--_Omnem_, _quae nunc obducta tuenti_
_Mortales hebetat visus tibi_, _et humida circum_
_Caligat_, _nubem eripiam_.
VIRG., _AEn._ ii. 604.
The cloud, which, intercepting the clear light,
Hangs o'er thy eyes, and blunts thy mortal sight,
I will remove.
When I was at Grand Cairo, I picked up several Oriental manuscripts,
which I have still by me. Among others I met with one entitled "The
Visions of Mirza," which I have read over with great pleasure. I intend
to give it to the public when I have no other entertainment for them; and
shall begin with the first vision, which I have translated word for word
as follows:
"On 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 ascended the high hills of Bagdad, in order to
pass the rest of the day in meditation and prayer. As I was here airing
myself on the tops of the mountains, I fell into a profound contemplation
on the vanity of human life; and passing from one thought to another,
'Surely,' said I, 'man is but a shadow, and life a dream.' Whilst I was
thus musing, I cast my eyes towards the summit of a rock that was not far
from me, where I discovered one in the habit of a shepherd, with a
musical instrument in his hand. As I looked upon him he applied it to
his lips, and began to play upon it. The sound of it was exceeding
sweet, and wrought into a variety of tunes that were inexpressibly
melodious, and altogether different from anything I had ever heard. They
put me in mind of those heavenly airs that are played to the departed
souls of good men upon their first arrival in Paradise, to wear out the
impressions of their last agonies, and qualify them for the pleasures of
that happy place. My heart melted away in secret raptures.
"I had been often told that the rock before me was the haunt of a genius,
and that several had been entertained with music who had passed by it,
but never heard that the musician had before made himself visible. When
he had raised my thoughts by those transporting airs which he played, to
taste the pleasures of his conversation, as I looked upon him like one
astonished, he beckoned to me, and, by the waving of his hand, directed
me to approach the place where he sat. I drew near with that reverence
which is due to a superior nature; and, as my heart was entirely subdued
by the captivating strains I had heard, I fell down at his feet and wept.
The genius smiled upon me with a look of compassion and affability that
familiarised him to my imagination, and at once dispelled all the fears
and apprehensions with which I approached him. He lifted me from the
ground, and, taking me by the hand, 'Mirza,' said he, 'I have heard thee
in thy soliloquies; follow me.'
"He then led me to the highest pinnacle of the rock, and placing me on
the top of it, 'Cast thy eyes eastward,' said he, 'and tell me what thou
seest.' 'I see,' said I, 'a huge valley, and a prodigious tide of water
rolling through it.' 'The valley that thou seest,' said he, 'is the Vale
of Misery, and the tide of water that thou seest is part of the great
tide of Eternity.' 'What is the reason,' said I, 'that the tide I see
rises out of a thick mist at one end, and again loses itself in a thick
mist at the other?' 'What thou seest,' said he, 'is that portion of
Eternity which is called Time, measured out by the sun, and reaching from
the beginning of the world to its consummation. Examine now,' said he,
'this sea that is bounded with darkness at both ends, and tell me what
thou discoverest in it.' 'I see a bridge,' said I, 'standing in the
midst of the tide.' 'The bridge thou seest,' said he, 'is Human Life;
consider it attentively.' Upon a more leisurely survey of it, I found
that it consisted of threescore and ten entire arches, with several
broken arches, which, added to those that were entire, made up the number
about a hundred. As I was counting the arches, the genius told me that
this bridge consisted at first of a thousand arches; but that a great
flood swept away the rest, and left the bridge in the ruinous condition I
now beheld it. 'But tell me further,' said he, 'what thou discoverest on
it.' 'I see multitudes of people passing over it,' said I, 'and a black
cloud hanging on each end of it.' As I looked more attentively, I saw
several of the passengers 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
passengers no sooner trod upon but they fell through them into the tide,
and immediately disappeared. These hidden pit-falls were set very thick
at the entrance of the bridge, so that throngs of people no sooner broke
through the cloud but many of them fell into them. They grew thinner
towards the middle, but multiplied and lay closer together towards the
end of the arches that were entire.
"There were indeed some persons, but their number was very small, that
continued a kind of hobbling march on the broken arches, but fell through
one after another, being quite tired and spent with so long a walk.
"I passed some time in the contemplation of this wonderful structure, and
the great variety of objects which it presented. My heart was filled
with a deep melancholy to see several dropping unexpectedly in the midst
of mirth and jollity, and catching at everything that stood by them to
save themselves. Some were looking up towards the heavens in a
thoughtful posture, and in the midst of a speculation stumbled and fell
out of sight. Multitudes were very busy in the pursuit 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 sunk. In this confusion of objects, I observed some with
scimitars in their hands, who ran to and fro from the bridge, thrusting
several persons on trapdoors which did not seem to lie in their way, and
which they might have escaped had they not been thus forced upon them.
"The genius, seeing me indulge myself on this melancholy prospect, told
me I had dwelt long enough upon it. 'Take thine eyes off the bridge,'
said he, 'and tell me if thou yet seest anything thou dost not
comprehend.' Upon looking up, 'What mean,' said I, 'those great flights
of birds that are perpetually hovering about the bridge, and settling
upon it from time to time? I see vultures, harpies, ravens, cormorants,
and among many other feathered creatures, several little winged boys,
that perch in great numbers upon the middle arches.' 'These,' said the
genius, 'are Envy, Avarice, Superstition, Despair, Love, with the like
cares and passions that infest human life.'
"I here fetched a deep sigh. 'Alas,' said I, 'man was made in vain! how
is he given away to misery and mortality! tortured in life, and swallowed
up in death!' The genius, being moved with compassion towards me, bade
me quit so uncomfortable a prospect. 'Look no more,' said he, 'on man in
the first stage of his existence, in his setting out for Eternity; but
cast thine eye on that thick mist into which the tide bears the several
generations of mortals that fall into it.' I directed my sight as I was
ordered, and, whether or no the good genius strengthened it with any
supernatural force, or dissipated part of the mist that was before too
thick for the eye to penetrate, I saw the valley opening at the further
end, and spreading forth into an immense ocean, that had a huge rock of
adamant running through the midst of it, and dividing it into two equal
parts. The clouds still rested on one half of it, insomuch that I could
discover nothing in it; but the other appeared to me a vast ocean planted
with innumerable islands, that were covered with fruits and flowers, and
interwoven with a thousand little shining seas that ran among them. I
could see persons dressed in glorious habits, with garlands upon their
heads, passing among the trees, lying down by the sides of fountains, or
resting on beds of flowers; and could hear a confused harmony of singing
birds, falling waters, human voices, and musical instruments. Gladness
grew in me upon the discovery of so delightful a scene. I wished for the
wings of an eagle, that I might fly away to those happy seats; but the
genius told me there was no passage to them, except through the gates of
death that I saw opening every moment upon the bridge. 'The islands,'
said he, 'that lie so fresh and green before thee, amid with which the
whole face of the ocean appears spotted as far as thou canst see, are
more in number than the sands on the sea-shore: there are myriads of
islands behind those which thou here discoverest, reaching further than
thine eye, or even thine imagination can extend itself. These are the
mansions of good men after death, who, according to the degree and kinds
of virtue in which they excelled, are distributed among those several
islands, which abound with pleasures of different kinds and degrees,
suitable to the relishes and perfections of those who are settled in
them: every island is a paradise accommodated to its respective
inhabitants. Are not these, O Mirza, habitations worth contending for?
Does life appear miserable that gives thee opportunities of earning such
a reward? Is death to be feared that will convey thee to so happy an
existence? Think not man was made in vain, who has such an Eternity
reserved for him.' I gazed with inexpressible pleasure on these happy
islands. At length, said I, 'Show me now, I beseech thee, the secrets
that lie hid under those dark clouds which cover the ocean on the other
side of the rock of adamant.' The genius making me no answer, I turned
about to address myself to him a second time, but I found that he had
left me; I then turned again to the vision which I had been so long
contemplating: but instead of the rolling tide, the arched bridge, and
the happy islands, I saw nothing but the long hollow valley of Bagdad,
with oxen, sheep, and camels grazing upon the sides of it."