Truth in Fiction Or, Morality in Masquerade. A Collection of Two hundred twenty five Select Fables of Aesop, and other Authors. Done into English Verse. By Edmund Arwaker |
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 | Truth in Fiction |  |
FABLE LVIII. The Father and his Sons:
Or, Unity, and Security.
An aged Yeoman, who much Wealth possess'd,
And with a num'rous Progeny was bless'd;
Observ'd, with Grief, his Sons did daily Jar,
And wag'd, among themselves, intestine War:
Nature's soft Voice cou'd not their Feuds asswage,
Nor his Commands, or Tears, restrain their Rage.
He saw what Ill this did to all portend,
And knew their Strife wou'd in their Ruin end:
Which (since Advice, and Threatnings, were mispent)
He sought, by other Methods, to prevent:
And for that good Design, when next they fought,
A Sheaf of Arrows, well compacted, brought,
And bid them sev'rally their Strength apply
To break the Bundle; but in vain they try:
For while they in so close a Band were ty'd,
The brittle Sticks their baffled Force defy'd.
Their Father then (a new Effort to make)
Bid ev'ry Son a Single Arrow take,
Commanding each on that to try his Hand:
And then, with ease, each broke his yielding Wand.
This done, the rev'rend Sire thus gravely spoke;
United, these were whole; divided, broke:
Take then, my Sons, the sound Advice I give,
And by this Emblem, learn in Peace to live:
Thus you shall baffle all Attempts of Wrong,
Secure in Concord, and in Union strong:
But by Division, weak and helpless made,
To all Insults you will be open laid:
And you, who wou'd not, for Defence, combine,
By Disagreements, must in Ruin join.
And with a num'rous Progeny was bless'd;
Observ'd, with Grief, his Sons did daily Jar,
And wag'd, among themselves, intestine War:
Nature's soft Voice cou'd not their Feuds asswage,
Nor his Commands, or Tears, restrain their Rage.
He saw what Ill this did to all portend,
And knew their Strife wou'd in their Ruin end:
80
He sought, by other Methods, to prevent:
And for that good Design, when next they fought,
A Sheaf of Arrows, well compacted, brought,
And bid them sev'rally their Strength apply
To break the Bundle; but in vain they try:
For while they in so close a Band were ty'd,
The brittle Sticks their baffled Force defy'd.
Their Father then (a new Effort to make)
Bid ev'ry Son a Single Arrow take,
Commanding each on that to try his Hand:
And then, with ease, each broke his yielding Wand.
This done, the rev'rend Sire thus gravely spoke;
United, these were whole; divided, broke:
Take then, my Sons, the sound Advice I give,
And by this Emblem, learn in Peace to live:
Thus you shall baffle all Attempts of Wrong,
Secure in Concord, and in Union strong:
But by Division, weak and helpless made,
To all Insults you will be open laid:
And you, who wou'd not, for Defence, combine,
By Disagreements, must in Ruin join.
The MORAL.
‘Collective Bodies, in close Union join'd,‘Remain Invincible while so combin'd;
‘But, when divided, are an easie Prey:
‘The Whole do's in its weakned Parts decay.
‘So a compacted Wall, is firm and strong,
‘Maintains its Ground, and braves Time's Fury long;
‘But when one Stone do's from its Station fall,
‘Encroaching Ruin quickly shatters all.
| Truth in Fiction | |