The Blazing World and Other Writings (Penguin Classics) (13 page)

But to return to the old man, observing how careful and choice they keep him, he told his son what he thought was their intentions, which was to sacrifice diem, and said he, there is no way to escape, unless we had their language, and could make them believe we came from the gods; and that the gods would punish diem, if they put them to death, and you are young, said he, and apt to learn; but I am old, and my memory decayed; wherefore now study for your life or never.

Well, said he, since my life lies in my learning, I will learn for
my life, which he did so well, that he got in that twelve month their language, so perfect as he understood, and could speak most of it, in which time he understood all that I have delivered to the reader, and besides understood that they had many gods, and goddesses.

The sun was their chief god, and the earth the chief goddess, their next god was the sea, and their goddess the moon, and they prayed to the stars, as some do to saints, to speak in their behalf, and to present their prayer to the sun and moon, which they thought to be as man and wife, and the stars their children; to their gods, they offered none but the males, and those offerings were offered by men; and the men prayed only to the gods; and to their goddesses none but the women; nor none but female offerings were offered unto them: at last by their discourse and preparation, they perceived they were to be sacrificed to the sun, as being both males, as they thought, and with great ceremony, as being strangers, and such rarities, yet they did not touch Travellia, as supposing, if they should, he would the before he was brought to the place of sacrifices; yet in all this time he never disclosed that he could speak their language, nor to understand them; but in this time the old man had got some saltpeter, and burnt wood into charcoal, so made gunpowder, for they had the liberty to go where they would about their temples, and after he had made the gunpowder, he made two things like pistols, although not so curious and neat, yet well enough to serve his turn, and directed his son what he should do and say; whereupon against that day he made himself a garment of a grass which was like to green silk, and with the same he had woven it so finely, as it looked like satin, also the calves of his legs like buskins were several coloured flowers, and a garland of flowers on his head, the soles of his sandals were of that green; but the stripes atop were of flowers like his buskins; in each hand he held the two pistols; his hair which was grown in that time, for he never discovered it, keeping it tied up, untied it, and that day let it down, which spread upon his back, but when the priest which came to fetch him forth, saw him thus dressed, never seeing hair before, for they had none but
wool, and very short as Nigers have,
¹²
was amazed at the sight; and not daring to touch him, went by him as guarding him, as the chief sacrifice to the place, where the King and all his tribe, and all his people waiting for their coming, the King being placed at the head of the altar with a dart in his right hand, the spear of the dart being an entire diamond, cut with a sharp point, to signify the piercing beams of the sun, which spear, he usually struck into the heart of the sacrificed; which heart the priest used to cut out, and gave the King to eat raw, whilst the priest sang songs in the praise of the sun, as the father of all things[.] Thus after some expectations the priest came with their sacrifices, which when the King and people saw, they were all amazed, as well they might; for he appeared most beautiful; but at last they all shouted, and cried out, their gods had beautified and adorned their sacrifices, as being well pleased therewith, making great shouts and noises of joy; but when he came to the altar he called to them, in their own language, at which they grew mute with wonder, and being all silent, he thus spake.

The Speech

O King, and you spectators, why do you offend the gods, in destroying their messengers; which come to bring you life, and to make you happy; had I brought you plagues, then you might have sacrificed me unto your god of lights, as coming from death and darkness, his enemies; but for this your false devotion, the great sun, saith he, will destroy you with one of his small thunderbolts, killing first your priests and then the rest.
With that shot off his pistol into the breast of the chief priest, wherewith he straight fell down dead; the noise of the pistol, and the flash of the fire, which they never saw before, and the effect of it upon the priest, struck them with such a horror, and did so terrify them, as they all kneeled down imploring mercy, and forgiveness, with trembling limbs, and weeping eyes, whereupon he told them, there was no way to avoid punishment, but first to fast two days from any kind of nourishment;
next, not to open their lips to speak, and then to obey whatsoever he shall teach them, as being sent from the gods; bidding them go home until their time of fasting were out; and then to return to the temple again, commanding none to remain there, but to leave it to the old man, and he. Which temple was most rich and curiously built, having in that country great art and skill, in architecture.

Whereupon, the King and all the people, rising up, bowing their heads down low, as in humble obedience to commands, praying to him as a god to divert the punishments intended to them, and in sorrow, as lamenting their fault went home, each to his house, sealing up their lips for such a time, from receiving meat, or sending forth words; in the meantime the old man and he had leisure to bethink themselves what to do, having at that time the temple as a palace to live in, none to disturb diem, nor to hinder their thoughts from working out their advantage, and sitting in council a long time, disputing with each other, what was best to do, at last resolved the old man should go to the King as sent from the gods, to bid him send a command to all his people to eat such herbs, as a salad, drinking their water without mixture just before they came, for else, said the old man, their hunger will make them impatient, or so dull, as it may stop their ears, by the faintness of their spirits, caused by their empty stomachs, and too much said he, makes them furious, sending up malignant vapours to their brains, which may cause our ruins; but after he had been with the King, he returned back to the temple again, and the King obeyed his desire, as a command from the gods, and brought the people all to the temple, where after they were all gathered together, Travellia advanced himself so much higher than the rest, as they might hear him round.

Then thus spake.

Pious friends, for so I may call you, being willing to please the gods; but your ignorance hath led you wrong ways: yet the gods seeing your zeal, though through a false devotion, pitying your ignorance did by their
wisdom find means to appease the wrath of their justice, for every attribute of the gods must have a satisfaction; For right is their kingdom, and truth is their sceptre, wherewith they govern all their works; but the gods hath strewn lots among mankind of moveable things which chance gathers up, and chance being blind mistakes both in the gathering and distributing: now the gods made this chance by their providence when they made man, for man hath no more knowledge of the transitory things of the world, than what chance gives them, who is an unjust distributor, for all external gifts come from her hand, which for want of sight, she gives oft times the beggar’s lot to the King, the servants’ to the masters, the masters’ to the servants: and For the internal gifts which the gods have bestowed on men, are different, as the external are transitory; For some are nearer to perfection, some farther off: yet none have perfect knowledge, For the gods mix man’s nature with such an aspiring ambition, that if they had a perfect knowledge of the glory of the gods, and a perfect knowledge of the first cause; and the effects produced therefrom, they would have warred with the gods, and have striven to usurp their authority, so busy and vainglorious hath the gods made the minds of men. Wherefore the gods govern the world by ignorance: and though the goodness of the gods is great, yet their goodness is bound in with their justice, which is attended with terrors, to punish the crimes of men. And even to punish the innocent errors that proceed from that ignorance, which they have muzzled man withal; but as their power made the world; their wisdom rules the world; their justice punishes the world: so their mercy keeps the world from destruction, and their love, not only saves man, but prefers man to a glorious happiness. And some of this love the gods have sent to you, although by your ignorance you had almost cast it from you. And since the gods have sent you knowledge by us, take hold of it: and not willingly fall in your suspicious errors, although it is a difficult pain, even For the gods themselves to persuade man, who is of a cross, superstitious, inquisitive, and murmuring nature, accusing the gods For partiality, saying, they prefer or cast out whom they please, not as man deserves; thus they judge of the gods, by their own passions, but the gods by variations are pleased to continue the world, and by contradiction do govern it, by sympathy delight it, For delight lives not altogether in the power of chance; being created in the essence and soul of man, For though chance can present those things which [cause] antipathies, or sympathies
,
to the senses which present them to the soul, yet it hath not the power to rule it[.] For the soul is a kind of god in itself, to direct and guide those things that are inferior to it; to perceive and descry into those things that are far above it, to create by invention, to delight in contemplations; and though it hath not an absolute power over itself, yet it is a harmonious and absolute thing in itself, and though it is not a god from all eternity, yet it is a kind of deity to all eternity, for it shall never die; and though the body hath a relation to it, yet no otherwise than the mansion of Jove hath unto Jove[.] The body is only the residing place, and the sensitive spirits are as the soul’s angels, or messengers and intelligencers; so the souls of men are to the gods as the sensitive spirits to the soul; and will you dislodge the sensitive spirits of the gods, by destroying and unbuilding each other’s body by violent deaths, before it be the gods’ pleasure to dissolve that body, and so to remove the soul to a new mansion? And though it is not every creature that hath that soul, but only man, for beasts have none, nor every man, for most men are beasts, only the sensitive spirits and the shape maybe, but not the soul; yet none know when the soul is out or in, but the gods; and not only other bodies may not know it, but the same body be ignorant thereof.

For the soul is as invisible to the sensitive spirits, as the gods to men; for though the soul knows and hath intelligence by the sensitive spirits, yet the sensitive [spirits] have none from the soul; for as gods know men, but men know not gods, so the soul knoweth the senses, but the senses know not the soul; wherefore you must seek all the ways to preserve one another, as temples of the gods, not to destroy and pull them down; for whosoever doth so, commits sacrilege against the gods; wherefore none must die, but those that kill, or would kill others[.] Death must be repaid with death, saith Jove, and only death is in the power of man to call when they please, but life is in the power of the gods, and those that displease the gods shall have a miserable life, not only in the bodily part, which is sensible of pain, and may be tormented out of one shape into another, and be perpetually dying or killing with all manner of torments, and yet never die; as in the shape of a man, feels stabs in the sides, or the like; in the shape of a bull, knocks on his head, or the like; in the shape of a hart, arrows in the haunch, or the like; in the shape of a fish, hooks tearing the jaws, besides all manner of diseases and infirmities; thus burning, hanging, drowning, smothering, pressing, freezing, rotting, and thousands
of these kinds, nay, more than can be reckoned, may suffer: thus several bodies, though but one mind, may be troubled in every shape.

But those that please the gods, live easy in every shape, and the quietly and peaceably; or when the gods do change their shapes or mansions, ’tis for the better, either for ease or newness.

Thus have the gods sent us to instruct you, and to stay so long amongst you as you can learn and know their commands, then to return unto them.

With that the King and people bowed their faces to the ground, adoring him as a god, and would have built altars, and offered sacrifices unto him; but he forbade them, telling them they must build altars in their hearts of repenting, humbling, and amending thoughts, and offer sacrifices of prayer and thanksgiving to the great and incomprehensible Jove, and not altars built with hands unto men, nor to offer inhumane sacrifices to gods of their own making.

Thus preaching every day for some time, forbidding vain and barbarous customs, and inhumane ceremonies, teaching and persuading them to believe the gods were not to be known nor comprehended, and that all that they have discovered of themselves to their creatures, was only by their works, in which they should praise them: for and by which doctrine they were brought to be a civilized people, and approved of their teacher so well, that they would do nothing concerning religion, or any other affairs of government without diem; and being dismissed for that time, departed, leaving them to themselves in the temple. But at certain and set times the King and people repaired thither to hear him preach, who taught them according to his belief; and whensoever they moved out of the temple, all the people flocked about them with acclamations of joy; and whensoever the King sent for diem, as he often did for their counsels, all the princes attended, and people waited upon them, and thus they lived with great splendour, love, and admiration amongst diem; their persons were thought divine, their words were laws, and their actions examples, which they kept, and the people followed.

Thus for a while we leave diem, and return to the old lady and the Prince.

The old lady sen[t] into Affectionata’s chamber (as then called) for so she named herself there, to entreat her company, for therein she took great delight, she being witty in her conversation, and pleasing in her humour: but the messenger bringing his errand, missed of the mark, looking about, and calling aloud, could neither hear nor see her; so returning to the old lady, she was not to be found; whereat she grew into a great passion, not only for her loss, which she thought great, since her love to her, and esteem of her, was not small, which she had for her: but that she apprehended the Prince would think that she had neglected that charge he had entrusted her with.