No. CIX. Who finds not Providence all good and wise, POPE. ALI (replied the sage), I gave thee wisdom to sustain thee in thy necessary toil for subsistence. I have heard thy murmurs, and have found that my power has been controlled by that of my counteracting enemy, who inspires discontent wherever I bestow my blessings. I will not punish thee by withdrawing my gift, valueless as thou now deemest it; for I did not give thee fortitude with wisdom. That thou mayest learn the wisdom of submission, I will grant not only thy request, but thy wishes. Let Segued and Ali possess equal knowledge and equal wealth." - The gratitude of Ali, and the delight of Segued, held them in silent admiration; while the sage, with a countenance softened by pity, continued "Wretched, short-sighted mortals! Ye ought to fear praying for particular gifts, for ye know not how much more than ye ask will be given you; but that ye may enjoy your wish, and confess my benevolence as great as my power, I will intercede with my superior genius to suffer none but natural evil to molest you: and as a reward, Ali, for thy early belief on me, and thy pursuance of my counsels, that personal evil may not too heavily oppress thee, nor sorrow for that thou hast brought on thy friend afflict thee, I permit thee, at the end of a year, to visit this mansion, and will then either confirm my gifts to you, or place you again in the situations from which your wishes removed you."-At these words he stamped on the ground; the smoke again ascended, the thunder rolled, the screams filled the air, and the genius vanished. Segued and Ali prostrated themselves on the place he had occupied, and returned to the camels, not doubting that the purpose of their next visit would be, to request a confirmation of their happiness. They now pursued their journey together, discoursing on the new endowments they had received. As the sage had prescribed no means of attaining the promised end, they agreed to dwell together; that Segued should lend Ali a thousand sequins to trade with, and that Ali should shorten Segued's path to knowledge, by revealing his experience. Hope now braced them; the sun's fervor seemed to have abated; the sands were less desiccated, and they reached Cairo with unfelt fatigue. Ali's wealth soon increased to the extent of Segued's possessions, and Segued's progress in science was equalled only by Ali's wisdom. They resolved to return no more to their pa ternal dwelling, where knowledge would be buried in obscurity, and riches want objects for their employment; but to remain in the metropolis of Egypt, where wealth was respected, and learning courted. The singularity of his situation was soon felt by Ali. Through Segued's recommendation he was a welcome guest in the houses of the opu lent, but here was little to engage his mind; trade and money were the subjects of their contemplation, and these soon disgusted him: the wise were become shy of visiting him; they were dazzled by his riches and splendid manner of life; and free communication was restrained by inequality he was obliged to neglect his former pleasures for accounts; he had now no quiet leisure, and he found no enjoyment. In Segued the gift of the genius produced immediate rapture; he conceived himself raised to a superior rank of being; the mist of ignorance vanished before him; but with them, likewise, departed the former companions of his pleasure. Segued was now too wise to be easily gratified; he discovered faults he had hitherto been blind to; and though the goodness of his nature restrained him from assuming superiority, his inferiors tacitly acknowledged it, and withdrew from competition. The pleasures he had formerly delighted in, charmed no more; he was too wise to enjoy any thing trifling: he always retired to his home gloomy and discontented, and did not find his own abundance a compensation for the deficiency of others. The chagrin of Ali and of Segued received some alleviation from the joy occasioned throughout Egypt by the influx of the Nile. In the public felicity, private uneasiness was forgotten; but, when this temporary hilarity abated, each began afresh to repine: "I was deceived (said Segued to Ali), in supposing great intellectual possession essential to happiness, or that from the late attainment of it, I should derive those pleasures which proceed from early initiation and habituated pursuit. I had beaten out a track for myself in the road of life which it is uneasy to me to quit, and I find nothing that can atone for the pain I suffer in conflicting with settled habit. As I am wise for no particular purpose, my endeavours want an ob ject: I do not see the immediate effect of my labour as I used to do in concerns of merchandise, and I feel myelf in a situation I was not designed for. Tell me, Ali, how far thou thinkest thyself a gainer by this last act of superna. tural donation." "I confess (replied Ali) that riches have no charms for me; all they purchase is insipid. Instead of affording me the leisure and tranquillity Í expected, they keep me in continual employment. I reproach myself incessantly for my want of fortitude: I might surely have waited the next season, since it has now blessed our fields with fecundity; and had not despondency made me inactive, I could have procured what was necessary to my existing during this short period of hardship. From all I have seen in my new state of affluence, I learn that the misfortune I wished alleviated was not that of poverty, which obliged me to labour, and sweetened my hours of retirement; the evil that oppressed me was the dread of want; and now that the Nile has risen to its most desired height, were I restored to my former state, I would not wish to change it." "Let us then (said Segued) wait till the expiration of the year: do thou return to thy scientific retirement, and I will seek the com |