What wonder that all’s transient,—that all suffering ends?”
’Twas thus the hare the lion tricked with specious lies;
And added: “Hence the reason why I cannot rise.”
The lion answered: “I see naught to cause thy fear.
Point out to me the object seems to thee so drear.”415
The hare then: “In this well thy foe takes his repose.
His stronghold is this pit, where he’s secure from woes.
A wise man hides himself at bottom of a well;
For ’tis in solitude heart’s choicest raptures dwell.
Seclusion’s gloom is easier borne than wrongs from men.