Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	army_n	great_a	king_n	2,073	5	3.6840	3	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A51894	The fourth 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 1642 to the year 1682 / written originally in Arabick, translated into Italian, and from thence into English, by the translator of the first volume.	Marana, Giovanni Paolo, 1642-1693.; Bradshaw, William, fl. 1700.; Midgley, Robert, 1655?-1723.	1692 (1692)	Wing M565CH; ESTC R35021	169,206	386

the Divisions of the Italian Princes the Universal Security and Voluptuousness of the Inhabitants and yet the Oppressions and Tyranny they live under being fleec'd and poll'd of all their Substance to maintain the Grandeur of their Governors and the Pride of the Clergy which renders 'em equally disgusted at their present Slavish Manner of Life and desirous of a Change It is not hard to surmise after all this that a Conquest wou'd be easy to the Victorious Mussulmans or at least such Depredations as would mightily enrich them The most proper News that I can send thee is of a Combat lately fought at Sea between the English and the Dutch The Generals on both Sides are said to be brave Men. He of Britain is call'd Blake the Other 's Name is Trump Which had the best on 't is not certainly known Men speak as they are byass'd Yet the Dutch lost Two Ships in this Engagement tho' their Fleet was far more Numerous than that of the English If I were worthy to advise my Superiours I would propose some Notable Exploit by Land for God has given the Earth to the True Believers but the Sea to the Christians Paris 14th of the 6th Moon of the Year 1652. LETTER VI. To the Kiaya Bey or Lieutenant General of the Janizaries I HAD once a great Intimacy with Cassim Hali the brave Aga who now is no more on Earth That Honest Old General merited all Men's Love Follow thou his Example and in Time his Post will fall to thy Lot Thou art already in the last Advance to it let no Airy Vice make thee Giddy and give thee a Fall 'T is a Common Aphorism That Health long Life and Honour descend from Above But if they do I tell thee 't is like the Rain which only then does good when it penetrates the Earth and moistens to the Root An Humble Heart is like a kindly Mold receiving the Dews of Heaven with Advantage and Profit but Pride is a Rock which spatters away the Blessings showr'd down on it Perhaps thou wilt be affronted at my blunt Way of Writing Yet assure thy self I honour thee more than a Thousand Flatterers I am not sent hither to study Nice Expressions but to serve ●he Grand Signior with Integrity Besides I know thou hast not been accustom'd to the soft Entertainments of Ladies Chambers but the Rough Dialect of War It is thy Honour to be unacquainted with the Delicacies of Discourse Diet or Dressing Things only fit to enervate a Man's Courage and change his Heart into that of a Woman Thou know'st how to handle the Curiass and Lance the Sabre and Shield the Bow and Gun and art perfectly vers'd in all the Military Terms of Art A Discourse of Sieges and Campaigns storming of Forts and plundering of Camps is more agreeable to thee than all Tully's Oratory or the finest Strains of the Persian Poets I am therefore confident thou wilt not take it ill that I address to thee in a Style void of Artifice yet full of Real Respect and Love If I counsel thee 't is for thy Good and I am commanded to express my Sentiments with Freedom Besides I have a Personal Privilege to advise thee the Right of a Friend Which thou wilt acknowledge when I tell thee that I once had the Happiness to save thy Life as we travell'd together in Arabia Thou canst not but remember that Passage and how that in heat of Youthful Blood thou had'st provok'd an Emir to kill thee in the Sight of the whole Caravan had not I fallen at his Feet and told him Thou wert a Stranger to the Customs of the Country Believe me I do not reproach thee with this but only make Use of it as an Argument to convince thee That the same Motive which prompted me 〈◊〉 interpose my self at that Time between thee and Certain Death induces me now to give thee Warning of a Precipice of which thou art in Danger Every one gives thee the Character of a brave Man and no Body dislikes thee the Worse for being of an Air as Fierce as a Tartar All this becomes a Man of the Sword And they say thou dost every Thing with a Martial Grace But I am told likewise that thou art Guilty of Avarice and that for the Lucre of Presents thou enrollest Men in the List of the Janizaries who are not fit to serve in the Wars such as are House-keepers Persons entangl'd with VVives and Children with Debts and other Encumbrances That they only appear on certain Days in the Military Habit and then return to their Domestick Business without ever regarding the Discipline of the Royal Chambers or thinking themselves oblig'd to learn the Art of War That thou in the mean Time takest their Pay and many Additional Bribes whilst they are only contented with the Title and Privilege of a Janizary to shelter themselves from Justice and protect them in their Rapine and Villanies I tell thee shou'd this be known and prov'd against thee it wou'd be to thy Ruine But I hope better Things and that these are only the Surmizes of thy Enemies For thou knowest that none ought to be admitted into that Ancient Order but the Tributary Sons of the Nazarenes who being in their Infancy listed in ●he College know neither Father nor Patron save the Grand Signior who is the Common Parent and Protector of the Osman Empire On his Service is all their Zeal and Courage fix'd having no private Byass no partial Inclinations to warp them from the Fidelity they owe their Great Master They are devoted to Indefatigable Toils and Hardship during their whole Life This was the First Institution of the Janizaries though through the Corruption of the Times they have much degenerated from their Primitive Rules But thou who art honour'd with an High Command wilt signalize thy Vertue and Loyalty in reforming these Abuses and in not suffering the College of Men of War to become a Receptacle of Rogues and Drones Such Disorders as these have promoted the Intestine Broils of this Kingdom I say not that they are the Original Causes Yet 't is a great Diminution of Sovereign Majesty when a King shall find his Own Armies fighting against him as they do at present here in France How many Mutinies and Rebellions have been rais'd by the licentious Janizaries at Constantinople When laying aside all Respect and Duty they have not spar'd to violate the Seraglio it self but entring within those Sacred Walls with Bands of Arm'd Men have turn'd all things Topsy-Turvey seiz'd on the Imperial Treasure chang'd the Domestick Officers of their Sovereign and sometimes chas'd him from his O●●n Palace to the Hazard if not to the Los● of his Life If thou would'st know what they are doing here in France the Men of Arms are cutting one anothers Throats whilst the Rabble are burning their Neighbours out of their Houses Two Days agoe the Multitude assembled in the Streets and having beset a certain Palace in

or at least to render him suspected So that he who wou'd live peaceably here at this Juncture had need to be well skill'd in all the Secrets of Physiognomy and make frequent Use of his Looking-Glass lest any Oblique Cast of his Eye or Satyrical writhing of his Nose shou'd be Interpreted for Symptoms of Hidden Malice For now they 'll spy Treason in every Feature of a Man's Face As for me when I go abroad I conform to all Companies yet alter not my Address I neither play the Ape nor counterfeit a Statue But observing a Medium I pay a Civil Respect to all without being Courtly or Rude For this Carriage best Suits with my Circumstances Hence it is that no Body suspects the plain deform'd blunt Crook-back'd Titus of Moldavia to be what I am really Mahmut the Slave of the Exalted Port. Paris 14th of the 2d Moon of the Year 1652. LETTER III. To the Reis Effendi Principal Secretary of the Ottoman Empire THE Prince of Conde's taking up Arms has more puzzl'd the Counsels of the King of France and more embarass'd his Affairs than any Occurrence that has happen'd since the Death of his Father I have already inform'd the Kaimacham and others of all Passages hitherto relating to these Intestine Broils Since which they seem to be improv'd into a War wherein Foreign Nations take a Part. After the Return of Cardinal Mazarini to this Court the Prince of Conde was driven to great Streights being compell'd by the swift Marches of the King's Army to retire to Bourdeaux Where considering that it would not be so much his Interest to keep this Place as to encrease his Forces he sent Envoys to the King of Spain and Arch-Duke Leopold in Flanders to desire their Assistance The Former immediately dispatched away Orders for a considerable Body of Men to approach the Confides of Gascoigne where the Prince had a great Interest And the Latter lent him Eight Thousand Men to act on the side of Flanders and towards Paris as Occasion offer'd This is the particular Game of the Spaniards to take Advantage of the Civil Wars in this Kingdom that so by assisting the weaker Party they may balance the Contesting Powers of the Nation and keep 'em in a perpetual Quarrel Whilst in the Interim they gain Ground recover the Places which the French took from 'em in Time of Domestick Peace and so pave the Way to New Conquests In the mean Time the Parliament sent Deputies to the King beseeching him to remember his Royal Word by which he had for ever banish'd Cardinal Mazarini and representing to him the Fatal Consequences which were like to proceed from his Return But the King instead of complying with their Requests caus'd an Edict of Council to be Publish'd which justify'd his Conduct in this Matter He also writ a Letter to the Parliament full of Complaints that they had not yet publish'd any Order to hinder the Entrance of a Foreign Army into the Kingdom But all signified Nothing to Men passionately bent to maintain the Prince of Conde's Quarrel against their Sovereign He has but few trusty Men in that Senate and they are over-aw'd by the Rest Besides the Duke of Orleans bears a strange Sway both in the Parliament and Country At the Instigation of the Prince the Citizens of Orleans shut up their Gates when they heard the King was coming that Way in his return to Paris Yet the Country was open for the Prince of Conde a Subject He travell'd up and down the Provinces to make New Interests and confirm the Old leaving the Command of his Army in Gascoigne to his Brother the Prince of Conti. There have been many Skirmishes and Encounters between the King's Forces and those of the Male-contents and one fierce Combat wherein the Prince of Conde defeated the Vanguard of the King's Army as he was marching to this City Whereby getting the Start of his Sovereign he arriv'd here and was receiv'd in the Parliament whilst the Monarch was forc'd to lie encamp'd in the Field The Prince found a different Reception according to the various Humours of People The Greatest Part favour'd him and he receiv'd infinite Caresses from the Citizens of Paris But met with some Opposition from Persons of Higher Rank and more stedfast Loyalty to the Crown The Duke of Orleans is his greatest Friend and one for whom the Parliament have a great Deference Not so much in Contemplation of his Wit and Policy as for the Sake of his near Relation to the Crown he being Vncle to the present King Whereby he has a Right to assume more Authority than others in regulating the Disorders of the Court among which the greatest is esteem'd that of Cardinal Mazarini's Return In a Word both Parties serve themselves of those who have the greatest Interest and are most likely to compose the Quarrel The Exil'd Queen of England and her Son who have taken Sanctuary in this Kingdom from the Persecutions of their Own Subjects make it their Business to mediate between the Court-Party and the Faction of the Princes The Prince of Conde also sent Deputies to the King to represent to him That the only Means to give Quiet to the State was to banish the Cardinal-Minister And as they were delivering their Address Mazarini came in at the Sight of whom they aggravated their Charge and said to his Face That he was the Cause of all the EVILS which the Kingdom suffer'd The Cardinal Interrupting them turn'd to the King and said Sir It will not be Just that so Flourishing a Kingdom and to whose Grandeur I have contributed all that lay in my Power should ruin it self for my Sake Therefore I humbly entreat your Majesty to grant that I may return to my own Country or whithersoever my Fortune shall call me No no reply'd the Queen not without some Passion This cannot be granted The King had never more need of your Counsels than at this Juncture We cannot consent that so Serviceable a Man should be Banish'd only to humour his Enemies Therefore let us hear no more of that The Deputies perceiving nothing of Hopes return'd to Paris Then the Parliament deputed others to go to the King and Remonstrate the Deplorable Crate of the Realm This was done a few Days agoe In the mean Time we have been alarm'd here in this City with daily Insurrections of the Multitude The Occasion was some private Orders which the Duke of Orleans had given to the Provost of the Merchants relating to his Charge and the Welfare of the City This being misunderstood by the People who have not the Sence to distinguish the Good Offices of their Governours from Injuries put 'em all into a Tumult They assaulted the Provost in his Coach as he was passing the Streets And had he not escaped into an Apothecary's Shop they wou'd perhaps in their Fury have torn him in Pieces For so they serv'd his Coach as an after Revenge I am weary of beholding the

this City they put Fire to it resolving to kill all that should attempt to make their Escape out of the Flames A Person of Quality coming out to pacify them fell a Victim to their unbridl'd Rage And had not the Duke of Beaufort of whom I have often made mention in my Letters interpos'd his Authority they had murder'd all that were within those suspected Walls Sometime before this the Mareschal Turenne took a Place of Strength from the Prince of Conde who in Lieu of it took St. Denis a Town not far from Paris wherein there is a Temple which the French say is the Richest in Europe But they are laught at by the Italians who boast of far Richer Mosques in Venice Milan Naples and Rome The Duke of Lorain plays fast and loose with the Prince of Conde He enter'd the Kingdom with an Army pretending to espouse the Prince's Quarrel but was quickly bought off by the Queen so that he is now gone to Flanders again by this Action leaving a Free Passage to the King's Army under Marshal Turenne to ●ange whither they please which were before block'd up by his Forces Four Days agoe there was a Bloody Encounter between the Troops of the Prince and those of Marshal Turenne in one of the Suburbs of Paris Neither cou'd boast of the Victory though the Battel lasted Five Hours But at length the Prince of Conde's Troops retir'd into the City being frighten'd with the Main Body of the King's Army which appear'd on the Neighbouring Hills Illustrious Janizary fortify thy Heart with all the Necessary Retrenchments of Heroick Vertue And rather than Surrender to Temptations of Vice on dishonourable Terms run the Hazard of a Storm Paris 6th of the 7th Moon of the Year 1652. LETTER VII To Nathan Ben Saddi a Jew at Vienna WE are all together by the Ears in this Kingdom killing burning and destroying one another Whilst you in Germany enjoy Abundance of Peace The Occasion of our Quarrels here is the Return of Cardinal Mazarini against whom the Duke of Orleans and Prince of Conde are Inveterate Enemies The Former is declar'd Lieutenant-General of the Kingdom by the Parliament of Paris Who give it out That the King is Cardinal Mazarini's Prisoner They have also bestow'd the Command of all the Forces under the Authority of the said Duke on the Prince of Conde Their Principal and only Pretence is the Removal of the Cardinal from the King and his Councils What will be the Issue Time will demonstrate There has been a Duel lately fought between the Dukes of Beaufort and Nemours Two Eminent Friends to the Prince of Conde The King going to a Town call'd Pontoise some Leagues from Paris drew a great many Counsellors and Presidents of Parliament thither Men who are Loyal and Stedfast to his Cause This encourag'd the King to put forth a Declaration commanding the Parliament to meet at Pontoise They on the other Side publish'd a● Arrest against this Declaration Thus t●ey continue pickeering one at another But here is News arriv'd from Cologne which surprizes People very much I know not the true Ground of their Astonishment but the Priests seem to be Mad for Joy All that I can hear about it is The Restauration of the Roman Catholick Religion in that Province which is a Novelty unexpected especially the Ecclesiastick Grandeur which it seems has been laid aside above these Hundred Years I tell thee only as I am inform'd my self It lies in thy Power to certify me of the Truth of Matters They say also That the famous General John de Werdt is dead As likewise the Arch-Bishop of Treves It is added that Frankendal is surrendred to the Elector of Heidelberg according to the late Agreement at Munster And that there is a Diet begun at Ratisbon I desire thee to inform me of all these Things particularly and of whatsoever else occurs in the Court where thou residest As to Matters of Religion be not over-sedulous Piety is compriz'd in a Few Rules Yet the Soul of Man is Naturally Inquisitive and would fain be acquainted with All Things I advise thee to cast thy Eyes frequently on the Earth that is under thy Feet survey the Groves and Fields the Mountains and Valleys Rocks and Rivers Then look up to the Heavens and take a stedfast View of the Stars C●nsider the Beauty and Order of All thing● And after this tell me if thou canst imagine That the Great and Immense Creator of this Wonderful Fabrick Form'd all the Nations of the Earth to Damn 'em Eternally save only those of Your Race Son of Israel I wish thee heartily Adieu Paris 11th of the 8th Moon of the Year 1652. LETTER VIII To the Kaimacham THE Parisians seem to be all in a Dream or Trance They know not what they say or do or at least they care not Such is the Immense Joy for the Return of the King to this City The Steps to this suddain Change were the Retiring of Cardinal Mazarini from the Court. Which was seconded with a Declaration of Indemnity or a General Pardon for all that had pass'd during these Troubles save some particular Reserves of Sacriledge Fires and such like This work'd strangely on the Inhabitants of Paris But the Prince of Conde not finding any Satisfaction as to his own Person in his Amnesty call'd in the Duke of Lorrai●'s Army to his Assistance These reduc'd the King's Forces to so great a Streight and Extremity that the Parliament being sensible of the Advantage made use of it and sent Deputies to the King beseeching him to continue in the same good Resolution he had taken before this Misfortune The Monarch suffer'd himself to be overcome by a Violence mix'd with so much Submission and yielded to their Requests Immediately the Hearts of the Prince of Conde's Friends grew cold and began to change their Sentiments In a word they were resolv'd to desert their New Master and cast themselves at the Feet of their Lawful Sovereign The Grandees who had most affected Conde's Interest laid down their Offices The Foreign Armies of Spaniards and Lorrainers retir'd out of the Kingdom The Citizens of Paris sent a Deputation consisting of Sixty Six Persons of Honour to invite the King to this City and assure him of their Future Allegiance All the Officers of the Militia did the like The King being satisfy'd with the timely Penitence of his Subjects and having commanded some Preparatory Alterations in Places of Trust enter'd this City on the Twenty First of the last Moon with all the Joy and Acclamation which cou'd express the Love of his People and the Regret they had abour'd under during his Absence● Thou seest Illustrious Minister that tho' by the Artifices of a Fac●●on a King may be render'd odious to his Subjects be banish'd from his Palace and have the Gates of his Cities shut against him as befell to this King Yet the Inconveniences they feel in taking up Arms against him sooner or later

Holy Prophet when the whole Army of the Primitive Mussulmans was like to have perish'd of Thirst And then how will the Western Philosophers dispose of all the Vapours which they say are Exhal'd from this Globe and afterwards Condens'd into Clouds I tell thee that 's but a Loose Notion of such Retentive Bodies as the Clouds seem to be And 't wou'd tempt one to ask What the Vessels are made of which hold those Condens'd Exhalations so that they do not fall at once upon our Heads and overwhelm us but only destil in small successive Showers Drop by Drop to refresh the Barren Parts of the Earth and serve the Necessities of Men And why the Rains fall in the Indies and other Regions of the East whole Moons together without Intermission the Rest of the Year being dry Whereas in other Countries the Periods of the Weather's Alteration are uncertain and in some Parts it seldom or never rains at all Doubtless the Works of the Omnipotent are Inscrutable And tho' it may be an Argument of a great Wit to give Ingenious Reasons for many Wonderful Appearances in Nature yet 't is an Evidence of small Piety or Judgment to be positive in any Thing but the Acknowledgment of our own Ignorance Now I have made as Wide an Excursion from my first Discourse as the Moulia did who began an Oration in Praise of Noah's Ark and ended with telling a Tale of an Armenian Wheel-Barrow But I will not forget that I was speaking of the Promise which the Rotterdam Enginier has made of his Machine That it shou'd Effectually break all the Force of Spouts which wou'd render him very Serviceable to Merchants as a Convoy to defend them from those Terrible Bug bears to Sailers For the Corsair tells me that these Spouts very often occasion Ship-wrecks either by entangling the Masts of a Ship and so overturning it or by breaking in the Encounter overwhelm it with water and so sink it He says likewise that the Christian Pyrates are accustom'd to use a certain Charm against these Spouts They have a Knife whose Haft is made of the Bone of a Man's Right Arm And every Vessel is bound to provide One or Two of these Knives when they loose from the Shore They buy 'em of certain Persons who have the Character of Magicians And when they see a Spout at some Distance from 'em at Sea the Master of the Vessel or any Body else takes this Enchanted Knife in his Right Hand and holding the Book of their Gospel in his Left reads some Part of it And when he comes to a certain Versicle which mentions the Incarnation of their Messiah he makes a Motion with his Knife towards the Spout as if he wou'd cut it in Two Whereupon immediately the Spout breaks in the Middle and all the inclos'd Water falls into the Sea But I tell thee he who gives Credit to the Stories of Charms or the Projects of Men pretending to excell all the Rest of their Race has more Faith than is requisite to him who reads Aesop's Fables since in perusing that Ingenious Figment we are only desired to believe the MORAL 'T is thought by some That this Enginier will by the Natural Clockwork of his Heels be much more nimble than his Vessel in flying the Disgrace which will attend him if his Phantastick Project prove unsuccessful In my next thou shalt hear of Pachicour Paris 12th of the 8th Moon of the Year 1653. LETTER XVIII To Murat Bassa THE English at present make the greatest Figure and Noise of all the Nations in the West Spain Portugal and even France it self court the Friendship of that Island since the Inhabitants have form'd themselves into a Commonwealth It appears as if the English were but newly awaken'd to a Sence of their own Strength and by thus rouzing themselves had alarm'd all their Neighbours However it be This King has sent an Embassador to the English Court to break the Negotiation of the Spaniards there and to establish a Peace between England and France if possible One cannot tell what to make of the Maxims of these Infidels For at the same Time the Banish'd Heir of the English Crown takes his Sanctuary in this Court Where he is caress'd and made to believe Great Things they will do toward his Restauration But Interest supersedes all Arguments of Affection and Consanguinity They are more sollicitous here for the Success of their Embassy than for the Right of the poor Exil'd Prince He is call'd the King of Scotland having been solemnly Crown'd in that Kingdom since the Death of his Father And entring into England with an Army of Scots was routed and having narrowly escaped the Trains that were laid for his Liberty and Life at length landed in this Kingdom where he has been entertain'd with much seeming Affection But the Dread they are under of the Victorious New English Commonwealth makes 'em begin to talk of his Departure from hence The Prince of Conde has taken Rocroy Which was the first Place where he signaliz'd his Arms and the Infant-Reign of this King about Ten Years ago Which the Superstitious interpret as an Omen of Ill Luck to the King This Sort of People are led by Maxims void of Reason And so there is no Regard to be given to their Observations Yet some of the Wiser Sort think this will prove a long War That which amuses People most is the small Concern the Prince of Conti and the Dutchess of Longueville shew for their Brother's Cause For while the King was on his March against the Prince of Conde they came and submitted themselves to him and were received to Favour Those who are apt to suspect an Intrigue in every Thing say That this Reconciliation is only feigned on their Part it being a Means to serve their persecuted Brother with greater Security and Success Others are of Opinion that it is Real especially on the Prince of Conti's Part Since he and his Brother had never any good Understanding There has been a Battle lately fought between the French and Spanish Forces in Italy Wherein the Spa●iards lost Twelve Hundred Men and the French above Half that Number of their best Soldiers So that the King of France may say with a Famous General Victories attended with so little Advantage will ruine rather than enlarge an Empire Bassa in the midst of thy Grandeur I wish thee Health which sweetens the Worst Events As for me I 'm like one hovering between Two Worlds Paris 15th of the 9th Moon of the Year 1653. LETTER XIX To Afis Bassa THE Gods of the Nazarenes one wou'd think were studying how to perplex their Adorers These Western Parts abound with Prodigies and Surprizing Events More especially the Low Countries feel the Strokes of a Hand which by making ' ern smart seems to put 'em in Mind They 're too high in their own Conceit For several Weeks we have been alarm'd from thence with the Tragical Stories of Ship-wrecks

us of a Mighty Army of Moscovites which are enter'd into Poland destroying and laying desolate where-ever they come The pretended Cause of this Invasion is said to be a Disgust the Czar has taken at a certain Historian and Poet of Poland Who in reciting the Wars between those Nations had made a Mistake in the Genealogy of the Moscovite Emperours naming the Father for the Son The Czar being inform'd of this demanded the Head of the Writer as an Atonement Which being deny'd he rush'd into the Territories of Poland to revenge himself by Fire and Sword These are the Actions of such as pretend to follow the Example of Jesus the Messias Who commanded Men To forgive Injuries even as did our Holy Prophet Yet they scruple not to accuse us of what they themselves are onely Guilty Thus whilst they are Christians in Name we shew by our Practice that we are True Disciples of the Venerable Jesus Doubtless all Men are Just or Wicked by Nature Every Mans Fate is Engraven in his Forehead And neither the Precepts or Examples of Jesus or Mahomet can alter the Inclinations of those whose Stars have Sign'd 'em in their Nativity with the Indelible Characters of Vice Paris 30th of the 6th Moon of the Year 1654. LETTER XIV To Dgnet Oglou HItherto I have been in a Wilderness or at least I 'll suppose it wandring up and down lost and confounded in the Dark without Sun Star Land-Mark or any Faithful Guide to direct me What shall I do in this Case I am tyr'd with Perpetual Rambling and rest I dare not neither can I such is my Uneasiness even in the only Circumstance which gives to other Men Repose Thus I discourse with my self when I am alone and consider my Prefent State as a Mortal The Miseries of this Life are the Themes of my First Contemplation And 't is but Reason it should be so because we feel 'em every Moment They touch our Sence nearly and afflict us with sharp Pains Yet they are but like the Sting of a Wasp Violent for a Time but last not long This Thought carries me farther and puts me upon an Endless Meditation what will befall me after I 'm Dead When I have contemplated all that I can run over a Thousand Paths of Phaney and track'd all the Footsteps of the Wise or of such as were esteem'd so still I find my self in a Desert more entangl'd than a Traveller lost in the Forest of Hercynia which extends from the most Northerly Part of Moscovy to some Provinces in the German Empire and is reputed Five Hundred Leagues in Length In this bewilder'd Condition I meet with many pretending Guides One telling me this is the Way Another that But because they do not agree in their Advice I know not which to trust And am inclin'd to suspect some for Cheats and the Rest for Fools as much at a Loss if not more than my self Permit me to discourse with Freedom my Dear Gnet and let us unmask like Friends What signifies all that the Imaum's and Mollahs can say of Paradise and Hell since none of 'em have been there to make an Experiment Why should we suffer our selves to be amus'd with Notions of Things which for ought we know have no other Existence but in the Harangues of the Preachers and the Phansies of the Credulous Think not that I am going to perswade thee to the Heresy of the Muserin who deny the Being of a God I tell thee I am no Atheist From Every Thing I behold my Thought soon flies up to a First Cause And there 't is dash'd into a Thousand Queries This I lay as a Solid Foundation All Things were not Always in the same State as they are Now. My Experience demonstrates to the Contrary But how much longer they have been otherwise than my own Remembrance I cannot be assur'd but by the Confidence which I repose in People that are Older than my self and the Faith I give to Books Both which agree in this That they are Guilty of Contradictions without Number Those that were born before me and Liv'd in the Days of Sultan Mahomet III tell me many Passages of his Reign quite different from the Relations of others who also Liv'd in those Times and remark'd the Transactions of their Age. A like Disagreement I find among Authors who have committed to Writing the Histories of Former Times 'T is difficult to encounter with Two Men of the same Opinion even as to Matters of Fact Some take a Pride in disguizing the Truth Whilst others have not Skill to take off the Mask There are a Sort of Persons in the World Men of Supine and Easie Judgments Credulous and not daring to call in Question what has been transmitted to them from the Authority of Such and Such a Writer They Superstitiously revere as an Oracle the Manuscripts of a Mortal Man like themselves and Subject to as many Frailties and Mistakes And all this only because they have been taught to do so from their Infancy So Forcible is the Influence of Education Thus the Hebrews believe the Records of their Nation to be of Divine Original though they want not Verbal Contradictions and abound with Logical and Philosophical Inconsistencies But that which is of Greatest Moment is that neither they nor any other Nation no not even the Assyrian or Egyptian Records come near the Immense Chronologies of the Chinese and Indians So that amidst such a Variety of Accounts a Man knows not where to fix his Belief But Whether the World be only Five or Six Thousand Years Old or of a more Indefinite Antiquity this is a sure Maxim That Something is Eternal Even the Jews and Christians who deny the Eternity of Matter and assert the Creation of the World out of NOTHING in a Determin'd Period of Time must of Necessity own There was an Eternal and Infinite Emptyness or Vacuity which is the same as Moses calls by the Name of NOTHING Which will sound as harsh in Philosophy as the Eternity of Matter does in their Divinity Nay if I mistake not 't is of a worse Consequence even in the Doctrines of Religion to assert an Infinite Privation or Want of Existence to be Coeternal with the Substantial God who is Omnipotent Living and Strong than to affirm Matter it self to be Coeternal with Him Since This is an Actual Substance and may with Reason be suppos'd as a Necessary Emanation of his Power and Goodness Whereas the Other is a mere Naked Potentiality a Non-Entity as the Western Philosophers call it and therefore cannot be conceived to flow from the Divine Nature which is Essential Life and Being Yet in these Nice and Remote Speculations I am Timorous and dare not be Positive lest I should prophane the Honour of that Sovereignly Good who is the Breath of our Nostrils To speak the Truth I am Wavering in All Things but this That there is an Eternal Mind Every-where Present the Root and Basis of All Things Visible and Invisible whom we call Alla the Support of Infinite Ages the Rook and Stay of the Vniverse Let thou and I Dear Friend persevere in Adoring that Superlative Essence of Essences with Internal and Profound Devotion Let our Thoughts be Pure our Words Few and those full of Innocent and Grateful Flames For assuredly God delights not in the Babling of the Tongue As for the Rest let us live according to our Nature and Reason as we are Men. For we may believe that the Indulgent Father of All Things will accept us if we square our Actions according to this Rule without aiming at the Perfection of Angels In a Word let us love all of Human Race and shew Justice and Mercy to the Brutes For in so doing we shall not be Unkind to our selves Paris 13th of the 7th Moon of the Year 1654. according to the Christian Style The End of the Fourth Volume ADVERTISEMENT PROPOSALS having been lately made for Printing The Great Historical Geographical and Poetical Dictionary Being a Curious Miscellany of Sacred and Prophane History c. Collected from the best Historians Chronologers and Dictionaries more especially out of Lewis Morery D. D. The Sixth Edition Corrected and Enlarged by Monsieur Le Clerk Done into English by several Learned Men. With Large Additions by way of Suppliment Intermix'd throughout the Alphabet Relating to England c. Wherein great Encouragement has already been given by several Noblemen Gentlemen c. It is desired that those who will promote so useful a Work will send in their First Payment with what speed they can To the Vndertakers Henry Rhodes Luke Meredith John Harris and Thomas Newborough Where are to be had Proposals and Specimens at Large and of most Booksellers in London and the Country