Boothby: Juno and the Peacock
A Peacock once upbraided heaven,
Who, little favouring, had not given
To him the nightingale's sweet note:
"Whene'er," he says, "I stretch my throat,
All laugh, but stand enchanted round
To listen to his charming sound."
"To thee," says Juno in reply,
(Her favourite bird to satisfy,)
"Nature has grace and colour lent,
Enough the vainest to content;
A neck that with the emerald vies;
A train thick gemm'd with golden eyes."
"Without a voice, ah! what avail,"
He says, "the crest or gaudy tail!"
"To each," the Goddess answers, "Fate
Has given what best becomes his state;
Strength to the Eagle, form to thee,
To Philomel sweet melody,
To the wise Raven times to know,
And divination to the Crow;
Each with his lot contented lives,
Nor asks for more than nature gives."
Learn to enjoy the goods possess't;
And leave unenvied all the rest.
L'Estrange: A Peacock to Juno
The Peacock, they say, laid it extremely to Heart, that being Juno’s darling Bird, he had not the Nightingal’s Voice super-added to the Beauty of his own Plumes. Upon this Subject he petition’d his Patroness, who gave him for Answer, that Providence had assign’d every Bird its Proportion, and so bad him content himself with his Lot.
The Boundaries of Heaven are in such manner distributed, that every living Creature has its share; beside, that to desire Things against Nature, is effectually to blame the very Author of Nature itself.
Aesop's Fables: Caxton (1484)
4.4. Of Iuno the goddesse and of the pecok and of the nyghtyngale
Every one oughte to be content of kynde / and of suche good as god hath sente vnto hym / wherof he must vse Iustly / As reherceth this fable of a pecok whiche came to Iuno the goddesse / and sayd to her I am heuy and sorowful / by cause I can not synge as wel as the nyghtyngale For euery one mocketh and scorneth me / by cause I can not synge / And Iuno wold comforte hym and sayd / thy fayre forme and beaute is fayrer and more worthy and of gretter preysynge than the songe of the nyghtyngale / For thy fethers and thy colour ben resplendysshyng as the precoius Emerawd And ther is no byrde lyke to thy fethers ne to thy beaulte / And the pecok sayd thenne to Iuno / All this is nought / syth I cannot synge / And thenne Iuno sayd ageyne thus to the pecok for to contente hym / This is in the diposycion of the goddes / whiche haue gyuen to eyther of yow one propyrte / and one vertue / suche as it pleasyd them / As to the they haue gyuen fayr fygure / to the egle haue they gyuen strengthe / and to the nyghtyngale fayr & playsaunt songe / And so to all other byrdes / wherfore euery one must be content of that that he hath
For the myserable auarycious / the more goodes that they haue the more they desyre to haue
Aesop's Fables: Townsend (1867)
210. The Peacock and Juno
THE PEACOCK made complaint to Juno that, while the nightingale pleased every ear with his song, he himself no sooner opened his mouth than he became a laughingstock to all who heard him. The Goddess, to console him, said, 'But you far excel in beauty and in size. The splendor of the emerald shines in your neck and you unfold a tail gorgeous with painted plumage.' 'But for what purpose have I,' said the bird, 'this dumb beauty so long as I am surpassed in song?' 'The lot of each,' replied Juno, 'has been assigned by the will of the Fates--to thee, beauty; to the eagle, strength; to the nightingale, song; to the raven, favorable, and to the crow, unfavorable auguries. These are all contented with the endowments allotted to them.'
097. THE PEACOCK AND JUNO
The Peacock was greatly discontented because he had not a beautiful voice like the nightingale, and he went and complained to Juno about it. "The nightingale's song," said he, "is the envy of all the birds; but whenever I utter a sound I become a laughing-stock." The goddess tried to console him by saying, "You have not, it is true, the power of song, but then you far excel all the rest in beauty: your neck flashes like the emerald and your splendid tail is a marvel of gorgeous colour." But the Peacock was not appeased. "What is the use," said he, "of being beautiful, with a voice like mine?" Then Juno replied, with a shade of sternness in her tones, "Fate has allotted to all their destined gifts: to yourself beauty, to the eagle strength, to the nightingale song, and so on to all the rest in their degree; but you alone are dissatisfied with your portion. Make, then, no more complaints. For, if your present wish were granted, you would quickly find cause for fresh discontent."
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