Almoran and Hamet: An Oriental Tale
1761
Two brothers. One throne. A test of virtue that will determine not only their fate but the fate of Persia itself. In the opulent courts of ancient Persia, King Solyman lies dying, leaving behind twin sons whose souls could not be more opposed. Almoran burns for power, his ambition as vast as his arrogance, his eyes already glittering with the crown he believes is his birthright. Hamet, gentle and devout, finds no joy in succession only the weight of mortality and the burden of what a king must become. Their father's death reveals what death always reveals: the shape of a man's heart. One brother mourns; the other seethes with barely contained hunger. As they collide over the throne their father left behind, Hawkesworth constructs a striking moral allegory about the cost of power and the quiet strength of virtue. Written in 1761, this is one of the earliest English Oriental tales, a genre that would captivate readers for centuries. Its psychological daring lies in making both brothers human, both their fates somehow heartbreaking. For readers who crave the moral complexity of early fiction, when novels still believed they could illuminate the human soul.
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“Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful.””
— John Hawkesworth
“Of the blessings set before you make your choice, and be content. No man can taste the fruits of autumn while he is delighting his scent with the flowers of the spring: no man can, at the same time, fill his cup from the source and from the mouth of the Nile.””
— John Hawkesworth
“Nothing [...] will ever be attempted, if all possible objections must be first overcome.””
— John Hawkesworth
“Distance has the same effect on the mind as on the eye.””
— John Hawkesworth
“Marriage has many pains, but celibacy has no pleasures.””
— John Hawkesworth
“Our minds, like our bodies, are in continual flux; something is hourly lost, and something acquired... Do not suffer life to stagnate; it will grow muddy for want of motion: commit yourself again to the current of the world.””
— John Hawkesworth
“Be not too hasty," said Imlac, "to trust or to admire the teachers of morality: they discourse like angels, but they live like men.””
— John Hawkesworth
“Happiness," said he, "must be something solid and permanent, without fear and without uncertainty.””
— John Hawkesworth
“I have already enjoyed too much; give me something to desire.””
— John Hawkesworth
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Hawkesworth, John. Almoran and Hamet: An Oriental Tale. Lex, lex-books.com/book/almoran-and-hamet-an-oriental-tale-696e34d7-a743-4347-b848-6ad0d8ef7fc3.Hawkesworth, J. (1761). Almoran and Hamet: An Oriental Tale. Lex. https://lex-books.com/book/almoran-and-hamet-an-oriental-tale-696e34d7-a743-4347-b848-6ad0d8ef7fc3Hawkesworth, John. Almoran and Hamet: An Oriental Tale. Lex. https://lex-books.com/book/almoran-and-hamet-an-oriental-tale-696e34d7-a743-4347-b848-6ad0d8ef7fc3.
