Archbishop of St. Andrews and Primate of Scotland He also touches upon the Persecution of the Huguenots in France But that which ought to be most taken notice of is a Letter of his to Nathan Ben Saddi wherein he highly extols the Journal of Carcoa Nathan's Predecessor in that Post Which Journal the Translator of these Volumes understanding to be in the Hands of the Italian who first found our Arabian's Papers and with whom he has since contracted a Correspondence he has endeavour'd to prevail with him to communicate it to the Publisher hereof Wherein if he shall be so Happy as to succeed he will in due Time transmit it to the World in our Mother-Tongue to the Satisfaction and Benefit of the Publick Reader Farewel and envy not the Industrious A TABLE OF THE LETTERS and Matters contained in this Volume VOL. VIII BOOK I. LETTER I. MAhmut the Arabian at Paris to Mehemet an Exil'd Eunuch at Grand Caire in Egypt Page 1. He discovers to him his Excessive Melancholy on the Account of a Woman II. To the Selictar Aga or Sword-Bearer to the Sultan Page 4 Of the French Conquests in Lorrain Alsace Brabant Flanders Catalonia and other Parts With an Account of a famous Victory obtain'd by Mareschal Turenne over the Imperialists near Strasburgh III. To Mirmadolin Santone of the Vale of Sidon Page 7 A Philosophical Discourse of Purity Abstinence from Pleasures Vigilance c. IV. To Ali Bassa Page 13 Of the Spanish War the Taking of divers Towns by the French The Treason of the Chevalier de Rohan and others detected and punished and by that Means the Dutch Invasion prevented V. To Cara Hali Physician to the Grand Signior Page 18 Of the Vniversal and Platonick Love with which Mahmut always finds Himself affected VI. To Kerker Hassan Bassa Page 23 He complains of Infirmities and Old Age desiring to be recall'd from his Post at Paris VII To Ali Rustan Begh Serasquier in Dalmatia Page 28 Of a Challenge sent from the Prince Palatine of the Rhine to Mareschal Turenne and the Mareschal's Answer Of private Duels VIII To the same Page 33 Of the famous Battel of Senef IX To Mehemet an exil'd Eunuch at Alcaire in Egypt A Melancholy Letter on the Score of Human Ignorance aad Errors X. To the Kaimacham Page 42 Of the Arrival of Deputies from the Senate of Messina in Sicily to the French King requesting his Protection Of the Affairs of that Island Of the Duke of Vivonne Maresch Feuillade and Prince of Conde XI To the Vizir Bassa at Constantinople Page 48 He acquaints him with the Remarkable Justice of Mustapha Zari a Turk to Monsieur Vaubrun a Frenchman and his Partner XII To Ibrahim Eli Zeid Hadgi Effendi Preacher to the Seraglio Page 53 Of a reputed Miracle wrought publickly at Paris by St. Genevieve Patroness of that City Of the Force of Religious Mysteries and Ceremonies BOOK II. LETTER I. TO Dgnet Oglou Page 61 Of the Darkness of Human Knowledge in this Life II. To Hamet Reis Effendi Principal Secretary of the Ottoman Empire Page 64 He acquaints him with the Death of Maresch Turenne with some Remarkable Passages of his Life and a few of his Sayings III. To the Kaimacham Page 70 He re-capitulates several Events omitted in his former Letters of that Year A remarkable Story of the Loss of Treves Of the French King's Inclination to Peace IV. To Abdel Melec Muly Omar President of the College of Sciences at Fez. Page 75 He entertains him with a Panegyrick of the Eternal Wisdom in a singular Stile V. To the Captain Bassa Page 81 He informs him of Two or Three Sea-Fights between the French Hollanders and Spaniards in one of which the Dutch Admiral De Ruiter was kill'd VI. To the Sage of Sages the Mysterious Eremite the Great Mohammed of Mount Uriel in Arabia Page 80 He acquaints him of the Change of his Opinion concerning the Eternity of the World as to its present Form VII To Pesteli Hali his Brother Master of the Customs and Superintendent of the Arsenal at Constantinople Page 90 Of the Taking of Philipsburgh from the French by the Confederate Princes and States With a short History of that Town VIII To Sephat Abercromil Vanni Effendi Preacher to the Sultan Page 92 Of the Progress which the Molonists or Quietists had then made in Europe IX To Mirmadolin Santone of the Vale of Sidon Page 97 This Letter is a Kind of Rhapsody in Praise of God of Mahomet Hali Mecca Medina and the Alcoran X. To the Kaimacham Page 103 Of the Taking of Valenciennes Cambray and St. Omers by the French An Abstract of History concerning Cambray XI To Hamet Reis Effendi Principal Secretary of the Ottoman Empire Page 108 Of the Love of Women and the different Manner this Passion discovers it self in People of various Nations Ages Qualities Fortunes and Constitutions XII To the Captain Bassa Page 116 Of a Victory obtain'd at Sea by the French Of the Taking the Isle of Tabago from the Hollanders in America From whence he takes Occasion to discourse of Magellanica or the Southern Unknown World XIII To Dgnet Oglou Page 120 Of the General Superstition and Religious Easiness of Mankind XIV To Kerker Hassan Bassa Page 125 Of the Surrender of Friburg to the French BOOK III. LETTER I. TO the Wisest of the Wise the most Venerable Mufti Page 127 He presents him with a short Abstract of the Macedonian Empire and some particular Passages in the Life of Alexander the Great II. To Musu Abu'l Yahyan Professor of Philosophy at Fez. Page 142 He proceeds in the Description of Constantinople which he begun in a former Letter III. To Kerker Hassan Bassa Page 149 Of the Taking of Ghaunt Ypres Puicerda and other Places by the French Of several Victories obtained by them in Germany IV. To Dalimalched the Widow of Pesteli Hali his Brother Master of the Customs c. Page 152 He condoles the Death of her Husband in a Triumphant Style being assured that he is gone to Paradise And expostulates with her about her Carriage to him in his Life V. To Hamet Reis Effendi Principal Secretary of the Ottoman Empire Page 156 He describes the Netherlands VI. To the Same Page 163 He gives him an Account of Switzerland VII To Dgnet Oglou at Damascus Page 170 He rallies him for the Choice of that City yet congratulates his Happiness in being a Husbandman Several Examples of Great Men who have abandon'd all their Honours for that Manner of Life VIII To Achmet Cupriogli the most Exalted and Sage Vizir Azem Page 176 Of a general Peace in Christendom IX To Mehemet an Exil'd Eunuch at Alcaire in Egypt Page 180 He relates a strange Thing that happened to him one Night in his Chamber viz. An Apparition or Spectre on which he makes Remarks X. To the Cadilesquer of Romeli Page 189 He informs him of the Murder of the Archbishop of St. Andrews in Scotland With some Historical Remarks on
settle on him a Pension of Eight Thousand Livres a Year and to present him out of Hand with Five Thousand Pistoles if he would put them in Possession of Quillebeuf a strong Place in the Province of Normandy The Chevalier de Rohan had made himself and them believe that it was in his Power with much Ease to perform this But he was mistaken Some of his Friends say he never thought of accomplishing his Bargain his Credit being too small in that Place and that he only aim'd to repair his Fortune by cheating the Spaniards of their Five Thousand Pistoles However the Plot was discover'd to the French King who has his Spies in all Corners of the Kingdom The unfortunate Chevalier was seiz'd and brought to the Bastille and being convicted of Treason was condemn'd to lose his Head which was accordingly Executed The Marquis of Villars and the Sieur de Pereau suffer'd the same Punishment as Accomplices in the Treason Another French Lord of the Party was Kill'd in defending himself against those who were order'd to arrest him These had undertaken to deliver other Places of Strength into the Hands of the Hollanders who first begun the War Had their Conspiracy taken Effect it would have been no difficult matter to corrupt other Grandees with the Spanish Gold and so a Third Part of France might have been sold for a Price not allowable in the Mereats of Kings For it seems the Hollanders and Spaniards were upon the Point of making their Descents in Normandy and Bretagne being invited thereto by the large Promises of the Persons before-named and their Confederates who made them believe that a great Part of the Nobility and Gentry of those Provinces wou'd come over to them as soon as they saw them Landed and there was no need to fear any opposition from the Vulgar who are bound to follow the Fortune of their Lords Besides they are always desirous of Novelty and Change There is nothing so Abject Poor and Contemptible as the Peasantry of France who labour only for others whilst they can hardly get Bread for themselves out of all their Toil. In a word they are absolute Slaves to them whose Tenants they are and whose Lands they farm They are not more oppressed by the Publick Taxes and Gabels than they are by the Private Impositions of their Country Lords beside the unreasonable Demands of the Priests These Sufferings dispose them to wish for any Revolution in the Government from which they might hope to receive gentler Usage 'T was this partly which encourag'd the Hollanders and Spaniards to think of invading France Otherwise they had only been upon the Defensive This King has to do with a great many Potent Enemies The Emperor holds him play on the Rhine the Duke of Lorrain gives him Diversion in his New Conquests on that side The King of Spain puts him to a great Expence of Men and Mony in Flanders The Hollanders infest him by Sea and would do by Land if they knew which way Yet this Monarch copes with 'em all baffles their Plots and Intrigues foils their Arms daily gains Ground and by a continued Series of Conquests makes it apparent that his is the only flourishing Fortune in the West The King of Sweden had made certain Proposals of Peace between the Emperor the King of France the King of Spain the States of Holland and some of the Electoral Princes In order to which he offer'd himself to become a Mediator between them He sent his Embassadors accordingly to a Place agreed upon by all Parties as the most convenient for Conferences of this Nature So did all the other Princes and States concern'd in the Wat. But it seems there was a gross Affront put upon Guillaume de Furstemberg Plenipotentiary to the Elector of Cologne by the Marquis de Grana Embassador to the Emperor This was deeply resented at the French Court as being a Notorious Breach of the Law of Nations and the King published a Manifesto wherein he charg'd the Emperor with giving Order for this Insult declaring also that unless due Satisfaction were made he would withdraw his Embassadors from the Place of Conference and seek Justice with Sword in Hand He complain'd to the King of Swedeland of this Violence and enter'd into a close and strict League with him Gustavus presently recalls his Embassadors from the publick Meeting commanding them to protest against the Action of the Marquis de Grana as a Violation of the Civil Laws The French King has done the same and all Things seem to portend a general Distraction in Europe Those of the Roman Church fight against one another as well as they combine against the Protestants whom they esteem as the Common Enemy and have little beter Regard for them than we Moselmans have for the Persian Kysilbaschi whom we execrate as abominable Hereticks One sort of Protestants also cabal against another the Lutherans hate and persecute the Calvanists which the Latter return with equal Animosity These Infidels are caught in the Devil's Snare where they bite and devour one another They are in egregious Darkness toss'd about in the Tempest of Errors They are surrounded with Enchantments Their Guides are Sorcerers and Magicians Hell has a Hand in all their Devices O ye True Believers lift up your Heads For the Hour is approaching wherein the Ancient Prophecies must be fulfilled That the Dragon of the East shall wage War with the Eagle of the West and shall devour him Whole with all his Feathers Woe be to thee O Land of Japhet in the Year 1700 of the Christians Style Mighty Bassa thou who hast not number'd half my Years mayst live to see these Things come to pass As for me I am hastning to the Spirits of my Fathers to a Region of Silence and Eternal Retirement to a Place where all the Vanities of this Earth shall be forgotten In the Mean Time live thou to be a Witness of the Grand Revolution which will astonish all the World Paris 7th of the 3d. Moon of the Year 1674. LETTER V. To Cara Hali Physician to the Grand Signior PRaise be to God from whom alone proceed Health Long Life and Immortal Happiness In the whole Family of Fevers I never was much subject to any except it were that of Love This indeed is become Habitual to me 't is grown a perfect Hectick surely 't is more than Second Nature I feel something in the very Roots of my Essence prompting me to Eternal Softnesses wild melting Fits of fresh Platonick tender Passions Nothing can provoke my Hatred but an Obdurate Surly-temper'd Fellow who being the Offspring of some Bloody Butcher Poulterer or Greasy Cook his very Face portends a present Massacre and all his Words breath nothing else but a continued Train of Cruel Wrongs and Violences against the Innocent Pity to him sounds like the News of Famine to a Starving Man But if you 'd make him smile and put him in good Humour tell him how he
their Loss on the 22d of the 4th Moon following when the famous de Ruiter was kill'd and several of the Dutch Ships Sunk Burnt and taken Yet that which makes the greatest Noise was a Battel fought on the 2d of this present Moon between the Mareschal de Vivonne Commander of the French Fleet on the Coast of Sicily and the United Naval Forces of Spain and Holland I have a Particular Account of this Combat and because I know thou delightest in Relations of this Nature I will acquaint thee in short how they first encounter'd each other and what Methods the French us'd to gain a glorious Victory over Two Fleets much more numerous in Ships than their own It was not far from the Old dangerous Streight between Charybdis and Scylla where the Duke de Vivonne descry'd the Hostile Navies making toward the Place where he lay with his Fleet at Anchor The Alarm was quickly giv'n and all Hands to the Cable As soon as they had weigh'd they made all the Sail they could toward the Enemy The Spaniards and Hollanders had Tewenty Seven Ships of War Nineteen Gallies and Four Fire Ships The French had but Nineteen Ships of War Seven Gallies and Five Fire Ships These got the Wind of their Enemies and attacqu'd them so fiercely that they drove several of their Capital Vessels on those dangerous Rocks and Sands where they were lost and they burnt Thirteen more of their Best Ships among which were the Admiral of Spain and the Vice-Admiral of Holland I cease to say more of this remarkable Fight save that it is esteem'd only Second to the Famous Battel of Lepanto Prince of the Sea I wish thee equal Success when ever thou fightest against the Enemies of God and his Prophet Paris 14th of the 6th Moon of the Year 1676. LETTER VI. To the Sage of Sages the Mysterious Eremite the Great Mohammed of Mount Uriel in Arabia THere is no Man in this Mortal Life who has not chang'd his Opinions one Time or other And whether it be an Argument of Wisdom or Folly Knowledge or Ignorance to be thus Mutable in our Thoughts we find few tenacious in their Old Age of the Notions they entertain'd in their Youth We have some Natural and Proleptick Idens born with us others impos'd upon us by our Parents Nurses and Tutors Our Infant Fancies are tender flexible and receptive of any Impressions like Gold that yeilds to every Stamp and Coin of a new Sovereign So in the Mint of Human Conversation our Thoughts are molded and form'd by each prevailing Genius that keeps us Company Nay a New Book that we have an Inclination for shall quite obliterate all that before was current Reason with us and transform our Faculties into another Figure So true it is That Mankind delights in Novelty Whether it be an Effect of this General Weakness in Human Nature or of my own particular Inconstancy or in fine of more correct and mature Consideration I will not determine But this I am sure of That I cannot think now of several things as I have done formerly without offering great Violence to my present Reason I am as apt now to suspect my self of Dotage at these Years as other Men are inclin'd to flatter themselves into a Conceit of their own Wisdom and to boast of it to others at the same Age. However it appears evident to me That every Man's Experience perfects his Speculations And he who trafficks in the Mart of Philosophy on the Stock of his own Discoveries is in a fairer Way to improve himself than a Man that trades altogether on the Credit of other Mens Conceptions The latter is but Wisdom's Factor or he may be call'd a Brother in the Sciences or a Banquier of other Mens Imaginations He frequents the Common Exchange or Burse of Learning reads the Books of the Ancients converses with the Wits and most accomplish'd Spirits of the present Age. Yet after all he has but a Retail Profit Nor shall he ever have better so long as he dares not venture something of his own Whereas the former is a Rich Substantial Merchant dealing on his own Bottom He ventures on the wide Ocean of the Worlds peevish censorious Humour runs the Hazard of Shipwreck and Corsairs The Winds and Storms of human Malice do not fright him nor all the Rocks of Superstition establish'd by the Laws of Nations No Sands or Shelves or any undermining private Interest can baulk his Courage whilst he has the Gales of Truth and Tide of Primitive Reason on his side For then he knows the Common Fortune will be his Pilot and steer him safe through all From what I have said thou wilt expect some new refin'd Thesis to drop from my Pen some very solid Dogma to be broach'd after such a tedious Praelude But I tell thee plainly I hardly know what I 'm to write next save only that I have some general Notions different from what I had before concerning the Eternity of the World It was formerly my Opinion and I pass'd it upon all my Friends That not only the Matter of the World is everlasting but its present Form also But now I believe the contrary on more rational Grounds It is not so perfect as I esteem'd it Every Year of my Life convinces me of its Decaying State It manifestly droops and crumbles away Therefore by proportion of Argument we ought to conclude It is corruptible in its first Principles and consequently had a Beginning and shall have an End I do not believe it shall be annihilated or reduc'd to nothing Nature abhors that Thought But it shall be chang'd metamorphos'd and transform'd Vna dies dabit exitio One Day shall consign it to Ruin as Lucretius says and the same shall give it a brighter Form than ever it had when the Earth shall become pure Crystal and the Stars shall out-shine the Sun and the Sun himself shall be dissolv'd into his Eternal Principles of Light The Philosophers who have spoke of the Last Day agree that the World shall be calcin'd by Fire especially those of the East and South for they positively assert That when the moisture of the Vniverse shall be exhausted and spent The Elements will pour forth Flames says Hermes Trismegistus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Scribitur in Fatis c. a Treasury of Fire says Sophocles And Ovid asserts That the Seas shall be dried up and all the Firmament shall appear like a Furnace Heaven and Earth shall be mingled Pell-mell together The Greeks say The World shall boil up and scum off its Impurities 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with a Noise like that of a Tempest or a Woirlwind The Italians express it otherwise by the Sound a Clock makes just before it strikes the Hour for it moves in an even and regular Course and has a steady Pulse till then but when the last Minute is expir'd the Wheels rush all together with a louder Noise So shall the Orbs above and
these inferiour Elements when their Course is done break all their Harmony and with confused Cracks and Ratlings disgorge their Essences into the Lap of their eternal Chaos there to be renew'd and chang'd again into far nobler Forms although the original Substance still remains the same for I believe the first Matter to be unchangeable and eternal without Beginning or End But there have pass'd many Millions of Ages in the Production of such an infinite Variety of Forms Perhaps the Grounds of Astrology are true and that there were of old certain Periods of Time affix'd first for the Product of the Heavenly Signs and Constellations then for the Planets and afterwards for the Nativity of all the other Beings below the Moon But Moyses the Law-giver and chief Philosopher of the Jews is of a contrary Judgment for he says The Vegetables had Existence before the Stars And so one does not know what to think among 'em all For ought I know any Man's Reason might be received with as much Applause as that of Moyses who should assert That there are certain Horses formed of the purest Light galloping up and down the infinite Expanse for an indeterminate Series of Ages the Dust of whose Feet first raised the Elements out of Nothing and then their Hoofs striking against the original Flints of Nature begat the Sparks which shall set the World a-fire at last And God knows whether the late Conflagration at the Imperial City was not owing to a Scratch of one of those Horses Nails though they are pleased to lay it on the Giaurs and Kysilbaschi By my Soul I believe all Things proceed from eternal Chance All that we admire so much in the World is a mere Higgle-de-Piggledy of Things which may be or may not be only they are and so we must not quarrel with any Thing that has Existence We behold the Sun Moon and Stars over our Heads they give us their successive Light by Night and Day We trample upon the Earth under our Feet and sail on the open Sea to which we can give no great Trust At the same time we know not the Natures of these different Beings The Sun may be but an eternal Carbuncle for ought we know and the Moon but a crested Saphir the rest of the Planets but the Refractions of these bright Essences and all the Fixed Stars but so many Splinters of the eternal Torch which lights the World And after all the rest this Earth whereon we tread may be but a Wart or Mole a little silly Excrescence or superfluous Tumour of the Elements if not a Gangrene in Nature Oh Mohammed I have said too much to a Man of thy abstruse Speculations but thou wilt pardon one that speaks with Faith and Sincerity Let me put in one Word more with thee Oh Chief of the Solitaries Trince of the Sylvans Glory of Arabia Thou Hidden one of the East Thou Phoenix of all Generations No Body was born for himself No Body is Wise at all Times And this is a particular Season wherein the Grand Signior's Service requires me to be as it were a little foolishly merry Therefore begging thy Pardonn and Prayers I bid thee Adieu Paris 13th of the 8th Moon of the Year 1676. LETTER VII To Pesteli Hali his Brother Master of the Customs and Superintendent of the Arsenal at Constantinople IT will do thee no hurt to carry the following News to Hamet Reis Effendi I entrench on the Post's Time and my own Health it being very late in the Night on purpose that the Ministers of the Port may have the earliest Account of the Taking of Philipsbourg from the French by the Confederate Princes and States This is a Town of great Importance and very strong The Spaniards became Masters of it in the Year 1633 through the Treachery of the Governour Next Year following the Suedes put it again in the French King's Hands but that Monarch not being able to repair its Fortifications by reason of the Winter it was surpris'd by the Imperialists on the 23d of the first Moon 1635 in whose Hands it remained till the Year 1644 when in the 9th Moon it was taken by the Duke Enguyen now Prince of Conde after he had routed the Duke of Bavaria at Friburgh The French have had it in Possession ever since thâ—t time till about four Days ago it was Surrendred upon Conditions to the Imperialists who had block'd it up above a Year and formally Besieg'd it four Moons It is a Loss which this Court resents with no small Grief Philipsbourg being a Town of more Value than twenty others in those Parts The French have taken Conde Bouchain and Aire but they do not think these an equivalent Reprizal neither can this Campaign last long enough to give them an Opportunity of seeking farther Satisfaction Brother I must conclude abruptly because the Post tarries God have thee in his Keeping and preserve thee from the Snares and malicious Ambuscades of Devils who are let loose from their Infernal Dens to range above ground from this Hour to the Crowing of the Cocks Paris 12th of the 9th Moon of the Year 1676. LETTER VIII To Sephat Abercromil Vanni Effendi Preacher to the Sultan ABout five Years ago I sent thee a Dispatch containing an Account of the kind Reception thy Doctrins found in Europe and of the swift Progress they made in Converting the honester sort of Nazarenes I also acquainted thee with the Opposition that was made against the Writings of Francis Malevella by the Jesuits and Dominicans Now I shall inform thee farther of the prodigious Advances this Sacred Institution of Life his made in Italy France and Spain with Germany and other Regions in the West There is an eminent Man in Rome whom they call Father Petrucci a Person of great Learning and conspicuous Knowledge His Piety indeed has been by him industriously concealed as much as lay in 's Power But yet his most recluse good Works took Air and all Men of Integrity conceive a Veneration for him He having read the Works of Malevella grew enamour'd of so sublime a System of spiritual Rules and wrote to all his Friends by way of Recommendation of the Author and his Subject Those Letters afterwards were put in Print and 't is not to be exprest what powerful Influence they had on all impartial Readers He published also many learned Treatises in the Defence and Praise of a Contemplative Life And the Reputation of this refin'd Theology daily encreas'd and spread abroad in every Corner of the Christian World Among the rest of learned Proselytes a certain Spanish Priest and Doctor of the Christian Law whom they call Michael de Molino appear'd upon the Stage and the last Year publish'd a comprehensive Treatise of Mystical Religion The Book was approv'd and Licens'd by the Archbishop of Rheggio by the General of the Franciscans an Officer of the Inquisition and by Martin de Esparsa an eminent Jesuit belonging to the same Court and
Harvest which is the most seasonable Prayer I can make for thee at this time of the Year Paris 14th of the 2d Moon of the Year 1679. LETTER VIII To Achmet Cupriogli the Most Exalted and Sage Vizir Azem THE Face of Affairs here in the West is now quite changed A General Peace is established between the Nazarene Princes and States France which a while ago was at Mortal Jarrs with the Hollanders Spain and the German Empire is lately reconcil'd to them whilst new Friendships and Alliances have banish'd all Thoughts of former Enmities and Feuds This Year commences a Civil Jubilee in Europe There has been a Treaty of Peace in Agitation at Nimeguen and Conferences held about it any Time these Four or Five Years whereof I formerly gave a Hint in one of my Letters to the Port. The Conclusion of it is owing to the Powerful Mediation of the King of Great Britain who is made Guarantee of the Articles And the Submissive Addresses of the Bishop of Strasburg to the King of France contributed not a little to the Vniversal Agreement For this Great Monarch is slow in his Advances toward an Accommodation with those who have injur'd Him or his Allies He affects to imitate the stately Reservedness of the Eastern Princes thinking His Majesty would be violated shou'd he condescend too soon and on too easie Terms to the Proposals of his Neighbours He has learn'd this from the Maxims of the Sublime Port the Refuge of Mankind whose Arms are ever open to receive and embrace all that sue for the Grand Signior's Friendship and Protection in a Way not entrenching on the Glory of the Ottoman House a Family destin'd to Subdue the World This Temper of the French King is so well known and observed in these Paris that he has got a new Character by it both among Foreigners and those of his own Nation For they spare not to call him The most Christian Turk by way of Mockery and this is the Satyrical Style even of his Subjects in their Seditious Cabals when they are a little warm'd with Wine and each Man as Great as a King himself in his own Conceit By the swift Flashes of Lightning which cause the Heart to pant and dazle the Eyes of Mortals by the astonishing Noise of Thunder which raises the Vapours of the Spleen and fills us with Hypocondriack Dread I swear the King of France is a great Hero and deserves the Honour which these Infidels have unfeignedly done him in lik'ning him to the undoubted Arbiter of the Earth He really determines the Differences and Quarrels of a great Part of it And though he be a Christian in Profession and styl'd The Eldest Son of the Church yet he is no Enemy to the Followers of Mahomet who vouchsafe him their Friendship Thou know'st he is the most Primitive Allie of the Ottoman Empire among the Western Princes of the Law of Jesus He has establish'd a more remote Friendship for the sake of Commerce and spreading his Renown with the Grand Mogul and the King of Persia His Fame strikes all the East with Admiration and Respect For they have heard of his continual Victories and successful Exploits even to the utmost Borders of the Continent Yet the same Fortune procures him only the Spight and Envy of the Princes in the West However they are glad to dissemble their Malice at this Juncture and enter into an Agreement with him almost upon his own Terms The Treaty between France and Holland was publish'd in this City on the 1st of the 10th Moon the Year precedent Now to assure the World that there is a perfect Amity and Peace the Dutch have sent their Embassadors Extraordinary to acknowledge That the King has preferred the Repose of Christendom to the Glory which his Victorious Arms acquir'd him and that the Vnited States of the Low-Countries being the first who have felt the Effects of his Generosity they thought themselves obliged to prevent others in the Earliness of their Application Yesterday was also publish'd the Peace between France and the Emperor I take my Conge most Magnanimous Vizir and Friend of France in the humblest Posture of Adoration wishing thee Honour Riches and Pleasures which shall have no End Paris 27th of the 4th Moon of the Year 1679. LETTER IX To Mehmet an Exil'd Eunuch at Al-Caire in Egypt THere are certain Critical Periods in our Lives whether ordain'd by Fate or falling out in an Eternal Circulation of Chances I am not able to determine But this I perceive That at such Seasons something very strange and unusual happens to us above or beside the Ordinary Course of Nature or at least appearing so to me I will not pretend to Unravel the Web of Destiny or describe the Incomprehensible Fineness of that Artifice which has fram'd the Worlds I will not undertake to discover the Secrets of God the Mysteries of Nature and those Things which are under a Seal shut up from Mortals in Inscrutable Darkness I will not by a Vain Presumption and Impious Arrogance claim to my self the Right of Omniscience and dive into other Men's Constitutions and Thoughts Suffice it that I comprehend my own Thou know'st My Mehmet that I have been a Man of many Circumstances subject to Various Changes and Vicissitudes in this Mortal State My Life has been Alternately Checquer'd with Good and Evil. Virtue and Vice have had their Turns in the Series of my Actions Prosperity and Adversity in the Course of my Years And I would fain find out the Man that can with Truth boast the Contrary Doubtless we are all born to the Adventures which happen in the Pell-mell of Human Conversation Fates-Errant encounter one another Sometimes they are Agreeable and Complaisant At other Seasons they will Clash and Tilt break Lances draw Swords and all the Weapons of Nature's Pride and Fury shall be us'd in mere Defence of Idiosyncrasies Conceits Antipathies Self-Interest Preservation or any Thing but what is Generous and Good O Horrid State of Men A Life to be deplor'd beyond the Salvage Course of Lyons Tygers Wolves and other Beasts of Prey who always in Extreamest Hunger spare their Proper Species Yet Man in Perfect Wantonness devours his Brother and glories in his Cruelty and Injustice As for me I have not been guilty of any of these Black Crimes which make a Riot in the Tranquility of the Soul disturb its Peace darken its Light and cover it with a Cloud of Guilty Desperate Thoughts No If I have been Enemy to any Body it has been to my self The very Beasts cannot challeng me with Oppression or any Barbarous Usage Much less wou'd I torment One Individual of our Humane Race But I have had my Frailties as well as other Men and there 's all can be said of it Thou art acquainted with my Temper and no Body knows any worse 'T is true I have had to do with Abundance of People in my Life-Time I have Bull'd it Lyon'd Lamb'd
Stabbing her self And as she breath'd her Last she charg'd Brutus and Collatinus Two Princes to revenge her Cause Wherefore they stir'd up the People to assert their Liberty and abrogate the Kingly Government Which was as readily done as mention'd And here was an End put to the Tyranny of Kings In my Next I will relate the Increase and Progress of the Roman State under the Government of Consuls and Emperors Which will comprehend the most Memorable Events of Peace and War even to the Catastrophe of the Empire Paris 22d of the 9th Moon of the Year 1680. LETTER IV. To Orchan Cabet Student in the Sciences and Pensioner to the Sultan ABout the Soul That 's the Thought I 'm upon That 's the World I 'm going to write Whether it shall after the grand Divorce from the Body go to Heaven or Hell as they are commonly represented or whether it shall not rather be more happily or miserably dispos'd of Or if less yet at least in a more proportionate Order of Eternal Justice Methinks I taste and feel the Original Meaning of the Word Nemesis Which though it pass for Primitive Greek among the most Learned of the Western Scholars yet I can prove it to be a Phoenician Derivative from the Chinese And I can demonstrate likewise That it is full of Mysteries Every Syllable of it is Sacred and Mysterious as the Mrne Mene Tekel Vpharsin of Beltschatzar Numeravit Numeravit Appendit Divisit That 's the Sense of it So are Words become the Eternal Mind The very Letters which compose Words I should have said the Syllables first in good Manners are all the Products of the Mathematicks I mean of the Original Science not of those paultry Fragments Scraps and Offals that are taught in Schools and Academies Such as the Elements of Euclid the Rudiments of Algebra Benazer Ki-flud or any other Learned Pen. There 's something more within the Verge of Human Science than what has been divulg'd hitherto in the World or at least more than what is now extant and has escap'd the Ruin of Fires Floods Earthquakes and the Jaws of all-devouring Time Learned Orchan I will not be prolix but answer me one Question about the Soul Can'st thou believe the Stories of the Priest's concerning Purgatory Hell and the two other Limbo's Hast thou Faith enough to swallow the ridiculous Figments of the Book entitled Speculum Exemplorum a Tract so highly celebrated and magnified among the Superititious Nazarenes of the Roman Church Believe me these Doctrins are the pure Effects of Anthropomorphism or the Religion of those who represent God under the Form of a Mortal Man For they poor Souls are so incapable of rising above this gross and Earthly Thought that they even presume to draw and paint the Effigies of the Eternal Divinity which has no Figure or Resemblance They pourtray him like a very Old Man with Gray Hairs on his Head and Beard and then they set the Idol up in Temples to be ador'd The rude and ignorant Vulgar dare not contradict their Guides whom they revere as Oracles They bow before the sacred Vanity paying Divine Honours to the Work of Human Art Thus Superstition and Error spread abroad and take firm Root in the World From hence the duller Part of Men derive their Notions of Man's Soul They cannot conceive how it shou'd subsist after Death without just such a Body of Flesh and Blood as it has in this Life And yet they contradict that very Opinion by asserting that it cannot have such a Body till the General Resurrection whilst at the same time they assert That it shall enjoy all the Pleasures or suffer all the Pains which none but Corporeal Beings are capable of Doubtless the Infidels are involv'd in a Labyrinth of Heresies We Mortals know not the State of Departed Souls whether they go upwards or downwards to the East or West North or South We are wholly ignorant of the Climates wherein the Blessed and the Damn'd are separately dispos'd of Perhaps the Doctrin of Transmigration taught by Pythagoras Empedocles and all the Eastern Indians may be true From which Bolief few Mussulmans do diffent Or it may be we shall as the Gentile Poets wrote mysteriously fall into Lethe's Lake into the Region of Forgetfulness where we shall be as though we 'd never been This is the Souls unactive State if any such there be in Nature for an Incorporeal Spirit And then the Millenaries or Chiliasts among the Christians may be much i' th' Right on 't who taught the Sleep of the Soul until the Resurrection Indeed in my Opinion this Life it self wherein we think our selves so much Awake to Hear See Taste Smell Feel and Revel in the Pleasures of the Universe is but a Dream or Trance A grand Deliquium of the Soul The Universal Apoplexy of Human Nature For the true Genuine Life is only to be found Above in the pure Regions of the Air or more refined Skies or if not there at least and lowest Rate in the superlative Heights beyond the Stars remote from narrow and polluted Matter where perfect Essences do bask Eternally in the Grand Halo of the God-head or shroud and cool themselves under the mady Trees of Paradise whose Roots spring from the deep Abysses of Eternity and are wash'd by Springs and Streams warbling along the verdant Banks of sweet Chioschs and elegant Borders of the Groves in Eden Such are the Pleasures which God the Fauntain of Munificence is pleased to treat his Creatures with He studies to Regale his Favourites with infinite Beatitudes There are in Paradise Rivers broad and long as the Danube Volga Niger Nilus or any other noted Current upon Earth Their Streams run all with Honey Wine and Milk or more delicious Liquors if any such there be They are not deep that timorous Men need fear to Drown themselves yet deep enough for foreign Earthly Souls to swim in Everlasting Pleasures Moreover thou knowest the Saying of the Prophet That we shall have Women there whose Beauty no Painters Art can e're express who shall not glance a Look upon another Man beside their own Women whose Beauty shall exceed the Lustre of Diamonds Rubies Hyacinths and whatsoever is precious in the East He promises likewise That we shall be stretch'd out at perfect Ease on stately Beds under Pavilions of Magnifick Structure Where Pages fair and beautiful as Pearls shall wait upon us whilst Gentle Zephirs fan the ambient Air with their Immortal Breezes making a soft and grateful Sound among the Leaves and Boughs of those tall Verdant Copses Woods and Thickets which are planted here and there throughout the Fields of Paradise O Orchan by all these Allegories we are to understand the Supreme Felicity of Virtuous Souls who die in Faith and Love This is a certain Rule That whatsoever is pleasant and agreeable to any Good Man upon Earth shall be either superlatively augmented in Specie or improv'd by an infinitely more pleasant
indeed read of a Fruit which whosoever tastes will die I aughing And of the Torpedo which if any Man touch though with a Staff or Pole in his Hand immediately it benums him and takes away his Sense of Feeling But I always ascrib'd these Stories to the Romantick Humour of Pliny or at least of those from whom he collected the pleasant Paragraph of his Natural History But now I 'm convinc'd that 't is possible these things may be true In a Word I tell thee plainly that were it not for honest Eliachim the Jew poor Mahmut must starve himself For I wou'd rather die weeping and famishing deploring and lamenting the Miseries of Human Life than pass to Orcus in an Artificial Good Humour only fram'd by the Force of Poysons and Charms but Eilachim and all the Jews are singular in their Diet They take Care not to be polluted by Abominable Infidels They will not eat the Bread of the Christians nor taste of their Flesh The Law of Moses for bids it and they are very curious in observing it They have their Corn-Merchants Millers Bakers Butchers Poulterers and Fish-mongers by themselves Their Fruiterers also and such as serve 'em with Water Wine or any other Beverage They will not easily be cheated of their Lives through the Complaisance of what they call Good Nature Neither French nor Dutch Italians or Spaniards shall impose upon them They eat and drink more nicely I speak of the better Sorts than the Infidel Kings of the Earth Herein lies my Safety amidst the Common Danger I never eat or drink of late but at Eâ—â—â—chiâ—'s House For I dare not so well grounded are the Fears of Poyson in the Society of Nazarenes at this Time in Paris By the God of my Fathers and my God I would not willingly go down to the Shades in a Vehicle of Aia malâ— Xerim or any other subtle Eastern Opiate I 'd rather fairly stand the Fate of a Bullet Dagger Sword or any Thing that with Candor threatens us above-board But to be sneakingly undermin'd circumvented c. goes against the Grane by the Wounds of Mahomet which he receiv'd before the Holy Flight O Ali Ali This Oath brings thy Fame to my Remembrane who durst stand against the Sword of Ali when he was in his Wrath Ali the True Successor of the Prophet Do not take me for a Kysilbaschâ— Heretick Infidel c. For I am of an untainted Race a True Believer a Mussulman in all Senses But I hate Phanaticism and factious Bigotry Though we hate the Persians and pursue 'em as Incorrigible Hereticks may we not love and honour the Cailâ—â—h whom they follow So we are profess'd Enemies to the Christians and yet we reverence Jesus the Son of Mary the Christians Messias But to return to the French the King has erected a Kind of Inquisition-Court which is call'd the Chamber of Poysons Here all Persons suspected of these Diabolical Practises are examin'd and put to the Torture Also Millers Bakers Butchers Fruiterers Vintners and other Trades which sell any thing to eat or drink are sworn in this Chamber and undergo a severe Scrutiny So do all Physicians Druggists and Apothecaries â—dicts are daily publish'd whereby all Peâ—sons pretending to a Spirit of Divination c. are commanded forthwith to depart the Kingdom under the Penalty of Death It is order'd also that whosoever has abus'd any Sentence of the Written Law in making of Enchantments Spells Charms or any Thing beside or beyond the Force of Nature shall be severely punish'd The same Edict forbids all Vse of Poysons unless they be such as are Ingredients of wholesome Medicines and help to compound those Physical Preparations which are necessary to conserve the Life of Men. And that even these shall not be sold to any Person whatsoever but only to those who by their Art and Profession are oblig'd to make use of them Abundance of Care is taken both by the State and the Church by Publick Magistrates and Private Persons to discover the Authors of these Inhuman Tragedies and to prevent the like for the Future Every Man's Eye is upon his Neighbour and they of the same House are jealous one of another The Father suspects and narrowly watches the Motions of his Son and the Mother will not trust the Daughter of her Delight Children are wary of their Parents and one Brother or Sister dares not eat or drink any thing prepar'd by another Neither the Ties nor even the Sacred Bonds of Friendship it self are sufficient to conquer Mens Fears and Apprehensions of being poyson'd In the mean while the Inhabitants have felt a terrible Blow from the French Arms. For the King of France having receiv'd some Aâ—â—â—ont from those Corsairs gave Orders to the Sieur Die Quesne Lieutenant General of his Naval Forces to go and Bombard their City which was perform'd accordingly in the Beginning of the 9th Moon And that Bld Warriour threw so many Bombs into the Town that he ruin'd a considerable Part of it overthrew the Principal Mosque and killed many Thousands of Men Which obliged the Algerines to become humble Supplicants for Peace And it was granted them on certain Conditions advantagious enough for France This Monarch is wholly addicted to War in which also he is no less expert than he is in Matters of State And he loves to see his Subjects follow his Example To this End he has lately establish'd Two Seminaries One in the Cittadel of Tournay the Other in that of Metz where a certain Number of Cadets or Younger Brothers who can prove themselves descended of Noble Blood are educated at the King's Charge and taught the Method and Art of Fortifications with other Exercises of Military Discipline This is a great Encouragement to the young Gentry and Nobles and fills 'em with Glorious Emulations every one being ambitious to excel another in these Heroick Arts. And the King will never want for able Souldiers to serve him in any Station at Home or Abroad Illustrious Kaimacham this is all the News I can at present send thee May God protect thee and all the True Faithful from the â—ly Attempts of Magicians Witches and Poisoners As for me I know not how long I shall escape their Snares But I 'll be as cunning as I can Sage Minister Adieu Paris 4th of the 7th Moon of the Year 1682. LETTER XVI To Nathan Ben Saddi a Jew at Vienna I Receiv'd a Dispatch Yesterday sign'd with thy Name but not writ by thy own Hand nor in thy accustom'd Style and yet there is no mention made of Sickness a broken Arm or any other Misfortune which might hinder thee from penning it thy self which fills me with Abundance of Doubts and Scruples If the Palsy or any other Disease has taken from thee the Use of thy Limbs I hope it has not depriv'd thee of thy Reason That Faculty would have prompted thee to explain this Mysterious Way of Correspondence by the same Hand which wrote the
wheadl'd out of his Eternal Reason no Incense can be of Proof to Nose the Sense of the Omniscient nor the most elegant Words delude him who is perfect in Knowledge He takes no Delight in the pompous Addresses of the Great nor is he to be mov'd by the multitude of Solemn Ceremonies All that he requires of Man is a Heart conform to the Divine Will and Actions void of Offence But the Lawgivers and Governours of Nations observing That there was a certain Religious Fear and Reverence of some Divine Power as it were planted in the Natures of all Men and considering that this might be improv'd with good Management to the Advantage and Interest of the Common-wealth they invented set Forms of Discipline and exteriour Offices of Worship which they term'd Holy Rites and Mysteries These they fortified with severe Laws and Sanctions inflicting grievous Penalties on the Contemners of the Publick Service perform'd to the Gods So Hermes Trismegistus first taught the Egyptians Melissus the Foster-Father of Jupiter instructed the Inhabitants of Crete Faunus and Janus the Latins Numa Pompilius the Romans Orpheus the Grecians or as some say Cadmus the Son of Agenor first instructed that Nation in the Solemnities which were counted Divine and which he himself learn'd in Phoenicia He instituted the Consecration of Images and Statues the Burning of Incense the Building of Temples and Altars with the Hymns Sacrifices and other magnificent Rites by which they honour'd the Powers Above Now that all this Religious Pageantry was establish'd only for the Ends of Policy and State is evident from hence That the Chief Magistrates took the Liberty of making what Gods they pleas'd and of encreasing or diminishing their Number at Discretion So that in Process of Time there were reckon'd no less than Thirty Thousand Gods in the Roman Catalogue though at first their Calendar cou'd shew but Twenty Five Divinities But when once they had found out a way to distinguish these Divinities into several Classes or Ranks terming some Gods of the Greater Nations others of the Lesser having also their Tutelar Genii their Demigods their Rural and Houshold Gods c. there was no limiting the crafty Devices of the Priests and Rulers in imposing or the Superstition of the credulous People in believing and adoring an infinite Rabble of New Young and Unheard-of Divinities They took also the same Freedom to change and alter the establish'd Rites and Ceremonies sometimes abolishing the old and Primitive Institutions and superinducing new ones in their stead or at least adding to the Heap of insignificant Ceremonies in every Age some mysterious Novelty which might please the People and fasten them in a devouter Obedience and Veneration of their Pious Guides and Leaders Hence sprung the Dedication of Temples Fanes Chapels Oratories and certain Days in the Year to the Service of particular Gods hence arose the Invention and Use of so many sorts of Vessels of Silver and Gold and other Materials in their Sacrifices of Lights Flowers and Perfumes of Musick Pictures and other Decorations besides the Rich and Majestick Vestments of the Priests their grave and compos'd Carriage Looks and Gestures All design'd purely to catch the rude and unpolish'd Multitude in the Snares of Priest-craft to strike their unwary Minds with an Awe and profound Attach for Religion that so being once made thus flexible they might warp them to what Bent they pleas'd and for ever lead 'em in a blind implicite Admiration of they knew not what 'T is certain that Religion has this Effect on the Vulgar to make them more Obedient to their Governours Just to one another and Zealous for the Publick Welfare I mean the Religion allow'd by the State For where the Subjects dare to make Innovations and Schisms to set up new Sects and Parties the greater Zeal each Faction has for their own Way of Worship the more cruel and tragical Disorders are generally committed So fatal a Thing is it to be Opinionative in Religion to invade the Priests Prerogative and to disturb the quiet Stream of Traditions running in the Channel of Publick Faith from one Generation to another My Dear Gnet let Thou and I shun the devout Superstition of Bigots and the wanton Prophaneness of Libertines and Atheists adoring One God with sincere Faith and a Reason void of Error Let us also keep our Lives free from all Injustice and Vice which will be of more Comfort to us than if we had sacrific'd every Day a thousand Bulls Paris 25th of the 9th Moon of the Year 1677. LETTER XIV To Kerker Hassan Bassa THE Subject of most Mens Discourse at present in this City is the Taking of Friburgh by the French This is a City of Germany whereof I made frequent mention in my Letters when I first came to Paris It is situated on a certain Height near a small River and is encompass'd with two Walls Strengthned also by a Citadel four Bastions and other Fortifications The Emperor has likewise a strong Garrison in it On the 10th of this Moon the Mareschal de Crequy Besieg'd it and press'd it with such vigorous Assaults and continual Batteries That the Governour found himself oblig'd to Surrender it on the 17th when the Mareschal took Possession of it in the Name of the French King The Imperialists cannot boast of equal Success when they Besiege Towns or Fortresses in the Hands of the French For not long before this the Prince of Orange General of the Confederate Armies in Flanders undertook the Siege of Charleroy a Place of Strength in those Parts But the Want of Provisions together with the stout Resistance of the Inhabitants and the Duke of Luxemburgh's Approach with the French Army forced him to decamp and retire The Duke of Luxemburgh is a valiant and sage General in high Esteem with the French But his Enemies say he is a Magician and deals with the Devil because of the good Success which generally crowns all his Enterprises So impossible it is for a Man of extraordinary Virtues and Heroick Endowments to escape without Envy and scandalous Aspersions 'T is as natural for the Vulgar to inveigh against Generous Souls as 't is for Dogs to bark at the Moon Yet that Planet appears impassible and not being mov'd at the Snarles of invidious Animals keeps on her Heavenly Course in Majesty and Silence So do Souls that are truly Noble contemn the Censures of the Inferiour Part of Men and never stop till they arrive at the Meridian and Zenith of Perfection Most Serene and Illustrious Arab thou art a lively Example of this and I dare say no more lest I offend thy Modesty May perpetual Benediction and Glory crown thy Years that are yet to come Paris 29th of the 11th Moon of the Year 1677. LETTERS Writ by A Spy at PARIS VOL. VIII BOOK III. LETTER I. To the Wisest of the Wise the most Venerable Mufti I Obey thy Commands without the least Demur And now proceed to write of the
Macedonian Empire I remember a Dispatch of mine to thy Venerable Predecessor of Sacred Memory wherein I touch'd upon some Passages of the Life of that Heroick and Magnanimous Prophet Alexander the Great But now I will inform thee more at large concerning his Birth Education and Renowned Performances Alexander as the Greeks and Latins call him with all the Nations of the West or Scander Ascander and Zulkarnek according to the Style of the Arabians Persians Indians Tartars and other People of the East was born in the CVIth Olympiad 398 Years after the Building of Rome and in the Year of the World 3628 on the 6th Day of the Moon Loo or Hecatombaeon according to the Style of the Grecians The same Night was the Temple of Diana at Ephesus set on Fire And on the same Day two Eagles came and pearch'd on the Top of his Fathers House where they sat all the Day which was taken as an Omen of the Double Empire he was to have over Europe and Asia Philip King of Macedon and Husband to Olympias was the Reputed Father of Alexander as she was his Known Mother But some Historians say That a certain Magician call'd Nectanebus by his Enchantments disguising himself in the Form of Jupiter Ammon lay with Olympias and begot Alexander Others affirm That Olympias her self confessed to Philip That Alexander was not his Son but that she had conceiv'd him of a prodigious great Serpent Whence it came to pass That Philip himself a little before his Death openly declar'd That Alexander was not his Son And for the same Reason he divorc'd Olympias as an Adultress by her own Confession These Reports were so common at that Time That Alexander afterwards hearing the Story of his suppos'd Serpentine Genealogy and that other of Nectanebus in the Masquerade of a God When he march'd through Egypt took Advantage of the latter to impose upon the Credulity and Superstition of his Soldiers For being to pass by the Temple of Jupiter Ammon he made a Halt to visit the Oracle But he had privately sent before some of his Trusty Friends to acquaint the Priests with his Design and to tell them what manner of Words and Address they should use to him as he enter'd the Temple in the Hearing of his Followers Having thus prepar'd those Holy Cheats he with much Ceremony and seeming Devotion made his Approaches to the Temple As soon as he set his Foot within the Portico the Seniors of the Priests met him in their Pontifical Robes with Censers in their Hands and thus saluted him All Hail Son of Jupiter Ammon Alexander being pleas'd at this ask'd them farther If all his Fathers Murderers were punish'd or If any yet survived To which it was answer'd O Son of the Immortal Gods Thy Father cannot be murder'd or dye As for King Philip his Blood is fully reveng'd on them that had a Hand in shedding it Then he added another Question concerning his future Success To which the Oracle replied The Victory shall be thine in all Battels Thou shalt become Lord of all the East The same Mouth also gave in Charge to the Retinue of Alexander That they should adore him not as a King but as a God Returning from thence he built Alexandria calling it after his own Name I have not observ'd a due Method in relating this Story so soon whilst I was but representing the New-born Hero in his Cradle But I did it to convince thee That the various Opinions concerning Alexander's Father are not the Fictions of Wanton Writers but such as Employ'd the Care and Diligence of Alexander himself to improve them to his own Interest and his Mothers Honour For it was accounted a Glorious Thing to be Impregnate by a God To return therefore to the Infant-Prophet He grew apace and discover'd early Signs of a prodigious Wit and Courage At the Age of fifteen Years he was committed to the Care and Tutelage of Aristotle under whom he studied the Sciences five Years and then his Father Philip being murder'd he succeeded in the Throne The same Year also Darius Codomanus obtained the Empire of Persia Against whom Alexander with the Common Consent of almost all Greece prepared to go with a well-disciplin'd Army that he might carry on the War which his Father had begun Only the Lacedaemonians Thebans and Athenians thwarted his Design being corrupted by Demosthenes the Orator who for that purpose had received vast Sums of Gold from Darius But Alexander soon reduc'd these Factious States and Kingdoms to their Duty utterly destroying the City of Thebes with the Slaughter of 90000 of the Citizens besides 30000 Captives This was executed on the 15th of the Moon Boedromion in the 2d Year of the CXIth Olympiad He only spar'd the Host of Philip his Father when he was left as a Pledge in that City whose House was left untouch'd as also that of Pindar's Posterity From thence passing the Hellespont he march'd into Asia in the Year of the World 3650 and in the 3d Year of his Reign He had in his Army 30000 Foot and 4500 Horse As soon as he set Foot on the Ground of Asia he made the Royal Corban and Vows for Victory Then he darted a Javelin into the Earth in Token of Defiance After which when he came to Troy he perform'd certain Holy Rites and Mysteries at the Tombs of Defunct Heroes who fell in the Trojan War When these Ceremonies were accomplish'd he marched directly against the Persians who were in Number 600000 Fighting Men. I will not tire thee with all the Particularities that happen'd in their March Suffice it to say That Alexander with his Handful of Macedonians after many Victories obtained of the Persians at length quite Routed the Army of Darius and took Possession of that Once Formidable Empire But there are some remarkable Passages in this Expedition which deserve to be remembred As his wonderful Continence and Humanity toward the Mother Wife and Daughters of Darius whom he entertain'd in his Camp after they fell into his Hands rather as the Kindred of some Beloved Friend than of a Profess'd Enemy The Story also of his loosing the Gordian Knot is not unworthy thy Knowledge It seems in former Times one Gordius as he Plough'd the Fields was surrounded with a Flight of Birds of all Kinds Being troubled at this he left his Work and hasted to the next City there to enquire of the Augurs what the Meaning of this should be As he entred the Gate of the City he met a Virgin of Incomparable Beauty of whom he ask'd Where he might find the most Skilful Sage with whom he might consult about a Matter of some Importance Then he told the Inquisitive Damsel what had happen'd to him in the Field As soon as she heard this being well vers'd in these Mysterious and Prophetick Sciences she told him That he should be made a King And to confirm him in the Belief of what she said she promis'd to become his