Page:The Works of the Rev. Jonathan Swift, Volume 10.djvu/249



AWS penned with the utmost care and exactness, and in the vulgar language, are often perverted to wrong meanings; then why should we wonder that the Bible is so?

Although men are accused for not knowing their weakness, yet perhaps as few know their own strength.

A man seeing a wasp creeping into a vial filled with honey, that was hung on a fruit tree, said thus: Why, thou sottish animal, art thou mad to go into the vial, where you see many hundred of your kind dying before you? The reproach is just, answered the wasp, but not from you men, who are so far from taking example by other people's follies, that you will not take warning by your own. If after falling several times into this vial, and escaping by chance, I should fall in again, I should then but resemble you.

An old miser kept a tame jackdaw, that used to steal pieces of money, and hide them in a hole, which the cat observing, asked. Why he would hoard up those round shining things that he could make no use of? Why, said the jackdaw, my master has a whole chest full, and makes no more use of them than I. . X.