“The lion that of late so domineered
And of his subjects was not loved but feared,
Being cloyed with luxury is sick at last;
Then doctor fox is sent for all in haste.”
ll. 1-4
And of his subjects was not loved but feared,
Being cloyed with luxury is sick at last;
Then doctor fox is sent for all in haste.”
ll. 1-4
By permission of the Folger Shakespeare Library
Pulter here reworks ‘Of the Lyon that was sick’, a lyrical translation of Aesop’s fable found in John Ogilby’s edition (London, 1651). Where Ogilby’s fox avoids the lion altogether, Pulter’s shows his cunning by taking advantage of the dying king and lining his own pockets at the expense of others.
Rebekah King