“There may be community,” said Imlac, “of material possessions, but there can never be community of love or of esteem.  It must happen, that one will please more than another; he that knows himself despised will always be envious; and still more envious and malevolent, if he is condemned to live in the presence of those who despise him.  The invitations, by which they allure others to a state which they feel to be wretched, proceed from the natural malignity of hopeless misery.  They are weary of themselves, and of each other, and expect to find relief in new companions.  They envy the liberty which their folly has forfeited, and would gladly see all mankind imprisoned like themselves.

“From this crime, however, I am wholly free.  No man can say that he is wretched by my persuasion.  I look with pity on the crowds who are annually soliciting admission to captivity, and wish that it were lawful for me to warn them of their danger.”

“My dear Imlac,” said the prince, “I will open to thee my whole heart.  I have long meditated an escape from the happy valley.  I have examined the mountains on every side, but find myself insuperably barred:  teach me the way to break my prison; thou shalt be the companion of my flight, the guide of my rambles, the partner of my fortune, and my sole director in the CHOICE OF LIFE.”

“Sir,” answered the poet, “your escape will be difficult, and, perhaps, you may soon repent your curiosity.  The world, which you figure to yourself smooth and quiet as the lake in the valley, you will find a sea foaming with tempests, and boiling with whirlpools; you will be sometimes overwhelmed by the waves of violence, and sometimes dashed against the rocks of treachery.  Amidst wrongs and frauds, competitions and anxieties, you will wish, a thousand times, for these seats of quiet, and willingly quit hope to be free from fear.”

“Do not seek to deter me from my purpose,” said the prince:  “I am impatient to see what thou hast seen; and, since thou art thyself weary of the valley, it is evident that thy former state was better than this.  Whatever be the consequence of my experiment, I am resolved to judge, with mine own eyes, of the various conditions of men, and then to make, deliberately, my CHOICE OF LIFE.

“I am afraid,” said Imlac, “you are hindered by stronger restraints than my persuasions; yet, if your determination is fixed, I do not counsel you to despair.  Few things are impossible to diligence and skill.”

CHAP.  XIII.

RASSELAS DISCOVERS THE MEANS OF ESCAPE.

The prince now dismissed his favourite to rest, but the narrative of wonders and novelties filled his mind with perturbation.  He revolved all that he had heard, and prepared innumerable questions for the morning.

Much of his uneasiness was now removed.  He had a friend to whom he could impart his thoughts, and whose experience could assist him in his designs.  His heart was no longer condemned to swell with silent vexation.  He thought that even the happy valley might be endured, with such a companion, and that, if they could range the world together, he should have nothing further to desire.