THE
VISION OF THEODORE,
THE HERMIT OF TENERIFFE:
FOUND IN HIS CELL.[1]
Son of Perseverance, whoever thou art, whose curiosity
has led thee hither, read and be wise. He that now calls
upon thee is Theodore, the Hermit of Teneriffe, who, in
the fifty-seventh year of his retreat, left this instruction
to mankind, lest his solitary hours should be spent in
vain.
I was once what thou art now, a groveller on the earth, and a gazer at the sky; I trafficked and heaped wealth together; I love and was favoured, I wore the robe of honour and heard the musick of adulation; I was ambitious, and rose to greatness; I was unhappy, and retired. I sought for some time what I at length found here, a place where all real wants might be easily supplied, and where I might not be under the necessity of purchasing the assistance of men, by the toleration of their follies. Here I saw fruits, and herbs, and water, and here determined to wait the hand of death, which I hope, when at last it comes, will fall lightly upon me.
Forty-eight years had I now passed in forgetfulness of all mortal cares, and without any inclination to wander farther than the necessity of procuring sustenance re-*
- ↑ Printed in the Preceptor, 1748.
