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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| XXXI. |
 | Truth in Fiction |  |
242
FABLE XXXIV. The Tortoise and Eagle:
Or, The Higher Flight, the Lower Fall.
A
Tortoise, that despis'd her humble State,
Resolv'd among the Clouds to try her Fate;
And pray'd an Eagle to assist her Flight,
That she, like him, might soar a lofty Height.
The Eagle answer'd, Nature had deny'd
The only Means to gratifie her Pride;
Yet, tempted by large Promises she made,
The Creeping Animal aloft convey'd:
But, finding there her specious Offers vain,
With Indignation hurl'd her down again.
Thus she, who wou'd among the Stars reside,
Was, like a Meteor, darted thence, and dy'd.
Resolv'd among the Clouds to try her Fate;
And pray'd an Eagle to assist her Flight,
That she, like him, might soar a lofty Height.
The Eagle answer'd, Nature had deny'd
The only Means to gratifie her Pride;
Yet, tempted by large Promises she made,
The Creeping Animal aloft convey'd:
But, finding there her specious Offers vain,
With Indignation hurl'd her down again.
Thus she, who wou'd among the Stars reside,
Was, like a Meteor, darted thence, and dy'd.
The MORAL.
‘Their meaner Fortune wisely Men endure,‘And in that humble Station live secure:
‘But, by aspiring to a greater Height,
‘Derive their Ruin from the dang'rous Flight.
| Truth in Fiction | |