Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia

Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia, by
Samuel Johnson

The Project Gutenberg EBook of Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia, by
Samuel Johnson (#2 in our series by Samuel Johnson)
Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the
copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing
this or any other Project Gutenberg eBook.
This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project
Gutenberg file. Please do not remove it. Do not change or edit the
header without written permission.
Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the
eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is
important information about your specific rights and restrictions in how
the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a
donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved.
**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts**
**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since
1971**
*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of
Volunteers!*****
Title: Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia
Author: Samuel Johnson

Release Date: September, 1996 [EBook #652] [This file was first
posted on September 17, 1996] [Most recently updated: September 8,
2002]
Edition: 10
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, RASSELAS,
PRINCE OF ABYSSINIA ***

Transcribed from the 1889 Cassell & Company edition by David Price,
email [email protected]

RASSELAS, PRINCE OF ABYSSINIA
CHAPTER I
--DESCRIPTION OF A PALACE IN A VALLEY.

Ye who listen with credulity to the whispers of fancy, and pursue with
eagerness the phantoms of hope; who expect that age will perform the
promises of youth, and that the deficiencies of the present day will be
supplied by the morrow, attend to the history of Rasselas, Prince of
Abyssinia.
Rasselas was the fourth son of the mighty Emperor in whose dominions
the father of waters begins his course--whose bounty pours down the
streams of plenty, and scatters over the world the harvests of Egypt.
According to the custom which has descended from age to age among
the monarchs of the torrid zone, Rasselas was confined in a private

palace, with the other sons and daughters of Abyssinian royalty, till the
order of succession should call him to the throne.
The place which the wisdom or policy of antiquity had destined for the
residence of the Abyssinian princes was a spacious valley in the
kingdom of Amhara, surrounded on every side by mountains, of which
the summits overhang the middle part. The only passage by which it
could be entered was a cavern that passed under a rock, of which it had
long been disputed whether it was the work of nature or of human
industry. The outlet of the cavern was concealed by a thick wood, and
the mouth which opened into the valley was closed with gates of iron,
forged by the artificers of ancient days, so massive that no man,
without the help of engines, could open or shut them.
From the mountains on every side rivulets descended that filled all the
valley with verdure and fertility, and formed a lake in the middle,
inhabited by fish of every species, and frequented by every fowl whom
nature has taught to dip the wing in water. This lake discharged its
superfluities by a stream, which entered a dark cleft of the mountain on
the northern side, and fell with dreadful noise from precipice to
precipice till it was heard no more.
The sides of the mountains were covered with trees, the banks of the
brooks were diversified with flowers; every blast shook spices from the
rocks, and every month dropped fruits upon the ground. All animals
that bite the grass or browse the shrubs, whether wild or tame,
wandered in this extensive circuit, secured from beasts of prey by the
mountains which confined them. On one part were flocks and herds
feeding in the pastures, on another all the beasts of chase frisking in the
lawns, the sprightly kid was bounding on the rocks, the subtle monkey
frolicking in the trees, and the solemn elephant reposing in the shade.
All the diversities of the world were brought together, the blessings of
nature were collected, and its evils extracted and excluded.
The valley, wide and fruitful, supplied its inhabitants with all the
necessaries of life, and all delights and superfluities were added at the
annual visit which the Emperor paid his children, when the iron gate
was opened to the sound of music, and during eight days every one that

resided in the valley was required to propose whatever might contribute
to make seclusion pleasant, to fill up the vacancies of attention, and
lessen the tediousness of time. Every desire was immediately granted.
All the artificers of pleasure were called to gladden the