but he who murmurs, is man; who yesterday was not, and who to-morrow
shall be forgotten: let him listen in silence to the voice of knowlege,
and hide the blushes of confusion in the dust.

Solyman, the mighty and the wife, who, in the one hundred and second
year of the Hegyra, sat upon the throne of Persia, had two sons, ALMORAN
and HAMET, and they were twins. ALMORAN was the first born, but Solyman
divided his affection equally between them: they were both lodged in the
same part of the seraglio, both were attended by the same servants, and
both received instructions from the same teacher.

One of the first things that ALMORAN learnt, was the prerogative of his
birth; and he was taught very early to set a high value upon it, by the
terms in which those about him expressed their sense of the power, the
splendor, and the delights of royalty. As his mind gradually opened, he
naturally considered these as the objects of universal define, and the
means of supreme felicity: he was often reminded, that the time was
coming, when the sole possession of sovereign power would enable him to
fulfil all his wishes, to determine the fate of dependent nations with a
nod, and dispense life and death, and happiness and misery, at his will:
he was flattered by those who hoped to draw wealth and dignity from his
favour; and interest prompted all who approached him, to administer to
his pleasures with a zeal and assiduity, which had the appearance of
reverence to his merit, and affection to his person.

HAMET, on the contrary, soon became sensible of a subordinate station:
he was not, indeed, neglected; but he was not much caressed. When the
gratification of HAMET came in competition with that of ALMORAN, he was
always obliged to give it up, except when Solyman interposed: his mind
was, therefore, naturally led to seek for happiness in objects very