The Manual of Xefolius

ON XEFOLIUS.

"The peoples who exchange their gold for glass beads The author uses a common 18th-century metaphor for colonial trade to illustrate a foolish exchange of values. give away a thing that is useless to them, for another that they could just as easily do without. But when man thinks to turn the social virtues of his brothers to his own profit, by violating the laws of his being, what is he? what does he deserve? what kind of trade is he making?"

WHAT has become of so many heroes whose names history has not passed down to us? What were the names of the kings who reigned between Ninias and Sardanapalus? Ninias and Sardanapalus were legendary kings of Assyria; the author refers to the vast, "lost" periods of ancient history to show the futility of worldly fame. who built the pyramids of Egypt? how many Hercules original: Hercules. Ancient scholars often argued there were several distinct figures who contributed to the myths of Hercules. have there been? Were all these gods, all these demi-gods of fable, extraordinary men, real beings, or allegories imagined by the poets? What difference is there today between the conqueror of India Likely a reference to Alexander the Great or the mythical conquests of Bacchus. and the obscure and peaceful citizen who disappeared from the earth at the same time? Does it matter to the one that it is forgotten that he lived, and to the other that people still speak of him? Which was the happier? which is more so now? What is happiness? Does it reside in some situation where the caprice of a powerful man