Roger L'Estrange

“ For People are so far from Liking Your Company, that they Kill ye as fast as they can Catch ye. You're a Plague to 'em Wherever You Come. Your very Breath has Maggots in't, and for the Kisse you Brag of, what is it but the Perfume of the Last Dunghil you Touch'd upon, once Remov'd? For My Part, I live upon what's my Own, and Work Honestly in the Summer to Maintain my self in the Winter; Whereas the whole Course of Your Scandalous Life, is only Cheating or Sharping, one Half of the Year, and Starving, the Other. ”

“ It shews that the Happiness of Life does not lie so much in the Enjoying of small Advantages, as in living free from Great Inconveniences, and that an Honest Mediocrity is Best. The Fly stands up for the Pride, the Luxury, and the Ambition of Courts, in the preference of Palaces, to Caves, and Private Retreats. The Ant contents her self with the Virtue of Sobriety, Retirement, and Moderation: She lives upon her Own, Honestly Gotten and Possess'd, without either Envy or Violence; Whereas the Fly is an Intruder, and a Common Smell-Feast, that Spunges upon Other peoples Trenchers. ”