Voltaire's Romances, Complete in One VolumeVoltaire
Philosophy
Voltaire's Romances, Complete in One Volume
Voltaire
French fiction -- Translations into English
[1] Having large, full, finely rounded eyes. In Homer, always applied to
females, and most frequently to the goddess Juno, as a point of majestic
beauty.--E.
XIV.
THE ROBBER.
Arriving on the frontiers which divide Arabia Petræa from Syria, he
passed by a very strong castle from which a party of armed Arabians
sallied forth. They instantly surrounded him and cried:
"All thou hast belongs to us, and thy person is the property of our
master."
Zadig replied by drawing his sword; his servant, who was a man of
courage, did the same. They killed the first Arabians that presumed to
lay hands on them; and though the number was redoubled, they were not
dismayed, but resolved to perish in the conflict. Two men defended
themselves against a multitude; but such combat could not last long,
the master of the castle, whose name was Arbogad, having observed from a
window the prodigies of valor performed by Zadig, conceived a high
esteem for this heroic stranger. He descended in haste, and went in
person to call off his men and deliver the two travelers.
"All that passes over my lands," said he, "belongs to me, as well as
what I find upon the lands of others; but thou seemest to be a man of
such undaunted courage, that I will exempt thee from the common law."
He then conducted him to his castle, ordering his men to treat him well;
and in the evening Arbogad supped with Zadig. The lord of the castle was
one of those Arabians who are commonly called robbers; but he now and
then performed some good actions amidst a multitude of bad ones. He
robbed with a furious rapacity, and granted favors with great
generosity. He was intrepid in action; affable in company; a debauchee
at table, but gay in his debauchery; and particularly remarkable for his
frank and open behavior. He was highly pleased with Zadig, whose lively
conversation lengthened the repast. At last Arbogad said to him:
"I advise thee to enroll thy name in my catalogue. Thou canst not do
better. This is not a bad trade, and thou mayest one day become what I
am at present."
"May I take the liberty of asking thee," said Zadig, "how long thou hast
followed this noble profession?"
"From my most tender youth," replied the lord, "I was servant to a
petty, good-natured Arabian, but could not endure the hardships of my
situation. I was vexed to find that fate had given me no share of the
earth which equally belongs to all men. I imparted the cause of my
uneasiness to an old Arabian, who said to me:
"'My son, do not despair; there was once a grain of sand that lamented
that it was no more than a neglected atom in the deserts; at the end of
a few years it became a diamond, and it is now the brightest ornament in
the crown of the king of the Indies.'
[Illustration: Zadig and The Brigand.--"I advise thee to enroll thy name
in my catalogue. Thou canst not do better," said the robber, "This is
not a bad trade, and thou mayest one day become what I am at present."]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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