A Rose in all its glory berated a simple Vine. The Gardener told the Rose that it was pretty now but in the winter the Vine will be the pride of the garden.
Prudence as well as gratitude, is concerned in the protection of a friend that will show his friendship in adversity.
JBR Collection
In the quarters of a shrubbery where deciduous plants and evergreens were intermingled with an air of negligence, it happened that a Rose grew not far from a Laurustinus. The Rose, enlivened by the breath of June, and attired in all its gorgeous blossoms, looked with much contempt on the Laurustinus, which had no thing to display but the dusky verdure of its leaves. “What a wretched neighbourhood,” cried she, “is this; and how unworthy to partake the honour of my company! Better to bloom and die in the desert, than to associate myself here with such low and dirty vegetables. And this is my lot at last, whom every nation has agreed to honour, and every poet conspired to reverence, as the undoubted sovereign of the field and garden! If I really am so, let my subjects at least keep their distance, and let a circle remain vacant around me, suitable to the state my rank requires. Here, Gardener, bring thy hatchet; prithee, cut down this Laurustinus, or at least remove it to its proper sphere.” “Be pacified, my lovely Rose,” replied the Gardener; “enjoy thy sovereignty with moderation, and thou shalt receive all the homage which thy beauty can require. But remember that in winter, when neither thou nor any of thy tribe produce one flower or leaf to cheer me, this faithful shrub, which thou despisest, will become the glory of my garden. Prudence, therefore, as well as gratitude, is concerned in the protection of a friend that will show his friendship in adversity.”
