The Cry for Justice: An Anthology of the Literature of Social Protest / The writings of philosophers, poets, novelists, social reformers, and others who have voiced the struggle against social injustice; selected from twenty-five languages; covering a period of five thousand years

by Unknown

All my coffers well can hold,

I may give, O Lord, for Thee,

One-sixteenth in Charity.

Zadig

By Voltaire

(See page [674])

The lord of the castle was one of those Arabians who are commonly called robbers; but he now and then performed some good actions amidst a multitude of bad ones. He robbed with furious rapacity, and granted favors with great generosity.

“May I take the liberty of asking thee,” said Zadig, “how long thou hast followed this noble profession?”

“From my most tender youth,” replied the lord. “I was servant to a petty, good-natured Arabian, but could not endure the hardships of my situation. I was vexed to find that fate had given me no share of the earth which equally belongs to all men. I imparted the cause of my uneasiness to an old Arabian, who said to me: