has nothing to do but to love and to be loved, to be virtuous and to be happy."

"Whether perfect happiness would be procured by perfect goodness," said Nekayah, "this world will never afford an opportunity of deciding. But this, at leaft, may be maintained, that we do not always find visible happiness in proportion to visible virtue. All natural, and almost all political evils, are incident alike to the bad and good: they are confounded in the misery of a famine, 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 conscience, a steady prospect of a happier ftate; this may enable us to endure calamity with patience; but remember that patience must suppose pain."

CHA P. XXVIII.

RASSELAS AND NEKAYAH CONTINUE THEIR CONVERSATION.

EAR princefs," faid Raffelas, "you

DEAR

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 rare. Let us not imagine evils which we do not feel, nor injure life by mifrepresentations. I cannot bear that querulous eloquence which threatens every city with a fiege like that of Jerusalem, that makes famine attend on every flight of locufts, and fufpends peftilence on the wing of every blast that iffues from the south.

"On

"On neceffary and inevitable evils, which overwhelm kingdoms at once, all difputation 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 domeftick evils, and fhare the fame pleasures 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 ambaffadors are negociating in foreign countries, the fmith still plies his anvil, and the husbandman drives his plow forward; the neceffaries of life are required and obtained; and the fucceffive business of the seasons continues to make its wonted revolutions.

"Let

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

cr

Marriage is evidently the dictate of nature; men and women are 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," said the princefs," 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 causes of lasting difcord, the diverfities of temper,

II

temper, the oppofitions of opinion, the rude collifions of contrary defire where

both are urged by violent impulses, the .obftinate contefts of disagreeable virtues, where both are fupported by consciousnefs of good intention, I am fometimes disposed 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 feem to forget," replied Raffelas, "that you have, even now, represented 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 deftroy each other, and leave the mind open to truth."

"I did.