Part 9

I told them, however, with a real Design to alarm them, that I was not only persuaded of an eternal State of Happiness for those who did good Works, and had Faith, but that there were also Torments and a Hell prepar'd for the Wicked and Unbelievers, and that every one would infallibly be dealt with according to the Good or Evil that he had done in this Life.

What you have already said, reply'd the Priest, tends to as much; but this is an Error as gross as the former; for besides that 'tis making God the most cruel of all Beings, to have created Man in order to damn him everlastingly, on pretence that he infring'd one of his Commands, and a Command too which was only that he should not eat an Apple, the very Thought of which really makes me shrink with Horror; I deny that any body is capable of doing Good or Evil, with respect to God; and I ask you seriously, whether you your self believe it? Undoubtedly, I do, said I; and methinks it is so clear, that one cannot question it without shocking common Sense.

What, said I, are not Whoredom, Murder, Theft, and Blasphemy, Crimes of Offence against the Majesty of the Almighty? Not at all, reply'd the Priest; for in the first Place, if Whoredom was a Sin, God himself would be the Author of it, and, what is worse, of Incest it self, because, according to you and your great _Moses_, as there were at first but one Man and one Woman, their Descendants must have committed several Acts of Incest before there were Persons enough living for them to avoid it: And as to the pretended Necessity of it at that time, I can't bear to hear it, for God could as easily have created a hundred Persons, as only one. We are all Children of the first Man. There are Degrees of Consanguinity among us, but in the Sight of God 'tis not so. Women and Goods were in common at first, as Air and Water are now. But Men, who seem to have been form'd for Society, observing the Disorder which this occasion'd, thought it proper that every Father of a Family should have one or more Women, a certain Extent of Ground, and a particular Number of Cattle, at his sole Disposal. They were also oblig'd afterwards by common Consent, to make Laws imposing Penalties on those who did not observe them. So that if any body is offended by the Transgression of those Laws, 'tis properly the Society, or the Heads that represent it, and not at all the universal Spirit, who can by no means be offended by any Person. The same thing may be said of Robbery and Murder, whereby, properly speaking, no Hurt is done to any Being but to the Person whose Life or Property is taken away. And as to Blasphemy, tho' we punish it more severely than other Crimes, 'tis not because we think that God is offended at it; not at all; it would be a Weakness in him, if he were capable of it; but 'tis because we cannot tolerate Ingratitude, of which the blackest Instance that Man can be guilty of, is to affront or not to pay due Respect to him who is the Author of his Being, and of all the Benefits he is capable of receiving; besides, that it sets an ill Example to Children and Inferiors, with regard to their Parents and Matters.

As much as I dislik'd this Discourse, I was willing to hear him out; but upon his stopping I reply'd: You yourself acknowledge that Men seem to have been form'd for Society; and from hence I argue, that God, who form'd them for this Purpose, must will and intend, that they should avoid all those Actions which introduce Disorder and Confusion in Society, as you allow Whoredom, Murder, Theft, _&c._ to do. Does it not follow then, that God must be offended by these Actions which are so directly contrary to his Will and Intention? Give me a Reason why the Society, or Heads that represent it, should be offended by such Crimes, which will not hold as strongly for God's being so? Is it because their Will, express'd by their Laws, is offended and transgress'd? And is not the Will of God, express'd plainly in his forming us for Society, equally offended and transgress'd? When we speak of God's being offended or angry, we do not mean that he suffers what Men suffer on those Occasions: Anger is call'd a Passion, and it would be a Weakness in God (as you say) if that could be properly apply'd to him: but when we speak of him as angry or offended by our Actions, we consider his Disposition of Mind, on such Occasions, only with regard to the Effects of it towards us: we mean to signify not what he feels inwardly, but what we may expect to feel as the Punishment of our Crimes. Upon these and other Considerations, I, for my part, am firmly persuaded, that God may and must be offended by such Actions as you just now instanced in.

Do you believe, continued I, that God, who is a God of Order, and hates Confusion, has prescrib'd Rules to Man, and given him Laws, by which he is oblig'd to conduct himself and regulate his Actions? No, said he, in the Sense that you take it, I don't believe it, nor was it necessary, because he gave him Will and Understanding whereby to conduct himself, as you see we do. As there, is no Pride, Vanity, Jealousy or Desire, of Dominion in the Beasts, so God has not made them subject to any Civil Laws, nor would there have been any greater Need of such for rational Creatures, than there is for the Brutes, only as soon as some endeavour'd to impose upon the Weakness or Good-nature of others, there was a Necessity of inventing Punishments for those who transgress'd certain Rules, and these Rules were multiply'd as fall as the unbridled Licentiousness of some turbulent Spirits gave occasion for them.

You are very right there, said I, but pardon me if I presume to say that I deny that God had I no Concern in them. 'Tis unreasonable to suppose that Providence would bring a rational Creature into the World, and afterwards leave him intirely to himself. He is the Father of him, and is also inclin'd to be his Director and Preserver. Good Sense tells us this, and his Word, for that is what I always recur to, assures us of it so positively, that there is no Possibility of doubting it; I wish to God, cry'd I, that you could but see that Word. It carries with it so many Marks of the Dictator that you would be the first to read it with Veneration if it fell into your Hands; and I don't despair of its being brought to you one Day or other by some unhappy Wretch, or else by an intire Nation, which shall come to settle with you by the Appointment of Heaven, in order to facilitate the Conversion of a People so honest and humane.

I should be glad, said he, to see the Book you speak so much of, but very sorry that it should be brought to us by a Host of People, whom your own Laws, as sacred as you think 'em, would not restrain from tyrannizing over us. We had much rather that things should continue as they are. Be you but content with your Lot, as you see we are with ours, and you'll be more happy than you really are. But no more of this; methinks, said he, 'tis time to have done. I retire. Adieu.

After our Priest was gone, we convers'd a few Moments longer concerning the Immortality of the Soul, the Resurrection of the Dead, and Life Eternal, because the Judge took a Liking to the Discourse; and by the Notice I took, if I am not deceiv'd, it would be easy to bring those People into a good Opinion of our Religion.

Before we parted, my Landlord ask'd me if I did not see the Burning Mountain when I was at the Mines. I did not so much as hear any mention of it, said I. Probably, said he, it did not burn at that time, for otherwise you would infallibly have observ'd it. I should have been glad to have seen it, said I to him, but this is no Rarity in our Country. There's _Hecla_ in _Iceland_, _Ætna_ in _Sicily_, _Vesuvius_ in _Naples_, and several other such Mountains elsewhere, which burn also at times; but there's no approaching very near them, even when they don't burn, because of the Sulphureous Exhalations that arise out of them, the prodigious Quantity of Ashes that encompasses them, and the Danger there is of sinking into the Ground in several Places, where it is soft, trembling, or hollow.

Perhaps, said he, the _Europeans_ who have been here before you, related the same thing to our Ancestors, and that the People came by that means to be undeceiv'd in the mistaken Notion they had entertain'd of the Cause of this Prodigy. For 'tis certain that the simple Vulgar were always of Opinion, that when God created the World, and determin'd to make certain Beings which should have Life and Motion, he erected a Laboratory under the burning Mountain, with an Oven, and a monstrous large Crucible in it, at the Mouth of which was a Bar that divided it into two equal Parts, and to this Bar there belong'd a Lamp. This great Workman, said they, every now and then fill'd this Vessel with Earth, which he took up behind him, in the Place of which there is now a great Lake, and when this Earth was become liquid by the Force of the Fire, he took out a small Portion of it, by means of a hollow Tube that he made use of for the purpose, at one end of which he only blew, and there immediately appear'd at the other an Animal, which he sent into the wide World. He had made but a small Number of them, when he observ'd his Lamp set Fire to the Mountain under which it hung. This unexpected Inconvenience soon made him change his Post, for fear of burning the whole Earth. He had not fought long, ere he found a deep Pit betwixt two Mountains, which he thought fit to fill with Water, to the end that the Fire might not spread, while he work'd underneath it. Mean time, as this Water soon attain'd to a very considerable Degree of Heat, which would have presently chang'd it into a Vapour, he pierc'd a neighbouring Mountain, in order that a Stream of fresh Water might issue from it to cool the Heat of the boiling Lake, which is undoubtedly the same that you tell me you saw, and which still retains the same Qualities.

There was an Addition to this Story, that under that very Place God form'd all other living Creatures in the same manner, except Man, who deriv'd his Origin elsewhere, as I may perhaps shew you another time, when I am more at leisure. Lastly, it was pretended that the Matter which was in the Crucible, being in a violent Agitation, the Sulphur, Mercury, and other mineral and metallic Parts, which evaporated in Smoke, were carry'd with Rapidity under the Arch of the neighbouring Mountains, into which they penetrated, and in some form'd Coal, and in others, Iron, or the Minerals and Metals that we find there.

This Fable, as gross as it is, and invented no doubt in honour to the Gentlemen Chymists, gave me occasion to think that Glass was not always unknown to them, and that formerly they had Blowers among them. Be this as it will, there the Conversation ended, because it grew late, and every one seem'd desirous to go to rest.

Some Days after this Discourse, the Priest was resolv'd to make an Entertainment for our Landlord, and we too were of the Party. Then he made an Apology for having been so outrageous against our Opinions; and to make us Amends, desired _La Foret_, who had read both the _Old_ and _New Testament_ more than I had done, to give him the most circumstantial Account he could remember of the Contents of the Bible. My Comrade did so, and he thank'd him, seeming to be very well satisfy'd with it, tho' I know full well that he only made a Jest of it; whereas I thought the Judge extremely edify'd with it: So that Affairs would have gone on very well, if we had always continued together; but to my great Sorrow, it was not the Will of Heaven it should be so.

CHAP. VIII.

_The Author is carry'd to the King's Court. He traces the Origin of those Monarchs; describes the Royal Palace, Temple, &c._

The Governor, who, I said a while ago, came to levy the Tribute, went afterwards and carry'd it to the King, to whom he related how he met with a couple of Foreigners at such a Village, who knew how to make Machines that exactly measur'd Time, and divided a Day Natural into Twenty-four Parts, which they call'd Hours; and that the most wonderful thing of all, and of great Conveniency to the Inhabitants, was, that at every Hour, there was a Bowl of Metal on which a Hammer fell, denoting by a certain Number of Strokes the particular Time of the Day. The King seem'd surpris'd at this Account, and express'd his Desire to see us. Accordingly, we were very much alarm'd one Day, by the Arrival of two of this Prince's Domestics that came to demand us of our Landlord, who having no Excuse to make for detaining us, gave us up with some Regret into their Hands.

Tho' we were extremely sorry to leave the Judge, who made us infinitely more welcome than I could have desir'd to have been in _Europe_, yet we did not fail to express great Joy for the Honour the King had done us to send for us. In the mean time we ask'd our Guides several times, what might be the Reason of it, but they protested to us they did not know. All that they could assure us of, was, that we were talk'd of at Court as Persons of great Distinction, and that we should not fail of being well entertain'd there. But I was afraid that the King having heard of the Disputes we had held with the Priest, Judge, _&c._ had taken Exceptions against us, and intended to treat us as Seducers of his Subjects, and People that aim'd at the Subversion of his Government; yet it prov'd quite otherwise.

We were no sooner arriv'd, but the King sent for us to his Presence. After having made our Reverences, we were going to bend the Knee before we spoke to him, pursuant to a Hint that had been given us for that Purpose; but he would not permit it, and order'd a Joint-Stool to be brought for each of us, on which he commanded us to sit down; while all the others that were present were either standing or kneeling. The King was seated in a magnificent Chair of State which was ascended to by three Steps, and cover'd with a Canopy of admirable Sculpture. He ask'd us from whence we came, and how we got into his Country. We were oblig'd to gratify his Curiosity by an exact Detail of all our Adventures. He seem'd to be very glad that our Misfortunes had procur'd him the Pleasure of seeing us. At length, he came to the Article of our Science, which he extoll'd mightily, and after having told us, that he had heard we had made a Clock in our Village, he gave us to understand, that the chief reason of his sending for us, was to desire us, to make one for him, and promis'd to reward our Performance with the tenderest Marks of his Friendship, and by granting whatever we should desire at his Hands. We answer'd with a profound Obeisance, that we were not accustom'd to be so treated by our Sovereigns, that his Majesty did us a great deal of Honour to think us worthy of being employ'd in his Service, and that we would discharge ourselves in the best manner we could.

Upon this we were conducted into a very fine Apartment, which was to be our own, where Care was taken to serve and accommodate us as if we had been Persons of great Quality. Next Day, we gave Orders for fetching our Tools from the Place where we left them, caus'd several others to be made, such as my Comrade directed, and set about the Work with all possible Speed, because the King was impatient to see us at it.

The Monarch who then reign'd, was call'd _Bustrol_. He was a sober, modest, affable Prince, and, if he is still living, as I hope he is, one who is much more admir'd for his shining Virtues than for Pomp and Grandeur. He had a large full Robe on of the finest Goats-Hair, dy'd red, that was in all the Country, and he had a Fringe round it above a Foot deep. He wore a five-corner'd Cap with a Copper Button on it, an Inch and half in Diameter, which is the principal Mark of his Royalty, if you except his Gravity, Stature, and good Air.

The Governors are also cloth'd in red Robes, but they are of Woollen, and every way less. Other Men without Exception, wear Woollen Robes of mix'd Colours. The Judges only are distinguish'd by their Caps. As to the Women, they all have Habits or Veils of fine Linen for their upper Garments, under which they wear others more or less according to the Season.

The Children of the King have no Prerogatives above others, and tho' a greater Deference is paid them, 'tis purely voluntary. The eldest only is honour'd, and dress'd almost like his Father, only he does not wear the Button.

The King may have 12 Wives, whom he either causes to be chose, or else chooses himself from among the People when he takes a Tour Abroad to shew himself, and they durst not refuse him any Woman tho' she is actually promis'd to another. The Governors may have three, the Judges two, and the People one. The Priests are likewise permitted to have two Wives at a time; but whether they have both at one time or not, they are allow'd but two in all as long as they live, for if they happen to survive them, they are prohibited to marry again.

The most magnificent Thing belonging to the King is his Palace situated in the middle of the Royal Canton, which is of the same Extent as the others. It fronts to the N.N.E. is 36 Geometrical Paces in Breadth, and 20 in Depth. The first Floor, which is ten Foot above the Foundation, is divided into several Apartments well roof'd, where there's no want of Pilasters, nor of Marble of various Sorts and Colours. The Pavement is red, the Pillars black, and the Roof-work white. The second Story being 20 Foot from the first, has on the Outside opposite to the Portal, a Stair-Case in form of an half Oval, with 20 Steps, each half a Foot in height. The first Room we enter, is a spacious Antichamber, behind which is the Chamber of Audience: From the Antichamber there run two narrow Passages, one on the Right, the other on the Left, which divide the main Body of the Building into two Parts, so that there are four stately Salons on each Side, and in the whole ten Apartments with the finest Cielings in the World, and Wainscotting than which I never saw any more curiously carv'd. Over this second Story there is a third divided almost in the same Manner as the former, only that instead of a Chamber of Audience, there is the Bed-Chamber where his Majesty lies. Then we come to a Platform cover'd with Pewter, and a Ballustrade all round of massy Copper. In the middle of it there is a round Pavilion cover'd with Copper also, and the whole is so well polish'd, that when the Sun shines on it, it dazzles ones Eyes. At the Top there is a Globe of 20 Foot Circumference, and a square Pyramid upon it which is one Foot in the Base and five in height, supported by twelve Pillars of Agate. In the whole Building there is nothing to be seen scarce but Marble, Agate, Jasper, and such exquisite fine Stones wonderfully well polish'd and wrought; the whole built according to an Order which comes pretty near to the _Corinthian_, except the Columns of the Cellars which are properly in the _Tuscan_ Taste.

There being no Glass in this Country, they use instead of it the Skins of the Polη, which they rasp and dress in such a manner, that they last for ever, and give so free a Passage to the Light, that you have as much of it within Doors as without. This Parchment they put up in their Windows in the form of Quarrels, but as good and fine as it is, it must be own'd that our Glass surpasses it by far.

Behind the Palace there is a Dome of the Roman Order, 150 Foot Diameter, cover'd also with Copper, and of the same Materials and Magnificence as the Palace. This Place serves for two Uses, the Temple and the Senate. The King's Throne is on the South Side over-against the Gate, and is rais'd six Foot upon a Stage of four which is cover'd with a magnificent Carpet; for 'tis certain these People infinitely surpass the _Turks_ in the Weaving of their Tapistry. In the middle of the Cieling, there's a very large Copper Sun, the Body of which is not perhaps above 10 or 12, Foot Diameter, but its Rays extend to a vast Distance. The Cone upon the Top of the Dome is broad and high. The whole is of Copper, and supported by six great Pillars or Towers, in each of which there is a Stair-case that leads to the Galleries of this stately Edifice.

All round the Canton there are Rows of Lodgings built with Pavilions upon the Angles, and two upon each Front or Side, equidistant from one another, so that in all there are twelve. Twelve Arches are also built between those Pavilions, which are like so many Gates open to go out of the Canton by 12 Bridges with Ballustrades of wrought Copper over-against them. Within these Lodgings in short, which are for the King's twelve Wives, and for some of the Domesticks of the Court, there runs a Gallery all round supported by Pillars of Jasper cover'd with Pewter like the rest of the Lodgings, except the Pavilions which are of Copper, and extraordinary beautiful. The void Spaces between all these Buildings are full of Obelisks, Pyramids, Statues upon magnificent Pedestals, Pots full of all manner of Flowers according to the Season, Cages full of Birds of all the Colours in the Rainbow, which make very agreeable Melody, and in a Word, here is every thing to please the Senses, so that this Place is properly an inchanted Paradise.

The Canton which lies to the South of the Palace, is a Park full of Goats, Stags, which are very small in this Country, Bucks, Does, _&c._ and especially a Sort of Animals call'd Polη, which have long Hair, a Horn on their Heads, two Ears flat and broad as ones Hand, a short Tail but very broad, and great flat Feet, which is the Reason that they commonly stand upright. This Animal is about the bigness of our little Asses; the Flesh of it is very delicate, but there's scarce any to be seen except in the King's Parks, tho' the Damage is not very great, by reason there are few People who do not scruple to eat it, because it very much resembles a Man, and seems indeed to be endow'd with some Reason.

The Canton to the South which is our North, is one continued Flower-Garden water'd with 1000 little artificial Fountains. The two others on the Right and Left are design'd for Fruit-trees, Pulse, and Pot-herbs; and besides those fine Cantons there are twenty more, twelve of which are for the Queen's, and for their Children and Domestics, and the eight others for Tillage, Pasturage, _&c._

The King's Revenues consist in the annual Payment of a piece of Copper by every Master of a Family, which is about the Size of a Guinea. I mention'd it once before by the Name of _Kala_, and it has Inscriptions engrav'd on it, signifying _Our Hearts to God_ on one Side, and _Our Estates to the King_ on the other. I cannot tell what these Pieces are worth, but I have observ'd that they make as much of 'em in that Country as we do of _Lewis d'Or_'s in _France_, The current Coin here is of Pewter, of which there are Pieces of all Sizes with each a different Stamp. With this Coin they pay all the Officers of the State; tho' the Gain to particular Persons is but a Trifle, yet as there are 41600 Villages or 41575 deducting the 25 Villages of the Royal Family, yet this Article amounts to 831500 Kalη, not reckoning the Judges and Priests who are exempt from paying the Tribute which, setting aside the Honour of their Posts, is all they get by them.

But I was then inform'd, that Things had not been fix'd on that Foot above 345 Years. Before then, the Kingly Power had been Time immemorial, or to speak in their Language, eternally in one and the same Family. These Kings were call'd Sons of the Sun and Earth, which Descent made them very ambitious, and the Children grew worse and worse from Generation to Generation. They degenerated so far as to demand Homage and Adoration from their Subjects. They abus'd their Wives and Daughters, prey'd upon their Estates, and talk'd of nothing less than cutting their Throats, when they gave the least Indications that they were not pleas'd with their Tyranny.