give me Leave to tell thee That Rome in all its Victorious Bravery never saw Firmer Soldiers in a Battle than the Spaniards are at this Day But the French have Finer Wits more Money and better Fortune And 't is this makes 'em insult Besides Destiny over-rules All Things Every Kingdom and Empire has its Climacters wherein it droops declines and at the Grand Critical Period falls to ruine The Greeks had Money enough when the Great Sultan Mahomet besieged Constantinople But they had not Wit to use it for their own Preservation and so that City the last Considerable Stake of the Empire was lost to the Ottomans who soon after became Masters of all the Rest Thou hast Wealth in Abundance and Discretion to manage it Slip no Opportunities but remember the Old Arabian Proverb which says God has given whole Days to the Fortunate but to the Vnhappy he affords only some Hours Paris 7th of the 1st Moon of the Year 1658. LETTER IV. To Pesteli Hali his Brother Master of the Grand Signior 's Customs at Constantinople I Remember my Promise though it be late Thou know'st I have many Hindrances and therefore wilt not tax me with feigning an Excuse However thy Letter came to me in a Good Hour to put me in Mind of these Things and to enquire of our Mother's Health who still resides in this City I have said Nothing of her since my First Letter after her Arrival at Paris And to tell thee the Truth she has said Little her self being Ignorant of the French Tongue and too Old to learn it Therefore her Chief Conversation has been with Eliachim and me above these Three Years For that Jew speaks Indifferent good Turkish and Arabick If thou wou'dst know how she has spent her Time 'T is divided between her Devotions and her Needle She lives more Recluse than a Christian Nun seldom or never stirring abroad unless to take the Air of the Fields and then shut up in a Coach with her Maid In a Word her Manner of Living is a fit Example for the French Women For in all Things she observes the Laws of her Education and the Modest Customs of the East No Argument can persuade her to change her Grecian Garb or dress her self after the Loose Mode of Western Females Neither Will she Eat or Drink any where but in the House of Eliachim for Fear of infringing the Precepts of the Alcoran and disobeying the Messenger of God For she esteems the Diet of the Jews Pure and free from Pollution In her Pious and Motherly Zeal she rebukes me for Eating and Drinking with Infidels And I've Nothing to say in my Defence but the Necessity I lie under of preventing Suspicion that so I may serve the Sultan with greater Success and that I have the Mufti 's Dispensation for this and many more Irregularities When she hears this she lifts up her Eyes to Heaven lays her Hand upon her Breast and appears resign'd Yet shakes her Head and seems to pity my Case not without some Reflections on the Corruption of the Times the Impiety of the Seraglio and Want of Zeal for the Holy Prophet She has her Health to a Miracle And excepting the First Two Moons after she came to Paris I never heard her complain of the least Indisposition 'T is possible the Change of Air with the Inconveniences of Travelling so far by Sea and Land might incommode her at First She was for a while troubled with Rheums Obstructions and a Dysentery But she soon overcame these Distempers and has ever since been perfectly well We often discourse together of thee and thy Travels in the East Sometimes I read Part of thy Journal to her which affords her Infinite Delight She congratulates her self and thy Good Fortune in escaping so many Perils and Deaths as every where threaten a Stranger And takes a particular Delight to hear thy Adventures with the Indian Lady at the Court of Raja Hulacu Thou may'st be assur'd our Mother bears a Singular Affection to thee For we never meet without wishing thee in our Company She rejoices mightily to hear of thy Prosperity and Advancement in the Favour of the Grand Signior and his Principal Ministers Wishing thee every Day a New Step of Honour and Interest Thou may'st also rest satisfy'd that Mahmut comes not short of the Affection he owes to such a Brother At other Times we talk of our Cousin Isouf who is now in the Frozen Regions of the North. His Itinerary Memoirs are also very Pleasant And we pass some Hours in reading and comparing 'em with the Dispatches which I frequently receive from Mehemet an Exil'd Eunuch in Egypt For Isouf is more large in his Description of that Country and his Remarks on its Antiquities than on any other Part of Africa Yet he says enough of all that Southern Quarter As to what I promis'd to inform thee concerning the Pyramids Mummies and other Singularities of Egypt know that our Kinsman Isouf is a great Critick and gives the Lye to Herodotus Diodorus Strabo Pliny and other Writers of Greece and Rome Neither will he consent in all things to our Arabian Histories He says the Pyramids are neither so High nor does their Basis take up so much Ground as is reported by the Ancients He laughs at those who affirm They cast no Shadows at Noon having experienc'd the Contrary when the Sun was in Capricorn And we may believe him in this on good Ground For it is Recorded of Thales Milesius who liv'd above Two Thousand Years ago That he took the Height of the Pyramids by their Shadows There are Three of these Admirable Structures not far from Caire and about Eighteen more in the Deserts of Libya It is Generally suppos'd That they were built for Sepulchres of the Egyptian Kings some of them before the Flood the rest after There are not wanting Historians who assert the Greatest of the Pyramids to be the Tomb of Seth the Son of Adam Isouf was within this Mighty Fabrick and attests That after he and his Company had descended and ascended through certain Galleries they came at last to a Square Chamber wall'd about with Pure Thebaick Marble in the Middle of which was a Chest of the same Stone which when struck with the Foot sounded like a Musical Instrument It is believ'd that in this Chest was laid the Body of the King who built that Pyramid The Ancient Egyptians were of Opinion That even after that which we call Death or the Separation of the Soul and Body there were certain Arts to retain 'em together if not in so Strict and Intimate an Union as before yet in a very Familiar Correspondence for many Ages So that the Soul should always take Delight to hover about the Body and to exercise its Faculties in the Place where that was reposed For this Reason in the First Place they took out the Bowels and whatsoever was most liable to Corruption And having wash'd the Empty Belly with
the Resurrection that is that our very Dust shall be Rais'd again and Organiz'd into a Body The Nazarenes are of the same Opinion But methinks there 's no Need of stretching and straining of Nature Besides this Opinion is Inconsistent with other Fundamental Doctrines of the Mussulman Law We are all taught to believe That the Souls of Just Men Saints and Martyrs immediately on their Departure from the Body ascend to Paradise If so then they either live there in an Vnbodyed Estate or they have New Bodies assign'd 'em by the same Providence which gave them their Old Be it which Way it pleases God It will appear a manifest Botch in the Works of the Omnipotent an Indecorum in Nature to make these Souls either cast off their New Bodies at the Day of Judgment for the Sake of their Old Rotten Reliques after they have enjoy'd all the Ravishing Delights of Eden for so many Ages or to stand in Need of any Bodies at all after they have liv'd so long in a Separate Condition There 's no Sence in 't Doubtless this Opinion was first hatch'd by those who believ'd the Sleep of the Soul and held that it was Inseparable from the Body For then they had no other Way to comfort themselves with any Probable Hopes of a Surviving Immortality but by maintaining That as the Soul slept with the Body in the Grave so both Soul and Body shou'd conjointly Rise again at the Day of Doom Or perhaps this Figure of our Resurrection was inculcated to insinuate the Faith of an Immortal State into the duller Minds of those who were Incapable of comprehending either the Pre-Existence of Souls their Self-Subsistence after Death or their Translation into other Bodies It seems to me much more easie to believe according to the most Obvious Works of Nature that after our Dissolution here we shall either assume some Body of Air Fire or other Elemental Supplement or by Magnetick Transmigration shall be United to some Vegetable or Animal Embryo than to dream of Recollecting all our Scatter'd Ashes together after so many Thousands of Years wherein they have been dispers'd perhaps through all the Ranges of the Vniverse Surely our Holy Lawgiver and all the other Prophets intended no other Thing by the Doctrine of the Resurrection but only to convince the World that the Soul was Immortal and that consequently there wou'd be a Reward of Good and Bad Works after this Life We shall live for ever Old Lawyer And what signifies it whether we have the same Bodies or others so long as we are Happy in any State And if we are Metamorphos'd we cannot fail of our Specifick Felicity since every Creature is Happy in its Own Essence Then let us be Apes Dromedaries Camels or any Thing but Hogs and we shall have Bliss enough That Creature is the very Emblem of Vncleanness and therefore its Life cannot be the Object of a Mussulman's Wish Yet we know not the Laws of our Change or Transmigration from this Mortal Life For the Soul according to Pythagoras and the Ancients is Capable of all Forms If thou wond'rest what has put me upon this Discourse it is the Remembrance of what I have heard thee relate of the Apparition of Dead Mens Bones in the Cemetery of Grand Caire in Egypt at a certain Season of the Year when Multitudes of People by Custom flock thither to behold this Wonderful Scene of a Sham-Resurrection I can give it no better Title since in all Probability 't is only the Effect of some Artifice us'd by the Christians to procure Money from the Admiring Croud And I 'm confirm'd in this Belief by a Letter I receiv'd from Mehemet the Exil'd Eunuch who now resides at Caire and having been curious to observe this Celebrated Miracle among the other Rarieties of this City sent me such an Account of this Passage as convinces me there 's some Cheat in 't He tells a great many other Things of the Superstition and Ignorance of the Egyptians as to the Pyramids and the suppos'd Spirits which guard ' em In all he laments the Condition of Mortals who have so far degenerated from themselves and suffer'd their Reason to be debauch'd with Fables Sage Mustapha thou art of the Race of those who have preserv'd Science and Philosophy A Halo of Light invests thy Soul Let no dark Opinion of God and his Works eclipse thy Intellect Paris 20th of the 8th Moon of the Year 1655. LETTER IX To Solyman Kuslir Aga Prince of the Black Eunuchs THY Dispatch came in a Happy Hour Yet the Contents of it surpriz'd me 'T is a strange Turn of Fortune that the Bassa of Aleppo after so many Rebellions shou'd become the Sultan's Favourite and be invested in the Highest Dignity of the Empire Yet who knows but this may be the onely Effectual Course to reclaim him and of an Enemy to render him a Friend For Ambition is a Vice so nearly bordering on Vertue so refin'd and subtle in its Complexion that when the Passion which cherishes it is once gratify'd with its proper Object it soon becomes a Vertue it self and transforms a Libertine to a Hadgi ranking a Man to Day among the most deserving Hero's who but Yesterday was in the Number of the Seditious Therefore I cannot but highly applaud the Counsel of those who perswaded the Grand Signior to this Uncommon Choice of the Vizir Azem The whole Empire has languish'd for Want of a Man of Abilities in that Supreme Station ever since the Seal was taken from the most Illustrious Chusaein Bassa through the Malice of his Enemies And in this Juncture they cou'd not have pitch'd on a Man more capable of the Charge than this bold Bassa who besides his Experience in the Wars both by Sea and Land is look'd on as the Stoutest Man in this Age. As for his Former Crimes they proceeded onely from his Discontent and Thirst of Glory which is now sufficiently allay'd by the Bounty of our Sovereign The Cause therefore of his Extravagances being thus seasonably remov'd the Effect will naturally cease But suffer me to ask thee Do they not resent at the Seraglio his Approaches to that Sanctuary of Mortals with such a Formidable Retinue Thou tellest me he is attended by Forty Thousand Men an Equipage fit for a Sovereign Monarch Perhaps 't is onely the Effect of his Martial Genius and that he is willing to appear like a Soldier Or it may be he really suspected Danger and that he was design'd for a Sacrifice Which made him come thus guarded to the Feet of his Master That his Son might revenge his Death by some desparate Attempt on Constantinople Be it how it pleases God it seems the Sultan wink'd at all and receiv'd him with such Marks of his Esteem and Affection as are seldom vouchsaf'd to Subjects I hope the Event will answer his Expectation These new Methods of Clemency may prove more successful than the severe Conduct of Former Times Men of
Seasons of the Year in their Proper Course renew all the Vegetables We find the Elements the Sun Moon Stars and Earth remain Unchangeable And why then shou'd we think they were not always so and will not continue so for Ever Or if this be too bold a Stretch let us conceive them at least much more Ancient and Durable than they are Generally thought to be And if these Greater Bodies shall undergo a Change in their Outward Forms we may yet believe their Substances will remain for Ever But whether Corporeal Beings are thus lasting or no we have Something in us that can never perish Our Souls are Immortal and need not the Embalming of Egypt to preserve 'em from Corruption Therefore Dear Mehemet since we are Destin'd to live for Ever in one State or other let us not fear Death which is but a Minutes Slumber a Short Trance out of which we shall immediately Awake to encrease our Knowledge and Experience of those Mysteries and Secrets in Nature which at Present are hid from us In a Word let us live like Philosophers and then we may hope to die with the same Equanimity of Spirit as he did who in his last Agonies being ask'd by his Friend Where was all his Philosophy now Answer'd I am just entering on a New Discovery concerning the Nature of Salt And with that Word he Expir'd Paris 7th of the 2d Moon of the Year 1657. LETTER XII To the most Venerable Musti IF the Publick Seditions shou'd always continue or be as frequently Renew'd as they have lately been at Constantinople and if their Effects shall be Equally Fatal to the Grandees as has been this last Horrid Mutiny of the Soldiers To Congratulate any Man's Rise to an Eminent Dignity will be but to flatter him and Addresses of this Nature must be esteem'd no better than Mock-Compliments Civil Insults and Fashionable Sarcasms Since at this Rate Great Honours ought to be look'd on no otherwise but as direct Advances and nearer Approaches to Infamy and Death when a Man is Exalted from an Obscure Fastness and Hurnble Security to the Glorious Hazard of a Precipitate Fall 'T is therefore when I come to kiss the Dust of thy Feet among the Crowd of True Believers and to welcome thee to the most Sacred and Sublime Vicarship on Earth I draw near with an Indifference suitable to a Mussulman wishing thee not more Joy than Safety in that Mysterious Station but such a Temperament of Both as is due to thy Sanctity and Incorrupt Actions In a Word I wish thee a perpetual Immunity from thy Predecessor's Temptations and from his Crimes and then thou need'st not fear his Misfortune and Disgrace Let not what I have said pass for an Argument of Disrespect and Undutifulness to the Heir of Prophetick and Apostolick Revelations the Great Patriarch of the Faithful I reverence both thy Office and Person Yet am Commanded to avoid Flattery and Partial Addresses when I write to the Greatest Sages in the Empire And had not this Injunction been laid on me my own Natural Temper wou'd prompt me to shun that Vice which renders a Man so much less than himself by how much he exalts another above his due I have often propos'd to thy Predecessor the Mighty Benefit that wou'd redound to the whole Ottoman Empire if Learning were more Encourag'd and the Histories of Foreign Nations were Translated into the Familiar Language of the Mussulmans It is fit that those who are Destin'd to subdue All Things and have already spread their Glorious Conquest through the Greatest Part of the Earth shou'd be acquainted with the Transactions of Former Times the Wars of Illustrious and Brave Hero's the Rise and Fall of Ancient Kingdoms and in General the most Noted Revolutions in the World From such Records our Generals and Military Men may draw Examples of Fortitude and Patience Conduct and Prudence in all the Fatigues and Difficulties of War Our Statesmen may Improve their Knowledge in all the Maxims of Policy and Wisdom requisite in Time of Peace In fine Men of all Conditions may learn the Precepts of Morality and Vertue Methinks 't is Pity that we who possess the Territories of the Ancient Grecians the Kingdoms of Corinth and the Argives the Commonwealths of Athens and Lacedaemon the Empire of Macedon and the State of the Jews shou'd be Ignorant of the Laws by which these divers Countries were of Old Govern'd and the Characters Lives and Actions of their First Lawgivers and Succeeding Governours But if thou shalt determine that the Knowledge of these Remote Affairs is Superfluous and Unnecessary for True Believers let 'em at least not be Ignorant in their Own History and the Original of their Progenitors 'T is true we Arabians have all a-long taken Care of Our Genealogies every Family and Tribe being diligent to preserve the Memory of their Ancestors and all concur with an Unanimous Zeal to Register the Holy Lineage of Mahomet the Messenger of God So that we can from his Father Abdalla run up in a direct Paternal Line to Caydar the Second Son of Ismael on whom be the Benedictions of God We are not Ignorant how this Caydar from whom the Noble Corei's derive their Pedigree First setl'd at Mecca in pure Devotion to the Square Temple which was built by Angels When he might as well have chosen the more Fertile Plains of Media Persia and Assyria as did his Brethren Doama Naphis and Redma But he foresaw by his Skill in Astrology that the Inhabitants of those Regions would be Idolaters And so it came to pass For they were in the Number of those who Ador'd the Fire For the same Reason he chose not for his Seat Armenia though that Country be Renowned for the Resting of Noah's Ark on Mount Geudis and the Famous City Themanine or the Work of Eighty being the First City built after the Deluge by the Eighty who Escap'd in the Ark. But Caydar knew that the People of that Province shou'd worship the Sun And it was Verify'd in the Posterity of his Brethren Nabsam and Masna Therefore he chose Mecca though a Barren Country because he knew it was the Seat Predestin'd to the Elect Lineage the Generation of Just Men and Prophets from whom was to spring the Light of the World Mahomet who in Paradise is called Al Batrasim and in Heaven Achmet Caydar was the Onely Son of Ismael who took Part with his Father and follow'd his Example Worshipping One God Creator of the Worlds as he had learn'd by Tradition from Abrahim the Beloved of the Eternal Whereas Nabayath Abdael Thema and the Rest of the Twelve either Ador'd the Sun Moon and Stars or the Elements except Jackour who paid Divine Honours to the Tree Betlemer and Hadal and Massa who sacrific'd Beasts to the Idols Bohinun and Alleze And as our Historians have been thus Particularly exact in Recording the Affairs of the Twelve Sons of Ismael so have they shew'd themselves no less
Wine of Palms mix'd with Aromatick Powders they stuffed it with Myrrh Cassia and many Costly Confections and then sow'd it up After this they purified the Whole Body with Nitre And having drawn out the Brains by the Nostrils with a Hook they fill'd up the Skull with Melted Gums And last of all they swathed up the Whole Body in Silk smearing it over with Rich Mixtures of Bitumen Spices and Gums and so delivered it to the Kindred to be laid up in the Sepulchre These were the Preparations they made to Court the Presence of the Soul by rendring the Body for Ever Sweet and Incorruptible And that the Majesty of Royal Ghosts might never be Interrupted or Violated by the Neighbourhood of Vulgar Spirits or the Ruder Approach of Mortals Kings built these Magnificent Piles as the Palaces of their Last Repose 'T is therefore they were Erected in Desert and Unfrequented Places and in such a Form as was esteemed the most Durable and secure from the Injuries of Time the Assaults of the Elements and from the Common Fate of all Human Enterprises Each Stone of a Prodigious Bulk and rivetted to the next with a Bar of Iron Which with the Strength and Invincible Fastness of the Cement renders it a Thing Impossible for any one of these Pyramids to be demolished tho' all Mankind were set to work for many Successive Generations Al Mamun the Caliph of Babylon attempted to do it but in vain For after he had set his Men at Work and been at Vast Expences they made but one small Breach so Inconsiderable that being made Sensible it would exhaust his Treasures to remove but the Hundredth Part of the Pyramid he desisted full of Wonder at the Wisdom of the Founders If it be true that the Soul may by such Allurements as these be prevailed on to remain with the Body in its Sepulchre and that a Man's Future Happiness consists in this I should my self Admire and Imirate those Egyptian Sages I would in my Life-Time build me a small Mausoleum according to my Ability and order in my Last Will and Testament that my Body be Embalmed and Condited for a Perpetual Duration But if none of these Arts can alter the Decrees of Destiny or force an Immortal Spirit from Ranging where it pleases I must conclude with Pliny That this Celebrated Wisdom of the Egyptians was no other than Glorious Folly and all the Magnificence of their Kings in building such Costly Sepulchres but Royal Waste They themselves in thus cautiously providing to secure the Soul 's Abode with the Body after Death tacitely own'd That by the Course of Nature it would immediately pass into some other Nay the Transmigration of Souls was an Established Doctrine in Egypt How then could they be so blind as to imagine a Dead Carcase however Perfumed and Fenced against Corruption was more inviting than an Embryo formed to live Or that it was more Elegible for the Soul to be Imprisoned in a Dark Dungeon for no better are the Insides of the Pyramids than to enjoy the Light of the Sun Moon and Stars and the Various Sweets of the Elements Brother in my Opinion 't were better to be a Bird a Worm a Fly or any Living Thing than to be thus Immur'd for many Ages and have no other Companion but an Old Salted Mummie Isouf has made some Remarks on the River Nile to which he says Egypt owes not only its Corn and Fruits but also the very Soil which brings 'em forth For every Year at the Time of the Inundation that River brings along with it from Aethiopia or some other Regions through which it passes Abundance of Slime and Mud with which it covers all the Land of Egypt leaving it behind at the Decrease of the Waters So that the Soil of Egypt is borrowed from other Countries And if this be true for ought we know the Place of its Situation may be borrowed from the Sea according to the Opinion of some Ancient Philosophers Herodotus Pliny and others were of this Persuasion grounding their Conjectures on the nearer Approaches of the Continent to the Island Pharos from the Time of Homer who exactly Calculated its Distance And they concluded That the Immense Quantities of Slime which the Nile transports from the Mountainous Regions of Africa might in the Space of Two Myriads of Years have filled up all that Part of the Sea which is now Firm Land and call'd Egypt If this be true it seems to me very strange That the Egyptians should boast of Greater Antiquity than any other Nation in the World tho' their Country it self be the Youngest of all the Regions on Earth an Abortive Spot of Ground hatched by a River in the Depths of the Sea and ever since cherish'd by that River as by a Parent or Nurse which ceases not to convey to it Yearly a Convenient Proportion of Aliment whereby the Country it self grows in Bulk and the Inhabitants are maintained O Admirable Providence of Nature who can penetrate into thy Mysterious Conduct O Egypt abounding in Prodigies and Wonders Where the Land and Water with the other Elements conspire to render thee all over Miraculous Dear Pesteli I am transported when I think of that Region and could relate a Thousand more Passages both out of Isouf's Memoirs and from the Mouths of others who have travelled thither to observe so many Miracles But I believe thy Patience will be sufficiently tir'd with the Length of this Letter Besides my Mother is just come to visit me and desires me to recommend her Unfeigned Affections to thee Be assured also that Mahmut loves thee with the Integrity of a Man and the Tenderness of a Brother And he serves thee in all Things without repining Paris 17th of the 1st Moon of the year 1658. LETTER V. To the Kaimacham THE Venetians are very angry for the Loss of Tenedos and not without Reason For that Island is a delicate Spot of Ground abounding in Rich Wines and other Products of Nature Besides it commands the Avenue of the Shining City the Refuge of Mortals They variously relate the Manner of its being retaken from 'em by the Arms which no Earthly Power is able to resist Endeavouring in all their Rumours to disguise the Truth as much as they can and misrepresent the Bravery of the Ottomans That so the Actions of their own Generals may make the Greater Figure These Nazarenes have a bad Cause and therefore are compelled to make Use of Shifts and Equivocations to support it They are quite degenerated from the Integrity of the Primitive Followers of Jesus In a Word they make good the Character of the Ancient Candiots Of whom a certain Poet says They are thorow-pac'd Lyars Ravenous Beasts and Gluttonous Drones It is believ'd in these Parts That when the Venetians quitted the Island they departed not without Revenge setting Fire to a Mine and blowing up several Hundreds of Mahometans into the Air. However they have for Ever Proscribed and
yet I have been searching and prying into it above these Thirty Years I mean from the Time that I First began to think and consider of Things but am as far to seek as ever I was Neither cou'd all the Wise Men of Old the Philosophers and Sages for ought I perceive agree in their Verdict about this Mysterious Thing which we all the Soul One will have it to be Only the Finest Part of Matter in the Body Another says 'T is the Air which the Lungs suck in and diffuse through all our Members A Third Sort affirm it to be A Mixture of Air and Fire A Fourth Of Earth and Water A Fifth call it A Complexion made up of the Four Elements a Kind of Quintessence and I know not what The Egyptians call'd it A certain Moving Number And the Chaldeans A Power without Form it self yet Imbibing all Forms Aristotle call'd it The Perfection of a Natural Body All these agreed That it was Corporeal and as it were Extracted from Matter The best Definition among them is not worth an Aspre But there were Men of Sublime Speculations who affirm'd the Soul to be A Divine Substance Independent of the Body Of this Opinion were Zoroaster Hermes Trismegistus Orpheus Pythagoras Plutarch Porphyry and Plato This last defin'd the Soul to be A Self-Moving Essence endu'd with Vnderstanding But when they have said all I prefer the Modesty of Cicero Seneca and others who acknowledg'd they were altogether Ignorant what the Soul is There was no less Disagreement among the Philosophers about the Seat of the Soul Hippocrates and Hierophilus plac'd it in the Ventricles of the Brain Democritus assign'd it the Whole Body Strabo was of Opinion it resides between the Brows Epicurus in the Breast The Stoicks lodg'd it in the Heart and Empedocles in the Blood Which last seems to be the most Current Opinion of the East to this Day In Regard both Moses the Lawgiver of the Jews and Mahomet our Holy-Prophet asserted the same and for that Reason forbid Flesh to be eaten with the Blood But be it what it will either Corporeal or Incorporeal a Substance or an Accident whether it dwell in the Head or in the Feet Within or Without the Body there is no Certainty of these Things neither can we be assur'd what will become of it after Death Therefore 't is in vain to disquiet thy self in Search of a Mystery that is hid from Mortals And Equally foolish it will be to frighten thy self with an Imagination of Hooks Gins and such like Chimera's which thou supposest the Devil is busy with to entrap thy Soul 'T is a Wonder thou art not afraid to sleep lest he should catch thee Napping and steal thy Soul from thee I wou'd fain know what Sort of Tools he must use to take hold of a Substance more Thin and Imperceptible than a Shadow or how he will be able to seize and run away with a Being Active and Free as Thought Cousin serve God after the Manner of thy Forefathers love thy Friends pardon thy Enemies be Just to all Men and do no Injury to any Beast If thou observest this Rule thou may'st defy the Devil for thy Soul is in Safe Custody God is nearer to thee than thou art to thy self He is in the Center of Every Thing and is Himself the Centre of All Things In a Word He is All in All. Paris 3d. of the 6th Moon of the Year 1658. LETTER VII To Afis Bassa NOW the Scenes are changed in Europe Enemies are become Friends and those who professed a Mutual Friendship are at open Defiance Constancy is a Vice in the Politicks and a Dextrous Way of shifting from one Engagement to another for Interest is esteemed the only State-Vertue I have already Intimated to the Divan the War which broke out last Year between the Suedes and Danes The latter begun it by Solemn Proclamation sending a Herald at Arms to the Suedish Court and dispatching Embassadors to all his Allies in Christendom to give them an Account of his Proceedings Now I shall entertain thee with a short Idea of this War By which thou wilt comprehend That the Danes are either much degenerated from the Valour of their Ancestors who formerly made the most terrible Figure of all the Nations in the North Or else they are less obliged to Fortune who has not favoured them with so many Successes and Triumphs of late but rather exposed 'em to the Insults of their Enemies and the Contempt of all Men. When the King of Denmark first proclaimed this War he had a fair Advantage of the Suedes who at that Time were sorely entangled between the Polanders Germans and Moscovites and had more Need of Helps than Hind'rances Yet King Gustavus turning Part of his Forces into Holstein Schoneland and Juitland he took one Part after another till he had over-run those Provinces in the Space of Six Moons And reduced the Danes to a Necessity of Composition and that on such Dishonourable Terms as renders them the Scorn of the Neighbouring Nations On the 13th of the 3d. Moon the Two Kings had an Interview near Copenhagen the Capital City of Denmark For so far had the Fortune of the Suedish Arms carried their Victories They Eat and Drank together several Times and Conversed privately some Hours At last a Firm Peace was Concluded between them and they concerted the Measures of a Perfect Friendship But before this the Dane had been forced to yield up Schoneland with Elsimberg which commands Half the Baltick Sea He surrendred also the Provinces of Blakin and Halland with a very strong Castle the Island of Burtholme Ten Ships of War and obliged himself to pay a Million of Dollars and to maintain Four Thousand Horse and Foot in the King of Suedeland's Service and give Free Quarter to all the Suedish Forces till the 5th Moon These are such Dishonourable Articles that the King of Denmark has quite lost himself in the Esteem of all his Allies They call him a Poor-Spirited Prince not Worthy of Support or Assistance In a Word Serene Bassa it is like to fare with him as with other Unfortunate Men who when they are once falling every Body will help to throw them down Therefore conserve thy Honours as the only Bulwark of thy Interest and Life Paris 3d. of the 6th Moon of the Year 1658. LETTER VIII To the Mufti BY the Faith of a True Believer I swear the Christians are Enemies to themselves if they do not embrace the Project of a certain Jesuite They are no Friends to their Messias if they reject so Regular an Idea so Reformed a Model of the Nazarene Empire as this Sage has lately proposed to the Pope and the Cardinals He lays his Foundation very deep and draws his Examples from the Practice of Peter the Prince of the First Twelve Christian Caliphs whom the Franks call the Apostles of Jesus the Son of Mary For according to their Traditions the Messias before
Merit or Bravery to boast of save his former Services in Catalonia which have been sufficiently repay'd with Royal Condescensions and Favours And those who make a Parallel between his Case and that of the Mareschal de la Ferte Seneterre consider not that the last fell into his Enemies Hands only by the Chance of War Whereas the other is a Wilful Apostate if he embraces the Emperour's Proposals when no Necessity constrains him and Honour flies in his Face From the North we are informed That Count Coningsmark Generalissimo of the Suedish Forces in Prussia as he was sailing from Wismar was taken Captive by the Poles and Imprison'd in the Castle of Weyssel-munden near Dantzick And the Inhabitants of that City miss'd very narrowly of taking the Queen of Sueden herself 'T is certain they have got a vast Booty from the Suedes consisting of Eighteen Chests full of Gold with Coffers of the King's Jewels and other Rich Things These King Casimer demands for himself with a Million of Rix-Dollars to be paid him by the Dantzickers requiring also that they should furnish his Army with all sorts of Ammunition and Provisions Which tho' it be a heavy Burden yet those loyal Citizens think Nothing too much for their King The Moscovites in the 9th Moon besieg'd Riga a City belonging to the Crown of Sueden but have newly rais'd the Siege after they had lost above Ten Thousand Men before the Place This is all the News I can send thee save that the French have taken Valentia a City in Italy I wish I may hear as prosperous Intelligence as this last from Candia after such Immense Charges and Slaughter But Victory is in the Disposal of the Angel of Time Paris 2d of the 12th Moon of the Year 1656. LETTER VIII To Hebatolla Mir Argun Superior of the Covent of Dervishes at Cogni in Natolia IT is difficult to define the particular Temper of my Soul when I first receiv'd the News of thy Predecessor's Death that Renown'd and Venerable Bedredin who as thy Dispatch informs me is gone to Paradise I was neither in Passion nor yet Insensible but wholly Resign'd to the Will of Heaven I consider'd his Immense Vertues and the Course of Nature His Wonderful Age and more Admirable Actions a Life Equally measur'd by Hours and Prodigies of Piety For he was not in the Number of those who let whole Days pass away without the least Good Work or without leaving any Impress on the Track of Time I express my self according to the Vulgar Saying Time Passes away Whereas in my Opinion Time stands still and only We pass away with all Things subject to Motion and Change 'T is like the Mistake of those who sailing on the Water think the Trees and Mountains move whilst only they themselves are driven before the Wind Or like the Philosophy of those who trusting to their Grosser Sence maintain the Sun whirls daily round our World tho' according to Reason and better Philosophy that Globe of Light stands still whilst ours turns round its Axel-Tree and so deceives our Eyes Thus whilst we Mortals glide o'er the uncertain Waves of Humane Life and pass by the Visible and Fixed Land-marks of Time Day and Night we imagine those Land-marks move and not we our selves Whereas Day and Night remain for Ever stedfast and invariable in their Successive Intervals and only the Elements and Bodies Compounded of 'em are subject to Change Minutes Hours Days and Years are not properly the Measures of Time but of the Motion and Duration of all Corruptible Beings For Time is Infinite and beyond all Dimensions In a Word 'T is no otherwise distinguish'd from Eternity than barely by a Name All that I have said on this Subject is comprehended in the Arabian Proverb which says To Morrow is Never Doubtless there 's no Paradox or Heresy in saying 'T is always To Day or that this Hour this Minute is Eternal And from this Truth sprung the Contemplation of those who place Eternity in a Point or Instant But to return to Bedredin that Faithful of the Faithful may his Soul repose in the Mercies of God and his Memory be bless'd May Gabriel the Friend of the Prophet pray for him then Michael Israphiel and the Messenger of Death with all the Angels who made Oraisons for the Divine Favourite after his Translation from this Earthly State And when thou and the Religious Fraternity under thy Care have perform'd the accustom'd Prayers and Expiations for the Illustrious Prelate Deceas'd there is no Question but that he shall be in a Condition to Intercede for you and for the whole Mussulman Empire For he was a perfect Saint and the Beloved of God O Sage and Reverend Successor of that Holy Man suffer me to tell thee Thy Name Hebatolla the Gift of God fills me with Glorious Presages of thy Life and Administration in that Renowned College where the Incomparable Bedredin shin'd so many Years Now he is gone to God and to the Gardens of Eternal Retirement having left his Seat on Earth to thee replenish'd with the Sacred Odour of Vertue He was a Religious Imitator of the Prophets and of all Holy Men in General a devout Admirer of the Messias and a Faithful Disciple of the Sent of God Now he is gone to sit down with them in the Chioscs of Eden on the Banks of Immortal Streams the Rivers of Wine Milk and Honey which glide along the Alleys of Paradise This is the Recompence of Heroick Vertue the Crown of Good Works the Bliss prepar'd for chaste and purify'd Souls who in their Transmigration from this Earth carry no Stains of Vice along with ' em For nothing Impure can find Admittance into that World of Glittering Essences O Hebatolla what is there on this Obscure Globe that deserves to be compar'd with those Serener Joys Above Those unsullied Pleasures That untarnish'd Bliss And yet sometimes we taste strange Felicities here on Earth But 't is only when the Gates and Casements of Paradise are open when a Celestial Wind transports hither the Leaves of the Trees of Eden and perfumes the Air and Skies with the Transcendent Odours of that Happy Region wafting also Imperfect Sounds Musick in soft Fragments and Eccho's from the Quires of the Bless'd Then 't is the Hearts of Mortals feel a secret and inexpressible Joy springing up from the Root This Lower World if I may so express my self is all entranc'd with Pleasure This happens not every Day but only at the Seasons of Divine Indulgence on the Festivals of some Particular Saints and in the Time of the Immortal Jubilee when God exhilarates the Universe with Uncommon Favours and an Infinite Largess As for the Rest of our Enjoyments they are Mitigations indeed of the Pains and Inseparable Miseries of this Mortal Life They prevail on us to wait the Appointed Hour of Fate and not hurry our selves out of the World before our Time But they deserve not to be plac'd in the
come out of England that pretend to be Prophets foretelling the Downfal of the Pope whom they call Anti-Christ a Beast a Dragon and I know not how many other Titles One of them is gone to Rome to tell the Holy Father to his Face what is like to befall him The French Court looks upon them as Mad Men and no Body can esteem them better if they go to Rome where they will Infallibly fall into the Hands of the Inquisition which thou know'st is a Hell upon Earth Thy Brother Adonai felt the Smart of it only for Two or Three Words utter'd in Contempt of their Religion And tho' he was not Condemn'd to Death yet he suffer'd a tedious Imprisonment till at Length the Plague releas'd him both from that and the Chains of this Mortal Life Nathan if he had dy'd by the Stroke of the Executioner or by Fire the Common Death of those who rail at the Roman Faith I cou'd not pronounce him a Martyr unless it were to his own Folly and Rashness since he was not plac'd there to make Proselytes either to the Law of Moses or Mahomet but to penetrate into the Secret Transactions of the Followers of Jesus Thy Business is the same at Vienna pursue that with Alacrity and God shall protect thee from all Adversity Paris 9th of the 7th Moon of the Year 1657. LETTER XVIII To Melec Amet. I Welcome thy Return to the Earth again For it appears by thy Letter that thou hast been in the Other World 'T were to be wish'd thou woud'st favour the Living with a Journal of thy Travels and Observations among the Dead Those Regions of Silence wou'd afford Matter of Noise enough to Mortals that are always greedy of Foreign News Perhaps if thou wou'dst communicate the Remarks thou hast made during that Ramble of thy Soul we might find out some Method of Correspondence between Our World and that Invisible State We might contrive a Way to send Dispatches to our Friends and to receive their Answers again Or at least we might make some Useful Discoveries in that Empire of Shadows But tell me seriously dost thou think that it was any more than a Trance or Dream that has happen'd to thee Such as frequently falls out in Melancholy Constitutions I once inform'd Cara Hali the Physician of such an Accident as this not far from Paris It was of a Man that had lain Five and Thirty Hours as Dead in all Humane Apperance and so given over by the Physicians Yet after that Period he recover'd his Sences again and told strange Things to those that were about him Surely these are but the Slumbers of the Soul and Death it self is but a deeper Sleep when it causes the Dissolution of the Body Doubtless Men awake again in some other Active State For as a Flame of Fire is Equally dispos'd to embody it self in the Fat of Flesh or Fish in Oyl Wax Sulphur or any Proper Vehicle and as soon as it is extinguish'd in One will readily translate it self successively to all the Rest if they be within the Sphere of its Activity as the Western Philosophers speak So is the Spirit or Flame of Life always in a Posture of Transmigration For ought we know he that is a King This Hour may be a Peacock the Next and within a Few Days be serv'd up at his Succesor's Table as a Royal Dish But not to insist too much on these Secrets I will relate to thee a Passage not unlike that thou hast Experienc'd It is Recorded in the Writings of an Authentick Pen the Manuscript of an Ancient Arabian That Al' Rashid Emperour of the Faithful had many Famous Physicians about him Among the Rest he highly esteem'd Salch Eb'n Nahali an Indian for recovering one his near Kinsmen out of such a Condition as I suppose thou hast been in That Kinsman was very dear to the Emperor who was sitting at a Feast when News was brought him that he was dead The Emperour extremely troubl'd to hear this burst forth into Tears and caus'd the Table to be taken away Then Jaafer Eb'n Yahya one of his Confidents immediately desir'd that Saleh the Indian Physician might visit the Corps of his dead Relation Who went accordingly and having felt his Pulse and consider'd him well he return'd to the Emperour and said Cease to mourn my Lord Commander of the Faithful For if this Man be dead and I do not restore him to Life again may I be divorc'd from all my Wives for Ever He had scarce made an End of saying this when a Second Dispatch came to the Emperour from those who were about his Kinsman assuring him That he was really departed this Life Then Al' Rashid began to Curse the Indians and their Ignorance But Saleh persisted in his Assertion crying out with some Vehemence Be not Incredulous O Emperour of the Faithful nor suffer thy Kinsman to be buried till I have been with him again For assuredly he is not dead I will shew you something that is Admirable Al Rashid pacify'd with these Words took Saleh along with him to visit the suppos'd dead Person As soon as they came into his Chamber the Indian took a Needle and thrust it between the Nail and the Flesh of his Left Thumb Then the Entranc'd snatch'd up his Hand toward his Mouth At which Saleh cry'd out Now my Lord comfort your self for dead Men use not to be sensible of Pain After this he blew up a Powder into his Nose Upon which in a few Minutes the Patient sneez'd and sitting upright in his Bed spoke to Al' Rashid kissing also his Hand The Emperour asking him How he found himself He reply'd Benefactor of Mankind I have been in the sweetest Sleep that ever I remember fell on me in my Life Only I dream'd that a Dog came and bit me by my Left Thumb the Pain of which wak'd me With that he shew'd him the Mark of the Needle and the Blood Adding Surely it was no Dream but a Truth for I feel it yet The Emperour was extremely pleas'd with his Indian Physician and did him great Honour His Kinsman also whose Name was Ibrahim liv'd many Years after this and was made Governour of Egypt where he dy'd and was bury'd The Eastern Physicians have been Famous in all Ages and are now much in Esteem among the Franks who addict themselves to study the Sciences Here are some very Learned Physicians in these Parts and not a few Ignorant ones who serve as Foils to set off the Lustre and Fame of the others Every Province and City in France swarms with 'em And they all find Employment either to Kill or Cure The Nazarenes live very Intemperately and fall into Abundance of Diseases whereof the East is wholly Ignorant Therefore it is Necessary for 'em to be well stock'd with Physicians Yet 't was Satyrically observ'd by a certain French Lord That in a Town not far from his Palace the Inhabitants were all healthy long-liv'd Men
the Common Vices of a Soldiers Life and make thee as Renowned as Cassim Hali who was present in 25 pitch'd Battels receiv'd 48 Wounds and yet lived to the 63d Year of his Age. Paris 27th of the 12th Moon of the Year 1657. The End of the Third Book LETTERS Writ by A Spy at PARIS VOL. V. BOOK IV. LETTER I. To Cara Hali Physician to the Grand Signior MOST of my Letters to the Grandees of the Port carry News of Wars Sieges and Battles among the Christians Now I 'll tell thee who art my Friend I 'm at War with my self One Potent Passion takes the Field against another Opposite Armies of Affections are Embattel'd in my Breast My Heart is block'd up Here lies Interest Entrenched There Honour displays its Standard One Minute Nature and Self-Preservation make a Sally the next they are beat back by Generosity and Love The Worst of it is that these Contrary Factions in the Soul are so blended together by a secret Correspondence that it is almost Impossible to discern which is which Would'st thou know what the Meaning of this is I 'll tell thee in Brief I 'm in a Controversy with my self whether I 'd best to die or live Wonder not at the Expression as if 't were in any Man's Power to make this Choice since according to the Mussulman Faith we cannot hasten or retard the Moments decree'd by Fate Assuredly Predestination does not in the least interfere with what is called Man's Free Will Every the most Voluntary Action of our Lives complys as exactly with the Appointment of Eternal Destiny as the Accidental Fall of a Tyle from a House or the more Regular and Constant Descent of Rain Snow and Hail from the Clouds And for ought I know we may as Properly call it the Free-Will of a River to run toward the Sea as for a Man to pursue the Various Currents of his own Reason or Appetite For so a Fountain frequently divides it self into many Streams before it falls into the Ocean which is its Center And Man himself notwithstanding the boasted Freedom of his Will is as much confin'd to act according to his Principles Prepossessions Prejudices Passions and Habits as the different Rivulets issuing from the same Spring are restrained each within the Banks of its Proper Channel But not to entertain thee with more Allegories both thou and I and all Men find our selves Violently carry'd away by certain Inclinations so forcible as no Power of our Will is able to resist Sometimes our Love Hate Joy Grief and so the Rest of Human Passions are as Involuntary as the Motions of our Pulse And tho' in the most Important Actions of our Lives we Generally form some Regular Design as their Scope and Center Yet we do many Things without Reflection as Musicians are said sometimes to play Excellent Tunes without so much as regarding or thinking what they are about By all which it is Evident that our Will has little to do in the Conduct of our Lives We like all other Creatures act according to certain Secret Impulses of Nature The very same Faculty which we call Instinct in the Beasts is no other than what we term Reason Wisdom Knowledge Discretion and Forecast in our selves And I think 't is no Solecism to say That that was a Prudent Dog who perceiving his Master making ready a Rope to hang him slily slipt away and never came near him more Suffer me to make yet a farther Digression and ascribe it to Fate For I 'm on a sudden strangely Interrupted in my Thoughts by a most Furious Tempest A Medley of Hail Rain Lightning and Thunder And this last tho' not over-noisy and loud yet it was the most singularly terrifying that ever I heard in my Life There is a Sort of Thunder which they call the Drum because it approaches near the Sound of that Warlike Instrument making a Lively Fierce Rumbling in the Air like the Beat of an Alarm There is another more surprizing like the Roaring of Cannons But this had a Touch in it of the most Harsh Affrighting and Irregular Noises that ever shook the Welkin I was possessed with a deep Melancholy as soon as I heard the Horrid Clatter begin and saw the Air darken apace with a more than Ordinary Gloominess Then I felt some Religious Passions struggling with my Reason I was full of Fears lest God was Angry with me for my Counterfeited Life among the Christians And imagined no less than that this Tempest was raised on Purpose to destroy me and make me an Example to all Mussulmans who dare deny the Holy Prophet to serve the Interest of the Grand Signior as much a Mortal as themselves Or at least I concluded I should taste my Share of the Wrath of Heaven at this Cholerick Juncture Nay and all the Philosophy I could muster together served but to raise my dismal Expectations of the Fatal Blast For I could not avoid thinking That a Wicked Man is a Magnet which Naturally attracts the Vengeance of Heaven And that I being such in the Highest Degree could not fail of having my Soul scorched up at Once to Nothing or Metamorphosed to a Fury which is Worse by some Surprizing and Inevitable Flash For to pass from this Life by Light'ning Poyson or an Earthquake are the only Deaths I fear I fell on my Knees and Face addressing my self to God with the most Humble and Fervent Devotion I was Capable of I made my Application also to his Prophets I said and did all that I thought would procure a Respite of the Punishment I fear'd At length being tyred and sick of too much Prayer I rose and sate down chearfully remembring I was a Mussulman and resigned to the Will of Destiny Considering also that I was an Arabian of a Noble Stock I resolv'd if I must die to prepare my self with a Moderation worthy of my Blood that so I might go to the Invisibles like the Grand-Son of an Emir Perhaps thou wilt impute this to Vanity But I esteem it a Point of Justice for a Man to take Care that he may live and die like himself without degenerating from the Virtue of his Ancestors or bringing a Disgrace on the Tribe to which he belongs For tho' God has Created all Men of the same Mould yet he has distinguish'd One Family from Another by more than Specifick Characters Imprinted on them in their Nativity And has Ennobled some Mortals with Peculiar Qualities and Innate Perfections which Others are wholly Strangers to So there are Others Remarkable for Hereditary Vices Whether these Things depend on the Blood or on the Different Circumstances of Souls before they came into these Bodies is a Question not soon resolv'd But this I'm sure of That I find in my self both some Virtues and Vices which I could never yet discover so Odly blended together in any other Mortal I 'm always Campagning on the Frontiers of Good and Evil. Yet my Passions are not
his Predecessor And the same I must say to thee Darnish Mehemet Bassa is fall'n a Victim to the Rage of the Multitude and thou hast got his Seat on the Bench. May'st thou enjoy it long and never be Mob'd out of thy Honour and Life as he was Some Years ago he forbad me to write any more to him What his Reason was I know not neither did I ever enquire However I obey'd his Injunction being Indifferent to whom I send my Intelligence provided I do the Grand Signior any Service For to that End am I plac'd here Illustrious Bassa I shall now acquaint thee with Two the most Principal Points of News stirring in Europe One is the Election of Leopoldus Ignatius Josephus King of Hungary and Bohemia to the German Empire They have been canvasing this Business Eleven Moons And at last the Austrian Faction carried it This was done on the 8th of the 7th Moon And he was solemnly Crown'd on the 22d of the same This has height'ned the Quarrel between the Duke of Bavaria and the Prince Palatine The Latter was so far transported with Passion at the Diet of Frankford that he threw a Standish of Ink at the Bavarian Embassador Which is resented as an Unpardonable Affront And the Duke is marching with an Army to revenge it or demand Satisfaction The Elector of Mentz has deny'd him Passage through his Principality And they are all like to be embroil'd in a Civil War about it This is no bad News for the Mussulmans But that which makes yet a greater Noise is the Death of Oliver the Protector of the English Commonwealth who whilst Living was the Terror of all Europe The Superstitious and such as regard Signs say This was presag'd Three Moons ago when a Great Whale Nine Times as long as a tall Man was taken in a River of England near the Capital City Forty Miles from the Sea I know not whether these Kind of Observations are worthy of Credit Yet it seems the Annals of that Nation take Notice That the Unusual Appearance of a Whale so far within Land has always Prognosticated some Mighty Change Perhaps the Fate of Illustrious Personages affects Nature with a more than ordinary Passion puts the Elements into a Disorder and Inspires the Brutes with Sympathy We are assur'd that on the Day of this Prince's Death and at the very Hour of his Departure there was so Violent a Tempest of Wind Rain Hail Thunder and Lightning as had never been known by any Man then alive in that Nation Which some Interpreted to his Dishonour as if he were a Magician or at least a very Wicked Man And that this Hurricane was rais'd by the Devils who transported his Soul to Hell Whilst others affirm'd this Mix'd Storm to be only the Sighs and Tears of Nature the Mournful Passions of the Guardian Spirits of England for the Loss of so Great and Fortunate a Hero And that the very Inanimate Beings Condol'd his Death As for me I look on all these Things as pure Accidents the Effects of Chance I have an Equal Opinion of another Circumstance much observ'd both by his Enemies and Friends That he died on the same Day whereon he had formerly gain'd some Notable Victories The One descanting on this to his Reproach the Other drawing from it Arguments of Honour 'T is difficult to say any Thing of him without appearing Partial He had Great Vertues and no Less Vices He was a Valiant General and wise Statesman Yet a Traytor to his Sovereign As for Religion though he profess'd himself a Zealot yet 't is thought he was as Indifferent as other Princes who for Reasons of State and to please their People make a Shew of Piety but in their Hearts Adore no other Gods but Fortune and Victory He was esteem'd one of the Greatest Politicians of this Age and none cou'd match him but Mazarini Yet I cannot but smile when I call to Mind how both these Eminent Statesmen were cheated this Year by Two or Three Fugitives A certain French Captain nam'd Gentilot that had serv'd under the States of Holland in the Wars and on that Account had often pass'd through the Sea-Towns in Flanders observ'd a Weakness in one Part of the Walls of Ostend by which the Town mighty easily be surpriz'd At his Return to Paris he acquainted Cardinal Mazarini with this and gave him so great Encouragement that the Cardinal resolv'd to try some Stratagem in Order to gain that Important Place without the Cost and Hazards of a Formal Siege To this End he commands Gentilot to seek out some Persons fit to be engag'd in the Plot Men of Resolution Conduct and Secrecy This Captain therefore knowing Two or Three Fugitives in Paris who were forc'd to fly out of Flanders to save their Lives having committed Murders and other Crimes against the Spanish Government breaks the Business to them promising Mountains of Gold if they wou'd assist in carrying it on They seem'd to embrace his Proposals with Abundance of Readiness and were introduc'd into the Cardinal's Cabinet Where that Minister being satisfy'd in their Characters and the Offers they made to serve him in this Affair seconded the Promises which Gentilot had made 'em with many Additional Encouragements In a Word they consulted together frequently were late every Night in the Cardinal's Lodgings And at last having adjusted all the Necessary Measures that were to be taken the Fugitives were dispatch'd away into England with Letters from Mazarini to Oliver the English Protector Wherein he acquainted him with the Design requiring the Assistance of some English Ships to transport Men into the Haven of Ostend These Agents went accordingly but with a Resolution to put a Trick both on the Cardinal and the Protector and by doing their Country so Considerable a Service as the saving this Town to merit a Repeal of the Sentence pronounc'd against 'em that so they might return Home in Peace and enjoy their Estates and Native Liberty Oliver receiv'd 'em very kindly and embrac'd the Motion with some Warmth But upon Second Thoughts try'd to out-bribe Mazarini and hire these Persons for himself Ostend was too sweet-a Bait in his Eye to let it so tamely fall into the Hands of the French for Want of a few larger Promises and Offers of Gold Wherefore he ply'd these Agents briskly with all the Effectual Oratory he could to win 'em over to his own Separate Interest engaging to bestow Great Preferments on 'em in England with Two Hundred Thousand Sequins as soon as the Business was accomplished The Three Flemings desired no better Sport than thus to cajole Two the Ablest Statesmen in Europe They possessed Oliver with an Entire Belief of their Zeal and Fidelity in his Service And it was agree'd on between 'em To hold Mazarini in Play and that Oliver should send him an Answer refusing to meddle in an Intrigue which seemed to carry so little Probability of Success From England these Agents passed over
Traytors Yet Nothing more common in France and other Countries of Europe than for Men to wear on their Heads Ornaments of Womens Hair instead of their own As to Religion I believe they will not much trouble him being no Zealots themselves And provided he does but profess himself a Christian and a Catholick they 'll make no farther Inquisition The Italians in General are much like the Ancient Romans in their Humour Men of grave Aspects and Carriage and much more compos'd in both than the French who appear Ridiculous through the Levity of their Discourse and Actions The Former abound in Sage Precepts of Morality and Politick Aphorisms which serve as a Rule whereby to square the Course of their Lives The Latter only affect some flashy Improvements of Wit and Conversation studying rather how to please Women than Men coveting to be perfect in External Accomplishments and the Graces of the Body whilst they slight the more valuable Endowments of the Mind In a Word they are mere Apes and Mimicks On the Contrary the Italians are Men of an Awful and Majestick Behaviour solid Judgment and deep Reach If you see them smile you shall seldom or never hear 'em laugh Whereas the Motion of a Feather will set the French a-Braying like Asses These will contract a Warm Friendship with any Man at first Interview heighten it with a Thousand Compliments make him their Confessor and unbosom all their Secrets Yet a Second Encounter shall extinguish this Passion and a Third shall revive it again Whereas those are cautious and flow in the choice of their Friends and when once that Knot is dissolv'd 't is never to be fasten'd there again They are Irreconcilable in their Hatred and Revenge But there are Men to be excepted in Both Nations who fall not under these General Characters France affords many Wise and Learned Persons and Italy not a few Fools and Ideots Vertues and Vices are strangely mix'd in all People War Commerce and Travel with other Humane Occurrences alter Men's Natural Dispositions and give the Lye to the Exactest Observations that can be made Besides Time changes all Things And the Qualities which this Age remarks in the Italians may in the next be transferr'd to the French For there is no Constancy in any Thing under the Moon Zeidi will find great Examples of Frugality among the Venetians in the necessary Expences of their Persons and Families Yet Abundance of Magnificence in whatever relates to the Publick which the Subjects of that Commonwealth serve with open Purses and free Hearts Indeed they are not so Remarkable for their Temperance as some other Parts of Italy Libertinism and Voluptuousness reign uncontroul'd in Venice Women and Wine are there almost as Common as the Elements Yet 't is observ'd that Strangers generally debauch more with Both than the Natives God preserve Zeidi from their Temptations If it be his Fortune or Duty to visit Padua he ought not to make too long an Abode in that Nest of Philosophers and Physicians lest they first Anatomize his Soul and discover the Secrets of his Commission and then turn his Body to a Skeleton as they once serv'd a Moor whom they dissected Alive to make Experiment perhaps whether a Mahometan's Blood Circulated the same Way as a Christians Those Italian Physicians are very Cruel and think it no Sin to try Poisons and other Fatal Tricks on the Poor that so they may be the better able to keep the Rich on the Rack at their Pleasure and make their Market on ' em I know not Zeidi's appointed Station or what Cities he is to see But where-ever he goes 't will be Necessary for him to use Abundance of Caution for the Italians are the closest slyest and most Judicious People in the World But I forget that he is chosen by the Divan for this Employment to whom the Characters of all Nations are known and who penetrate into the most Interiour Recesses of Men's Spirits Therefore I lay my Hand upon my Mouth in profound Submission and acquiesce to my Superiors Still praying That the Grand Signior may have Faithful and Wise Ministers at Home and no Novices for his Agents Abroad Paris 3d. of the 2d Moon of the Year 1659. LETTER XVI To William Vospel a Recluse of Austria THere is a Street in Paris which they call the Street of Hell The Reason of this Name is said to be because at one End of it there formerly stood an Old House possess'd by Devils who were so troublesome that as the Records of Paris affirm an Edict of Parliament was pass'd to remove all the Inhabitants out of their Houses in that Street and shut up the Entrance with a Wall Since which these Daemons were expell'd by the Carthusians who built a Monastery in the Place If this Story be true it redounds much to the Reputation of that Order and of all you Monasticks in General who by your Exercisons are able to subdue the Infernal Spirit But I have heard so many silly Tales of Houses being haunted by Ghosts and Hobgoblins that I know not how to give Credit to this Besides when I consider the Nature of Incorporeal Beings it seems Rediculous to think that they can take Delight to play the Antiques to frighten poor Mortals Or confine themselves to an Old Ruin'd Castle for such was this House for the Sake of a Little Sport When according to the Ancient Philosophers every Incorporeal Being is far more Excellent than the most Perfect Body and can be Every Where Neither are they at any Time Locally Present in Bodies but only by a Propension or Habit are inclin'd to them And this they mean of Living Bodies What Charm then can there be in an Old Rotten Fabrick of Stone and Wood to allure and detain Immaterial Substances Certainly the Nature of these Separate Essences is very Remote from all Compounded Beings I have been often at a Loss in Contemplating the Soul of Man Sometimes it seems no otherwise distinguish'd from the Souls of Brutes than by being United to a Body of Different Organs Which causes us to shew more Evident Tokens of Reason than they in the Faculty of Discourse and in our Actions Yet when I consider more attentively the Operations of our Mind and Intellect I cannot but conclude There is a vast Distinction between our Souls and those of the Beasts I have with Pleasure observ'd the Excellency of Humane Intellect in Madmen and Dreamers who being come to themselves as we usually say relate many Things of which they were before Ignorant and comprehend Things surpassing their Former Imaginations It appears therefore more Rational to me That the Soul is Every-Where and No-Where as the Ancients say Than that it is shut up and Imprison'd in the Body as a Wild Beast in his Den or Liquor in a Glass However by an Ineffable Production of it self it is Present in Every Part of the Body as the Light of the Sun is diffus'd through the Air and
put some Stop to the design'd Election Besides they cannot agree among themselves about a Successor The Queen Christina of Sueden is come back again into this Kingdom being frighted out of Italy a Second Time by the Return of the Plague There is a War commenc'd between the City of Munster and the Bishop of that Place So that he has laid a Formal Siege to it and presses them very close All this is of no such Importance as the News that I receive from Constantinople which assures me that the Mussulmans have retaken the Isles of Tenedos and Lemnos tho' with some Loss of Men. I wish they cou'd as easily drive the Venetians out of the Archipelago and then the Imperial City would have no longer Reason to complain for Want of Bread Paris 10th of the 9th Moon of the Year 1657. LETTER XXII To Dgnet Oglou I Know not what 's the Matter but most of my Friends are of late grown strange to me They write but seldom and then their Letters are full of Reserves as if they suspected my Integrity Or that because I am Commanded to inform the Divan of all Criminal Practices therefore they are afraid to communicate their Sentiments with the same Freedom as formerly tho' on Themes no Ways belonging to the State but purely Speculative and the Common Discourse of all Sensible Men. Are you become more Morose and Rigid at Constantinople than you were Twenty Years ago In those Days I remember it was Common in the Publick Coffee-Hans for Mussulmans Greeks Curds and Franks or Men of any other Religion to meet together and vent their Thoughts with Liberty No Man being willing to be Stigmatiz'd with the Character of a Clown for taking Offence at another's Faith tho' different from his own It was then esteem'd a Point of Gallantry to favour the Christians of all Sects and let 'em talk and act as they pleas'd provided they Blasphem'd not God or his Prophets And they themselves wou'd have Condemn'd any of their own Party who shou'd have been Guilty of such an Immorality and Affront to the Established Religion of the Mussulmans and the General Sence of Mankind But why then is the same Liberty retrenched now and that among Mussulmans who are Intimate Friends Is it not now as Lawful for us to converse with one another by Letter or any other Way as it was then to enter into Dialogues with Infidels I would not encourage or imitate the Bold and Prophane Efforts of their Wit who deny the Being of a God or utter Blasphemies against his Messenger The whole Vniverse is an Irrefragable Testimony of an Eternal and Omnipotent Nature And the Alcoran is an Evident Proof of the Sanctity and Indispensible Commission of Our Holy Lawgiver But I hope 't is no Crime to enter into Speculations of Things liable to Controversy At least I will venture to disclose to thee my Thoughts who art the most Agreeable of all my Friends I tell thee my dear Gnet it appears to me Ridiculous and like the Quarrels of Children for Moselmans to wrangle about mere Trifles in Religion and that the Resign'd to God shou'd be Zealous for the Whimsies of Men. One Party believes the Alcoran is Eternal Another says 't is Created In my Opinion they are both Absurd Assertions The First because then it will follow That there are more Eternals than One which is a fair Step to Polytheism and Idolatry The Second is only an Impropriety of Speech For we do not usually say of any Writing That it is Created but Pen'd I can easily believe the Manifold Descents of Gabriel from Heaven when he brought down the Hundred and Four Sheets of Science and Faith But whether Adam had only Ten of these Sheets or One and Twenty as some say Or whether his Son Seth had but Twenty Nine of them or Fifty according to Others is not Material according to my Faith It is Possible Edris had no more nor less than Thirty and Abrahim our Father just Ten of these Divine Manuscripts Of this we are sure That the Volume of the Law was sent to Moses the Psalms to David the Gospel to Jesus the Son of Mary and the Mighty Alcoran to Mahomet the Seal of the Prophets It is as easy for me to believe the Celestial Pen with which all these Manuscripts were written to be of some Admirable Substance But why it shou'd be made of Pearls rather than of Diamonds or any other Jewels I see no Reason Or that it shou'd be a Journey of Fifty Years for the Swifrest Horse in Arabia to run from one End of it to the other Yet if I have not Faith enough for these Things I will not be Angry with those that have Let every Man enjoy his Phancy But I cannot be so Indifferent when I hear Men tell me That God has a Body like Ours with Eyes Ears Nose Hands Tongue and all other Members and Organs of Life Sence Speech and Morion That he is subject to Passions of Love Hatred Anger Grief and all the Affections that are Common to Mortals Yet thou knowest there is a Sect of Mussulmans who believe all this and preach it to others with great Assurance What is this but to set up an Idol in the Place of God For the Original of all Idolatry was the Vain Presumption of Men who represented the Incomprehensible Divinity under some Common Visible Figure of Men or Beasts If we must assign a Body to God it wou'd seem more Rational to adhere to their Opinion among the Sephatim who say his Body is Infinite Vncircumscrib'd and beyond all Form Neither is it of any Import that the Western Philosophers assert It is of the Essence of all Bodies to be Circumscrib'd and Finite Since though this may be readily granted true of Particular Bodies yet must it ever be deny d of the Immense and Vniversal Body out of which the World is Form'd Unless they will allow an Unlimited and Interminate Unbody'd Space which is more Unintelligible and Absurd Doubtless if the Eternal Mind has a Body 't is Expanded Wide as the Endless Aether and Equally Present in all Places Neither can this Body be any more Circumscrib'd Confin'd or shut up in any Place than the Light of the Sun can be Restrain'd within a Room or Separated from its Source by the drawing of a Curtain For all the World is Pervious to this Infinite Body which is altogether Indivisible into Parts even as that which we call a Spirit In a Word we must conceive it to be simple and uncompounded the Finest and First Matter of the Vniverse But if thou wilt have my Opinion all this is Infinitely too low and narrow an Idea of that Eternal and most Exalted Essence that Intellectual Beauty which no Mortal Eye has seen no Tongue or Pen can describe the smallest Glimpse of whose Ineffable Majesty falling on the Thoughts of Holy Men and Prophets snatches away their Souls in Sacred Passions and Divine Exstasies
whilst their Bodies are in the Custody of the Angel of Death At such Times they are carry'd up through the Seven Heavens beholding all their Wonders and the Purple Sea which divides the First Heaven from the Second They pass by the Orbs where Fire Hail Snow and Thunder are prepar'd and kept as in Reservatories against the Day of Calamity being guarded by the Spirits of Vengeance who are Created to punish Infidels Then they Ascend to the Fourth Heaven where dwell Innumerable Armies of Holy Ones Next to the Fifth where are the Angels of Intercession Then to the Sixth which is the Residence of Archangels the Internuncio's or Messengers of the Eternal Majesty And last of all they are Introduc'd into the Presence of the most Sublime Potentates and Principalities who wait before the Recess of the Creator in the Heavens above all Heavens whose Height transcends the Power of Created Intellects to measure O Dgnet when I have said all I can 't is nothing to the Purpose For no Words nor Thoughts can reach that Infinite above all Infinity Nothing but Pure Unbodyed Minds can have Access to the Skirts and Eorders of that Endless Region of Light Therefore let us not stretch our Vain Imaginations nor greedily pry into those Secrets which for ever fly from Humane Thought But keeping our selves within the Bounds of Reason and Sobriety let us Adore God and believe his Prophet Obey the Law of Cleanness and Purity without Injuring Man or Beast And that 's the Way if there be any to ascend to the Vision and Enjoyment of that Happiness which at Present is hid from us Paris 5th of the 11th Moon of the Year 1657. LETTER XXIII To the Aga of the Janizaries I Receiv'd the Dispatch coming from Valorous Hands an Express perfum'd with Narcissus full of Honourable Words and exhibiting a Command worthy of an Ottoman General May the Angel of Fortitude conduct thee in all thy Expeditions against Infidels Rebels and Hereticks Thy Conceptions of the Present State of Europe are very proper and lively Yet in some Things 't is possible thou hast been misinform'd The Affairs of Italy are Inconsiderable when compar'd with the more Important Wars of the North. That Quarter is at present the Theatre of the most Remarkable Actions Yet the Campagnes in Flanders this Year have made some Noise in the World But all the Discourse at present is of the Famous Siege and taking of Fredericks-Ode by the Suedes This is a Fortress belonging to the King of Denmark and esteem'd one of the strongest in Europe Yet it was taken by Storm Wherein the Danes lost Ninety Three Principal Officers and about Three Thousand Common Soldiers Thirty Three Colours Seventy Seven Great Guns of Iron and Brass Three Hundred and Eighty Two Barrels of Powder Forty Thousand Musquet-Bullets Six Hundred Granado's Three Thousand Pikes and Two Thousand Two Hundred Suits of Armour This Victory makes the Suedes appear Terrible to their Enemies and they are look'd upon as the only Flourishing Nation in the North as France is in the West Yet to shew that there 's no Unmix'd Happiness here below their Interest has been much lessen'd by the Desertion of the Brandenburghers who now seem to favour the Cause of King Casimir That Monarch had an Interview lately with the Elector of Brandenburgh at a Place call'd Broombergh where they embrac'd one another banquetted together and buried all the Memoirs of Enmity in Generous Compotations For this is the Way of the Northern Princes of Europe Who live in so Cold a Climate that Nothing less than a Debauch with Wine can thaw their Frozen Souls and melt 'em into an Obliging Humour As for the State of England I perceive thou know'st the Character of Oliver the New Sovereign of that Commonwealth Yet I can inform thee that he begins to change his Temper There are Persons in his Court who give Constant Intelligence to the King of France of all his Secrets And as the Exil'd King of Scots cou'd not snuff a Candle in a Passion but that Vsurper had Knowledge of it so neither can Oliver have a Dream but some spightful Mercury carrys the News into Foreign Countries His Sleep is Interrupted with Fearful Visions of Plots and Treasons against his Life which makes him change his Bed Five or Six Times a-Night They say he is Metamorphos'd from a Hero to a perfect Coward And this is not the Report of the Multitude who take Things upon Trust but t is the Sport of the French Grandees who wish well to the Son of the late Murder'd English King I must be Irregular in my Method of Writing that I may oblige thee with Military Remarks A more particular Account of the Storm of Fredericks Ode is just come to my Hands wherein we are assur'd that it was taken at the First Assault which much redounds to the Honour of General Wrangle and that the Crown-Marshal of Denmark with many Senators and Grandees fell by the Edge of the Sword And that Two Thousand Captives were driven yok'd in Couples like Beasts as an Augmentation of the Conquerour's Triumph Thou wilt not be displeased at the little Coherence and Order of these Memoirs considering that it suits well enough with the Subject For I write a la Campagne as the French say and so am oblig'd to entertain thee with broken Detachments of News from several Parts as Occasion offers The Spaniards are stark Mad for the Loss of Mardike which was taken by the English and French in the 9th Moon and all the Garrison sent Prisoners to Calais They swear they will have this Important Place again whatever it cost ' em The Prince of Conde lies dangerously sick of a Fever at Gaunt Whilst Don John of Austria labours under a Malady of another Nature being much distress'd for Want of Money to pay his Soldiers This is look'd upon as a very bad Symptom in a General of an Army The Great City Cracow in Poland is surrender'd by the Suedes to King Casimir That Monarch begins to find a Turn of his Affairs and 't is thought he will draw Half the Princes of Europe into a League against the King of Sueden It will be of no great Importance for thee to know that the Siege of Munster is rais'd and a Peace Concluded between that City and their Bishop Yet 't is convenient that this shou'd be related to the Ministers of the Divan who are the Judges of all Human Events Besides in one of my Letters I mention'd this Quarrel and Siege Illustrious Aga I have obey'd thy Commands in sending thee an Abstract of all the most Remarkable Transactions in Europe during the last Three or Four Moons I wish 't were as agreeable to any of my Friends to send me the News of our Armies and Navy But I am more oblig'd to Strangers and Infidels for the Intelligence I have of the Ottoman Affairs than to any of the True Believers Brave Commander may God preserve thee from
can as soon withdraw it self as that Light when interrupted by a Cloud In a Word I conceive the Soul to be a very Free Agent and that it is here and there and every where It United it self to the Body by its own Choice and can retire again from it at Pleasure One closely pursu'd Act of Contemplation will at any Time carry thee or me to the Invisibles whenever we go resolutely about it Paris 1st of the 4th Moon of the Year 1659. LETTER XVII To the Venerable Ibrahim Cadilesquer of Romeli THere has not a Year escap'd since my Arrival at Paris wherein I did not send to the Ministers of the Ever Happy and Exalted Port constant Intelligence of Battles Sieges Storming of Towns and such other Occurrences of War as happen'd between the Kingdoms of France and Spain But now I believe my Future Dispatches must contain other Matters For in all Appearance this War which has lasted Four and Twenty Years is in a fair Way to be ended The King of Spain grows weary of his Continual Losses in Italy Flanders and Catalonia And he of France seems glutted with Perpetual Victories and Conquests In a Word these Two Potent Monarchs laying aside their Quarrels are making diligent Preparations this Year for a Campagne of Friendship and Love They are both in Arms yet commit no Acts of Hostility Whilst Cardinal Mazarini on the Part of this Crown and Dom Louis d' Aro de Gusman First Minister of Spain are gone to meet each other on the Frontiers of both Kingdoms as Plenipotentiaries for their Respective Masters to concert the Measures of a Lasting Peace and treat of a Marriage between the King of France and the Infanta of Spain All Europe is amaz'd at this surprizing Change And the French and Spaniards who border on each other can hardly believe their own Senses whilst they find a Mutual Commerce restor'd between their Frontier Towns and Villages which had been Interrupted ever since the Year 1635. about Sixteen Moons before I came to this City But though they are thus disposed to Peace here in the West the Northern Monarchs are pushing the War forward in Sueden Denmark and Poland with all Imaginable Vigour and Animosity The coming over of the Elector of Brandenburgh to the Danish Interest has made a great Alteration in their Affairs For whereas Fortune seem'd before in all Things to favour the Suedes now they lose Ground and find their Attempts Unsuccessful Four Thousand of their Men fell before the Walls of Copenhagen in Three Nights and Two Days Which caus'd King Gustavus to raise the Siege Whilst the Duke of Brandenburgh retook Fredericks-Ode and thereby restor'd to the King of Denmark the Provinces of Holstein Jutland and Ditmarsen The Hollanders also have had a Combat with the Suedes at Sea and sunk Fourteen of their best Ships Besides what they burnt and took These Events have stirr'd up several Princes to mediate a Peace And 't is not Improbable but in a little Time we may see all the Christians good Friends And then 't will be Time for the Mussulmans to be upon their Guard As for Mahmut he will not fail to pry into the Counsels of these Infidels and send timely Notices to the Port. Leaving the Rest to the Wisdom of his Superiours and the Pleasure of Destiny Paris 29th of the 6th Moon of the Year 1659. LETTER XVIII To Musu Abu'l Yahyan Alfaqui Professor of Theology at Fez. THE Character which the Great and Illustrious Abdel Melec Muli Omar President of Presidents Grace and Ornament of Ancient Learning Oracle of Africa and Restorer of Obsolete Truth has given me of thy Profound Wisdom and Science fills me with Reverence and Sacred Love I am ravished with Wonder and Joy to hear That in this Age wherein the Mussulman Theology has suffered so many Innovations there yet survives a Man who dares and is able to assert against all Opposers not only the Primitive and Original Truth brought down from Heaven by the Hand of Gabriel but also the Real and Indubitable Sayings Sermons Counfels and Actions of the Prophet whilst he was on Earth conversing with Mortals before his Transmigration to the Gardens of Eternal Repose and Solitude Thou art the Enoch the Hermes Trismegistus of the Age. I have seen many Copies of the Zunè or the Book of Doctrine each pretending to comprize the whole System of that Divine Philosophy and Wisdom which dropt from the Lips of our Incomparable and most Holy Law-giver and were Attested by his Wife the Holy Agesha Mother of the Faithful and by his Ten Disciples Yet all these various Transcripts differ both in their Sence and Manner of Expressions I have perused the Books Entituled Dahif or Imperfect which contain the Memoirs of his other Wives and the Manuscripts called Maucof or Fragments Being only a Collection of some Select Sentences Aphorisms and Parables of the Sent of God But these have no other Authority to back 'em save the Credit of some Learned Scribes who were not familiar with the Divine Favourite only living in his Time and taking Things on Report In fine I have met with several Parchments of the Zaquini or Pretended Traditions of Abu Becre Omar and Othman But these I esteem as Spurious Corrupted and full of Errors What shall I say The Zeal of Omar Ebn Abdi'l-Aziz the Ninth Caliph of the Tribe of Merwan is not unknown to me I am no Stranger to his singular Piety not to be matched among Crowned Heads For of him it is Recorded That as he descended from the Throne at the Time of his Inauguration he gave the Robe from his Back as an Alms to a Poor Man And That during his whole Reign he spent but Two Piasters a-Day on himself And so great was his Resignation to Destiny an Admirable Vertue in a Sovereign Emperour that when he was on his Bed in his last Sickness and was counselled to take Physick he answered No if I were sure to heal my self only by reaching my Finger to my Ear I would not For the Place to which I am going is full of Health and Bliss This Caliph was a Miracle of Humility and his Charity always kept him Poor Moslema Ebn Abdi'l Malec relates That going to visit Omar on his Death-Bed he found him lying on a Couch of Palm-Leaves with Three or Four Skins instead of a Pillow his Garments on and a foul Shirt underneath Seeing this Moslema was grieved and turning to his Sister Phatema the Empress he said How comes it to pass that the Great Lord Commander of the Faithful appears in so squalid a Condition She replyed As thou livest he has given away all that he had even to the very Bed that was under him to the Poor and only reserved what thou seest to cover his Nakedness Then Moslema could not refrain but burst forth into Tears saying God shew thee Mercy upon Mercy thou Royal Saint For thou hast pierced our Hearts with the Fear of his Divine Majesty This Caliph was numbred among the Saints He it was that perceiving the Contradiction and Disputes of the Mussulman's the Darkness and Confusion in the Various Copies of the Zunè or Book of Doctrine assembled a General Divan of Mollah's and Learned Men at Damascus from all Parts of the Empire Commanding that all the Manuscripts of the Zunè which were extant should be brought in to this Assembly on Pain of Death to him that should detain one This being done he Commanded Six of them to be chosen out of the Whole Number by Vote Men Eminent for Learning and Piety And that these Six should severally collect out of all the Multitude of Copies each Man a Book containing what he thought to be the most Genuine Discourses of the Prophet concerning this World and that which is to come When this was executed according to his Will he commanded all the Old Books to be burn'd in a Field near Damascus Yet after all the Religious Care of this Holy Caliph to restore these Writings to their Primitive Integrity the Mussulmans soon fell into New Contentions about the Sence and Interpretation of these Correct Copies of the Zunè From whence sprang the Four Cardinal Sects on which all the Innumerable lesser and later Divisions among True Believers are founded I cannot therefore but inwardly rejoyce and from my Heart highly applaud the Method taken by those of your Renowned College to discern the True Doctrines and Sayings of the Holy Prophet from those which are Supposititious by comparing all the Books that are extant together and reducing Matters of Divine Revelation to the Analogy of the Alcoran Those of Philosophy and Moral Regards to the Standard of Experience and Reason For it is Impious to believe that the Divine Apostle would impose any Thing on our Faith repugnant to the Sence of Men or the Express Will of Heaven By the Soul of Pythagoras Mahomet said Nothing but what was Rational and Evident to any Unprejudiced Mind But the Greatest Part of these Sectaries are besotted They form to themselves False Notions of God and his Prophet and think to merit Paradise by their Stupidity Reverend Alfaqui I have much more to say to thee and many Questions to ask But Time and the Grand Signior's Service force me to conclude abruptly wishing thee Perfection of Bliss Paris 29th of the 6th Moon of the Year 1659. according to the Christian Style The End of the Fifth Volume