VL] ON THE METHOD OF ZADIG. 133 



the clairvoyant declares that, at this present time, 

 certain things are to be witnessed a thousand miles 

 away; the retrospective prophet (would that there 

 were such a word as "backteller!") affirms that so 

 many hours or years ago, such and such things were 

 to be seen. In all these cases, it is only the relation 

 to time which alters the process of divination beyond 

 the limits of possible direct knowledge remains the 

 same. 



No doubt it was their instinctive recognition of 

 the analogy between Zadig's results and those obtained 

 by authorised inspiration which inspired the Baby- 

 lonian magi with the desire to burn the philosopher. 

 Zadig admitted that he had never either seen or heard 

 of the horse of the king or of the spaniel of the queen ; 

 and yet he ventured to assert in the most positive 

 manner that animals answering to their description 

 did actually exist, and ran about the plains of Babylon. 

 If his method was good for the divination of the course 

 of events ten hours old, why should it not be good for 

 those of ten years or ten centuries past ; nay, might 

 it not extend to ten thousand years and justify the 

 impious in meddling with the traditions of Cannes 

 and the fish, and all the sacred foundations of Baby- 

 lonian cosmogony ? 



But this was not the worst. There was another 

 consideration which obviously dictated to the more 

 thoughtful of the magi the propriety of burning Zadig 

 out of hand. His defence was worse than his offence. 

 It showed that his mode of divination was fraught 

 with danger to magianism in general. Swollen with 



