. Fables of Aesop and others. derstand your meaning; and to let youknow I do, I must be so free as to tell you, I had ratherhave your room than your company; and therefore, ifyou would act like a Wolf of honour, and oblige me,I beg I may never see your face again. iESOPS APPLICATION. 279 The being officiously good natured and civil, is soinelhing souncommon in the world, that one cannot hear a man make pro-fession of it, without being surprised, or at least, suspecting thedisinterestedness of his intention. Especially, wlien one whois a stranger to us, or though known, is ill esteem
. Fables of Aesop and others. derstand your meaning; and to let youknow I do, I must be so free as to tell you, I had ratherhave your room than your company; and therefore, ifyou would act like a Wolf of honour, and oblige me,I beg I may never see your face again. iESOPS APPLICATION. 279 The being officiously good natured and civil, is soinelhing souncommon in the world, that one cannot hear a man make pro-fession of it, without being surprised, or at least, suspecting thedisinterestedness of his intention. Especially, wlien one whois a stranger to us, or though known, is ill esteemed by us, wiUbe making offers of services, we have great reason to look toourselves, and exert a shyness and coldness towards him. Wcshould resolve not to receive even favours from bad kind ofpeople; for should it happen that some immediate mischief wasnot couched in them, yet it is dangerous to have obligations tosuch, or to give them an opportunity of making a communica-tion with us. FAB. CLIV. The Husbandman and the The Husbandman pitched a net in his fields to tak(3the Cranes and Geese, which came to feed upon thenew-sown corn. Accordingly, he took several, bothCranes and Geese, and among them a Stork, whopleaded hard for his life, and among other apologieswhich he made, alleged that he was neither Goose nor 280 ^SOPS FABLES. Crane, but a poor harmless Stork, who performs hisduty to his parents to all intents and purposes, feed-ing them when they are old, and as occasion requires,carries them from place to place upon his back. Allthis may be true, replies the Husbandman; but as Ihave taken you in bad company, and in the samecrime, you must expect to suffer the same punish-ment. THE APPLICATION. If bad company had nothing else to make us shun and avoidit, this, methinks, might be sufficient, that it infects and taintsa mans reputation to as great a degree, as if he were thorough-ly versed in the wickedness of the whole gang. What is it tome, if the thief who robs me
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