In summer s heat, and winter s cold.
He fed his flock, and pennd the fold;
His hours in chearful labour flew,
Jfor envy nor ambition knew :
His wisdom and his honest fame
Through all the country raisd his name.
A deep Philosopher [whose rules
Of moral life were drawn from schoolsj
The Shepherd's homely cottage sought,
And thus explord his reach of thought :
AD
F A B U L A S
PROOEMIUM.
PASTOR ET PHILOSOPHUS.
O I M p L E X et nullo lucri vexatus amore
Pastor secretos duxit ab urbe dies ; v^^"* \'v} V
Sparserat argento crities longaeva Senectus,
Atque usus nulla fecerat arte sophum :
Sole sub aestivo, gelidaeque sub impete brumae,
Pavit mane suas, vespere clausit oves: '->\ v>V
Exors invidiae et misera ambitlone soluta,
Fugit quaeque suo laeta labore dies :
Per totum extulerat nomen venerabile pagum
Sincerus vitae mos, rigidusque tenor.
Instructus morum studiis, (academia vitae
Cui dederat normam consiliumque) Sophus
Limen ad obscurum Pastoris tendit, et ultro
Sic petit ingenium scire animumque senis.
430 SELECT FABLES.
Whence is thy learning'^ Halh thy toil
O'er books consumd the midnight oil'?
Hast thou old Greece and Rome surveyed.
And the vast sense of Flato weighed ?
Hath Socrates thy soul rejind.
And hast thou fathom' d Tully's mind'?
Or, like the wise Ulysses, thrown.
By various fates, on realms unknown,
Hast thou through many cities stray d.
Their customs, laws, and manners weighed"?
The Shepherd modestly replied,
Ineer the paths of learning tried; n^^^y^'-jv
JV'or have I roam'd in foreign parts
To read mankind, their laws and arts ;
For man is practised in disguise,
He cheats the most discerning eyes ;
Jfho by that search shall wiser grow,
When we ourselves can never know?
The little knowledge I have gaind
Was all from simple nature drain d;
Hence my life's maxims took their rise^
Hence grew fny settled hate to vice.
FABULiE SELEGTiE. 431
Quo tibi fonte fluit sapientia ? tene labore
Nocturno veteres erudiere sophi ?
An Latiae tibi scire artes Graiaeque Minervae
Gontigit, aut totum mente Platona capis ?
Num tibi Socraticae formarunt pectora chartae,
Aut praecepta gravi quae Gicerone fluunt ?
Anne per ignotas, fatis urgentibus, oras
Prudentis carpens, instar Ulyssis, iter,
Singula lustrasti regio quos protulit usus,
Quos coluit mores, quae sibi jura dedit ?
Non mihi sorte datum est doctrinae exquirere calles,
Submissa Pastor voce modestus ait ;
Non hominum ad mores, aut jura, artes ve legend as,
Mutavi patriis extera regna focis; uwiainV v.
Nam tacitos celans falsa sub imagine sensus
Perscrutantum oculos fallere novit Homo ;
Anne aliquis studio fiet sapientior isto,
Cum neque nos ipsos noscere sorte datur?
Quae mihi, parva quidem, parta est doctrina, fatebor,
Naturae dono simplice sola venit ;
Hac mihi fonte fluunt vitae precepta beatae,
Hinc odium vitii crevit, et usque manet.
433 SELECT FABLES. '
The daily labours of the bee
Awake my soul to industry :
Who can observe the careful ant.
And not provide for future want ?
My dog [the trustiest of his kind)
With gratitude inflames my mind ;
I mark his true, his faithful way.
And in my service copy Tray.
In constancy and nuptial love,
I learn my duty from the dove.
The hen, who from the chilly air.
With pious wings protects her care ;
And every fowl that flies at large.
Instructs me in a parent's charge.
From nature too I take my rule.
To shun contempt and ridicule.
I never with important air.
In conversation overbear ;
Can grave und formal pass for wise,
When men the solemn owl despise;
My tongue within my lips I rein.
For who talks much, must talk in vain ;
FABULiE SELECT.^. 433
Quae solet assiduos patieuter inire labores
Me vocat, adque meos sedula suadet apis.
Quis cernit formica quot urget provida curas,
Nee caveat vitae quid sibi portet hiems ?
Me meus (accepti quo non minus immemor alter
Muneris) ingratum non sinit esse canis :
Blanditias sine fraude, artesque admiror honestas,
Obsequiumque imitor, fide Lycisce, tuum.
Quid sit Hymen, quid Amor, quid honesti fcedera lecti
Admonet irrupto juncta columba jugo.
Quae pullos, pia mater, alit gallina tenellos,
Expansaque tegit pluma, abigitque gelu,
Et volucris quaecunque vagis secat aethera peunis,
Me tenero fiingi patris amore docet.
Unde etiam risus, justa et f'astidia vitem
Regula naturae munere certa datur.
Non me praeponens, quos colloquor inter, amicis,
Censoris partes imperiosus ago ;
Anne sophum faciant habitus, moresque severi,
Contemptum bubo cum gravitate movet ?
Attentas quoniam dat nemo loquacibus aures,
Imposui linguae vincula justa meae ;
3K
434 SELECT FABLES.
We from the wordy torrent Jlij :
Who listens to the chattering pie f
JVor would /, with felonious slight,
By stealth invade my neighbour s right ;
Rapacious animals we hate ;
Kites, hawks, and wolves, deserve their fate
Do not we Just abhorrence find
Against the toad and'serpent kind ?
But envy, calumny, and spite,
Bear stronger venom m their bite.
Thus evry object of creation
Can furnish hints to contemplation ;
And from the most minute and mean,
A virtuous mind can morals glean.
Thy fame is just ^ the sa^e replies ;
Thy virtue proves thee qndy wise ;
Pride often guides the author s pen.
Books as affected are as men ;
But he who studies naturae s la%vs.
From certain truth his maxims draws ;
And those, without our schools, suffice
To make men moral, good, and wise.
FABULiE SELECTiE. 435
Flumina verbosae fugimus torrentia linguae :
Quis strepitum curat, garrula pica, tuum ?
Non ego per tacitam quid vis abscondere fraudem
Vicinive sacrum jus violare velim ;
Hinc odio est genus omne rapax ; justaque videmus
Plecti caede lupos, accipitresque mori ;
Nonne pari ratione movet fastidia bufo,
Serpentumque affert squamea turba metum ?
Ast odium et livor, tetroque calumnia morsu
Tabum infert gravius, deteriusque malum ;
Sic quodcunque manus naturae daedala finxit
Quo moneatur homo, quod speculetur habet ;
Rebus et ex minimis morum studiosa bonorum
Mens praecepta sibi consiliumque legat.
Cui Sophus haec contra, merito sapientis honorem
Solus habes, Virtus te probat ipsa Sophum;
Fastus saepe regit calamum scriptoris inanem,
Scriptor, ubi \ ana est pagina, vana sapit ;
At quicunque cupit Naturae discere leges,
Praecepta ex Veri fonte sequenda trahit ;
Sic bonus et prudens sic denique fiet honestus,
Nee sophiae studiis plura docendus erit.
436 SELECT FABLES.
THE LION, THE TYGER, AND THE TRAVELLEEi.
Accept, young Prince, Lhe moral lay.
And in these tales mankind survey ;
With early virtues plant your breast,
The specious arts of vice detest.
Princes, like beauties^ from their youth
Are strangers to the voice of truth :
Learn to contemn all praise betimes ;
For flattery s the nurse of crimes :
Friendship by sweet reproof is shown,
(A virtue never near a throne ;)
In courts such freedom must offend,
There none presumes to be a friend.
To those of your exalted station
Each courtier is a dedication ;
Must I too flatter like the rest.
And turn my morals to a Jest ?
The Muse disdains to steal from those.
Who thrive in courts by fulsome prose.
But shall I hide your real praise.
Or tell you what a nation says ?
FABULiE SELECTiE. 437
LEO, TIGRIS, ET VIATOR.
XV E G I A Progenies, morale hoc accipe caraien,
Fabellisque homines intueare meis ;
Mature ingenuo virtutes insere cordi,
Et vitii perstet mens inimica dolis,
Princeps, egregio ceu praedita Nympha decore,
Heu ! tenero Veri nescit ab ungue sonum :
Disce, docendus adhuc, laudem contemnere, nescis
Quot mala adulantis perfida lingua fovet :
Suavis amicitiam monstrat censura fidelem,
Rara quidem soliis invenienda comes ;
Namque ibi qua verum nemo profitetur amicum,
Raro haec libertas officiosa placet.
Principibus ceu scripta viris qui dedicat auctor,
Quas tibi det laudes Aulicus omnis habet ;
Ast ego adulantis sequar exemplaria turbae?
Seria mene decet vertere dicta joco?
Sermones blandos, quibus utitur aula potentum,
Spernit Apollineis Musa referre modis.
At merita, O Princeps, ergo tua vera silebo,
Quidve putat de te Terra Britanna loquar?
438 SELECT FABLES.
They in your infant bosom trace
The virtues of your Royal race:
In the fair dawning of your mind
Discern you genrous^ mild, and kind ;
They see you grieve to hear distress^
And pant already to redress ;
Go on ; the height of good attain,
JVor let a nation hope in vain ;
From hence we justly may presage
The virtues of a riper age ;
True courage shall your bosom fire,
And future actions own your Sire.
Cowards are cruel ; but the brave
Love mercy, and delight to save.
A Tyger, roaming for his prey.
Sprung on a Traveller in the way ;
The prostrate game a Lion spies ^
And on the greedy tyrant flies ;
With mingled roar resounds the wood.
Their teeth, their claws distil with blood ;
Till vanquished by the Lions strength.
The spotted foe extends his length ;
FABULiE SELECTiE. 439
Ilia tibi in tenero virtutum pectore cernit,
Semiiia, magnorum nomine digna patrum ;
Te mitcm facilemque novo jam mentis in ortu,
Indole te ingenua munilicumque videt,
Te cupidum afflictis succurrere, te generosutn
Sentit, et humanis indoluisse malis :
Macte animis ; en laeta Boni te ad culmina virtus
Voce vocat ! Patriae perfice vota tuae :
His etenim auguriis, cum firma adoleverit aetas,
Cernere sit qualis fama virilis erit ;
Verae laudis amor flammis te accendet honestis,
Et magnum agnoscent facta futura Patrem ;
Ignavi feritas animi est; praestare jacenti
Auxilium, et miseris parcere fortis amat.
Saeva viatori deserto in tramite Tigris
Insilit, ut spolii lustrat avara nemus ;
Praedae incumbentem cernit, rabidumque Tyrannum
Desuper erumpens, corripit ungue Leo ;
Commisto resonat fremitu nemus, undique rivis
Tingit purpureis ora pedesque cruor :
Donee fauce cadens, et vi graviore Leonis,
Horridus in maculis sternitur hostis humi ;
440 SELECT FABLES.
The man besought the shaggy lord.
And on his knees for life implord:
His life the genrous hero gave ;
Together walking to his cave ;
The Lion thus bespoke his guest :
. " fVhat hardy beast shall dare contest
My matchless strength ! Tou saw the fights
And must attest my pow'r and right :
Forcd to forego their native home.
My starving slaves at distance roam :
Within these woods I reign alone^
The boundless forest is my own ;
Bears, wolves, and all the savage broody
Have dyd the regal den with blood :
These carcasses on either hand.
Those bones that whiten all the land.
My former deeds, and triumphs tell.
Beneath these jaws what numbers fell
True, says the Man : the strength I saw
Might well the brutal nation awe ;
But shall a monarch, brave like you,
Place glory in so false a view '^
FABULiE SELECTiE. 441
Hirsute supplex dat verba precantia Regi,
Et vitam implorat poplite pronus homo :
Dat vitam, fortisque ultro sic incipit heros,
Dum sua captivum ducit ad antra comes ;
An dubitare meas audebit strenua vires
Bellua vel mecum conferet ulla suas ?
Pugnae testis eras, virtutem animumque necesse est
Et jus et vires confiteare meas.
Hinc procul a patriis jamdudum s^edibus exiil,
Turpi enecta fame brut a caterva fugit :
Has inter sylvas solus mea sceptra capesso,
Me dominum agnoscunt haec ioca vasta suum ;
Me gentes tremuere ferae : gravis ursus, et acres
Regia tinxerunt antra cruore lupi :
Quae dextra, laevaque, exanguia corpora cernis,
Istaque queis albens ossa repletur humus,
Haec antiqua tropaea, et facta priora fatentur
Faucibus his domitae quot cecidere ferae.
Vera refers, respondet homo : genus omne ferinum
Vis tua (testis eram) sola domare potest ;
At sibi tam falso splendentem lumine famam
Captabit fortis Rex, similisque tui?
3 L
442 SELECT FABLES.
Robbers invade their neighbours* rights
Be lov'd : let justice bound your might.
Mean are ambitious heroes' boasts
Of wasted lands and slaughtered hosts ;
Pirates their pow'r by murders gain;
Wise kings by love and mercy reign :
To me your clemency hath shown
The virtue worthy of a throne:
Heavn gives you pow'r above the resty
Like Heavn to succour the distrest.
The case is plains the Monarch said;
False glory hath my youth misled ;
For beasts ofprey^ a servile train,
Have been the flatt' rers of my reign:
Tou reason well: Yet tell me, friend
Did ever you in courts attend^
For all my fawning rogues agreet
That human heroes rule like me.
FABULiE SELECTiE. 443
Vicinos spoliant fures ; tibi laus sit amari ;
Justitia vires tu moderare tuas :
Qui caesas jactant acies, vastataque regna
Prava agit heroas laus, et iniquus honor ;
Imperium acquirit sibi caede et sanguine praedo,
Rex sapiens miti corde, et amore regit :
Haec tua, quam nuper sensi, dementia monstrat
Quam solio virtus sit tua digna frui ;
Regum sola venit superis commissa potestas,
Ut superis similes sint, miserosque levent.
Res manifesta patet, lusit laus prava juventam,
Rex ait, et falsa luce fefellit honor ;
Agmen adulantum, genus heu servile ferarum.
Imperii mores instituere mei :
Me recta ratione mones : sed die mihi, Regum
Tune aulas nunquam, dulcis amice, colis ?
Scilicet humanos omnis mea turba fatetur
Heroas, sceptrum more tenere meo.
444 SELECT FABLES.
THE MOTHER, THE NURSE, AND THE FAIRY.
LfivE me a son. The blessing sent.
Were ever par evis more contenf^ ^
How partial are their doating eyes ?
JVo child is half so fair and wise,
Wak'd to the morning s pleasing carei
The mother rose, and sought her heir ;
She saw the JVurse^ like one possessed.
With wringing hands, and sobbing breast.
Sure some disaster has befell ;
Speak, JVurse : I hope the boy is well.
Dear Madam, think not me to blame ;
Invisible the Fairy came :
Tour precious babe is hence conveyed,
And in the place a changeling laid:
Where are the father s mouth and nose,
The mothers eyes, as black as sloes ?
See here^ a shocking aukward creature.
That speaks afoot in every feature.
The woman s blind, the Mother cries ;
I see wit sparkle in his eyes.
FABULiE SELECTiE. 445
MATER, NUTRIX, ET LAMIA.
JL) 1 1, date filiolum. misso sibi munere felix
O ! quam progenie gaudet uterque parens !
Qiiid falsus non suadet amor? sapientior hercle
Non fait, aut toto pulchrior orbe puer.
Surgit, et Aurora laetos referente labores,
Haeredem genitrix officiosa petit :
Contortis stabat, ceu percita Daemone, palmis
Nutrix, singultu concutiente sinus.
Ecquid, mater ait, male contigit ? en ! age, Quid sit,
Die, Nutrix ; vivit, spero, valetque puer..
Ne mihi, ne tribuas, Domina O carissima, culpam ;
Adfuit hie oculos clam scelerata meos
Adfuit hie Lamia : et vita tibi carior infans
Tollitur, et supplet plumbeus iste locum ;
Lumina quo matris sylvestribus aemula prunis,
Quo patrius fugit nasus, et oris honos ?
Hie adverte oculos, deforme hoc aspice monstrum,
Totus hebet, stultum tota figura sapit.
Foemina, mater ait, caeca est ; en, qualis ocello
Vivida scintillat vis, animique vigor.
446 SELECT FABLES.
Lord! Madam ^ what a squinting leer!
Mo doubt the Fairy hath been here.
Just as she spoke^ a Pigmy Sprite
Pops through the key-hole^ swift as light ;
PercKd on the cradle s top he stands^
And thus her folly reprimands.
Whence sprung the vain conceited lie^
That we the world with fools supply'^
What ! give our sprightly race away.
For the dull helpless sons of clay :
Besides, by partial fondness shown,
Like you we doat upon our own ;
Where yet was ever found a mother.
Who'd give her booby for another}'
And should we change with human breed.
Well might we pass for fools indeed.
FABULiE SELECTiE. 447
Per Superos, respondet anus, transversa tuetur
Jam nunc: hlc Lamiam nuUus adesse neget.
Dixit, per clavis cum lapsa foramen imago
Pygmaea, ante cculos ocyor igne volat ;
Erectumque caput cunarum in vertice tollens,
Stultitiam his visa est increpitare mod is.
Unde haec vana hominum surgunt commenta? quis unquam
Nos orbi stultos suppeditare putet ?
An nostrum sublime genus mortalibus aegris,
Compositisque Into posthabuisse decet?
Nos quoque progeniem vix aequo lumine nostram
Cernimus, et falsus nos quoque ludit amor :
Quae genitrix, puerum si commutare liceret,
Pingue caput fatui noliet habere sui ?
Gentis at humanae sobolem praeponere nostrae,
Stultorum nobis nomina jure daret.
448 SELECT FABLES.
THE LADY AND THE WASP.
rV HA T whispers must the beauty bear !
What hourly nonsense haunts her ear ?
Where er her eyes dispense her charms^
Impertinence around her swarms :
Did not the tender nonsense strike^
Contempt and scorn might look dislike ;
Forbidding airs might thin the place;
The slightest flap a fly can chase;
But who can drive the numerous breed ?
Chase one^ another will succeed ;
Who knows afooli must know his brother ;
One fop will recommend another ;
And with this plague she's rightly curst^
Because she listened to the first..
As Doris, at her toilet's duty,
Sat meditating on her beauty.
She now was pensive, now was gay.
And lolVd the sultry hours away.
As thus in indolence she lies,
A giddy wasp around her flies ;
FABULiE SELECTS. 449
PUELLA ET VESPA.
Q u o T patitur vanos Virgo Formosa susurros \
Stultitiae quoties ludit in aure sonus !
Quicquid agit, quoquo veneres radiantia pandunt
Lumina, inepta subest solicitatque cohors :
Quam, si non tenerae caperent praecordia nugae,
Arceret gravior frons tacitusque pudor ;
Slukus terga daret justa gravitate repulsus;
Vel minimo carpit verbere musca fugam ;
Quis tamen innumeram cogat discedere gentem?
Altera supplebit, quern vacat una, locum.
Qui stultum novit, fratrem quoque noscat oportet ;
Quis comitem, quem non laudet, ineptus habet ?
Et primo quaecunque aurcm dedit ardelioni
Hanc poenam merita peste puella luit.
Officio, Doris, studioque operata diurno,
Ad speculum, formae dum studiosa, sedet,
Nunc hilari sibi fronte placens, nunc ore severo,
<^stivos fallit desidiosa dies.
Hie ubi lenta sedet, gyro secat aera circum
Lascivam carpens Vespa proterva viam ;
3M
450 SELECT FABLES
He now advances^ now retires^
Mow to her neck and cheek aspires ;
Her fan in vain defends her charms ;
Swift he returns^ again alarms ;
For by repulse he bolder grew,
Perch' d on her lip, and sipl the dew ;
She frowns, she frets. Good gods ! she cries.
Protect me from these teazing flies !
Of all the plagues that heavn hath sent^
A Wasp is most impertinent.
The hovring insect thus complain d^
Am I then slighted^ scorn d, disdain d ?
Can such offence your anger wake?
'Twas beauty cans' d the bold mistake.
Those cherry lips, that breathe perfume,
That cheek so ripe with youthful bloom,
Made me with strong desire pursue
The fairest peach that ever grew.
Strike him not, J enn\, Doris cries,
JVbr murder Wasps like vulgar flies :
For though he's free (to do him right).
The creature s civil and polite.
FABULiE SELECTiE. 451
Nunc reprimit, nunc urget iter, nunc oscula figit
Cervici, aut roseas appetit ore genas ;
Verbera non icti defendunt ora flabelli,
Ilia novo rediens corda timore movet ;
Pulsa etenim fit mente audacior, inque labellum
Insidet, et rorem luxuriosa bibit ;
Nympha fremit/frontemque trahens, Proh ! Numina, clamat^
Muscarum crucians hoc prohibete genus;
Quotquot habent pestes, non importunius ullum
Turpibus his vespis Dii tribuere malum.
Tene mei capiunt fastidia, voce querent!
Vespa ait, et fidus sic tibi sordet amor ?
Hseccine culpa movet ? (quae si tibi culpa videtur)
Non mihi, sed formae est attribuenda tuae.
Hoc tibi purpureum, quod spirat thura, labellum,
Q^uaeque sedet roseis laeta juventa genis,
Impulit, ut pomo, quo non speciosius unquam
Persica terra tulit, sit mihi posse frui.
Ah ! ne Jana neces, neu muscae ignobilis instar,
Aurea Vespa neci sit data, Doris ait,
Nam quamvis animal sit paulo audacius, hercle
Urbanos mores, ingenuosque sapit.
452 SELECT FABLES.
In ecstacies away he posts ^
Where-eer he came, the favour boasts /
Brags how her sweetest tea he sipsy
And shews the sugar on his lips.
The hint alarm d the forward crew,
Sure of success i away they flew ;
They share the dainties of the day.
Round her with airy music play ;
And now they flutter, now they rest,
JVow soar again, and skim her breast ;
JVbr were they banish'd, till she found
That Wasps have stings, and felt the wound.
THE PEACOCK, THE TURKEY, AND THE GOOSE.
In beauty faults conspicuous grow ;
The smallest speck is seen on snow.
As near a barn, by hunger led,
A Peacock with the poultry fed ;
FABULiE SELECTS. 453
Exultans animis ille agmina conscia jungit,
Nymphaque quam facilis, quam sit arnica docet ;
Se gustasse Theam cum Virgine jactat odoram,
Suaviaque in labris signa notare jubet.
His monita indiciis, et sorti fisa secundae
Hiic omnis subito turba proterva volat ;
Participat mensae luxum importuna diurnae,
Et circura aerio ludit ubique sono ;
Nunc agitata fremit, nunc paulum immota quiescit,
Nunc iterum ascendit, pervolitatque sinum ;
Nee cedit ; Vespis dum sentit inesse venenum,
Ictaque crudeli cuspide nympha dolet.
PAVO, MELICA, ET ANSER.
JL A R V u s in egregio prodit se corpore naevus ;
In nive vel minima est conspicienda nota.
Venerat esurie compulsus ad horrea pavo,
Atque ibi dum socias pascitur inter aves,
454 SELECT FABLES.
Ml viewed him with an envious eye,
And mock'd his gaudy pageantry :
He, conscious of superior merit.
Contemns their base reviling spirit ;
His state and dignity assumes.
And to the sun displays his plumes ;
Which, like the heavns o'er-arching skies, .
Are spangled with a thousand eyes.
The circling rays, and varied light.
At once confound their dazzled sight :
On ev*ry tongue detraction burns.
And malice prompts their spleen by turns.
Mark, with what insolence and pride,
The creature lakes his haughty stride.
The Turkey cries. Can spleen contain f
Sure never bird was half so vain!
But were intrinsic merit seen.
We Turkies have the whiter skin.
From tongue to tongue they caught abuse ;
And next was heard the hissing Goose ;
What hideous legs ! what filthy claws I
{I scorn to censure little flaws)
FABULiE SELECTiE. ^f^r,
Invida continue jaculatur lumina circum
Hospitis ad pompam tota caterva novi :
Viles ille animos, inhonestaque jurgia temnit,
Dum recolunt proprium conscia corda decus ;
Quin digno splendore patet, caudamque superbam
Solis in adversum dat rutilare jubar ;
Quae veluti, stellante polo, laquearia cocli,
Mille micat radiis, lumina millejacit;
Perstringit visus plumarum splendidus ordo,
Et variis acies lucibus icta dolet ;
Jam celeres linguae dat cuique calumnia flammas,
Certatimque animos bilis acerba movet.
En ! Melica exclamat, qua majestate superbum
Grandibus hoc animal passibus urget iter ?
Quis bilem retinere queat f me judice, nunquam
Altera tam fastu turgida vixit avis !
Sin meritis sit honos, virtusque interna patescat,
Pulchrior est Melicis, candidiorque cutis-
Linguam lingua ciet ; quin mox strepit improbus Anser ;
Ille etiam risu sibila colla quatit :
O ! quam turpia crura ! et quos proh Jupiter, ungues !
(Nolo equidem in culpas durior esse leves.)
456 SELECT FABLES.
But what a horrid squalling throat t
Evn owls ate frighted at the note.
True. Those are faults^ the Peacock cries ;
My scream^ my shanks you may despise :
But such blind critics rail in vain :
What^ overlook my radiant train ?
Know, did my legs (your scorn and sport]
The Turkey or the Goose support.
And did ye scream with harsher sounds
Those faults in you had neer been found;
To all apparent beauties blind
Each blemish strikes an envious mind.
Thus in Assemblies have I seen
A nymph of brightest charms and mieny
Wake envy in each ugly face;
And buzzing scandal fills the place.
FABULiE SELEGTiE. 457
At qualem, quam raucam expromit gutture vocem !
Vel bubo horribilem contremit ipse sonum.
Vera quidein, Pavo exclamat, mihi crimina formae
Haec datis : ut vox est, sint quoque crura joco :
At, Critici, frustra me caecum carpitis agmen :
An nuUi radians cauda notata nitet ? tXiXi\\
Si pedibus melica ista meis foret usa, vel anser
Iste suum nostro poplite ferret onus,
Si vestrae strepitu voces pejore sonarent,
Haec vitia in vobis nulla reperta forent ;
Invida sed labem mens lustrat acutiiis omnem,
Dum caeca est mentis, negligiturque decor.
Sic ubi forma habituque placens, ut saepe notavi,
Fcemineos intrat nympha venusta choros,
Singula continue movet ora informia livor,
Et strepit infami garrulitate locus.
3N
45S SELECT FABLES.