’Tis a Common Thing for a Master to Sacrifice a Servant to his Own Ease
and Interest; but there’s No Meddling with Men of that Inhospitable
Humour, where the Domestiques, how Faithful soever, can never be Secure.
This is according to the Old Moral; but not without some Force (in My
Opinion at least) to the Natural Biass of the Fable. The _Farmer_ has
no Liberty of Choice before him, but either to do what he does, or to
Perish: And in so Doing, (with all respect to the Rules of Honesty) he
does but his Duty; without any way Incurring the Character of an ill
Natur’d Man, or a Cruel Master. But there may be also Another Doctrine
Rais’d from it; which is, That in Cases of Extreme Difficulty, the Laws
of Conveniency, and Ordinary Practice must give place to the Laws of
Necessity. This was the Naked Truth of the _Farmer’s_ Case.