Fables of Æsop and Other Eminent Mythologists/Fable CCXXV
Fab. CCXXV.
A Fox and a Worm.
A Worm put forth his Head out of a Dunghil, and made Proclamation of his Skill in Physick. Pray, says the Fox, Begin with your Own Infirmities before you Meddle with other Peoples.
The Moral.
Physician Cure thy Self.
REFLEXION.
SAYING and Doing are Two Things. Physcian Cure thy self, Preaches to us upon This Fable. Every Man does Best in his own Trade, and the Cobler is not to go beyond his Last. We have of These Dunghil-Pretenders, in All Professions, and but too many of them that Thrive upon their Arrogance. If This Worm had met with an Ass to Encourage his Vanity, instead of a Fox to Correct it, he might have been Advanc’d to a Doctor of the College perhaps: Or to some more Considerable Post of Honour, either in a Church or State.