140 ON THE METHOD OF ZADIG. 



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. 



]N"o doubt it was their instinctive recognition of the 

 analogy between Zadig's results and those obtained by 

 authorised inspiration which inspired the Babylonian 

 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 impi- 

 ous in meddling with the traditions of Cannes and the 

 fish, and all the sacred foundations of Babylonian cos- 

 mogony ? 



But this was not the worst. There was another con- 

 sideration which obviously dictated to the more thought- 

 ful 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 the 

 pride of human reason, he had ignored the established 



