¶ The Epilogus.
Herefore fained offers of frendship, are to bee taken
heede of, and the acte of euery man to bee examined,
proued, and tried, for true frendship is a rare thyng,
when as Tullie doth saie: in many ages there are fewe cou-
ples of friendes to be found, Aristotle also cōcludeth thesame.
¶ The Fable of the Ante, and Greshopper.
¶ The praise of the aucthour.
The praise of
Esope.
Sope who wrote these Fables, hath chief fame of all
learned aucthours, for his Philosophie, and giuyng
wisedome in preceptes: his Fables dooe shewe vnto
all states moste wholsome doctrine of vertuous life. He who-
ly extolleth vertue, and depresseth vice: he correcteth all states
and setteth out preceptes to amende them. Although he was
deformed and ill shaped, yet Nature wrought in hym soche
vertue, that he was in minde moste beautifull: and seing that
the giftes of the body, are not equall in dignitie, with the ver-
tue of the mynde, then in that Esope chiefly excelled, ha-
uyng the moste excellente vertue of the minde. The wisedom
Cresus. and witte of Esope semed singuler: for at what tyme as Cre-
sus, the kyng of the Lidians, made warre against the Sami-
ans, he with his wisedome and pollicie, so pacified the minde
of Cresus, that all warre ceased, and the daunger of the coun-
Samians. tree was taken awaie, the Samiās deliuered of this destruc-
cion and warre, receiued Esope at his retourne with many
honours. After that Esope departyng from the Isle Samus,
wandered to straunge regions, at the laste his wisedome be-
Licerus. yng knowen: Licerus the kyng of that countrée, had hym in
soche reuerence and honor, that he caused an Image of gold
to be set vp in the honour of Esope. After that, he wanderyng
Delphos. ouer Grece, to the citée of Delphos, of whom he beyng mur-
thered, a greate plague and Pestilence fell vpon the citee, that
reuenged his death: As in all his Fables, he is moche to bee
commended, so in this Fable he is moche to be praised, which
he wrote of the Ante and the Greshopper.
¶ The Fable.
N a hotte Sommer, the Grashoppers gaue them sel-
ues to pleasaunt melodie, whose Musicke and melo-
die, was harde from the pleasaunt Busshes: but the
Ante in all this pleasaunt tyme, laboured with pain and tra-
uaile, she scraped her liuyng, and with fore witte and wise-
Winter. dome, preuented the barande and scarce tyme of Winter: for
when Winter time aprocheth, the ground ceasseth frō fruict,
The Ante. then the Ante by his labour, doeth take the fruicte & enioyeth
it: but hunger and miserie fell vpon the Greshoppers, who in
the pleasaunt tyme of Sommer, when fruictes were [aboun-
dauute], ceassed by labour to put of necessitée, with the whiche
the long colde and stormie tyme, killed them vp, wantyng al
sustinaunce.