Usbek to Rhedi, at Venice
AN immense number of courtesans are maintained by the libertines
of Paris, and a great crowd of dervishes by its bigots. These dervishes
take three oaths: of obedience, of poverty, and of chastity. They
say that the first is the best observed of the three, as to the second,
it is not observed at all; you can form your own opinion with regard to
the third.
But whatever the wealth of these dervishes may be, they
always profess poverty, just as our glorious Sultan would never dream of
renouncing his magnificence and sublimity; and they are right, for their
reputation as paupers prevents them from being poor.
The physicians and some of these dervishes, called confessors,
are always treated with contumely: yet it is said that heirs, on the whole,
prefer physicians to confessors.
The other day, I visited a convent of dervishes.
One of them, whose white hair made him venerable, received me very courteously.
He showed me over the whole house, and then we went into the garden, and
had some talk. "Father," said I, "what is your employment in the
community?" "Sir," replied he, evidently well pleased with my question,
"I am a casuist." "A casuist," exclaimed I. "During my stay
in France I have not heard of this profession till now." "What!"
You do not know what a casuist is? Very well, listen; I will give
you an explanation which will leave nothing to be desired. There
are two descriptions of sin: that called mortal, which excludes the sinner
for ever from Paradise; and venial sin, which certainly offends God, but
does not excite Him to that pitch of wrath which can be satisfied only
by depriving the sinner of felicity. Now, all our art consists in
carefully distinguishing these two descriptions of sin; for, with the exception
of some libertines, all Christians wish to go to heaven; but there is hardly
one among them who would not prefer to get there at as cheap a rate as
possible. When they thoroughly understand which sins are mortal,
they try not to commit them; and their business is done. There are
some who do not aspire to such a high degree of perfection; and, having
no ambition, they do not care for the first place: accordingly they would
enter Paraside as easily as possible; provided they get there, they are
satisfied: that is their aim, neither more nor less. There are people
who would take heaven by storm rather than not obtain it, and who would
say to God, 'Lord, I have fulfilled the conditions exactly; you cannot
refuse to keep your word: as I have done no more than you have required,
I expect no more from you than you have promised.'
"Therefore, sir, we casuists are a necessity. This
is not all, however; you shall learn something further. The deed
does not constitute the crime, but the knowledge of him who commits it:
he who does what is wrong, so long as he can believe that it is not so,
has a safe conscience; and, as there are an immense number of ambiguous
actions, a casuist can endue them with a degree of goodness which they
have not, simply by pronouncing them good; and, provided he can convince
people of their harmlessness, such sins lose their deadliness entirely.
"This is the secret of the craft in which I have grown
old; I have shown you its nicety: all things, even such as may seem most
refractory, are susceptible of the required twist."
"Father," said I, "this is admirable; but how do you reconcile
yourself with Heaven? If the Sophy had at his court a man who dealt
with him as you deal with God, who played fast and loose with his commandments,
and taught his subjects when they ought to obey them, and when they might
break them, he would have him impaled at once. I salute you, master
dervish," and I left him without waiting for his reply.