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Fortunate receive the purse of Fortune; the Fortunate was still painted with amiable Fortune
there, as if this image had just been created that very day; I carved this place as best I could in
my memory.
But I must also set out the secret cause for this journey, for it is important. I had learned
that seven Wise Men or Philosophers should live in seven different capitals of Europe, and that
these Sages, more than all the others, were instructed in all the arts and all wisdom, and in
particular, in medicine. As all men possess the natural desire to live for a long time and in good
health on this earth, I also conceived a great desire to visit all these places, to see these Sages, in
the hope of also obtaining from one of these Sages a perfect medicine for the preservation of my
health during the term predestined by God. So I deliberated which town I should go to first, since
it depended on luck whether one of these Sages would or even could satisfy me. Also I had
learned many times, to my cost, that words are vain if prosperity and God s benediction are
lacking; so I easily presumed that, although these seven Sages had been praised as the wisest in
all the arts in the whole world, intelligence is not the same for all, but different for each, since
God constantly endows one man with more intelligence, virtue and wisdom than another, so that
one may surpass another much in quality and attributes. So I thought that it must be the same
with these Sages. Thus, I prayed fervently to Almighty God to lead me upon the real path to the
true man who surpassed all other with his wisdom, that he might look favorably upon my desire
and grant my request.
Now, during the night I had a dream or a vision which said to me in a loud voice: Lead
your footsteps toward the pole called the Pole Star observed by sailors: it is there that your wish
will be granted.
When I woke up from the somber night, I meditated over whether I should give
credence to this dream or not. Finally I reached a decision, penetrated by desire in mind to enter
into this good journey, to undertake the voyage; and, as it was doubtless a good angel who had
shown me the way in the dream, I set out, by the grace of God.
But as soon as I wished to go forward, I saw before me high, pointed rocks before me, a
hard and coarse road, deep crevasses, smoking chasms where waterfalls produced such a noise
that I was terrified; and I stopped suddenly in the terror which had a hold of me, and asked
myself if I dared go on or whether I should turn back.
On the one hand, the great desire excited me to reach what I had seen before me; on the
other hand, the terrifying aspect of the rude place repelled me, and in truth, I was fearful to see
before me such a difficult road. So I remained in great pain, seeing no man nearby who could
counsel me or console me in this alternative.
90
Finding myself without aid or consolation, I took my courage in both hands, mainly by
recalling my dream, and I set off in the grace of God with a joyful step, while being obliged to
rest frequently before I completed the climb. But when I had reached the heights of the summit, I
saw nothing before me except a vast vista; I was thus obliged to have recourse to my little
compass which I had brought by chance; and this soon showed me with its pointer the town
which was closer than I had thought.
I entered into the mountain, and I reached the true capital, whose name I forget. I
immediately questioned the inhabitants of this country about the wise man and, as the situation
and the place of his dwelling were indicated to me, I went to meet with him75.
But here I found an extraordinary man, who resembled a thief, a brigand, or a gross
artisan passing his days in front of a forge, burning charcoal, rather than a wise physician. But in
truth, in the conversation, I found much that was right and skilled in him, that I wouldn t have
believed it and a thousand others would not have believed it without having heard it. For all the
Sages of the six other capitals were obliged to take counsel from him alone when an important
issue came up.
It is thus most foolish to wish to judge people by their appearances, as the poet said:
Saepe latent humili, fortes sub corpore vires, and this applies equally to this man.
This gross and strange man, yet very knowledgeable according to the spirit, occupied a
singular place and a residence; moreover, he possessed qualities and morals which were
extremely strange, which astonished me greatly.
For, just as Diogenes lived in a barrel, which he preferred to the most beautiful palace,
so Nature had similarly implanted in the nature of this adventurer, through strange influences and
incidents, a determination to take up as home an equally strange place; he didn t care for pomp
or ostentation regarding beautiful palaces or clothing; but he made a great case of his wisdom
and his virtues which he loved more than all the treasures in the world.
His residence was in a large and hard rock, where neither warmth nor cold could reach
it; but, in the interior, its rooms were pained with such beautiful, natural colors, that they
appeared to be built with the most precious jasper, or painted by the most skillful artist who had
expended all his art and all his dexterity there.
Similarly, he never suffered from thirst or hunger; but, according to ordinary use and
custom, he bowed before Cupid s arrows; this is why he worried often in seeking to go out,
which those who lived with him never allowed. So he called his neighbors, saying to them:
Friends, help me a little to go out into the light, and I will help you in my turn. When the
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