244 FABLES. 



their nibbling will meet with any thing but dis- 

 appointment, as every one must who is biting at 

 that which is too hard for his teeth. Thus it is 

 that spite and malignity, which are twin brothers, 

 and the offspring of envy, are, as well as their 

 parent, their own tormentors. They intend that 

 the wounds they inflict should be deadly, and the 

 greatest \vits and brightest reputations in all ages 

 have been the objects of their attacks; but the 

 brilliancy of truth and justice at length shines forth > 

 and shews the deformity of such characters in the 

 clearest light. Other people, of the same character 

 and disposition, though of minor consideration in- 

 deed, ought not to be passed over unnoticed. 

 These may be called nibblers, who let their tongues 

 slip very freely, in censuring the actions of persons 

 who, in the esteem of the world, are of such an 

 unquestionable reputation, that nobody will believe 

 what is insinuated against them, and of such in- 

 fluence through their own veracity, that the least 

 word from them would ruin the credit of such ad- 

 versaries, to all intents and purposes. The eiforts 

 of little villains of this stamp, like dirty liquor 

 squirted against the wind, recoil back and bespatter 

 their own faces; or like the shades of a picture, 

 serve to set off the brilliant tints of the opposite 

 virtues, which support and adorn society. 



