LETTER 2
Usbek to the chief black Eunuch, at his Seraglio in Ispahan
You are the faithful keeper
of the most loveliest women in Persia; I have entrusted you with what in
this world is most dear to me; you bear the keys of those fatal doors which
are opened only for me. Whilst you watch over this precious storehouse
of my affections, my heart, at rest, enjoys an absolute freedom from care.
You guard it in the silence of the night as well as in the bustle of the
day. Your un-relaxing care sustains virtue when it wavers. Should
the women whom you guard incline to swerve from their duty, you would destroy
their hopes in the bud. You are the scourge of vice, and the very
monument of fidelity.
You command them and they
obey. You fulfill implicitly all their desires, and exact from them a like
obedience to the laws of the seraglio; you take a pride in rendering them
the meanest services; you submit to their lawful commands with reverence
and in dread; you serve them like the slave of their slaves. But, resuming
your power, you command imperiously, as my representative, whenever you
apprehend any slackening of the laws of chastity and modesty.
Never forget that I raised
you from the lowest position among my slaves, to set you in your present
place as the trusted guardian of the delights of my heart. Maintain the
most humble bearing in the presence of those who partake my love; but,
at the same time, make them deeply conscious of their own powerlessness.
Provide for them all innocent pleasures; beguile them of their anxiety;
entertain them with music, dancing, and delicious drinks; persuade them
to meet together frequently. If they wish to go into the country, you may
escort them thither; but lay hands on every man who dares to enter their
presence. Exhort them to that cleanliness which is the symbol of the soul’s
purity; speak sometimes of me. I long to see them again in that delightful
place which they adorn. Farewell.
Tauris, the 18th of the moon of Saphar, 1711.