noise under your hat can by any artifice prevent the widow from having
been married as you remember. Whatever use you make of these sounds, I
fear you must still have misemployed the three days and lost the widow.
It appears to me, that the only way of retrieving lost time is to make
better use of what remains; I therefore advise you to make diligent
search for another rich widow, and when you have found one, remember you
are not to have a respite of three days."
"So, then, I have come to the moon in vain," he said; "and I may as well
let these three days go again, after I have taken so much trouble to
catch them."
"No," I answered: "a contrivance occurs to me by which, perhaps, they
may be useful."
"What is that?" he inquired eagerly.
"You may shut them up in a box," said I, "and always keep them by you,
to remind you of former neglect, and enforce vigilance in case of
another widow." He seemed to think this an ineffectual invention for
correcting his former mistake; however he carried away his three days
with a discontented face.
Another man, who had stood in dismay, and quite overcome by the
striking of his lost hours, hearing what I said, declared he would try
the same expedient, and keep his misemployed time in a box for the sake
of prudence and industry in time to come; and immediately he betook
himself to the chase.
I saw a pretty young woman in pursuit of some portion of time, which she
seemed to consider a valuable opportunity. It led her up and down at her
utmost speed: but at last, as I stood in its course, it was entangled in
the skirts of my coat; I seized it before it could escape, and presented
it to her. It was a single hour: she accepted it with joy; but I could
not prevail upon her to tell me what advantage she had lost with this
hour. This young woman, and some other persons, followed their time very
earnestly with a confused notion of benefit from it, when it should be
caught, though without any plan for applying it to a real purpose. The
truth was, that most of those who heard the striking of their own hours,
by awe and regret from the sound, were incapable of thinking accurately,
and were driven by a desire of retrieving the past they knew not how.
Without any such reproach, it was impossible to stand in this valley,
and hear the destruction of time all round, without sorrow for the waste
of this commodity. There was a reasoning in the place not to be opposed.
I considered that time and money being the two things most earnestly
desired in our world, the ingenuity of men is chiefly exercised in
devising arts for the waste of both. It appeared to me also that amongst
all the errors in the plan of a human being, the most fatal is that the
present moment should be so much the most plausible instant of our
lives, and capable of persuading us to whatever it chooses. By universal
agreement and practice, the present time is for ease and enjoyment, the
future for abstinence, resolution, and insatiable industry; and since
the present moment is only one, while our future moments, by the
blessing of Providence, may be many, we judge that this distribution of
time is greatly to the advantage of industry and virtue, and we seem to
be treating ourselves with admirable severity, when we allot no portion
of our lives to pleasure, except the present moment; but in this
computation it is forgotten that life is made of present moments. The
bargain, however, is concluded; and pleasure exacts the observance of it
by still claiming the present moment, while industry, abstinence, and
other virtues included in the agreement, stand waiting for their turn
with helpless simplicity.
While I was engaged in these thoughts, I first heard the striking of my
own lost hours, which impressed upon me a horror that I cannot describe.
I knew each particular hour as I heard it, and remembered the abused
opportunities which I had long before ceased to lament. I stood in the
persuasion and despair of having lived in vain, and no more thought of
inquiring into the grounds of this trouble and conviction, than we do in
an anxious dream. Suddenly I was seized with a desire of recovering what
I had thrown away: I reproached myself with wandering for amusement in
the moon, and resolved to return without delay, in order to use my
remaining hours with rigorous frugality. I instantly set out, and
travelled with great zeal, nor did I lose the impression from the sound
of my lost time till I had nearly completed the journey.
At last, however, the illusion left me, and I was able to regard time as
the frivolous bauble which I have always considered it, except under the
deception of this valley. For however scrupulously we may turn every
moment to advantage, our most probable conclusion in every undertaking
is, that we are labouring to provide ourselves with repentance; and to
me it seems that a secure contempt of time, and an easy trifling with
that portion of it called human life, is the only adequate remedy
against the common lot of man, who, according to a celebrated author,
"is born crying, lives complaining, and dies disappointed."
Is it not a great folly that we, who know we are immortal beings, should
always perplex ourselves about the hurry and use of time? For when we
have before us such a supply as eternity, it is surely absurd to be
sparing of hours and days.
I regret that by this groundless consternation my travels in the moon
were so prematurely ended. I design another journey, and hope it may
produce something more worthy of being read than this imperfect
narrative.
* * * * *
MAHOMET AND THE SPIDER.
A DIALOGUE.
(_A Cave in Mount Hara._)
MAHOMET SPEAKS.
I begin to be very much tired of this cave, and my thoughts grow so
dull, that I have added only one line to the Koran during the last two
days. Yet here I must stay; for if I go out, and live amongst men, they
will never allow me to be a prophet; my doctrine will not be received
unless it comes out of a cave. Such is the nature of men: provided they
have not seen me for a month, and know not where I have been, they are
convinced of my intelligence with heaven, and do not consider that any
man might hide himself for a month, and so be a prophet. If they see me
write, they will not receive my words as revelation; but whatever I
compose out of their sight is unquestionably inspired. Certainly this
solitude is irksome. My only companion is that spider on the wall. I
begin to think he is the happiest of the two: it has never occurred to
him to be a prophet, and write a Koran, but he keeps his web in repair,
and eats flies, like other spiders.
SPIDER.
Are you already weary of your mission?
MAHOMET.
Great God! what do I hear? Surely it was the spider that reproved me in
a human voice!
SPIDER.
Yes, it was I who spoke; and my exercise of this faculty, by no means
common in a spider, may renew your diligence by showing the protection
of God. But pray recover from your alarm: in the course of your mission
you have met worse dangers than a talking spider. The truth is, though
you have seen me mending my web, and catching flies, I am, nevertheless,
far from being a spider, but one of the most important angels in heaven,
who have been sent to watch over you in this concealment. I have been
grieved to see you make so little progress for the last two days: you
have remained with your eyes fixed, and seemingly in thought, but your
meditations have not increased the Koran.
MAHOMET.
It is true, thou sacred angel, or spider, whichever I am to call you,
for my thoughts have been troubled by doubts.
SPIDER.
What have you been doubting about?
MAHOMET.
I was prepared to write a chapter enjoining prayer. I was going to
command all men to kneel at certain times for prosperity, obedient
children, and long life; but when I revolved the matter in my mind, I
could not help acknowledging to myself, that prayer is a very
ineffectual device, for a man may pray every hour in the day, and fail
in all his undertakings. What multitudes of prayers are offered, and how
few accomplished! With what confidence then can I bid men improve their
fortunes by prayer, when so little sagacity is required to see that
praying does not regulate events?
Men will be apt to reason concerning the blessings they want as I
reasoned about the mountain. Having called it several times without
observing in it the least preparation for complying with my request, I
concluded that the ordinary exertion of my own legs would be a more
effectual expedient for reaching it, than any entreaties; and so a man,
who has tried to grow rich by prayer will be convinced that human
industry is far more efficacious.
And not only is the event men pray for withheld, but the very contrary
is often sent. A man asks for an increase of wealth, and accordingly
loses what he has; he begs a long life for his son, and the boy dies on
the following day. Men might almost be tempted to pray against their
wishes, in hope of having them fulfilled. These things have stopped the
Koran. I have thought of cities broken into for desolation, while the
inhabitants pray for defence; of the merchant a sudden beggar by storms,
while he raises his hands to God for a blessing on his ships; of the
infant that dies while the mother prays it may be an honoured man; and
then, when I would have ordered all men to pray, and be safe, the pen
has dropped from my hand. Thus my thoughts concerning the goodness of
God have been disturbed: how might he increase the happiness of men by
yielding to their prayers! and his refusals seem the more obdurate,
because, as it appears to our comprehension, he might give men all they
ask without any inconvenience to himself.
SPIDER.
I find you are still impeded by the infirmities of an earthly mind. But
I was sent here for your inspiration, with power to show you some of the
secrets of the world; and I will now reveal to you sights that may help
to explain these difficulties.
MAHOMET.
To find such sights we must certainly leave this cave, which is
extremely wanting in incidents. Your stratagems against the flies are
the only events that I have observed since I have lived here.
SPIDER.
We shall not confine our observations to this cave, which, as you say,
is barren of adventures.
MAHOMET.
Then if we are to go abroad, is it advisable that you should travel in
the disguise of a spider, or will you not take a more convenient shape?
ANGEL.
Am I a spider now?
MAHOMET.
God is great! I see the beautiful form of an angel descending from the
web. How little did I imagine it was an angel that I saw spinning and
catching flies!
ANGEL.
We are going to leave the earth, and soar far away. Now that we are out
of the cave, take my hand, and we shall mount without an effort. We are
soon in the sky; look down, and see what a noble sight the earth is!
MAHOMET.
I see many different countries and tribes of men.
ANGEL.
Your task is to bring all those nations to the same belief?
MAHOMET.
I fear that will be difficult; for I never yet could induce any two of
my wives to think alike. You know that I have eleven; and in every
dispute they never fail to invent eleven opinions, of which each takes
one.
ANGEL.
God will give you the faculty of persuasion. You will be great while you
live, and after death still greater, being employed to govern the world.
MAHOMET.
I have heard before of the authority to be given me after death, and
have thought with some alarm of rising out of my grave governor of the
world; for, as I understand the office, it must require great
experience: and if without previous instruction or practice I shall be
expected to regulate day and night, summer and winter,--if the fruit,
the trees, the corn, must grow by my art,--if, at the moment I awake, I
shall be required to rain, to hail, to thunder, and to lighten in
proper places and at the right juncture,--if at sea I am to make a calm
and storm alternately, and to drown a part of those who sail with exact
judgment,--if, besides this, I am to advance and to ruin empires, to be
present at every battle, and conquer on the just side,--if, in the midst
of all this business, I must every moment be at leisure to hear the
prayers of all mankind with perfect equity,--if I must also know at
every moment what every man alive is thinking of, which I believe is one
of the functions of Heaven,--if I am at proper intervals to furnish an
earthquake and a comet, to say nothing of the moon and stars, which must
every night be kept in their places,--if, in short, every thing that
happens in the world is to be done by me, I fear that for some time
there must be great disturbance, for with my present knowledge I should
certainly be a very unskilful providence: an active colleague should be
given me at first.
ANGEL.
Fear not; nothing too difficult will be imposed upon you. But now look
down upon the earth.
MAHOMET.
We are at a great distance from it; and yet I see clearly the figures of
men, and what they are doing.
ANGEL.
Your eyes are strengthened for that purpose. You have now more than
mortal sight, otherwise all would be confusion.
MAHOMET.
I see many on their knees, of whom, perhaps, not one will obtain what he
prays for; and I see men engaging themselves in numberless undertakings:
they are all full of hope, yet how few will accomplish what they
attempt! This it is that troubles me: if God is good, why does he not
grant to every man his desire?
ANGEL.
You may try that way of governing the world if you please: I can give
you for the time an absolute power over the whole human race.
MAHOMET.
Then I grant to all human beings the accomplishment of their present
wishes. But what do I see? Every mortal upon earth has fallen down, and
seems to be dead!
ANGEL.
Yes; the whole human race is in a moment destroyed. This is the
accomplishment of men's wishes.
MAHOMET.
Did men wish to be dead?
ANGEL.
There was not one who was not wished dead by some other, and thus, by
your comprehensive kindness, all mankind have died together. Had not you
had a particular exemption, you would have been included in the general
fate.
MAHOMET.
Is it possible that such should be the hatred of men towards each other?
ANGEL.
It is not hatred which has caused this universal destruction. One man
has wished the death of another that he might succeed him in his riches;
another has desired the decease of a friend that he might gain
possession of his widow, being a beautiful woman. Some, indeed, wish the
destruction of their friends from pure hatred, but the chief part of
mankind would put others to death without the least anger or dislike.
You may see, however, that the wishes of men interfere a little with
each other, and that to comply with them all would not be the most
humane way of governing the world.
MAHOMET.
I confess my error; but how is this loss to be repaired? Will God create
a new race?
ANGEL.
No; I can recall these people to life. There! you see them start up,
and resume their employments, quite unconscious of having been dead.
MAHOMET.
And I suppose they have again begun to wish each other dead with the
same vigour as before.
ANGEL.
No doubt. But come, I have more to show you: we must ascend to the
threshold of heaven itself.
MAHOMET.
The earth has almost disappeared; we must be travelling very rapidly.
ANGEL.
Yes; angels never lose time in a journey; and we are now arrived at the
place where the prayers of mankind find an entrance into heaven. We are
in the midst of them, as you may hear. They are from all countries; and
you have now suddenly the gift of understanding all languages, that you
may give them audience.
MAHOMET.
What a clamour! I hear the names of various blessings, in different
tones of entreaty; but it is impossible to distinguish them. All mankind
seem to be praying at once.
ANGEL.
When a prayer is uttered upon earth, it immediately flies up to this
place, where the crowd of petitions wait to be admitted into heaven. To
avoid confusion, they are let in one by one, and each, till its turn
comes, remains here, praying incessantly, as you hear. I am going to
knock at this door, and when it is opened, we must hasten through, lest
any of the prayers should slip in with us. There, we are now within the
threshold of heaven, and can no longer hear the clamour. When I open
this other small door, the prayers will come in one after another; and
power is given to you to grant whichever you may think just. But I must
tell you, that when there is more than one prayer from different men,
concerning the same event, they come together, that you may reconcile
them as well as you can. The door is open; now listen.
FIRST PRAYER.
Grant, oh God, that my wife, Hafna, may bear a son.
MAHOMET.
This prayer, at least, is innocent, and can injure no man.
ANGEL.
Stay, before you comply with it, hear the next.
SECOND PRAYER.
Grant, oh God, that Hafna may be childless; then the wealth of her
husband will descend to my children.
ANGEL.
Now grant these two prayers,--let Hafna have a son, and let her be
childless.
MAHOMET.
It seems there is as much contention amongst the wishes of men as
amongst my wives.
FIRST PRAYER.
May a north wind blow over the Egean sea, that my ship may return.
SECOND PRAYER.
Oh, let a south wind blow steadily on the Egean sea, to bring home my
son.
MAHOMET.
I paused in expectation of hearing that the east and west winds also
might be useful on the Egean sea.
ANGEL.
Here are two prayers coming from a man and his wife.
MAHOMET.
Surely they will agree better.
FIRST PRAYER.
Oh God, may it soon please thee to take my wife into heaven, for
whithersoever I go her tongue followeth me.
SECOND PRAYER.
Oh God, may it please thee to conduct my husband into heaven, for upon
earth he is useless and grievous.
MAHOMET.
Well, this worthy pair agree exactly in their wishes for each other.
ANGEL.
You have placed yourself there to be prayed to, that you might correct
the severity of Providence, and you have not granted one prayer yet.
MAHOMET.
I have heard enough already to learn that the prayers of men must be
disappointed.
ANGEL.
If you begin to distrust your project of benefiting the human race by
compliance, and do not like your office of hearing prayers so well as
you expected, you shall give up the post, and I will then show you the
way in which the fate of prayers is decided.
MAHOMET.
I am ready to resign my power, and would rather see how the wishes of
men are disposed of by Divine Wisdom.
ANGEL.
I must shut the door, then, and keep the prayers out for a minute. You
must know that this is one of the duties which the angels perform,
without a visible interposition of God, though all is secretly guided by
his power and wisdom. Here is a net, which I fasten over the small door,
so that it hangs as a bag, and every prayer that enters the door must
fall into it.
MAHOMET.
What! can a prayer be caught in a net, like a fish?
ANGEL.
You shall see: open the door, and shut it again as soon as the first
prayer has passed.
PRAYER.
Oh God, may I obtain the command of a province.
MAHOMET.
What a miracle is this! I see a bird flapping in the net, and not a
prayer; yet no bird came through the door.
ANGEL.
Words may assume a visible form at the command of God. That bird is the
prayer, which you heard ask for the command of a province. This net has
the power of enduing a prayer with wings, and all the appearance of a
bird.
MAHOMET.
But what advantage is there in the change? I should have imagined the
words would interpret the man's wish more clearly than the bird. If a
man asked me for a province in good Arabic I should at least know what
he wanted, but if he only sent me a bird, I think I should hardly
understand the solicitation.
ANGEL.
You will see that the prayer in its present shape is better qualified to
succeed than when it was only a sound. Look into the great urn that
stands near you.
MAHOMET.
It is filled with little scraps of parchment.
ANGEL.
On each of those scraps, which appear to be parchment, is written the
name of some human being now alive, and also the name of some blessing
or advantage, such as his circumstances and the course of events may
bring within his reach. When the prayer of a man, having become a bird
by this net, gains possession of the parchment inscribed with what it
prays for and with his name, it carries the prize down to him, and he
obtains the enjoyment of his wish. I will now let out this prayer which
flutters impatiently in the net, and is eager to carry back a province
in its bill. You see it is no sooner at liberty than it soars round the
mouth of the urn by a sure instinct. It has dashed down, and is bringing
out the prize: I will catch it, that we may examine the province before
it goes. Here you see on one side is written the name of a Greek, on the
other, "A province under the Emperor." But this is not all that the
parchment is charged with: it is closely folded up, and inside are
written the consequences to this Greek of governing a province. I will
open it that we may see whether the bird is carrying him so valuable a
gift as he believes. Inside are these words, as the fate of the
governor, "Falsely accused to the Emperor of extortion; recalled, and
put to death." I fold it up again and restore it to the bird, which
seizes it eagerly, and has flown off through another opening.
MAHOMET.
But how is the bird to enforce execution of the parchment?
ANGEL.
It repairs to the man from whom it proceeded as a prayer, stands on his
head, and fixes the parchment to his forehead, where it firmly remains.
The bird then takes wing again, and soars round the man till it dies in
the air. This parchment on the forehead of a man gives him authority
over events, all obstacles yield before it, and he soon attains his
wish. The parchment adheres to him till every thing written in it has
been fulfilled, and then drops off. This governor of a province will
retain it till his death, which it is to effect.
MAHOMET.
But I have never seen a man with a parchment on his forehead, and a bird
flying round his head.
ANGEL.
These things are not subject to mortal eyes: you are now in possession
of a divine sight, which I shall take from you at your return to the
earth. But I have adjusted the net again,--let in another prayer.
PRAYER.
Oh God, grant that I may become emperor after the present sovereign, and
I will reign with virtue and the happiness of all.
ANGEL.
This is a Greek, who begs to sit on the throne of Constantinople.
MAHOMET.
And he promises good government as an inducement to God to elect him. If
promising were a sufficient title to success, every man might claim the
empire.
ANGEL.
There are many suppliants, who in praying enter into certain engagements
very advantageous to heaven, but the agreement seldom is observed when
the prayer has been granted. This prayer for an empire flutters eagerly
in the net; we will let it out to search the urn.
MAHOMET.
It soars round and round, and looks disappointed.
ANGEL.
There is no parchment belonging to it in the urn, which its instinct has
discovered. It will soon die, its embassy being finished.
MAHOMET.
It has suddenly vanished as it flew.
ANGEL.
That is the death of a prayer, it leaves no remains behind. Let in
another.
FIRST PRAYER.
Oh God, may I obtain the beautiful Julia in marriage.
SECOND PRAYER.
Let me marry Julia, oh God, or I perish.
ANGEL.
These are two rival prayers from Rome. The last of the suppliants
threatens to die, if God does not effect his marriage with Julia.
MAHOMET.
Here are two birds in the net: how shall we settle their claims to the
parchment?
ANGEL.
Let them both out together.
MAHOMET.
They are fighting over the urn.
ANGEL.
Yes; one will kill the other. Sometimes we have a combat of a dozen
prayers, which fight till only one is left alive, and the survivor
carries off the parchment, if there should happen to be one.
MAHOMET.
One of these birds has disappeared.
ANGEL.
It is dead, and the other has gained possession of the parchment. I will
seize him, and examine the lot, which has busied these two competitors.
It says that the successful lover is to be poisoned by his wife two
years after marriage. Now you see that those are often the happiest
whose emissary finds no prize for them in the urn. Let us hear the next
suitor.
PRAYER.
Oh God, restore to me my property, or who will praise thy justice upon
earth?
MAHOMET.
That is a very reproachful prayer.
ANGEL.