not always find visible happiness in proportion to vifible virtue., All natural and almoft all political evils, are incident alike to the bad and good: they are confounded in the mifery of a fami ne, and not much distinguished in the fury of a faction; they fink together in a tempeft, and are driven together from their country by invaders. All that virtue can afford is quietness of confcience, a steady prospect of a happier state; this may enable us to endure calamity with patience; but remember that patience muft fuppofe pain. '

CHAP.

CHAP. XXVIII.

RASSELAS AND NEKAYAH CONTINUE THEIR CONVERSA

TION,

"DEAR princess, faid Raffelas, you

fall into the common errours. of exaggeratory declamation, by producing, in a familiar difquifition, examples of national calamities, and fcenes of extenfive mifery, which are found in books rather than in the world, and which, as they are horrid, are ordained to be ra

Let us not imagine evils which we do not feel, nor injure life by mifreprefentations. I cannot bear that querelous eloquence which threatens every city with a fiege like that of Jerufalem, that makes famine attend on every flight of locufts, and fufpends peftilence on the K 3 wing

wing of every blaft that issues from the fouth.

"On neceffary and inevitable evils, which overwhelm kingdoms at once, all disputation is vain: when they happen they must be endured, But it is evident, that these burfts of univerfal diftrefs are more dreaded than felt ; thousands and ten thousands flourish in youth, and wither in age, without the knowledge of any other than dɔmeftick evils, and share the fame pleafures and vexations whether their kings are mild or cruel, whether the armies of their country perfue their enemies or retreat before them. While courts are difturbed with inteftine competitions, and ambaffadours are negociating in foreign countries, the smith ftill plies his anvil, and the husbandman drives his plow forward; the neceffaries of life are required and obtained; and the fucceffive bu

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finefs of the feason continues to make its wonted revolutions.

"Let us ceafe to confider what, perhaps, may never happen, and what, when it fhall happen, will laugh at human fpeculation. We will not endeavour to modify the motions of the elements, or to fix the destiny of kingdoms, It is our bufinefs to confider

what beings like us may perform; each labouring for his own happiness, by promoting within his circle, however narrow, the happiness of others.

"Marriage is evidently the dictate of nature; men and women were made to be companions of each other, and therefore I cannot be perfuaded but that marriage is one of the means of happiness.

"I know not, faid the princess, whether marriage be more than one of the innumerable modes of human mifery. When I fee and reckon the various forms of connubial infelicity, the unexpected

K 4

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pected caufes of lafting difcord, the diverfities of temper, the oppofitions of opinion, the rude collifions of contrary defire where both are urged by violent impulfes, the obftinate contefts of dif agreeable virtues, where both are fupported by confcioufnefs of good intention, I am sometimes difpofed to think with the feverer cafuifts of moft nations, that marriage is rather permitted than approved, and that none, but by the inftigation of a paffion too much indulged entangle themselves with indiffoluble compacts."

"You seem to forget, replied Raffelas, that you have, even now, reprefented celibacy as lefs happy than marriage. Both conditions may be bad, but they cannot both be worst. Thus it happens when wrong opinions are entertained, that they mutually destroy each other, and leave the mind open to truth."