"'Twas the Golden Age when every brute   Had voice articulate, in speech was skilled,
  And the mid-forests with its synods filled.
  The tongues of rock and pine-leaf then were free;
  To ship and sailor then would speak the sea;
  Sparrows with farmers would shrewd talk maintain;
  Earth gave all fruits, nor asked for toil again.
  Mortals and gods were wont to mix as friends—
  To which conclusion all the teaching tends
  Of sage old Aesop."
BABRIUS