A full and just account of the present state of the Ottoman Empire in all its branches; with the government, and policy, religion, customs, and way of living of the Turks in general ... from a serious observation, taken in many years travesl thro' those countries / [Aaron Hill].

Aaron Hill

Date:: 1710

Credit: A full and just account of the present state of the Ottoman Empire in all its branches; with the government, and policy, religion, customs, and way of living of the Turks in general ... from a serious observation, taken in many years travesl thro' those countries / [Aaron Hill]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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$ThefeFi- THE Stairs, which, as I laid before, were Ten in number, were in- gurcs; whit tenc]e(j ( as I guefs’d ) to reprefent the Ten Great Stages of our human Life, prefer^0 e which very rarely goes beyond one hundred Tears : The Child there fleeping in a Cradle on the lowed: Stair, I take to fignify the ten firft Years of bel¬ iefs Infancy: The Weak Old Man was Lifesgreat f eriod, and the utmoft Age oi frail Mortality. THE Man of Middle Age, upon the fixth or feventh Stair, was nothing, but an Emblem of our Mortal Life, ’twixt Tbeefcore Tears and Seventy : The Chains with Globes of different lizes, faftned to one end, which he endea¬ vour’d eagerly to grafp, as he afcended, fignifi’d no more than that a Man, who Travels toward Old Age, fhould make good ufe of every Moment, in H°^theold colleain2; Knowledge, and retaining it with refolution ; for the Old Egypti- H?erogly-m 4/wreprefented Wijdom by the Hieroglyphic Figure of a Globe or Circle, to de- phics, repre. note t{iat [t was boundlels, and the different Magnitudes of all thofe Balls dorr^d Wl' exprefs’d the great variety of Worth in Arts and Sciences. THE Application therefore of this Hieroglyphical Contrivance, feems confpicuous to my probably mijlahen Judgement, which, by putting the above- nam’d Thoughts together, fram’d immediately the following Interpretati¬ on of the dubious Emblem. The Inter¬ pretation of the Hiero¬ glyphic. Hei who will hope to reach a good Old Age, and bear the Weak¬ ness and great Infirmities, ’’tin always jubjeci to, mujl never fail in c- very Stage of Life, hepajfes thro’, to gather Wifdom and improve his Mind with Learning and Morality. AND excellently Good is the Advice, this admirable Hieroglyphic gives teftioiwC Mankind ; how heavily and full of forrow fits Old Age, on that unhappy Wretch, who in the fruitlefs Journey of his growing Life, has ftill omitted all his Opportunities of laying up the Treafure, of a ferious Contemplation, or im¬ prov'd Capacity, whereby to foften the unpleafant harfhnefs of the Burthen, Time mifpent has laid upon his Shoulders. BUT the Wifer Man, who never knew to live in vain, but daily ga¬ thers an encreafing Stock of Learning and Difcretion, to enrich the dry and barren Soil, Old Age muff bring him to, will never feel the Stings of Igno¬ rance and difcontented Solitude; but, when he finds himfelf decay’d in - Strength of Body, can reflect with Solon on the Vertues of his Mind, and ba- nifh Grief in the tranfporting Repetition of the following Sentence. Ti^u.s’KC') cati 'ToA.Act J'/itcttruojj.ivoi. ’Tis true, I grow more Old, but if I do, As I wax Older, I wax Wifer too. T H E Reader muft not blame me for prefuming to Interpret the above- nam’d Hieroglyphics, fince the wonderful variety of Fancy, they afford a Sub¬ ject for, gives fcope enough to every Man’s Opinion, and the dubious Mea¬ ning, cloak’d in their Difguife, may very eafily mifiead our Judgment. A PaiTage AFTER we had pafs’d with gradual Advances, from one Chamber to RrcbbiJr1’ another, we arriv’d at lasl, at what repuls’d our eager Curiofity, tho' pro¬ bably it was not anciently the uttermoft Extent of thofe {h-angejubterraneous Hollows; there we found the PaiTage quite choak'd up with Stones and Rubbijh, nor con’d force an entrance any farther, tho’ we zealoufly endeavour’d by an nniverfal Labour to remove the Obftacle. A Saying of Sthn. GOD$