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 |  |
A Stately
Elm, that num'rous Years had stood,
And grac'd the Margin of a Rapid Flood;
(By its large Bulk, to Vanity betray'd)
A neighb'ring Osier's Weakness did upbraid;
That still it yielded to the Water's Course,
While his fix'd Root withstood its strongest Force.
And grac'd the Margin of a Rapid Flood;
(By its large Bulk, to Vanity betray'd)
A neighb'ring Osier's Weakness did upbraid;
That still it yielded to the Water's Course,
While his fix'd Root withstood its strongest Force.
But Pride do's seldom a sure Station know;
A sudden Change brought the vain Boaster low:
The swelling Torrent, too impetuous grown,
O'er-turn'd the Elm, and bore its Trophy down.
Thus, by a just Return, its Pride was quell'd,
And fell, by what it had been long upheld:
While still the pliant Osier kept its ground,
And smiling saw its first Despiser drown'd.
A sudden Change brought the vain Boaster low:
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O'er-turn'd the Elm, and bore its Trophy down.
Thus, by a just Return, its Pride was quell'd,
And fell, by what it had been long upheld:
While still the pliant Osier kept its ground,
And smiling saw its first Despiser drown'd.
Then said; You act unkindly, I profess,
To leave your Friend and Neighbour in Distress:
Why shou'd your Greatness flinch, while I stand fast?
Are your Bravado's come to this at last?
To leave your Friend and Neighbour in Distress:
Why shou'd your Greatness flinch, while I stand fast?
Are your Bravado's come to this at last?
| Truth in Fiction | |