No. XXXVIII. SATURDAY, MARCH 17.

Ευ γαρ δη ὁ αποφηνάμενος, τι θεοις ομοιον εχοιμεν,

66 ευεργεσίαν, είπε και αληθειαν.”

PYTHAG. ap. LONGIN.

Pythagoras being asked in what man could resemble the Divinity, justly answered, "in beneficence and trh.

In the Persian Chronicle of the ve hundred and thirteenth year of the Heigyra, it is thus written.

Of the Letter of Cosrou the Iman.

IT pleased our mighty sovereign Abbas Carascan, from whom the kings of the earth derive honour and dominion, to set Mirza his servant over the province of Tauris. In the hand of Mirza, the balance of distribution was suspended with impartiality; and under his administration the weak were protected, the learned received honour, and the diligent became rich: Mirza, therefore, was beheld by every eye with complacency, and every tongue pronounced blessings upon his head. But it was observed that he derived no joy from the benefits which he diffused: he became pensive and melancholy; he 'spent his leisure in solitude; in his palace he sat fnotionless upon a sofa ; and when he went out, his walk was slow, and his eyes were fixed upon the ground: he applied to the business of state with reluctance; and resolved to relinquish the toil of government, of which he could no longer enjoy the reward.

He therefore obtained permission to approach the throne of our sovereign: and being asked what was his request, he made this reply? "May the Lord "of the world forgive the slave whom he has honour"ed, if Mirza presume again to lay the bounty of

66

66

"Abbas at his feet. Thou hast given me the domi"nion of a country, fruitful as the gardens of Da66 mascus and a city, glorious above all others, except that only which reflects the splendour of thy presence. But the longest life is a period scarce "sufficient to prepare for death: all other business "is vain and trivial, as the toil of emmets in the path "of the traveller, under whose foot they perish for 66 ever; and all enjoyment is unsubstantial and evan"escent, as the colours of the bow that appear in the "interval of a storm. Suffer me, therefore, to pre"pare for the approach of eternity; let me give up "my soul to meditation: let solitude and silence ac"quaint me with the mysteries of devotion; let me "forget the world, and by the world be forgotten, till "the moment arrives in which the veil of eternity "shall fall, and I shall be found at the bar of the Al"nighty.” Mirza then bowed himself to the earth, and stood silent.

By he cominand of Abbas it is recorded, that at these words he trembled upon that throne, at the footstocl of which the world pays homage: he looked round upon his nobles; but every countenance was pale, and every eye was upon the earth. No man opened his mouth; and the king first broke silence, after it had continued near an hour.

“Mirza, terror and doubt are come upon me. I am "alarmed, as a man who suddenly perceives that he "is near the brink of a precipice, and is urged for"ward by an irresistible force: but yet I know not, "whether my danger is a reality or a dream. I am "as thou art, a reptile of the earth my life is a mo"ment, and eternity, in which days and years and 66 ages are nothing, eternity is before me, for which “I also should prepare: but by whom then must "the faithful be governed? by those only who have "no fear of judgment? by those only whose life is "brutal, because, like brutes, they do not consider

"that they shall die? Or who, indeed, are the faith"ful? are the busy multitudes that crowd the city, in

a state of perdition? and is the cell of the dervise " alone the gate of Paradise? To all, the life of a der"vise is not possible: to all, therefore, it cannot be a "duty. Depart to the house which has in this city "been prepared for thy residence: I will meditate the "reason of thy request; and may he who illuminates "the mind of the humble, enable me to determine "with wisdom."

Mirza departed, and on the third day, having received no command, he again requested an audience, and it was granted. When he entered the royal presence, his countenance appeared more cheerful; he drew a letter from his bosom, and having kissed it, he presented it with his right hand. "My Lord," said he, "I have learned by this letter, which I received " from Cosrou the Iman, who now stands before thee, "in what manner life may be best improved. I am "enabled to look back with pleasure, and forward with "hope; and I shall now rejoice still to be the shadow❤ "of thy power at Tauris, and to keep those honours "which I so lately wished to resign." The king, who had listened to Mirza with a mixture of surprize and curiosity, immediately gave the letter to Cozrou, and commanded that it should be read. The eyes of the court were at once turned upon the hoary sage, whose countenance was suffused with an honest blush; and it was not without some hesitation that he read these words:

"To Mirza, who the wisdom of Abbas our mighty "Lord has honoured with dominion, be everlasting "health! When I heard thy purpose to withdraw "the blessing of thy government from the thousands "of Tauris, my heart was wounded with the arrow of "affliction, and my eyes became dim with sorrow. "But who shall speak before the king when he is "troubled; and who shall boast of knowledge, when

"he is distressed by doubt? To thee I will relate the ❝events of my youth, which thou hast renewed be"fore me; and those truths which they taught me.. "may the prophet multiply to thee.

"Under the instruction of the physician Aluzar, I "obtained an early knowledge of his art. To those "who were smitten with disease I could administer "plants, which the sun has impregnated with the spi"rit of health. But the scenes of pain, languor, and "mortality which were perpetually rising before me, "made me often tremble for myself. I saw the grave 66 open at my feet: I determined, therefore, to con"template only the regions beyond it, and to despise "every acquisition which I could not keep. I con❝ceived an opinion, that as there was no merit but in "voluntary poverty, and silent meditation, those who "desired money were not proper objects of bounty, "and that by all who were proper objects of bounty, 66 money was despised. I therefore buried mine in the earth; and renouncing society, I wandered into a "wild and sequestered part of the country; my dwel"ling was a cave by the side of a hill, I drank the "running water from the spring, and eat such fruits " and herbs as I could find. To encrease the austerity "of my life, I frequently watched all night, sitting at "the entrance of the cave, with my face to the east, "resigning myself to the secret influences of the pro"phet, and expect illuminations from above. One "morning, after my nocturnal vigil, just as I per"ceived the horizon glow at the approach of the sun, "the power of sleep became irresistible, and I sunk “under it. I imagined myself still sitting at the en"trance of my cell; that the dawn encreased; and "that as I looked earnestly for the first beam of day, "a dark spot appeared to intercept it. I perceived "that it was in motion; it encreased in size as it "drew near, and at length I discovered it to be an "eagle. I still kept my eye fixed stedfastly upon it,

and saw it alight at a small distance, where I now "descried a fox, whose two fore-legs appeared to be "broken. Before this fox the eagle laid part of a kid, "which she had brought in her talons, and then dis"appeared. When I awaked, I laid my forehead up"on the ground, and blessed the prophet for the in"struction of the morning. I reviewed my dream, and "said thus to myself: Cosrou, thou hast done well to "renounce the tumult, the business, and the vanities "of life; but thou hast as yet only done it in part: "thou art still every day busied in the search of food; "thy mind is not wholly at rest, neither is thy trust "in Providence complete. What art thou taught by "this vision? If thou hast seen an eagle commis"sioned by Heaven to feed a fox that is lame, shall "not the hand of Heaven also supply thee with food; "when that which prevents thee from procuring it "for thyself is not necessity, but devotion?

I was

"now so confident of a miraculous supply, that I ne"glected to walk out for my repast, which, after the "first day, I expected with an impatience that left me "little power of attending to any other object: this "impatience, however, I laboured to suppress, and "persisted in my resolution; but my eyes at length "began to fail me, and my knees smote each other; "I threw myself backward, and hoped my weakness "would soon encrease to insensibility. But I was soon "rouzed by the voice of an invisible being, who pro"nounced these words:" Cosrou, I am the angel who, by the command of the Almighty, have registered the thoughts of thy heart, which I am now commissioned to reprove. While thou wast attempting to become wise above that which is revealed, thy folly has perverted the instruction which was vouchsafed thee. Art thou disabled as the fox? hast thou not rather the powers of the eagle? Arise, let the eagle be the object of thy emulation. To pain and sickness be thou again the messenger of ease and health. Virtue is