Letter CLVIII
Zelis to Usbek, at Paris.
You are a thousand leagues from me, and yet you condemn me ! A thousand leagues from me, and yet you punish me!
When a barbarous eunuch lays his vile hands upon me, it is by your order: it is the tyrant who outrages me, and not the instrument of his tyranny.
You may, if you choose, redouble your cruel treatment. My heart is at peace, since it can no longer love you. Your soul is debased, and you have become cruel. Rest assured that you are not beloved. Farewell.
The Seraglio at Ispahan, the 2nd of the moon of Maharram, 1720.