The Gleaner; Or, Entertainment for the Fire-Side [Compiled by J Watson]

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Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2012 - 434 Seiten
Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: TACITURNITY. AN ORIENTAL APOLOGUE. From the French of the Abbi Blanchet. AT Araadan was a celebrated Academy, the first statute of which ran thus: ? The Academicians are to think much, write little, and, if possible, speak less. This was called the Silent Academy, nor was there a sage, in Persia, who was not ambitious of being admitted a member. Zeb, a famous sage, and author of an excellent little book, entitled The Gag, heard, in the distant province where he lived, there was a vacancy in the silent Academy. Immediately he departed for Amadan, and arriving, presented himself at the door of the hall where the academicians were assembled, and sent in the following billet to the president: Zeb, a lover of silence, humbly asks the vacant place. The billet arrived too late, the vacancy was already supplied. The academicians were almost in despair; they had received, somewhat against their inclinations, a courtier, who had some wit, and whose light and trifling eloquence had become the admiration of all his court acquaintance; and this learned body was now reduced to the necessity of refusing the sage Zeb, the scourge of babblers, the perfection of wisdom. The president, whose duty it was to announce the disagreeable news to the sage, scarcely could resolve, nor knew in what manner best, to perform his office. After a moment's reflection, he ordered a flaggon to be filled with water, and so full that another drop would have made it run over. He then desired them to introduce the candidate. The sage appeared, with that simple and modest air, which generally accompanies true merit. The president rose, and without speaking a vord, pointed, with affliction in his looks, to the emblematical flaggon so exactly full. The sage understood from thence the vacan...

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