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[Page 146]
[Illustration]
FABLE [43] XLIII.
The Council of Horses.
1 Upon a time a neighing steed,
2 Who graz'd among a num'rous breed,
3 With mutiny had fir'd the train,
4 And spread dissention through the plain.
5 On matters that concern'd the State
6 The council met in grand debate.
[Page 147]7 A colt, whose eye-balls flam'd with ire,
8 Elate with strength and youthful fire,
9 In haste stept forth before the rest,
10 And thus the list'ning throng addrest.
11 Good Gods! how abject is our race,
12 Condemn'd to slav'ry and disgrace!
13 Shall we our servitude retain,
14 Because our sires have born the chain?
15 Consider, friends, your strength and might;
16 'Tis conquest to assert your right.
17 How cumb'rous is the gilded coach!
18 The pride of man is our reproach.
19 Were we design'd for daily toil,
20 To drag the plough-share through the soil,
21 To sweat in harness through the road,
22 To groan beneath the carrier's load?
23 How feeble are the two-legg'd kind!
24 What force is in our nerves combin'd!
25 Shall then our nobler jaws submit
26 To foam and champ the galling bit?
[Page 148]27 Shall haughty man my back bestride?
28 Shall the sharp spur provoke my side?
29 Forbid it Heav'ns! Reject the rein,
30 Your shame, your infamy disdain.
31 Let him the lyon first controul,
32 And still the tyger's famish'd growle:
33 Let us, like them, our freedom claim,
34 And make him tremble at our name.
35 A general nod approv'd the cause,
36 And all the circle neigh'd applause.
37 When, lo, with grave and solemn pace
38 A steed advanc'd before the race,
39 With age and long experience wise,
40 Around he cast his thoughtful eyes,
41 And, to the murmurs of the train,
42 Thus spoke the Nestor of the plain.
43 When I had health and strength, like you,
44 The toils of servitude I knew;
45 Now grateful man rewards my pains,
46 And gives me all these wide domains;
[Page 149]47 At will I crop the year's encrease,
48 My latter life is rest and peace.
49 I grant to man we lend our pains,
50 And aid him to correct the plains;
51 But doth not he divide the care,
52 Through all the labours of the year?
53 How many thousand structures rise,
54 To fence us from inclement skies!
55 For us he bears the sultry day,
56 And stores up all our winter's hay;
57 He sows, he reaps the harvest's gain,
58 We share the toil and share the grain.
59 Since ev'ry creature was decreed
60 To aid each other's mutual need,
61 Appease your discontented mind,
62 And act the part by Heav'n assign'd.
63 The tumult ceas'd. The colt submitted,
64 And, like his ancestors, was bitted.
Source edition
Gay, John, 1685-1732. FABLES. By Mr. GAY. London: Printed for J. Tonson and J. Watts, MDCCXXVII., 1727, pp. 146-149. [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 [24] XXIV. The Butterfly and the Snail. ()
- 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 [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. ()