuite, _in a Tract of his_, de
Ludicra Dictione, _takes Notice of some four or five Gross Mistakes of
This Kind_. [Planudes (_says he_) brings _Æsop_ to _Babylon_, in the
Reign of _Lycerus_; where there never was such a Prince heard of, from
_Nabonassar_ (the first King of _Babylon_) to _Alexander the Great_.
He tells us of his going into _Ægypt_ in the Days of King _Nectenabo_;
which _Nectenabo_ came not into the World till well nigh Two Hundred
Years after him. And so he makes him Greet his Mistress upon his first
Entrance into his Master’s House, with a bitter Sentence against Women
out of _Euripides_; (as he pretends) when yet _Æsop_ had been Dead, a
matter of Fourscore Years, before T’other was Born. And once again, He
brings him in, Talking of the _Pyræan Port_, in his Fable of the _Ape
and the Dolphin_: A Port, that the very Name on’t was never thought of,
till about the _Seventy Sixth Olympiad: And Æsop was Murder’d, in the_
Four and fifti’th.] _This is enough in All Conscience, to Excuse any Man
from laying over-much Stress upon the Historical Credit of a Relation,
that comes so Blindly, and so Variously Transmitted to us: Over and
above, that it is not one jot to our Bus’ness (further then to Gratify an
Idle Curiosity) whether the_ Fact _be_ True or False; _whether the_ Man
_was_ Streight, _or_ Crooked; _and his_ Name, Æsop, _or_ (_as some will
have it_) Lochman: _In all which Cases, the Reader is left at Liberty
to Believe his Pleasure. We are not here upon the_ Name, _the_ Person,
_or the_ Adventures _of this Great Man; but upon the Subject of his_
Apologues _and_ Morals; _And not of_ His _alone, but of several other
Eminent Men that have Written after his Copy; and abundantly Contributed
in those Labours, to the Delight, Benefit, and Instruction of Those that
were to come after them_.
_There are, ’tis True, a Certain Set of Morose and Untractable Spirits
in the World, that look upon Precepts in_ Emblem, _as they do upon_ Gays
_and_ Pictures, _that are only fit for_ Women _and_ Children, _and look
upon them to be no better than the Fooleries of so many_ Old Wives Tales.
_These are a sort of People that are Resolv’d to be pleas’d with nothing
that is not_ Unsociably Sour, Ill Natur’d, _and_ Troublesome; _Men that
make it the_ Mark _as well as the_ Prerogative _of a_ Philosopher, _to
be_ Magisterial, _and_ Churlish; _As if a Man could not be_ Wise _and_
Honest, _without being_ Inhumane; _or, I might have said, without putting
an Affront upon_ Christian Charity, Civil Society, Decency _and_ Good
Manners: _But they are not aware All this while, that the_ Foundations
_of_ Knowledge _and_ Vertue _are laid in our_ Childhood; _when Nothing
goes Kindly down with us, that is not Season’d and Adapted to the Palate
and Capacity of those Tender Years. ’Tis in the very_ Nature _of us,
first, to be Inquisitive, and Hankering after New and New_ Sights _and_
Stories: _And 2dly, No less Sollicitous to Learn and Understand the_
Truth _and_ Meaning _of what we_ See _and_ Hear: _So that betwixt the
Indulging and Cultivating of This_ Disposition, _or_ Inclination, _on
the_ One hand, _and the Aplying of a Profitable_ Moral _to the_ Figure,
_or the_ Fable, _on the_ Other, _here’s the Sum of All that can be done
upon the Point of a_ Timely Discipline _and_ Institution, _toward the
Forming of an Honourable, and a Vertuous Life. Most Certain it is, that
without This Early Care and Attention, upon the Main, we are as good
as Lost in our very Cradles; for the Principles that we Imbibe in our
Youth, we carry commonly to our Graves; and it is the Education, in
short, that makes the Man. To speak All, in a Few Words_, Children _are
but_ Blank Paper, _ready Indifferently for any Impression, Good or Bad
(for they take All upon Credit) and it is much in the Power of the first
Comer, to Write Saint, or Devil upon’t, which of the Two He Pleases.
Wherefore let the_ Method _of Communication be never so Natural and
Agreeable, the_ Better; _the Worse still, if the_ Matter _be not Suited
to the Prudence, the Piety, and the Tenderness that is Requisite in the
Exercise of such a Function. Now this is a Nicety that Depends, in a
Great Measure, upon the_ Care, Providence, Sobriety, Conduct _and_ Good
Example _of_ Parents, Guardians, Tutors, _&c. Nay it Descends to the very
Choice of such_ Nurses, Servants, _and Familier_ Companions, _as will
apply themselves Diligently to the Discharge of This Office_.
_As it is beyond All Dispute, I suppose, that the Delight and Genius
of Children, lies much toward the Hearing, Learning, and Telling of_
Little Stories; _So this Consideration holds forth to us a kind of
Natural Direction to begin our Approaches upon that Quarter, toward the
Initiating of them into some sort of Sense, and Understanding of their
Duty. And This may most properly be done in a way of_ History _and_
Moral; _and in such a manner, that the Truth and Reason of Things, may
be Artificially and Effectually Insinuated, under the Cover, either
of a_ Real Fact, _or of a_ Supposed _One: But then These very Lessons
Themselves may be Gilt and Sweeten’d, as we Order Pills and Potions; so
as to take off the Disgust of the Remedy; for it holds, both in_ Vertue,
_and in_ Health, _that we love to be_ Instructed, _as well as_ Physick’d,
_with_ Pleasure. _This is an Article that would both Bear and Require a
Volume: But without Dwelling any longer upon it, I shall content my self
with some short General Touches, and so Proceed._
_It may be laid down in the First Place, for an_ Universal Rule, _never
to suffer Children to learn any thing, (now_ Seeing _and_ Hearing, _with
Them, is_ Learning) _but what they may be the_ Better _for All their
Lives after. And it is not sufficient neither, to keep them clear of
any Thought, Word or Deed, that’s_ Foul, Scandalous, _and_ Dishonest;
_but there are Twenty Insipid_ Twittle-Twattles, _Frothy_ Jests, _and
Jingling_ Witticisms, _that look, as if they had no Hurt in them; and
yet the Wonting of us to the Use and Liking of These Levities, Leads,
and Innures us to a_ Mis-understanding _of Things, which is no less
Dangerous than a Corruption of_ Manners. _Beside that there’s no need of
Entertaining them with These Fopperies, having so much Choice of Useful
Matter at hand, as Good and Cheap. Briefly, in the Case of This Method
of Instruction and Institution, let but the Fancy or the Figure be Clear
and Pertinent, and the Doctrine in the Direction of it can never fail
of_ being so too. _But without this Guard and Caution upon the Conduct
of the Affair, This Humour of_ Mythology _may turn to a_ Poyson _instead
of_ Nourishment: _And under the Pretext of a Lecture of_ Good Government,
_Degenerate into an Encouragement to_ Vanity _and_ Debauch. _For while
the Memory is Firm, and the Judgment Weak, it is the_ Director’s Part
_to_ Judge _for the_ Pupil, _and it is the_ Disciples _to_ Remember _for_
Himself; _And we are also to take This along with us, that when a Child
has once Contracted an Ill Train or Habit, it will Cost as much time
to Blot out what he is to_ Forget, _as to Possess him of what he is to
Retain in his_ Memory.
_Let it not be Understood now, as if the_ Thing it self _were_ Childish,
_because of the_ Application _of it; or as if Boys and Men were not
Indifferently of the same Make, and Accountable more or less for the
same Faculties and Duties. So that the Force and Dignity of This way
of Operation, holds good in all Cases alike; For there’s Nothing makes
a Deeper Impression upon the Minds of Men, or comes Lively to their
Understanding, than Those Instructive Notices that are Convey’d to them
by Glances, Insinuations, and Surprize; and under the Cover of some_
Allegory _or_ Riddle. _But, what can be said more to the Honour of this_
Symbolical _Way of Moralizing upon_ Tales _and_ Fables, _then that the
Wisdom of the Ancients has been still Wrapt up in_ Veils _and_ Figures;
_and their Precepts, Councels and Salutary Monitions for the Ordering
of our Lives and Manners, Handed down to us from all Antiquity under_
Innuendo’s _and_ Allusions? _For what are the_ Ægyptian Hierogliphicks,
_and the whole History of the_ Pagan Gods; _The Hints, and Fictions of
the Wise Men of Old, but in Effect, a kind of_ Philosophical Mythology:
_Which is, in truth, no other, than a more Agreeable Vehicle found out
for Conveying to us the Truth and Reason of Things, through the_ Medium
_of_ Images _and_ Shadows. _But what needs any thing more be said for the
Reputation and Authority of This Practice and Invention, considering the
Frequent and the Edifying Use of Apologues in_ Holy Writ: _And that our
Blessed Saviour Himself, has not only Recommended, but inculcated, This
way of Teaching by_ Parables, _both in his Doctrine and Example, as the
Means that Divine Providence made use of for Gaining the Idolaters and
Infidels over to the Christian Faith? What was it that brought, even_
David himself _to a Sight and Detestation of his Sin in the Matter of_
Uriah _and to a Sense of his Duty, by the Prophet_ Nathan_’s telling
him a Story at a Distance (and by God’s Own Direction too) of a_ Rich
Man that had a World of Sheep himself, and forc’d away a Poor Man’s
Only Lamb from him, that he Lov’d as his Own Soul? _How did_ David
_take Fire at this Iniquity in Another Man, till upon second Thoughts
his Conscience brought it home to his Own Case, and forc’d him to pass
Judgment upon Himself? Now this is but according to the Natural Biass
of Humane Frailty, for every Man to be Partial to his own_ Blind-side,
_and to Exclaim against the very Counter-part of his Own Daily Practise.
As what’s more Ordinary, for Example, than to have the most Arbitrary
of_ Tyrants, _to set up for the_ Advocates _and_ Patrons _of_ Common
Liberty; _or for the most Profligate of_ Scoffers _and_ Atheists, _to
Value themselves upon a Zeal for the_ Power, _and_ Purity _of the_
Gospel? _In two Words, What’s more Familiar then to see Men_ Fighting the
Lord’s Battles _(as they call it) against_ Blasphemy _and_ Prophaneness,
_with_ One _hand; and at the same time offering Violence to his_ Holy
Altars, Church _and_ Ministers _with the_ Other! _Now These People are
not to be dealt withal but by a Train of Mystery and Circumlocution; a_
Downright Admonition _looks liker the_ Reproach _of an_ Enemy, _then
the_ Advice _of a_ Friend; _or at the Best, it is but the Good Office
of a Man that has an Ill Opinion of us: And we do not Naturally Love to
be_ Told _of our_ Faults, _by the_ Witnesses _of our_ Failings. _Some
People are too_ Proud, _too_ Surly, _too_ Impudent, _too_ Incorrigible,
_either to_ Bear, _or to_ Mend _upon the Liberty of_ Plain Dealing.
_Others are too_ Big _again, too_ Powerful, _too_ Vindictive, _and_
Dangerous, _for either_ Reproof _or_ Councel, _in_ Direct Terms. _They
Hate any Man that’s but Conscious of their Wickedness, and their Misery
is like the_ Stone in the Bladder; _There are Many Things Good for’t, but
there’s no coming at it; and neither the_ Pulpit, _the_ Stage, _nor the_
Press, _Dares so much as Touch upon’t. How much are we Oblig’d then, to
those Wise, Good Men, that have furnish’d the World with so sure, and so
Pleasant an Expedient, for the Removing of All These Difficulties! And
to_ Æsop _in the First Place, as the_ Founder, _and_ Original Author,
_or_ Inventer _of This Art of Schooling Mankind into Better Manners; by
Minding Men of their Errors without Twitting them for what’s Amiss, and
by that Means Flashing the Light of their Own Consciences in their Own
Faces. We are brought Naturally enough, by the Judgment we pass upon the
Vices and Follies of our Neighbours, to the Sight and Sense of our own;
and Especially, when we are led to the Knowledge of the Truth of Matters
by_ Significant Types, _and_ Proper Resemblances; _for we are much more
Affected with the_ Images _of things, then with the_ True Reason _of
them. Men that are_ Shot-free _against All the Attaques of_ Honour,
Conscience, Shame, Good Faith, Humanity, _or_ Common Justice, _have yet
some_ Weak-side _or other, like_ Achille_’s Heel, that was never dipt;
and This Contrivance of Application, by_ Hints _and_ Glances, _is the
Only way under the Heavens to Hit it._ [Who shall say to a King, What
dost thou?] _comes up to the very Stress of this_ Topique. _There’s no
Meddling with Princes, either by Text, or Argument._ Morality _is not the
Province of a_ Cabinet Councel: _And_ Ghostly Fathers _Signify no more
then_ Spiritual Bug-bears, _in the Case of an Unaccountable Priviledge_.
Tell the House of _Israel_ of their Sins, and the House of _Jacob_ of
their Transgressions: _was a Guide, Undoubtedly, like an_ Old Almanack,
_for the Year ’twas Writ in; but Change of_ Times _and_ Humours, _calls
for_ New Measures _and_ Manners; _and what cannot be done by the Dint of_
Authority, _or_ Perswasion, _in the_ Chappel, _or in the_ Closet, _must
be brought about by the_ Side-Wind _of a Lecture from the_ Fields, _and
the_ Forrests. _As the Fable of the_ Raging Lion _Preaches_ Caution,
_and_ Moderation _to the Extravagances of_ Cruel, _and_ Ambitious Rulers,
_by shewing them that_ Tyranny _is a_ Scourge _of_ Humane Nature, _in
Opposition to All the_ Blessings _of a_ Well-Order’d Government; _and
that they do but_ Plague other People, _to their_ Own Infamy, _and_ Ruin.
The Old Lion in Disgrace, _Reads a Lesson to us of the_ Improvidence,
_and the_ Desperate Consequences _of a_ Riotous, _and a_ Careless Youth.
The Fox in the Well, _holds forth to us upon the Chapter of a_ Late
Repentance. The Frogs Petitioning for a King, _bids People have a care of
Struggling with_ Heaven _for_ they know not what. _It is Certainly True,
that the most Innocent Illustrations of this Quality may lie open to a
Thousand Abuses and Mistakes, by a Distorted Misapplication of them to_
Political, _or_ Personal _Meanings; but Those_ Capricious Fault-Finders,
_may as well pick a Quarrel with the_ Decalogue _it self, upon the same
Pretence; if they shall come once to Apply to This or That_ Particular
_Wicked Man, the_ General Rules _that are Deliver’d for the Government
of_ Mankind, _under such and such Prohibitions; as if the Commandments
that Require_ Obedience, _and Forbid_ Murder, Uncleaness, Theft, Calumny,
_and the like, were to be Struck out of the_ Office, _and Indicted, for
a_ Libellous Innuendo _upon All the Great Men that come to be Concern’d
in the Pains and Forfeitures therein Contain’d. In fine, ’tis the_
Conscience _of the_ Guilty, _in All These Cases, that makes the_ Satyr.
_Here is enough said, as to the Dignity, and Usefulness of This way of
Informing the_ Understanding _what we_ Ought _to do, and of Disposing
the_ Will _to Act in a Conformity to that Preception of Things; having so
Clear an Evidence of_ Divine Authority, _as well as the_ Practice _of the
Best of Men, and of Times, together with the Current of_ Common Consent,
_Agreeing all in favour of it. I shall now Wind up what I have to say, as
to the_ Fables Themselves, _the_ Choice, _the_ Intent, _and the_ Order
_of them, in a very Few Words_.
_When I First put Pen to Paper upon This Design, I had in my Eye only
the Common_ School-Book, _as it stands in the_ Cambridge _and_ Oxford
Editions _of it, under the Title of_ [Æsopi Phrygis Fabulæ; una cum
Nonnullis Variorum Autorum Fabulis Adjectis:] _Propounding to my self
at that Time, to follow the very Course and Series of that Collection;
and in One Word, to Try what might be done, by making the Best of the
Whole, and Adapting Proper and Useful Doctrines to the several parts of
it, toward the turning of an_ Excellent Latin Manuel _of Morals and Good
Councels, into a_ Tolerable English One. _But upon Jumbling Matters and
Thoughts together, and laying One thing by Another; the very State and
Condition of the Case before me, together with the Nature and the Reason
of the Thing, gave me to Understand, that this way of Proceeding would
never Answer my End. Insomuch, that upon this Consideration, I Consulted
other Versions of the same Fables, and made my Best of the Choice. Some
that were_ Twice or Thrice over, _and only the self same Thing in other
Words; These I struck out, and made_ One Specimen _serve for the rest.
To say Nothing of here and there a Trivial, or a Loose Conceit in the
Medly, more than This; that such as they are, I was under some sort of
Obligation to take them in for Company; and in short, Good, Bad, and
Indifferent, One with Another, to the Number in the Total, of 383 Fables.
To these, I have likewise subjoin’d a Considerable Addition of other
Select_ Apologues, _out of the most Celebrated Authors that are Extant
upon that Subject, towards the Finishing of the Work._ _As_ Phædrus,
Camerarius, Avienus, Neveletus, Apththonius, Gabrias, _or_ Babrias,
Baudoin, La Fontaine, Æsope en Belle Humeur, Audin, _&c._
_Another Man in my Place now, would perhaps take it for a Notable Stroke
of Art, Good Breeding, to Complement the Reader with Twenty Fooleries of_
Apology, _and_ Excuse, _for such an Undertaking; As if the Honestest,
and the most Necessary Part of a Man’s Life, and Bus’ness, were a thing
to be Asham’d of. Now All that I have to say upon this_ Common Place,
_is in Three Words, that I meant well in what I have done; and let the
Performance be what it will, I Comfort my self yet in the Conscience
of a Good Intention. I shall not Charge any of My Failings upon the
Importunity of my Friends, though I have not wanted Earnest and Powerful
Instances and Encouragements to proceed upon This Work; over and above
the Impulse of a Natural Curiosity and Inclination that led me to’t. But
these were Temptations that I could Easily have Resisted, or put by, in
favour of a Carcass that’s in a manner, past Labour; if it had not been
for Another Motive, that I shall now tell the Reader in Confidence, and
so Conclude._
_This_ Rhapsody _of_ Fables _is a Book Universally Read, and Taught
in All our Schools; but almost at such a Rate as we Teach_ Pyes _and_
Parrots, _that Pronounce the Words without so much as Guessing at the
Meaning of them: Or to take it Another way, the Boys break their Teeth
upon the Shells without ever coming near the Kernel. They Learn the_
Fables _by_ Lessons, _and the Moral is the least part of our Care in a
Child’s Institution: so that take Both together, and the One is stark
Nonsence, without the Application of the Other; beside that the Doctrine
it self, as we have it, even at the Best, falls Infinitely short of the
Vigour and Spirit of the Fable. To supply This Defect now, we have had
several English_ Paraphrases _and_ Essays _upon_ Æsop, _and Divers of
his Followers, both in_ Prose _and_ Verse: _the Latter have perchance
Ventur’d a little too far from the Precise Scope of the Author upon the
Privilege of a Poetical License: And for the Other of Ancient Date, the_
Morals _are so_ Insipid _and_ Flat, _and the Style and_ Diction _of the_
Fables, _so_ Coarse _and_ Uncouth, _that they are rather Dangerous, then
Profitable, as to the Purpose they were Principally Intended for; and
likely to do Forty times more Mischief by the One then Good by the Other.
An_ Emblem _without a_ Key _to’t, is no more then a_ Tale of a Tub;
_and that Tale sillily told too, is but One Folly Grafted upon Another.
Children are to be Taught in the first Place, what they_ Ought _to do_.
2dly, _The_ Manner _of Doing it: And in the third Place, they are to be
Innur’d by the Force of_ Instruction _and_ Good Example, _to the_ Love
_and_ Practice _of Doing their_ Duty; _whereas on the Contrary, One Step
out of the way in the Institution, is enough to Poyson the Peace, and the
Reputation of a whole Life. Whether I have, in this Attempt, Contributed
or not, to the Improvement of these Fables, either in the_ Wording, _or
the_ Meaning _of them, the Book must stand or Fall to it self: But this I
shall Adventure to Pronounce upon the whole Matter, that the_ Text _is_
English, _and the_ Morals, _in some sort, Accommodate to the_ Allegory;
_which could hardly be said of All the Translations, or Reflexions
before-mention’d, which have serv’d, in truth, (or at least some of them)
rather to teach us what we should_ Not _do, then what we_ should. _So
that in the Publishing of these Papers, I have done my Best to Obviate
a_ Common Inconvenience, _or, to speak Plainly, the_ Mortal Error _of
pretending to Erect a Building upon a False Foundation: Leaving the whole
World to take the same Freedom with Me, that I have done with Others:
Provided that they do not Impute the_ Faults, _and the Mis-Pointings of
the_ Press, _to the Author_.
THE FABLES OF ÆSOP, &c.