We are to Gather from hence, that people would never Envy the Pomp and
Splendour of Greatness, if they did but consider, either the Cares and
Dangers that go along with it, or the Blessings of Peace, and Security in
a Middle Condition. No Man can be truly Happy, who is not every Hour of
his Life prepared for the worst that can befall him. Now this is a State
of Tranquility never to be attain’d, but by keeping perpetually in our
Thoughts the Certainty of Death, and the Lubricity of Fortune; and by
Delivering our selves from the Anxiety of Hopes and Fears.
It falls Naturally within the Prospect of this Fiction to Treat of the
Wickedness of a Presumptuous Arrogance, the Fate that Attends it; The
Rise of it; and the Means of either Preventing or Suppressing it; The
Folly of it; The Wretched and Ridiculous Estate of a Proud Man, and the
Weakness of That Envy that is Grounded upon the mistaken Happiness of
Human Life.
If a body may be Allow’d to Graft a _Christian Moral_ upon a _Pagan
Fable_, what was it but Pride and Arrogance that first threw _Lucifer_
out of Heaven, and afterwards, _Adam_ out of Paradise? [_Ye shall be as
Gods_] was the Temptation; an Impotent and a Presumptuous Affectation of
Vain Glory was the Sin; and a Malediction Temporal and Eternal was the
Punishment. Now if the Charms of an Unruly Ambition could so far prevail
upon the _Angels_ Themselves in their Purity; and upon Mankind in a State
of Innocence, how Strict a Guard ought _we_ then to keep upon our selves,
that are the Children of disobedience, and bring the seeds of This Deadly
Vanity into the World with us in our very Veins?
It is highly Remarkable, that as Pride, and Envy are the Two Passions
that above All Others give the Greatest Trouble to the Sons of Men, so
are they likewise the First Emotions of the Mind that we take Notice
of in our Approaches to the Exercise of our Reason. They begin with
us in the Arms of our Nurses, and at the very Breasts of our Mothers;
for what’s the meaning of all the Little Wrangles and Contentions
else, _Which Child shall be made most of; or which Baby shall have the
Gayer Coat?_ So that These Affections are in truth Connatural to us,
and as We our selves grow up and Gather Strength, so do They; and pass
Insensibly from our Inclinations into our Manners. Now the Corruption
must needs be Strong, where Humane Frailty strikes in so Early with it,
and the Progress no less Mortal, where it is suffer’d to go on without
Control: For what are the Extravagances of the Lewdest Life, but the more
Consummated Follies and Disorders, of either a Mis-taught or a Neglected
Youth? Nay, what are All the Publick Outrages of a Destroying Tyranny,
and Oppression, but Childish Appetites let alone till they are grown
Ungovernable? Beside that it is Infinitely Easier to prevent Ill Habits
then to Master them; As the Choaking of the Fountain is the surest Way
to Cut off the Course of the River. It should be Consider’d too that we
have the Seeds of Virtue in us, as well as of Vice; and when ever we take
a Wrong Biass, ’tis not out of a Moral Incapacity to do Better, but for
want of a Careful Manage and Discipline, to let us Right at First.
Wherefore Children should be moulded while their Tempers are yet Pliant
and Ductile. As _Pride_, for the Purpose, that arises from a False
Opinion of Things, should be Obviated by Informing their Understandings.
And so for _Envy_; the very Disposition to it is to be Sweeten’d, as
Flowing from a Certain Froward Tincture of Ill Nature. (I speak This of
the Malevolent, Canker’d Passion of Envy, which in Effect, is Little
or Nothing akin to the Silly Envy of the _Asse_ here in the Fable.)
In One word, Children should be season’d betimes, and Lessen’d into
such a Contempt, and Detestation of This Vice, as neither to practice
it Themselves, nor to Approve it in Others. This is, in Little, the
Foundation of a Virtuous Life, and there goes no more then Judging, and
Acting Aright, to the Character of a Good Philosopher, a Good Christian,
and a Good Man: For to Know, and to Do, is the _Compendium_ of our Duty.
It is not for Every Twatling Gossip yet, or some Empty Pedant, presently
to Undertake This Province; for it requires a Critical Nicety both of
Wit, and of Judgment, to find out the _Genius_, or the Propensions of
a Child, and to Distinguish betwixt the Impulses of Envy, and those
of Emulation: Betwixt the First Motions of a Churlish and Impetuous
Insolence, and those of a Serene Greatness, and Dignity of Mind. It is
not, I say, for Every Common Eye, or Hand to divide so Accurately betwixt
the Good, and the Evil, the Gracious and Perverse, as to hit the precise
_Medium_ of Encouraging the One, without Discouraging the Other. And This
Faculty of Discerning is not enough neither, without a Watchful Assiduity
of Application. The Just Season of Doing Things must be Nick’d, and All
Accidents Observ’d and Improv’d; for Weak Minds are to be as Narrowly
Attended, as Sickly Bodies: To say nothing of the Infinite Curiosity of
the Operation, in the Forming of our Lives and Manners: And that not One
man of Ten Thousand is Competently Qualify’d for the Office. Upon the
Whole Matter there must be an Awe maintain’d on the One Hand, and at the
same time, a Love and Reverence Preserv’d on the Other. And all this must
be Order’d too with so Gentle a Softness of Address, that we may not
Hazzard, either the Stifling, or the Quenching of Generous Inclinations,
by bearing too Hard upon them, or the Licentiating of any thing that
is Course and Vulgar, out of a foolish Facility or a Mistaken Pity.
It is with our Passions, as it is with Fire and Water, they are _Good
Servants_, but _Bad Masters_, and Subminister to the Best, and Worst of
Purposes, at once, This is enough said, as to the Wickedness, and the
Fate of Pride; The Source and Danger of it, together with the only sure
and Effectual Means of Remedy.
The Moral leads me in the Next place, to Consider the Folly of both
the _Horse_ and the _Asse_; The One, in Placing his Happiness upon any
thing that could be taken away; and the Other, in Envying that Mistaken
Happiness, under the Abuse of the same Splendid Illusion and Imposture.
What Signifies a Gay Furniture, and a Pamper’d Carcass; or any other
Outward Appearance, without an Intrinsick Value of Worth and Virtue? What
signifies Beauty, Strength, Youth, Fortune, Embroider’d Furniture, Gawdy
Bosses, or any of Those Temporary, and Uncertain Satisfactions, that
may be taken from us with the very next Breath we draw? What Assurance
can any Man have of a Possession that Every Turn of State, Every Puff of
Air, Change of Humour, and the least of a Million of Common Casualties
may Deprive him of? How many Huffing Sparks have we seen in the World,
that in the same day have been both the Idols, and the Sport and Scorn
of the same Slaves and Fools? Nay, how many Emperours and Princes, that
in the Ruff of all their Glory have been taken down from the Head of
a Conquering Army, to the Wheel of the Victor’s Chariot? Where’s that
Advantage under the Sun that any but a Mad man would be Proud of? Or
where’s That Pride it self that any Mortal in his Right Wits, would not
find Reason to be Asham’d of? Take it singly, and what is there more
in’t, then an Unnatural and Unmanly _Tympany_, that Rises in a Bubble,
and spends it self in a Blast? Take it in Complication, and we find a
Thousand Weaknesses, Iniquities, and Vexatious Cutting Miseries wrapt up
in’t. What can be more Imprudent then to Affect Reputation by the Methods
of Infamy? To Aspire to Greatness by the ways of becoming Odious and
Contemptible? And to Propose the Erecting of a Mighty Fabrick, upon a
Bottom that will Certainly sink under the Weight?
The Disappointments of Those that Build their Hopes in this World upon a
False _Basis_, fall under These Three General Heads. The Advantages we
Value our selves upon, may either be taken from us; or We from Them: Or,
which is much at One, we may be brought by a Thousand Accidents to lose
the Use and Relish of them. As first for the Purpose; they may be taken
from Us, by Cheats, Robberies, Subornations, False Oaths, Forgeries,
Corrupt Judges; To say nothing of Fires, Earthquakes, Tempests,
Inundations, Insurrections, and Other Violences without Number. Secondly,
We may be taken from Them, by as many Ways as there are out of This
World. A Fly or a Hair shall do the Office of a Rope. And then for the
Third Branch, an Indisposition, a Feaver, an Acute Pain, an Impetuous
Passion, an Anxious Thought, Impotency, and Old Age, shall do the Work
of Taking away both the Guest, and the Comfort of them. Nay, the very
Loss of one Pleasure is enough to Damp, if not to Destroy the Relish of
Another.
But now to carry the Allusion One Step further yet; It may be literally
Asserted, that All Proud Men, over and above the Stroke of a Divine
Judgment, are Miserable, even in themselves, and that no Circumstances
in this World can ever make them Other. Their Appetites are Insatiable,
and their Hearts consequently never at Rest; Whether it be Wealth, Power,
Honour, Popular Esteem, or whatever else they pretend to. They Envy, and
they are Envy’d. ’Tis Impossible for them to be at rest, without enjoying
what it is Impossible for them to Attain. They live Gaping after More,
and in a perpetual Fear of Losing what they have already. The Higher they
are Rais’d, the Giddier they are; the more Slippery is their Standing,
and the Deeper the Fall. They are never Well, so long as Any thing
is above them: And their Ambition carries them on to the Supplanting
of their very Masters and Makers: When yet by a most Ridiculous
Contradiction, they lie Effectually, (in the very same Instant) at the
mercy of the men they most Despise. [_The Silver, being Ten Thousand
Talents, is given to Thee_, (says _Ahasuerus_ to _Haman_) _The People
also, to do with them, as it seemeth good unto Thee_, Esther, Cap. 3.
V. 11.] Who would have Imagin’d now, that the Stiff Crossness of a Poor
Captive, should ever have had the Power to make _Haman_’s Seat so Uneasie
to him? Or that the want of a Cap, or a Cringe, should so Mortally
Discompose him, as we find afterwards it did! If Large Possessions,
Pompous Titles, Honourable Charges, and Profitable Commissions; If a
Plentiful Issue, Court Favours, or the Flowing Bounty of a Gracious
Prince, could have made This Proud Man Happy, there would have been
Nothing wanting to his Establishment. But All This did not do his Work,
it seems; neither, as big as he was, did there in Truth need any Great
matter to Unsettle him. But he was as sure to sink under the Infirmity of
his Own Mind, as if he had been Doom’d to Sink in the Fate of a Common
Ruine.
_When_ Haman _saw_ Mordecai _in the King’s Gate_, (says the Text) _that
he stood not up, nor Moved for him, he was full of Indignation against_
Mordecai. _Nevertheless_, Haman _Refrained himself and when he came Home,
he sent and call’d for his Friends, and_ Teresh, _his Wife; and told them
of the Glory of his Riches, and the Multitude of his Children, And All
the Things wherein the King had Promoted him, and how he had Advanced
him above the Princes and Servants of the King. Yea_, Esther _the Queen_
(says he) _did let no man come with the King unto the Banquet that she
had prepar’d, but my self; and tomorrow am I invited unto her also with
the King_. [Yet All This Availeth Me Nothing, so long as I see _Mordecai_
the _Jew_ sitting at the King’s Gate, _Esther_, Cap. 5. V. 9, 10, 11, 12,
13.]
This Instance of _Haman_’s Case may serve, in a Good Measure, for a Moral
to the Arrogance of the _Horse_ here in the Fable; only _Haman’s_ Pride
was the more Invidious and Malicious of the Two. To wind up the Story;
_Mordecai_ was an Eye-sore to _Haman_, and _a Gallows of Fifty Cubits
High was prepared for him by the Order of_ Haman, _Cap._ 5. _V._ 14. But
the King, upon Examination of the Matter, Order’d _Haman_ himself to be
Hanged. [_So they Hanged_ Haman _upon the Gallows he had prepared for_
Mordecai, _Cap._ 7. _V._ 10.] _Haman_’s Pride, in fine, was a Torment to
him, and he was not only Punish’d By it, and For it, but by a Righteous
Judgment of Retaliation, he suffer’d Death Himself upon the very Gibbet
that he had provided for Another.
How wretched a Creature was _Haman_ now, even in the Caresses of his
Royal Master, and in the very Rapture of all his Glories! And how Vain
again were all the Marks and Ensigns of his Character and Power; that
were not able to Support him against one Slighting Look of a Sorry Slave!
He had the World at Will, we see; but All was as good as Nothing to him,
_so long as he saw_ Mordecai _the_ Jew _sitting in the King’s Gate_.
Where’s the Sober Man now, that would not rather chuse to be _Mordecai_
in the _Gate_, upon These Terms, then to be _Haman_ in the _Palace_? The
One had the Blessing of a Conscience that Fears Nothing but God; the
Other was Haunted with a Fantastical Weakness of Mind, that makes a man
Dread Every thing, and stand in awe of his Own Shadow! A Word, a Thought,
an Imagination, a Countenance is enough to Break his Sleep, and to Shake
the very Foundations of the _Babel_ that he has Built. He fancies every
Bolt that’s Levell’d at his Vices, to be Pointed at his Person, and finds
himself Wounded in the Morality of the most Innocent Reproofs. He’s a
Slave to All Passions, All Accidents, and All sorts of Men. A Jest, a
Banter, a Lampoon; Nay a Glance, an Insinuation, or a Bare Casualty, with
the Help of a Guilty Conscience, and a Suspicious Gloss of Application,
is enough to Murder him; for he Conceits himself to be Struck at, when
he is not so much as Thought of: as I dare appeal to the Consciences
of a Thousand Top Gallant Sparks, that will fancy their Own Case to
be the Key to This Moral. He makes himself Odious to his Superiours,
by his Haughtiness; to his Equals, by a Restless Course of Factious
Competitions; and then he never fails of a Virulent Hatred and Envy, from
those that are below him; so that he’s beset with Enemies on All hands,
the Meanest of which is not without Many and Many a Way to the Wreaking
of a Malice, and to the Gratifying of a Revenge. As to the Wretchedness
of his Condition, ’tis all a Case to Him, whether he be Teiz’d out of
his Life by a Judgment of Flies and Lice, or Stung to Death by Fiery
Serpents. And he is not only Tormented by Others, but the very Tormenter
of Himself too. Nay, rather then want a Colourable Ground of Trouble,
he Creates it. His pride is a Continual Drought upon him, and a Thirst
never to be Quench’d. His Conscience, his Fancy, his Fears, Jealousies,
and Mistakes; Every thing helps on towards his Undoing. And now to the
Infinite Variety of Plagues that Wait upon Pride, there is likewise as
Great a Diversity of Imperious Humours, for This Misery to Work upon. As
for Example, There is a Pride of Stomach, a Pride of Popularity, a Pride
of Brow, Equipage, and Parade. There’s a Pride of Tongue without either
Brains, or Heart to Support it. There’s an Abject, (in fine) and there’s
a Surly Pride: But to Conclude, there is All This, and a Thousand times
more of the same Kind and Colour, that lies Naturally Couch’d under This
Allegory. And not One Instance at last, that is not verify’d by Many and
Many an Example.
Now as to the Envy of the _Asse_ it was a Double Folly; for he Mistakes
both the Horses Condition, and his Own. ’Tis Madness to Envy any Creature
that may in a Moment become Miserable; Or for any Advantage that may in
a Moment be taken from him. The _Asse_ Envies the _Horse_ to day; and in
some Few Days more, the _Horse_ comes to Envy Him: Wherefore let no man
Despair, so long as it is in the Power, either of Death, or of Chance, to
Remove the Burden. Nothing but Moderation and Greatness of Mind can make,
either a Prosperous, or an Adverse Fortune Easie to us. The Only Way to
be Happy is to submit to our Lot; for No man can be properly said to be
Miserable that is not wanting to Himself. It is Certainly True, that many
a Jolly Cobler has a Merrier Heart in his Stall, than a Prince in his
Palace.