ON THE METHOD OF ZADIG. 139 



in everybody's mouth ; and, although many of the magi were of 

 opinion that he ought to be burnt as a sorcerer, the King com- 

 manded that the four hundred ounces of gold which he had been 

 fined should be restored to him. So the officers of the court went 

 in state with the four hundred ounces ; only they retained three 

 hundred and ninety-eight for legal expenses, a"hd their servants ex- 

 pected fees. 



Those who are interested in learning more of the fate- 

 ful history of Zadig must turn to the original ; we are 

 dealing with him only as a philosopher, and this brief 

 excerpt suffices for the exemplification of the nature of 

 his conclusions and of the method by which he arrived 

 at them. 



These conclusions may be said to be of the nature of 

 retrospective prophecies ; though it is perhaps a little 

 hazardous to employ phraseology which perilously sug- 

 gests a contradiction in terms the word "prophecy" 

 being so constantly in ordinary use restricted to " fore- 

 telling." Strictly, however, the term prophecy as much 

 applies to outspeaking as to foretelling ; and, even in the 

 restricted sense of " divination," it is obvious that the 

 essence of the prophetic operation does not lie in its 

 backward or forward relation to the course of time, but 

 in the fact that it is the apprehension of that which lies 

 out of the sphere of immediate knowledge ; the seeing of 

 that which to the natural sense of the seer is invisible. 



The foreteller asserts that, at some future time, a 

 properly situated observer will witness certain events; 

 the clairvoyant declares that, at this present time, certain 

 things are to be witnessed a thousand miles away ; the 



