Fab. CCCCLV.
Hercules and Pluto.
WHen Hercules was taken up to Heaven for his Glorious Actions, he made his Reverence in Courſe to all the Gods, 'till he came to Pluto, upon whom he turn'd his Back with Indignation and Contempt. Jupiter ask’d him what he meant by that Diſreſpect? Why,ſays Hercules, that Son of Fortune Corrupts the whole World with Mony, Encourages all manner of Wickedneſs, and is a common Enemy to all Good Men.
The Moral.
REFLEXION.
Mony has its Uſe ‘tis true; but generally ſpeaking, the Benefit does not Countervail the Cares that go along with it, and the Hazzards of the Temptation to Abuſe it. It is the Patron, and the Price of all Wickedneſs: It Blinds all Eyes, and ſtops all Ears, from the Prince to the very Begger. It Corrupts Faith and Juſtice; and in one Word, ’tis the very Pick-Lock, that opens the way into all Cabinets and Councils. It Debauches Children againſt their Parents; it makes Subjects Rebel againſt their Governors; it turns Lawyers and Divines into Advocates for Sacrilege and Sedition; and it Tranſports the very Profeſſors of the Goſpel into a Spirit of Contradiction and Defiance, to the Practices and Precepts of our Lord and Maſter. It is no wonder now that Hercules ſhould ſo Contemptuouſly turn his Back upon Pluto, or the God of Mony; when the One’s buſ'neſs is to Propagate and Encourage thoſe Monſters, which the other came into the World to Quell and to Subdue.
Fab. CCCCLVI.
A Lion, Boar and Vultures.
THere happen'd a Deſperate Quarrel betwixt a Lion and a Boar; they Fought upon't, and the Vultures came Hovering over the Combatants to make a Prey of him that ſhould be left upon the Spot: But it ſo fell our, that there wasno
