he Judge to
_Zadig_, is your Stone come yet? The _Jew_, with a Sneer, replied,
your Excellence may wait here till this Time To-morrow, before the
Stone will appear in Court; for 'tis above six Mile off, and it will
require fifteen Men to remove it from its Place. 'Tis well! replied
_Zadig_. I told your Excellence that the Stone would be a very
material Evidence. Since the Defendant can point out the Place where
the Stone lies, he tacitly confesses, that it was upon that Stone
the Money was deposited. The _Jew_ thus unexpectedly confuted, was
soon oblig'd to acknowledge the Debt. The Judge order'd that the
_Jew_ should be tied fast to the Stone, without Victuals or Drink,
till he should advance the five hundred Ounces of Silver, which were
soon paid accordingly, and the _Jew_ releas'd. The Slave _Zadig_,
and this remarkable Stone-Witness, were in great Repute all over
_Arabia_.

CHAP. X.

_The_ FUNERAL PILE.

_Setoc_, transported with his good Success, of a Slave made _Zadig_
his Favourite Companion and Confident; he found him as necessary in
the Conduct of his Affairs, as the King of _Babylon_ had before done
in the Administration of his Government; and lucky it was for
_Zadig_ that _Setoc_ had no Wife.

He discover'd, that his Master was in his Temper benevolent,
strictly honest, and a Man of good natural Parts. _Zadig_ was very
much concern'd, that One of so much Sense should pay divine
Adoration to a whole Host of created, tho' Celestial Beings, that is
to say, the Sun, Moon, and Stars, according to the antient Custom of
the _Arabians_. He talk'd, at first, to his Master, with great
Precaution on so important a Topick. But at last told him, in direct
Terms, that they were created Bodies, as others, tho' of less
Lustre, and that there was no more Adoration due to them, than to a
Stock or a Stone. But, said _Setoc_, they are eternal Beings to whom
we are indebted for all the Blessings we enjoy; they animate Nature;
they regulate the Seasons; they are, in a Word, at such an infinite
Distance from us, that it would be downright impious not to adore
them. You are more indebted, said _Zadig_, to the Waters of the Red
Sea, which transport so many valuable Commodities into the _Indies_.
Why, pray, may not they be deem'd as antient as the Stars? And if
you are so fond of paying your Adoration on Account of their vast
Distance; why don't you adore the Land of the _Gangarides_, which
lies in the utmost Extremitie