"The King, with whom I had this Discourse, was so affected with the Truth of it, that, You are in the right, said he to me; and ’tis with very great Justice that one of our Poets has elegantly compar’d all kind of Men to the Pieces, wherewith we play at Chess: Some act the Kings, the Queens, the Knights, the Fools, and simple Pawns. There is a vast Difference between them, while they are in Motion; but when once the Game is over, and the Chess-board shut, they are thrown promiscuously together into the same Box, without any manner of Distinction. Death does the very same thing: Kings, Emperors, Merchants, Slaves, Warriors, Men of the Robe, and of the Revenue, all then become equal; and there is nothing but our good Deeds and Charity towards our Neighbours, that will give us one Day a Superiority above others."
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Chinese Tales: or, The Wonderful Adventures of the Mandarin Fum-Hoam. Related by Himself, To divert the Sultana, upon the Celebration of her Nuptials, translated by Thomas Stackhouse, 2nd ed (London: J. Osborn, 1740) "The Fortieth Evening: The farther Continuation of the Adventures of the Dervise Assirkan", p. 192
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Thomas-Simon Gueullette
Thomas-Simon Gueullette (2 June 1683 – 2 December 1766) was a French lawyer, playwright, and scholar who also wrote fairy tales and works on the theatre itself.
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