A Poor Plain Fellow was so Dazled and Transported with the Pomp, the Splendor, the Plenty, State and Luxury that Great Men live in, that it was the First Petition of his Daily Litany to Jupiter, to make him a Lord. Jupiter found he could not be Quiet for him, and bad Mercury carry him Two Curious Baskets with Honour and Mony in them. They were both cover'd, the one with Purpose, the other with Gold, and Mercury was order'd to let the Man Open and Examine them as strictly as he pleas'd but to bid him have a care not to meddle with them Rashly, for fear of the worst. The Country-man was so Charm'd with the Present at First Sight, that he took it away with him by Content, without Asking any Questions. But when he came afterward to consider at leisure the Cares, Anxieties, Fears, Doubts, and all manner of Troubles and Diseases that were Inseparably to go along with his Bags and Dignities; he found himself much more Uneasie now then he was before; and that he had Sacrific'd the Peace of his very Soul, to the Vanity of his Eye and Appetite.
'Tis not for a Wise man to set his Heart upon Gay and Glittering Appearances. the Devil himself Baits all his Hooks with Pomp, Lusts and Pleasures; and the very Glory of the Outside, makes the Contents the more Suspicious for't.Source:
L'Estrange 460.
(not in Mille) (not in Perry)
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