3.15. THE DOG TO THE LAMB. A Dog said to a Lamb bleating among some She-Goats: “Simpleton, you are mistaken; your mother is not here;” and pointed out some Sheep at a distance, in a flock by themselves.
“I am not looking for her,” said the Lamb, “who, when she thinks fit, conceives, then carries her unknown burden for a certain number of months, and at last empties out the fallen bundle; but for her who, presenting her udder, nourishes me, and deprives her young ones of milk that I may not go without.”
“Still,” said the Dog, “she ought to be preferred who brought you forth.”
“Not at all: how was she to know whether I should be born black or white? However, suppose she did know; seeing I was born a male, truly she conferred a great obligation on me in giving me birth, that I might expect the butcher every hour. Why should she, who had no power in engendering me, be preferred to her who took pity on me as I lay, and of her own accord shewed me a welcome affection? It is kindliness makes parents, not the ordinary course of Nature.”
By these lines the author meant to show that men are averse to fixed rules, but are won by kind services. [more info]
“I am not looking for her,” said the Lamb, “who, when she thinks fit, conceives, then carries her unknown burden for a certain number of months, and at last empties out the fallen bundle; but for her who, presenting her udder, nourishes me, and deprives her young ones of milk that I may not go without.”
“Still,” said the Dog, “she ought to be preferred who brought you forth.”
“Not at all: how was she to know whether I should be born black or white? However, suppose she did know; seeing I was born a male, truly she conferred a great obligation on me in giving me birth, that I might expect the butcher every hour. Why should she, who had no power in engendering me, be preferred to her who took pity on me as I lay, and of her own accord shewed me a welcome affection? It is kindliness makes parents, not the ordinary course of Nature.”
By these lines the author meant to show that men are averse to fixed rules, but are won by kind services. [more info]
No comments:
Post a Comment