efulgent as the Sun. O thou Messenger of Heaven! O thou
angelic Form! cry'd _Zadig_, and fell prostrate at his Feet; thou
art descended from the Empireum, I find, to instruct such a poor
frail Mortal as I am, how to submit to the Mysteries of Fate.
Mankind in general, said the Angel _Jesrad_, judge of the Whole, by
only viewing the hither Link of the Chain. Thou, of all the human
Race, wast the only Man that deserv'd to have thy Mind enlighten'd.
_Zadig_, begg'd Leave to speak. I am somewhat diffident of myself,
'tis true; but may I presume, Sir, to beg the Solution of one
Scruple? Would it not have been better to have chastiz'd the Lad,
and by that Means reform'd him, than to have cut him off thus
unprepar'd in a Moment. _Jesrad_, replied, had he been virtuous, and
had he liv'd, 'twas his _Fate_ not only to be murder'd himself, but
his Wife, whom he would afterwards have married, and the little
Infant, that was to have been the Pledge of their mutual Affection.
Is it necessary then, venerable Guide, that there should be
Wickedness and Misfortunes in the World, and that those Misfortunes
should fall with Weight on the Heads of the Righteous? The Wicked,
replied _Jesrad_, are always unhappy. Misfortunes are intended only
as a Touch-stone, to try a small Number of the Just, who are thinly
scatter'd about this terrestrial Globe: Besides, there is no Evil
under the Sun, but some Good proceeds from it: But, said _Zadig_,
Suppose the World was all Goodness, and there was no such Thing in
Nature as Evil. Then, that World of yours, said _Jesrad_, would be
another World; the Chain of Events would be another Wisdom; and that
other Order, which would be perfect, must of Necessity be the
everlasting Residence of the supreme Being, whom no Evil can
approach. That great and first Cause has created an infinite Number
of Worlds, and no two of them alike. This vast Variety is an
Attribute of his Omnipotence. There are not two Leaves on the Trees
throughout the Universe, nor any two Globes of Light amongst the
Myriad of Stars that deck the infinite Expanse of Heaven, which are
perfectly alike. And whatever you see on that small Atom of Earth,
whereof you are a Native, must exist in the Place, and at the Time
appointed, according to the immutable Decrees of him who comprehends
the Whole. Mankind imagine, that the Lad, whom I plung'd into the
River, was drown'd by _Chance_; and that our generous Benefactor's
House was reduc'd to Ashes by t