Fables of Æsop and Other Eminent Mythologists/Fable CCCCIV
Fab. CCCCIV.
The Frogs and the Bulls.
THere happen’d a Desperate Duel betwixt a Couple of Bulls; upon a Point of Honour; for the Quarrel was about a Mistriss, There was a Frog at the same time upon the Bank of a Lake, looking on to see the Combat. Ah, says the Frog, what will become of Us now? Why prithee, says one of his Companions, what are the Bulls to the Frogs, or the Lakes to the Meadows? Very much I can assure ye, says the Frog again, for he thats Worsted, will be sure to take Sanctuaty-in the Fens, and then are we to be trod to Pieces.
The Moral.
REFLEXION.
Let Ill Consequences be never so Remote, ’tis good however, with the Frogs here in the Fable, to have the Reason of Things at Hand. The Design of many Acions looks one way, and the Event works another; as a Young Gamester’s Couzen’d with a Bricole at Tennis. But Mischiefs, whether meant or not, are to be Provided against and Prevented, with as much Care and Industry as if they had been designed from the Beginning; and the Application of Foresight in the one Case, must supply the want of Foresight in the other. 'Tis the Fool that lives ex Tempore, and from Hand to Mouth, as we say, without carrying his Thoughts into the Future. But a Wise Man looks forward, thorough the proper and natural Course and Connexion of Causes and Effects; and in so doing, he Fortifies Himself against the Worst that can Befall him. The Frogs Case, in some Respect, is that of a Civil War; where the People must expect to be Crush’d and Squeez'd in the Consequence, toward the Charge and Burden on't, The Lords make Merry, but ‘tis the Commons must pay the Piper.