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FABLE VI. The Boar and Ass:

Or, Generous Contempt.

A sluggish Ass, sprung from ignoble Blood,
Had ridicul'd the Vice roy of the Wood.
At which the gen'rous Boar, with brave Disdain,
Gnash'd his sharp Tusks but scorn'd to rage in vain:
More nobly his Resentment was express'd,
While, with this Reprimand, he aw'd the Beast:
Thy Insolencies dire Revenge provoke;
But, Slave, thy Baseness do's divert the Stroke:
Go, and oblig'd to thy own Dulness, live,
Which 'tis more shame to punish, than forgive.

The MORAL.

‘When servile Tongues on Men of Worth reflect,
‘Their best Resentment is, a slight Neglect.

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‘Let no unworthy Usage tempt thy Pow'r
‘To a Revenge, that wou'd disgrace thee more.