Fables of Æsop and Other Eminent Mythologists/Fable CLIX and CLX
Fab. CLIX.
The Washing of a Blackmore.
A Man gave Mony for a Black, upon an Opinion that his Swarthy Colour was rather Flattery then Nature; and the Fault of his last Master, in a Great Measure, that he kept him no Cleaner: He took him Home with him, and try‘d All manner of Washes to bring him to a Better Complexion: But there was no Good to be Done upon him; beside, that the very Tampering Cast him into a Disease.
Fab. CLX.
A Raven and a Swan.
A Raven had a Great Mind to be as White as a Swan, and fancy'd to Himself that the Swan's Beauty proceeded in a High Degree, from his often Washing and Dyet. The Raven upon This Quitted his Former Course of Life and Food, and betook himself to the Lakes and the Rivers: But as the Water did him no Good at all for his Complexion, so the Experiment Cost him his Life too for want of Sustenance.
The Moral of the Two Fables above.
REFLEXION.
'Tis a Vain Thing to Attempt the Forcing of Nature; for What's Bred in the Bone will never out of the Flesh: And there can be no Thought of Altering the Qualities, the Colour, or the Condition of Life, that Providence has Allotted us.
'Tis Labour in Vain, to all manner of Purposes, to Endeavour the Mending of any of the Works of Natures for she never did Any thing Amiss. And then 'tis as Great a Madness to Attempt any Alteration upon them, because What Nature does, God does; whose Decrees are Unchangeable, and All his Works are Perfection in the Kind; but next to the Force of Natural Impressions, we may reckon That of Customs and Habits.