Defence of the Prophet When he besieg'd Chaibar a City of the Jews he took the Gates of the City from off their Hinges and us'd them as his Shield When he brandish'd his Glittering Sword he made his Enemies tremble I will not say more in his Praise lest thou should'st conclude I have listed my self in the Number of the Kyzil Bashi What I write is only by Way of Scrutiny being dissatisfi'd about these Things So when Abu-Becre lay on his Death-bed he call'd for Othman Eb'n Aphan the Scribe and bid him write as follows In the Name of God Gracious and Merciful This is the Testament of Abdollah Eb'n Abu Kohapha when he was arriv'd to the Last Hour of this World and the First of the World to come Then he fell into a Trance while Othman proceeded and wrote the Name of Omar Eb'no'l Chattab Then Abu-Becre awak'd and asking Othman Whom he had named for his Successor He reply'd Omar Thou hast done well said he and according to my Mind Yet if thou hadst named thy self assuredly thou art worthy of the Honour Thus Omar succeeded in the Caliphate by the Private Order of Abu-Becre without asking the Consent of the Moselmans It looks like a Contrivance or Bargain between these Two at First When Omar swore Fealty to Abu-Becre one wou'd suspect he made him promise to bequeath the Caliphate to him Be it how it will thou seest Omar accepted the Government on Conditions which he himself had made Unlawful when he prohibited any Succession that would be made without the Consent of the Mussulmans He was the First that was call'd Amiro'lmumenin or Commander of the Faithful It is reported that when Omar was near his Death those that stood about him desir'd him to name his Successor they themselves recommending Ali Eb'n Abi Taleb because of his Relation to the Prophet But he rejected him and committed the Election of his Successor to Othman Ali Telha Azobair Abu Obeid and Saad Eb'n Abi Wakka Abu Obeid therefore coming to Ali Eb'n Abi Taleb said thus to him Art thou he to whom I may swear Fidelity that thou wilt act according to the Book of God and the Laws of his Prophet and the Constitutions of the Two Seniors Ali answer'd I will ever act according to the Book of God and the Law of his Prophet but as to the Constitutions of the Two Seniors I will follow my own Counsel Then Abu Obeid going to Othman said the same Words And Othman promis'd to perform all that they requir'd So they chose Othman to succeed Omar in the Caliphate He was accus'd of too great Partiality to those of his Blood For he recall'd Hacem Ebne'l As Eb'n Omaih whom the Prophet had banish'd He gave him also a Hundred Thousand Aspers and to Abdalla Eb'n Chaled he gave Forty Thousand They tax'd him also with Pride in that he sate in the Highest Seat of the Prophetick Throne where none but the Holy Prophet himself had ever sate For Abu-Becre in Reverence to the Messenger of God sate One Step below it and Omar Two So that the Arabians being Incens'd at Othman's Arrogance and other Vices took up Arms and kill'd him Then succeeded Ali. I rehearse this History to thee that thou may'st know the particular Grounds of my Dissatisfaction and give me thy Opinion in this Matter For if Abu-Becre Omar and Othman were Unlawfully lifted to the Caliphate it follows that they were Vsurpers and Hali the only True Successor of the Prophet And if this be granted then we have no Reason to Curse the Persians who are the Followers of Hali. God knows which is in the Right We or They. We allare Disciples of the Prophet and believe in the Vnity of the Divine Essence God bless Mahomet our Law-giver with all those of his House God bless Mahomet our Glorious Sultan In fine God bless thee and me Paris 15th of the 5th Moon of the Year 1657. LETTER XVI To Cara Mustapha Bassa BY the Notices which I receive from Constantinople it appears that the Ground of all the Publick Discontents in that City is the Venetians Conquest and Possession of Tenedos As if the People thought that Island wou'd prove as Fatal now to the Mussulmans as it was formerly to Old Troy when the Grecians under the Conduct of Agamemnon pitch'd their First Camp there to recover Helena the Fairest Woman of Greece whom Paris the Prince of Troy had Ravish'd from her Husband's Embraces That Rape was Fatal to the Trojans For after a Ten Years War their City was taken by Stratagem and burnt to Ashes Their Princes and Nobles either all slain or carry'd away Captives by the Victorious Greeks Onely Aeneas sav'd his Father alive carrying him on his Back out of the Flames and with some other Commanders escap'd to Sea in such Vessels as they found ready The History of all his Adventures is too tedious for a Letter Suffice it to say that after many Voyages from one Region to another at last he landed in Italy where he and his Company setled And from them the Venetians with other People of Europe derive their Original 'T is this make their present Possession of Tenedos appear as an Ill Omen in the Eyes of the Superstitious As if those Reliques of Ancient Troy were now come to recove the Habitations of Fathers and drive both Greeks and Mussulmans out of the Empire But these are onely Chimaera's and Dreams For when a Nation is once displanted from their Native Seat they seldom or never take Root there again Besides who knows whether the Venetians descend from Troy or no 'T is true indeed if Historians speak Truth That Aeneas sail'd into Italy Two Years after the Burning of Troy 'T is probable also that he built Lavinium as Padua is ascrib'd to Antenor one of his Captains But where 's the Consequence that the Venetians shou'd therefore be the Off spring of these Heroick Fugitives They may as well say the French are the Posterity of the Moors because those Africans once seated themselves in Spain For just so Independent are the States of Italy one of another and their Inhabitants of as different Genealogies as are these Two Potent Kingdoms with the People that dwell in them And now the Trojan War is in my Mind I cannot but smile at the Egregious Folly of Ajax the Son of Telamon This was a Great Commander in the Grecian Army a huge brawny Giant-like Fellow that had perform'd Prodigies of Strength and Valour in combating the Trojans and yet at last fell upon his own Sword and kill'd himself because he cou'd not have his Will of Vlysses and all about an Old Rusty Buckler taken from the Enemy which Ajax claim'd as his Right in Reward of his Meritorious Services and the many Scars he had receiv'd But Vlysses over-rul'd the Council of War which was call'd on Purpose to decide this Quarrel and got the Shield himself For being a cunning plausible Fellow he pleaded That though the
THE Fifth Volume OF LETTERS Writ by a Turkish Spy Who lived Five and Forty Years Undiscover'd at PARIS Giving an Impartial Account to the Divan at Constantinople of the most Remarkable Transactions of Europe And discovering several Intrigues and Secrets of the Christian Courts especially of that of France continued from the Year 1654 to the Year 1682. Written Originally in Arabick Translated into Italian and from thence into English by the Translator of the First Volume LONDON Printed by J. Leake for Henry Rhodes near Bride-lane in Fleet-street 1692. Mahmut The Turkish spy Aetais suae 72 F. H. van Hove sculp TO THE READER PRefaces methinks are so much like the Printed Bills pasted upon the Booths in Bartholomew-Fair to give an Account of the Entertainment you are to expect within that were it not in Pure Complyance with Custom one would forswear writing any But the World is humorous and must be served according to its own Fashion Every Thing 's damn'd that is not à la Mode And he that publishes a Book without Civilly accosting the Reader at the Beginning is thought to entrench upon Good Manners To prevent all these Inconveniences 't is thought fit once more to say a Word or Two not in Praise of this Volume of Letters e'en let it take its Fortune as the other Four have done but by Way of Apology for some Things which may seem liable to Censure Some perhaps will be offended at the Zeal which appears in this Arabian when he writes in Honour of the Mahometan Faith Others will as much wonder at his Loosness and Indifference his Doubtfulness of all Things For in some of his Letters he appears a Great Sceptick and confesses himself so These Gentlemen ought to consider that his Style and Sentiments are suited to the Quality of the Person to whom he writes To his Intimate Friends he unbosoms himself with Abundance of Frankness But when he addresses to the Mufti or other Grandees of the Port he is Cautious and Reserved It may be suppos'd that he understood himself very well or else he was not fit for that Employment in Paris And without Doubt having had his Education in the Seraglio as he professes he was no Stranger to the Punctilio's of Address us'd in the Turkish Court It was his Policy and Interest to appear a very Devout Mahometan when he wrote to the Ministers of State And 't is possible he was so in Reality or at least persuaded himself so at certain Seasons And yet this hinders not but he might at other Times take the Liberty to descant on some Absurdities in their Doctrine and Practice when he wrote to his Familiars and was minded to converse with Freedom If in some Points he seems to give Credit to the Arabian Writers who have treated of Egypt and its Antiquities in others he shews himself a Man not over-fond of Fables and Romances However let his Opinions be what they will and his Sentiments never so Extravagant in Matters of Speculation and Controversy so long as his Morals are sound and good there 's no Occasion to be Captious We need not fear that any Christian or any Man of Sence will be Proselyted by his Letters to a Religion which he himself tho' professing it yet so often doubts of and ridicules He speaks very Honourably of Christ and Impartially of Christians accusing their Vices rather than their Doctrines and appearing all along a Moderate Man in his Sentiments of Religion and a Friend to Virtue and Reason If he discovers some Failings in being too Melancholy consider that he was a Mortal like other Men. However Reader admire his Untainted Loyalty and Imitate it You will find in this Volume True History with Variety of Solid Remarks And not a few Secrets of Cardinal Mazarini and Oliver Cromwel Uncabineted Particularly that Famous Intrigue carried on by Colonel Spintelet and his Confederates to save Ostend from being surprized by the French in the Year 1658 and to bubble Two of the Ablest Statesmen in Europe After all assure thy self that the next Volume will contain more Illustrious Relations than any that has gone before Where you will hear of an End put to the War between France and Spain after it had lasted Five and Twenty Years and the Marriage of Lewis XIV with the Spanish Infanta as also of an Universal Peace in Christendom The Restauration of Charles II. to his Crown and Kingdoms after Twelve Years Exile in Foreign Countries and Twelve several Revolutions of Government here at Home With many other Memorable and Important Events and Transactions in the World As the dreadful Earthquake which overturned Part of the Pyrenaean Mountains the more Destructive Plague which swept away almost a Hundred Thousand People in London and the Deplorable Fire which consumed the Greatest Part of that Famous City in the Space of Three Days You will there also find an Account of the Death of that Great Minister of State Cardinal Mazarini Of the Duke of Orleance Uncle to the French King Of the Dutchess of Savoy Of Carolus Josephus the Emperor's Brother Of the Duke of Vendome Of the Queen-Mother of France and of Philip IV. King of Spain with other Persons of Princely Quality For this Arabian was Careful to transmit to the Ottoman Port Intelligence of all Things which were most Remarkable in Europe And that his Letters might not seem Tedious he intermix'd Moral Reflections with some Maxims of Policy Essays of Reason and now and then a Touch of Philosophy And if we may guess at the Cause of his more abounding in these Kind of Miscellany Discourses after the Year 1659 than he did before It seems probable that a General Peace about that Time being established in Europe he had little else to write but his Observations on the several States and Courts of Christian Princes the Different Manners Customs and Laws of People the Counsels and Intrigues of Statesmen With such other Matters as occurred worthy of Notice If either in this Volume or in those that are to come he seems in any of his Letters to alter his Opinion and contradict his Former Sentiments remember 't is no more than what the Greatest Writers have done who have lived to Old Age as this Agent did No Body is Ignorant of St. Augustine's Retractations and Cornelius Agrippa's Vanity of Sciences wherein those Two Great Authors run counter to all that they had writ before And 't were easy to produce a Hundred Instances besides In a Word Reader take in good Part the Translator's Pains who renders Things as he found 'em without Altering or Corrupting the Sence of his Copy Farewel A TABLE OF THE LETTERS and Matters contained in this Volume VOL. V. BOOK I. LETTER I. MAhmut the Arabian and Vilest of the Grand Signior 's Slaves to the Mysterious Esad Arbitrator of doubtful Problems Prince of the Mufti 's p. 1. He complains for Want of Fuller Instructions in several Cases and particularly desires his Counsel as
by the Force of their Arms. But God when he divided the Nations of the Earth and separated the Sons of Noah assign'd to every one a different Constellation according to whose Influence the Genius of each People is dispos'd They all obey the Dictates of their Particular Stars and the Orders of Eternal Destiny Therefore Sage Minister since Mars is the Planet of the Sons of Ismael and the Ascendant of the Ottoman Empire there is no Need that we shou'd turn Apostates from the Star of our better Fortune to court the Glances of Mercury who is onely the Guardian of Knaves and Cheats Paris 26th of the 2d Moon of the Year 1655. The End of the First Book LETTERS Writ by A Spy at PARIS VOL. V. BOOK II. LETTER I. To Cara Hali Physician to the Grand Signior FOrmerly I cou'd have writ to thee with as much Freedom as I cou'd to Egri Boinou on whom rest the Favours of God or as I can now to Gnet Oglou to my Brother Pesteli Hali or to any of my Familiar Friends But when I consider the Eminent Station thou possessest in that the Health and Life of the Mighty Emperor is now committed to thy Skill and Care I am many Times at a Stand how to address my self Methinks thou art tinctur'd with the Majesty of that Personage whose Hand thou so often hast the Honour to touch when requir'd to discover by the beating of his Pulse the Interiour Maladies which afflict his Royal Soul Yet I know thou still retainest thy Humanity and wilt not despise those whom thou hast once thought worthy of Friendship Suffer me then to converse with a Philosophick Freedom that is in an Address void of Formalities and Reserves I know 't is of no Import whether Mahmut be sick or well provided the Grand Signior be serv'd What signifie the Languishing Pains or more Acute Agonies of a Slave so long as he is able to carry on his Master's Interest We are not born for our selves only but by the very Condition of our Nature are oblig'd to consecrate our Lives to the Service of others 'T is a Reciprocal Debt from which no Mortal is free Every Man owes Something to his Relations more to his Friends but most of all to the Publick Therefore I make no Complaints of my Lot nor murmur at the Will of Destiny I accuse not the Stars of my Nativity nor tax 'em with Unkindly Aspects But am contended with my Fortune be it Good or Bad and resign'd to the Pleasure of Heaven As Nature has fram'd my Body Infirm and Weak subject to a Thousand Maladies So is my Mind also harass'd with Distempers which have no Number But above all I labour under a Kind of Intellectual Fever a perpetual Thirst of Knowledge which all the Books and Converse in the World cannot satisfie There is no End of my Doubts and Scruples Every Thing appears to me as Ambiguous as the Answers of the Delphic Oracle Nay I am a perfect Riddle to my self Tell me dear Hali how I shall cure this Dropsy of the Mind and I will not trouble thee with the Inconsiderable Diseases of my Body I have a high Opinion of you Physicians And shall put more Confidence in thy Advice than in the Tefta of the Mufti Conceal not thy Art from Mahmut who admires thee with a Respect equal to that which he pays to the Memories of Avicen Al' Razi Helal and the Rest of those excellent Physicians mention'd in our Arabian Histories And now these Ornaments of our Nation are come into my Mind permit them to divert me from saying or thinking any more of my self at present For it will be better to turn the Discourse to such Illustrious Themes At worst it will be but an Innocent Digression In perusing the Lives of those Famous Men I meet with some Passages which are very Delightful Perhaps thou hast seen the same Yet 't will do thee no Hurt to call 'em again to thy Remembrance I have read in a certain Manuscript penn'd by Ibrahim the Son of Helal a Renown'd Physician at Badgat this Memoir of his Father On a certain Day says he that my Father had administred Physick to the Emperor Tuzun for which he was presented with a Royal Vest rewarded with Five Thousand Piasters and by the Emperor's Command was carried through the Streets in State I observ'd that he was Pensive amidst all those Honours and troubled in Mind when I thought he had greatest Reason to rejoice Therefore I said to him My Father How comes it to pass that you are thus dejected at a Time when all the World expects to see you dissolv'd in Pleasure He answer'd Son He that has bestow'd these Honours on me is a Fool and does things preposterously without Reason And therefore I cannot rejoice at these Vntimely Favours he has shew'd me being sensible they are not the Effects of his Judgment but of his Ignorance I gave him a Cathartic Potion which work'd so strongly with him that it excoriated his Bowels and brought forth Blood So that I was forc'd to use a different Method both to remove his Distemper and stop the Violent Flux In the mean while he Ignorantly believing That the Voiding of so much Blood procur'd him the present Ease and Health he feels therefore order'd these Honours to be done me which thou seest Now that which saddens me is my Fear lest some Time or other he may through his Ignorance commit as great an Error on the Contrary Side and suspect that I have done him an Injury when there is no Ground for it and so put me to Death Tell me my Friend had not this Physician Reason for his Behaviour and Words He was a Man of Great Abilities accomplish'd with divers Sciences and in high Esteem with the Princes and Nobles of Arabia It were worth thy Pains to peruse frequently the Life of Avicen written by himself wherein thou wilt behold the Methods he us'd to acquire a Profound Skill in the Sciences How he was at first puzzl'd in the Metaphysicks and was almost driven to Despair till a Dream unfolded to him whatsoever was difficult When he was at a Loss in any Disquisition he us'd to frequent the Mosques and pour forth Devout and Fervent Oraisons to the Source of Intellectual Lights till the Thing was manifested to him He sate up late a-Nights having a Lamp perpetually burning in his Chamber applying himself attentively to Books and Contemplation This was his Course till he was Consummate in all the Liberal Sciences which was in the Eighteenth Year of his Age. But of all the Physicians whose Names adorn our History none seems Comparable to Thabet Eb'n Abrahim for his Skill in exactly Indicating the Causes of a Distemper by the Different Measures of the Pulse Abul Pharai his Contemporary and Friend writes thus of him On a certain Day says he when I was with Thabet Eb'n Abrahim of Harrain in the House of Abu Mohammed the Vizir Abu
to be reveng'd by employing me in an Affair which must needs be my Ruine However I think I had Reason to be Cautious and Apprehensive of the Worst This made me dispatch to him a Letter full of specious Umbrages seeming to approve his Design but entangling it with such Difficulties as wou'd divert him from farther Thoughts of it Yet after all I have been really brought into Danger on the bare Suspicion of being concern'd on the Prince of Conde's Side By which thou may'st guess at the Consequence had I hearken'd to the Vizir's Advice One Morning early the Officers appointed for this Purpose enter'd my Chamber And having demanded my Name Business and Quality I answer'd My Name was Titus Durlach Nieski but that for Shortness and to denote my Country I was commonly call'd Titus the Moldavian and that by this Name I was well known to Cardinal Mazarini as I had been to his Predecessor Richlieu and other Courtiers of great Quality I told 'em likewise That I was a Clerk who understood some Foreign Languages and therefore had been often employ'd by those Cardinals in translating Books out of Greek and Arabick into Latin and French For which Reason being recommended by Cardinal Richlieu I had been introduc'd into the Acquaintance of several Nobles whose Children I taught those Languages And that some of them had promis'd to make me Curate of St. Stephen 's Church as soon as it was Vacant They seem'd to be very well satisfy'd with what I said but told me moreover They had a Commission to search my Lodgings for Arms and Treasonable Papers It is impossible to express the Horror I was in when I saw them go roundly to work prying into every Corner and searching my Trunks Coffers and even my Bed it self Not that I had any Guilt upon me of concealing either Arms or Papers relating to this Conspiracy but my Concern was for my Box of Letters to the Ministers of the Port. As for Arms they found no other but an old Sword which I told them I travell'd with out of my own Country and a Brace of Pistols for the same Use to defend me from Robbers Assassins and other Injuries These Fellows seem'd mightily pleas'd with the Curious Workmanship of my Weapons survey'd them all over and having drawn my Sword out of the Scabbard and made a Pass or two with it against the Wall after the French Mode of Fencing they put it up again telling me They had no Authority to take these Arms from me since they were necessary for my Defence But when they came to my Box of Letters and saw them written in strange Characters which none of them could read they began to look on one another and change their Countenances as if there were some dangerous Matter contain'd in these Papers and therefore writ in Cyphers They went aside to one End of the Chamber whispering together and nodding their Heads with all the Symptoms of Jealousie At length I Interrupting them said You need not Gentlemen be concern'd about those Papers They were left with me by a Merchant Jew of my Acquaintance and they are Letters of Correspondence between him and some of his Brethren at Rome Venice Amsterdam and other Places in Europe 'T is therefore they are written in a Character which to you appears strange it being Hebrew the National Language of the Jews They contain onely Matters of Traffick being Letters of Mart and Exchange For you know the Jews are the greatest Merchants Brokers and Banquiers in the World These Words with some Gold which I gave them dispers'd all their Suspicions clear'd up their cloudy Brows and turn'd their Frowns into Smiles and Complimental Addresses They told me I was a very honest Man and they wou'd do me what Service they cou'd So bid me adieu By this thou may'st see the mighty Power of that Charming Metal which commands all Things For whatever I cou'd have said without that had been Insignificant But these Idolaters melted into an Indifference at the First Sight of the glittering Pistoles and when I had once render'd them thus ductile 't was easie to frame 'em to the most devout Appearance of Respect and Friendship They promis'd and swore no Hurt shou'd be done me But I knew the Fickleness of human Fidelity better than to repose any great Confidence in these Men's Words As soon as they were gone I convey'd my Letters to Eliachim who cou'd easily conceal 'em in any private Corner of his House desiring him to furnish me with some Letters of Indifferent Concerns written in Hebrew that if these Searchers shou'd come again and demand a second View of my Box perhaps with Design to carry it to some Minister of State I might have those Hebrew Dispatches ready to shew which being put in the same Box wou'd not be known from the other by such Ignorant Fellows to whom Hebrew Arabick and Chinese were all alike and so I shou'd be acquitted from all future Trouble of this Nature And the Event answer'd my Expectation For within Three Days the same Men came again with others in their Company pretending they had fresh Warrants and were sworn to be Impartial Wherefore I was forc'd to attend 'em whilst they carry'd both me and my Box before a Cadi or Judge who having examin'd me very strictly concerning my Name Country Religion and other Matters and seeming well satisfied with all my Answers at last sent for a Priest well vers'd in the Hebrew Tongue ordering him to peruse the Letters Which when he had done he assur'd the Cadi that there was not a Word in any of them relating to the State being purely Matters of Private Contracts and Bargains between Merchant-Correspondents with Bills of Lading c. So I had my Box of Sham Letters restor'd to me again and was honourably dismiss'd Yet tho' this Storm was soon blown over I was very near running on Rocks and Sands through the Persecution of thy Predecessor Kienan Bassa and Kisur Dramelec with many others in the Seraglio The First keeping from me the Pension allow'd by the Grand Signior the Second either sending me no Intelligence or else baffling me with trifling News nothing to the Purpose the Rest aspersing me to the Ministers of the Divan I desire thee to send me the Arrears that are behind for the Space of Nineteen Moons as thou wilt find in the Register of the Hasna Had it not been for Eliachim that honest Jew I shou'd have been ruin'd in this Place for Want of Money I need not say more to thee who know'st that Gold is the Grand Talisman which works all the Miracles in the World Paris 22th of the 7th Moon of the Year 1656. The End of the Second Book LETTERS Writ by A Spy at PARIS VOL. V. BOOK III. LETTER I. To Dgnet Oglou WHO can penetrate into the Mysterious Conduct of Destiny Whether God governs this World by the Influence of the Stars or by the Ministry of Spirits or by his own
I have enclos'd in a Box the true Effigies of the Present King of France with that of his Uncle the Duke of Orleans his Brother the Duke of Anjou and his Cousin the Prince of Conde as also that of Cardinal Mazarini and Queen Christina of Sueden who is now at the French Court Accept also from an Exile a little Cabinet containing Twelve Watches of so many different Contrivances according to the Circular Variation of the Moons in the Space of Thirty Four Years They are the Work of my own Hands therefore I shall not commend ' em Each is wrapt up in a Piece of Silk wherein is wrought in Arabick Letters the Method of using it Perhaps thou wilt find some Diversion in trying the Experiments mention'd in those Tables However despise not this mean Testimony of Mahmut's Respect but consider that if I come short of the Curious Artists in Europe yet my Labour is passable enough for a Moselman among whom there is scarce another Watch-maker to be found in the World If thou woud'st know the Occasion of Queen Christina's being at the French Court She came thither from Rome when the last Moon was in its Wane Her Passage was by Sea to Marseilles having touch'd at Genoua and receiv'd magnificent Gifts from the Republick but they would not permit her to land for Fear of the Plague which then rag'd in Rome and was the Cause of her leaving that City However the French shew'd no such timorous Squeamishness but receiv'd Her and her Train with open Arms. She landed at Marseilles on the 29th of the 7th Moon and when she made her Publick Entry the Consuls of that City with all the Nobles met her in Coaches the Great Guns were discharg'd to welcome her and she was caress'd with all the Demonstrations of Honor that are shew'd to the Queen of France her self in her Progresses The same Entertainment she receiv'd at Aix Avignon Lyons and in Fine all along the Road to Paris the Keys of Towns being surrendred to her for such was the King's Pleasure and a Canopy of State born over her Head when she enter'd any Town and receiv'd the Addresses and Compliments of Governours Prelates and other Great Men in Authority She was likewise Magnificently treated by Princes and the Chief Dukes of the Realm And on the 8th of the last Moon made her Entry into this City on Horse-back apparell'd like a Man Where having staid some Time she departed for Compiegne to visit the Court which resides there now It is not Suppos'd she will tarry long in France but as soon as she hears the Plague is abated in Rome and the Adjacent Parts she will return thither to pass away the Residue of her Life in that Nest of Princes and Prelates of the Nazarene Belief A little before she left Rome the Spaniards there had Conspir'd to seize on her Person as also on the Pope to have Murder'd the Portugal Embassador and set the City on Fire But the Plot was discover'd and the Conspirators put in Prison For the Sentence of Death is never pass'd in Criminal Cases among the Nazarenes without a Formal Tryal Here is a Rumour as if a Great Fire had some Moons ago broke out in Constantinople and consum'd much of that City I wonder none of my Friends nor any other residing there have sent me an Account of any such Thing Which fills me with Hopes that this Report is false From all Hands we are assur'd that the Suedes and Brandenburghers have obtain'd a great Victory over the Poles and Tartars at Warsaw the Vanquish'd having lost above Six Thousand Men on the Spot with all their Ammunition and Baggage And unfortunate King Casimir was forc'd to fly with a small Retinue towards Hungary 'T was the General Expectation of Europe that the Moscovites and Germans wou'd have done something extraordinary for the Poles and by some surprizing Action put a check to the Suedish Successes and Triumphs For when the Moscovite Embassador was at Koningsberg endeavouring to withdraw the Duke of Brandenburgh from the Suedish Interest he vomited forth terrible Menaces in Case they comply'd not with His Master's Proposals And one Day in a furious Zeal he took a large Goblet of Wine in the Elector's Presence and having drank it off to the Czars Health the Barbarian said aloud Thus shall the great Emperour of the Moscovites devour all that oppose him But now it seems these were only Empty Bravadoes and the Moscovites were resolv'd to stand by and see who got the better on 't The same may be said of the Emperour and Prince of Transylvania so of the Danes and Hollanders who now all declare for the Srrongest Party Magnanimous Vizir if the present Engagements and Wars in Dalmatia and Candy besides the Domestick Troubles of the Ottoman Empire did not wholly employ the Arms of the Moselmans doubtless 't would be an Undertaking no less Profitable than Glorious to succour the distress'd Casimir turn the Tide of the Gothish Conquests and oblige the Poles to an Eternal Fidelity and Gratitude to the Grand Signior Paris 14th of the 10th Moon of the Year 1656. LETTER VI. To Abrahim Eli Zeid Hogia Preacher to the Seraglio I Have frequent Access to the King's Library Which Favour was first granted me by Cardinal Richlieu who often employ'd me in Translating some Curious Treatises out of Arabick into French or Latin The French seem very fond of Eastern Manuscripts where ever they can meet with 'em And they have no less Regard for Men who are skill'd in those Languages That Minister especially was very Inquisitive into the Wisdom and Learning of Asia He Monopoliz'd Persian Syrian and Arabick Books and was a profess'd Patron of Linguists He coveted the Acquaintance of Strangers and Travellers that he might by their means Inform himself of the different Laws Customs and Religions of Foreign Countreys and of whatsoever was Rare and worthy of Observation in any Part of the World Hence it was that I receiv'd Evident Marks of his Esteem as soon as he knew that I understood the Greek Arabick Hebrew Turkish and Sclavonian Languages He often made use of me as I have said and gave me free Access to his own and the King's Library And tho' his Successor Cardinal Mazarini is not so much addicted to Studies of this Nature as to the Affairs of State yet he has continued to me the Priviledge of visiting this Treasury of Learned Books where I pass many Hours One Day I cast my Eyes on a Manuscript Written in Arabick and endors'd with this Title The Original Covenant of Mahomet the Prophet of the Arabians with the Professors of the Faith of Jesus and Underneath was a Latin Inscription signifying That this Manuscript was found in the Convent of Christian Friars on Mount Carmel I have Transcrib'd the Contents of this Parchment and sent it Enclos'd to thee that thou may'st judge whether it be Real or onely Counterfeit For the Nazarenes assert it to
the Common Vices of a Soldiers Life and make thee as Renowned as Cassim Hali who was present in 25 pitch'd Battels receiv'd 48 Wounds and yet lived to the 63d Year of his Age. Paris 27th of the 12th Moon of the Year 1657. The End of the Third Book LETTERS Writ by A Spy at PARIS VOL. V. BOOK IV. LETTER I. To Cara Hali Physician to the Grand Signior MOST of my Letters to the Grandees of the Port carry News of Wars Sieges and Battles among the Christians Now I 'll tell thee who art my Friend I 'm at War with my self One Potent Passion takes the Field against another Opposite Armies of Affections are Embattel'd in my Breast My Heart is block'd up Here lies Interest Entrenched There Honour displays its Standard One Minute Nature and Self-Preservation make a Sally the next they are beat back by Generosity and Love The Worst of it is that these Contrary Factions in the Soul are so blended together by a secret Correspondence that it is almost Impossible to discern which is which Would'st thou know what the Meaning of this is I 'll tell thee in Brief I 'm in a Controversy with my self whether I 'd best to die or live Wonder not at the Expression as if 't were in any Man's Power to make this Choice since according to the Mussulman Faith we cannot hasten or retard the Moments decree'd by Fate Assuredly Predestination does not in the least interfere with what is called Man's Free Will Every the most Voluntary Action of our Lives complys as exactly with the Appointment of Eternal Destiny as the Accidental Fall of a Tyle from a House or the more Regular and Constant Descent of Rain Snow and Hail from the Clouds And for ought I know we may as Properly call it the Free-Will of a River to run toward the Sea as for a Man to pursue the Various Currents of his own Reason or Appetite For so a Fountain frequently divides it self into many Streams before it falls into the Ocean which is its Center And Man himself notwithstanding the boasted Freedom of his Will is as much confin'd to act according to his Principles Prepossessions Prejudices Passions and Habits as the different Rivulets issuing from the same Spring are restrained each within the Banks of its Proper Channel But not to entertain thee with more Allegories both thou and I and all Men find our selves Violently carry'd away by certain Inclinations so forcible as no Power of our Will is able to resist Sometimes our Love Hate Joy Grief and so the Rest of Human Passions are as Involuntary as the Motions of our Pulse And tho' in the most Important Actions of our Lives we Generally form some Regular Design as their Scope and Center Yet we do many Things without Reflection as Musicians are said sometimes to play Excellent Tunes without so much as regarding or thinking what they are about By all which it is Evident that our Will has little to do in the Conduct of our Lives We like all other Creatures act according to certain Secret Impulses of Nature The very same Faculty which we call Instinct in the Beasts is no other than what we term Reason Wisdom Knowledge Discretion and Forecast in our selves And I think 't is no Solecism to say That that was a Prudent Dog who perceiving his Master making ready a Rope to hang him slily slipt away and never came near him more Suffer me to make yet a farther Digression and ascribe it to Fate For I 'm on a sudden strangely Interrupted in my Thoughts by a most Furious Tempest A Medley of Hail Rain Lightning and Thunder And this last tho' not over-noisy and loud yet it was the most singularly terrifying that ever I heard in my Life There is a Sort of Thunder which they call the Drum because it approaches near the Sound of that Warlike Instrument making a Lively Fierce Rumbling in the Air like the Beat of an Alarm There is another more surprizing like the Roaring of Cannons But this had a Touch in it of the most Harsh Affrighting and Irregular Noises that ever shook the Welkin I was possessed with a deep Melancholy as soon as I heard the Horrid Clatter begin and saw the Air darken apace with a more than Ordinary Gloominess Then I felt some Religious Passions struggling with my Reason I was full of Fears lest God was Angry with me for my Counterfeited Life among the Christians And imagined no less than that this Tempest was raised on Purpose to destroy me and make me an Example to all Mussulmans who dare deny the Holy Prophet to serve the Interest of the Grand Signior as much a Mortal as themselves Or at least I concluded I should taste my Share of the Wrath of Heaven at this Cholerick Juncture Nay and all the Philosophy I could muster together served but to raise my dismal Expectations of the Fatal Blast For I could not avoid thinking That a Wicked Man is a Magnet which Naturally attracts the Vengeance of Heaven And that I being such in the Highest Degree could not fail of having my Soul scorched up at Once to Nothing or Metamorphosed to a Fury which is Worse by some Surprizing and Inevitable Flash For to pass from this Life by Light'ning Poyson or an Earthquake are the only Deaths I fear I fell on my Knees and Face addressing my self to God with the most Humble and Fervent Devotion I was Capable of I made my Application also to his Prophets I said and did all that I thought would procure a Respite of the Punishment I fear'd At length being tyred and sick of too much Prayer I rose and sate down chearfully remembring I was a Mussulman and resigned to the Will of Destiny Considering also that I was an Arabian of a Noble Stock I resolv'd if I must die to prepare my self with a Moderation worthy of my Blood that so I might go to the Invisibles like the Grand-Son of an Emir Perhaps thou wilt impute this to Vanity But I esteem it a Point of Justice for a Man to take Care that he may live and die like himself without degenerating from the Virtue of his Ancestors or bringing a Disgrace on the Tribe to which he belongs For tho' God has Created all Men of the same Mould yet he has distinguish'd One Family from Another by more than Specifick Characters Imprinted on them in their Nativity And has Ennobled some Mortals with Peculiar Qualities and Innate Perfections which Others are wholly Strangers to So there are Others Remarkable for Hereditary Vices Whether these Things depend on the Blood or on the Different Circumstances of Souls before they came into these Bodies is a Question not soon resolv'd But this I'm sure of That I find in my self both some Virtues and Vices which I could never yet discover so Odly blended together in any other Mortal I 'm always Campagning on the Frontiers of Good and Evil. Yet my Passions are not
can as soon withdraw it self as that Light when interrupted by a Cloud In a Word I conceive the Soul to be a very Free Agent and that it is here and there and every where It United it self to the Body by its own Choice and can retire again from it at Pleasure One closely pursu'd Act of Contemplation will at any Time carry thee or me to the Invisibles whenever we go resolutely about it Paris 1st of the 4th Moon of the Year 1659. LETTER XVII To the Venerable Ibrahim Cadilesquer of Romeli THere has not a Year escap'd since my Arrival at Paris wherein I did not send to the Ministers of the Ever Happy and Exalted Port constant Intelligence of Battles Sieges Storming of Towns and such other Occurrences of War as happen'd between the Kingdoms of France and Spain But now I believe my Future Dispatches must contain other Matters For in all Appearance this War which has lasted Four and Twenty Years is in a fair Way to be ended The King of Spain grows weary of his Continual Losses in Italy Flanders and Catalonia And he of France seems glutted with Perpetual Victories and Conquests In a Word these Two Potent Monarchs laying aside their Quarrels are making diligent Preparations this Year for a Campagne of Friendship and Love They are both in Arms yet commit no Acts of Hostility Whilst Cardinal Mazarini on the Part of this Crown and Dom Louis d' Aro de Gusman First Minister of Spain are gone to meet each other on the Frontiers of both Kingdoms as Plenipotentiaries for their Respective Masters to concert the Measures of a Lasting Peace and treat of a Marriage between the King of France and the Infanta of Spain All Europe is amaz'd at this surprizing Change And the French and Spaniards who border on each other can hardly believe their own Senses whilst they find a Mutual Commerce restor'd between their Frontier Towns and Villages which had been Interrupted ever since the Year 1635. about Sixteen Moons before I came to this City But though they are thus disposed to Peace here in the West the Northern Monarchs are pushing the War forward in Sueden Denmark and Poland with all Imaginable Vigour and Animosity The coming over of the Elector of Brandenburgh to the Danish Interest has made a great Alteration in their Affairs For whereas Fortune seem'd before in all Things to favour the Suedes now they lose Ground and find their Attempts Unsuccessful Four Thousand of their Men fell before the Walls of Copenhagen in Three Nights and Two Days Which caus'd King Gustavus to raise the Siege Whilst the Duke of Brandenburgh retook Fredericks-Ode and thereby restor'd to the King of Denmark the Provinces of Holstein Jutland and Ditmarsen The Hollanders also have had a Combat with the Suedes at Sea and sunk Fourteen of their best Ships Besides what they burnt and took These Events have stirr'd up several Princes to mediate a Peace And 't is not Improbable but in a little Time we may see all the Christians good Friends And then 't will be Time for the Mussulmans to be upon their Guard As for Mahmut he will not fail to pry into the Counsels of these Infidels and send timely Notices to the Port. Leaving the Rest to the Wisdom of his Superiours and the Pleasure of Destiny Paris 29th of the 6th Moon of the Year 1659. LETTER XVIII To Musu Abu'l Yahyan Alfaqui Professor of Theology at Fez. THE Character which the Great and Illustrious Abdel Melec Muli Omar President of Presidents Grace and Ornament of Ancient Learning Oracle of Africa and Restorer of Obsolete Truth has given me of thy Profound Wisdom and Science fills me with Reverence and Sacred Love I am ravished with Wonder and Joy to hear That in this Age wherein the Mussulman Theology has suffered so many Innovations there yet survives a Man who dares and is able to assert against all Opposers not only the Primitive and Original Truth brought down from Heaven by the Hand of Gabriel but also the Real and Indubitable Sayings Sermons Counfels and Actions of the Prophet whilst he was on Earth conversing with Mortals before his Transmigration to the Gardens of Eternal Repose and Solitude Thou art the Enoch the Hermes Trismegistus of the Age. I have seen many Copies of the Zunè or the Book of Doctrine each pretending to comprize the whole System of that Divine Philosophy and Wisdom which dropt from the Lips of our Incomparable and most Holy Law-giver and were Attested by his Wife the Holy Agesha Mother of the Faithful and by his Ten Disciples Yet all these various Transcripts differ both in their Sence and Manner of Expressions I have perused the Books Entituled Dahif or Imperfect which contain the Memoirs of his other Wives and the Manuscripts called Maucof or Fragments Being only a Collection of some Select Sentences Aphorisms and Parables of the Sent of God But these have no other Authority to back 'em save the Credit of some Learned Scribes who were not familiar with the Divine Favourite only living in his Time and taking Things on Report In fine I have met with several Parchments of the Zaquini or Pretended Traditions of Abu Becre Omar and Othman But these I esteem as Spurious Corrupted and full of Errors What shall I say The Zeal of Omar Ebn Abdi'l-Aziz the Ninth Caliph of the Tribe of Merwan is not unknown to me I am no Stranger to his singular Piety not to be matched among Crowned Heads For of him it is Recorded That as he descended from the Throne at the Time of his Inauguration he gave the Robe from his Back as an Alms to a Poor Man And That during his whole Reign he spent but Two Piasters a-Day on himself And so great was his Resignation to Destiny an Admirable Vertue in a Sovereign Emperour that when he was on his Bed in his last Sickness and was counselled to take Physick he answered No if I were sure to heal my self only by reaching my Finger to my Ear I would not For the Place to which I am going is full of Health and Bliss This Caliph was a Miracle of Humility and his Charity always kept him Poor Moslema Ebn Abdi'l Malec relates That going to visit Omar on his Death-Bed he found him lying on a Couch of Palm-Leaves with Three or Four Skins instead of a Pillow his Garments on and a foul Shirt underneath Seeing this Moslema was grieved and turning to his Sister Phatema the Empress he said How comes it to pass that the Great Lord Commander of the Faithful appears in so squalid a Condition She replyed As thou livest he has given away all that he had even to the very Bed that was under him to the Poor and only reserved what thou seest to cover his Nakedness Then Moslema could not refrain but burst forth into Tears saying God shew thee Mercy upon Mercy thou Royal Saint For thou hast pierced our Hearts with the Fear of his Divine Majesty This Caliph was numbred among the Saints He it was that perceiving the Contradiction and Disputes of the Mussulman's the Darkness and Confusion in the Various Copies of the Zunè or Book of Doctrine assembled a General Divan of Mollah's and Learned Men at Damascus from all Parts of the Empire Commanding that all the Manuscripts of the Zunè which were extant should be brought in to this Assembly on Pain of Death to him that should detain one This being done he Commanded Six of them to be chosen out of the Whole Number by Vote Men Eminent for Learning and Piety And that these Six should severally collect out of all the Multitude of Copies each Man a Book containing what he thought to be the most Genuine Discourses of the Prophet concerning this World and that which is to come When this was executed according to his Will he commanded all the Old Books to be burn'd in a Field near Damascus Yet after all the Religious Care of this Holy Caliph to restore these Writings to their Primitive Integrity the Mussulmans soon fell into New Contentions about the Sence and Interpretation of these Correct Copies of the Zunè From whence sprang the Four Cardinal Sects on which all the Innumerable lesser and later Divisions among True Believers are founded I cannot therefore but inwardly rejoyce and from my Heart highly applaud the Method taken by those of your Renowned College to discern the True Doctrines and Sayings of the Holy Prophet from those which are Supposititious by comparing all the Books that are extant together and reducing Matters of Divine Revelation to the Analogy of the Alcoran Those of Philosophy and Moral Regards to the Standard of Experience and Reason For it is Impious to believe that the Divine Apostle would impose any Thing on our Faith repugnant to the Sence of Men or the Express Will of Heaven By the Soul of Pythagoras Mahomet said Nothing but what was Rational and Evident to any Unprejudiced Mind But the Greatest Part of these Sectaries are besotted They form to themselves False Notions of God and his Prophet and think to merit Paradise by their Stupidity Reverend Alfaqui I have much more to say to thee and many Questions to ask But Time and the Grand Signior's Service force me to conclude abruptly wishing thee Perfection of Bliss Paris 29th of the 6th Moon of the Year 1659. according to the Christian Style The End of the Fifth Volume