LETTER CLVIII1
Zelis to Usbek, at Paris
YOU are a thousand leagues from
me, and yet you condemn me! A thousand leagues from me, and yet you
punish me!
When a barbarous eunuch
lays his vile hands upon me, it is by your order: it is the tyrant who
outrages me, and not the instrument of his tyranny.
You may, if you choose,
redouble your cruel treatment. My heart is at peace, since it can
no longer love you. Your soul is debased, and you have become cruel.
Rest assured that you are not beloved. Farewell.
The
Seraglio at Ispahan, the 2nd of the moon of Maharram, 1720.
1
The tenth of 1754.