Fables of Æsop and Other Eminent Mythologists/The Life of Æsop/Chapter XIV
Cap. XIV.
Æsop Expounds upon an Augury, and is made Free.
ÆSOP had thus far born All the Indignities of a Tedious Slavery, with the 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 Particular Instance among the Samians, on a Strange Thing that happened There upon a Very Solemn Day. The Ring, it seems, that had the Towne-Seale upon't was lay'd somewhere in Sight, Where an Eagle could come at it; She took it up in the Aire, and dropt it into the Bosome of a Slave. The Samians took this for a Fore-boding, that Threat'ned some dismal Calamity to the State, and in a general Consternation They presently called a Councell of their Wise Men; and Xanthus desired some few Days time for further Consideration. Upon This, he betook himselfe to his Study, and the More he Beat his Brains about it, the further he found himselfe from and hope of Expounding The Secret. This put him into a deep Melancholly; which made Æsop very Importune, 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 Æsop found how the Case stood, Never Trouble your Head any further, says he, Do but follow my Advice, and I'le 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 to tell your Wisdoms, That so Many Heads so Many Minds, and so many severall Men, so many severall Conceptions of Things; Nay and further, That every severall Art, or Prosession requires a Distinct Faculty or Disposition, that is more or less Peculiar to it self. It is the Custom of the World for People in All Cases where They are either Ignorant or Doubtfull, to Repair to Men that have the Reputation of Philosophers, for Councell and Satisfaction, But this, under favour, is a Great Mistake; for it is with Philosophers, as it is, I say, with other Arts and Professions that have their Functions a part the One from the Other. Wisdom, 'tis true, may be called properly enough the Knowledge of Things Divine and Humane, but will you therefore expect that a Philosopher should do the Office of a Shoomaker or a Barber, because the Trades are conversant about Humane Things? No No Gentlemen, a Man may be a Great Philosopher without any Skill at All in the Handling of 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 then repair to Philosophers for satisfaction. But for reading upon Prodigies; or Commenting upon the Flights of Birds, or the Entrails of Beasts, These are Things quite Beside the Philosophers Business. If there be any thing you doubt of that falls under the Cognisance 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 Æshop and your Credit sav'd whether They'l 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 Whether it Tended.
Xanthus Presented himselfe Early the next Morning before the Councell, Where he Dilated Upon The Matter according to his Inflections, and so referr'd Them to his Servant for the Clearing of the Difficulty. The People with one Voyce cry'd out Where is he? Why does he not Appear? Why has not tns Master Brought him along with him? In short, Æshop was Immediately fetchd 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 perhaps in Divining, but he has Nothing that's Humane about him. Another asked Where he was Born, and whether or no Blocks had the Faculty of Speech in his Country. Æshop, upon This, Address'd himselfe to the Councell.
You have here before ye, (says Æshop) an Ungracious Figure of a Man, which in truth is not a Subject for your Contempt, Nor is it a Reasonable Ground for your Despaire, upon the Matter in Question. One Wise Man values Another for his Undersanding, not for his Beauty; Beside that the Deformity of my Person is no Incapacity at All as to your Business. Did you never tast Delicious drink out of an Ill Look'd Vessell? or did you never drink Wine that was Vapid, or Eager, out of a Vessell 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 ye 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, fays 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 1 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 Honors Perhaps, to take the Opinion of a Slave into your Councells and Debates, as it will with my Condition to offer it. Beside the Risque I run of my Masters Displeasure upon the Event. But All This may yet be Obviated, my Fears secured, my Modesty gratify'd, and your own Dignity preserved, 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 Questors to pay down the Mony. 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 Æsop to the Common-Wealth, then to Sell him. The Samians took it very kindly, And Æsop 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 signifes a Great King; that the Dropping of the Ring into 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 Crasus the King of Lydia, to Demand a Tribute on the Behalfe of their Master, and Threat'ned the Samians with a Warr in Case of a Refusal. This Affair came to be Debated in the Councell, where the Majority was rather for Peace with Slavery, then for running the Risque of a Dispute; but they would not come to a Resolution yet, without first Consulting Æsop What They had best to do; Who gave Them his Thoughts upon't in Words to This Effect.
Every Man in this World has Two Wayes 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 further you go. Secondly, The Way of Servitude or Slavery, that seems to be Easie at first, but you'l find it afterwards to be full of Intolerable Difficulties. The Samians, upon These Words, Declared 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 Crœsus came to Understand the Resolution the Samians had taken, and how Inclinable they were to a Complyance, 'till Æsop, by the Power only of a few words, Diverted them from it, he Resolv'd to send for and Discourse with Æsop. So He made an Offer to the Samians, upon their sending Æsop to him, to put a Stop at present to the course of his Arms. When Æsop came to hear of their 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 Sence then 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't, and as soon as ever they had parted with the Dogs, The Wolves brake in upon them, and Destroyd them at pleasure. See Fab. 45.
The Samians quickly smelt out the Moral of this Fable, and cry'd out, One and All, that they would not part with Æsop: But this did not hinder Æsop however from putting himself abord, and taking a Passage for Lydia with the Ambassadors.