Page:Fables of Aesop and other eminent mythologists.djvu/46

20 ''Every Man in this World has Two Wayes before him, That is to ay, firt, The Way of Liberty, that's Narrow and Rugged at the Entrance, but plainer and Smoother till the further you go. Secondly, The Way of Servitude or Slavery, that eems to be Eaie at firt, but you'l find it afterwards to be full of Intolerable Difficulties. The Samians'', upon Thee Words, Declared themelves Unanimously for Liberty, and that ince they were at preent Free, They would never make Themelves Slaves by their own Conent: So The Ambaadors Departed, and there was a War Denounced.

When Crœus came to Undertand the Reolution the Samians had taken, and how Inclinable they were to a Complyance, 'till Æop, by the Power only of a few words, Diverted them from it, he Reolv'd to end for and Dicoure with Æop. So He made an Offer to the Samians, upon their ending Æop to him, to put a Stop at preent to the coure of his Arms. When Æop came to hear of their Propoition, he told them That he was not againt their ending of him, Provided only that he might tell them One Story before he Left them.

In Old Time, (ays he) ''when ome Beats talked better Sence then Many Men do now a days, there happened to be a Fierce War betwixt the Wolves and the Sheep, And the Sheep, by the help of the Dogs, had rather the Better on't. The Wolves, upon This, offer'd the Sheep a Peace, on Condition only that they might have their Dogs for Hotages, The Silly credulous Sheep agreed to't, and as oon as ever they had parted with the Dogs, The Wolves brake in upon them, and Detroyd them at pleaure. See Fab. 45.''

The Samians quickly melt out the Moral of this Fable, and cry'd out, One and All, that they would not part with Æop: But this did not hinder Æop however from putting himelf abord, and taking a Paage for Lydia with the Ambaadors.