711 18 Dialogue betwixt Mercury, an English Duellift, and a North American Sa- 19 Bayes's Rules for Compofition Bucking. 717 ELEGANT EXTRACT S. BOOK THE FIRST. MORAL AND RELIGIO U S. § 1. The Vision of Mirza, exhibiting a Pic- he played, to taste the pleasures of his con Ο ture of Human Life. N the fifth day of the moon, which, according to the custom of my forefathers, I always keep holy, after having washed myself, and offered up my morning devotions, I afcended the high hills of Bagdat, in order to pafs the reit of the day in meditation and prayer. As I was here airing myfelf on the tops of the mountains, I fell into a profound contemplation on the vanity of human life; and paffing from one thought to another, Surely, faid I, man is but a fhadow, and life a dream. Whilft I was thus mufing, I caft my eyes towards the fummit of a rock that was not far from me, where I difcovered one in the habit of a fhepherd, with a little musical inftrument in his hand. As I looked upon him, he applied it to his lips, and began to play upon it. The found of it was exceeding fweet, and wrought into a variety of tunes that were inexpreffibly melodious, and altogether different from any thing I had ever heard: they put me in mind of those heavenly airs that are played to the departed fouls of good men upon their frit arrival in Paradife, to wear out the impreffions of the last agonies, and qualify them for the pleasures of that happy place. My heart melted away in fecret raptures. I had been often told, that the rock before me was the haunt of a genius; and that feveral had been entertained with that mufic, who had paffed by it, but never heard that the mufician had before made himself visible. When he had raised my oughts, by thofe tranfporting airs which verfation, as I looked upon him like one aftonished, he beckoned to me, and, by the waving of his hand, directed me to approach the place where he fat. I drew near with that reverence which is due to a superior nature; and as my heart was entirely fubdued by the captivating ftrains I had heard, I fell down at his feet, and wept. The genius fmiled upon me with a look of compaffion and affability that familiarized him to my imagination, and at once difpelled all the fears and apprehenfions with which I approached him. He lifted me from the ground, and taking me by the hand, Mirza, faid he, I have heard thee in thy foliloquies; follow me. He then led me to the highest pinnacle of the rock, and placing me on the top of it, Caft thy eyes eastward, faid he, and tell me what thou feeft. I fee, faid I, a huge valley, and a prodigious tide of water rolling through it. The valley that thou feeft, faid he, is the vale of mifery; and the tide of water that thou feeft, is part of the great tide of eternity. What is the reason, faid I, that the tide I fee rifes out of a thick mist at one end, and again lofes itself in a thick mift at the other? What thou seest, faid he, is that portion of eternity which is called Time, meafitred out by the fun, and reaching from the beginning of the world to its confummation. Examine now, faid he, this fea that is bounded with darkness at both ends, and tell me what thou difcoverest in it. I fee a bridge, faid I, ftanding in the midst of the tide. The bridge thou feeft, faid he, is human life; confider it attentively. Upon a more leifurely fur vey of it, I found that it confifted of threefcore and ten entire arches, with feveral broken arches, which, added to thofe that were entire, made up the number about an hundred. As I was counting the arches, the genius told me that this bridge confifted at first of a thousand arches; but that a great flood fwept away the reft, and left the bridge in the ruinous condition I now be held it: but tell me further, faid he, what thou discoverett on it. I fee multitudes of people paffing over it, faid I, and a black cloud hanging on each end of it. As I looked more attentively, I faw feveral of the paffengers dropping through the bridge into the great tide that flowed underneath it and upon further examination, perceived there were innumerable trap-doors that lay concealed in the bridge, which the pallengers no fooner trod upon, but they fell through them into the tide, and immediately difappeared. Thefe hidden pit-falls were fet very thick at the entrance of the bridge, fo that throngs of people no fooner broke through the cloud, but many of them fell into them. They grew thinner towards the middle, but multiplied and lay clofer together towards the end of the arches that were entire. There were indeed fome perfons, but their number was very fmall, that continued a kind of hobbling march on the broken arches, but fell through one after another, being quite tired and spent with fo long a walk. I paffed fome time in the contemplation of this wonderful ftructure, and the great variety of objects which it prefented. My heart was filled with a deep melancholy, to fee feveral dropping unexpectedly in the midst of mirth and jollity, and catching at every thing that ftood by them, to fave themfelves. Some were looking up towards the heavens in a thoughtful pofture, and, in the midit of a ipeculation, ftumbled and fell out of fight. Multitudes were very bufy in the purfuit of bubbles, that glittered in their eyes, and danced before them; but often, when they thought themselves within the reach of them, their footing failed, and down they funk. In this confufion of objects, I obferved fome with fcimitars in their hands, and others with urinals, who ran to and fro upon the bridge, thrufting feveral perfons on trapdoors which did not feem to lie in their way, and which they might have efcaped had they not been thus forced upon them. The genius feeing me indulge myself in this melancholy profpect, told me I had dwelt long enough upon it: Take thine eyes off the bridge, faid he, and tell me if thou feeft any thing thou dost not comprehend. Upon looking up, What mean, faid I, thofe great flights of birds that are perpetually hovering about the bridge, and fettling upon it from time to time? I fee vultures, harpies, ravens, cormorants, and, among many other feathered creatures, feveral little winged boys, that perch in great numbers upon the middle arches. Thefe, faid the genius, are envy, avarice, fuperitition, defpair, love, with the like cares and paflions that infeft human life. I here fetched a deep figh: Alas, faid I, man was made in vain! how is he given away to mifery and mortality! tortured in life, and fwallowed up in death! The genius being moved with companion towards me, bid me quit fo uncomfortable a profpect. Look no more, faid he, on man in the first stage of his existence, in his fetting out for eternity; but caft thine eye on that thick mift into which the tide bears the feveral generations of mortals that fall into it. I directed my fight as I was ordered, and (whether or no the good genius ftrengthened it with any fupernatural force, or diffipated part of the mift that was before too thick for the eye to penetrate) I faw the valley opening at the farther end, and fpreading forth into an immenfe ocean, that had a huge rock of adamant running through the midit of it, and dividing it into two equal parts. The clouds till reited on one half of it, infomuch that I could difcover nothing in it: but the other appeared to me a vait ocean, planted with innumerable islands, that were covered with fruits and flowers, and interwoven. with a thousand little fhining feas that ran among them. I could fee perfons dreffed in glorious habits, with garlands upon their heads, paffing among the trees, lying down by the fides of fountains, or reiting on beds of flowers; and could hear a confufed harmony of finging birds, falling waters, human voices, and musical inftruments. Gladness grew in me at the difcovery of fo delightful a fcene. I withed for the wings of an eagle, that I might fly away to thofe happy feats; but the genius told me there was no paflage to them, except through the gates of death that Ifaw opening every moment upon the bridge. The iflands, faid he, that lie |