LETTER VIII
Usbek to his friend Rustan, at Ispahan
I got your letter
at Erzeroum, where I am now. I was quite certain that my departure
would cause some stir, but that gives me no trouble: which would
you have me obey--the petty maxims that guide my enemies, or the dictates
of my own free soul?
From my earliest youth I
have been a courtier; and yet I make bold to say that my heart has remained
uncorrupted: indeed, I conceived the grand idea of daring to be virtuous
even at court. From the moment I recognised vice, I withdrew from
it; afterwards, when I approached it, it was only to unmask it. I
carried my veracity even to the foot of the throne, and spoke a language
never heard there before; I disconcerted flattery, amazing at the same
time the idol and its worshippers.
But when I saw that my sincerity
had made me enemies, and had brought upon me the jealousy of the ministers,
I determined to forsake a corrupt court in which my unseconded virtue could
no longer maintain me. I feigned a mighty interest in science; and,
by dint of pretending, soon became really attached to it. I ceased
to be a man of affairs, and retired to a house in the country. But
even here persecution followed me: the malice of my enemies almost
deprived me of the means of protecting myself. Information received
in secret led me to consider my position seriously: I resolved to
leave my native land, and my withdrawal from court supplied a plausible
excuse. I waited on the king; I emphasised the great desire I had
to acquaint myself with the sciences of the west, and hinted that my travels
might even be of service to him. I found favour in the king's sight;
I set out, and snatched from my enemies their expected victim.
Here, Rustan, you have the
true motive of my journey. Let them talk in Ispahan; say nothing
in my defence except to my friends. Leave the evil-disposed to their
misconstructions; I would be too happy if that were the only harm they
could do me.
They discuss me at present;
perhaps I shall soon be forgotten, and my friends...But no, I will not,
Rustan, resign myself to these sad thoughts: I will always be dear
to them; I rely upon their faithfulness as upon yours.
Erzeroum, the 20th of the second moon of Gemmadi,11711.
1The two Gemmadis,
or Gemalis, are the fifth and sixth months of the Persian year.
Gemal-i-ul-awal is the first of these.