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Article TALE OF A NUMIDIAN CHIEF. Page 1 of 2 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Tale Of A Numidian Chief.
TALE OF A NUMIDIAN CHIEF .
[ FROMFLORIAN . 's GONZALO OF CORDOVA . ] HAPPY is that obscure being , who without rank , or fortune , or birth , knows no other duties but the simple ones of nature , no pleasures but to love , no glory but to be beloved . Insensible to that foolish pride which constitutes our first requisite : he seeks not ,
in other countries , perils and sufferings which were not intended for him . He lives not at a distance from the worthy object of his tenderness , and adds not to the unavoidable pains of love , the more cruel pain of absence , which nature wished to have spared him . In tranquility he passes his days in the place where they commenced . Beneath the tree where he sported as a child , he reposes with his
wife , and sleeps away his old age . The cottage where he was born gives birth also to his sons and his daughters . Nothing changes ; nothing will change on his account . The same sun delights ; the same fruits nourish ; the same verdure charms him , and the same companions , more and more beloved , make him more sensibly enjoy the blessings of naturethe transports of loveand the charm
, , of equality . Such ought to have been my lot , and such it was before the war of Grenada . I was born amongst those pastoral tribes , who , without towns or any fixed place of residence , dwell beneath tents with their flocks , removing from pasture to pasture ; and wandering a-r niongst the desarts from the fo ' ot of Atlas to the borders of ancient
Egypt . These people are descended from the first Arabians , who leaving the happy region of Yemen under the conduct of Afrik , vanquished extensive climes , to which they gave the name of their leader . The vanquished were confined to the towns . The conquerors , who never sought , never loved any but the pastoral life , took possession of the plains , and spread their tribes amongst the immense tracts of . Bilidulgerid .
I here we preserved the manners and customs of our ancestors ; there every tribe apart preserved its flocks , its wealth , in a circular district of tents , covered with the skins of camels . Free , hut governed by a sheik , the camp formed a republic , which remained or removed , determined on war or peace , according to the advice of the heads of the tribe . Our sheik administered justice , and the whole code of our laws was reduced to this simple
maxim—Behappy , and do injury to no one . Our wealth consisted in camels , whose indefatigable swiftness could , in one clay . ' s space , transport us a hundred miles from our enemies ; in steeds , invaluable for their courage , their docility , their attachment to their master , pfwhom they were the dearest compa .-.
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Tale Of A Numidian Chief.
TALE OF A NUMIDIAN CHIEF .
[ FROMFLORIAN . 's GONZALO OF CORDOVA . ] HAPPY is that obscure being , who without rank , or fortune , or birth , knows no other duties but the simple ones of nature , no pleasures but to love , no glory but to be beloved . Insensible to that foolish pride which constitutes our first requisite : he seeks not ,
in other countries , perils and sufferings which were not intended for him . He lives not at a distance from the worthy object of his tenderness , and adds not to the unavoidable pains of love , the more cruel pain of absence , which nature wished to have spared him . In tranquility he passes his days in the place where they commenced . Beneath the tree where he sported as a child , he reposes with his
wife , and sleeps away his old age . The cottage where he was born gives birth also to his sons and his daughters . Nothing changes ; nothing will change on his account . The same sun delights ; the same fruits nourish ; the same verdure charms him , and the same companions , more and more beloved , make him more sensibly enjoy the blessings of naturethe transports of loveand the charm
, , of equality . Such ought to have been my lot , and such it was before the war of Grenada . I was born amongst those pastoral tribes , who , without towns or any fixed place of residence , dwell beneath tents with their flocks , removing from pasture to pasture ; and wandering a-r niongst the desarts from the fo ' ot of Atlas to the borders of ancient
Egypt . These people are descended from the first Arabians , who leaving the happy region of Yemen under the conduct of Afrik , vanquished extensive climes , to which they gave the name of their leader . The vanquished were confined to the towns . The conquerors , who never sought , never loved any but the pastoral life , took possession of the plains , and spread their tribes amongst the immense tracts of . Bilidulgerid .
I here we preserved the manners and customs of our ancestors ; there every tribe apart preserved its flocks , its wealth , in a circular district of tents , covered with the skins of camels . Free , hut governed by a sheik , the camp formed a republic , which remained or removed , determined on war or peace , according to the advice of the heads of the tribe . Our sheik administered justice , and the whole code of our laws was reduced to this simple
maxim—Behappy , and do injury to no one . Our wealth consisted in camels , whose indefatigable swiftness could , in one clay . ' s space , transport us a hundred miles from our enemies ; in steeds , invaluable for their courage , their docility , their attachment to their master , pfwhom they were the dearest compa .-.