There was a Bob-tail'd Cur, cry'd in a Gazette, and one that found him out by his Marks, brought him home to his Master; who fell presently to reasoning the matter with him, how insensible and thankless a Wretch he was, to run away from one that was so extream kind to him. Did I ever give you a Blow in my Life, says he, or so much as one Angry Word, in all the time that ever you serv'd me? No, says the Dog, not with your own Hands, nor with your own Lips; but you have given me a Thousand and a Thousand by your Deputy; and when I am beaten by my Master's Order, 'tis my Master himself I reckon, that Beats me.
In Benefits as well as Injuries, 'tis the Principal that we are to consider, not the Instrument. That which a man does by Another, is in Truth and Equity by his own Act.Source:
L'Estrange 288.
Here is an illustration for a different Aesop's fable about a dog, but I thought it might fit this fable (
image source).
M0375 (not in Perry)
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