as soon as setoc arrived among his own tribe he demanded the payment of five hundred ounces of silver, which he had lent to a jew in presence of two witnesses; but as the witnesses were dead, and the debt could not be proved, the hebrew appropriated the merchant’s money to himself, and piously thanked god for putting it in his power to cheat an arabian. setoc imparted this troublesome affair to zadig, who was now become his counsel.
“in what place,” said zadig, “didst thou lend the five hundred ounces to this infidel?”
“upon a large stone,” replied the merchant, “that lies near mount oreb.”
“what is the character of thy debtor?” said zadig. “that of a knave,” returned setoc.
“but i ask thee whether he is lively or phlegmatic, cautious or imprudent?”
“he is, of all bad payers,” said setoc, “the most lively fellow i ever knew.”
“well,” resumed zadig, “allow me to plead thy cause.” in effect zadig, having summoned the jew to the tribunal, addressed the judge in the following terms: “pillar of the throne of equity, i come to demand of this man, in the name of my master, five hundred ounces of silver, which he refuses to pay.”
“hast thou any witnesses?” said the judge.
“no, they are dead; but there remains a large stone upon which the money was counted; and if it please thy grandeur to order the stone to be sought for, i hope that it will bear witness. the hebrew and i will tarry here till the stone arrives; i will send for it at my master’s expense.”
“with all my heart,” replied the judge, and immediately applied himself to the discussion of other affairs.
when the court was going to break up, the judge said to zadig. “well, friend, is not thy stone come yet?”
the hebrew replied with a smile, “thy grandeur may stay here till the morrow, and after all not see the stone. it is more than six miles from hence; and it would require fifteen men to move it.”
“well,” cried zadig, “did not i say that the stone would bear witness? since this man knows where it is, he thereby confesses that it was upon it that the money was counted.” the hebrew was disconcerted, and was soon after obliged to confess the truth. the judge ordered him to be fastened to the stone, without meat or drink, till he should restore the five hundred ounces, which were soon after paid.
the slave zadig and the stone were held in great repute in arabia.
the funeral pile
setoc, charmed with the happy issue of this affair, made his slave his intimate friend. he had now conceived as great esteem for him as ever the king of babylon had done; and zadig was glad that setoc had no wife. he discovered in his master a good natural disposition, much probity of heart, and a great share of good sense; but he was sorry to see that, according to the ancient custom of arabia, he adored the host of heaven; that is, the sun, moon, and stars. he sometimes spoke to him on this subject with great prudence and discretion. at last he told him that these bodies were like all other bodies in the universe, and no more deserving of our homage than a tree or a rock.
“but,” said setoc, “they are eternal beings; and it is from them we derive all we enjoy. they animate nature; they regulate the seasons; and, besides, are removed at such an immense distance from us that we cannot help revering them.”
“thou receivest more advantage,” replied zadig, “from the waters of the red sea, which carry thy merchandise to the indies. why may not it be as ancient as the stars? and if thou adorest what is placed at a distance from thee, thou oughtest to adore the land of the gangarides, which lies at the extremity of the earth.”
“no,” said setoc, “the brightness of the stars commands my adoration.”
at night zadig lighted up a great number of candles in the tent where he was to sup with setoc; and the moment his patron appeared, he fell on his knees before these lighted tapers, and said, “eternal and shining luminaries! be ye always propitious to me.” having thus said, he sat down at table, without taking the least notice of setoc.
“what art thou doing?” said setoc to him in amaze.
“i act like thee,” replied zadig, “i adore these candles, and neglect their master and mine.” setoc comprehended the profound sense of this apologue. the wisdom of his slave sunk deep into his soul; he no longer offered incense to the creatures, but adored the eternal being who made them.
there prevailed at that time in arabia a shocking custom, sprung originally from leythia, and which, being established in the indies by the credit of the brahmans, threatened to overrun all the east. when a married man died, and his beloved wife aspired to the character of a saint, she burned herself publicly on the body of her husband. this was a solemn feast and was called the funeral pile of widowhood, and that tribe in which most women had been burned was the most respected.
an arabian of setoc’s tribe being dead, his widow, whose name was almona, and who was very devout, published the day and hour when she intended to throw herself into the fire, amidst the sound of drums and trumpets. zadig remonstrated against this horrible custom; he showed setoc how inconsistent it was with the happiness of mankind to suffer young widows to burn themselves every other day, widows who were capable of giving children to the state, or at least of educating those they already had; and he convinced him that it was his duty to do all that lay in his power to abolish such a barbarous practice.
“the women,” said setoc, “have possessed the right of burning themselves for more than a thousand years; and who shall dare to abrogate a law which time hath rendered sacred? is there anything more respectable than ancient abuses?”
“reason is more ancient,” replied zadig; “meanwhile, speak thou to the chiefs of the tribes and i will go to wait on the young widow.”
accordingly he was introduced to her; and, after having insinuated himself into her good graces by some compliments on her beauty and told her what a pity it was to commit so many charms to the flames, he at last praised her for her constancy and courage. “thou must surely have loved thy husband,” said he to her, “with the most passionate fondness.”
“who, i?” replied the lady. “i loved him not at all. he was a brutal, jealous, insupportable wretch; but i am firmly resolved to throw myself on his funeral pile.”
“it would appear then,” said zadig, “that there must be a very delicious pleasure in being burned alive.”
“oh! it makes nature shudder,” replied the lady, “but that must be overlooked. i am a devotee, and i should lose my reputation and all the world would despise me if i did not burn myself.”
zadig having made her acknowledge that she burned herself to gain the good opinion of others and to gratify her own vanity, entertained her with a long discourse, calculated to make her a little in love with life, and even went so far as to inspire her with some degree of good will for the person who spoke to her.
“alas!” said the lady, “i believe i should desire thee to marry me.”
zadig’s mind was too much engrossed with the idea of astarte not to elude this declaration; but he instantly went to the chiefs of the tribes, told them what had passed, and advised them to make a law, by which a widow should not be permitted to burn herself till she had conversed privately with a young man for the space of an hour. since that time not a single woman hath burned herself in arabia. they were indebted to zadig alone for destroying in one day a cruel custom that had lasted for so many ages and thus he became the benefactor of arabia.
the supper
setoc, who could not separate himself from this man, in whom dwelt wisdom, carried him to the great fair of balzora, whither the richest merchants in the earth resorted. zadig was highly pleased to see so many men of different countries united in the same place. he considered the whole universe as one large family assembled at balzora.
setoc, after having sold his commodities at a very high price, returned to his own tribe with his friend zadig; who learned upon his arrival that he had been tried in his absence and was now going to be burned by a slow fire. only the friendship of almona saved his life. like so many pretty women she possessed great influence with the priesthood. zadig thought it best to leave arabia.
setoc was so charmed with the ingenuity and address of almona that he made her his wife. zadig departed, after having thrown himself at the feet of his fair deliverer. setoc and he took leave of each other with tears in their eyes, swearing an eternal friendship, and promising that the first of them that should acquire a large fortune should share it with the other.
zadig directed his course along the frontiers of assyria, still musing on the unhappy astarte, and reflecting on the severity of fortune which seemed determined to make him the sport of her cruelty and the object of her persecution.
“what,” said he to himself, “four hundred ounces of gold for having seen a spaniel! condemned to lose my head for four bad verses in praise of the king! ready to be strangled because the queen had shoes of the color of my bonnet! reduced to slavery for having succored a woman who was beat! and on the point of being burned for having saved the lives of all the young widows of arabia!”
