Temple and the Place appointed by Dostiny for the Tomb of the Prophet Then Medina Telnabi became bright and illustrious The Glory of Jerusalem faded and was ecclips'd at the Dawning Splendor of this New Sanctuary a City ennobled by the Presence of Deputies from Heaven even Gabriel and Israphiel who came down to visit the determined Place of the Prophet's Rest They brought with them Rules and Models of Divine Architecture that the Dormitory of the Messenger of God might be majestick and glorious They disclosed their Errand to Zaphid and Al Kepher two cunning Artificers in the City and shew'd them the Celestial Pattern of the Sepulchre These kept secret the Matter till the Time was accomplish'd which the Angels ejoin'd them Then they declared themselves and undertook the Building of a Fabrick which has render'd Medina famous throughout the World Oh Medina Telnabi how sweet is thy Name among the Mussulmans The Roads of Asia and Africk are covered with the Caravans of such as bring Presents unto thee the Devout Pilgrims who travel from far to kiss the Pavement of the Temple where the Bones of our divine Lawgiver is reposited I saw the Elephants and Dromedaries of the East with Joy bow down and crouch to the Earth whilst Sacred Burdens were laid on their Backs the Camels also of the South of Egypt and the Land of Moors They performed the Sacred Pilgrimage with Humility and Resignation They Fasted 4 5 10 or 14 Days each as they were able in Token of their Devotion and Thankfulness in that they were permitted the Honour of visiting the Holy Region and the Sepulchre of him who taught the Dumb Beasts the Discipline of Wisdom and the Way to Paradise Ever since that Time the Animal Generations have instructed each other in the Precepts of the Prophet who could neither Write nor Read In their Mute-Language they perform Morning and Evening the appointed Oraisons and Preach to their Young Ones by Inarticulate Sounds the Doctrins of Faith clear and intelligible Oh Mahumed Every Letter of thy mysterious Name is full of Benediction and Praise Each Syllable is compounded of Secrets not to be reveal'd till the Consummation of all Things Thou art a Treasury of Wonders which cannot be exhausted or valued I heard the Eastern Wind record thy Praises on a Flute whilst gentle Zephyrs blew soft Vocal Harmonies wherein were often celebrated the glorious Names of Mahomet and Hali. To these Great Boreas join'd in Consort with his Deep-lung'd-Organ sweeten'd in Counter-Tenor by the Southern Wind. They Whistled Sung and Play'd in Parts till all the Younger Sons of Aeolus came in to fill the Choir Then was the Musick loud and shrill It awaken'd all the Woods and Forests on the Earth The Trees and all the Vegetable Race struck up in Union with the Winds the Birds put in their chearful Notes the Streams and Rivers murmur'd grateful Airs the Sea rais'd up her Billows to the Clouds whilst Jovial Tritons founded high Levets of the Marine answer'd in Verse by rumbling Timbrels of the Sky There was an universal Joy and Rant Nature her self was in a Frolick and kept Holiday Why did the most High decamp from Arval and the Eternal remove his Residence from Schair in the East Why did he cause his Armies to lie down in the South and his Pavilions to cover the Regions of Mecca Doubtless he did all this in Honour of the Law which he sent from Heaven and of the Birth-Place of his Favourite that all Nations might know and confess That there is but one God and Mahomet his Apostle The Beasts of the Earth acknowledge this the Fowls also of the Air and the Fish of the Sea The Elements and Inanimate Beings are sensible of a Joy which they cannot express and the Universe is all dissolv'd in Rapture whilst it lies stretch'd out at large unfolded into endless Skirts and rests for ever on the All-propping Vnity Mirmadolin I am part of the Universe and therefore cannot but be touch'd with a Sense of the Bliss which at certain Seasons transports the Whole Thou who art always in a Divine Extasie wilt not wonder at the short Enthusiasins of thy Slave Mahmut who covets nothing more ambitiously than to imitate thy blameless Life Farewel in God for we cannot be out of him so long as we are in our selves Paris 17th of the 2d Moon of the Year 1677. LETTER X. To the Kaimacham THE French are resolv'd to make bold Essorts this Campaign to repair the Loss of Philipsburg which was taken from them last Year The King is impatient of any Check given to the Progress of his Arms and spares neither Men nor Mony to keep up the Reputation and Fame of a Conqueror And if this Character grown familiar to him as it were by Prescription after a long and almost uninterrupted Series of Victories happen'd at any Time to be lessens by somâ— unsuccessful Attempt upon the Enemy he cannot be at Rest till he has recover'd it again by such renown'd Exploits as may be answerable to the Greatness of his Soul and the Formidable Puissance of his Sword known to all Europe He has many and great Armies in Pay and whether it be an Effect of his Fortune or his Judgment 't is observ'd that he is always bless'd with the Ablest Generals in Christendom The First Thing he enterpriz'd was the Siege of Valenciennes a City seated on the Frontiers of the Spanish Netherlands a very important Place and considerable for us Commerce inhabited also by a Stout Warlike People and of very difficult Access by reason of a certain River with whose Waters they can at Pleasure drown all the Country round about It was invested by the Duke of Luxemburg on the 28th of the 2d Moon and formally besieg'd on the 4th of the 3d. On the 17th there was a General Assault given and the French enter'd the Town which so terrified the Inhabitants that they threw themselves upon the King's Mercy He accepted their Submissions and so put a Stop to the common Violence in such Cases Another Time this had been enough to have Crown'd a whole Campaign and satisfy'd the Ambition of the French Generals but now the Remembrance of last Year's Loss and Disgrace spurs them on to New Revenges And to convince the World that this Monarch is not easily to be daunted but that he is jealous of his Glory he has since the Taking of Valenciennes besieg'd two Strong Cities Cambray and St. Omers The Former of these is esteem'd one of the strongest Places in all Flanders it is situated on the River Escaut and was the Ancient Patrimony of the French Crown ever since the Reign of Clodion II. King of France who made himself Master of it in the Year 445 of the Christians Hegira Afterwards it fell to the Share of Charles the Bald in the Year 843 and in the Year 870 it became the Occasion of a War between the Kings of France the Emperors and the Counts of
may get an Estate by oppressing the Fatherless and Widows or encrease his Wealth by ruining whole Families Tell him how he may over-reach some Silly Credulous Young Heir or outwit his Neighbour in a Bargain He cherishes a Spider in his Brain and his Heart is full of Webs To such a Temper as this I cannot be reconciled there is an Innate Antipathy an Immortal Contrariety in our Souls My Spirit is daunted and retreats within me at the sight of such an one A Languor and Faintness seizes my Limbs I am like one that has touch'd a Torpedo Surely there is no Species of Four-footed Beasts of Birds of Fish of Insects Reptiles or any other living Things whose Nature is not found in Man How exactly agreeable to the Fox are some Mens Tempers Whilst others are perfect Bears in Human Shape Here you shall meet a Crocodile who seeks with feigned Tears to entrap you to your Ruin There a sly Serpent creeps and winds himself into your Affections and when he is well-warm'd with Favours on a sudden he will bite and sting you to Death Tygers Lions Leopards Panthers Wolves and all the Monstrous Generations of Africk may be seen Masquerading in the Forms of Men. And 't is not hard for an observing Mind to see their Natural Complexion through the borrow'd Vizard The Physiognomy of Vice and Vertue are easily distinguish'd There are some secret Characters in every Face which speak the Nature of the Person So does Platonick Love with Eagle Eyes soon trace the Signatures of what is Amiable in the Soul We read the hidden Qualities of Men at the first Glance and hence are lasting Friendships often contracted I love my Friends without Reserve and because those are very few among our Mortal Race I contract Familiarities with the Harmless Animals I study like a Lover to oblige and win their Hearts by all the tender Offices I can perform I bear with Patience their wild froward Tricks till constant Perseverance vanquishes their stubborn Humours Then when we once begin to understand each other aright they make me a Thousand sweet Returns of Gratitude according to their Kind When I am Melancholy they 'll soon divert me with one pretty Trick or other as if they were sensible of my Pain But because my Love is large and strong still seeking to dilate it self though still recoyling from the degenerate Race of Men I go into the Fields and Woods and make my silent Court unto the Trees and Flowers and sometimes I converse in Raillery with Eccho's I languish on the Banks of Chrystal Streams and pine away for an old Mossy Rock The Oak enflames me with a Sacred Passion when I behold her Venerable Bulk and Shade I could almost turn Druid for her sake and take my Residence up for ever in her hollow Trunk where the Kind Genii of the Air wou'd visit me and tell me Things to come instructing me in all the Mysteries of Nature for I 'm in Love ev'n with those Invisible Beings and often tell my Passion to 'em in the Woods or on some Mountain where the Courteous Winds transport my Words and waft their secret Answers back again Then is my Soul snatch'd up in Sacred Ecstasies because th'Immortals condescend to talk with me I often fall into a Trance and wake not till the Sun is got half way into t'other Hemisphere Then I resolve to pass away the Night in this sweet Solitude Had I the Tongues or Pens of Cicero and Demosthenes I could not to the Life express the Pleasures that I feel at such a Time when free and undisturb'd I can for several Hours behold the Motions of the Moon and Stars Oh God! What Thoughts what Contemplations rise within my Breast My Ravish'd Soul is ready to break Prison for Joy when 't is inspir'd with certain Demonstrations of the World's Etérnity Methinks at such a Time I hear the Noise and Bustle of the Worlds Above Methinks I see the Active Busie Tenants of the Moon and Stars trudging about their daily Business even like us Mortals here Below Then 't is I nauseate the narrow Principles of Ignorant Superstitious Men I hate to think of e'er returning to the City again there to prophane my Reason with the vain Discourse of Self-conceited Fools and Idiots I am cloy'd with Life and wish to die amidst these charming Speculations Thus do I pass the Time away till fair Aurora ushers in the Rosy-finger'd Morn Then I begin to reflect on my Duty as a Moselman and Slave to the Grand Signior I haste to wash my self in the next Stream and chearfully prostrate my self upon the Ground adoring the Eternal Source of all Things After which abundantly satisfied with these Nocturnal Pleasures I return to the City and to my Business considering That I were not wholly born for Contemplation Learned Hali I wish thee consummate Happiness in this Life and fortunate Transmigrations after Death praying also that I may merit one Day to enjoy thy Company in Paradise where we may discourse these Things more at large and in a clearer Light than what this Earth affords Adieu Paris 2d of the 5th Moon of the Year 1674. LETTER VI. To Kerker Hassan Bassa TO what Purpose am I kept longer in Paris Why do the Ministers of the Port put the Grand Signior to a needless Expence in maintaining here an Old Superannuated Slave not worth his daily Bread And yet God knows I eat not much neither can I taste any Pleasure in that little I eat My Refections are like the Entertainments of Magical Tables where the Eye is deluded with a fair shew of various Delicacies but the Stomach is not satisfied with any real Food nor the Body strengthened by any substantial Nourishment Only the languishing Imagination feeds on Phantastick Dishes mere Shadows and Enchanted Resemblances of Solid Meat while the Man is ready to faint for Hunger So I seem to my self to Eat and Drink but 't is with so little gust at present and I receive so little benefit from it afterwards that all appears no more than a Visionary Feast or a Collation in a Dream I have now pass'd the Grand Climacter of Human Life being enter'd into the Sixty Fourth Year of my Age. My Senses droop and all the Faculties of my Soul and Body decay apace My Bones are weary of supporting their accustomed Burden My Sinew and Muscles refuse to perform the Offices of Motion at least their Vigor is much slacken'd and impair'd In a Word the Infirmities of my Body have rank'd me under a new Predicament I am become a Three-footed Animal being forced to walk with a Staff to prevent the necessity of Metamorphosing my Hands to Feet and crawling on all Four Judge now Illustrious Arab after what I have said whether I am fitting to do the Grand Signior service in this Station As for the Intrigues of the Court I am quite tyr'd of them Besides here are now no more Richlieu's and Mazarini's in Being with
has thee for his Portion in this Life The Gold has no Value or Beauty when compar'd with thee The Diamond and Saphir sad and look dull and the choicest Pearls of the Orient lose their Lustre in thy Presence Doubtless Wisdom shines for ever and is incorruptible It is a pure resplendent Essence flowing from the Eternal Glory a sincere Emanation from the Divine Nature The Spotless Mirrour of God wherein he beholds his own Immortal Excollencies It is Ten Thousand Times more serene than the Light it self brigher than the Sun purer than the Sky and more sparkling than all the Host of the Stars The Glittering Crowd of Angels are edlips'd in her Presence and all the Radiant Orders of the Blessed Above serve but as Foils to set forth her Superlative and all-penetrating Coruscations God brought her forth from the Womb of his Unfathomable Depths she sprang from the Treasures which cannot be exhausted In the Morning of the World she ronz'd the benumm'd Chaos with her efficacious Beams Her Energy gave Life and Form to the confus'd and dark Abyss She shines from one Extremity of the Universe to another illuminating Infinite Spaces She is a refulgent Circle of Light whose Center is every where but whose Circumference is not to be found Ask those who pitch their Pavilions above all Worlds the outlying Camps of the Omnipotent who guard the Frontiers of the Blisful Regions and walk the Rounds of our Remotest Heaven the Coelum Empyraeum to fire its Beacons on the Discovery of any foreign Invasion threatn'd by some New Vpstart Republick of Beings hatch'd in the cold and frozen Climates of the Endless Expanse Ask those I say whether they e'er cou'd trace the Eternal Wisdom in her Flights Or find the Solitary Haunts of Everlasting Reason They may pursue the glorious Chace o'er the Untrack'd Wastes of the Unlimitted Unform'd First Matter as well as through the Fenced Fields and Parks the enclos'd Land-mark'd Grounds of this known World But all in vain There is no catching what is Infinite The Wings of all created Fancies are too short and weak The Cherubims themselves and Seraphims are far too flow to seize so swift a Prey Wisdom is wild as Chance conceal'd as Nature yet fix'd as Destiny She dwells beyond the Highest Heavens her Throne is inaccessible yet she fills all Things with her Presence She sought for a Place of Repose on Earth among the Sons of Men. She travers'd the Nations by Land and visited the Isles of the Sea She descended into the Abysses below and made her Scrutiny in the Horrid Caverns of the Clobe At length she found Rest in Abraham and pitch'd her Habitation in Ismael Because it was so determin'd of old from Sempiternal Ages and recorded in the Archives of Fate She was establish'd in Mecca the Birth-place of the Prophet and her Power is rooted in Medina Telnabi the place of his Burial The Holy Cities are ennobl'd by her Presence and she shines in the midst of an Honourable Race an Offspring born to Glory a Renowned People a Sanctify'd Pregeny a Generation of Worthies a Family of Hero's a Lineage whereon rest the Favours and Smiles of the Omnipotent Oh Arabia Well may'st thou be call'd the Happy since in thee is the Seat of the Eternal Sapience Go Mourn ye Mountains of Judaea and all ye desolated Valleys of Palestine For the Dew and the Rain have forsaken you Your Soil languishes for want of Moysture and your Glebe is dried up Your Trees wither and fade neither does the Ground bring forth any Grass or Flowers The Pastures are become like a Wilderness overrun with Bryars and Thorns and your Arable Fields are as the Lybian Wastes barren and unprofitable The Land that was once call'd Holy is now become Execrable a Habitation of Satyrs and Damons Because Wisdom has translated her Residence from Sion and the Angels have Decamp'd from the Climate of Jerusalem Rejoyce O Regions bordering on the East of the Red Sea For with you is a Great Light even the Law brought down from Heaven and the Glory of the Most High overshadows you Wisdom is exalted in Arabia she lifts up her Head above the Top of Mount of Vriel She flourishes like the Palm-Tree and spreads her Boughs as the Terebinth Many Nations rest under the Shadow of her wide-spread Branches Her Ways are Uniform and Beautiful like an Alley of Cypresses and all her Paths are sweet as a Garden of Cinnamon Myrrh and Roses Her Fruit feeds the East and the South her Salutiferous Leaves are scattered from India to the Land of the Moors where thou dwellest Her fragrant Odour is diffus'd from Pole to Pole She is the Mother of Science and Virtue in her Custody are the Springs of Life and Health of Honour and Riches She has in her Treasures lock'd up Innumerable Kinds of Felicities which she plentifully pours forth on them that obey her Inspirations She appears chearfully to them that wait upon her and no Man ever departed from her Presence but he fell into Sadness For a certain enlivening Influence flows from her Countenance a Man is ravish'd with her Conversation Her Breath is sweeter than Ambrosia or the Vapour of Eastern Incense Her Thoughts are fragrant as the Aromatick Exhalations of Nardus Onyx and Stacte All Words are too short to express her Praises neither is there any Style or Language that can describe her Incomparable Worth Therefore with Reverence I desist from saying any more at this Time on so sublime a Subject lest whilst I am prolonging the Panegyrick of Wisdom I proclaim my own Folly to a Sage who is familiar with her and best knows her Character In the mean Time Vouchsafe to accept of these Lines as a Testimony of the profound Veneration I have for thee who art known through all Africk and other Parts of the World to be One of the First Rank among Wisdom's Favourites Adieu Great Lamp of Mauritania and believe That Mahmut is no Flatterer Paris 19th of the 3d. Moon of the Year 1676. LETTER V. To the Captain Bassa IF I write often to the Bassa's of the Land I do not forget the Duty I owe to him of the Sea Only that Element has not been the Stage of so many Remarkable Actions as the other There are no Forts Castles or strong Cities built upon the Waves No settled Camps or formal Sieges unless it be upon the Frozen Seas within or near the Artick Circle And there they only imitate the Trade of War to exercise their Youth However on the other Parts of the Ocean there are flying Campagnes Battels en Passant and this Year has afforded some Marine Engagements between the French Hollanders and Spaniards not altogether unworthy of thy Knowledge On the 8th of the 1 st Moon there happened a Naval Fight between the Sieur de Quesne Lieutenant General of the French Fleets and de Ruiter Vice-Admiral of the Dutch Wherein the later suffer'd considerable Damage But far greater was
these inferiour Elements when their Course is done break all their Harmony and with confused Cracks and Ratlings disgorge their Essences into the Lap of their eternal Chaos there to be renew'd and chang'd again into far nobler Forms although the original Substance still remains the same for I believe the first Matter to be unchangeable and eternal without Beginning or End But there have pass'd many Millions of Ages in the Production of such an infinite Variety of Forms Perhaps the Grounds of Astrology are true and that there were of old certain Periods of Time affix'd first for the Product of the Heavenly Signs and Constellations then for the Planets and afterwards for the Nativity of all the other Beings below the Moon But Moyses the Law-giver and chief Philosopher of the Jews is of a contrary Judgment for he says The Vegetables had Existence before the Stars And so one does not know what to think among 'em all For ought I know any Man's Reason might be received with as much Applause as that of Moyses who should assert That there are certain Horses formed of the purest Light galloping up and down the infinite Expanse for an indeterminate Series of Ages the Dust of whose Feet first raised the Elements out of Nothing and then their Hoofs striking against the original Flints of Nature begat the Sparks which shall set the World a-fire at last And God knows whether the late Conflagration at the Imperial City was not owing to a Scratch of one of those Horses Nails though they are pleased to lay it on the Giaurs and Kysilbaschi By my Soul I believe all Things proceed from eternal Chance All that we admire so much in the World is a mere Higgle-de-Piggledy of Things which may be or may not be only they are and so we must not quarrel with any Thing that has Existence We behold the Sun Moon and Stars over our Heads they give us their successive Light by Night and Day We trample upon the Earth under our Feet and sail on the open Sea to which we can give no great Trust At the same time we know not the Natures of these different Beings The Sun may be but an eternal Carbuncle for ought we know and the Moon but a crested Saphir the rest of the Planets but the Refractions of these bright Essences and all the Fixed Stars but so many Splinters of the eternal Torch which lights the World And after all the rest this Earth whereon we tread may be but a Wart or Mole a little silly Excrescence or superfluous Tumour of the Elements if not a Gangrene in Nature Oh Mohammed I have said too much to a Man of thy abstruse Speculations but thou wilt pardon one that speaks with Faith and Sincerity Let me put in one Word more with thee Oh Chief of the Solitaries Trince of the Sylvans Glory of Arabia Thou Hidden one of the East Thou Phoenix of all Generations No Body was born for himself No Body is Wise at all Times And this is a particular Season wherein the Grand Signior's Service requires me to be as it were a little foolishly merry Therefore begging thy Pardonn and Prayers I bid thee Adieu Paris 13th of the 8th Moon of the Year 1676. LETTER VII To Pesteli Hali his Brother Master of the Customs and Superintendent of the Arsenal at Constantinople IT will do thee no hurt to carry the following News to Hamet Reis Effendi I entrench on the Post's Time and my own Health it being very late in the Night on purpose that the Ministers of the Port may have the earliest Account of the Taking of Philipsbourg from the French by the Confederate Princes and States This is a Town of great Importance and very strong The Spaniards became Masters of it in the Year 1633 through the Treachery of the Governour Next Year following the Suedes put it again in the French King's Hands but that Monarch not being able to repair its Fortifications by reason of the Winter it was surpris'd by the Imperialists on the 23d of the first Moon 1635 in whose Hands it remained till the Year 1644 when in the 9th Moon it was taken by the Duke Enguyen now Prince of Conde after he had routed the Duke of Bavaria at Friburgh The French have had it in Possession ever since thâ—t time till about four Days ago it was Surrendred upon Conditions to the Imperialists who had block'd it up above a Year and formally Besieg'd it four Moons It is a Loss which this Court resents with no small Grief Philipsbourg being a Town of more Value than twenty others in those Parts The French have taken Conde Bouchain and Aire but they do not think these an equivalent Reprizal neither can this Campaign last long enough to give them an Opportunity of seeking farther Satisfaction Brother I must conclude abruptly because the Post tarries God have thee in his Keeping and preserve thee from the Snares and malicious Ambuscades of Devils who are let loose from their Infernal Dens to range above ground from this Hour to the Crowing of the Cocks Paris 12th of the 9th Moon of the Year 1676. LETTER VIII To Sephat Abercromil Vanni Effendi Preacher to the Sultan ABout five Years ago I sent thee a Dispatch containing an Account of the kind Reception thy Doctrins found in Europe and of the swift Progress they made in Converting the honester sort of Nazarenes I also acquainted thee with the Opposition that was made against the Writings of Francis Malevella by the Jesuits and Dominicans Now I shall inform thee farther of the prodigious Advances this Sacred Institution of Life his made in Italy France and Spain with Germany and other Regions in the West There is an eminent Man in Rome whom they call Father Petrucci a Person of great Learning and conspicuous Knowledge His Piety indeed has been by him industriously concealed as much as lay in 's Power But yet his most recluse good Works took Air and all Men of Integrity conceive a Veneration for him He having read the Works of Malevella grew enamour'd of so sublime a System of spiritual Rules and wrote to all his Friends by way of Recommendation of the Author and his Subject Those Letters afterwards were put in Print and 't is not to be exprest what powerful Influence they had on all impartial Readers He published also many learned Treatises in the Defence and Praise of a Contemplative Life And the Reputation of this refin'd Theology daily encreas'd and spread abroad in every Corner of the Christian World Among the rest of learned Proselytes a certain Spanish Priest and Doctor of the Christian Law whom they call Michael de Molino appear'd upon the Stage and the last Year publish'd a comprehensive Treatise of Mystical Religion The Book was approv'd and Licens'd by the Archbishop of Rheggio by the General of the Franciscans an Officer of the Inquisition and by Martin de Esparsa an eminent Jesuit belonging to the same Court and
Professor of Theology at Rome The Press had no sooner deliver'd this mysterious Treatise to the World but every body catch'd it up So that the first Edition being soon dispersed in Rome Ferrara Naples and other Cities of Italy it was necessary to start a new Impression of so acceptable a Thing that the remaining Provinces States and Principalities might not want their share of so divine a Copy That Spain might be reformed by one of her own Natives and Generous France forgetting her Aversions might not disdain the sage Instructions of a hated Spaniard In a word Molino's Book is had in second Veneration with the Gospel His Friendship is coveted by the greatest Men in Rome especially the Secular Clergy are ambitious to confirm the Honours Dignities and Benefices they already possess i' th' Church by gaining the Favour of his Acquaintance They consult him as an Oracle in knotty Problems of Divinity and many Cardinals court his Correspondence not valuing their Rank in the Red List of Ecclesiastical Princes unless they are also enrolled in the happy Number of Molino's Friends such are Carpegna Azolini Cassanta Odescalchi and the French Cardinal D'Estrees This last is famous for his Learning and Accomplishments being Educated in the Sorbonne and a Familiar of Monsieur De Lumay a great Reformer of Errors in the Doctrin and Discipline of the Roman Church Being thus predispos'd to favor any one who wou'd expose himself to stem the Torrent of Corruptions the Tide of vain and superstitious Practices advancing daily higher and higher and threatning to overflow the Banks of solid Piety sincere Devotion and all Moral Virtue the Generous Cardinal appeared the publick Patron of Molino and in private they had many Conferences The Spaniard laid aside his Native Jealousie of Foreigners and the Frenchman mortified his Pique against that Nation They both convers'd with openness of Heart and unreserved Freedom The Cardinal also after this brought him acquainted with several Eminent Men in France between whom and Molino was held a strict Intelligence The new Pope who was before called Cardinal Odescalchi has given him an Apartment in his own Palace and done him many other Honours In a word he is grown so considerable that the greatest part of Nazarenes look upon him as a Prophet sint from God I take Complacency to see Mahometanism thus masquerade it in the Heart of Christendom and the most refined Draught of our Religion copied in the Lives and Practices of the most Excellent among the Nazarenes 'T is a fair Sign methinks that by degrees they will enquire a little farther and with more Humility into our Sacred Law that they will not stumble at Circumcision Washing and other Purifications and Ceremonies appointed by the Prophet since they are all performed in Honour of the eternal Vnity and not to Images or Pictures However at least such pious and contemplative Men as these will by a necessary Consequence raise up a secret Faction for us and qualifie the bitter Zeal and Spight which Christians generally bear against the True Believers For the Followers of Malevella Petrucci and Molino are already branded and distinguish'd from the rest of the Nazarenes by the odious Names of Hereticks which is next door to the more opprobrious Title of Infidels the best and kindest Epithet they can afford the faithful Mussulmans To sum up all in brief they reckon a hundred thousand of this new Sect in Italy as many more in France and Spain and not much fewer in Germany besides Poland Hungary and other Regions So that if an Army of Mussulmans should appear on the Italian Shore with Vanni Effendi at the Head of them and Declarations should be spread about containing that you aim at nothing but to propagate the Truth and to protect the injur'd Molinists or Quietists for so they Nick-name this contemplative Sect they would all rise and fly to the Mahometaâ— Standard as formerly the Malecontents of Italy did to the Asylum of Romulus God's Will be done Paris 2d of the 12th Moon of the Year 1676. LETTER IX To Mirmadolin Santone of the Vale of Sidon BLessed are they who honour the Virtues of Holy Men and strive to imitate their Examples The Infidels count them mad whom the great Lord of all things has inspired with his Love which is the Spirit or Breath of the Omnipotent giving Life to all Things Their Souls are snatch'd away in sacred Extasies they are carried to the bright shining Worlds born up on the Wings of a Wind from Paradise They behold marvellous Things and the Wonders of the Sky Wafted from Star to Star they are ravish'd with the Sight of so many radiant Splendors and expire in Transports of Divine Pleasure when they consider the beautiful Oeconomy of the Universe O Ariel Chief of the Choirs above who set-test the Tunes of the Spheres and art Master of the eternal Musick who taughtest Sultan David to play on the Harp and learned'st him the Songs of Paradise Send down some Azur'd Messenger some purpl'd Post from Eden to inspire my Soul with divine Harmonies whilst I celebrate the Praises of Alla the First and the Last whose Glory is expanded through the infinite Abyss and enlightens endless Spaces The whole Vniverse is full of his Majesty but the Place of his Retirement is above the Heaven of Heavens There he keeps his Court guarded by seventy times seven Millions of Angels who always stand on their Watch to prevent the Invasions of Orosinades the Prince of Darkness the Root and Source of all Evil. God came from Heaven in the Days of Moses with an Army not to be number'd Michael was his Standard-Bearer whose Chariot was a Carbuncle of Paradise They march'd through the Milky Way and made their Descent on the Rock of the Desart Sina The Artillery of the Celestial Host was Thunder and Lightning They were encompassed with thick Clouds of Smoak The World was affrighted at the dreadful Noise and Orosmades durst not appear to abide the Batrel but fled into the Caverns of the Earth with all his Legions where they are barr'd up to the Day of Judgment They often strive to break loose which occasions horrid Earthquakes But the Chain which binds them is fasten'd to the Throne of God He keeps the Keys of those Infernal Prisons and bars up all the Avenues of Hell There Darkness Horror and Pain have taken up their Residence for ever One Abyss supplies another with eternal Floods of Confusion and Misery But above the Surface of the Earth he has establish'd Light Liberty Joy and Peace to them that revolt not from his Love and Obedience God came from Arval and the Holy One was seen to fly from the Thickets of Schair in the East He bent his Course toward the Red Sea and pitch'd his Tents in the Meridian of Mecca On that Day the Kebla was turned toward the South and the Faces of the Faithful in time of Prayer regarded the House of Abrahim the square
not have his Eyes arrested here and there by most capacious and ample Carvansera's where all distressed Foreigners and such as are destitute of a more convenient Lodging may in any of these find a Shelter and Sanctuary from the Injuries of open Air from Night-Robbers and other Inconveniencies These Carvansera's are in number Three Hundred and Three built at the Expences of Ottoman Princes and Bassa's There are also in this City Ninety Hospitals where the Poor are nourished and the Sick attended with extraordinary Piety and Care Besides all these there are Five Colleges where the Sciences are publickly profess'd and taught and where a certain Number of Young Men are educated and maintained at the Grand Signior's Cost being constant Stipendaries to the Sultan There are many such Colleges scatter'd up and down Caramania Natolia and throughout Greece and the Lesser Asia So that the Number of Students in these Countries is computed to be above Nine Thousand not reckoning those in Arabia Syria and Egypt where flourish innumerable Seminaries of Divine and Human Wisdom But to return to Constantinople the next Thing worthy of Observation is the Serayan or House of Equipages where are made all sorts of Trappings for Horses especially Saddles of immense Cost and admirable Workmanship This Place is also environ'd with high Walls and shut in with strong Gates There cannot be a more agreeable Sight to such as take Pleasure in Horses and Riding than to see Four Thousand Men here daily at Work in their Shops each striving to excel the rest in the Curiosity of his Artifice You shall see one busie in spangling a Saddle with great Oriental Pearls and Unions intermix'd for some Arabian Horse belonging perhaps to the Vizir Azem Another fitting a Curb or Bit of the purest Gold to a Bridle of most precious Russian Leather some adorn their Trappings with choice Phrygian Work others with Diamonds Rubies and the most costly Jewels of the East In a Word there is so illustrious a Variety of these Accoutrements that the Eye is astonish'd at the sight of them And I have heard many Travellers acknowledge That the like is not to be seen in any City of the World beside Constantinople I know not what may be in your Cities of Morocco and Fez in regard the Moors are great Cavaliers There are moreover two other Places in the City encompass'd with peculiar Walls In these the Jainzaries are posted who are the Guards du Corps to the Grand Signior They are under the Command of Decurions without whose Leave no Janizary dare set a Foot out of the Place Next is the Arsenal of the City built on the Sea-shore containing a Hundred and Eighty Arches under which are very elegant Portico's or Piazza's where People walk There are above Forty Thousand Men daily at Work in this Arsenal and Eighty great Gallies lie there always in Readiness for any sudden Expedition Besides there is another in the Suburbs wherein there always lie a Hundred and Fifty great Gallies on the Stocks and Sixty fitted up with all Necessaries constantly lie in the Water The Granaries or Store-Houses for Corn present themselves next They are built in a Corner of the City toward Pera where the Walls are far stronger than in any other Part and the Gates are of Iron Here is always laid up an immense Quantity of Wheat and Barly as also of other Grain as if it were to serve for many Years Yet 't is changed for new Corn every Three Years They say That in the Reign of Amurat III. there was an incredible Abundance of Millet found there whose Vertue was much admired in that it had lain there Eighty Years sound and free from any Corruption I have purposely omitted to speak of the two Royal Serails since the least of them will require a large Letter by it self to be described exactly Only this I will say in short That the least is a French League in Circuit or Three Italian Miles and the biggest wherein the Grand Signior dwells is a League and two Thirds or Five Italian Miles The former is called Eschy Saray or the Old Palace the latter is nam'd Bryuch Saray or the Great Serail If thou desirest a farther and more particular Description of these Royal Courts I will send it thee in future Dispatches For it will be too large for one In the mean Time I must not forget the Mosch of Jub where our Sultans receive the Sword when they first come to the Crown This is a Building of great Antiquity seated in the farthest Angle of the City near the Haven Over against it are the Sultan's Stables having very fair Gardens adjoin'd to them Not far from thence is the Topana or Gun-Yard where there lies a vast Number of Brass Pieces of Ordnance without Carriages Of which some are turn'd directly against the Haven As you pass from this Place it is impossible to avoid the sight of a Pillar which shoots up from the Top of a Rock at some distance from the City This Column is all of White Marble and was erected by Cn. Pompey as a Monument of his Victory over Mithridates the King of Pontus On this side of the City there is nothing hardly to be seen for eight Miles together but Houses built for Pleasure and Delight with most beautiful Groves and Gardens Over against the City stands Pera an Arm of the Sea coming between them This Suburb or Borough is inhabited chiefly by Graecians and Western Franks Round about this Suburb are many pretty Country Houses Farms and Granges most deliciously seated in the midst of high Tufts of Trees with Green Fields and Crystal Streams adjoining to them Where the Embassadors of Foreign Princes make their Abode sometimes I will not carry thee from hence to Scutari though a great and stately Village within the Liberty also of the Imperial City I will not detain thee with the Singularities of the Thracian Chersonesus or drill thee along to Calipolis though this were the first Town in Europe which Amurat took in the Year 1363. My Design is altogether at Constantinople Therefore having survey'd Pera which is also call'd Galata let us cross the Water and return again to the Mother-City that we may know what manner of Government there is in it and how the Laws are executed The Chief Magistrate is called Stambol-Cadisi or Judge of Constantinople Before him are pleaded all Causes both Criminal and Civil He has four Deputies under him who separately govern the four chief Precincts of the City There is likewise an Officer called Sabassi whose Business is to take Cognizance of every ones Crime that is seised in the Streets or Houses and to refer it to the Supreme Vizir He has also four Deputies under him and all Men are bound to assist him in Case of Difficulty The Common Prison of Constantinople is divided into two Parts the Upper and the Lower The Upper is only for Civil Offences and has an airy Green Court in
like Spectacles or lastly when Her Confessor comes to visit Her At other Times She is only a Companion of Women a mere Reclufe chamber'd up in her own Melancholy Apartment without the Liberty of ranging the Palace Whereas in France the Women converse with Men and go abroad when they please with an unrestrain'd Freedom They discourse of State-Matters and of Religion they undertake to Censure both Civil and Canon Laws correct Philosophy and reform the Morals of the Ancients In a Word the French Ladies take a particular Pride in appearing very Learned and Knowing as if they had been educated in the Academies They also go a Hunting Hawking Fishing and Fowling even as the Men. There is hardly any Game or Exercise Study or Recreation which is not common to both Sexes Whereas the Spanish Females are kept in Ignorance and have no more Liberty than Captives Only as I said the Queen is permitted to see the Bull-baitings but it must be in Company with her Husband as well as other Ladies This celebrated Sport of Baiting or Coursing the Bull is so well known to thee who hast been an Eye-witness of it at Tunis and other Cities of Barbary that I need say no more of it but to observe That the Spaniards first learn'd it from the Moors when those Africans dwelt among them having Conquered that Kingdom But to return to the Servile Life which the Queens of Spain lead They are obliged to go to Bed at a certain precise Stroke of the Clock every Night with this only Difference That it is an Hour later in Summer than in Winter Besides Her there is no other Married Woman suffer'd to lie in the King's Palace so that the Queen is attended only by Virgins or Widows Neither can She her self ever Marry again after the King's Death And so naturally Jealous are the Spaniards of their Wives That if the Queen fall into any Disaster by Chance or Conspiracy as to be thrown down by her Gennet even to the breaking of Her Limbs and Hazard of Her Life none of her Pages or any other Man whatsoever dares to lift her up or any other Way assist her nay not so much as by stopping the Horse if he should drag her in the Stirrup Judge now Magnificent Vizir whether it be not a desirable Thing for a French Princess to be made Queen of Spain A Princess bred up in a Court abounding with all sorts of Gentilesses Gallantines and Delightful Liberties must needs think her self in a Monastery or some worse Place of Confinement after she has been but a Day or Two in the Court of Spain But Reasons of State supersede all these Inconveniences 'T is the peculiar Unhappiness of the Princes here in the West that they Marry for Interest more than for Love There is another Match going forward between the Dauphine of France and the Princess Ann Marie Victoire Sister to the Duke of Bavaria These Infidels are Uniting their scatter'd Strengths and Interests It looks as if they had some Secret Design against the True Believers Illustrious Prince of the Princes who serve the Grand Signior I pray that the Empire of the Faithful may be Exalted and stand firm till the Angel of the Cave sound his Trumpet Paris 10th of the 12th Moon of the Year 1679. LETTER XIV To the Venerable Mufti THat I may give thee a clearer Idea of Rome's Original it is necessary to step farther Backward in Antiquity and cast our Eyes on the Ruins of Troy set on Fire by the Greeks and laid in Ashes after a War of Ten Years to Revenge the Rape of Helena Wife to Menelaus whom Paris the Trojan Prince and Guest to Menelaus carried away with him by Force From the deplorable Flames of Troy Antenor and Aeneas escap'd and got to Sea The Former being forced by Distress of Weather on that Part of Italy which is now under the Dominion of Venice where he built Padua The Latter came with a Fleet of Two and Twenty Ships to Latium now called Campagna di Roma and St. Peter's Patrimony being the Estate of the Church At that Time Latinus the Son of Faunus or as some say of Hercules Reign'd in Latium before whom there had been but Four Kings in the Country Those were Janus Saturnus Picus and Faunus Whilst Janus Reign'd Saturn being expell'd by his Son Jupiter fled to Italy where being Hospitably receiv'd he built a Castle calling it after his own Name Saturnia At length he obtained the Kingdom of Latium which he left to his Son Picus and he to Faunus In his Time Evander sailed out of Arcadia and came to Italy Sixty Years before the Destruction of Troy He built a Town called Pallantium where afterwards Rome was built Much about the same Time the Pelagians went out of Thessaly into Epirus and Dodona first and then passing over into Italy join'd themselves with the Aboriginal Arcadians who were got thither before them These united their Forces and expell'd the Sicilians from the Country Who passing over to Trinacria or the Island of Three capes gave to it the Name of Sicilia which it retains to this Day When Evander had been Five Years in Italy Hercules with a Company of Greeks Landing on the same Shore was kindly entertained by him At length the Kingdom of Latium fell to Latinus in whose Reign Aeneas came thither and having enter'd into a League with Latinus marry'd his Daughter Lavinia From whose Name he called a Town which he built in those parts Lavinium Then Turnus King of the Rutuli being angry that Latinus had given his Daughter to a Stranger rather than to him who was a Native and to whom she was before berroth'd invaded his Country But the Rutuli were overcome in Battel and both Turnus and Latinus lost their Lives So that the Kingdom fell to Aeneas But he enjoy'd it not long For the Rutuli at Three Years End came against him under the Conduct of Mezentius King of the Tyrrhenians now call'd Toscans And Aeneas being kill'd in the Battel his Son Ascanius took possession of the Kingdom He having made Peace with Mecentius and quell'd the Rest of his Enemies built a City which he call'd Long Alba the 30th Year from the Building of Lavinium In this City of Long Alba there Reign'd after Ascanius Fourteen Kings even to the Time of Romulus and the Foundations of Rome The Fourteenth of these Kings was Amulius who over-reach'd his Brother Numitor to whom the Kingdom belong'd by Right of Primogeniture And to be secure of all Things he made Sylvia the only Daughter of Numitor a Vestal that he might have no Fear of Numitor's Posterity Yet Sylvia was got with Child by Some-body and brought forth Twins who were called Romulus and Remus These were expos'd to the wide World by the Command of King Amulius and were privately Nourish'd by Faustulus till they came of Years Then being inform'd of their Birth and Extraction with the true State of Things they slew Amulius
and restor'd their Grandfather Numitor to his Kingdom In the Second Year or whose Reign Romulus built the City of Rome In the Eighteenth Year of his Age Romulus was saluted King when he had kill'd his Brother Remus for leaping in Contempt over the Ditch he had made round the City Thus he Consecrated the Fortifications of the City with his own Blood But all this while Remulus had Built but the Shadow of a City since there were no Inhabitants to People and Defend it However he quickly pitch'd upon a Method to supply this Defect There was a Grove hard by which he made a Sanctuary for all Persons in Distress and who were willing to make their Fortunes upon Hazard This was proclaim'd in the Neighbouring Regions And an Innumerable Multitude of Criminals Debtors and Malecontents flock'd thirher from all Parts besides Shepherds and other Persons who only through a Natural Inconstancy sought a Change of Life So that there was a Gallimaufry of Trojans who came over with Aeneas of Arcadians who follow'd Evander and of several other Nations besides the Natives of Toscany and Latium Out of these as out of so many Elements Romulus extracted the Body of a Commonwealth But he confider'd withal that this New Republick could not subsist beyond the Age and Lives of those Men who form'd it They being without Hopes of Posterity as having no Women among them To provide for this Inconvenience they treated with the Bordering People about Marriages Which being denied them they had Recourse to Stratagems and Violence They invited the Sabines and other Neighbours to come and see some Plays which they promis'd to exhibit in Honour of Neptime The Bait took and Multitudes of both Sexes especially the Younger Sort throng'd thither to be Spectators of the Roman Novelties When on a sudden a certain Signal being given the Romans leap'd from their Places and rushing among the Strangers every Man seiz'd the Female that best pleas'd him or that first came to Hand and made her his Wife This was the Cause of speedy Wars End the Neighbouring People who had been thus robb'd of their Women took up Arms to revenge the Injury But they were â—outed put to Flight and one of their Towns laid Waste The Romans also took Rich Spoâ—s from them which they Consecrated to their Gods In the mean Time the City of Rome was deliver'd into the Hands of the Sabines by Tarpeia a Virgin Who as some say was corrupted with Gold by Tatius the Captain of the Sabines Whilst others affirm That she did it innocently and with a Design to save the City instead of betraying it For she ask'd as a Reward of her suppos'd Treason the Shields of the Sabines thinking that being thus in part disarm'd they might easily be overcome by the Romans But they sensible of her Stratagem promis'd what she demanded and performed it accordingly but in such a manner as plainly discover'd their Revenge of an Injury rather than their Gratitude for a Kindness For they threw their Sheilds so thick upon her that they press'd her to Death Then entring the City Pell-mell there commenc'd a Furious Battle between the Romans and the Sabines The Streets flowed with Blood till the Wives of the Romans for whose Sake this War began came tearing their Hair and running between the Two Armies at length brought them to a Truce and Agreement Then a Solemn League was made between Romulus and Tatius And what is more Wonderful the Sabines leaving their Native Seats came with all their Wealth to live in Rome communicating Part of their Riches to their Sons-in-Law by Way of Dowry The Forces of the Romans being thus increas'd by the Accession of the Sabines Romulus applied himself to the Publick Administration with all Care and Policy He appointed the Youth to be always in Arms on Horseback that they might be constantly upon their Guard and ready equipp'd against the Surprizes of War That the Chief Council of the Commonwealth should consist of the Seniors who were called Fathers for their Authority and Senators for their Age. Affairs being thus dispos'd One Day when there was a Full Senate Romulus being present was on a sudden taken from their Sight Some think he was Murder'd by Conspiracy and cut into Small Pieces by the Senators Others say he was Poyson'd But the General Report was that he was Deified Julius Proculus was the Author of this who taking Notice that there arose a Violent Tempest at the same Instant that Romulus disappear'd and that the Sun was just then Eclips'd insinuated to the People that Romulus was become a God Nay he took an Oath That he saw him in a much more August Form than whilst he was a Mortal And that Romulus commanded them to Adore him for a God affirming that he was called Quirinus in Heaven and assuring them that Rome should conquer the Whole Earth Numa Pompilius succeeded Romulus being invited to the Kingdom by the Romans who had a Veneration for him on the Bare Fame of his Sanctity and Religion He raught them Holy Rites and Ceremonies with whatsoever pertain'd to the Worship of the Immortal Gods He divided the Year into Twelve Months and appointed the Holy-Days He ordain'd the Pontifs Augurs Salii with other Ranks of Priests He gave them the Ancilia and Palladium which came down from Heaven And he instituted the Vestal Fire In a Word He persuaded them that whatsoever he taught them he receiv'd from the Goddess Aegeria And this wrought so Efficaciously on the Minds of the Rude and Ignorant People that they came at Length to Govern that Empire with Justice and Religion which they got by Robbery and Oppression Prince of the Mufti 's I will reserve the Rest of the Roman History for another Dispatch Paris 9th of the 2d Moon of the Year 1680. LETTER XV. To William Vospel a Recluse of Austria THY Last Letter appears Magisterial and Peremptory like a Summons from the Inquisition Thou requirest an Account of my Faith and what Idea I have of Religion suspecting that I am inclin'd to Heresie This proceeds from the Freedom I formerly took in Discoursing against the Pope's Infallibility the Newly Canoniz'd Saints and the Doctrine of No Salvation out of the Roman Church I see thy Zeal makes thee Peevish and Morose Indeed it is a Grace that soon turns sowr if it be not kept in a Clean Heart and a Temperate Air free from the Vapours of Superstition However I am willing to satisfie thy Demand as well as I can and transmit My Soul to thee in Effigie Tho' we cannot Pourtray Negatives yet every Picture has its Back-side whereon the Cunning Painter may draw the Reverse of his First Design or at least the Spectator's Imagination may supply the Painter's Office and form Idea's quite contrary to the Original Piece That thou may'st therefore the better comprehend what I am in Point of Religion and Faith I will first represent what I am not Conceive then that I am
Routed and Overcome After which the Roman King caused the Traytor Metius Tufetius to be tied with Cords to Two Chariots and torn in Pieces by Wild Horses He also ruin'd and quite demolish'd Alba not looking on that City now as the Parent but the Rival of Rome However he first transported to Rome all the Riches of Alba with the Inhabitants that so that City might not seem to perish but only to remove its Situation and be Incorporated with Rome Ancus Marcius succeeded Tullus Hostilius being the Grandchild of Numa by his Daughter He inherited his Qualities also as well as his Blood He encompass'd the City with Walls and joyn'd the Banks of Tyber which ran through the Middle of it with a Bridge He likewise built the Port Ostia just by the Mouth of the River where it flows into the Sea planting there a Colony of Romans as if he had then Presag'd what afterwards came to pass That the Merchandizes of the World should be brought in thither as into the Maritime Store-house of the City destin'd to conquer all Things Him succeeded Tarquinius afterwards surnam'd Priscus He was of Foreign Extraction yet obtain'd the Sovereignty by his Elegance and Wit For being the Son of Lucumo a Corinthian who abandon'd his Country and fled into Toscany where he was made King this Tarquinius polishing his Greek Nature with Italian Arts insinuated so far with the Romans that they chose him for their King He augmented the Number of Senators and added Three Hundred Soldiers to the Troops that were already establish'd Which was all he durst do in Regard Attius Navius an Augur in High Request among the Romans had forbid any greater Number to be added These Augurs were a sort of Diviners who foretold Things to come from the Chirping Flying Feeding and other Actions of Birds Tarquinius one Day ask'd this Attius Navius Whether the Thing could possibly be done which he had then thought upon The Augur consulting his Art answer'd It might be done Then said the King I was considering whether I could cut this Whet-stone with a Razor Yes you may replied Attius And the King did it From that Time the College of Augurs first Founded by Romulus was had in Sacred Esteem by the Romans I should have call'd them the Triumvirate of Augurs for there were but Three at first one out of every Tribe But Servius Tullius the next King added a Fourth These were all Nobles But afterwards they were increas'd to Nine and last of all to Fifteen in the Dictatorship of Silla To return to Tarquinius He was no less prosperous in War than in Peace for he subdued Twelve Cities of the Toscans with the Territories belonging to them He invented Robes and Ensigns of State the Ivory-Seats of Chariots wherein the Senators were carried to the Council the Gold-Rings and Magnificent Horse-Trappings which were given to the Roman Knights as Badges of Honour Also the Purple and Scarlet-Robes the Triumphal Chariot of Gold the Painted Phrygian Robe worn by a Victorious General when he celebrated a Triumph With many other Ornaments and Publick Decorations to set forth the Majesty and Grandeur of the Roman State Tarquinius being mortally wounded his Wife Tanaquil persuaded the People that all was well with him that his Wounds were not dangerous that he was only laid in a Slumber and that in a little Time they should fee him Well again In the Mean while she said it was his Will and Pleasure that they should obey Servius Tullius a Favourite of hers who would administer Justice and govern the People wisely during the King's Illness This Servius Tullius was the Son of a Prince in Latium who being kill'd in a Battel with the Romans his Wife was carried Captive to Rome and being presented to Queen Tanaquil liv'd free from Servitude under her Protection And being with Child was deliver'd of Servius Tullius in Tanaquil's Palace The Queen stook a Singular Fancy to the Noble Infant and gave him Royal Education presaging from a Flame which she saw environing his Head that he would be a Famous Man in Time 'T was for this Reason she persuaded the People to receive him as the King's Substitute or Deputy for a While Not doubting but that after they had tasted the Sweetness of his Government and the Death of Tarquin should be known they would easily submit to him as Tarquin's Successor Her Stratagem had its desir'd Effect For Servius Tullius improv'd his Time so well in pleasing the People that the Kingdom which he obtain'd by Craft was acknowledg'd by all as due to his Merits and Vertues He first brought the People of Rome under an Assessment whereby every Man's Estate was valu'd He divided them into Classes Wards and Colleges And the Commonwealth was brought into such Order by the Exquisite Policy of this Wise King that the Difference of every Man's Patrimony Dignity Age Trade and Office was Register'd in Publick Tables Which render'd the Oeconomy of this Great State as regular and easie as that of a Private Family or House The Last of all the Kings was Tarquinius Surnam'd The Proud for the Morose and Disdainful Haughtiness of his Temper He married the Daughter of Servius Tullius in Hopes of Succeeding in the Kingdom But he not having Patience to wait for the Natural Death of his Father-in-Law hired Ruffians to Murder him and then seiz'd upon the Kingdom by Violence Neither did he govern the State with less Wickedness and Cruelty than that by which he obtain'd it For he denied Burial to his Murder'd Father-in-Law Saying That he deserv'd not Better Vsage than Romulus who perish'd without a Sepulchre He also slew the Chiefs of the Nobles whom he suspected to be of Servius's Interest And his Wife Tullia was as bad as he For as soon as she had saluted her Husband by the Title of King she caus'd her self to be driven in a Chariot over the Dead Carcase of her Father Both of them exercis'd Great Cruelty and massacred many of the Senators But the Pride of Tarquin was intolerable to all Till at Length when he had spent enough of his Rage at Home he turn'd it against his Foreign Enemies Abroad and took many Strong Towns in Latium However Notwithstanding all his Vices he gave the World this Proof of his Piety That put of the Spoils which he took from his Enemies he rais'd Mony and finish'd therewith the Temple of Jupiter in the Capitol which his Father Tarquinius Priscus had begun The Story says That as they were Laying the Foundations of this Temple they found the Head of a Man which they interpreted as a Good Omen That Rome should be the Seat of a Vast Empire and Mistress of the whole Earth as it afterwards came to pass The People of Rome bore with the Pride of Tarquin but would not bear with the Lust and Tyranny of his Sons one of which ravish'd Lucretia a Woman of Admirable Beauty and Vertue The Chaste Matron expiated the Disgrace by
Race of Adam from the Face of the Earth except Eight Persons Or shall we suppose that those Eight Persons combin'd together to conceal so great a Catastrophe of Human Nature from their Posterity making their Children believe that they were the First Mortals that ever liv'd on Earth If so how come the Posterity of Sem to be favour'd with the First Discovery of the Truth And those of Japhet and Cham to remain ignorant of their Fathers Deliverance from the All destroying Deluge It has been usual with the Learned Nazarenes of late to cry down the Writings of Manethon the Aegyptian Berosus the Chaldean Philo the Jew with Metasthenes Annianus and other Authors of Antiquity because they have deliver'd Relations which thwart the Errors of these Modern Writers On the same Score they contemn the Persian Antiquaries and Poets with all the Records of the East as Fabulous and not worthy of Credit because they have been more careful than other Nations especially than those in the West to conserve the History of the First Ages of the World entire and free from Corruption But with what Face will any Rational Man fasten this Calumny on Pristine Aegypt that she was the Mother of Fables and Ignorance which all the World knows to have been the sole Nurse and Seminary of Science and Truth Could not she inform her self aright in the History of the World who first taught the Use of Letters to other Nations Where was there any Monument of Antiquity that came not out of Aegypt Or what Learning that was not first derived from the City of the Sun Moses himself that renowned Lawgiver of the Israelites had his Education at the Feet of the Aegyptian Philosophers and the whole System of his Laws is but a partial Epitome of their Statutes which by Adding Diminishing and Altering he fitted to the peculiar Tradition and Customs of the Offspring of Jacob. And why may we not suppose he did the same in the Historical Part of his Books Particularly so far as tended to beget Faith and Reverence in his Readers to the Sanctity of that which he celebrates under the Title of the Holy Line In which Noah was the Janus with Two Faces one looking backward on the Old World the other forward regarding the Future Ages of the New I speak with Freedom and after the Manner of the Scepticks believing that the Boldest Disquisitions even in Things which are of Divine Assurance are the best Means to establish the Truth Let it not pass therefore for an Argument of Infidelity or Atheism which some are pleas'd to lay to my Charge in that I strive to recover the lost Antiquities of the World out of the Ruins of Time and Ignorance And that to this End I even call in Question those Records which being father'd on Moses pass for Divine Oracles which contain Passages repugnant to Human Reason and appear infinitely more Fabulous than those which for their Sake are condemn'd as such by the Superstitious Nazarenes In all this I have not contradicted the Alcoran which confirms the Scriptures of the Old Testament but declares at the same Time that the Devil has inserted many Errors into them 'T is only against these Errors I dispute adoring the Truth wherever I find it though it were written in Parchment made of the Skin of an Infidel which thou know'st is as great an Abomination as the Flesh of a Hog But to return to Noah's Flood or that of Ogyges or Deucalion's which thou wilt for as the First is an Epocha of the Jews so the Two Latter are remarkable Aera's to the Gentiles thou wilt do well in using all Three and leave the Scrutiny to others for 't will involve them in a Labyrinth of Knotty Disputes The Next Epocha among the Gentiles is taken from the Burning of Ida whereby Men occasionally found out the Way to melt Iron and form it to their Necessary Uses and the next to that is the Translation of Ganymede Then the Building of Troy After that the Expedition of Jason to get the Golden Fleece And 45 Years after that begins the great Epocha of the Grecians the First Olympiad instituted by Hercules Next succeed the Olympiads of Iphitus I shou'd have mention'd the Jewish Epocha which begins with their Departure out of Aegypt But in Regard this is only us'd by the Writers of that Nation thou wilt not find it of any great Import The Years of Nabonasser are of general Observation So is the Epocha from the Building of Rome The Aera of Alexander the Great is used by my Country-Men the Arabian Writers The Capitoline Games is an Aera mention'd by some Roman Authors but not of General Remark These are all that are of any Note in Ancient History for as to the Augustan Years or those reckon'd from the Battle of Actium they continued not long and are but sparingly mention'd in History But I had almost forgot the Calippick Periods which must not be omitted and therefore I have plac'd them at the Top of a Column in the Scheme They commence from the Famous Battel between Alexander and Darius at Arbela wherein the Persians receiv'd a Total Defeat As to more Modern History thou wilt have Occasion to use the Christian Aera the Hegyra of the Arabians and the Persian Epocha Thou must also observe the Difference in the Julian and Gregorian Acounts The Epocha of Dioclesian the Spanish Aera And above all Things both in the Epocha's of the Ancient and Modern History thou must have a Special Regard to the Different Times of Year wherein each Distinct Aera begins For they do not all commence in One and the same Moon but vary their Dates from the Beginning of the Year to the End The Want of due Care therefore in this Point wou'd breed a great Confusion in an Vniversal History and wou'd render its Chronology Intricate and Obseure Follow the most Ancient Authorities and be not discourag'd at the Captious Remarks of Modern Writers For they grope in the Dark and having set up to themselves certain suppositious Land-Marks whereby to measure the Age of the World they Quarrel with the Ancient Sages for saying 'T is of longer Standing As if those who are but of Yesterday knew better the Extent of Time backwards than such as liv'd above Two Thousand Years Ago Thus they retrench the Primitive Successions of the Assyrian Monarchy because they are dated before their Jewish Epocha of Noah's Flood And in the same Manner they deal with the Aegyptians and Indians of the East because those Kingdoms were in Being long before the Time these Upstarts have set for the Beginning of the World But be not thou Partial to the Truth nor Swear to the Words of such as have Narrow Conceits of God and his Works Doubtless he is Omnipotent and Eternal and it is no Heresy to Affirm That the Vniverse both in Extent of Time and Place is Adaequate to those Incomprehensible Characters of its Architect Paris 14th