THE LIFE OF AESOP

Translated by Sir Roger L'Estrange

CHAPTER XV
AEsop expounds upon an Augury, and is made free

 

AESOP had thus far born all the Indignities of a tedious Slavery,
with the Constancy of a wise Man, and without either Vanity or
Abjection of Mind.   He was not ignorant however of his own
Value, neither did he neglect any honest Way or Occasion of
advancing his Name and his Credit in the World; as in one par-
ticular Instance among the Samians, on a strange thing that
happen'd there upon a very solemn Day.  The Ring, it seems,
that had the Town-Seal upon't was laid somewhere in Sight,
where an Eagle could come at it; she took it up in the Air, and
dropt it into the Bosom of a Slave. The Samians took this for a
foreboding, that threaten'd some dismal Calamity to the State,
and in a general Consternation they presently call'd a Council of
their wise Men, and Xanthus in the first Place, to give their
Opinions upon this mysterious Accident. They were all at a loss
what to think on't, only Xanthus desired some few Days Time
for further Consideration. Upon this, he betook himself to his
Study, and the more he beat his Brains about it, the further he
found himself from any Hope of expounding the Secret. This
put him into a deep Melancholy; which made AEsop very impor-
tunate and impatient, to know the Cause of it; with Assurances,
that he would serve his Master in the Affair, whatever it was, to
the uttermost of his Power.   Xanthus hereupon laid the whole
Matter before him, and told him in Conclusion, that he was not
only lost in his Reputation, but in Danger to be torn to Pieces
by the Rabble. When AEsop found how the Case stood, never
trouble your Head any further, says he, do but follow my Advice,
and I'll bring you off as well now as ever I did before. When
you appear to morrow to give in your Answer, I would have you
speak to the People after this manner.
   I need not tell your Wisdoms, that so many Heads, so many
Minds, and so many several Men, so many several Conceptions of
Things; nay, and further, that every several Art, or Profession
requires a distinct Faculty or Disposition, that is more or less peculiar
to itself.   It is the Custom of the World for People in all Cases
where they are either ignorant or doubtful, o repair to Men that
have the Reputation of Philosophers, for Counsel and Satisfaction.
But this under favour, is a great Mistake; for it is with Philo-
sophers, as it is, I say, with other Arts and Professions that have
their Functions apart the one from the other. Wisdom 'tis true, may
be call'd properly enough the Knowledge of Things divine and
humane, but will you therefore expect that a Philosopher should do
the Office of a Shoemaker or a Barber, because the Trades are con-
versant about human Things?   No, no Gentlemen, a Man may be
a great Philosopher without any Skill at all in the handling the Awl,
or the Razor. But if the Question were concerning the Government
of Life and Manners, the Nature of Things Celestial or Terrestrial,
the Duties that we owe to God or Man; you could not do better than
repair to Philosophers for Satisfaction.   But for reading upon Prodi-
gies, or commenting upon the Flight of Birds, or the Entrails of
Beasts, these are things quite beside the Philosopher's Business.   If
there be any thing you doubt of that falls under the Cognizance
of Philosophy, I am ready to serve you in't; but your present Point
being
Augury, I shall take leave to acquaint you that a Servant
I have at home is as likely to make a right Judgment that way as
any Man i know. I should not presume to name a Servant; neither
perchance would you think fit to make use of one, if the Necessity of your
present Distress were not a very competent and reasonable Excuse.
  
Here's your Speech, says AEsop, and your Credit sav'd whether
they'll hear me or not.   If they send for me, the Honour will be
yours, in Case I deliver my self to their Liking; and the Disgrace
will be mine then if I miscarry. His Master was pleased beyond
Measure with the Advice, but he did not as yet understand
whither it tended.
   Xanthus presented himself early the next Morning before the
Council, where he dilated upon the Matter according to his
Instructions, and so referr'd them to his Servant for the clearing
of the Difficulty. The People with one Voice cry'd out, Where is
he? Why does not he appear? Why has not his Master brought him
along with him?
In short, AEsop was immediately fetch'd into the
Court, and at the very first sight of him, they all burst out a
laughing by consent. This Fellow, says one, may have Skill per-
haps in divining, but he has nothing that's human about him.
Another ask'd where he was born, and whether or no Blocks had
the Faculty of Speech in his Country. AEsop upon this address'd
himself to the Council.
   You have here before ye (says AEsop) an ungracious Figure of a
Man, which in truth, is not a Subject for your Contempt, nor is it
a reasonable Ground for your Despair, upon the Matter in question.
One wise Man values another for his Understanding, not for his
Beauty; beside that the Deformity of my Person is no Incapacity at
all as to your Business.   Did you never taste delicious Drink out
of an ill look'd Vessel? or did you never drink Wine that was vapid
or eager, out of a Vessel of Gold?   'Tis Sagacity and Strength of
Reason that you have occasion for, not the force of robust Limbs, nor
the Delicacies of Colour and Proportion. Wherefore I must beseech
you not to judge of my Mind by my Body, nor to condemn me unheard.
Upon this, they all cry'd out to him, If he had any thing to say
for the Common Good, that he would speak it. With your favour,
says he, it is for that End, I presume, that ye have called me hither,
and it is with a great Zeal for your Service that I stand now before
ye: But when I consider the Weight of the Matter, in hand, and the
Office that I am now to perform, it will as little stand with your
Honours, perhaps, to take the Opinion of a Slave into your Councils
and Debates, as it will with my Condition to offer it.   Beside the
risque I run of my Master's Displeasure upon the Event.   But all
this yet may be obviated, my Fears secur'd, my Modesty gratify'd,
and your own Dignity preserv'd, only by making me a Freeman before
hand to qualify me for the Function.
They all said it was a most
reasonable thing, and presently treated about the Price of his
Liberty, and order'd the Quaestors to pay down the Money. When
Xanthus saw that the thing must be done, he could not decently
stand higgling about the Price; but making a Virtue of Necessity,
he chose rather to present AEsop to the Commonwealth, than to
sell him. The Samians took it very kindly, and AEsop was presently
manumiz'd, and made a Citizen in Form, proclaim'd a Freeman;
and after this Ceremony, he discoursed upon the Subject of the
Portent as follows.
   I shall not need to tell so many wise and knowing Men, that the
Eagle is a royal Bird, and signifies a great King; that the dropping
of the Ring in the Bosom of a Slave that has no Power over himself,
portends the Loss of your Liberties if you do not look to your selves
in time; and that some potent Prince has a design upon ye.
This put
the Samians all a fire to hear the Issue of the Prediction.  In some
short time after there came Ambassadors from Croesus the King
of Lydia, to demand a Tribute on the behalf of their Master, and
threatned the Samians with a War in the Case of a Refusal. This
Affair came to be debated in the Council, where the Majority was
rather for Peace with Slavery, than for running the risque of a
Dispute; but they would not come to a Resolution yet, without
first consulting AEsop what they had best to do; who gave them
his Thought upon it in Words to this effect.
   Every Man in this World has two Ways before him, that is to
say, First, The Way of Liberty, that's narrow and rugged at the
Entrance, but plainer and smoother still the farther you go.
Secondly,
The Way of Servitude or Slavery, that seems to be easy at first, but
you'll find it afterwards to be full of intolerable Difficulties.
The
Samians upon these Words, declar'd themselves unanimously for
Liberty, and that since they were at present free, they would
never make themselves Slaves by their own Consent: So the
Ambassadors departed, and there was a War denounced.
   When Croesus came to understand the Resolution the Samians
Had taken, and how inclinable they were to a Compliance, till
AEsop, by the Power only of a few Words, diverted them from it,
he resolved to send for and discourse with AEsop.  So he made an
Offer to the Samians, upon their sending AEsop to him, to put a
stop at present to the Course of his Arms. When AEsop came to
hear of this Proposition, he told them, that he was not against
their sending of him, provided only that he might tell them one
Story before he left them.
   In old Time (says he) when some Beasts talked better Sense than
many Men do now-a-days, there happened to be a fierce War betwixt
the Wolves and the Sheep; and the Sheep, by the help of the Dogs,
had rather the better on't. The Wolves, upon this, offer'd the Sheep
a Peace, on Condition only that they might have their Dogs for
Hostages; the silly credulous Sheep agreed to it, and as soon as ever
they had parted with the Dogs, the Wolves break in upon them, and
destroy them at pleasure.
See A League betwixt the Wolves and the
Sheep,
here.
   The Samians quickly smelt out the Moral of this Fable, and
cried out, one and all, that they would not part with AEsop: But
this did not hinder AEsop however from putting himself aboard,
and taking a Passage for Lydia with the Ambassadors.

 

risque of a Dispute; "risque"=risk

 

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