A TREATISE 



fitting tamper to fit ilillj may all of them be reduced to thpfc 

 material! and corporeal! causes, which make them do their other 

 ordinary motions,wherein we find no difficulty. 

 1? If that of the Foxes weighing his Goofe , before he would 



fa Fox re- venture to c^rry it over the ri vex , were plainly true .as itif.lct 

 down j I avow I mould be hard fet to find the principles from 

 whence that difcretion in him proceeded : but I conceive this 

 tale may be paired with that , which telleth us of an other Fox. 

 who having his prey taken from him by an Eaele , brought the 



jivmuj * v . J . . , > '7!fA ? i 



oraRiverjand next day anewpnzein the fame p:ace, having hm rolleditin 

 'f fabulous the fire , fo that fome burning coales ftuckupon it -, which the 

 Eagle comming againe and fhatchiag from him , carried to 

 herNeft, which was thereby fet on fire ; and the vcungones 

 falling down, became the Foxes fhare, infteedot what their 

 damme had robbed him of. Such ftories fo .quaintly contrived, 

 are fitter fora moral! then for a natural! Philofopher :jfope 

 may entertaine himfelfe and his Difciples with them ; whiles all 

 the reflection I fliall make upon them, is, that whenlheare 

 any fuch finely ordered Tales^ I cannot doubt but they are well 

 amended in the relation, by thefe that teH them : it being ihe 

 JHclinationandcuftomeofmott-men, ( partly through axiefire 

 of having ftrangethisgs come firom them ; and partly out of a 

 care that what they fay may appeare like truth , and fo be 

 the eafier believed } to add circumttances beyond the truth 

 ef the matter : which increafing at every new mans relation 

 of the fame accident ( for this humour raigneth very gene- 

 rally ) at the length 3 fo handfome, and yet fo firange a 

 Tale is compofed , tha:t the firil author or teller of it^vvooder- 

 eth a tit as well as ocherSiand cannot difcerne that hisfiorybe* 

 got this latter* 



Therefore, when one of thefe fine tales is propofed to fpecu. 

 late upon, and that I have no light to guide me in determining 

 what part of them to allow, and what to reject I thinke it bet- 

 ter to CKpec-t. an authenticke record of it, thenbetoohafiyat 

 guefles : leaving fiich as pretend-ability in reading of Riddles, 

 todefcant ofthewayes how fuch actions may be effected but 

 for others^that have a fennblance of truth, or do happen ordina- 

 rily ,be they at the firft fight never fo like the operations ofrea- 

 I doubt not but that the caufes of them may be reduced to 



the 



