ZADIG;
OR, THE
Book of Fate.
AN
Oriental History,
Translated from the
French Original
OF
——— Quo fata trahunt, retrahuntque sequamur.
Per varios casus, per tot discrimina rerum,
Tendimus in Latium. ——— Virg.
LONDON:
Printed for Iohn Brindley, Bookseller
to His Royal Highness the Prince of
Wales, in New Bond-Street.
MDCCXLIX.
THE
DEDICATION
TO THE
Sultana SHERAA,
BY
SADI.
The 18th of the Month Scheval, in the Year of the Hegira, 837.
Thou Joy of ev’ryEye! Thou Tormentof every Heart! Thou Intellectual[ii]Light! I do notkiss the Dust of thy Feet;because thou seldom art seenout of the Seraglio, and whenthou art, thou walkest onlyon the Carpets of Iran, oron Beds of Roses.
I here present you with aTranslation of the Work ofan ancient Sage, who havingthe Happiness of living freefrom all Avocations, thoughtproper, by Way of Amusement,to write the Historyof Zadig; a Performance,that comprehends in itmore Instruction than, ’tispossible, you may at firstbe aware of. I beg youwould indulge me so far[iii]as to read it over, andthen pass your impartialJudgment upon it: Fornotwithstanding you are inthe Bloom of your Life;tho’ ev’ry Pleasure courtsyou; tho’ you are Nature’sDarling, and haveinternal Qualities in proportionto your Beauty; tho’the World resounds yourPraises from Morning tillNight, and consequentlyyou must have a just Titleto a superior Degree ofUnderstanding than the restof your Sex; Yet yourWit is no ways flashy;Your Taste is refin’d, andI have had the Honour[iv]to hear you talk more learnedlythan the wisest Dervise,with his venerableBeard, and pointed Bonnet:You are discreet, and yetnot mistrustful; you are easy,but not weak; you arebeneficent with Discretion;you love your Friends, andcreate yourself no Enemies.Your most sprightly Flightsborrow no Graces from Detraction;you never speaka misbecoming Word, nordo an ill-natur’d Action,tho’ ’tis always in yourPower. In a Word, yourSoul is as spotless as yourPerson. You have, moreover,a little Fund of Philosophy,[v]which gives mejust Grounds to hope that