Fables of Æsop and Other Eminent Mythologists/Fable CCCCXVI
Fab. CCCCXVI.
An Ape and a Lion in his Kingdom.
WE are told of a Lion, that (after the Laudable Example of other Princes,) pass'd an Act of Grace upon his Accession to the Crown, wherein he was pleas’d to Declare himself wonderfully in favour of the Liberties and Properties of his Subjects. He did not hold in this Mind long; and yet he could not think it convenient neither, to make any Attempts upon the Beasts by open Force; so that he chose rather to take them One by One in Private to him, and to sift them all upon this General Question; Put sour Nose just to my Mouth, says he, when I Gape, and then tell me truly, is my Breath Sweet or no? Some told him that it was not Sweet, others that it was; and so he pick'd a Quarrel with them Both: The one Sort went to Pot for their Hypocrisie; and the other for their Insolence. It came to the Ape at last, to deliver his Opinion upon the Matter; the Ape Smelt and Snuffled, and consider'd on't: Why certainly Sir, says he, You have some Rich Perfume in Your Mouth, for I never smelt any thing so fragrant since I was Born. The Roguy Ape in fine, Wheedled him so Artificially, that the Lion had not the Face to Chop him up immediately upon the Spot, and yet he was Resolv'd he should not Scape neither: So the Lion Counterfeited Sick, and there was notable Puzzling among the Doctors I warrant ye, about his Pulse and his Water: But they told him however upon due consideration, that they found no Mortal Symptoms about him, only a kind of Heavy Indisposition, that might be easily Rectified by a Careful Diet; and so they Desir'd him by all means to bethink himself what Flesh he lov‘d best, and e'en make a Hearty Meal on't. Why then (says the Lion) I have a strange Fancy for a Mouthful of Good Sound Apes-Flesh if you find it proper for me: Nothing like it, they cry’d; and so the Poor Flattering Ape was presently Taken up, Dress'd and Eaten by way of Prescription.
The Moral.
REFLEXION.
This Fable gives to Understand, that where Men of Power happen to be Unjust and Cruel, all the Prudence and Innocency in the World will not save a Man: He that would Thrive in such a Court, must Govern himself betwixt Sincerity and Adulation. The Art of Pleasing is not every Man's Talent, neither will the same way of Manage work upon all Humours alike. The Art of Pleasing, is in Truth but the Art of Living; and the Skill of Cutting to a Thrid, betwixt Flattery and Ill Manners; but so as to Accommodate the Method and the Application, to the Genius of the Man, or of the People, and to the Quality of the Bus'ness in Hand: Not but that there are some Cases and Natures that a Man cannot so much as Touch, without Burning his Fingers, and where Truth, Flattery, and Trimming are all Mortal.
We may learn from hence also, that Justice is so Awfully Sacred, that the most Faithless of Men have a secret Veneration for it; for their Uttermost Cruelties are cover'd with the semblance of it; and in the very Exercise of the Vice, they Affect the Reputation of the Vertue. 'Tis neither Prudent nor safe, in fine, to Provoke great Men, or indeed to have any thing to do with them, if they be not Men of Honour, as well as of Power; for though their Hands seem to be Bound, they can yet Untye themselves, by Virtue of a Certain Prerogative they have to Play Fast or Loose at Pleasure.