 section 39 of fables of esoph and others this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by M. Bradley Peters fables of esoph and others by esoph the wolves and the sick ass an ass being sick the report was spread abroad in the country and some did not scruple to say that she would die before another night went over her head upon this several wolves went to the stable where she lay under pretense of making her a visit but wrapping at the door and asking how she did the young ass came out and told them that his mother was much better than they desired application if the kind inquiries after the sick were all to be interpreted with as much frankness as those in the fable the porters of the great might commonly answer with the strictest propriety that their masters were much better than was desired the charitable visits which are made to many sick people proceed from much the same motive with that which induced the hungry wolves to make their inquiries after the sick ass namely that they may come in for some share of the remains and feast themselves upon the reversion of their goods and shadows the sick man's heir longs for his estate one friend waits an anxious expectation of a legacy and another one's place it however does not unfrequently happen that the mask of these selfish visitants and their counterfeit sorrow are seen through and their impertinent auspiciousness treated with the contempt it so justly deserves end of section 39 section 40 of fables of esoph and others this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org fables of esoph and others by esoph the dog in the manger a dog was lying upon a stallful of hay an ox being hungry came near an offer to eat of the hay but the ill-natured cur getting up and snarling at him would not suffer him to touch it upon which the ox in the bitterness of his heart said a cursed light on thee for a malicious wretch who will neither eat hay thyself nor suffer others to do it application there are men in the world of so snarling malevolent and ill-natured a disposition that they will even punish themselves rather than put forth a finger to serve anyone it gives them a malignant kind of pleasure to have it in their power to cause trouble and vexation to others whenever they have an opportunity of doing so and could they have their will they would shut out the light and warmth of the sun and suffer the fruits of the earth to rot upon it provided they could see those about them unhappy and in thus taking delight in other people's miseries it of course follows that they are their own tormentors these characters in common life are diabolical and detestable but the evils they inflict are only like a drop to the ocean when compared to those which men of the same stamp shed abroad in the world when in an evil hour they happen to be exalted to govern the affairs of a nation then indeed their baleful influences felt in every direction they may be turned fiends in human shape for as far as they are able they thwart the benevolent intentions of omnipotence and the very breath of their nostrils seems to blast the happiness of mankind end of section 40 section 41 of fables of esoph and others this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Farah Iftikar fables of esoph and others by esoph Jupiter and the ass an ass which had been some time in the service of a gardener and carried his vegetables to market became tired of his place and petitioned Jupiter that he would permit him to enter upon the service of a neighbouring potter Jupiter granted his request he here however soon found that the latter loaded him with heavier burdens and kept him on poor affair than he had been used to before he again prayed to Jupiter to grant that he might be allowed to better his condition by engaging himself to a tanner Jupiter again heard his prayer but here he soon found he had changed for the worse for besides being hardworked he was also often cruelly treated and seeing what was going on in this place he could not forbear up braiding himself with his folly and inconstancy oh tofu that I was said he to himself for leaving my former mild master to become the servant of one who after working me to death will not spare my very hide after I am dead application the man that carries about with him the plague of a restless mind can never be pleased he is ever shifting and is in truth not so weary of his condition as of himself seldom or never contented with his lot he is ever hunting after happiness where it is not to be found without ever looking for it where it is he indulges in the strange propensity of his nature which leads him to suppose that his own lot is the most miserable and therefore concludes that any change he can make must be for the better he loses sight of the virtues of patience constancy and resignation and seems not to know that every station in life has its real or imaginary inconveniences and that it is better to bear with those which are accustomed to endure and of which we know the utmost extent than by aiming at the seeming advantages of another way of life to subject ourselves to all its hidden miseries end of section 41 recording by Farah Iftikar section 42 of fables of asop and others this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Chris Gray fables of asop and others by asop asop and the impertinent fellow asop having occasion to go out to seek a light to kindle his fire went from house to house for some time before he could succeed but having it last got what he wanted he posted back in haste with his lighted candle in his hand an impudent fellow leaving his companions caught hold of asop by the sleeve and would feign of shun off his wit and been arch upon him hey day oh rare asop says he what occasion for a candle old boy what are you going to light the sun to bed let me alone says asop for with it i am looking for an honest man application it is plain that our philosopher in the fable did not take the impertinent fellow for an honest man and he gave him to understand that it required a good light to find out one who fully came up to that character and he might have added that the world very much abounded with ignorant and impudent ones who with their empty nonsense which they call wit often unseasonably interrupt men of thought and business for those whose minds are wholly intent upon matters of importance nothing is so offensive as the intrusion of a fool men of imminent parts and great natural abilities make their appearance in the world only now and then these qualifications are the gift of providence and seem to be intended to throw fresh lights on the understanding of mankind but in all the gradations from these downwards it is in the power of everyone to improve their manners and integrity is within reach of those of the meanest capacity if they will endeavor to amend their lives and take it for their guide end of section 42 recording by chris gray section 43 of fables of isop and others this is a libravox recording all libravox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit libravox.org recording by Tara elson fables of isop and others by isop the forester and the lion the forester meeting with the lion one day they discourse together for a while without much differing in opinion at last a dispute happened to arise about the point of superiority between a man and a lion the former wanting a better argument showed the latter a marble monument on which was placed the statue of a man striding over a vanquished lion if this says the lion is all you have to say for it let us be the sculptors and we will make the lion striding over the man application such as the partiality of mankind in favor of themselves and their own actions that it is extremely difficult nay almost impossible to come at any certainty by reading the accounts that are written on one side only the simple truth is still perverted as prejudice vanity or interest warps the mind and it is not discovered in all its brilliancy till the mists which obscure it are swept away by the most rigid investigation in what an odious light would our party men place each other if the transactions of the times were handed down to posterity by a warm zealot on either side and were such records to survive a few centuries with what perplexities and difficulties would they embarrass the historian as by turns he consulted them for the character of his great forefathers the same difficulties would occur in writing the history of nations both ancient and modern some of those who flourish at this day and consider themselves as having reached perfection in civilization and polished manners will perhaps not unjustly be branded in aftertimes with cruelty injustice and oppression in having confounded all simplicity of manners and disturbed the peace of whole nations by carrying the horrors of war of murder and desolation into regions formally blessed with uninterrupted tranquility end of section 43 recording by tara elson section 44 of fables of isop and others this is a libivox recording all libivox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit libivox.org recording by alan lawley the wolf indicated the fox for felony before the ape who upon that occasion was appointed special judge of the cause the fox gave in his answer to the wolf's accusation and denied the fact after hearing both sides the ape penetrating the character of the parties gave judgment to this purpose i am of opinion that you says he to the wolf never lost the goods you sue for and as for you turn into the fox i made no question for you at least have stolen what is laid to your charge and thus the court was dismissed with this public censor upon each party application well made both judge and jury in the outset of trial be puzzled to decide between and do justice to men whose quarrels are made up of baseness and villainry and carried on with mutual treachery fraud and violence and whose witnesses are perhaps of the same character with themselves each party may justly enough accuse the other though neither of them are worthy of belief and deserve even no credit for the imputations with which they espouse each other's characters but such men need not hope long to deceive the world a penetrating judge and an honest jury well upon sifting the matter clearly see what kind of men they have been occupying their attention with and show a proper disgust at the wicked impudence of both plaintiff and defendant end of section 44 section 45 of fables of visip and others this is a livervox recording all livervox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit livervox.org recording by Neema fables of visip and others by Issa the bald knight a certain night growing old his hair fell off and he became bald to hide which imperfection he wore periwig but as he was writing out with some others a haunting a sudden gust of wind blew off the periwig and exposed his bald pect the company could not forebear laughing at the accident and he himself laughed as loud as anybody saying how was it to be expected that i could keep strange hair upon my head when my own would not stay there application there is no disposition or turn of mind which on many occasions contributes more to keep us easy than that which enables us to rally any of our failings or joke upon our own infirmities this blunts the edge and baffles and turns aside the malignant sneers of little wits and veal nature and ridicule of others if we should at any time happen to incur the laughter of those about us we cannot stifle it sooner or better than by receiving it all with a cheerful look and by an ingenuous and pleasant remark peri the jest which another is ready to throw out at our expense to appear fretted or netled only serves to gratify the wishes of those who take a secret pleasure in seeing such an effect produced and besides a testy or a captures temper is a source of perpetual disquietude both to ourselves and our acquaintances and like a little leaven sours the whole mass of our good qualities if we had no other imperfections this of itself would be sufficient to cause our company to be shunned end of section 45 section 46 fables of viscope and others this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Alan Lawley fables of viscope and others by isop the lion and the four balls four balls who had entered into a very strict friendship kept always near one another and fed together the lion often saw them and as often had the mind to make one of them his prey but though he could easily have subdued any of them singly yet he was afraid to attack the whole alliance knowing they would have been too powerful for him and therefore was obliged to keep himself at a distance at last perceiving that no attempt was to be made upon them as long as their combination lasted he artfully contrived by the whispers and hints of his emissaries to foment jealousies and raise divisions among them this stratagem succeeded so well that the balls grew cold and reserved to one another which soon after ripened into a downright hatred and aversion and at last ended in a total separation the lion had now attended his ends and though it had been impossible for him to hurt them while they were united he found no difficulty now they were parted to seize and devour every ball of them one after another application since friendships and alliances are of the greatest importance to our well-being and happiness we cannot be too often cautioned against suffering them to be broken by tellbearers and whispers or by any dark plots and contrivances of our enemies for when by such wicked means of these or by our own imprudence we lose a friend we shake the very basis of our interest and remove the pillar that contributed to support it whatever in cases of this kind is applicable to individuals is equally so to kingdoms and states and it is as undisputed a maxim as ever was urged upon the attention of mankind by the best man that ever lived that a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand the people are invincible when united faction and feuds will overturn the state which union renders flourishing and great end of section 46 section 47 of fables of esoph and others this is a libervox recording all libervox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit libervox.org recording by noel fables of esoph and others by esoph the old man and his sons an old man had several sons who were constantly quarreling with each other notwithstanding he used every means in his power to persuade them to cease their contentions and to live in amity together at last he had recourse to the following expedient he ordered his sons to be called before him and a bundle of sticks to be brought and then commanded them to try if with all their strength any of them could break it they all tried but without effect for the sticks being closely and compactly bound together it was impossible for the force of man to break them after this the father ordered the bundle to be untied and gave a single stick to each of his sons at the same time bidding them try to break it this they did with ease and soon snapped every stick asunder the father then addressed them to this effect oh my sons behold the power of unity for if you in like manner would but keep yourself strictly conjoined in the bands of friendship it would not be in the power of any mortal to hurt you but when you are divided by quarrels and animosities you fall a prey to the weakest enemies application a kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation and the same holds good in all societies and corporations of men from the constitution of the nation down to every little parochial vestry every private family should consider itself a little state in which the several members ought to be united by one common interest quarrels with each other are fatal to their welfare as factions are dangerous to the peace of the commonwealth but indeed the necessity of union and friendship extends itself to all kinds of relations in life and they conduce mightily to the advantage of those who cherish and cultivate them no enemy will dare to attack a body of men firmly attached to each other and will fear to offend one of the number lest he should incur the resentment of the rest but if they split into parties and are disunited by quarrels every petty opponent will venture to attack them and the whole fraternity will be liable to wrongs and violence and of chapter 47 section 48 of fables of esop and others this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Farah Iftikar fables of esop and others by esop the lion the tiger and the wolf a lion and a tiger at the same instant seized on a young fawn which they immediately killed this they had no sooner performed than they felt of fighting in order to decide whose property it should be the battle was so obstinate that they were both compelled by weariness and loss of blood to desist and lie down breathless and quite disabled a wolf passing that way perceiving how the case stood very impugetly stepped up and seized the booty which they had all this while been contending for and carried it off the two combatants who beheld this without being able to prevent it could only make this reflection how foolish said they has been our conduct instead of being contented as we ought with our respective shares our senseless rage has rendered us unable to prevent this rascally wolf from robbing us of the whole application when people go to law about an uncertain title and have spent the value of their whole estate in the contest nothing is more common than to find some unprincipled attorney has secured the object in dispute to himself the very name of law seems to imply equity and justice and that is the bait which has drawn in many to their ruin if we would lay aside passion prejudice and folly and think calmly of the matter we should find that going to law is not the best way of deciding differences about property it's being generally speaking much safer to trust the arbitration of two or three honest sensible neighbors than at a vast expense of money time and trouble to run through the tedious frivolous forms with which by the artifices of greedy lawyers a court of judicature is contrived to be attended or if a case should happen to be so intricate that a man of common sense cannot distinguish who has the best title how easy would it be to have the opinion of the best counsel in the land and agree to abide by his decision if it should appear dubious even after that how much better would it be to divide the thing in dispute rather than go to law and hazard the losing not only of the whole but costs and damages into the bargain end of section 48 recording by Farah Iftikar section 49 of fables of asop and others this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Michael Fasio fables of asop and others by asop the fox without a tail a fox being caught in a trap escaped after much difficulty with the loss of his tail he was however a good deal ashamed of appearing in public without this ornament and at last to avoid being singular and ridiculous in the eyes of his own species he formed the project of calling together an assembly of foxes and of persuading them that the docking of their tails was a fashion that would be very agreeable and becoming accordingly he made a long harangue to them for that purpose and endeavored chiefly to shoo the awkwardness and inconvenience of a fox's tail adding that they were quite useless and that they would be a very great deal better without them he asserted that what he had only conjectured and imagined before he now found by experience to be true for he never enjoyed himself so much and found himself so easy as he had done since he cut off his tail he then looked round with a brisk air to see what proselytes he had gained when a sly old fox and company answered him with a leer i believe you may have found a convenience in parting with your tail and perhaps when we are in the same circumstances we may do so too application many of the fashions which obtain in the world originate in the whim or caprice of some vain conceited creature who takes a pride in leading the giddy multitude in a career folly others again take their rise from an artful design to cover some vice or hide some deformity in the person of the inventor projectors and planners of a higher stamp are also not uncommon in the world these men appear to toil only for the public good and the sacred name of patriotism is their shield it however often happens that when their deep schemes are opened out they are found to proceed from nothing better than self-interested motives and a sincere desire to serve themselves end of section 49 section 50 of fables of esoph and others this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Catherine Phipps fables of esoph and others by esoph the miser and his treasure a certain miser having got together a large sum of money sought out a sequestered spot where he dug a hole and hid it his greatest pleasure was to go and look upon his treasure which one of his servants observing and guessing there was something more than ordinary in the place came at night found the hoard and carried it off the next day the miser returning as usual to the scene of his delight and perceiving the money gone tore his hair for grief and uttered the most doleful accents of despair a neighbor who knew his temper overhearing him said cheer up man thou hast lost nothing there is still a hole to pee pat and if thou canst but fancy the money there it will do just as well application of all the appetites to which human nature is subject none is so lasting so strong and so unaccountable as avarice other desires generally cool at the approach of old age but this flourishes under gray hairs and triumphs amidst infamities all our other longings have something to be said in excuse for them but it is above reason and therefore truly incomprehensible why a man should be passionately fond of money only for the sake of gazing upon it his treasure is as useless to him as a heap of oyster shells for though he knows how many substantial pleasures it might procure yet he dares not touch it and is as destitute to all intents and purposes as the man who is not worth a groat this is the true state of a covetous person to which one of that fraternity perhaps may reply that when we have said all since pleasure is the grand aim of life if there arise a delight to some from the bare possession of riches though they do not use or even intend to use them we may be puzzled how to account for it and think it's strange but ought not absolutely to condemn those who thus closely but innocently pursue what they esteem the greatest happiness true people would be in the wrong to paint covetousness in such odious colors were it compatible with innocence but here arises the mischief a covetous man will stop at nothing to attain his ends and when once avarice takes the field honesty charity humanity and every virtue which opposes it are sure to be put to the route end of section 50 section 51 of fables of esop and others this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Noel fables of esop and others by esop the ship dog a young saucy dog having been found not to like any employment at home was taken by a sea captain on board his ship where being well fed he soon became both stout and fierce and shoot himself off as such in every foreign port he no sooner got ashore than he held up his leg against every post in corner and scraped the ground with his feet quite regardless what dog he might be spatter and if any of them happened to look sulkily at him he thought nothing of seizing upon and rolling them in the kennel if he happened to fall into company he always began to give himself airs to talk big and to express his contempt for the dogs of the place he would boast that he was from a better country and belong to a better family than any dog among them in short said he I come from Cheviot the highest mountain in the world and the very heart of all England where my forefathers thousands of years ago assembled to hunt the wild bull the wolf and the bore he was once going on at this rate when he was interrupted by a sedate experienced bitch who assured him that there were good dogs and bad dogs in every country and that the only difference arose from their education that many of the forefathers he boasted of had long since worried each other and the remainder of them had become so troublesome that part had been transported across the sea to another place and she knew from good authority that both his father and his mother were hanged application when foreigners speak slidingly of the country they happen to be in and praise their own a shoes in them a want of good sense and good breeding it is indeed natural to have an affection for one's native land nor can we help preferring it to every other but to express this in another country to people whose opinion at must needs contradict by the same rule that it is conformable to our own cannot fail of giving them just offense it matters not how highly some particular countries may stand in the estimation of the rest of the world this has little to do with private individuals the advantage of having been born in one of those favorite countries is accidental and no man ought to be esteemed merely on that account in order to merit the respect of virtuous and wise men in every foreign land it must appear to them that by our talents our requirements and our patriotism we do credit to the country which gave us birth end of chapter 51 recording by noel section 52 of fables of esop and others this is a liverbox recording all liverbox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit limberbox.org recording by noel to coma fables of esop and others by thomas bewick the goat and the lion the lion seeing a goat upon a steep craggy rock where he could not come at him asked him what delight he could take to skip from one precipice to another all day and venture the breaking of his neck every moment i wonder says he you will not come down and feed on the plane here where there is such plenty of grass and fine sweet herbs why replies the goat i cannot say but your opinion is right but you look so very hungry and designing that to tell the truth i do not care to venture my person where you are application advice though good in itself is to be suspected when it is given by a tricking self-interested man perhaps we should take upon ourselves not only a very great but an unnecessary trouble if we were to suspect every man who offers to advise us but this however is necessary that when we have reason to question anyone in point of honor and justice we not only consider well before we suffer ourselves to be persuaded by him but even resolve to have nothing to do in any affair where such treacherous slippery sparks are concerned if we can avoid it without much inconvenience and of section number 52 section 53 of fables of aesop and others this is a libervox recording all libervox recordings are in the public domain for more information on the volunteer please visit libervox.org recording by Chad Horner from Ballyclair in County Antwerp Northern Ireland situated in the northeast of the island of Ireland fables of aesop and others by aesop the two travellers two men travelling upon the road one of them saw an axe lying upon the ground where somebody had been hewing timber so taking it up says he i have found an axe do not say i says the other but we have found for as we are companions we ought to share the value between us but the first would not consent they have not gone far before the owner of the axe hearing what was become of it pursued them with a warrant which when the fellow that had it perceived alas says he to his companion we are undone nay says the other do not say we but i am undone for as you would not let me share the prize neither will i share the danger with you application we cannot reasonably expect those to bear a part in our ill fortune whom we never permitted to share in our prosperity and whoever is so over selfish and unreminded as to exclude his friend from a portion of the benefits to which an intimate connection entitles him may perhaps engross some petty advantages to himself but he must lay his account on being left to do as well as he can for himself in times of difficulty and distress the very life and soul of friendship subsist upon mutual benevolence and in conferring and receiving obligations on either hand with the free open and unreserved behavior without the least tincture of jealousy suspicion or distrust guided by a strict observance of the rules of horror and generosity and as no man includes within himself everything necessary for his security to fence preservation and support these rules are the requisites of friendship to make it firm and lasting and the foundation on which it must be built end of section 53 section 54 of fables of asop and others this is a libra vox recording all libra vox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit libravox.org recording by jennifer henry fables of asop and others by asop the fox and the ass an ass finding a lion's skin disguised himself in it and ranged about the forest putting all the beasts in bodily fear after he had diverted himself thus for some time he met a fox and being desirous to frighten him too as well as the rest he leapt at him with some fierceness and endeavored to imitate the roaring of a lion your humble servant says the fox if you had held your tongue i might have taken you for a lion as others did but now you bray i know who you are application a man is known by his words as a tree is by the fruit and if we would be apprised of the nature and qualities of anyone let him but discourse and he will speak them to us better than another can describe them we may therefore perceive from this fable how proper it is for those to hold their tongues who would not discover the shallowness of their understandings empty vessels make the greatest sound and the deepest rivers are most silent the greatest noise is ever found where there is the least depth of water it is a true observation that those who are the weakest in understanding and most slow of apprehension are generally the most precipitate in uttering their crude conceptions grave looks an aspect of dignity and a solemn deportment may sometimes deceive even an accurate observer but wise discourse cannot be successfully counterfeited or assumed and the sententious blockhead is as easily recognized as the pert coxcomb it matters not what disguise one of these may assume he utters himself and undeceives us he braves and tells the whole company what he is end of section 54 section 55 of fables of asop and others this is a libra vox recording all libra vox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit libra vox.org recording by michael fosio fables of asop and others by asop the cat and the fox as the cat and the fox were once talking politics together in the middle of a forest reynard said let things turn out ever so bad he did not care for he had a thousand tricks for them yet before they should hurt him but pray says he mrs puss suppose there should be an invasion what course do you design to take nay says the cat i have but one shift for it and if that won't do i am undone i am sorry for you replies reynard with all my heart and would gladly furnish you with one or two of mine but indeed neighbor as times go it is not good to trust we must even be everyone for himself as the saying is and so your humble servant these words were scarcely out of his mouth when they were alarmed with a pack of hounds they came upon them in full cry the cat by the help of her single shift ran up a tree and sat securely among the branches when she beheld reynard who had not been able to get out of sight overtaken with his thousand tricks and torn into as many pieces by the dogs which had surrounded him application one good discreet expedient made use of upon an emergency will do a man more real service and make others think better of him than to have passed all his life for a shrewd crafty fellow full of his stratagems and expedience and valuing himself upon his having a deeper knowledge of the world than his neighbors plain good sense and a downright honest meaning are a better guide through life and more trusty security against danger than the low shifts of cunning and the refinements of art of us cunning is of a deep entangling nature and is a sign of a small genius though when it happens to be successful it often makes an ostentatious pretension to wisdom but simplicity of manners is the ally of integrity and plain common sense is the main requisite of wisdom and of section 55 section 56 of fables of esop and others this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Catherine Phipps fables of esop and others by esop the dog invited to supper a gentleman having invited several friends to supper his dog thought this a fit opportunity to invite another dog an intimate of his own to partake with him of the good cheer in the kitchen accordingly the stranger punctually attended and seeing the mighty preparations going forward promised himself a most delicious repast he began to smell about and with his eyes intent upon the victuals to lick his lips and wipe his tail this drew the attention of the cook who stole slyly up and seizing him by the hind legs whirled him out of the window into the street the dog stunned and hurt by his hard fall on the pavement began to howl the noise of which drew several dogs about him who knowing of the invitation began to inquire how he had fared oh charmingly said he only I ate and drank till I scarce knew which way I came out of the house application there is no depending upon a second hand interest unless we know ourselves to be well with the principal and are assured of his favor and protection we stand upon a slippery foundation they are strangers to the world who are so weak as to think they can be well with anyone by proxy they may by this means be cajoled bubbled and imposed upon but are under great uncertainty as to gaining their point and may probably be treated with scorn and derision in the end yet there are not wanting among the several species of fox silly people of this sort who pride themselves in an imaginary happiness from being in the good graces of a great man's friend's friend alas the great men themselves are but too apt to deceive and fail in making good their promises how then can we expect any good from those who do but promise and vow in their names to place a confidence in such sparks is indeed so false a reliance that we ought to be ashamed to be detected in it and like the dog in the fable rather own we had been well treated then let the world see how justly we had been punished for our ridiculous credulity. End of section 56 section 57 of fables of esoph and others this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Catherine Phipps fables of esoph and others by esoph the angler and the little fish an angler caught a small trout and as he was taking it off the hook and going to put it into his basket it opened its little throat and begged most piteously that he would throw it into the river again the man demanded what reason it had to expect this indulgence why says the fish because i'm so young and so little but it is not worth your while taking me now and certainly i shall be better worth your notice if you take me a 12 month afterwards when i shall be grown a great deal larger that may be replied the angler but i'm sure of you now and i'm not one of those who quit a certainty in expectation of an uncertainty application they who neglect the present opportunity of reaping a small advantage in the hope that they shall obtain a greater afterwards are far from acting upon a reasonable and well advised foundation we ought never thus to deceive ourselves and suffer the favorable moment to slip away but secure to ourselves every fair advantage however small at the moment that it offers without placing a vain reliance upon the visionary expectation of something better in time to come prudence advises us always to lay hold of time by the forelock and to remember that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush end of section 57 section 58 of fables of esop and others this is a librivox recording all librivox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit librivox.org recording by Catherine Phipps fables of esop and others by esop a man bitten by a dog a man who had been sadly torn by a dog was advised by some old woman as a cure to dip a piece of bread in the wound and give it to the cure that bit him he did so and esop happening to pass by just at the time asked him what he meant by it the man informed him why then says esop do it as privately as you can i beseech you for if the rest of the dogs of the town were to see you we should all be eaten up alive by them application vice should always be considered as the proper object of punishment and we should on no account connive at offenses of an atrocious nature much less confer rewards on the criminals for nothing contributes so much to the increase of roguery as when the undertakings of a nave are attended with success if it were not for the fear of punishment a great part of mankind who now make a shift to keep themselves honest would be great villains but if criminals instead of meeting with punishment were by having been such to attain honor and preferment our natural inclination to mischief would be increased and we should be wicked out of emulation we should rather strive to make virtue as tempting as possible and throw out every allurement in our power to draw the minds of the wavering and unsettled to espouse her cause end of section 58 section 59 of fables of esop and others this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Catherine Phipps fables of esop and others by esop the fox and the tiger a skillful archer coming into the woods directed his arrows so successfully that he slew many wild beasts and wounded several others this put the whole savage kind into a great consternation and made them fly into the most retired thickets for refuge at last the tiger resumed courage and bidding them not to be afraid said that he alone would engage the enemy telling them they might depend on his valour to avenge their wrongs in the midst of these threats while he was lashing himself with his tail and tearing up the ground with anger an arrow pierced his ribs and hung by its barbed point in his side he set up a loud and hideous roar occasioned by the anguish he felt and endeavored to draw out the painful dart with his teeth when the fox approaching him inquired with an air of surprise who it was that could have strength and courage enough to wound so mighty and valorous a beast ah says the tiger i was mistaken in my reckoning it was that invincible man yonder application though strengthened courage are very good ingredients toward making us secure and formidable in the world yet unless there be a proper portion of wisdom or policy to direct them instead of being serviceable they often prove detrimental to their proprietors a rash forward man who depends upon the excellence of his own parts and accomplishments is likewise apt to expose a weak side which his enemies might not otherwise have observed and gives an advantage to others by those very means which he fancied might have secured it to himself counsel and conduct always did and always will govern the world and the strong in spite of all their force can never avoid being tools to the crafty some men are as much superior to others in wisdom and policy as man in general is above the brute strength ill-governed opposed to them is like a quarter staff in the hands of a huge robust but bungling fellow who fights against a master of the science the latter though without a weapon would have skill and address enough to disarm his adversary and rub him with his own staff in a word savage fierceness and brutal strength must not pretend to stand in competition with policy and stratagem end of section 59 section 60 of fables of esoph and others this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Catherine Phipps fables of esoph and others by esoph the dog and the shadow a dog crossing a rivulet with a piece of flesh in his mouth saw his own shadow represented in the clear mirror of the stream and believing it to be another dog who was carrying another piece of flesh he could not forbear catching at it but was so far from getting anything by his greedy design that he dropped the piece he had in his mouth which immediately sunk to the bottom and was irrecoverably lost application base is the man who pines amidst his store and fat with plenty griping covets more excessive greediness in the end mostly misses what it aims at and he that catches at more than belongs to him justly deserves to lose what he has yet nothing is more common and at the same time more pernicious than this selfish principle it prevails from the king to the peasant and all orders and degrees of men are more or less infected with it great monarchs have been drawn in by this greedy humor to grasp at the dominions of their neighbors not that they wanted anything more to feed their luxury but to gratify their insatiable appetite for vain glory and many states have been reduced to the last extremity by attempting such unjust encroachments he that thinks he sees the estate of another in a pack of cards or a box and dice and ventures his own in the pursuit of it should not repine if he finds himself a beggar in the end end of section 60 section 61 of fables of asa and others this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org fables of esop and others by esop the bear and the beehives a bear climbing over the fence into a place where bees were kept again to plunder the hives and rob them of their honey but the bees to revenge the injury attacked him in a whole swarm together and though they were not able to pierce his rug at hide yet with their little stings they so annoyed his eyes and nostrils that unable to endure the smarting pain with impatience he tore the skin over his ears with his own claws and suffered ample punishment for the injury he had done to the bees and breaking open their wax and cells application many and great are the injuries of which men are guilty towards each other for the sake of gratifying some base appetite for there are those who would not scruple to bring desolation upon their country and run the hazard of their own necks into the bargain rather than balk a wicked inclination either of cruelty and vision or avarice but it were to be wished that all who are hurried on by such blind impulses would consider a moment before they proceed to irrevocable execution injuries and wrongs not only call for revenge and reparation with a voice of equity itself but oftentimes carries their punishment along with them and by an unforeseen train of events are retorted on the head of the actor who not seldom from a deep remorse expiates them upon himself by his own hand end of section 61 section 62 of fables of ease up on others this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Chad Horner from Balli Claire in County Antwern Northern Ireland situated in the northeast of the island of Ireland fables of ease up on others by ease up the drunken husband a certain woman had a drunken husband whom she had endeavored to reclaim by several ways without effect she at last tried this stratagem when he was brought home one night dead drunk she ordered him to be carried to a burial place and there laid in a vault as if he had been dead indeed though she left him and went away till she thought he might be come to himself and grown sober again when she returned and knocked at the door of the vault the man cried out who's there i am the person says she in a dismal tone of voice that waits upon the dead folks and i am come to bring you some victuals ah good waiter says he let the victuals alone and bring me a little drink i beseech thee the woman hearing this felt a tearing her hair and beating her breast in a woeful manner unhappy wretch that i am says she this was the only way that i could think of to reform the beastly sort but instead of gaining my point i am only convinced that his drunkenness is an incurable habit which he intends to carry with him into the other world application this fable is intended to show us the prevalence of custom and how by using ourselves to any evil practice we may let it grow into such a habit as we shall never be able to divest ourselves off oh that men should put an enemy into their mouths and stale away their brains there is no vice which gains an ascendant over us more insensibly or more incurably than drunkenness it takes root by degrees and comes at length to be passed both remedy and shame habitual drunkenness stupefies the senses destroys the understanding fills its footeries with diseases and makes them incapable of business it cuts short the thread of life or brings on an early old age besides the mischief it does in the meantime to a man's family and affairs and the scandal it brings upon himself for assault is one of the most despicable and disgusting characters in life after he has destroyed his reasoning faculties and thus shown his ingratitude to the giver of them he flies to palliatives as a remedy for the diseases which his intemperance has caused and goes on in a course of taking weights and cordials and more drink till he falls a murder to the vice to which through life he has been a slave end of section 62 section 63 of fables of esoph and others this is a leper fox recording all leper fox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit leperfox.org fables of esoph and others by esoph the lioness and the fox the lioness and the fox meeting together fell into discourse and the conversation turning upon the breeding and fruitfulness of some living creatures above others the fox could not forbear taking the opportunity of observing to the lioness that for her part she thought foxes were as happy observed is true you litter often and produce a great many at a time but what are they foxes I indeed may have but one at a time but you should remember that that one is a lion application our productions of whatsoever kind are not to be esteemed so much by their quantity as by their quality it is not being employed much but well and to the purpose which will make us useful to the age we live in and celebrated by those which are to come as the multiplication of foxes and other vermin is a misfortune to the countries which are infested with them so one cannot help throwing out a melancholy reflection when one sees some particular classes of the humankind increase so fast as they do but the most obvious meaning of this fable is the hint it gives us in relation to authors these gentlemen should never attempt to raise themselves a reputation by trumping up a long catalog of their various productions since there is more glory in having written one tolerable piece than a thousand indifferent ones and whoever has had the good fortune to please in one literary performance should be very cautious how he stakes his reputation in a second attempt end of section 63 section 64 of fables of isop and others this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org fables of isop and others by isop the lamb brought up by a goat a wolf prowling about for his prey a spide a lamb sucking a goat you silly creature says he you quite mistake this is not your mother she is yonder among a flock of sheep do allow me to conduct you to her no no replies the lamb the mother that bore me may indeed be yonder but when she dropped me she should no further care but left me on provided for to shift for myself regardless of what might become of me and had it not been for the kindness of this honest goat who took compassion upon my helplessness I must have suffered all the miseries to which inexperienced youths and innocents are exposed when left without a guide to the mercy of the world application this fable is leveled at those parents too often met within society who through negligence or ignorance of their duty suffer their offspring to grow up to maturity without instilling into their minds a single good principle of morality or a reverence for religion to guide them through life and to guard them from falling into the snares of every wolf who may seek their destruction others again more abandoned indeed and callous to the tender ties of nature bring forth an offspring whom they neither cherish nor provide for such a description of persons are not fit to become parents and they must not be surprised if their want of parental affection produce a corresponding want of filial attachment and respect for the duties between parents and children are reciprocal it is the goodness of parents which chiefly entitles them to the respect due to that name and it is a paramount duty of children to honor obey and revere such parents as fulfill the obligations which the laws of god and nature impose upon those who bring children into the world end of section 64 section 65 of fables of isop and others this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org fables of isop and others by isop the hen and the swallow a hen having found a nest of serpents eggs in a dung hill immediately with a fostering care set upon them with a design to hatch them a swallow observing this flew towards her and with great earnestness forewarned her of her danger what said she are you mad to bring forth a brood of such pernicious creatures be assured the instant they are warmed into life you are the first they will attack and wreak their venomous spite upon but the hen persisted in her folly and the end verified the swallow's prediction application it is too often the hard fortune of many a kind good-natured man in the world to breed up a bird to pick out his own eyes in spite of all cautions to the contrary but they who want foresight should hearken to the council of the wise as this might have the effect of preventing their spending much time and good offices on the undeserving perhaps to the utter ruin of themselves it is the duty of all men to act fairly openly and honestly in all their transactions in life to do justice to all but to consider well the character of those on whom they would confer favors for gratitude is one of the rarest as well as the greatest of virtues the fable is intended to shoe that we should never have any dealings with bad men even to do them kindnesses men of evil principles are a generation of vipers that ought to be crushed and every rogue should be looked upon by honest men as a venomous serpent the man who was occasionally or by accident one's enemy may be mollified by kindness and reclaimed by good usage such a behavior both reason and morality expect from us but we should ever resolve if not to suppress at least to have no connection with those whose blood is tinctured with hereditary habitual villainy and their nature leavened with evil to such a degree as to be incapable of a reformation end of section 65 section 66 of fables of isop and others this is a leper fox recording all leper fox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit leperfox.org fables of isop and others by isop the envious man and the covetous as envious man happened to be offering up his prayers to jupiter at the same time and in the same place with the covetous miserable fellow jupiter sent apollo to examine the merits of their petitions and to give them such relief as he should think proper apollo therefore opened his commission and told them that to make short of the matter whatever the one asked the other should have doubled upon this the covetous man who had a thousand things to request for bore to ask first hoping to receive a double quantity for he concluded that all men's wishes sympathized with his own by this circumstance the envious man had the opportunity of giving vent to his malignity and of preferring his petition first which was what he aimed at so without hesitation he prayed to have one of his eyes put out knowing that of consequence his companion would be deprived of both application this fable is leveled at two of the most odious passions which degrade the mind of man in the extremes of their own social views envy places its happiness in the misery and the misfortunes of others and pines and sickens at their joy and avarice on blast amidst its doors is never satisfied unless it can get all to itself although its insatiable cravings are at once unaccountable miserable and absurd end of section 66 section 67 of fables of visip and others this is a liver vox recording all liver vox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit liver vox dot org recording by nemo fables of visip and others by visip the porcupine and the snakes a porcupine wanting a shelter for himself begged a nest of snakes to give him admittance into their snug cave they were prevailed upon and let him in accordingly but were so annoyed with his sharp prickly quills that they soon repented of their easy compliance and entreated the porcupine to withdraw and leave them their hole to themselves no said he let them quit the place that don't like it for my part i'm well enough satisfied as i am application this fable points out the danger of entering into any degree of friendship alliance or partnership with any person whatever before we have thoroughly considered his nature and qualities his circumstances and his humor and also the necessity of examining our own temper and disposition to discover if we can how far these may accord the genius of those with whom we're about to form a connection otherwise our associations of whatever kind they be may prove the greatest plague of our life young people who are warm in all their passions and suffer them like a veil to hoodwink their reason often throw open their arms at once and admit into the greatest intimacy persons whom they know little of but by false and uncertain lights and thus perhaps take a porcupine into their bosom instead of an inmate who might soothe the cares of life as an amiable consort or a valuable friend end of section 67 section 68 of fables of esop and others this is a labor fox recording all labor fox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit labor fox.org fables of esop and others by esop the sow and the wolf a sow that had just fared and lay in her thigh with her whole litter of pigs was visited by a wolf who secretly longed to make a meal of one of them but knew not how to come at it so under the pretense of a friendly visit he gave her a call and endeavored to insinuate himself into her good graces by his apparently kind inquiries after the welfare of herself and her young family can i be of service to you mrs. sow said he if i can it shall not on my part be wanting and if you have a mind to go abroad for a little fresh air you may depend upon my taking as much care of your young family as you could do yourself no i thank you mr. wolf i thoroughly understand your meaning and the greatest favor you can do to me and my pigs is to keep your distance application when an entire stranger or any one of whom we have no reason to entertain a good opinion obtrudes upon us an offer of his services we ought to look to our own safety and shoe a shyness and coldness towards him but there are also many men with whom it is dangerous to have the least connection and with whom any commerce or correspondence will certainly be to our detriment from these we should therefore resolve not to accept even favors but carefully avoid being under any obligation to them for in the end their apparent kindness will shoe itself to be a real injury and there is no method of guarding so effectually against such people as that of entirely avoiding their society or shutting our doors against them as we would do against a thief end of section 68 section 69 of fables of isab and others this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org fables of isab and others by isab the frogs and their king in anteant times the nation of frogs lived an easy free life among their lakes and ponds but at length grew dissatisfied with such a continuance of undisturbed tranquility and petitioned Jupiter for a king Jupiter smiled at their folly and threw them down a log of wood and with a thundering voice said there is a king for you with this and the sudden splash it made in the water they were at first quite panic struck and for some time durst not put their heads up but by degrees they ventured to take a peep and at length even to leap upon the log not being pleased with so tame and insipid a king they again petitioned Jupiter for another who would exert more authority Jupiter disgusted at their importunate folly sent them a stork for their king who without ceremony eat them up whenever his craving appetite required a supply application this fable is said to have been spoken by isab to the Athenians who had flourished under their common wealth and lived under good and wholesome laws of their own enacting until in process of time they suffered their liberty to run into licentiousness and factious designing men fomented divisions and raised animosities among them when thus rendered weak Pisastratus took the advantage and seized upon their citadel and liberties both together the Athenians finding themselves in a state of slavery though their tyrant happened to be a merciful one could not bear the thoughts of it but isab in reciting the fable to them prescribes patients where there was no other remedy and adds at last wherefore my dear countrymen be contented with your present condition that as it is for fear a change should make it worse end of section 69 section 70 of fables of these have been others this is a Libervox recording all Libervox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit Libervox.org recording by Nemo fables of isab and others by isab the old woman in the empty cask an old woman seeing a wine cask which had been emptied of its contents but the very lease of which still perfumed the air with a grateful cordial scent applied her nose to the bunghole and snuffing very heartily for some time at last broke out into this exclamation oh delicious smell how good how charming must you have been once when your very dregs are so agreeable and refreshing application feeders was an old man when he wrote his fables and this he applies to himself intimating what we ought to judge of his youth when his old age was capable of such productions it is at once a pleasing and melancholy idea that has given us by the intercourse with elderly persons whose conversation is relishing and agreeable and we cannot help concluding that they must have been very engaging in the prime of life when in their decline they're still capable of yielding us so much pleasure nor can we help feeling regret that this fountain of delight is now almost dried up and going to forsake us forever on the contrary when people have neglected to cultivate their minds and youth their whole deportment through life is marked with the effects of this great want and their old age is burdensome to themselves and their conversation insipid to others and like liquor of a thin body and vile quality soon becomes sour vapid or good for nothing end of section 70 section 71 of fables of asop and others this is a livervox recording all livervox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit livervox.org fables of asop and others by asop jupiter and the camel the camel presented a petition to jupiter complaining of the hardships of his case in not having like bulls and other creatures horns or any weapon of defense to protect himself from the attacks of his enemies and praying that relief might be granted him in such manner as should be thought most expedient jupiter could not help smiling at his impertinent address but however rejected the petition and told him that so far from granting his unreasonable request he would take care that hence forward his ears should be shortened as a punishment for his presumptuous impotunity application the nature of things is so fixed in every particular that they are very weak superstitious people who think that it can be altered but besides the impossibility of producing a change by foolish importunities they who employ much of their time in that way instead of getting are sure to lose in the end when any man is so silly and vexatious as to make unreasonable complaints and to harbor undue repentance in his heart his beaversness will lessen the real good which he possesses and the sourness of his temper shorten that allowance of comfort which he has already thinks to scanty thus in truth it is not providence but ourselves who punish our own impotunity in soliciting for the impossibilities with the sharp corroding care which bridges us of some part of that little pleasure which heaven has cast into our lot happy the man without a wish for more who quietly enjoys his little store and knows to heaven with gratitude to pay thanks for what's given and what's taken away end of section 71 recording by ken ward kiv ukraine section 72 of fables of visip and others this is a liver vox recording all liver vox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit liver vox.org recording by nemo fables of visip and others by visip the stag and the fawn a stag grown old and mischievous was according to custom stamping with his foot making threatening motions with his head and bellowing so terribly that the whole herd quaked for fear of him when one of the little fawns coming up addressed him to this purpose pray what is the reason that you who are so stout and formidable at all other times if you do but hear the cry of hounds are ready to fly out of your skin for fear what you observe is true replied the stag though i know not how to account for it i am indeed vigorous and able enough i think to defend myself against all attacks and often resolve with myself that nothing shall ever dismay my courage for the future but alas i know sooner hear the voice of the hounds but all my spirits fail and i cannot help making off as fast as my legs can carry me application try what we can do what we will yet nature will be nature still the predominance of nature will generally show itself through all the disguises which artful men endeavor to throw over it cowardice particularly gives us but the more suspicion of its existence when it would conceal itself under an affected fierceness as they who would smother an ill smell by a cloud of perfume are imagined to be but the more offensive when we have done all nature will remain what she was and show herself whenever she is called upon therefore whatever we do in contradiction to her laws is so forced and affected that it must needs expose and make us truly ridiculous end of section 72 section 73 of fables of esop and others this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Sarah Brown s extension Vermont fables of esop and others by esop the fur and the bramble a tall fur that stood towering up in the forest was so proud of his dignity and high station that he looked with disdain upon the little shrubs that grew beneath him a lowly bramble had often been made to feel the insults and gloomy frowns of his lofty neighbor who on the slightest rufflings of the winds shook his extended arms over the humble shrub and upgraded him with his contemptible situation as for me said the fur I am the first in the forest for beauty and rank my top shoots up into the clouds and my branches display a perpetual verter whilst you lie groveling upon the ground and could not live where I to leave off sprinkling you with the drops from my extremities at this the bramble set up his prickles and replied that this haughtiness arose from pride and ignorance for he that made thee a lofty tree could with equal ease have made thee and humble bramble and high as thou art a puff of his breath in the message of a north wind can rob the of thy verter or lay thee low and further I pray thee tell me when the woodman comes with his axe to fell timber whether thou would not rather be a bramble than a fur application pride which was implanted in the human breast for wise purposes should carefully be directed a right it was intended only to exalt the minds of all ranks and conditions of men to that pitch which will make them spurn it and despise the doing of a mean or dishonorable action and it is only misapplied when it puffs up those whom fortune has placed in high stations or overloaded with riches and tempts them to look down with derision on those below them the higher a man is exalted in life but especially if he have risen by dishonorable means the more unlikely it is that he will escape a storm or the mischiefs to which he may be exposed in his public capacity in any convulsion that may befall his country when public justice overtakes him and he finds the day of reckoning near at hand the honest monitor within will put him in mind of his true situation and he will then be enabled to make a just comparison between his own lofty station and that of the poor but honest man end of section 73 section 74 of fables of isop and others this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public demand for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org fables of isop and others by isop the bees the drones and the wasp a number of drones who had long lived at their ease in a hive of bees without contributing by their labor to make any honey at length began to dispute the right of the bees and insists that both the honey and the combs were their property the bees after much altercation at last offered to leave the dispute to reference and this being assented to by the drones the wasp was chosen umpire accordingly he began by declaring that as both parties he hoped were his friends and he wished them well he would instantly proceed upon the investigation i must own sissy that the point is somewhat dubious for i've often seen you both in the same hive and accepting that the drones are of a more portly size in appearance you're all otherwise nearly a like in person but as i have not been able to see who worked and who did not i know of no mode in which i shall be enabled to judge so correctly as by setting each party to work at the making of the honey therefore addressing himself to the bees you take one hive and you speaking to the drones will be so good as to take another and both go to work to make honey as fast as you can the bees readily accepted the proposal but the drones hung back and would not agree to it so so says judge wasp i see clearly how the matter stands without further ceremony declared in favor of the bees application the surest method of detecting ignorance and inability is to put arrogant pretenders to the test and appreciate their claims by a fair trial when those who assume the merit due to the works of ingenuity refuse to prove their title by a display of their talents we may well conclude that their pretensions are unfounded and that they are mere imposters when men who are at the head of national fairs will not be at the pains to find out merit for men of that character too modest to obtrude themselves they will be surrounded by a swarm of idle impudent good for nothing drones and these two often secede in obtaining those benefits which should be the reward of men of parts integrity and industry and a section 74 section 75 of fables of asop and others this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Doris Rigo fables of asop and others by asop the frog and the fox a frog leaping out of the lake and taking the advantage of a rising ground made a proclamation to all the beasts of the forest that he was an able physician and for curing all manner of distempers would turn his back to no person living this discourse with the aid of some hard cramped words which nobody understood made the beasts admire his learning and give credit to everything he said at last the fox who was present with indignation asked him how he could have the impudence with those thin landthorn jaws that meager pale fizz and blotched spotted body to pretend to cure the infirmities of others application a sickly and infirm look is as disadvantageous in a physician as a rakish one in a clergyman or a sheepish one in a soldier we should not set up for correctors of the faults of others whilst we labor under the same ourselves good advice ought always to be followed without our being prejudiced upon account of the person from whom it comes but it is seldom that men can be brought to think us worth minding when we prescribe cures for maladies with which we ourselves are afflicted physician heal thy self is too scriptural not to be applied upon such an occasion and if we would avoid being the just of an audience we must be sound and free from those diseases of which we would endeavor to cure others how shocked must people have been to hear a preacher for a whole hour declaim against drunkenness when his own weaknesses have been such that he could neither bear nor forebear drinking and perhaps was the only person in the congregation who made the doctrine at that time necessary others too have been very zealous in censoring crimes of which none were suspected more than themselves but let such silly hypocrites remember that they whose eyes want couching are the most improper people in the world to set up for the oculists end of section 75 recording by Doris Rigo end of fables of asop and others by asop section 76 of fables of asop and others this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Michael Fasio fables of asop and others by asop the cat and the mice a certain house being much infested with mice a cat was at length procured who very diligently hunted after them and killed great numbers every night the mice being exceedingly alarmed at this destruction among their family consulted together upon what was best to be done for their preservation against so terrible and cruel an enemy after some debate they came to the resolution that no one should in future descend below the uppermost shelf the cat observing their extreme caution endeavor to draw them down to their old haunts by stratagem for which purpose she suspended herself by her hindered legs upon a peg in the pantry and hoped by this trick to lull their suspicions and to entice them to venture within her reach she had not long been in this posture before a cunning old mouse peeped over the edge of the shelf and squeaked out thus aha mrs. puss are you there then there may you be but i would not trust myself with you though your skin were stuffed with straw application we cannot be too much upon our guard against fraud and imposition of every kind and prudence in many cases would rather counsel us to forego some advantages than endeavor to gain them at a risk of which we cannot certainly ascertain the amount we should more particularly suspect some design in the professions of those who have once injured us and though they may promise fairly for the future it is no breach of charity to doubt their sincerity and decline their proposals however plausible they may appear for experience shows that many of the misfortunes which we experience through life are caused by our own too great credulity end of section 76 section 77 of fables of asop and others this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Sheikwell fables of asop and others by asop the oak and the reed an oak which hung over the bank of a river was blown down by a violent storm of wind and as it was carried along by the stream some of its bowels brushed against the reed which grew near the shore this struck the oak with a thought of admiration and he could not forbear asking the reed how he came to stand so secure and unhurt in a tempest which had been furious enough to tear up an oak by the roots why says the reed i secure myself by a conduct the reverse of yours instead of being stubborn and stiff and confiding in my strength i yield and bend to the blast and let it go over me knowing how vain and fruitless it would be to resist application though a tame submission to injuries which it is in our power to redress be generally esteemed a base and dishonorable thing yet to resist where there is no probability or even hope of getting the better may also be looked upon as the effect of a blind temerity and perhaps of a weak understanding the strokes of fortune are oftentimes as irresistible as they are severe and he who with an impatient spirit fights against her instead of alleviating does but double the blows upon himself a person of a quite still temper whether it be given him by nature or acquired by art calmly composes himself in the midst of a storm so as to elude the shock or receive it with the least detriment like a prudent experienced sailor who in swimming to the shore from a wrecked vessel in a swelling sea does not oppose the fury of the waves but stupson gives way that they may roll over his head without obstruction the doctrine of absolute submission in all cases is an absurd dogmatical preset with nothing but ignorance and superstition to support it but upon particular occasions and where it is impossible for us to overcome to submit patiently is one of the most reasonable maxims of life oh god of infinite wisdom truth justice and mercy i thank thee end of section 77 recording by shakewell section 78 of fables of asop and others this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org fables of asop and others by asop fortune and the boy a schoolboy fatigued with play laid himself down by the brink of a deep well where he fell fast asleep fortune whose wheel is always in motion passing by kindly gave him a tap on the head and woke him my good boy said she a rise and depart from his dangerous situation immediately for if you had tumbled into the well and had been drowned your friends would not have attributed the accident to your carelessness but would have laid the whole blame upon me application mankind suffer more evils from their own imprudence than from events which is not in their power to control but they are ever ready to complain of the perverseness of chance and the capriciousness of fortune and to impute the blame to her for whatever mischiefs may befall them when these clearly arise from their own misconduct few men passed through life without having had reason at one time or another to thank fortune for her favors and great is the number of those who have through their own folly indolence or inattention neglected to profit by her kindness prudent people take every care not to put themselves in the power of accidents but those who carelessly give up all their concerns to the guidance of blind chance must not be surprised by some of the revolutions of fortune's wheel they feel the punishment due to their negligence and folly end of section 78 section 79 of fables of asop and others this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Matthew Royal from Sacramento fables of asop and others by asop the wolf and the crane a wolf after devouring his prey happened to have a bone stuck in his throat which gave him so much pain that he went howling up and down and importuning every creature he met to lend him a kind hand in order to his relief nay he promised a reasonable reward to anyone who should perform the operation with success at last the crane undertook the business ventured his long neck into the rapacious felon's throat plucked out the bone and asked for the promised reward the wolf turning his eyes disdainfully towards him said I did not think you had been so unconscionable I had your head in my mouth and could have bit it off whenever I pleased but suffered you to take it away without any damage and yet you are not contented who serves a villain might as wisely free the hardened murderer from the fatal tree application there are people in the world to whom it may be wrong to do services upon a double score first because they never deserve to have a good office done them and secondly because when once engaged it is so hard a matter to get well rid of their acquaintance we ought to consider what kind of people they are to whom we are desired to do good offices before we do them for he that grants a favor or even confides in a person of no honor instead of finding his account in it comes off well if he be no sufferer in the end end of section 79 recording by Matthew Royal from Sacramento section 80 of fables of asop and others this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Mark Henry fables of esop and others by esop the heart and the vine a heart being closely pursued by the hunters concealed himself under the broad leaves of a shady vine when the hunters were gone by and had given him over for lost he thinking himself very secure began to crop and eat the leaves of his shelter by this the branches being put into a wrestling motion drew the attention of some of the hunters that way who seeing the vine stir and fancing some wild beast had taken covert there shot their arrows at a venture and killed the deer before he expired he uttered his dying words to this purpose ah says he i suffered justly for my ingratitude because i could not forbear doing an injury to the vine which so kindly concealed me in time of danger application there is no maxim which deserves more frequent repetition and if the heart be capable of amendment by precept and admonition no virtue should be more strongly enforced and recommended then gratitude where sentiments of this kind are wanting our natures soon become debased and our minds depraved ingratitude has ever been justly branded as the blackest of crimes and as it were comprehending all other vices within it nor can we say that this opinion is too severe for if a man be capable of injuring his benefactor what will he scruple doing towards another we may fairly conclude that he who is guilty of ingratitude will not hesitate at any other crime of an inferior nature since there are no human laws to punish this infamous prevailing vice it would only be doing an act of justice and supplying the want to point out criminals of this description to the reprobation of mankind that men of worth might avoid all intercourse and communication with them the ingrate should also bear in mind that he strips himself of the protection which might have been afforded by his friends and exposes himself to the shafts of his enemies who will not fail to take advantage of the defenseless state to which his folly and depravity have reduced him end of section 80 section 81 of fables of aesop and others this is a livervox recording all livervox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit livervox.org recording by Chad Horner from Ballyclair in County Hunter Northern Ireland situated in the northeast of the island of Ireland fables of aesop and others by aesop the hunt of beaver a beaver having strayed far from his dwelling which is well known these animals construct with infinite sagacity was closely pursued by the hunters and knowing that he was thus persecuted with the sake of the caster which is contained in two little bags placed underneath and near the tail he with great resolution and presence of mind bit them off with his teeth and leaving them behind him thus escaped with his life application it is in vain for individuals to contend against an overwhelming power and an ineffectual resistance to violence only tends to double our sufferings when life is pursued and in danger whoever values it should give up everything but his honor to preserve it and there can be no disgrace in yielding voluntarily to our persecutors when we are certain that resistance is in vain but this doctrine can seldom be applied to the case of a whole nation for when tyranny and rapine are making their wicked strides over a country as has sometimes happened even in europe the people would seldom fail to rid themselves of their oppressors if they resolve to rise as one man i'm bravely opposed them end of section 81 section 82 of fables of asop and others this is a libra vox recording all libra vox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit librafox.org recording by doris rego fables of asop and others by asop the ass and the lion hunting the lion having thinned the forest of great numbers of the beasts upon which he prayed and so scared and intimidated the rest that he found it very difficult to get hold of any more of them he thought himself of a new expedient to obtain more readily a fresh supply he invited the ass to assist him in his plan and gave him instructions how to act go said the lion and hide thyself in yonder thicket and then let me hear the bray in the most frightful manner they'll possibly can't the stratagem took effect accordingly the ass brayed most hideously and the timorous beasts not knowing what to think of it began to scour off as fast as they could when the lion who was posted at a proper avenue seized and killed them as he pleased having got his belly full he called out to the ass and bade him leave off telling him he had done enough upon this the long-eared brute came out of his ambush and approaching the lion asked him with an air of conceit how he liked his performance prodigiously says he you did it so well that i protest that i had not known your nature and temper i might have been frightened myself application a bragging cowardly fellow may impose upon people that do not know him but is the greatest just imaginable to those who do there are many men who appear very terrible and big in their manner of expressing themselves and if you could be persuaded to take their own word for it are perfect lions but if we take the pains to inquire a little into their true nature are as errant asses as ever braid end of section 82 recording by Doris Rigo end of fables of asop and others by asop section 83 of fables of asop and others this is a liverbox recording all liverbox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit liverbox.org recording by Chad Horner from Liverpool fables of asop and others by the sow and the bitch a sow and a bitch happening to mate a debate arose between them concerning their fruitfulness bitch insisted upon it that she brought forth more at a litter and oftener than any other four-legged creature nay said the sow you do not do so for others are as prolific as you and besides you're always in such a hurry that you bring your puppies into the world blind application it is no wonder that our productions should come into the world blind or lame or otherwise defective when by forced or unnatural methods we accelerate their birth and impatiently refuse to let them go their full time then it is that the excellent proverb of the more haste the worst speed is felt and fully verified this fable has been pointed at those authors which for scribbling has been an annoyance to the world rather than any real use to it and who have been proud of and boasted of numerous but flimsy productions of their vain and shallow brains it is proper to put such people in mind that it is not he who does most but he who does the best that will meet the approbation of mankind end of section 83 section 84 of fables of visip and others this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by NEMA fables of visip and others by visip the satyr and the traveller a satyr as he was ranging the forest in an exceeding cold snowy season met with the traveller half-starved with the extremity of the weather he took compassion on him and kindly invited him home to a warm cave he had in the hollow of a rock as soon as they had entered and sat down notwithstanding there is a good fire in the place the chilly traveller could not forebear blowing his fingers upon the satyr asking him why he did so he answered that he did it to warm his hands the honest sylvan having seen little of the world admired a man who is master of so valuable quality as that of blowing heat and therefore resolved to entertain him in the best manner he could he spread the table of dried fruits of several sorts and produced a remnant of old cordial wine which he mulled with some warm spices over the fire and presented to his shivering guest but this the traveller thought fit to blow upon likewise and when the satyr demanded a reason why he did so he replied to cool his dish the second answer provoked the satyr's indignation as much as the first had kindled his surprise so taking the man by the shoulders he thrust him out of the place saying he would have nothing to do with a wretch who had so vile a quality as to blow hot and cold with the same breath application nothing can be more offensive to a man of a sincere honest heart than he who blows with different breaths from the same mouth who flatters a man to his face and reviles him behind his back such double dealing false friends ought and will always be considered as unworthy of being treated otherwise than his worthless and disagreeable persons for unless the tenor of a man's life be always true and consistent with itself the less one has to do with him the better it is unfortunately too common with persons of this cast of character in the exalted stations of life to serve a present view or perhaps only the caprice or whim of the moment to blow nothing but what is warm benevolent and cherishing to raise up the expectations of a dependent to the highest degree and when they suspect he may prove troublesome they then by a sudden cold forbidding air easily blast off hopes and expectations but such a temper whether a proceed from a designed or natural levity is detestable and has been the cause of much trouble in mortification to many a brave deserving man the end of section 84 section 85 of tables of esop and others this is a libra vox recording all libra vox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit libra vox.org recording by larry wilson fables of esop and others by esop the fox and the grapes a hungry fox coming into a vineyard where their hung delicious clusters of ripe grapes his mouth watered to be at them but they were nailed up to a trellis so high that with all his springing and leaping he could not reach a single bunch at last growing tired and disappointed let who will take them says he they are but green and sour so i'll eat let them alone application the effect to despise that which they have long so ineffectually labored to obtain is the only consolation to which weak minds can have recourse both to palliate their inability and to take off the bitterness of disappointment there is a strange propensity in mankind to this temper and there is a numerous class of vain coxcomes in the world who because they would never be thought to be disappointed in any of their pursuits pretend to dislike everything they cannot obtain the discarded statesman considering the corruption of the times would not have any hand in the administration of affairs for the world the needy adventurer the pretended patriot would feign persuade all who will listen to them that they would not go cringing and creeping into a drawing room for the best place the king has in his disposal worthless young fellows who find that their addresses to virtue and beauty are rejected and poor rogues who laugh to scorn the rich and great are all alike in saying like sly reynard the grapes are sour into section 85 section 86 of fables of asop and others this is a liverwax recording all liverwax recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit liverwax.org recording by muhammad bin name from lahore fables of asop and others by asop the mischievous dog a certain man had a dog which was so ferocious and surely that he was compelled to fasten a heavy clog to his collar to keep him from running at and indiscriminately seizing upon every animal that came in his way this the wanker took for a badge of honorable distinction and grew so insolent upon it that he looked down with an air of scorn upon the neighboring dogs and refused to keep them company but a sly old poacher who was one of the gang assured him that he had no reason to value himself upon the favor he wore since it was fixed upon him as a badge of disgrace not of honor application the only true way of estimating the value of tokens of distinction is to reflect on what account they were conferred those which have been acquired from virtuous actions will be recorded as illustrious signs of dignity but if they have been bestowed upon the worthless and base as the reward of vice or corruption all the stars and garters and callers of an illustrious order all the tints and glories in which such creatures may stirred about infancy superiority will not mask them from the sight of men of disconcerment who will always consider the means by which their honor have been obtained and truly estimate them as badges of absiment and disgrace end of section 86 recording by Muhammad bin Naim from Lahore