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[Page 81]
[Illustration]
FABLE [24] XXIV.
The Butterfly and the Snail.
1 All upstarts, insolent in place,
2 Remind us of their vulgar race.
3 As, in the sun-shine of the morn,
4 A Butterfly (but newly born)
5 Sate proudly perking on a rose;
6 With pert conceit his bosom glows,
[Page 82]7 His wings (all glorious to behold)
8 Bedropt with azure, jet and gold,
9 Wide he displays; the spangled dew
10 Reflects his eyes and various hue.
11 His now forgotten friend, a Snail,
12 Beneath his house, with slimy trail
13 Crawles o'er the grass; whom when he spys,
14 In wrath he to the gard'ner crys:
15 What means yon peasant's daily toil,
16 From choaking weeds to rid the soil?
17 Why wake you to the morning's care?
18 Why with new arts correct the year?
19 Why glows the peach with crimson hue?
20 And why the plum's inviting blue?
21 Were they to feast his taste design'd,
22 That vermine of voracious kind?
23 Crush then the slow, the pilfring race,
24 So purge thy garden from disgrace.
25 What arrogance! the Snail reply'd;
26 How insolent is upstart pride!
[Page 83]27 Hadst thou not thus, with insult vain,
28 Provok'd my patience to complain;
29 I had conceal'd thy meaner birth,
30 Nor trac'd thee to the scum of earth.
31 For scarce nine suns have wak'd the hours,
32 To swell the fruit and paint the flowers,
33 Since I thy humbler life survey'd,
34 In base, in sordid guise array'd;
35 A hideous insect, vile, unclean,
36 You dragg'd a slow and noisome train,
37 And from your spider bowels drew
38 Foul film, and spun the dirty clue.
39 I own my humble life, good friend;
40 Snail was I born, and snail shall end.
41 And what's a butterfly? At best,
42 He's but a caterpillar, drest:
43 And all thy race (a num'rous seed)
44 Shall prove of caterpillar breed.
Source edition
Gay, John, 1685-1732. FABLES. By Mr. GAY. London: Printed for J. Tonson and J. Watts, MDCCXXVII., 1727, pp. 81-83. [14],173,[1]p.: ill.; 4°. (ESTC T13818)
Editorial principles
Typography, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation have been cautiously modernized. The source of the text is given and all significant editorial interventions have been recorded in textual notes. This ECPA text has been edited to conform to the recommendations found in Level 5 of the Best Practices for TEI in Libraries version 4.0.0.
Other works by John Gay
- [FABLE ] INTRODUCTION TO THE FABLES. The Shepherd and the Philosopher. ()
- FABLE [01] I. The Lyon, the Tyger, and the Traveller. ()
- FABLE [02] II. The Spaniel and the Cameleon. ()
- FABLE [03] III. The Mother, the Nurse, and the Fairy. ()
- FABLE [04] IV. The Eagle, and the Assembly of Animals. ()
- FABLE [05] V. The Wild Boar and the Ram. ()
- FABLE [06] VI. The Miser and Plutus. ()
- FABLE [07] VII. The Lyon, the Fox, and the Geese. ()
- FABLE [08] VIII. The Lady and the Wasp. ()
- FABLE [09] IX. The Bull and the Mastiff. ()
- FABLE [10] X. The Elephant and the Bookseller. ()
- FABLE [11] XI. The Peacock, the Turkey, and Goose. ()
- FABLE [12] XII. Cupid, Hymen, and Plutus. ()
- FABLE [13] XIII. The tame Stag. ()
- FABLE [14] XIV. The Monkey who had seen the World. ()
- FABLE [15] XV. The Philosopher and the Pheasants. ()
- FABLE [16] XVI. The Pin and the Needle. ()
- FABLE [17] XVII. The Shepherd's Dog and the Wolf. ()
- FABLE [18] XVIII. The Painter who pleased No body and Every body. ()
- FABLE [19] XIX. The Lyon and the Cub. ()
- FABLE [20] XX. The Old Hen and the Cock. ()
- FABLE [21] XXI. The Rat-catcher and Cats. ()
- FABLE [22] XXII. The Goat without a beard. ()
- FABLE [23] XXIII. The Old Woman and her Cats. ()
- FABLE [25] XXV. The Scold and the Parrot. ()
- FABLE [26] XXVI. The Cur and the Mastiff. ()
- FABLE [27] XXVII. The Sick Man and the Angel. ()
- FABLE [28] XXVIII. The Persian, the Sun and the Cloud. ()
- FABLE [29] XXIX. The Fox at the point of death. ()
- FABLE [30] XXX. The Setting-dog and the Partridge. ()
- FABLE [31] XXXI. The Universal Apparition. ()
- FABLE [32] XXXII. The two Owls and the Sparrow. ()
- FABLE [33] XXXIII. The Courtier and Proteus. ()
- FABLE [34] XXXIV. The Mastiffs. ()
- FABLE [35] XXXV. The Barley-mow and the Dung-hill. ()
- FABLE [36] XXXVI. Pythagoras and the Countryman. ()
- FABLE [37] XXXVII. The Farmer's Wife and the Raven. ()
- FABLE [38] XXXVIII. The Turkey and the Ant. ()
- FABLE [39] XXXIX. The Father and Jupiter. ()
- FABLE [40] XL. The two Monkeys. ()
- FABLE [41] XLI. The Owl and the Farmer. ()
- FABLE [42] XLII. The Jugglers. ()
- FABLE [43] XLIII. The Council of Horses. ()
- FABLE [44] XLIV. The Hound and the Huntsman. ()
- FABLE [45] XLV. The Poet and the Rose. ()
- FABLE [46] XLVI. The Cur, the Horse, and the Shepherd's Dog. ()
- FABLE [47] XLVII. The Court of Death. ()
- FABLE [48] XLVIII. The Gardener and the Hog. ()
- FABLE [49] XLIX. The Man and the Flea. ()
- FABLE [50] L. The Hare and many Friends. ()