is Ador'd by the Inhabitants of Heaven of Earth and of Hell Benedictions on Michael Gabriel Israphiel Ithuriel Jeremiel Hasmariel and on all the Happy Ministers of his Divine Majesty as also on the Angel of Death Peace to the True Believers on Earth and Salvation to the Devils and Damn'd after they have accomplish'd their Penance in Hell and the Term of Wrath shall be Expir'd An Universal Charity dilates my Heart I embrace with Love all the Creatures of God This is owing to the Seasonable Arrival of thy Letter For at the Moment when that came I was plung'd in so deep a Melancholy that I cou'd hardly afford a Kind Thought for any Thing on Earth and I perfectly hated my self I have these Fits of Sadness often it being an Effect of my Constitution At those Seasons Life appears an Insupportable Burden and all the Bustle and Noise of Mortals a Vain Fatigue My Senses which at other Times administer Delight and Pleasure are now the Instruments of Anguish and Pain Every Thing I see and hear disgusts me I abhor my Necessary Food Neither can the Sweetest Odors or softest Strains of Musick bring me into a better Temper Till Sleep Eclipses the Light of my busy Imagination and puts out every glaring Thought Then my Soul takes her Repose And stealing from my Body enters into the Shady Vale of Visions and sports with Innocent Idea's Thus having diverted my self with jumbling Monstrous Essences together and hurling one Chimaera at another I return again to my Body and Sighing awake griev'd that I cou'd not longer stay in that Mock-World where I cou'd have wish'd my Residence for Ever rather than in this which gives me so much Real Pain Thus is my Anguish renew'd with the Morning Light is more Irksom to me than Darkness and the Day which brings Joy to other Mortals is more terrible to me than Night and the Shadow of Death I complain to the Elements but they will not hear or regard me All Nature seems to laugh at my Affliction and the Beasts of the Field triumph o'er me As for Men here are none but Infidels my profess'd Enemies to whom I can vent my Sorrows And I 'm asham'd to make a Woman my Confessor tho' 't were my own Mother who lives in Paris and daily sees me If in this dolorous Condition I prepare my self with the accustom'd Purifications of the Law and address to the Omnipotent I know not where to find him His Essence is Unsearchable and flies from Human Thought I call him aloud by his Ninety Nine Adorable Names but receive no Answer I repeat his Incomprehensible Attributes but all to no Purpose In a Word I say and do all that the Law enjoyns the Prophet counsels Holy Persons recommend or my own Reason suggests as proper Means to obtain the Favor of Heaven and a Redress of my Calamity But find no Comfort And for ought I know that Spaniard might as soon be heard who being ignorant what Form of Prayer to use rehears'd the Four and Twenty Letters of the Alphabet desiring God to form such Words out of 'em as best express'd the Petitioner's Necessities I tell thee Illustrious Prelate after I 'm tyr'd with Vocal Devotions I have Recourse to Contemplation I examine my Past Life and find that I my self am the Source of my own Melancholy in not strictly obeying the Law of the Prophet the Precepts of the Seniors and the Dictates of my Conscience And all this for the Sake of Loyalty to the Grand Signior and in Confidence of the Mufti 's Dispensation Now I ask of thee Whether it be Lawful to commit a Thousand Vices that I may only acquit my self fairly in One Virtue Or to think that in such Cases the Mufti has Power to disannul the Express Positive Injunctions of our Holy Law-giver Is the Empire of the Faithful to be serv'd by the Infidelity and Prophaneness of Mussulmans Or the Truth to be supported by Lyes and Perjuries I tremble to think what a Confusion I shall be in when the Prophet shall reproach me That I have preferr'd the Favour of Men to the Smiles of Heaven I know not what to do Oh that I were in the Parching Desarts of Libya or any the most Unfrequented Solitude of Egypt A Companion of Dragons and other Horrid Monsters of Africk rather than in this Station which renders my Life a Hell upon Earth and torments me with Half the Disquiets of the Damn'd But if this appears too Extravagant and Desperate a Thought let me at least wish my self at Fez the meanest of thy Slaves or of the Incomparable Musu Abul Yahyan of whom thy last Letter gave so high a Character I have address'd a Dispatch to him hoping for the Honour of his Friendship and Correspondence Let not the Liberty I 've taken to tell thee of my Sadness discourage thee from writing But rest assur'd that whenever thou shalt vouchsafe me a Letter tho' I were in the Agonies of Death 't would call me back again Paris 25th of the 9th Moon of the Year 1659. LETTER IV. To the Kaimacham THese Nazarenes are very Fertile in New Religions Europe is a Wilderness over-run with Monstruous Sects and Heresies Every Age produces fresh Pretenders to Prophecy and Divine Revelation Error is Prolifick and multiplies Infinitely whilst Truth remains the same for Ever and is comprehended in a few Rules Of late Years there are a Sort of People sprung up in England Holland Germany and other Parts of the North boasting of a New Commission given them from Heaven to Preach the Everlasting Truth reform the Errors and Vices of Mankind and lead People the only Infallible Way to Happiness Their Address is Plain and Simple Bold and Uniform using no other Ceremonies or Compliments in their Discourse or Carriage to Persons of the Greatest Quality than to the Vulgar and those of the most Inferiour Rank They stile themselves The True Seed the Offspring of Jacob Jews of the Promise Israelites without Fraud with such like vain Titles but by others they are generally call'd Quakers They say the Ring-Leader of this People professes himself to be the Messias being in all Parts of his Body and Features of his Face like Jesus the Son of Mary Or at least 't is observ'd That he exactly resembles that Pourtraiture of him which Publius Lentulus sent to the Senate of Rome out of Judaea when he was Governour of that Province Hence his Followers scruple not to call him Jesus The Beauty of Ten Thousand The Only begotten Son of God The Prophet who is to Seal up all Things the Prince of Peace King of Israel Judge Consolation and Hope of the World When he travels his Disciples attend him bare-headed which thou knowest is a Token of Reverence among the Franks yet they never uncover to any other Mortal He rides on Horseback whilst they walk on Foot before behind and on each Side of him spreading their Garments in the Way through which he
the Moors from whom a great Part of that Nation are said to descend Every Country in Europe has suffer'd mighty Changes by the Incursions nd Conquests of the Moors Goths Huns and Vandals So that 't is difficult to trace the Original of any People in such a Hotch-Potch of Foreign Blood Neither have they any Care of their Genealogies as we Arabians have in the East Illustrious Aga tho' it signifies Nothing to spring of a Noble Stock unless we inherit the Vertues of our Ancestors as well as their Splendid Titles and Estates Yet 't is both profitable and pleasant to have by us a Register of our Families that reading their Characters and Heroick Actions we may imitate their Examples and add to the Glory of the Tribe from which we descend Paris 26th of the 8th Moon of the Year 1660. LETTER XIII To Dgnet Oglou I Know not whether I shall finish the Letter I begin or if I do whether it will be above Ground or in the Bowels of the Earth However I cannot forbear writing to thee my Dear Friend though both the Paper and I with the House wherein I lodge and all this Beautiful City may for ought I know be transported to another Region before Morning Nay 't is possible this very Hour may People Elyzium with a New Colony from France and Paris may descend with all her Magnificent Palaces to the Shades below changing the Banks of the River Seyne for those of Acheron or Styx and the Refreshing Airs of Champagne for the Choaking Sulphurs of Hell In a Word we have felt the Menaces of a Terrible Earthquake this Evening but as yet have suffered no Damage When I liv'd in Asia an Earthquake was almost as Common as the Yearly Revolutions of Summer and Winter And we took as little Notice of it as we did of Lightning Hail or Rain Besides one Mussulman encouraged another and the General Faith of True Believers confirm'd us all That we ought to be resign'd to God and to the Appointments of Eternal Destiny whether it were for Pleasure or Pain Good or Evil Life or Death But now I have been so long disus'd to these Convulsions of the Globe for I have not felt one above these Two and Twenty Years and am also separated from the Society of the Faithful that I am become like the rest of the World and even like these Infidels Timorous astonished void of Reason and of little or no Faith My Mind at first stagger'd as much as my Body when I was walking cross my Chamber and felt the Floor rock under me with that Singular Kind of Motion which no Humane Art or Force can imitate I soon concluded 't was an Earthquake but knew not how to bear that Thought with Indifference Death is familiar to me in any other Figure but that of being so surprizingly buried alive It appeared horrible to sink on a sudden into an Unknown Grave I knew not whither Perhaps I might fall into some Dark Lake of Water or it may be I might be drench'd in a River of Fire or be dash'd on a Rock For who can tell the Disposition of the Caverns below or what Sort of Apartments he shall find under the Surface of the Earth We walk on the Battlements of a Marvellous Structure a Globe full of Tremendous Secrets And whether Nature or Destiny Providence or Chance occasion the Ruptures that we find are made in divers Parts of the Earth it matters not much so long as we are in Danger of tumbling in Such a terrible Fall would put the best Philosopher in the World out of Humour and Spoil all his Reasoning I 'm sure 't would vex me thus in a Trice to be plundered of my Thoughts Which makes me either wonder at the Vanity of Empedocles if he threw himself into the flaming Chasm of Mount Aetna only for the Sake of being esteemed a God as the common Report is or gives me Reason to conclude he had some other End in his Venturous Leap Since 't is not probable that empty Fame could be esteemed by that Great Sage as his Final Happiness A much easier way had Aristotle who disgusted at his Ignorance of the Flux and Reflux of the Sea threw himself in to put an End to his Disquisitions if the Story be true But I can hardly believe the Stagyrite was such a Fool. I guess of other Men according to the Experience I have of my self I am as little sollicitous about Death as any Man yet I should be unwilling to hurle my self out of the World headlong without a Firm or a Tefta I love New Experiments but am not very fond of such as take from us irrecoverably the means of trying any more We had News here of an Earthquake which has overthrown Part of the Pyrenaean Mountains some Days before this happened at Paris but few regarded it Calamities at a Distance frighten No-body Yet those which we feel put us all in Tears For my Part it has this Effect on me that I am improved in my Carelessness and become fearful of Nothing And I think there is Reason on my Side since all my Care Apprehension and Forecast can never defend me from the Underminings of the Omnipotent Paris 15th of the 11th Moon of the Year 1660. LETTER XIV To Hamet Reis Effendi Principal Secretary of the Ottoman Empire LET not the Distance of Time between my Letters prompt thee to conclude I forget my Duty or that I am careless to oblige so Illustrious a Friend I have many Obligations to discharge and therefore endeavour to husband my Hours to the best Advantage and so to divide my Dispatches That the Grand Signior may be served the Divan inform'd of all Material Emergencies and the Expectations of each Minister gratified As to the Reign of Lewis XIII It was shar'd successively between the Marshal D' Ancre the Duke of Luines and Cardinal Richlieu The First was the Queen-Mother's Favourite the Second was the King's As for the Third he was absolute Master both of King Queen and Kingdom During the King's Minority indeed Queen Mary de Medicis the Relict of Henry IV. took the Regency into her own Hands and managed Things in an Arbitrary Manner But the Princes of the Blood with other Grandees not able to brook the Government of a Woman conspired against her Among these were the Prince of Conde Father to the present Prince and the Duke of Bovillon The Former was a Bold Man and durst do any Thing that was Brave The Latter was a Cunning Statesman They Caball'd not so privately but the Queen-Mother was acquainted with their Meetings and the Duke of Bovillon was the First who knew his Party was betrayed This Intelligence was brought him from assured Hands whilst he was sitting with the Prince of Conde and other Nobles at the Place of their Private Rendezvous Whereupon he acquainted them with it exhorting all to abscond immediately lest they should be seized on the Spot But they retorting
has put all France into a great Consternation astonish'd every Body and encreased the Thoughtfulness of the Wise The First Effects of it were felt by the Inhabitants of the Pyrenees which are certain Mountains dividing France and Spain There it did great Mischief overwhelming some Medicinal Baths many Houses and destroying Hundreds of People Only one Mosque or Church which sunk into the Caverns below was thrown up again and stands very Firm but in another Place This is look'd upon as a great Miracle especially by the French who for ought I know may censure Partially favouring their own Interest in regard this Church has been disputed between them and the Spaniards each Nation claiming Right to it as standing before exactly on the Frontier Line But now their Quarrel is uncontestably decided For 't is removed by this Convulsion of the Globe near half a League from its Former Situation which is so far within the acknowledg'd Limits of France This the French Priests magnify as an apparent Proof of the Justice of their Pretensions and the People seem very willing to believe it As for me I have another Opinion of Earthquakes and am persuded that they are as Natural as the Winds which no Man knows how to draw into any Party or Faction unless we believe the Stories of the Lapland Witches I am persuaded that this Globe is much more Ancient than the Generality of Mankind imagine it to be That it has undergone various Changes by the Predominance of Fire and Water And that it is now hastening towards another Revolution I believe the Central Fire has eaten its Way almost to the Surface and kindled all the Mines of Sulphur and other Inflammable Matter which it meets with in its Circular Ascent These corroding and daily consuming their own Vaults approaching also sometimes too near the vast Receptacles of Subterranean Waters which lie nearer the Surface over-heat those Lakes which being thus rarified into Vapours and pent up in the Hollow of the Globe strive to break forth with Immense Violence which causes that Heaving and Rocking of the Superficies that so terrifies Mortals But then the Cause is very deep and far from us For where the Surface is shallow in such Passions of the Globe the Earth commonly breaks and tumbles in with whatsoever is upon it Nay whole Cities sometimes have been thus swallowed up And the Danger is easily fore-known by a short Snatching and Trepidation of the Ground Houses Trees Men and every Thing within its Reach for then the Convulsion is Generally Fatal But where the Motion is Heavy Grave and Regular 't is a Sign that both the Source and the Danger of it are far off And this is so much the more Evident by how much farther the Earthquake is felt above Ground For the nearer any such Passion happens to the Center it must be granted that its Force is extended the wider on the Circumference This depends on a Mathematical Demonstration and there needs no more be said to thee who art Consummate in the Sciences What I esteem a due Reflection on this is That tho' there be no Peril in these Remote Earthquakes yet we know not how soon they will come nearer to us neither can we be assured where or when they will happen or how far they will reach It follows therefore by a Natural Consequence That since these Things are Unavoidable and all the Wit of Man cannot invent a Means to escape sinking into the Bowels of the Earth where it breaks in we ought to be careless and Indifferent what Death we die and only be solicitous to live like Men that is according to Reason For whether our Souls survive or no 't will be comfortable to expire in Peace and full of our own Innocence Paris 5th of the 12th Moon of the Year 1660 The End of the First Book LETTERS Writ by A Spy at PARIS VOL. VI. BOOK II. LETTER II. To the Venerable Mufti HERE is now like to be a great Change at this Court Cardinal Mazarini is dead He died at the Castle of the Wood of Vinciennes on the 9th of this Moon having been sick a long Time There happened a great Fire at the Louvre so they call the King's Palace in this City about Five Weeks ago which obliged the Cardinal who log'd there at that Time to remove to his own House From whence for the Sake of Air he was advised by his Physicians to go to the aforesaid Castle But all in vain For Death which finds Access into the strongest Fortresses pursued him thither and led him in Triumph to the Region of Silence and Forgetfulness who had made so great a Noise and Bustle in this our World It is reported that a certain Astrologer foretold him he should die in this Moon But the Cardinal gave no Credit to him Tho' one would think he had some Reason to believe him in this for the Sake of a Former Prediction of his concerning the Duke of Beaufort I have mentioned this Prince and the Enmity that was between Mazarini and him which occasioned the Duke's Imprisonment in the Castle of the Wood of Vinciennes During his Restraint the fore-mentioned Astrologer gave it out in Paris That the Duke should escape out of Prison precisely on such a Day The Cardinal being informed of this waited till the Day came designing to punish the Astrologer as a Cheat or at least to expose him for an Ignorant Person To which End he sent for him and upbraiding him with Presumption and Folly in that the Day was now come and yet the Duke of Beaufort was still a Prisoner without any Hopes or scarce a Possibility of escaping order'd him to be sent to the Bastile But the Astrologer addressing himself with much Submission and Earnestness spoke to this Effect May it please your Eminence only to respite my Sentence till to Morrow and then hang me if you do not find that I have spoke Truth The Day which I foretold is come indeed but it is not past A Courtier will soon convince you that I have not studied this Science in vain The Cardinal mov'd with these Words only confin'd the Astrologer in a Chamber of his own Palace And the next Day he receiv'd an Express which gave him an Account of the Duke's Escape and the Manner of it viz. That on the Day before he had let himself down by a Ladder of Ropes into the Castle-Ditch and was no more to be seen or heard of Thus the Astrologer escap'd the Cardinal's Revenge and got much Fame at the Court which was encreas'd by the Cardinal's Death falling out exactly according to his Prediction This Minister was a very subtle Man and Cardinal Richlieu us'd to say of him That if he were minded to put a Trick on the Devil he would only set Mazarini to Work Therefore he made him his Confident instructed him in all the Secrets of the French Court the Art of Government and on his Death-Bed recommended him to
the King as the fittest Man to succeed him in the Management of the Publick He was after the Death of Lewis XIII at first opposed by several Grandees but the Queen's Authority and that of the Prince of Conde supported him Whence arose a Common Proverb in those Days The Queen permits All the Cardinal Commands All and the Prince puts All in Execution For this last had then the Office of General This Minister was not esteem'd so Covetous as his Predecessor yet he heap'd up Vast Treasures Part of which he bestow'd in Magnificent Buildings and Furniture the Rest he sent into Italy to his Father who astonish'd at the Prodigious Quantities of Gold he receiv'd us'd to say Sure it rains Money in France However he made himself Odious to the Subjects of this Nation by his Continual Oppressions and they are glad he is gone 'T is a By-Word at Rome when any Pope dies to say Now the Dog is dead all his Malice is buried with him But I doubt it will not prove true in the Court of France at this Juncture For the King will either find a Minister Equal in Subtlety to the Deceas'd Cardinal who shall supply his Place or he will take the Administration of Affairs into his own Hands Be it which Way it will we are like to see the same Maxims pursu'd so long as Cardinal Richlieu's Memoirs are in Being who first taught this Crown to understand its own Strength Paris 14th of the 3d. Moon of the Year 1661. LETTER II. To the Vizir Azem at the Port. I Have sent a Dispatch to the Mufti acquainting him with the Death of the Cardinal Mazarini First Minister of State and the Greatest Favourite that ever liv'd Now I will inform thee of some Passages which I omitted in my Letter to that Venerable Prelate It is Necessary for me thus to distribute my Intelligence with a due respect to the different Quality of my Superiours Thou I suppose wilt require some Account of his Disposition and Morals with such a Character as may render this Great Genius familiar to thy Knowledge He seemed to place his chief Happiness in aggrandizing his Master whom he serv'd with a Zeal so pure and disinteress'd a Loyalty so Incorruptible and by such regular Methods of Prudence and Policy as if in his Days nothing were to be counted Vertue or Vice but what either favour'd or oppos'd the King of France's Interest He was of a Happy Constitution for a Courtier being by Nature Debonair Complaisant Affable and of a Sweet Deportment Yet Experience and Art taught him to improve these Advantages to the Height of Dissimulation You should see Courtesie and extraordinary Goodness flowing into every Feature of his Face You should hear Words breathing from his Mouth like the soft Benedictions of an Angel Yet at the same Time his Heart gave the Lye to Both. He meant nothing less than that a Man should find him as good as his Word He was ever ready to promise any Thing that was demanded of him But in Performance slow and full of Excuses Frugal of his Prince's Money and Liberal of his own Magnificent in his Buildings and the Furniture belonging to them Aiming in all Things to exceed other Men his Equals and in some to surpass even Mighty Princes his Superiours In a Word he was accomplish'd with all Qualifications requisite in a Fortunate Courtier and a good Statesman Yet after all this Sublime Genius yielded to Death But not like Common Mortals He died altogether like himself without so much as changing that settled Gravity and Serene Air of his Face as had been Remarkable during his Life He made the King Heir of his Estate and bequeathed abundance of Legacies To say all in Brief If he was Great in his Life he was much more so in his Death mingling his last Breath with the Sighs and Tears of the King who lamented his Departure with the Mourning of a Son for a Father Paris 26th of the 3d. Moon of the Year 1661. LETTER III. To Pesteli Hali his Brother Master of the Customs at Constantinople YEsterday a Dispatch came to my Hand from a very Remote Part of the Earth Our Cousin Isouf sent it from Astracan a Famous City for Traffick formerly belonging to the Crim Tartars but now in the Possession of the Moscovites He has been there a Considerable Time finding Profit by Merchandise For there is a vast Resort to that City from China Indostan Persia Moscovy and other Provinces of Europe and Asia The Roads to it are daily covered with the Caravans of Trading People And the River Volga can hardly sustain the Innumerable Multitude of Vessels that Transport Passengers with their Goods backwards and forwards between Astracan and the Regions round about the Caspian Sea into which that Mighty River discharges it self Isouf is Ingenious and has pitch'd upon some Advantageous Way of enriching himself which tempts him to take up his Abode in that City and there end his Travels or at least he will repose himself there till Fortune presents him with a fairer Opportunity of encreasing his Wealth In the mean Time I perceive by his Letter that he gets Money apace lives very happily and has the Wit to keep himself free from the Yoke of Marriage which embarass'd him so much formerly He soon put that troublesome Wife out of his Mind after he had Divorc'd her and he never fail'd to gratify himself with new Amours where-ever he came in his Travels He writes very Comically and I can't forbear smiling when he tells me He has had as many Concubines as the Grand Signior By which thou wilt perceive That Isouf is much addicted to Gallantry He frankly confesses That he first learned this Mode of loving at large in Persia especially at Ispahan where he says 't is a Mark of Honour for a Man to be good at Intriguing with the Ladies And he is call'd a Turk by way of Disgrace who frequents not every Evening the Gardens and Houses of Pleasure in the Suburbs But he adds that in India the Liberty of courting Women is much greater And that the very Nature of that Climate disposes a Man to this soft Passion In a word our Amorous Kinsman retains the same Humour still Yet this does not hinder him from prosecuting his necessary Affairs with Diligence and Alacrity He dispatch'd a Business for me at Archangel in Russia and another at Mosco very dexterously Which convinces me that he is not less Sedulous and Careful in Things which concern himself He says the Moscovites are the greatest Drunkards in the World Their Chief and most beloved Liquor is what the French call The Water of Life 'T is a Chymical Drink extracted from the Lees of Wine or other Strong Beverages such as thou know'st is common among the Greeks Armenians and Franks in the Levant When the Moscovites are once got into a House where this Nectar is Sold and are a little warm'd and elevated with it they will not
manner Therefore they concluded that either the Devil or some body else had put a Trick upon ' em That which made it seem the greater Mystery was that when they came behind the Scenes to uncase and examine the Matter they found but Twelve Antiques whereas on the Stage there were Thirteen The preciser Sort of Bigots gave it out for certain That the Devil was amongst 'em Whilst others more probably say 'T was only some Envious or Ambitious Dancing-Master who was either resolv'd to be reveng'd for not being one of the Twelve or design'd to shew his Parts Incognito against another Opportunity and in the Interim set the Court a wondring at his Singular Skill and Dexterity For it was observ'd That one of the Thirteen far surpass'd all the Rest and did Things to a Miracle Be it how it will it has brought to Memory a Passage that happen'd on the like Occasion at a Town not far from Paris about Eighteen Years ago yet was not half so much talk'd of then as 't is now Which was the Reason I took no Notice of it in any of my Letters But now they are big with it 'T is the general Discourse of all Companies who make Comparisons of that Event with this Perhaps 't will not be unpleasant to thee to know it In the Year 1644. toward the latter End a Company of Stage-Players were at a Place call'd Vitry entertaining the People with Comedies But there happen'd something really Tragical to one of the Actors This Man was to perform the Part of one Dead and then he was to revive again by Magick He acted his Part too truly and baffl'd the Necromancers Art For when he touch'd him with his Talisman as the Rules of the Play requir'd in Order to his Resurrection the Inanimate Trunk could not obey The Man was Dead indeed Whether he overstrained himself in imitating the Silent Still and Irrecoverable Privations of that Passive State and gave his slippery Soul a strong Temptation with a fair Opportunity to escape its Bonds Or whether Heaven had a Particular Hand in so Remarkable a Catastrophe I will not presume to divine But this and the other Occurrence has put the People quite out of Conceit with Plays Sage Hali remember the Arabian Proverb which says 'T is not good to Jest with God Death or the Devil For the First neither can nor will be mocked the Second mocks all Men one Time or other and the Third puts an Eternal Sarcasm on those that are too familiar with him Adieu Paris 30th of the 1st Moon of the Year 1662. LETTER XI To Dgnet Oglou GOD unravel my Soul reverse my Faculties turn my Nature inside out make me a Monster of a New Predicament or annihilate me which he pleases if I am not true to my Trust Yet the Ministers of the Port suspect me By the Thoughts of Mahomet our Holy Law-giver whilst he was climbing the boundless Heights of the Firmament I 've a Heart like the Roman Curtius who bravely leap'd into the Fathomless Abyss to save his Country from Ruin They mistake Mahmut who think he 'll be pimp'd out of his Loyalty by Frowns or Smiles Flatteries or Threats Gold or Tortures I 'd run the Risque of Damnation it self to serve my Sovereign or to do any Thing becoming a Man of Honour Yet my Superiours use me like a Villain or a Traytor Their Letters are full of Reproaches and Threatnings as if I were not worthy to live 'T is strange to me whence all this Malice should proceed and that after I have done and suffered all that could be expected from a Mussulman in my Post to demonstrate my Incorruptible Fidelity to the Grand Signior I should still be persecuted as a Tiafer and Enemy to the Ottoman Interest I know not what to think of it If I have done any Thing which deserves Death or Imprisonment why do they not send for me to Constantinople and execute Justice on me Or if I am not thought fit to continue any longer in this Post why do they not call for my Commission and give it to some Body better qualify'd Either of these wou'd be a merciful Proceeding compar'd with the more Cruel and Ignominious Way they have invented to murder me For now they put me to a lingring Death by continually corroding and wasting the Piece of my Soul which is my Life with Contempts and Reproaches I am not at all troubl'd when they tax me with Atheism or say I 'm a Kysilbaschi a Libertine a Christian a Heathen Philosopher or when they are pleas'd to make a Monster of me a Mungrel Gallimaufry a walking Hotchpotch compounded of Jew Turk Nazarene and Epicure In loading me with these opprobrious Titles they rank me with some of the Greatest Mortals and engage even our Holy Prophet himself to espouse my Cause and vindicate my Reputation since he is in these very Terms blasphem'd by the Followers of Jesus Those Infidels forgetting that their own Messias was after the like Manner traduc'd by the Jews who call'd him Impostor Magician Heretick Devil and I know not what This has been the Lot of all Holy Men and Prophets to be envied and aspers'd by the Grandees of the Nation and Age wherein they liv'd Because they boldly reprov'd their Vices and taught them the sincere Maxims of Vertue both by Word and Example And though I have not Vanity enough to list my self in the Number of Prophets or Perfect Men yet I have Reato conclude That all this Persecution is rais'd against me on the Account of the Liberty I take to reprehend the Errors and Failings of those who are Slaves to the Grand Signior as well as I Tho' I have been commanded to do this by the most August Ministers of the Empire But great Men in Power love not to be told of their Faults They wou'd live Arbitrary as Sovereigns without the least Check or Controul They will rather cherish a Thousand Flatterers and Sycophants than suffer one Diogenes to live But that which vexes me most is That they glance upon me in some Expressions as if I were false to the Trust which is repos'd in me A Crime for which I ever had an Invincible Abhorrence and which wou'd sooner tempt me a Thousand Times to die than to be once guilty of it Thou know'st my Temper and I need say no more I shou'd have burst with Grief and Indignation had I not given my Resentments this Vent and that to a Friend who by knowing my Affliction takes one Half of it for his own Share and so I 'm eas'd Paris 2d of the 4th Moon of the Year 1662. LETTER XII To Abrahim Eli Zeid Hadgi Preacher to the Seraglio THEY have a Proverb here in the West which says All is not Gold that glisters And 't is frequently verify'd in their own Priests who are generally the greatest Hypocrites in the World I had not been long in this City before I sent a Letter to Bedredin Superiour
him a Command in his Army that so he might rob and Plunder from thenceforth by Authority But I shou'd have begun higher in Antiquity with the Empire of the Assyrians founded by Ninus in the Blood and Slaughter Ruine and Destruction of all his Neighbours and increas'd after the same Methods by his Wife Semiramis who begging of her Husband that she might reign for Five Days and he granting her Request she put on the Royal Ornaments and sitting on the Throne of uncontroulable Majesty commanded the Guards to degrade and kill her Husband Which being done she succeeded in the Empire adding Aethiopia to her other Dominions carrying a War into India and encompassing Babylon with a Magnificent Wall at last was kill'd by her Son Ninyas Thus was the Assyrian Monarchy established in Regicides Massacres and Carnage And by the same Methods 't was translated by Arbactus to the Medes He having caus'd Sardanapalus the last and most effeminate of all the Assyrian Kings to die in the midst of his Concubines Thus was Treachery and Murder handed down with the Sovereign Power till at length Cyrus the Persian transferr'd them to his Country Whose Son Cambyses rais'd the Second Vniversal Monarchy on the additional Ruines of many other Kingdoms cementing it with the Blood of his Brother and his Son Yet after all it was translated to the Macedonians by Alexander the Great not without an equal Guilt of Parricide and other Exorbitant Vices From whom at last it devolv'd to the Romans What need I mention the scandalous Birth of Romulus and Remus the Twin-Sons of an Incestuous Vestal Or their debauch'd Education under a common Prostitute fabulously veil'd by the Roman Historians under the Title of a Wolf to render the Origin of their Empire Miraculous Why shou'd I recount the Horrid Fratricide committed by Romulus on Remus his Brother or the celebrated Rape of Sabine Wives Virgins and Widows It will seem invidious to call to Mind the detestable Murder of Titus Tacius the Good old Captain of the Sabines with many other Barbarous Massacres Yet these enormous Crimes were the Foundations of the Roman Grandeur and Nobility so formidable afterwards to the whole Earth And the Superstructure was answerable through all the various Changes and Revolutions of Government even to the Reign of Augustus Caesar under whom Rome gain'd the Title of the Fourth Vniversal Monarchy This Emperour though he was esteem'd the most Merciful and Just Prince on Earth yet he establish'd his Throne in the Blood of his Kindred sacrificing the Children of his Uncle to the ends of State And that he might not deviate from the Royal Ingratitude of other Princes he barbarously extinguish'd the Off-spring of his Fathers Brother who had adopted him to the Inheritance of the Imperial Dignity Scorning by an unkingly Tenderness to spare the glorious Names of Antony and Cleopatra to whom he was so nearly related and who had invested him with the Power of being so inhumane I will not make thee sick by rehearsing the abominable Lives and wicked Actions of the Nero's Domitian's Caligula's Heliogabulus's Galienus's and the rest of those Royal Monsters History it self blushes to recite such Prodigies of Impiety and their very Names are odious to all Generations If we pass from these mighty Empires to Kingdoms of less Note we shall still trace the Foot-steps of the same Vices Both Ancient and Modern Records are full of these Tragedies The Original Kingdom of the Greeks took its Rise from the Parricide of Dardanus and the Female Empire of the Amazons began in the barbarous Massacre of their Husbands All Ages and Nations afford us Examples of this Nature and the highest Honours Dignities and Commands were ever acquir'd and maintain'd by the Highest Injustice Therefore Honest Nathan let thou and I never envy the Nobles and Grandees of the Earth but contented in our Humble Posts sitting under the Vmbrella's of a happy Obscurity let us serve the Grand Signior with Integrity and a Zeal void of Injustice Paris 22d of the 2d Moon of the Year 1663. LETTER XXIII To Codarafrad Cheik a Man of the Law THou wilt approve the Sentence that was Yesterday executed on a Frenchman in this City who said he was the Son of God and had perswaded a great many poor Ignorant People to believe him He was burnt alive for his Blasphemy and his Ashes kick'd into a Ditch Had he been convicted of this horrid Impiety in any of the Grand Signior's Dominions he had undergone the like or a more terrible Punishment For the Alcoran expresly says That God has neither Wife Son Daughter or Companion And that those shall suffer Eternal Pains who teach any such Doctrine Doubtless there is but One God and the Eternal Vnity cannot be divided or multiply'd to make more Gods in Faction or procreate an Off-spring of diminutive Dieties He the Father of all Things dwells in Eternal Solitude and from an Infinite Retirement beholds the Various Generations of the Vniverse they are all equally his Off-spring and 't is Blasphemy to affirm he has a Son or a Daughter or a Companion like unto himself For he is increated unbegotten and entire Sole Possessor of his Own Glory without Rival or Competitor There was none before him neither shall there be any after him He is without Beginning or End But these Infidels harbour strange Opinions about a Trinity of Gods and follow the Doctrines of Hermes Trismegistus Plato Plotinus and other Pagan Philosophers who asserted a Triad in the Deity and on that Basis founded all the Polytheism of the Gentiles Hence Pythagoras drew his Tetragrammaton by playing the Chymical Arithmetician and extracting a Quaternity out of Three But the Poets not puzzling their Heads with the Mysteries of these Divine and Vnintelligible Numbers deliver'd their Theology in plain gross Fictions suitable to the Capacities of the Vulgar One midwifing a Goddess out of Jupiter's Brains Another starting a God from his Thigh But this silly Fellow could not derive his Pedigree so near as from a Little Toe of the Divinity Therefore he was deservedly reduc'd to his First Atomes and spurn'd out of the World The French have various Kinds of Punishments for Malefactors but none more terrible than Breaking on the Wheel This is inflicted only on Notorious Criminals and the Manner is thus The Party condemn'd is fasten'd to a Wheel with his Arms and Legs extended to their full Length and Wideness Then comes the Executioner and with an Iron Bar breaks one Bone after another till the miserable Wretch is in the Agonies of Death and so he is left to expire in unutterable Torments For some Men of strong Constitutions will retain Life in this Condition for Twelve or more Hours together Honourable Codarafrad Though the Executions of the East are more swift and surprizing than those in the West yet they are not Comparable to them for Cruelty The worst Death being but a Minutes Pain Sage Cheick I reverence thy accomplish'd Knowledge
in the Laws of Equity and Justice Paris 15th of the 3d. Moon of the Year 1663. The End of the Second Book LETTERS Writ by A Spy at PARIS VOL. VI. BOOK III. LETTER I. To Solyman his Cousin at Chalcedon I Commend thee for removing thus from Place to Place and cou'd wish that thou would'st not only exchange thy Residence through all the Cities seated on the Bosphorus Propontis Euxine Sea and the Hellespont but visit by turns all the Famous Marts in the World Praise be to God we are not born in Moscovy Russia China or under the narrow-soul'd Governments of Lycurgus Plato and such kind of Jealous Lawgivers where it would be no less Punishment than the Loss of one's Eyes Ears and Feet if not of Life it self to travel out of his Native Country or for a Stranger to come in excepting Foreign Embassadors and Agents who in China are forc'd to travel with their Faces veil'd or muffl'd from the Confines to the Court lest they should spie the Disadvantages of the Country Doubtless this is repugnant to the Law of Nature and Nations an Oppression of Humanity and directly opposite to the Purpose of God when he design'd and made us for Sociable Creatures For the whole Earth is but as one Country or Province common to Men and Beasts 'T is our Element and therefore we ought to be free in it to range where we please as the Fowls do in the Air and the Fish in the Sea without any Law Restraint or Injury Such a Thought as this made Socrates when he was ask'd What Country-man he was answer I am a Native of the Vniverse and therefore free to live where I will Thou know'st our Cousin Isouf has travell'd over all Asia and Africk with some Parts of Europe My Brother Pesteli Hali has also visited many Regions in the East Both of them have improv'd their Estates and Fortunes in the World the one at Astracan the other at Constantinople Follow their Steps and thou may'st have thy Hearts Content Go and observe the different Manners of Men their various Customs Laws and Religions Survey the Mountains Vallies Desarts Rivers Lakes Seas Cities Castles Palaces and all the other desirable Objects which embellish this Globe But beware of the Infirmity of most Travellers who Camelion-like change their Humour and Manners as the Regions vary through which they pass Mere Mimicks Buffoons and Apes who place their Excellency in imitating every Thing they see or meet with Thus degenerating from themselves instead of Improving their Minds in true Science and Wisdom and hardening their Bodies to endure patiently the Injuries of the Elements with all the Fatigues and Contingencies of Humane Life which are the chief Ends of Travelling next to that of Learning how to serve our Sovereign and our Country in a more refined Manner Solyman never think that thou wilt deserve the Character of a Prudent Traveller if at thy return thou canst only boast of Strange and Incredible Things thou hast seen tell monstrous Romances and Fictions more Fabulous than those of the Gentile Poets Aim at Solid Knowledge and the Improvements of a Rational Creature As thou goest out a Mussulman so return but with all the Advantages that may recommend thee for a Person accomplish'd in History Morals Politicks and Divine Philosophy If thou dar'st not undertake a Ramble at large go to thy Cousin Isouf at Astracan where he is settl'd in a Way of Traffick and Merchandise Take thy Voyage by the Black Sea and the Palus Maeotis Cast thy Eyes on the ancient Kingdom of Colchis as thou sailest by her Shores consider the Temper of the Mingrelians Circassians and Tartars with the Rest of the People through whose Territories thou wilt pass And when thou arrivest at Astracan tell my Cousin Isouf that I wish'd thee to take this Course He will respect thee for thy Uncle's Recommendation Shew him this Letter and let his own Eyes see the Hand-Writing of Mahmut the Aged Weather-beaten Slave of the Earth's Great Sovereign the old Grey Grisled Watchman of the Sublime Port which is the Refuge of Mortals He will find many Opportunities to advance thee But I advise thee to wean thy self from all Fondness Inconstancy and Discontent Be true to thy Trust Sedulous and Active Patient and Resign'd Take all Things as they come from Destiny without being peevish or fretful So may God bless thee and give thee the Riches of the Earth and the Sweet Influences of Heaven make thee happy here and hereafter Finally may thy Rest be on high in Paradise Paris the 1st of the 5th Moon of the Year 1663. LETTER II. To Pesteli Hali his Brother Master of the Customs at Constantinople THere is no Doubt but when thou wast in the Indies the Names of Sultan Dara Suja Aurengzebe and Morad Batche were not less known to thee than that of their Father Cha Iehan the Grand Mogul Thy Business as well as Curiosity call'd thee often to the Court where thou hast heard the Characters of these young Princes whose early Years furnish'd the World with Matter of Noise and great Expectations and gave the old Monarch that begat 'em Trouble and Care enough to keep 'em in Order and prevent their Machinations against one another as well as against himself For in those Days he saw his Family divided into Factions and a Royal Envy mix'd with Ambition whetting Brothers and Sisters against each other who by Nature were made for the Offices of Reciprocal Love Surely 't is but a glorious Infelicity for Children to be thus born Candidates of a Crown when each is oblig'd by a Principle of Self-Preservation to pursue his Claim in a Method wholly repugnant to Humanity and the Affection that is due to those of the same Blood When shaking off all Tenderness and Compassion the Sons of one Mother must sheath their Swords in each others Bowels to prevent their own Estate and ravish a Crown by Force to save their Lives Yet this is the Misfortune of all the Eastern Courts that they cannot see a Prince ascend the Throne without the Slaughter of his Brethren and all that can be suspected to pretend or stand in Competition with him for the Sovereignty However it must be confess'd that the Indian Policy in this Point is far more generous than that of the Ottomans or Persians Who either immediately after their Possession of the Throne murder in cold Blood all the rest of their Lineage or at least imprison them in some dark Dungeon during their Lives and not seldom put out their Eyes And this is owing to the Disadvantage the unhappy Children of our Monarchs lie under in that from their Infancy they are confin'd to the Seraglio and educated under the Tutelage of Women and Eunuchs even during the whole life of their Father so that he who is advanc'd to the Throne has all the rest in his Custody the first Hour of his Reign Whereas in Indostan the Princes of the Blood are
into their Center where thou and I and every divided Atome in Nature shall meet be united and swallowed up in Eternal Beatitude Amen! Amen! Oh thou Lord and Father of all things Inexhaustible Abyss of Miracles which know no End Paris 6th of the 1st Moon of the Year 1665. LETTER XIX To the same SUpposing it were otherwise than I have said Grant the Doctrine of Epicurus true Believe that we and all things were produc'd by the Fortuitous Concourse of Atomes Yet still we have the same or greater Reason to value our selves as diminutive Gods since in this Sense we must of necessity be Eternal every Atome being so of which we are compounded In the Opinion of these Philosophers there 's no such thing as an Origin or Beginning of the Vniverse Each Particle of Matter with them is as old as the Divinity We have all rang'd Eternally from one Form and World to another danc'd to the measures of Fate been Parts of the Orbs above and of the Caverns below stray'd through the Heavens and all the Elements taken an Universal Carier through Infinite and Endless Spaces and are now as fix'd as we seem in these solid Hulks of Flesh in the same Hurly-Burly as ever These Bodies which we carry about us are not compounded of the same Atomes as they were Seven Years ago There is a perpetual Flux and Reflux of Particles We die as fast as we live Every Moment substracts from our Duration on Earth as much as it adds to it We move breathe and do all things by Paradox Our very Essence is a Riddle With an open Heart therefore I applaud thy Religious Negligence of Humane Affairs in that thou art Divinely careless of thy self and every thing else save only to conserve thy Innocence What signifies it whether we believe the Written Law or the Alcoran whether we are Disciples of Moses Jesus or Mahomet Followers of Aristotle Plato Pythagoras Epicurus or Ilch Rend Hu the Indian Bramin Of what Import is it whether we pray or not Whether we kneel before Images or in a naked Mosque 'T will be all one in the winding up We are but the Machines of Chance As we live so shall we die and God knows what will become of us afterwards neither is it worth our while to be sollicitous since we can be certain of nothing Perhaps every Atome of which we are made may be scatter'd from the rest we may be transported Piece-meal into Ten Hundred Thousand Millions of Worlds and seven-fold as many Years may expire before Two the minutest Particles of our Frame meet together again We need not be troubled at all this nothing can hinder us from being Immortal and Eternal tho' it be but in Fragments Go on then Sacred Vagabond Pious Rambler Holy Fugitive go on to assert in the course of thy Life this great Truth That all things depend on Everlasting Chance or Destiny Thy Actions shall reprove the Hypoctites of the Age who abound in Specious Words And thy Divine Indifference shall condemn the Hellish Zeal of furious Bigots who think to please God and atone for their Sins by sacrificing Humane Blood and massacring all that are not of their Faith God or Chance or Fate shall transport thee after Death to Happy Regions Immarcessible Joys and an Endless Succession of Bliss Every Atome shall find its Paradise Thou shalt mount by Degrees to Full Infinite and Eternal Felicity Adieu for a time Paris 20th of the 1st Moon of the Year 1665. LETTER XX. To Isouf his Cousin a Merchant at Astracan WHen I reflect on thy Happiness in having been all thy Life at Liberty to change thy Residence and ramble whithersoever thy Fancy invited thee and that even now at Astracan thou art no longer confin'd than by thy own Pleasure or Interest I cannot forbear envying thee There is an inexpressible Delight in ranging the various Tracts of the Earth Whereas to be perpetually shut up and imprison'd as I am in a City so close and high-built that the very Winds can scarce find a Way into her Interiour Parts is a perfect Hell upon Earth To speak the Truth Paris may be call'd a Heap or Aggregate of Cities built one upon another like Pelion upon Ossa since the Houses here are as high as the Minarets at Constantinople and divided like the Air into the lower middle and upper Regions or Apartments Or rather like the Heavens whose Number Astronomers assert to be Nine For with so many Stories do some Houses nay whole Streets in Paris lift up their Heads and every Story or Apartment's peopl'd like a Bee-hive So that in this Infinite Throng of Inhabitants and such as come hither about Business we are ready to be stifled with one anothers Breath Whereas thou know'st in the Cities all over the East the Houses are intermix'd with Gardens They are low-built with Terrasses on the Top to take the cool Air on by Night with Parterres Kas-kaneys Divans Conservatories and all the other Conveniences for refreshing the Senses by Water Wind and Odoriferous Smells This makes me long to be at Constantinople Damascus Mosul or even at Astracan where thou residest though that City want many Delights which others enjoy However I shou'd there encounter with Tiara's and Turbants the very Sight of which wou'd half cure my Discontent May my Portion be with Tagot if I am not tyr'd with seeing Nothing but these Hats and Short-Coats these ridiculous Franks these Apes without Tails And then to hear 'em rant against the Grand Signior and all True Believers to hear 'em blaspheme the Messenger of God curse the Alcoran revile the Mufti and all the Mollahs with a Thousand other Impertinences which none but such Reprobates Giaurs and Infidels wou'd be guilty of makes me either wish my self Deaf or that my Tongue were at Liberty to answer them But much rather wou'd I desire to be in a Place where I might enjoy my Ears to receive the Salem from my Friends that are Mussulmans and to hear the Name of God devoutly bless'd on any Occasion that awakens the Sense to Piety Oh that I were among my Countrymen the Arabians who dwell in Tents and frolick about from Hills to Valleys tasting by Turns the various Sweets of the Forest and the Plain The Groves and Meadows Pastures and Arable Grounds Cities and Villages all contribute to their Delight They want no Innocent Joy that the Earth can afford Their Wealth consists in the Multitude of their Sheep Camels Goats and Oxen. And for them is all their Care that they may not want Grass and Water in due Season As for themselves they are resign'd to Providence So are the Tartars who sleep in Hords or Waggons the only Cavaliers of Asia Whose Life is a perpetual Campagne from the Cradle to the Grave Their Labour and Ease are derived from the same Fountain exercising themselves on Horse-back at Seven Years old and feeding on the Milk of Mares as soon as they are wean'd from
their Charges by the Way or when they arrive at their Journeys End All Entertainments of this Nature being free and reciprocal Such is the Custom of the Country They have no Lawyers among them but if any Contention arise 't is presently determin'd by the Arbitration of the next Neighbours to whose Sentence all submit Every Man being willing to lose something of his Right rather than disturb the Publick Amity and Peace As to the manner of their Worship they are strict Observers of Purity in washing anointing and shaving their Bodies They have Temples also where they assemble every Seventh Day and having offer'd up the First-Fruits of the Earth they sir down in the Courts and Banquet together with Joy whilst the Priests entertain them with excellent Musick and Songs in Praise of God and his Works To this End the Courts of their Temples are made very large that they may contain so many distinct Families and stately Pavillions are set up adorn'd with the Boughs of Green Trees with all manner of Flowers carelesly intermix'd But amidst all their Feasting they are not permitted to taste of Flesh They eat only the Fruits of the Earth with Milk Honey and Oyl And their common Drink is Water and Wine At the Age of Sixteen Years every Man is bound to take the following Oath I swear that I will adore but One God who brought our Fathers out of Egypt and has conducted us by a Mysterious Path to this Land of Promise I will Religiously serve him all my Life for that he has vouchsafed to plant me in the Family of his Elect and not either of the Two Tribes who were left behind in the Land of Delusions I will do Justly to all Men neither will I voluntarily hurt or kill any Living Creature unless it be in my own Defence I will not taste of the Flesh of any Animal but in all things observe the Abstinence commanded by Allah to Moses on the Mount I will Religiously obey my Prince to my last Breath and rather be torn in Pieces by wild Beasts than betray him or consent to betray him to another For he is the Vice-Roy of God I will never conceal my Knowledge of any Conspiracy against him or my Country neither will I discover his Secrets to any if it should ever be my Honour to know them I will observe the Traditions of my Fathers and teach the same and no other to my Posterity In fine I will in all things obey the Laws of this Sacred Kingdom this Region of Peace this Garden of Bliss All this I solemnly swear by the First Father of Light and by Nothing the Profound Womb of Darkness and by Silence the Companion of that Depth which no Created Being can fathom which is the same as if I should wish my self annihilated if I violate this Oath in the least Point These are all the Terms of the Oath that I can distinctly remember which I here insert to shew thee what Opinion these People have of the Law which was given to Moses on the Mount and how they reject the Two Tribes that were left in Palestine and esteem of that Country but as the Land of Delusions accounting their own Country the Region of Promise and themselves the Elect of God One would think that these were the Posterity of the Ten Tribes that were carried away Captives by Salmanasar King of Assyria And this was also the Opinion of that Wanderer who told me that both their Pentateuch was different from yours and the Language wherein it is written For he said it was rather a Dialect of Arabick in which Language thou know'st God wrote the Ten Commandments on the Two Tables Among which one is Thou shalt not Kill This Prohibition they say extends to all Living Creatures tho' your Doctors interpret it as only reaching to Men and so do the Christians But the Mussulmans interpret it thus Thou shalt neither kill Man nor Beast without Reason By which Clause the Beasts are priviledg'd from the wanton Cruelty of Men who otherwise would murder them only to make Sport yet wicked Men are not exempted from a violent Death as a Punishment of their Crimes This Traveller says also that the People of that Country are so healthy that they generally live till they are a Hundred and Twenty Years old which is almost twice the Age of other Mortals This he ascribes to their exquisite Temperance and Moderation in all things as also to the Dryness of the Soil and to the Force of certain Winds which continually sweep the Air of this delectable Region and purge it of all hurtful Qualities If ever it be thy Fortune to see this Person he will acquaint thee with a great many more delightful Passages which it would be too tedious for me to insert in a Letter Besides my Memory is treacherous and I often forget those things at one time which I remember at another But if thou art sollicitous to hear more I will oblige thee with all that I can call to mind of this Traveller in another Letter In the mean time make a right Use of these Hints and weigh one thing with another examine all things without Prejudice or Partiality Trust no Man's Reason but thy own in Matters of a disputable Nature since thou hast as much right to decide the Controversy as any Man And thus thou wilt never become a Bankrupt in Religion Paris the 4th of the 1st Moon of the Year 1666 LETTER V. To Mohammed Hadgi Dervich Eremit of Mount Uriel in Arabia the Happy AS I think this is the last of my Hours in this World and the First of a New Life which I shall commence in Immortality I perceive That the Fatal Period the Moment of Transmigration set by Destiny is approaching The Crasis of my Blood is dissolving apace my Spirit hastens to get loose from these Mortal Chains I feel my Soul trying and stretching her Wings preparing to take her Eternal Flight to the Region assign'd her by God and Nature I have not Presumption enough to hope for Paradise nor am I so abandon'd to Despair as to conclude I shall go to Hell I rather believe Aaraf or the Place of Prisons will be my Portion in Regard I fear the Evils which I have been guilty of are not over-balanc'd by my Good Actions 'T is well if Vertue has counterpois'd Vice in the Course of this Mortal Life However I am resign'd and commit my self to the Indulgent Creator of all Things who will not fail to dispose of me according to the Order which he has establish'd in the Vniverse Methinks were I even in Hell I cou'd not forbear praising that Fountain of all Things I wou'd teach the Devils and Damn'd a new Lesson of Patience and Contentedness of Humility and Devotion of Generosity and Love amidst their Tremendous Torments I wou'd survey with an Indifference becoming a True Believer the Horrid Abyss with all its dreadful Vaults and Apartments I wou'd
consider the Wonderful Architecture of those Infernal Prisons the inexpugnable Strength of the Walls their Prodigious Thickness and unmoveable Fastness I wou'd contemplate every Thing with the Reason of a Philosopher and the Piety of a Mussulman not giving my self up to the Passions of a Fool and an Infidel All this I imagine were easy to perform in those Fatal Caverns and much more but God knows how the Experience of such an Intolerable Anguish and Restraint might alter a Man's Mind However I find it Medicinal to think of the last and worst Things to be always prepar'd for Death and whatsoever shall follow it For Surprizes are apt to unman us and plunder us of our Reason I was in the Heighth of a violent Fever when I began this Letter yet now 't is abated and I palpably feel the gentle Returns of Health and Life This is owing in my Judgment to the real Belief I had that my last Hour was come which I have so long expected And I cou'd almost perswade my self That I shall disperse a Thousand Maladies recover out of the most dangerous Paroxysms and prolong my Days to Old Age by the mere Force of these Contemplations My Faith in this Point is grounded on Experience For I have often found That to be arm'd against Calamities with an even Mind is either a sure Way to avoid them or at least to protract the Season of their Arrival And if there were nothing else in 't but the rendring 'em more easy when they come 't were worth any Man's Pains to try the Experiment Doubtless there is no Terrour in Death but what the vain Opinion of Men creates 'T is as pleasant for a Thinking Man to die as to live if it be only for this Reason that in his Passage from the Life he has lead before he shall not have bare naked Idea's for his Contemplation but Matter of Fact and the most Important that ever employ'd the Souls of Men. O Admirable Sylvan consider with thy self whether it will not be highly grateful to thy languishing Soul when thou shalt perceive demonstratively by the Infallible Enthymema's of thy trembling Pulse that thou art just ready to be releas'd from the deceitful Sophistry of Humane Life That thou art near escaping from a narrow Cage to be upon the Wing at large to fly into the Ample Fields of Beauty Light and Endless Happiness Reflect also at the same Time O Holy Eremite that I shou'd think it no Pain to be freed from my Confinement to a stinking Nest of Infidels But why shou'd I give them that Reproachful Epithet when for ought I know I am a greater Infidel my self 'T is true indeed I am of the Lineage of Ibrahim Ismael and the Holy Race I bear in my Body the Seas of a Divine League or Covenant between God and Man I was circumcis'd in due Time and gave Supreme Glory to One God and Honour to Mahomet his Messenger I pronounc'd the Seven Mysterious Words whose Sound excites the Harmony of the Spheres sets the Angels a dancing puts all Nature into Motion and makes the Devil as deaf as a Beetle Nay as our Holy Doctors teach the very Breath with which that Sacred Confession is utter'd blows the Ashes of Hell into the Eyes of the Damn'd and strikes 'em blind In a Word I have fasted pray'd given Alms and perform'd all the External Duties of a True Believer yet I have Reason to fear that the best of my pious Actions are not sufficient to cancel my Sins My Practice runs counter to my Faith there seems to be a double Spirit in me one inclining me to Good and the other forcing me to Evil. For whilst I really in my Heart believe the Alcoran and obey Mahomet our Holy Law-giver I am compell'd to deny both to profess the Life and Manners of a Nazarene to counterfeit an Infidel and do a Thousand other ill things to please the Grand Signior and his Slaves Thus I play fast and loose with God Almighty and turn Religion into Cross Purposes Yet Heaven knows and I obtest all the Elements to Witness that I wou'd fain be Innocent and live in unblemish'd Vertue But the Fatal Necessities I lie under constrain me to a perpetual Course of Vice Which makes me sometimes cry out in the Agonies of my Soul O God! I pray thee either to alter my Circumstances and reform my Nature or make new Laws more easy to be kept Venerable and Patient Solitary bear with my importunate Complaints and remember that though thou art as an Angel for thy Perfections yet Mahmut is but a Man subject to a Thousand Frailties Pity him and continue to afford him thy Sage Counsel rest also assur'd that amongst all his Infirmities he still retains an Inviolable Affection and Dutiful Regard for the Tenant of God's Prophet Paris 22d of the 2d Moon of the Year 1666. LETTER VI. To the Kaimacham THou mayst report it to the Divan for a Certainty That Mirammud the Son of the Xariph of Salle is taken Prisoner by the French That bold Youth has long rov'd the Seas uncontroul'd has done many Injuries to the Christians fill'd Salle with Slaves Now he himself is become a Captive Such is the Fortune of War by Sea and Land to Day Triumphant and Victorious to Morrow Vanquish'd and in Chains Yet he lost not his Honour with his Liberty having bravely defended his Vessel and strew'd the Decks with slaughter'd French till overpower'd with Numbers he was compell'd to yield His Enemies extol his Courage and the Greatness of his Mind which would not sink under the Pressure of this Misfortune He seem'd to have the Command of himself which is the most Glorious Victory and suffer'd not his Free-born Soul to be led Captive by his Passions but behav'd himself with such an even Temper as plac'd him above the Pity of his Enemies and rather made him the Subject of their Emulation He is brought to the Court where he is entertain'd as a Guest rather than as a Prisoner Being invited to their Banquets Masks Plays and other Divertisements Neither is he debarr'd the Privilege of Hunting which might give him the fairest Opportunity to escape But he is ignorant of the Language of this Country and few of the French understand Moresco So that it is almost impossible for him to make any Party or consult his Flight unless the King's Interpreter should assist him Besides the French have a higher Opinion of his Generosity than to apprehend such an Ingrateful Return of the Royal Usage he finds in this Court As for Mahmut he has not as yet made himself known to this Brave Captive But if the Ministers of the Divan shall think it the Interest or Honour of the Sublime Port to engage in this Affair I want but a Commission to set Mirammud safe ashore in Africk I will not hazard any thing in an Affair of this Importance without an Order from my Superiours When their Pleasure is once
and the People Inhabiting there it is necessary for thee to be inform'd of Particular Emergencies and such Events as deserve a Place in the Eternal Records of the Ottoman Monarchy the Fifth and Last in the World That so the Ministers of the August Divan the destin'd Arbitrators of the Vniverse Judges of all Humane Affairs and Counsellors of the Great Sultan may in the Sacred Code as in a Mirrour behold whatever happens in the distant Climates worthy of Remark After the Salutations therefore proceeding from profound Humility entire Respect and perfect Friendship know that a devouring Pestilence has lately made a Fatal Decimation in the English Territories especially in London the Capital City of that Island where above a Hundred Thousand Souls struck with Invisible Darts from God went off the Stage of Humane Life in less than Six Moons Revolution The dire Contagion by Degrees spread farther through the Adjacent Provinces and reach'd the most remote and solitary Corners of the Land Death set his Standard up proclaiming Open War against the Inhabitants with flying Troops of Mortal Plagues he ravag'd o'er the Isle filling all Parts with doleful Cries and Lamentations The Cemeteries were not large enough to hold the Carcasses of such as fell before the dreadful Conquerour But open Fields were turn'd to Sepulchres and cramm'd with Spoils of Humane Race An Universal Desolation reign'd Death celebrated Cruel Triumphs every where Such as pretend to Astrology and hidden Sciences will have this to be an Effect of the late Comet which appear'd at the End of the Year 1664. whilst others attribute it to nearer Naturar Causes and some conclude it is a Judgment sent from Heaven on that Rebellious People who a few Years before had involv'd the Nation in a Civil War and barbarously Massacr'd their King God only knows the Truth that is conceal'd from Man Thou mayst Register also That the Queen-Mother of France is newly dead and the Crook-back'd Prince of Conti. On which Account this Court is now in Mourning and the Churches hung with Black whilst Melancholy Bells perpetually invite the Living to pray for the deceased Royal Souls and deep-bass'd Organ Pipes breath out Incessant doleful Aspirations sounding like Inarticulate Prayers and Funeral Sighs for the departed In this the Nazarenes approach near to the Faith of True Believers They give Alms also as we do and settle Stipends on certain Priests and Derviches to mumble over daily Masses for the Dead which is an evident Sign That they have Hopes of Immortality and look for the Resurrection Doubtless there 's something Good at the Bottom of all Religions tho' it be overlaid with Errors and Corruptions God direct us through the Meanders which Humane Frailty involves us in and grant every Mussulman a Particular Chart and Compass whereby to steer his Course through the uncertain Tracts of Mortal Life that he may at last arrive in Paradise For we shall never find the Way thither by General Rules Illustrious Hamet I pray that thou and I may at a destin'd Hour encounter one another in the Walks of Eden there to converse under Immortal Shades near to some warbling Stream of matchless Wine or Water to revolve our past Fatigues on Earth and to caress our selves in the Security of Endless Bliss Paris 15th of the 7th Moon of the Year 1666. LETTER XI To Nathan Ben Saddi a Jew at Vienna THou and thy feigned Messias be damn'd together for Company Must I be baulkt of my Money for the Sake of your New Superstition How many Messias's have ye had Twenty Five at least besides the Son of Mary who is acknowledg'd and bless'd for ever Must all the World be bubbl'd to Eternity by the Fables of your Nation Curse upon your Rabbi's and Cochams those Pimps to the more Religious Debaucheries of Mortals Nathan I took thee for another Manner of Man However if thou art a Sworn Servant to Sabbati Sevi the new Sham-King of the Jews I have nothing to say to it Do as thou wilt But I dare be a Prophet so far as to tell thee thou wilt be cursedly left in the Lurch with the Rest of the Fools thy Bigotted Brethren Let what will be it behoves thee as an honest Man to transmit the Bills that are entrusted to thee Whether Sabbati Sevi Ben Joseph or Ben David be the Name of your expected Messias I wou'd not have Ben Saddi degenerate Continue thou Faithful and the few others that are entrusted with the Sublime Affairs and let all the Rest of the Common Jews go to Gehenna or to the Vale of Tophet which you please But I wou'd fain have thee in the Number of the Righteous who shall possess Paradise Some of thy Letters have encourag'd me to hope for this but thy last makes me almost despair of seeing thee happy either in This World or the Next For thou writest like one in a Phrensy raving on Chimera's of strange Honour Glory and Power which thou shalt shortly enjoy in the Kingdom of thy Phantastick Messias thou art already a Prince in thy own Conceit For God's Sake Nathan wean thy self from these Religious Fondnesses Awaken thy Reason which is the distinguishnig Character of a Man Examine the Grounds of this New Delusion search into the Birth and Origin of Sabbati Sevi and thou wilt find him to descend of an Obscure and Base Parentage his Father being but a Kind of Mungrel Jew and by Profession an Vsurer which is forbid by the Written Law of Moses and in the Great Alcoran it is accounted Execrable His Mother a Woman of the Curds suspected for a Witch in Regard most of that Infidel Nation practise Magick Arts and Diabolical Charms And 't is not altogether improbable that your Counterfeit Messias was educated privately by her in the same Studies whence he learn'd the Methods of Enchantments and Illusions to deceive the Senses and impose on the Reason of Mankind I can tell thee of a Truth that there are more Eyes on him and his Actions than he is aware of and I my self at this Distance have receiv'd a particular Relation of his Life from such as knew him a Youth at Smyrna the Place of his Nativity He is accus'd of many Vices and Extravagances during his early Years His Conversation was wild and dissolute being a noted Inamorato or Stallion over all that City For which and some other Crimes he was expelled the Synagogue and banish'd from Smyrna by the Mutual Consent of the Mussulman Cadi and your own Rulers He was also excommunicated by the Rabbi's as a Heretick for broaching certain Doctrins repugnant to your Law and the General Faith of the Jews All which cannot but be a prevailing Recommendation of him to the Office of Messias or King of Israel From hence he rambled up and down the Morea and other Provinces of Greece leaving a Memorial of Infamy where-ever he set his Foot continually marrying and divorcing of Wives debauching of Virgins and frequenting the
of a Lyon with this Inscription The Lyon of the Tribe of Judah The Christians seem astonish'd at these things yet some look on 'em only as Dreams As for honest Eliachim here he is no more mov'd at these things than I only he laughs at the Folly of the Credulous World and curses the Jews for bringing such Contempt on themselves and their Posterity But Nathan is like one Hag-ridden or defil'd by the Lamiae of the Night He has lost all Reason and 't will be no less than a Miracle that must restore it again Sage Minister whilst these Execrable People thus lose themselves for the Sake of their Counterfeit Messias let us continue to honour the True One even Jesus the Son of Mary who is now in Paradise and our Holy Prophet with him Paris the 21st of the 9th Moon of the Year 1666. LETTER XIII To Murat Bassa THis has been a Considerable Year of Actions and Events At the Beginning of it I sent to the Port an Account of the Death of the Queen-Mother of France and of the Prince of Conti now I will farther inform thee of a War that is broke out between this Crown and that of England The Occasion of it was this The English and the Hollanders trafficking in America had some Misunderstandings and Feuds about the Limits of their several Conquests in those Remote Parts of the World The Hollanders being the strongest did many Injuries to their Neighbours the English and domineer'd over them as their Lords The English resenting this very heinously and grown weary of their Oppressions sent Complaints to their King He to redress his Subjects order'd his Resident at the Hague to demand Satisfaction of the States They refus'd to do him that Justice upon which he was resolv'd to have Recourse to his Arms and accordingly proclaim'd War against Holland making all necessary Preparations to carry it on The same did his Adversaries The French King in the mean time was oblig'd by a Treaty with the Hollanders concluded in the Year 1662. to espouse their Quarrels yet that he might not break with England rashly he first sent an Embassador to that Court to mediate a Peace But that proving Ineffectual he proclaim'd a War against that Nation and commanded the English Embassador to depart his Kingdom The Duke of Beaufort who is Admiral at Sea was order'd to Equip a Gallant Fleet and joyn the Dutch-Navy Which he perform'd with all Imaginable Diligence and Expedition There has been Two Combats between these Enemies at Sea and in both the Dutch had the worst of it Neither did the French escape without some Loss having Two of their Greatest Ships severely shatter'd and a Third taken by the English The Plague still rages in England and has almost depopulated whole Provinces Whilst a milder Death has robb'd France of one of her Greatest Heroes The Count d' Harcourt of whom I have often made mention is gone to celebrate the Triumphs due to his Valour and Fortune in another World The Emperour of Germany has at last married the Infanta of Spain after abundance of Demurrs and Hesitations about that Business These Nazarenes can do nothing with Expedition The Spiritual Courts as they call them have more Tricks and Cramp Words to amuze People with than an Indian Mountebank or Juggler Neither are Sovereign Princes more exempt from their Jurisdiction than the meanest of their Subjects Especially the Court of Rome can make or annul Marriages at Pleasure And they are sure to be Excommunicated who refuse to submit to their Orders This Holy Court can also bind or release Sins open or shut the Gates of Paradise make a Devil a Saint or a Saint a Devil In a word they can do every thing if there be Gold in the Case But if that be wanting they can do nothing but shrug their Shoulders Thou mayst also inform the Divan that the French King has given Permission to some of his Subjects to undertake a Conquest in America and establish a Commerce in that Part of the World Many Vessels are equipped in Order to this Expedition and they that are concern'd in the Voyage are as merry as Jason and his Argonauts when they were preparing to fetch the Golden Fleece from Colchos That Western Continent affords immense Riches and tempts all the Nations in Europe to make an Experiment of their Fortune in gaining one Part of it or other 'T were to be wish'd it lay nearer to the Ottoman Empire No Record can discover the Origin of the Inhabitants Yet most Authors conjecture that they pass'd over from the North-East Parts of Asia where the Streights of Anian are very Narrow and would invite Sea-faring Men to seek New Adventures Besides by their being Canibals it appears very probable That either they descended from the Tartars or the Tartars from them God alone knows how to adjust the Differences and reveal the Secrets of History Brave Bassa 'T is no matter from what Stock we are descended so long as we have Vertue For that alone is the only True Nobility God regale thee with his Favours Paris 30th of the 9th Moon of the Year 1666. LETTER XIV To Pesteli Hali his Brother Master of the Customs and Superintendent of the Arsenal at Constantinople WHen I hear of thy Prosperity my Heart is dilated like his who has found hidden Wealth Yet I am sorry for the Disgrace of the good Old Man thy Predecessor But we must not censure the Conduct of our Superiours The Justice of their Actions is not to be call'd in Question The Sultan cannot err This is an Establish'd Maxim in all Monarchies especially in that of the Renowned Osmans As for what relates to thee in this New Advance thou hast made thy own Experience acquir'd by many Years Travel and Observation in Foreign Countries added to the Knowledge thou hast in the Laws Discipline and Customs of thy own will be a sufficient Guide to conduct thee in the Management of thy Business Yet despise not the Counsel of others A Man is never nearer to Ruin than when he trusts too much to his own Wisdom Therefore the greatest Emperours undertake nothing of Moment rashly or without Advice Temerity often blasts the fairest Designs It will be of particular Import to thee to hear of a Tragical Event that has lately happen'd to Rezan a Great City in Russia by the blowing up of the Magazine This Gunpowder does more Mischief than Good in the World The Ancients fought as successfully with Bows and Arrows Swords Spears and other Instruments of War without running the Hazard of blowing up whole Cities into the Air in time of Peace And they could undermine the strongest Castles even those situated on Rocks without the help of this Infernal Dust Nature taught 'em to be Industrious in defeating their Enemies and they spared no Labour to gain the Victory Our Fore-Fathers were hardy and strong patient of Toils and Fatigues They cut their Way into Mountains of Stone if