Fables of Æsop and Other Eminent Mythologists/Fable CCXV
Fab. CCXV.
An Oak and a Willow.
THere happen’d a Controversie betwixt an Oak and a Willow, upon the Subject of Strength, Constancy and Patience, and which of the Two should have the Preference. The Oak Upbraided the Willow, that it was Weak and Wavering, and gave way to Every Blast. The Willow made no Other Reply, then that the next Tempest should Resolve That Question. Some very little while after This Dispute, it Blew a Violent Storm. The Willow Ply’d, and gave way to the Gust, and still recover'd it self again, without receiving any Damage: But the Oak was Stubborn, and chose rather to Break then Bend.
The Moral.
REFLEXION.
THERE are Many Cases, and Many Seasons, wherein, Men must either Bend or Break: But Conscience, Honour, and Good Manners, are first to be Consulted. When a Tree is Press'd with a strong Wind,the Branches may Yield, and yet the Root remain Firm, But Discretion is to Govern us, Where and when we may be Allow'd to Temporize, and where, and when not. When Bending or Breaking is the Question, and Men have No Other Choice before them, then either of Complying, or of being Undone; 'tis No Easie Matter to Distinguith, Where, When, How, or to What Degree, to Yield to the Importunity of the Occasion, or the Diffi-culty of the Times. It is a Certain Rule, 'tis true (but a General One) That No Ill is tobe done that Good may come of it: Now the Point will be at last, what's Simply Good or Evi]; What in the Contemplation; and how far the Intention, or the Probable Consequences of such, or such an Action, may Qualifie the Case: Taking This Consideration along with us too, that we are under a Great Temptation to be Partial in favour of our selves, in the Matter of Ease, Profit, or Safety.
The Firsl Point to be Preserv'd Sacred, and from whence a Man is never to Depart, though for the Saving of his Life, Liberty, Popular Credit, or Estate; That First Point, I say, is Conscience. Now All Duties are Matter of Conscience, respectively to the Subject that they are Exercis'd upon; Only with This Restriction, that a Superior Obligation Discharges, or at least Suspends the Force of an Inferior: As to such a Circumslance for the Purpose, such a Degree, or such a Season. Now there are other Niceties also, as of Honour, Decency, and Discretion, Humanity, Modesty, Respect, &c. that Border even upon the Indispentable Tyes of Religion it self; and though they are Not Matter of Conscience, Simply, and Apart, they are yet to Reductively, with a Regard to Other Considerations: That is to say, though they are Not so in the Absract, they Become so by Affinity and Connexion: And such Civil Matters they are, as fall within the Purlews of Religion. There are Tryals of Men, as well as Tryals of Trees. Storms or Inundations are the same Thing to the One, that the Iniquity of such or such an Age, or Conjuncture, is to the Other. Now 'tis not Courage but Stomach, that makes many People Break, rather then they will Bend; even though a Yielding upon That Pantillo (and with a Good Conscience too) might perhaps have sav'd a State. Fractures Undoubtedly are Dangerous, where the Publick is to be Crush’d under the Ruine: But yet after All This Descanting, and Modifying upon the Matter, there's no less Hazzard on the Yielding-side too, then there is on the other. Men may be Stiff and Obstinate, upon a Wrong Ground, and Men may Ply, and Truckle too, upon as False a Foundation. Our Bodies may be forc'd, but our Minds Cannot: So that Humane Frailty is No Excuse for a Criminal Immorality. Where the Law of God and Nature Obliges me, the Plea of Humane Frailty can Never Discharge me. There's as much Difference betwixt Bending and Sinking,as there is betwixt Breaking and Bending. There must be no Contending with Insuperable Powers on the One Hand, and no Departing from Indispensable Duties on the Other: Nor is it the Part, either of a Christian, or of a Man, to Abandon his Post. Now the Just Medium of This Case lies betwixt the Pride, and the Abjection of the Two Extreams. As the Willow, for the Purpose, Bows, and Recovers, and the Resignation is Crown'd and Rewarded in the Success. The Oak is Stubborn, and Inflexible, and the Punishment of That Stiffness, is One Branch of the Allegory of This Fable.