Him that is Perfect in Knowledge Is the True Religion to be propagated by imitating the Idolatrous Rites of Infidels Or by prostituting the Sacred Injunctions of Heaven to the Caprices of Humane Policy Did ever any wise Law-giver condescend to alter and new-model his Laws to humour a peevish captious Subject VVou'd he add or diminish any Thing for the Sake of gaining a Faction or Party And can we think that God ever design'd or can be pleas'd to have his Divine Laws garbl'd and mix'd with profane Indulgences Dispensations and Amendments of Mortals As if he had been Ignorant what he did when he divulg'd his Statutes and wanted the Counsel of his Creatures to help him out at a dead Lift. Was that Tenderness to be only shew'd to the Jews for a Time And were they for ever afterwards to be scandaliz'd In vain do's the Church daily pray for the Conversion of that People whilst by her Doctrines and daily Practices she hardens them more in their Infidelity The Ethiopian Church is a standing Witness against her to this Day where the Christians from all Antiquity even from the Times of the Apostles have kept that Part of the Law of Moses which relates to Cleanness and Vncleanness and prescribes the Choice we are to make of Meats allow'd to be Eaten forbidding those that are Execrable and an Abomination Hence it is that there are more Jews Converted to the Christian Belief in that Country than in any other Part of the World beside It was in my Opinion to begin at the wrong End thus to neglect the Salvation of the Jews our Elder Brethren from whom we receiv'd the Oracles of God and run to proselyte the Gentiles by such preposterous Methods as render'd us in a manner as much Their Converts as them Ours since we shuffl'd our Religions together at Random and made a Lottery of Divine and Humane Institutions exchanging one Species of Superstition and Idolatry for another bartering Jupiter for Peter and Mars for Paul Venus and her Cupid for the Virgin Mary and her Child Jesus A God for an Apostle and a Demy-God for a Martyr Whilst the Law it self which is the Foundation and Main Prop of True Religion lies neglected and trampled under Foot The Christians of the East seem more Excusable than we For tho' they are not so punctual in observing all the Niceties of Cleanness and Vncleanness Meats and Drinks c. as those of Ethiopia yet they will not taste of Blood or any Thing Strangl'd And their Ecclesiasticks abstain from all Manner of Flesh during the whole Course of their Lives They observe also many Purifications and wholesome Rules of Life Whereas we of the Latin Church wallow in all Manner of Filthiness like Swine and bless our selves as if we were the Only True Catholicks the Elect of God in the High Road to Heaven I am at a Loss what to think of these Things Neither ca I ever hope to see the Jews converted till these Offences are remov'd There is a Rumour spread up and down of the Wandring Jew I suppose thou hast heard of such a Man He is now at Astracan and Preaches every where that there will be a Reformation of Christianity after the Year 1700. That the Jews shall be Converted and all this to be perform'd by the Admiral Gifts of an English Man who shall restore Truth to its Primitive Lustre and Integrity They say He will cause the Images and Pictures to be utterly destroy'd and the Law of Moses to be kept so far as relates to Cleanness and Vncleanness c. That in his Days the Temple of Solomon shall be rebuilt and the World shall put on a new Face Father William I wou'd not have thee despise these Things since they have been long foretold by Joachim the Abbot by St. Methodius by Nostredamus the French Prophet and by many other Eminent Persons whose Writings are extant and many of their Predictions are already come to pass The Roman Church manifestly stands in Need of a Reformation And since the Governours of it cannot be prevail'd on to set their Hands to so Pious a Work we know not but God may effect it by the means of a Stranger some Obscure Person at present but whose Light may shine hereafter through all Generations Father William thou wilt pardon the Liberty I take in discoursing about these Things and remember that 't is a Work of Charity to bear with the Impertinencies of others However I thank God I 'm out of the Purlieu of the Spanish Inquisition Paris 1st of the 10th Moon of the Year 1672. LETTER IX To Codarafrad Cheik a Man of the Law I Have a Kinsman by Blood residing at Astracan in the Parts of Moscovy His Name is Isouf a Man of an ardent Spirit and active Wit a great Traveller and one who makes good that Character by the solid Remarks he has made on the most Important Things in his Way through Asia Africk and Europe For he is not in the Number of those who come home from Foreign Countries only laden with Vanities and Trifles From him I receive frequent Dispatches since his being setled at Astracan in Quality of a Merchant where he improves his Estate to great Advantage enjoys the Innocent Pleasures of Human Life without suffering himself to be tainted with the Vices which are unprofitable troublesome and bring Scandal to a Man's Reputation For some Vices thou know'st pass into the Predicament of Vertues when Interest or Necessity give an Indulgence There is a mutual Intercourse between my Cousin and me And among other Letters which he sends me I receiv'd one lately wherein he informs me that he whom they call the Wandring Jew of whom I made mention formerly in one of my Dispatches to the Sublime Port is now at Astracan That he preaches openly in the Markets and at the Bourse or Exchange not refusing private Conversation with any that desire it There is a great Conflux of People from all Nations and of all Religions to that City He carries himself with an equal Indifference to every various Sect and they all seem mightily taken with his Doctrines The Chief Thing he aims at in all his Discourses is That there will e'er long be an Universal Change of Religion over all the Earth and that every Nation on the Globe shall worship One God obey the Law of Jesus the Son of Mary and embrace One Faith When he insists on this he seems to be void of all Doubts and Hesitations speaks Magisterially like a Prophet who has receiv'd a sure and certain Revelation of the Thing he foretells But when any Dispute with him not in a Spirit of Captiousness but to sift the Truth he freely condescends to answer all their Objections with solid Reasons and to convince them by their own Principles that it must be so He says That about the Year 1700 of the Christians Hegira the Invincible Osmans shall break down the Fences of Europe and shall
Self-denials Mortifications Abstinences and the whole System of thy Accomplish'd Sanctity stop the Wrath of Heaven from falling in large Cataracts on Mankind When the Eternal Eye beholds thy Virtues it drops down Tears of Love and Mercy on the Earth glad that a Son of Adam yet survives not stain'd with Vice Thou art the effectual Propitiation for the Sinful World When Storms and Tempests of Impetuous Winds when Lightning Thunder Hail or Rain disturb the Air or Earthquakes menace more effectual Tragedies to the Earth I think of thee the Favourite of Heaven and then repose in full Security Thy very Idea is my shelter from all evils I shroud my self under the Shade of thy Inviolated Beard o'er which the Razor never pass'd I take Sanctuary in the Vmbrella of thy Arms when stretch'd in fervent Oraisons Thy Remembrance is my certain Refuge in Calamity I am Impregnated with Sacred Emulations of thy Vertue I burn with fervent passionate Desires to become thy Disciple I languish to withdraw my self from this vain World and from the Contagious Society of Mortals How Happy is the Life that 's led in quiet Solitude Where the Soul can feel her self and being awaken'd to a Sense of her Immortal Strength rouzes and vigorously shakes off the heavy Clogs of Sleep and Death Whilst the Divine Afflatus gently breathing on the Intellect and fanning the oppressed Sparks of Reason which lay smothering under a Heap of Errours Lusts Affections and unlimited Desires kindles the Mind into a perfect Flame of Light which soon consumes the Rubbish of Bodily Pleasures dissipates the Smoak and Mists of Pamper'd Flesh and Blood and then a Man becomes all Radiant within shining with Unclouded Splendors We Mortals seem to be rank'd in a Middle State between the Separate Spirits and Beasts Our Vertues make us like the Former our Vices like the Latter For when a Man has quite subdu'd his Appetites and Reason sits Triumphant in her Throne he 's like an Angel living above the Rate of his Mortality He does not with the Stagyrite place Vertue in a Medium or rank the Excess of Goodness in the Predicament of Vice But makes direct and swift Advances to the Zenith of Heroick Generosity scorning to halt or make lame mungrel Capitulations with himself as if he were afraid of being too Good I wou'd ask a Peripatetick Whether it be a Vertue or a Vice in him that stomaching the Enormous Villanies of Wicked Men boyls up with an Excessive Vehement Anger Or Whether a Man can err in loving God too much or in conceiving too Violent a Sorrow for his past Offences Or who can be too Thankful for the Favours of Heaven No the farther Distance Vertue keeps from this Cold Earthly Mediocrity the brighter is its Splendor And so on the other Side the Greater is the Barbarism Brutality and Infernal Stamp of Vice by how much more Remote it is from this Indifference In a Word Vertue and Vice are Two Contrary Extremes So Piety is diametrically opposite to Prophaneness Intemperance to Sobriety Fortitude to Cowardise Incontinence to Chastity Avarice to Bounty Modesty to Impudence Pride to Humility Enmity to Friendship c. Now the Mediums between these Extremes are Hypocrisy between Vertue and Vice Superstition between Piety and Prophaneness Bashfulness between Modesty and Impudence and so of the Rest Yet after all 't is Necessary to observe a Medium in those Things which pertain to Mortal Life and to the Perpetuation of Mankind Such are Meats Drinks Natural Passions of the Body and Mind proceeding from the alternate Sense of Pleasure and Pain So when we are press'd with Hunger and Thirst we ought not presently to covet the Plentiful Tables and Superfluous Banquets of the Great But rather such a Diet as being easily prepar'd may satisfie the Cravings of our Nature without nauseating and giving us a Surfeit To this End the Divine Providence has scatter'd up and down the Surface of this Globe an Infinite Variety of Roots Herbs Fruits Seeds with all Sorts of Corn and Pulse The Cattle afford us Plenty of Milk the Bees are no Niggards of their Honey the Fountains Rivers and Lakes abound with ever-springing fresh Supplies of sweet refreshing Water We also have the Use of Salt Oyl Wine and other exhilarating Beverages That being content with so many Benefits and Enjoyments we might prolong our Lives in this World by Sobriety as in a most pleasant Garden or Paradise of Health But alas instead of gratefully acknowledging the Bounty of Heaven and pregnant Fertility of the Earth Instead of sitting mannerly down at the Table which God has spread and cover'd for us with such a Train of Festival Dainties we break the Rules of Hospitality and rushing violently on the Creatures under his Protection we kill and slay at Pleasure turning the Banquet to a Cruel Massacre being transform'd into a Temper wholly Brutal and Voracious we glut our selves with Flesh and Blood of Slaughter'd Animals Oh! happy he that can content himself with Herbs and other Genuine Products of the Earth That sleeps as well in a Solitary Cave upon a Bed of Moss or Leaves as in a Palace on a Couch of Down He never wants because he ne'er desires what is not in his Power He is not burden'd with a Crowd of Servants and Flattering Retainers nor his Repose disturb'd with early and late Addresses of pretended Friends Officious Sycophants Importunate Petitioners and other fretting Business of the World Why shou'd I longer then demurr or hesitate what hinders me from presently embracing a Course of Life that promises so much Happiness A Discipline that will at once free me from a Thousand Tyrannies of Imperious Lusts and Hostile Passions I shall then have no Need of Money or the Help of cross-grain'd Servants I shall not want a Multitude of Goods the Needless Pageantry of superfluous Ornaments to make a dazling Figure and draw the Eyes of People to a Reverend Admiration I shall be free from Sottish Drowsiness and turbulent Dreams My Lungs will in my Sleep respire the Air with Ease whilst gentle Slumbers mix'd with happy Visions shall transportt my Soul to Unknown Worlds No Fevers Gouts or Dysenteries shall invade my Health Nor magisterical Menaces of Empericks bespeak my certain Death unless I 'll patiently submit to all the needless Tortures they 're contriving for me and tamely swallow down their new-invented Poisons and be rack'd to Death in Hopes of Ease and Life From all which horrid Circumstances a slender innocent Diet not stain'd with Blood of any Animal will set me free Holy Eremite the Idea I have of this Manner of Life makes a profound and durable Impression on my Soul I am ravish'd with the Sentiments of Plato and Pythagoras and resolutely bent to undergoe the Discipline of their Philosophy I 'll first endeavour to rid my self of vain Affections Habits and prophane Negotiations of the Earth I 'll gradually die to all Concupiscence and Bodily Pleasure that so I
Messengers I revere thy Learned Soul and that accomplish'd Intellect which is ever busie prying into Weighty and Important Matters I honour thy Impartial Mind which scruples not to pay th' Attach that 's due to a Saint tho' of the Christian Calendar If we should reject all that the Followers of Jesus do we should neither Fast Pray give Alms or perform any other Good Works Therefore in this thou art an Exemplary Pattern to the Rigid Superstitious Sort of Mussulman Phanaticks who bear an endless Grudge against all those that are not of their Narrow Faith and Dark Opinion Glory be to God with whom the WORD was present from the Dawning of Eternal Light before the Morning of his Works had peep'd o'er the Mountains of the Ancient Chaos or penetrated the Dark Abyss and Misty Vale of Nothing and painted the Tops of the Creation the Highest Ranks of Beings with Splendors of the Early Day Before the Sun had drank th' Immortal Halo in and spong'd up all the Visible Beams to squeeze them out again upon the Moon the Stars and on this Lower World That WORD remains for Ever and at a determin'd Hour became Incarnate in the Person of Jesus the Son of Mary as the Holy Alcoran informs us In those Days John the Baptist went into the Wilderness and preach'd Repentance to the Jews foretelling the near Approach of the Messias The Sacred Hero made a Cave his Residence and at first to wean his Body from all Softness he wore a Vest or Shirt of Camel's Hair which was girt about him with a Belt made of that Painful and Religious Creatures Skin to put him in Mind that he was born for Holy Labours Toils and Mortifications He had no Table spread with far-fetch'd costly Dainties no Dishes cramm'd with bloody and large Inventories of Birds Four-footed Beasts and Fish His Diet was Simple Cheap and Innocent easie to be got in every Wood or Field without the Detriment of his Fellow-Animals For he either contented himself with a Repast on Honey which he found in Hollow Trees or on a Kind of Manna a sweet Dew falling on their Leaves and there condens'd by Heavenly Influence Or else it was a kind of luscious Moisture which he suck'd from certain Plants perhaps not much unlike our Sugar-Canes For thus Interpreters do differ about the Words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Whatever it was we may conclude it to be some slender light and easie Nourishment And when this Diet fail'd him or his Stomach requir'd a little more Variety he banqueted on what the Graecians call 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Some will have these to be a Kind of Locusts or Grass-hoppers a Meat indulg'd the Jews by Moses in the Law The Syrians also counted them a Dainty so did the Ancient Parthians as Aristotle and Pliny tell us And my Country-men the Arabians eat of them to this Day Others are of Opinion that these 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 were a sort of little Shell-Fish such as Crabs Crawfish or Shrimps which Nature has generally lodg'd in Holes along the banks of Rivers A pleasant temperate Sort of Diet commended for their Virtues in expelling Poyson and being Remedies for the Strangury and Antidotes to cure the Biting of Mad Dogs The Divine Prophet therefore oft frequenting the Waters of the River Jordan wherein he us'd to wash his Converts and Disciples these Men suppose he took Occasion to allay his Hunger with these little Shell-fish which he might easily take in mighty Numbers from their watry Nests And they endeavour to strengthen this Opinion by asserting That the Food which the Waters afford us is much more Pure and Holy than what the Earth brings forth in regard the Earth lies under the Malediction of God ever since Noah's Flood whereas the Waters ne'er were Curs'd Hence say they it is very probable That the consecrated Hero wou'd not defile his Spotless Life with cursed Banquets from the Earth but rather chose to appease his Hunger with the harmless bless'd and wholsome Product of the Waters If thou wilt have my Opinion after all I 'm apt to think these 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 were nothing else but the tender Tops of Plants such as we call Asparagus or perhaps they were wild Apples of the Wood and then we may suppose there 's some Mistake in the Greek Copy 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Or it may be the Holy Prophet in the proper Season of the Year did use to crop and eat the Ears of Barly and then the Word shou'd be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For what cou'd be more sweet and pleasant to an Abstemious Man than to sustain his Life with fruits Grain Herbs or Roots Nor did the Malediction reach the Vegetables but only the Animal Generations from which a perfect Man abstains Certainly those who out of an Aversion for Purity Prayer and Fasting turn themselves from Humane Bodies to Swine and from Religious Abstinence to Salvage Gurmundizing on Flesh seem to derive their Pedigree from a Race of Devils Especially such as after the manner of Spiders gathering Poison from the Flowers of Piety Blaspheme this Sacred Vertue of Abstinence and call it by the Infamous Name of Superstition For if the Veneration we pay to God consist in the Knowledge Love and Fear of his Divine Majesty with Adoration and Praise of his Eternal Attributes it follows That we ought to worship him with the most Fervent Application of our Spirits But this Religious Ardour cannot subsist in any Soul whose Body is not mortified nor can the Body be mortified without Austerity which always is accompany'd with Rigorous Fasting and Abstinence from Flesh Wherefore if we ascend to God by the very same Degrees as we fall from him it follows That Abstinence is the First Step to Immortality and Supreme Happiness I do not mean by Abstinence that Natural Aversion which some Men have for Flesh who never durst to taste of any in their Lives compell'd to this by some Occult Antipathy in their Stomachs For such a Necessity cannot make a Vertue it being common to Men and Brutes there being many Animals who fast from all Provender at certain Seasons of the Year and others that taste not some Kinds of Food during their Lives So there are some Men to whom Wine Flesh Cheese Apples Herbs and other Things are an Abomination from their Cradles There have been others who by a Praeternatural Necessity have lived some Days VVeeks Months and Years without either Meat or Drink So Plato records That Herus Pamphylius lay Ten whole Days among the Dead Carcases of Soldiers slain in Battel and when he was taken up to be laid on the Funeral Pile they perceiv'd him to be alive Laertius tells us That Pythagoras fasted Forty Days and Forty Nights from Meat and Drink From whom Apollonius Thyanaeus learn'd the Art of keeping almost a perpetual Fast And these Modern Times afford us the Example of a Spaniard whom they call Alcantaro
who every Moon us'd to Fast for Seven or Eight Days together So a famous German Maid was diligently observ'd and watch'd whilst she pass'd away full Seven Years Time without Meat Drink Sleep or Excrements France also boasts of another Virgin who fasted above Three Years together Such Abstinences as these are not to be put to the Account of Vertue in regard they were not the Effects of Humane Choice but the Decrees of Fate So wou'd our Abstinence be deprav'd if we shou'd only practise it as the old Gentiles did who forbore to kill or eat some certain Beasts because they held them consecrated to their Gods As the Dog to Diana the Tyger to Bacchus the Horse to Neptune the Woolf to Mars the Eagle to Jupiter the Peacock to Juno the Swan to Apollo the Dove to Venus the Owl to Minerva Nor need we abstain on the Account of the Soul's Transmigration for so we ought to forbear the Vegetable Products of the Earth as well as Animals since the Soul is Indifferent to all Bodies in its separate State But our Reason in this Point ought to take its Rise from the Fundamental Law of Nature the Original Justice of the World which teaches us Not to do that to another which we wou'd not have another do to us Now since 't is evident That no Man wou'd willingly become the Food of Beasts therefore by the same Rule he ought not to prey on them Next to this Foundation of our Abstinence we ought to build our Aims at the Perfection of our Nature which cannot be acquir'd but by Degrees We must endeavour to abate the Aliment of our Concupiscences by exhaling the superfluous and grosser Vapours of our Blood in Sacred Fasts and Oraisons Then we shou'd refresh our fainting Bodies with Food affording little Nourishment and Pleasure That so our vain Affections Appetites and Lusts may gradually die Whilst the pure Mind revives and being free from the gross Vapours arising from too much and too fatning Meats and Drinks the Films which darken'd her Sight fall off and she can better now discern the Naked Forms of Things by her own simple Intuition than before she cou'd through all the borrow'd Spectacles and other Opticks of Book-Philosophy Also she will more easily raise her self to the Contemplation and Science of Divine Eternal Things He therefore that in Earnest will apply himself to the Study of accomplish'd Sanctity must first by Fasting exhaust the Marrow from his Bones the Fatness from his Flesh the Wild and Rampant Spirits from his Nerves and then he must purge the Words and Actions of his Life from Vice When this is done the Soul becoming a pure Tabula Rasa is fit for the Impressions of Celestial Vertue Those who labour under acute Diseases run great Hazard of their Lives according to Hippocrates unless their Diet be accommodated with proportionate Regard to the Quality and Time of the Critical Fits or Paroxisms But those who are entangl'd with Vice do labour under far more dangerous Distempers than such as afflict the Body Wherefore the Prophet our Holy Law-giver like a Wise Physician appointed certain Seasons of the Year for Sacred Abstinences Fastings Pilgrimages Vigils and other Holy Exercises especially the Mighty Fast and Vigil of Ramezan wherein tho' it be not forbid to eat of Flesh after the Stars appear at Night yet none but loose and indevout Believers take that Liberty whereas the better Sort content themselves with an Ascetick Diet. The Hebrews fasted with Unleaven'd Bread and a little Salad the Christians also taste no Flesh on their prohibited Days And shall the Mussulmans be greater Libertines than these Infidels O Hebatolla how radiant is the Lustre of a Lamp when shining through a clean and fine defaecate Chrystal So does the Soul display the Rays of her Immortal Vertue round about when she inhabits in a well purifi'd chaste and almost pervious Body VVherefore it is absolutely necessary for him to attenuate his Body with perpetual Temperance and Abstinence who consecrates himself to Vertue and Devotion He will not be ensnar'd or catch'd by any Baits of Luxury or Voluptuousness not yet affrighted from his constant sober Course of Life by any Pain or thwarting Accident No Frowns or Menaces shall divert him from his Noble Purpose But he will so nourish his Body all his Life that it shall never be Surfeited or over-fill'd with Meats And such is the Magick of this Sacred Vertue That it can never be hurt much less subverted by all the Machinations of Evil Daemons or the Malicious Attempts of Men. But it proceeds from Strength to Strength and fights the Combat valiantly till having overcome at last it Triumphs for ever and receives the Palm the Crown and Chaplet of Divine Reward in Paradise Holy President pray that I may practise what I so admire and not be self-condemn'd for living contrary to my Knowledge For God neither loves a double Tongue or Heart neither delights he in Feet or Hands that are swift and nimble to do Mischief Paris 13th of the 4th Moon of the Year 1669. LETTER VIII To Hamet Reis Effendi Principal Secretary of the Ottoman Empire NOw the Christians are in a general Consternation for Candy The Pope has sent Letters to all the Princes that are in his Communion inviting and pressing them to succour that Distress'd Island Levies are making every where and the King of France who seeks all Occasions of Glory appears the most forward of any to assist the Republick in this Fatal Juncture The Duke of Beaufort and the Chevalier de Vendosm are appointed to lead the Forces design'd for that Service They are gone to Toulon in Order to embarque The Pope has sent the Duke of Beaufort a Breve declaring him General of the Troops Ecclesiastick that are to serve in Candy and for his greater Encouragement he has sent him the Pontifical Standard In the mean while there is a Triple League concluded between the Emperour the King of Spain the King of England the King of Swedeland and the States of Holland There is great Joy in Portugal for the Birth of the Infanta who is call'd Elizabetha-Maria-Louisa She was Born the 6th of the 1st Moon and on the 18th the Empress of Germany was also deliver'd of a Daughter These Western Queens are very pregnant Not a Year passes without the Birth or Baptism of some Royal Infant This is all the News at present but to oblige thee I will say something of Italy which is esteem'd the Garden of Europe Nay Constantine Paleologus Emperor of Greece was wont to say Vnless I had been assur'd by very Learned and Holy Men that Paradise was seated in Asia I shou'd have sworn that Italy had been the Place It is most certain Italy is a delectable Country abounding in Riches and Pleasures The Eye is not satisfi'd with seeing the infinite Variety of Beauties which grace this happy Region Such is the lovely Intermixture of Hills and Valleys Groves and
Signior 286 Of Magick Physick and Theology A pleasant Story of a Peruvian Slave Of Famous Mathematicians Of the Superstition of the Female Sex VI. To Orchan Cabet Student in the Sciences and Pensioner to the Grand Signior 292 He endeavours by Rational Arguments to convince him that the Alcoran is of Divine Original VII To Hamet Reis Effendi Principal Secretary of the Ottoman Empire 296 Of the King of France's Conquests in the Low-Countries Of the Death of the Duke of Longueville VIII To William Vospel a Recluse of Austria 301 Of the Difference and Contrariety between the Practice of the Primitive Christians and those of the present Age. IX To Codarafrad Cheick a Man of the Law 308 Of the Wandring Jew at Astracan His Sermons and Prophecies How the Turks shall over-run and conquer the greatest Part of Europe in the Year 1700. That England shall become the Sanctuary of distress'd Christians Of a certain Holy English Man who shall be made Chief Patriarch of all the Christians and shall have his Seat in Jerusalem c XIII To Hamet Reis Effendi Principal Secretary of the Ottoman Empire 315 Several Memoirs of Cardinal Richlieu XIV To Musu Abu'l Yahyan Professor of Philosophy at Fez. 323 A Panegyrick on Africk XV. To the Same 326 He describes Constantinople with an Account of its Name and Original and the Conquest of it by Mahomet II. XVI To Hamet Reis Effendi Principal Secretary of the Ottoman Empire 336 Of the German Strength and Policies XVII To Cara Hali Physician to the Grand Signior 343 Of his Grief and Melancholly and the Pleasure he takes in writing to his Friend XVIII To Musu Abu'l Yahyan Professor of Philosophy at Fez. 348 He gives him a farther Description of Constantinople LETTERS Writ by A Spy at PARIS VOL. VII BOOK I. LETTER I. Mahmut the Arabian at Paris to Mirmadolin Holy Santone of the Vale of Sidon WHY was I made a Man to endure these Cruel Agonies of which no other Species of known Beings can possibly be Capable Or why at least was I particularly Form'd of such a Constitution as to attract the Evils which are scatter'd up and down the World and Piece-Meal drop'd on the Nativities of other Mortal Men whilst I alone am made the Common Sink of Humane Misery Surely my partial Horoscope Monopoliz'd the most envenom'd Aspects of the Stars without partaking of the least Benigne and Favourable Glance The Planets had laid up an Ancient deep Reserve of Fatal Influences which they pour'd out at large upon the very Moment of my Birth Nor cou'd the Careful Midwife with all her Skill and Charms defend my tender ductile reeking Body from the Invisible Cataracts which flow'd upon me from all the Envious Signs and Constellations in Heaven My whole Life has been but One continu'd Tragedy wherein the Various Change of Scenes has not reliev'd me from the Least Real Evil hid behind but only amuz'd my Sense with some New Pageantry some Fair Idea of Honour Pleasure or Profit When before the ACT was done I found my self cajol'd and over-whelm'd in Fresh Calamities Misfortunes which I never dream't of Oh! that th' Omnipotent when from Eternal silent Thought he drew th' Idea's of every Species and every Individual Being which he design'd for Actual Existence in the World had Form'd me for a Tree an Herb a Blade of Grass a Stone a Mushroom or any Insensible Thing Incapable of Pleasure or Pain of Grief or Joy or other Passions which hourly thus torment our Humane Race I had been then a Happy Neuter to all false Shews of Happiness and Real Sense of Misery Oh! that I 'd been an Oak a Beech a Palm or Cypress of the Forest For then if Vegetables have any Feeling of their own State I shou'd be only touch'd with secret Pleasure when the Gentle Winds shou'd play among my Amorous Branches and teach my wanton Leaves to dance the Measures of Young Harmless Love Or when I felt the seasonable Rain distilling on my wither'd Bark and from thence sliding to my thirsty Roots Or when Great Phoebus prints warm vigorous Kisses on my Cheeks and Neck But if this be too proud a Thought I wish I 'd only been some Humble Shrub some Pigmy Plant some Vegetable Dwarf a Page unto the Mighty Trees subsisting on the Drops and Fragments of their larger Banquets meekly cringing at their Feet whilst I stood safe and free from Storms under the Shade of their extended Boughs in Happy low Obscurity When I pass through the Fields and see the Harmless Sheep browzing upon the tender Grass and hear them bleating to their wanton Lambs I cannot chuse but envy them a Life so void of Care and Pain They range and sport at large in Flow'ry Meadows near some Crystal Stream or take the Pastures of the Mountains Whilst Chearful Shepherds tune their Pipes and sing in Praise of Amaryllis Daphne Sylvia or some other Nymph and watchful Dogs lie scouting on the Plain to give th' Alarm and chase away sly Wolves and other Ravenous Beasts After I 've let my Envy fix it self a while on these a warbling Melody from neighbouring Groves diverts my Melancholy Thoughts and turns 'em to new Objects Then I lament my Fate in that I was not made a Nightingale a Thrush a Lark or any of the Feather'd Quire who with sweet chearful Notes salute Aurora and the Rising Sun and chirp all Day the Praises of that Source of Warmth and Life who vests the Earth in Green Attire who decks the Trees with Verdant Leaves and fills the World with Light They chirp and fly from Tree to Tree from Bough to Bough rejoicing in the Beams that dart and glide among the moving Shades of Branches rock'd by Winds Their Thoughts are taken up in building Nests wherein to hatch their Young and shelter 'em from Injuries They have no Plots nor Politick Tricks to undermine each other but pass away their Time in Innocent Security and Harmless Pleasures Methinks the Worms and little Reptiles of the Earth are happier far than I. They crawl and creep about in Hollow Trees in Clefts of Rocks and Crannies of the Ground to hunt for Food and for Divertisement They live at Ease without being rack'd by supernumerary Cares and Fears And if some Ruder Foot of Man or Beast shall trample them by Chance to Death or more malicious Hand with Stone or other Weapon shall wilfully bereave them of their Life 't is done so suddainly that they 've no Sense of Pain Whereas my Life 's a constant Martyrdom a long continued Series of Torments I do not complain of the Distempers and Maladies which afflict my Body though those are sometimes so violent as to make me wish for Death that so I might be at Ease But 't is the fretting Anguish of my Mind that forces all these Sighs and Exolamations from me I am embarass'd in the World Snares compass me round about My own Good Nature has betray'd me Those of my Blood
conspire against me they hunt me up and down like a Partridge in the Wood they closely pursue my Life The Kindnesses that I have sown spring up in Blades of bitter Ingratitude and Perfidy My Seminaries bring forth Aconite and stinking Weeds instead of pleasant Flowers and wholesome Fruits Tagot has set his Foot in all my Works That sly interloping Spirit hates to see any good Thing prosper or come to Perfection He steals behind us in all our Ways and as fast as we weave any Web of Vertue he secretly unravels it or deforms the Work with intermixing some Threads of Vice I am weary of striving against the Current of my Fate Oh! that I were as though I had never been That my Soul were drench'd in Lethe's Forgetful Waters where all Past Things are buried in Eternal Oblivion Then wou'd my Anguish be at an End Whereas I am now rowl'd about upon a Wheel of Miseries Holy Santone when thou shalt read this pity me and amidst thy Divine Ejaculations dart up Mahmut's Soul to Paradise on the Point of a strong Thought that so at least I may have a Moments Respite from my Constant Sadness Paris 27th of the 2d Moon of the Year 1667. LETTER II. To the Kaimacham THere is now some Probability of a Peace between the English and the Dutch Which will also reconcile this Crown to that of Great Britain Since the King of France engag'd in this War only on the Account of the Dutch his Allies The Advances toward this Accommodation took their Rise from the Alliance lately concluded between the States of the Vnited Provinces the King of Denmark the Duke of Brandenburgh and the Princes of Brunswick The King of England protests against the Dutch as the First Aggressors in that they had taken above Two Hundred of his Merchant-ships before he offer'd the least Act of Hostility Which the States seeming to acknowledge desire the King to appoint some Neutral Place of Treaty with them and their Allies in Order to a Peace the Security of Navigation and the Establishment of Commerce for the future Here is great Joy for the Birth of a young Princess of whom the Queen was deliver'd on the 2d of the Moon of Jannary She is call'd God's New-Years Gift to France In regard the First Day of that Moon begins the Year with the Christians And 't is common among them to send mutual Gifts and Presents to one another at that Time which they call New-Years Gifts And so it seems God Almighty has appear'd very Modisn and Complaisant in thus timing the Nativity of the Royal Babe For which they express their Thanks in Revelling Dancing Ballads and a Thousand other Vanities And these Divertisements continue to this Time it being the Nazarenes Carnaval a Season consecrated to Sport and Mirth to Liberty Buffoonry and all Manner of Comical and Ridiculous Apishness During this Time you shall see an Infinite Variety of odd Humours and mimical Actions in the open Streets according to every Man 's particular Phancy Here you shall meet with one dress'd half i' th' French and half i' th' Spanish Fashion On the left side of his Head hangs dangling down a long thick curled Peruke which reaches to his Breast whilst on the Right you see nothing but his own Hair crop'd close to his Ears A long Mustach as black as Jet graces the Right Side of his upper Lip whilst on the Left he is Beardless as a Boy of Seven Years Old And so from head to Foot he wears two contrary Garbs One walks about with Gloves upon his Feet and Shooes upon his Hands Another wears his Breeches like a Mantle on his Shoulders Here comes a Stately Coach jogging along with grave slow Pace and drawn by Six fair Horses as if some Prince or Cardinal were in it when behold there 's nothing but a silly Ass puts forth his giddy Head with flapping Ears half drunk with the jolting unaccustom'd Motion Sometimes he brays aloud and then the Rabble fall alaughing A Thousand other Fopperies there are not worth thy Knowledge For both the Noble and the Vulgar are all upon the Frolick at this Time and indulge their wanton Phancies to the Height But 't is a fatal Season for the poor Cats few of which escape the Multitude whose peculiar Pastime 't is to toss these Creatures in a Blanket till they are dead or else to tie them Two and Two together by the Tails and then they 'll bite and scratch one another to Death The Cocks also are generally great Martyrs during the Carnaval the Rabble have a Hundred Cruel Ways to murder them in Sport All their Devices are Inhumane and Bloody They did not learn these prophane Courses from Jesus or any of the Prophets or Apostles of God But they are the Reliques of Gentile Vanity in the Beginning conniv'd at by the Priests the easier to retain their Proselytes in Obedience who wou'd rather have parted with their New Religion than with their Old Barbarous Customs And thus the Pagan Fooleries were handed down to the Posterity of the Primitive Christians and were adopted into the Family of Church Traditions And Men are not more zealous for the Gospel it self than for these Ridiculous Prophanations of it So dangerous a Thing it is for Governours by a Criminal Indulgence to permit their Subjects any Liberty which interferes with the Fundamental Principles of the Law For such a Dispensation once granted passes into a Precedent which in Process of Time becomes of equal Force with the Law it self And by such preposterous Methods of winning and retaining Converts Christianity arriv'd to the height of corruption it 's now infected with Sage Minister t was for this Reason God rais'd up our Holy Prophet and gave him a new Law with Power to reform and chastise the Infidels He planted the Vndefiled Faith with Scymeter in Hand not palliating or encouraging the smallest Vicious Practice but subduing all Things by the Dint of Reason or the keen Edge of the Sword God hasten his Return for the Prevarications of this Age require it Paris 27th of the 2d Moon of the Year 1667. LETTER III. To Dgnet Oglou I Believe thou hast not forgot the Observations we us'd to make on the Religion of the Christians when we were Slaves together in Sicily How Ridiculous some of their Practices appear'd to us and yet what a Sanctity was manifest in others How much we approved the Majesty of their Publick Worship the Solemnity of their High-Mass the Gravity of their Processions And yet how great was our Disgust when we consider'd that all these Honours were perform'd to Figures and Statues of Stone Wood Silver Gold or other Materials the Creatures of the Painter or Carver We scann'd their Doctrines also which we learn'd from their Priests and Books and descanted variously on them as they were more or less conform to the Truth and to the Volume brought down from Heaven In a Word we prais'd the Good and censur'd