Roger L'Estrange

“ Æsop has here given us the Fiction of a Case, wherein it may not be Amiss to repay an Abuse in its own Kind. The Mockery of the Fox was a Reproach, as it Hit the Stork on the Weak side; but That which was Rudeness, and Ill Nature in the Aggressor, was only a Monitory Justice, and a Discreet Sharpness in the Other. But This is the Fate Commonly of Drolls and Buffoons, that while they think to make Sport with Others, they serve only in the conclusion for a Laughing Stock Themselves. ”

“ The Laws of Humanity, and Hospitality must be kept Sacred upon any Terms: for the Wounding of a Friend for the fake of a Jest, is an Intemperance, and an Immorality, not to be Endur'd. There was somewhat of This in the Fox's leading the Frolique. ”

“ This may serve to Reprove Those Liberties in Conversation that pass the Bounds of Good Nature, Honour, Honesty, and Respect. When they Exceed These Limits, they Degenerate into Scurrility, Scandal, and Reproach: for in All Cases, an Eye must be had to the Due Circumstances of Measure, Time, Place, Occasion, and Person. ”