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 taught me, may the Prophet multiply to thee.

"Under the inſtruction of the phyſician Aluazer, I obtained an early knowledge of his art To thoſe who were ſmitten with diſeaſes I could adminiſter plants, which the ſun had impregnated with the ſpirit of health. But the ſcenes of pain, languor, and mortality, which were perpetually riſing before me, made me often tremble for myſelf. I ſaw the grave open at my feet: I determined therefore to contemplate only the regions beyond it, and to deſpiſe every acquiſition which I could not keep. I conceived an opinion that as there was no merit but a voluntary poverty, and ſilent meditation, thoſe who deſired money were not proper objects of bounty; therefore money was deſpiſed. I buried mine in the earth; and renouncing ſociety I wandered into a wild and ſequeſtered part of the country; my dwelling was a cave by the ſide of a hill; I drank the running water from the ſpring, and ate ſuch fruits and herbs as I could find. To increaſe the auſterity of my life, I frequently watched all night, ſitting at the entrance