text:
Page:The Harveian oration - delivered at the Royal College of Physicians, London, on October 18, 1884 (IA b21778929).pdf/29

 is a declaration that such truth is not universal. Much of his work has become a part of common knowledge; and so, will live on in the lives of those who are the "interpreters of Nature," so long as Nature lasts. But the wish that animates us to-day is to hand down to those who follow us, some knowledge of the Individual to whose life we owe so much, and whose Personality we would not "willingly let die." There are many ways in which this may be done, but I will allude to only two.

1°. The names of some great men have been associated with the discoveries that they have made; and they perhaps are used, many of them, in such familiar way that they carry little or no suggestion of their meaning. In some generation or two, yet to come, may it not be that the etymology of such words as Fallopian tube, Meckel's ganglion, Bright's disease, Addison's disease, Corrigan's pulse, Galvanism, Faradism, an Ohm or a Volt will have become somewhat obscure? Or, if the meaning of such phrases may be found in lexicons, are there many who will try to find out those meanings? It seems to me probable that individuality will not be main- tained by such means; and that future students may sometimes be disposed to ask-as I once heard the question put quite seriously-whether or no the "portal vein was not named after the distinguished French physician "> Portal!

While the progress of science is constructive, of generaliza- tion, and so-called "laws," it is destructive, as Harvey says, of the individual life; but yet we give "names to organs functions, forces, and shrewd connotations of phenomena, in order-while finding them convenient at the time-to delay if not arrest, the disintegration of the work of those men, whose names we thus hand down to those who follow us.

Do we not think it probable that, as future research proceeds, some of these names--which have passed into many


text:
Page:The Harveian oration - delivered at the Royal College of Physicians, London, on October 18, 1884 (IA b21778929).pdf/30

 countries and many tongues-may be lost sight of, and be so decomposed that they pass out of common use?

At this hour, and still in the lifetime of our honoured President whom may God long preserve-the phrase "Continued Fever" has passed into practical disuse; and this has been due, mainly if not exclusively, to the industry and genius which led him to disintegrate the name, trace out the causes, and define the maladies, that had long passed under that common term.

2°. Again, there are certain days by which the memory of great men is perpetuated. From very olden times until now; and, from the far east to the far west, "days" are set apart for the purpose of recalling individual lives. Ceremonies, of all kinds, have been parts of these human, national, and instinctive acts. They begin in the smallest families with the "Birthdays" and they stretch out to the acts of the greatest Nations.

This is St. Luke's Day," in the calendar of millions. There are days still set apart, compared in antiquity with which the observance of St. Luke's Day is but a modern event. Two hundred and eighty years have passed since Harvey was a member of this College: for two hundred and fifty-six years his great work (de motu cordis et sanguinis) has been before the world: two hundred and twenty-seven years have elapsed since he was buried in the quiet little church of Hempstead. And yet, only one year has passed since this College removed his remains still "lapt in lead" from the vault in which they had lain so long, and placed them in the safer keeping of new and carefully selected marble.

With us, although it is not so named, this is "Harvey's Day," and three hundred years have passed since he was born. How long this commemoration will continue we cannot tell. Our knowledge of the future, if we have any, is

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


text:
Page:The Harveian oration - delivered at the Royal College of Physicians, London, on October 18, 1884 (IA b21778929).pdf/31

 but scant. Who knows whether, when another sixty-nine years have passed, "Waterloo Day" will be kept in memory of Wellington ?

No one can answer us in our questions. But this we may do, we may look to the past, and learn its lessons; we may look to humanity and read its instincts; we may read the record of this College, and know its feeling; and of this we may be sure, that-although Harvey's name may be unknown to many in the days to come-yet so long as disease lasts; so long as the movements of the blood form part of the study of the physiologist and the art of the physician; so long as any further light is to be thrown upon them, by cardiograph or sphygmograph, or by any as yet unthought-of method of investigation; so long as "the cir- culation" is a recognized fact of science, his work will live; and, although, much of it may lie hidden in the "common notions" of the future, yet the life of Harvey will be main- tained, in its integrity, by the future Fellows of this College; and the greatness of his character will be brought, again and to light by many who will, more adequately than I can do, discharge the duties of this day.

It has been my wish, in what has hitherto been said, to lay before you some explanation of the motives that bring us together now; and also of those that led this College, last year, to the grave of Harvey. But further,-

II. If we would now appreciate the work of Harvey, let us for a moment try to eliminate from our knowledge the fact of the circulation of the blood," and then imagine ourselves to be face to face with the diseases that we are daily treating; with fever, apoplexy-hæmorrhagie, embolic, or diathetic; with dropsy, with cardiac disease, recent or old, with degeneration of structure, or with functional derange-


text: The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World (New York)/Chapter 1


text:
Page:The Harveian oration - delivered at the Royal College of Physicians, London, on October 18, 1884 (IA b21778929).pdf/32

 ment. It requires some force of fancy to realize what would be our position. The thermometer might teach us much; but it is difficult to sec in what way either stethoscope, cardiograph, or sphygmograph could do other than augment our bewilderment. Those who have made out for us the meaning of the cardiac sounds; those who have skilfully constructed apparatus so as to make the heart itself record, in some fashion, its own marvellous movements; and those who have delineated, in some sense, the curve and time- ordered elements of the radial pulse, would all admit that their work was based upon this foregone conclusion, the accepted fact, that the blood moved onwards in a circle. They have attained to knowledge that Harvey could not reach; but let me ask, could they have known what they now do, unless Harvey had raised the platform upon which they stood? The " thoughts of men are widened by the process of the suns;" and, by slow degrees, others might have done the work, or made the discovery, that he made; but the effect of his energy was a grand upheaval of the crusted surface of the past; a Titanic throe, that brought to the birth a new and mighty force and fact; and, when some of the dust and boulders had been cleared away, placed all who followed him on a higher plane, and in a clearer light.

It is given to the few great men to save the time and labour of the many. They not only take strides that would be impossible for those of lesser build, but they carry with them-over the bridge that they have thrown across the great gulf between the question of yesterday and the answer of to-day-all those who have cyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to follow.

III. Next, let me bring before your notice some of the main features of Harvey's "character," as this displays


text:
Page:The Harveian oration - delivered at the Royal College of Physicians, London, on October 18, 1884 (IA b21778929).pdf/33

 itself in his written "work." Chronologically, his character must precede his work; but the former was developed by the latter. These things act and react; moral forces become greater as our toil grows harder; and, in so doing, give not only fresh impulse, but increased strength for work.

1. Throughout Harvey's writings there is an eminently religious tone; a devout and reverential recognition of God; not only as the great primal, ever-acting Force, behind, out- side, and before all the works of Nature; but as the Being in "the Almighty and Eternal God," to whom, as he says his last will and testament, "I doe most humbly render my soule (as to) Him that gave it; and to my blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." 22

But Harvey did not let his religious convictions hold him in the tight grasp of what has been termed the 'theologic stage" of development; nothing prevented him from seeing all that he could see, and frankly telling all that he believed; and so we find him spurning some of the figments about "the spirits. . . . of a sublime, lucid, ethereal, celestial, or divine nature," when they are employed to fill up gaps in the physiology of his day; and comparing those who use them to the vulgar and unlettered who when they do not comprehend the causes of various effects, refer them to the immediate interposition of the Deity." " 23

Harvey, although saying that "the Divine mind of the Eternal Creator which is impressed on all things creates the image of itself in human conceptions;" and again, that all the arts are but imitations of Nature. ... as our reason or understanding is a derivative from the Divine intelligence manifested in his works;" and still further affirming as follows-" wherefore, according to my opinion, he takes the right and pious view of the matter, who derives all generation 66

23 On the Circulation, p. 120. 2: On Conception, p. 582. 22 Will of Harvey, p. lxxxix.


text: Page:The Harveian oration - delivered at the Royal College of Physicians, London, on October 18, 1884 (IA b21778929).pdf/43


text: The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World (New York)/Chapter 2


text:
Page:The Harveian oration - delivered at the Royal College of Physicians, London, on October 18, 1884 (IA b21778929).pdf/42

 II. In reverence Harvey knelt before her, but not satisfied with what he saw and heard, he asked her questions-and this, with no notion of confusing her, or misreading what she had already said or written, for he was just the kind of questioner to ask the kind of question to which she readily gave answer.

He examined her "in chief" to find out the right; he "cross-examined" her, but in no unfriendly tone, to bring her answer to a "yes" or "no," and so disprove the wrong, the untruth which other questioners had placed in evidence.

Nature," said he to Ent, "is the best and most faithful interpreter of her own secrets; and what she presents either more briefly or obscurely in one department, that she ex- plains more fully and clearly in another. . . . . Truth," he continues, scarce wants an advocate." Nature to him was a perfect verity: the one witness that could never be abashed or shaken; the one witness in whom there could be no false way; the one witness who could not lie.

There was no need to put her "on her oath," for she, in her prime, had been adjured, by the Most High God, to tell "the truth, and nothing but the truth." This she has always done, is doing now, and will, as we believe, go on to do. "C (6 But, can she tell "the whole truth?" Will Nature ever tell, or teach, us this? I can not presume to answer the question which yet I dare to ask; but my own conviction is, that she neither will nor can do this thing until the last hour of Time has struck, and has ushered in the dawn of that one, long, clear, eternal day, whose "sun shall no more go down," and, in whose ever-growing light, we may hail the presence of that "far-off Divine event, To which the whole creation moves."


text:
Page:The Harveian oration - delivered at the Royal College of Physicians, London, on October 18, 1884 (IA b21778929).pdf/41

 He acquired Fame, which certainly was not to him "the spur" that might his clear spirit raise

To scorn delights and live laborious days."

It may be, as was said of others in his day, that it was "the last infirmity of noble minds," but it was not so with our illustrious Harvey. "Think me not eager," he says, in one of his Introductory Letters, (On Gen. p. 166,) "for vainglorious fame rather than anxious to lay before you observations that are true, and that are derived immediately from the nature of things." Truth was what he sought, and what he found; and if Fame went with him, and followed him to his grave, and waits upon him now, there was no seeking for it on his part; nor could he well have imagined, with all his force of fancy, such a tribute to his memory as that, of last year, in the churchyard at Hempstead.

10. Harvey's great achievements were the result of his method viz., that of observation and experiment. Nature "displays " much; "the Heavens declare the glory of God," and she is always "revealing" as she moves, and she is never still; but Nature is ever moving "onwards" to some unknown goal; and at each onward step she, while revealing, "hides;" leaves behind her in her wake something of the past, which now we cannot see, and presents new facts and new combinations for man,-one of her factors,— to interpret. 24

Harvey was one of her keenest, and most devout interpeters. To him, as he stood by and listened, the Nature- spirit sang, and with profoundest meaning,

"So work I at Time's rushing loom, And weave the living robe of God."


text: The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World (New York)/Chapter 3


text:
Page:Seventh Report - Guns for gold- the Wagner Network exposed.pdf/16

Rh {| class="wikitable" ! Years of first Involvment !! Country !! Nature of Involvment !! Further information
 * 2021 || Mali || Sustained involvment || 2021 -Mali -Sustained - involvement - Wagner was invited by Mali’s military junta to provide security services against Islamist militant groups, following a coup by Colonel Assimi Goita in May 2021. Wagner operatives reportedly arrived in late 2021. In December 2021, the UK and its international partners strongly condemned the deployment of Wagner fighters to Mali. Before Wagner mercenaries were visible in Mali, Russian soft power had already played an important role in influencing public opinion on its involvement in Mali. A Wagner/Prigozhin-affiliated entity, the Foundation for the Protection of National Values (FZNC), published surveys after the military coup in 2021, showcasing opinions in favour of Russian intervention and negative perceptions of the French military’s Operation Barkhane. Following Colonel Assimi Goita’s accession to power, efforts continued to influence the perception of local populations in favour of an alliance with Russia and, in turn, to support the arrival of Wagner mercenaries.70
 * }
 * }

11. In addition to these seven countries, there are a further four where we have high confidence of the Wagner Network’s non-military involvement since 2014: Zimbabwe, the DRC, Madagascar, and South Africa. These countries are presented in Table 3.


text:
Page:The Great Didactic of John Amos Comenius (1896).pdf/185

the art of teaching be placed on a proper foundation is to the advantage—

1. Of parents, who up to this time have for the most part been uncertain how much to expect from their children. They hired tutors, besought them, strove to win them over by gifts, changed them, just as often in vain as with any result. But now that the method of teaching has been reasoned out with unerring accuracy, it will, with the assistance of God, be impossible that the desired result should not follow.

2. Of schoolmasters, the greater number of whom have been quite ignorant of their art, and who used therefore to wear themselves out when they wished to fulfil their duty, and to exhaust their strength in laborious efforts: or used to change their method, trying in turn first one plan then another a course which involved a tedious waste of time and of energy.

3. Of students, who may master the sciences without difficulty, tedium, complaints, or blows, as if in sport and in merriment.

4. Of schools, which, when the method has been established, will be not only preserved continuously in full vigour, but increased without limit. For they will indeed become places of amusement, houses of delights and attractions, and since (on account of the infallibility of the method) each student, of whatever capacity, will become a doctor (of a higher or lower grade), it will never be


text: The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World (New York)/Chapter 4


text:
Page:The Great Didactic of John Amos Comenius (1896).pdf/186

 possible for a dearth of suitable school-teachers to arise, or for learning not to flourish.

5. Of states, according to the testimony of Cicero. With whom agrees that of Diogenes the Pythagorean (to be found in Stobæus). For what is the foundation of the whole state? Surely, the development of the young. Since vines that have not been well cultivated will not bear good fruit.

6. Of the Church, since the proper organisation of schools alone can bring it about that the churches shall never lack learned doctors, and that learned doctors shall never lack suitable hearers.

7. And lastly, it is to the advantage of heaven that schools should be reformed for the exact and universal culture of the intellect, that those whom the sound of the divine trumpet is unable to stir up may be the more easily freed from darkness by the brilliancy of the divine light. For, although the Gospel be preached everywhere (and we hope that it will be preached to the ends of the earth), still the same thing is apt to happen as takes place in any meeting-place, tavern, or other tumultuous gathering of men, that not he alone is heard or gains particular attention who brings forward the best things, but that each one occupies with his own trifles the man near whom he happens to sit or to stand. Thus it comes to pass in the world. Though the ministers of the Word fulfil their duty with great zeal; though they talk, orate, exhort, testify, they none the less remain unheard by the greater part of mankind. For many never go to religious meetings except by chance; others come with their ears and eyes closed, and, as their minds are occupied with other matters, pay little attention to what is taking place. And lastly, if they do attend and grasp the purport of the sacred exhortation, they are not so greatly affected by it as they should be, since the accustomed sluggishness of their minds and the evil habits that they have acquired, blunt, bewitch, and harden them, so that they are unable to free themselves from their old custom. And thus they stick


text:
Page:Seventh Report - Guns for gold- the Wagner Network exposed.pdf/42

Rh '''to benefit from access to the UK’s financial markets. The lack of certainty about this denotes a scandalous failure to exercise due diligence. At its worst, this could mean the UK is inadvertently undermining the efforts of our allies.'''

57. '''The Minister had no specific knowledge of work within his Department to analyse whether Wagner activities undermine the financial impact of UK sanctions on the Russian war machine. Despite finding it “likely”, he could not confirm that the FCDO had had any input to HM Treasury’s unwise decision to issue sanctions waivers to Prigozhin. Despite assuring us that the Treasury and FCDO communicate over sanctions waivers in general, the Minister himself had not received any official advice specifically on sanctions waivers. Given his position as the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Europe, we would expect him to have an interest and role in questions relating to sanctions waivers linked to Russia and Ukraine. His statements also lead us to question whether the Russia Unit is providing the necessary join-up between the FCDO and Treasury, given the central role of sanctions as a tool of UK foreign policy.'''

58. '''We recommend that the Government move faster and harder in sanctioning Wagner-linked individuals and entities. Specifically, it should:'''

 * a) Sanction all individuals and entities provided in Appendix 1, which the United States and European Union have already targeted but which the UK has not;

 * b) Consider bringing forth sanctions on civilian enablers and corporate ‘frontmen’ for the network’s activities; and

 * c) Close enforcement gaps.

59. We recommend that the Government establishes a specific and regular mechanism for coordinating with the United States and the European Union over Wagner-linked sanctions; it should report back to us on what these mechanisms are, and how frequently and effectively they are being used.

60. We further recommend that the Government prioritises introducing and enforcing travel bans for Wagner-linked individuals as a likely deterrent to involvement in the network, in particular working with Turkey, a popular holiday destination for Russians.

61. '''In the public interest, we have compiled Wagner-linked names that are already a matter of public record, as identified via our commissioned open-source research (see Appendix 2). In doing so, we hope to challenge the mystique that the Wagner Network cultivated in many countries, make it as difficult as possible for it to operate, create a deterrent effect, and enable the Government to improve its apparently limited understanding of the network.''' We implore the Government to urgently assess these names and impose sanctions on these individuals and entities if the necessary threshold is met.

If we do not turn up and work with allies […]—if we do not show up and stay active—then certainly, proxies of this nature do see an opportunity


text:
Page:The Great Didactic of John Amos Comenius (1896).pdf/187

 fast in their habitual blindness and sin, as if bound so firmly by chains that none but God Himself could free them from their ingrained perverseness. As one of the fathers has said, it is very near a miracle if an inveterate sinner be converted to repentance. Now, as in other matters, so in this; where God supplies means, to ask for a miracle is to tempt Him. Let us therefore consider it our duty to meditate on the means by which the whole Christian youth may be more fervidly stirred up to vigour of mind and love of heavenly things. If we can attain this we shall see the kingdom of heaven spread more and more, as of old.

Let none therefore withdraw his thoughts, desires, strength, or resources from such a sacred undertaking. He who has given the will, will also grant its fulfilment, and we ought without exception to demand this with good heart from the divine mercy. For the salvation of man and the glory of the Most High is at stake. .

P.S.—It is inglorious to despair of progress, and wrong to despise the counsel of others.


text: The Great Didactic of John Amos Comenius/The Great Didactic/Dedicatory letter


text: The Great Didactic of John Amos Comenius/The Great Didactic/The use of the art of teaching


text:
Page:An American Tragedy Vol 1.pdf/40

26 And so often he overheard them discussing such interesting things—parties, dances, dinners, the shows they had seen, the places in or near Kansas City to which they were soon going, the difference between the styles of this year and last, the fascination of certain actors and actresses—principally actors—who were now playing or soon coming to the city. And to this day, in his own home he had heard nothing of all this.

And very often one or another of these young beauties was accompanied by some male in evening suit, dress shirt, high hat, bow tie, white kid gloves and patent leather shoes, a costume which at that time Clyde felt to be the last word in all true distinction, beauty, gallantry and bliss. To be able to wear such a suit with such ease and air! To be able to talk to a girl after the manner and with the sang-froid of some of these gallants! What a true measure of achievement! No good-looking girl, as it then appeared to him, would have anything to do with him if he did not possess this standard of equipment. It was plainly necessary—the thing. And once he did attain it—was able to wear such clothes as these—well, then was he not well set upon the path that leads to all the blisses? All the joys of life would then most certainly be spread before him. The friendly smiles! The secret handclasps, maybe—an arm about the waist of some one or another—a kiss—a promise of marriage—and then, and then!

And all this as a revealing flash after all the years of walking through the streets with his father and mother to public prayer meeting, the sitting in chapel and listening to queer and nondescript individuals—depressing and disconcerting people—telling how Christ had saved them and what God had done for them. You bet he would get out of that now. He would work and save his money and be somebody. Decidedly this simple and yet idyllic compound of the commonplace had all the luster and wonder of a spiritual transfiguration, the true mirage of the lost and thirsting and seeking victim of the desert.

However, the trouble with this particular position, as time speedily proved, was that much as it might teach him of mixing drinks and how to eventually earn twelve dollars a week, it was no immediate solvent for the yearnings and ambitions that were already gnawing at his vitals. For Albert Siebeling, his immediate superior, was determined to keep as much of his knowledge, as well as the most pleasant parts of the tasks, to himself. And further he was quite at one with the druggist for whom they worked in thinking that Clyde, in addition to assisting him about the fountain, should run such errands as

title: Page:An American Tragedy Vol 1.pdf/40


text:
Page:Works of Voltaire Volume 03.djvu/240

214 journey, and entreated him to search for the beautiful Amazan in the city of Cambalu; and meanwhile she acquainted the emperor with her adventures, without concealing the fatal passion with which her heart burned for this youthful hero.

"He did me the honor of coming to my court," said the emperor of China. "I was enchanted with this amiable Amazan. It is true that he is deeply afflicted; but his graces are thereby the more affecting. Not one of my favorites has more wit. There is not a gown mandarin who has more knowledge, not a military one who has a more martial or heroic air. His extreme youth adds an additional value to all his talents. If I were so unfortunate, so abandoned by the Tien and Changti, as to desire to be a conqueror, I would wish Amazan to put himself at the head of my armies, and I should be sure of conquering the whole universe. It is a great pity that his melancholy sometimes disconcerts him."

"Ah! sir," said Formosanta, with much agitation and grief, blended with an air of reproach, "why did you not request me to dine with him? This is a cruel stroke you have given me. Send for him immediately, I entreat you."

"He set out this very morning," replied the emperor, "without acquainting me with his destination."

Formosanta, turning towards the phœnix, said to him:


text:
Page:Works of Voltaire Volume 03.djvu/241

Rh "Did you ever know so unfortunate a damsel as myself?" Then resuming the conversation, she said:

"Sir, how came he to quit in so abrupt a manner so polite a court, in which, methinks, one might pass one's life?"

"The case was as follows," said he. "One of the most amiable of the princesses of the blood, falling desperately in love with him, desired to meet him at noon. He set out at daybreak, leaving this billet for my kinswoman, whom it hath cost a deluge of tears:

Beautiful princess of the Mongolian race: You are deserving of a heart that was never offered up at any other altar. I have sworn to the immortal gods never to love any other than Formosanta, princess of Babylon, and to teach her how to conquer one's desires in travelling. She has had the misfortune to yield to a worthless king of Egypt. I am the most unfortunate of men, having lost my father, the phœnix, and the hope of being loved by Formosanta. I left my mother in affliction, forsook my home and country, being unable to live a moment in the place where I learned that Formosanta loved another than me. I swore to traverse the earth, and be faithful. You would despise me, and the gods punish me, if I violated my oath. Choose another lover, madam, and be as faithful as I am.

"Ah! give me that miraculous letter," said the beautiful Formosanta; "it will afford me some consolation. I am happy in the midst of my misfortunes. Amazan loves me! Amazan, for me, renounces the society of the princesses of China. There is no one upon earth but himself endowed with so much fortitude. He sets me a most brilliant example. The phœnix knows I did not stand in need of it. How cruel it is to be deprived of one's lover for the most


text:
Page:Works of Voltaire Volume 03.djvu/242

216 innocent embrace given through pure fidelity. But, tell me, whither has he gone? What road has he taken? Deign to inform me, and I will immediately set out."

The emperor of China told her that, according to the reports he had received, her lover had taken the road toward Scythia. The unicorns were immediately harnessed, and the princess, after the most tender compliments, took leave of the emperor, and resumed her journey with the phoenix, her chambermaid Irla, and all her train.

As soon as she arrived in Scythia, she was more convinced than ever how much men and governments differed, and would continue to differ, until noble and enlightened minds should by degrees remove that cloud of darkness which has covered the earth for so many ages; and until there should be found in barbarous climes, heroic souls who would have strength and perseverance enough to transform brutes into men. There are no cities in Scythia, consequently no agreeable arts. Nothing was to be seen but extensive fields, and whole tribes whose sole habitations were tents and chars. Such an appearance struck her with terror. Formosanta inquired in what tent or char the king was lodged? She was informed that he had set out eight days before with three hundred thousand cavalry to attack the king of Babylon, whose niece, the beautiful Princess Aldea, he had carried off.

"What! did he run away with my cousin?" cried


text:
Page:Works of Voltaire Volume 03.djvu/243

Rh Formosanta. "I could not have imagined such an incident. What! has my cousin, who was too happy in paying her court to me, become a queen, and I am not yet married?" She was immediately conducted, by her desire, to the queen's tent.

Their unexpected meeting in such distant climes; the uncommon occurrences they mutually had to impart to each other, gave such charm to this interview as made them forget they never loved one another. They saw each other with transport; and a soft illusion supplied the place of real tenderness. They embraced with tears, and there was a cordiality and frankness on each side that could not have taken place in a palace.

Aldea remembered the phœnix and the waiting maid Irla. She presented her cousin with zibeline skins, who in return gave her diamonds. The war between the two kings was spoken of. They deplored the fate of soldiers who were forced into battle, the victims of the caprice of princes, when two honest men might, perhaps, settle the dispute in less than an hour, without a single throat being cut. But the principal topic was the handsome stranger, who had conquered lions, given the largest diamonds in the universe, written madrigals, and had now become the most miserable of men from believing the statements of a blackbird.

"He is my dear brother," said Aldea. "He is my lover," cried Formosanta. "You have doubtless seen him. Is he still here? For, cousin, as he


text:
Page:Works of Voltaire Volume 03.djvu/244

218 knows he is your brother, he cannot have left you so abruptly as he did the king of China."

"Have I seen him? Good heavens! yes. He passed four whole days with me. Ah! cousin, how much my brother is to blame. A false report has absolutely turned his brain. He roams about the world, without knowing whither he is destined. Imagine to yourself his distraction of mind, which is so great that he has refused to meet the handsomest lady in all Scythia. He set out yesterday, after writing her a letter which has thrown her into despair. As for him, he has gone to visit the Cimmerians."

"God be thanked!" cried Formosanta; "another refusal in my favor. My good fortune is beyond my hopes, as my misfortunes surpass my greatest apprehensions. Procure me this charming letter that I may set out and follow him, loaded with his sacrifices. Farewell, cousin. Amazan is among the Cimmerians, and I fly to meet him."

Aldea judged that the princess, her cousin, was still more frantic than her brother Amazan. But as she had herself been sensible of the effects of this epidemic contagion, having given up the delights and magnificence of Babylon for a king of Scythia; and as the women always excuse those follies that are the effects of love, she felt for Formosanta's affliction, wished her a happy journey, and promised to be her advocate with her brother, if ever she was so fortunate as to see him again.


text:
Page:Works of Voltaire Volume 03.djvu/245

Rh

From Scythia the princess of Babylon, with her phœnix, soon arrived at the empire of the Cimmerians, now called Russia; a country indeed much less populous than Scythia, but of far greater extent.

After a few days' journey she entered a very large city, which has of late been greatly improved by the reigning sovereign. The empress, however, was not there at that time, but was making a journey through her dominions on the frontiers of Europe and Asia, in order to judge of their state and condition with her own eyes, to inquire into their grievances, and to provide the proper remedies for them.

The principal magistrate of that ancient capital, as soon as he was informed of the arrival of the Babylonian lady and the phœnix, lost no time in paying her all the honors of his country; being certain that his mistress, the most polite and generous empress in the world, would be extremely well pleased to find that he had received so illustrious a lady with all that respect which she herself, if on the spot, would have shown her.

The princess was lodged in the palace and entertained with great splendor and elegance. The Cimmerian lord, who was an excellent natural philosopher, diverted himself in conversing with the


text:
Page:Works of Voltaire Volume 03.djvu/246

220 phœnix at such times as the princess chose to retire to her own apartment. The phœnix told him that he had formerly travelled among the Cimmerians, but that he should not have known the country again.

"How comes it," said he, "that such prodigious changes have been brought about in so short a time? Formerly, when I was here, about three hundred years ago, I saw nothing but savage nature in all her horrors. At present, I perceive industry, arts, splendor, and politeness."

"This mighty revolution," replied the Cimmerian, "was begun by one man, and is now carried to perfection by one woman; a woman who is a greater legislator than the Isis of the Egyptians or the Ceres of the Greeks. Most lawgivers have been, unhappily, of a narrow genius and an arbitrary disposition, which confined their views to the countries they governed. Each of them looked upon his own race as the only people existing upon the earth, or as if they ought to be at enmity with all the rest. They formed institutions, introduced customs, and established religions exclusively for themselves. Thus the Egyptians, so famous for those heaps of stones called pyramids, have dishonored themselves with their barbarous superstitions. They despise all other nations as profane; refuse all manner of intercourse with them; and, excepting those conversant in the court, who now and then rise above the prejudices of the vulgar, there is not an Egyptian who will eat off a plate that has ever been used by a stranger. Their


text:
Page:Works of Voltaire Volume 03.djvu/247

Rh priests are equally cruel and absurd. It were better to have no laws at all, and to follow those notions of right and wrong engraved on our hearts by nature, than to subject society to institutions so inhospitable.

"Our empress has adopted quite a different system. She considers her vast dominions, under which all the meridians on the globe are united, as under an obligation of correspondence with all the nations dwelling under those meridians. The first and most fundamental of her laws is a universal toleration of all religions, and an unbounded compassion for every error. Her penetrating genius perceives that though the modes of religious worship differ, yet morality is everywhere the same. By this principal she has united her people to all the nations on earth, and the Cimmerians will soon consider the Scandinavians and the Chinese as their brethren. Not satisfied with this, she has resolved to establish this invaluable toleration, the strongest link of society, among her neighbors. By these means she obtained the title of the parent of her country; and, if she persevere, will acquire that of the benefactress of mankind.

"Before her time, the men, who were unhappily possessed of power, sent out legions of murderers to ravage unknown countries, and to water with the blood of the children the inheritance of their fathers. Those assassins were called heroes, and their robberies accounted glorious achievements. But our


text: Page:The strange story book.djvu/366

title: Page:The strange story book.djvu/366


text: Page:The strange story book.djvu/365

title: Page:The strange story book.djvu/365


text:
Page:Works of Voltaire Volume 03.djvu/248

222 sovereign courts another sort of glory. She has sent forth her armies to be the messengers of peace, not only to prevent men from being the destroyers, but to oblige them to be the benefactors of one another. Her standards are the ensigns of public tranquillity."

The phœnix was quite charmed with what he heard from this nobleman. He told him that though he had lived twenty-seven thousand nine hundred years and seven months in this world he had never seen anything like it. He then inquired after his friend Amazan. The Cimmerian gave the same account of him that the princess had already heard from the Chinese and the Scythians. It was Amazan's constant practice to run away from all the courts he visited the instant any lady noticed him in particular and seemed anxious to make his acquaintance. The phœnix soon acquainted Formosanta with this fresh instance of Amazan's fidelity—a fidelity so much the more surprising since he could not imagine his princess would ever hear of it.

Amazan had set out for Scandinavia, where he was entertained with sights still more surprising. In this place he beheld monarchy and liberty existing together in a manner thought incompatible in other states; the laborers of the ground shared in the legislature with the grandees of the realm. In another place he saw what was still more extraordinary—a prince equally remarkable for his extreme youth and uprightness, who possessed a sov-


text: Page:The strange story book.djvu/296

title: Page:The strange story book.djvu/296


text: Page:The strange story book.djvu/178

title: Page:The strange story book.djvu/178


text: Page:The strange story book.djvu/154

title: Page:The strange story book.djvu/154


text:
Page:Works of Voltaire Volume 03.djvu/249

Rh ereign authority over his country acquired by a solemn contract with his people.

Amazan beheld a philosopher on the throne of Sarmatia, who might be called a king of anarchy; for he was the chief of a hundred thousand petty kings, one of whom with his single voice could render ineffectual the resolution of all the rest. Æolus had not more difficulty to keep the warring winds within their proper bounds than this monarch had to reconcile the tumultuous discordant spirits of his subjects. He was the master of a ship surrounded with eternal storms. But the vessel did not founder, for he was an excellent pilot.

In traversing those various countries, so different from his own, Amazan persevered in rejecting all the advances made to him by the ladies, though incessantly distracted with the embrace given by Formosanta to the king of Egypt, being resolved to set Formosanta an amazing example of an unshaken and unparalleled fidelity.

The princess of Babylon was constantly close at his heels, and scarcely ever missed him but by a day or two; without the one being tired of roaming, or the other losing a moment in pursuing him.

Thus he traversed the immense continent of Germany, where he beheld with wonder the progress which reason and philosophy had made in the north. Even their princes were enlightened and had become the patrons of freedom of thought. Their education had not been trusted to men who had an


text:
Page:The plastic age, (IA plasticage00mark).pdf/189

Rh friends are my friends, and if the fraternity doesn’t like them, it can leave them alone. I pledged loyalty to the fraternity, but I ’ll be damned if I pledged my life to it” He got up and started for the door, his blue eyes dark with anger. “I hate snobs,” he said viciously, and departed.

After rushing season was over, he rarely entered
 * hat fraternity house, chumming mostly with Carl,

but finding friends in other fraternities or among ion-fraternity men. He was depressed and gloomy, ilthough his grades for the first term had been •espectable. Nothing seemed very much worth vhile, not even making his letter on the track. He vas gradually taking to cigarettes, and he had even lad a nip or two out of a flask that Carl had >rought to the room. He had read the ‘Rubaiyat,” and it made a great impression on him. de and Carl often discussed the poem, and more md more Hugh was beginning to believe in Omar’s >hilosophy. At least, he could n’t answer the argunents presented in Fitzgerald’s beautiful quatrains, fhe poem both depressed and thrilled him. After eading it, he felt desperate—and ready for anyhing, convinced that the only wise course was to ake the cash and let the credit go. He was much 00 young to hear the rumble of the distant drum, ometimes he was sure that there was n’t a drum, nyway.

He was particularly blue one afternoon when


text:
Page:The plastic age, (IA plasticage00mark).pdf/187

Rh business before them. The president was con¬ stantly calling for order and not getting it. Dur¬ ing the rushing season in the second term, interest picked up. Freshmen were being discussed. Four questions were inevitably asked. Did the freshman have money? Was he an athlete? Had he gone to a prep school? What was his family like ?

Hugh had been very much attracted by a lad named Parker. He was a charming youngster with a good mind and beautiful manners. In general, only bad manners were au fait at Sanford; so Parker was naturally conspicuous. Hugh proposed his name for membership to Nu Delta. “He’s a harp,” said a brother scornfully. “At any rate, he ’s a Catholic.” That settled that. Only Protestants were eligible to Nu Delta at Sanford, although the fra¬ ternity had no national rule prohibiting members of other religions.

The snobbery of the fraternity cut Hugh deeply. He was a friendly lad who had never been taught prejudice. He even made friends with a Jewish youth and was severely censured by three fraternity brothers for that friendship. He was especially taken to task by Bob Tucker, the president.

“Look here, Hugh,” Tucker said sternly, “you've got to draw the line somewhere. I suppose Einstein is a good fellow and all that, but you Ve