These Four Fables run upon the same Biass; That is to say, the Moral is a
Lash at the Vanity of Arrogating That to our selves, which succeeds Well;
and the Ingratitude of making Providence the Author of Evil, which seldom
scapes without a Judgment in the Tayl on’t. But our Hearts are so much
set upon the Value of the Benefits we receive, that we never Think of the
Bestower of them, and so our Acknowledgments are commonly paid to the
Second Hand, without any Regard to the Principal. We run into Mistakes,
and Misfortunes, of our Own Accord; and then when we are once Hamper’d,
we lay the Blame of our Own Faults and Corruptions upon Others. This is
much the Humour of the World too in Common Bus’ness. If any thing Hits,
we take it to our Selves; if it Miscarries, we shuffle it off to our
Neighbours. This Arises, partly from Pride, and in part from a Certain
Canker’d Malignity of Nature. Nay rather then Impute our Miscarriages and
Disappointments to our Own Corruptions, or Frailties, we do not Stick
to Arraign Providence it self, though under Another Name, in all our
Exclamations against the Rigour, and the Iniquity of _Fortune_. Now this
_Fortune_ in the _Fable_, is Effectually, _God Himself_, in the _Moral_.
We are apt to Value our selves upon our Own Strength and Abilities, and
to Entitle Carnal Reason to the very Works of Grace: And where any thing
goes Wrong with us, we lay our Faults, as we do our Bastards, at Other
Peoples Doors. This or That was not well done, we say, but alas it was
none of our Fault. We did it by Constraint, Advice, Importunity, or the
Authority perhaps of Great Examples, and the Like. At This rate do we
Palliate our Own Weaknesses and Corruptions, and at the same Rate do
We likewise Assume to our selves Other Peoples Merits. The Thing to be
done, in fine, is to Correct the Arrogance of Claiming to our selves the
Good that does not belong to us, on the One Hand, and of Imputing to our
Neighbours the Ill that they are not Guilty of, on the Other. This is the
Sum of the Doctrine that’s Pointed at in the Case and Custom of Dividing
our Miscarriages betwixt _Fortune_ and the _Devil_.