Fables of La Fontaine — a New Edition, with Notes - Jean de La Fontaine

[[15]] Bidpaii.
[[16]] Bellerophon.--The son of King Glaucus, who, after a wandering life, died a prey to melancholy.

[[17]] Bidpaii.
[[18]] This fable is thought to have been inspired by the friendship of La Fontaine for Fouquet, the minister whom Louis XIV., actuated mostly by jealousy and envy, disgraced and imprisoned. See the Translator's Preface.

[XII].--THE HOG, THE GOAT, AND THE SHEEP.[[19]]

A goat, a sheep, and porker fat,
All to the market rode together.
Their own amusement was not that
Which caused their journey thither.
Their coachman did not mean to 'set them down'
To see the shows and wonders of the town.
The porker cried, in piercing squeals,
As if with butchers at his heels.
The other beasts, of milder mood,
The cause by no means understood.
They saw no harm, and wonder'd why
At such a rate the hog should cry.
'Hush there, old piggy!' said the man,
'And keep as quiet as you can.
What wrong have you to squeal about,
And raise this dev'lish, deaf'ning shout?
These stiller persons at your side
Have manners much more dignified.
Pray, have you heard
A single word
Come from that gentleman in wool?
That proves him wise.' 'That proves him fool!'
The testy hog replied;
'For did he know
To what we go,
He'd cry almost to split his throat;
So would her ladyship the goat.
They only think to lose with ease,
The goat her milk, the sheep his fleece:
They're, maybe, right; but as for me,
This ride is quite another matter.
Of service only on the platter,
My death is quite a certainty.
Adieu, my dear old piggery!'
The porker's logic proved at once
Himself a prophet and a dunce.
Hope ever gives a present ease,
But fear beforehand kills:
The wisest he who least foresees
Inevitable ills.

[[19]] Aesop.

[XIII].--THYRSIS AND AMARANTH.

For Mademoiselle De Sillery.[[20]]

I had the Phrygian quit,
Charm'd with Italian wit;[[21]]
But a divinity
Would on Parnassus see
A fable more from me.
Such challenge to refuse,
Without a good excuse,
Is not the way to use
Divinity or muse.
Especially to one
Of those who truly are,
By force of being fair,
Made queens of human will.
A thing should not be done
In all respects so ill.
For, be it known to all,
From Sillery the call
Has come for bird, and beast,
And insects, to the least;
To clothe their thoughts sublime
In this my simple rhyme.
In saying Sillery,
All's said that need to be.
Her claim to it so good,
Few fail to give her place
Above the human race:
How could they, if they would?
Now come we to our end:--
As she opines my tales
Are hard to comprehend--
For even genius fails
Some things to understand--
So let us take in hand
To make unnecessary,
For once, a commentary.
Come shepherds now,--and rhyme we afterwards
The talk between the wolves and fleecy herds.
To Amaranth, the young and fair,
Said Thyrsis, once, with serious air,--
'O, if you knew, like me, a certain ill,
With which we men are harm'd,
As well as strangely charm'd,
No boon from Heaven your heart could like it fill!
Please let me name it in your ear,--
A harmless word,--you need not fear.
Would I deceive you, you, for whom I bear
The tenderest sentiments that ever were?'
Then Amaranth replied,
'What is its name? I beg you, do not hide'
''Tis LOVE.'--' The word is beautiful! reveal
Its signs and symptoms, how it makes one feel.'--
'Its pains are ecstacies. So sweet its stings,
The nectar-cups and incense-pots of kings,
Compared, are flat, insipid things.
One strays all lonely in the wood--
Leans silent o'er the placid flood,
And there with great complacency,
A certain face can see--
'Tis not one's own--but image fair,
Retreating,
Fleeting,
Meeting,
Greeting,
Following everywhere.
For all the rest of human kind,
One is as good, in short, as blind.
There is a shepherd wight, I ween,
Well known upon the village green,
Whose voice, whose name, whose turning of the hinge
Excites upon the cheek a richer tinge--
The thought of whom is signal for a sigh--
The breast that heaves it knows not why--
Whose face the maiden fears to see,
Yet none so welcome still as he.'--
Here Amaranth cut short his speech:
'O! O! is that the evil which you preach?
To me I think it is no stranger;
I must have felt its power and danger.'
Here Thrysis thought his end was gain'd,
When further thus the maid explain'd:
''Tis just the very sentiment
Which I have felt for Clidamant!'
The other, vex'd and mortified,
Now bit his lips, and nearly died.
Like him are multitudes, who when
Their own advancement they have meant,
Have play'd the game of other men.

[XI].--THE TWO FRIENDS.[[17]]

[XII].--THE HOG, THE GOAT, AND THE SHEEP.[[19]]

[XIII].--THYRSIS AND AMARANTH.