It was the opinion of the wise _Pythagoras_, and of some other
philosophers, that the souls of men, women, and children, after their
death, are sent into other human bodies, and sometimes into those of
beasts and birds, or even insects; and that they hereby change their
residence either to their advantage or disadvantage, according to their
good or ill behaviour in their preceding state of existence. This
singular opinion still prevails in some part of the Eastindies; and
that to such a degree that they make it criminal to put any animal to
death: "For how do you know, say they, but in killing a sheep, a bird,
or a fish, you murder your father, or your brother, or some other
deceased friend or relation, whose soul may inhabit the body of the
animal you so wantonly destroy?" An officer in the service of the
Eastindia Company, and a particular friend of mine, had like to have
lost his life by not paying a proper deference to this whimsical
notion; for being some time in that part of the country, and happening
to shoot a heron, he was immediately arrested and prosecuted for it by
one of the natives. The man insisted that the heron was inhabited by
the soul of his father; and supported his point so much to the
satisfaction of the court, that had it not been for the friendly
assistance of a Jew, who appeared as the captain's advocate, he would
certainly have been condemned. The Jew, allowed that what the plaintiff
had asserted was strictly true, but pleaded in behalf of his client,
that the soul of his, the said client's grandmother, resided in the
body of a fish, which the said client had often seen and knew perfectly
well; and that at the time when the heron was killed, the said heron
was going to dart upon the said fish to devour it; so that the said
client being strongly moved thereunto by his natural affection,
instantly shot the said heron purely to save the life of his
grandmother. This plea was admitted, and the captain was immediately
discharged by order of the court. It is well for the reader that the
captain escaped as he did: for if he had been hanged for murdering the
heron, it is more than probable that it would have been out of his
power to have returned to England with that curious little treatise
which I have now taken the pains to translate into English for the
amusement of the little masters and misses of Great Britain.
It contains a diverting account of several naughty boys and girls, who,
after their death (which was generally owing to their own folly) were
degraded into such animals as they most resembled when alive. I cannot
pretend to say who was the author; for his modesty was so great, that
he has not inserted his name in the title page.
The captain tells me, it is the opinion of some of the Indian criticks,
that he was an academy-keeper, who wrote for the instruction of his
scholars; and of others, that he was a fond father who wrote for the
entertainment of his children; but as it is very possible that both of
them may be mistaken, I shall not presume to decide which of them have
been so fortunate as to discover the truth in a matter of such evident
importance.
I have only to observe, that as long proper names (such as those of the
Indians) would have been too crabbed for most of my little readers, I
have put myself to the amazing trouble of substituting English names in
their room, which are expressive of the characters of the persons to
whom they are applied. After humbly begging the author's pardon, for
taking this liberty with his ingenious performance, I must desire all
the masters and misses who read my translation of it, to be extremely
careful to avoid all the crimes and follies which it was intended to
correct; otherwise, if my friend the captain (who will probably hear of
their ill behaviour) should happen to speak of it, when he makes
another voyage to India, and it should by any means reach the ear of my
author, we may perhaps have a second volume, containing a mortifying
account of the surprising and lamentable transmigrations of some of the
naughty boys and girls in England.