Fables of Æsop and Other Eminent Mythologists/Fable LXXXIX
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Fab. LXXXIX.
A Hunted Bever.
THE Bever is a kind of an Amphibious Creature, but he lives Mostly in the Water. His Stones, they fay, are Med'cinal; and it is principally for Their Sake he knows, that People seek his Life; and therefore when he finds himself Hard Pinch’d, he Bites ‘em off, and by leaving Them to his Pursuers, he Saves Himself.
The Moral.
When a greater Interest is at Stake, 'tis a Warrantable Point of Honour and Discretion, to compound the Hazzard, by parting with the Less; provided, that while we Quit the One, we may save the Other.
REFLEXION.
We find This Doctrine and Prattice to be Verify’d in State-Chaces, as as well as in Those of the Woods; That is to say, where it is made a Crime to be Rich, and where Men are fore'd to lay Violent Hands on Themselves, to be Safe and Quiet; and with the Bever here, to compound with their Nutmegs to save their Lives.