pany of animals, not excluding the two jackals, suffered grievously from hunger and huddled together. As the proverb puts it:
A king, though proud and pure of birth,
Will see his servants flee
A court where no rewards are won,
As birds a withered tree.
And again:
They may be honored gentlemen,
They may devoted be,
Yet servants leave a monarch who
Forgets the salary.
While, on the other hand:
A king may scold
Yet servants hold,
If he but pay
Upon the day.
Indeed, all the creatures in this world, adopting cajolery or one of the other three devices, live by eating one another. For example:
Some eat the countries; these are kings;
The doctors, those whom sickness stings;
The merchants, those who buy their things;
And learnèd men, the fools.
The married are the clergy's meat;
The thieves devour the indiscreet;
The flirts their eager lovers eat;
And Labor eats us all.
They keep deceitful snares in play;
They lie in wait by night and day;
