121 They at once lost the most precious gift of heaven—Hope. It is a soothing reflection to the bulk of mankind, that the commonness of any blessing is the true test of its value. Hence, Hope is justly styled “the most precious of the gifts of heaven,” because, as Thales long since observed—ὁις αλλο μηδεν, αυτη παρεστιν—it abides with those who are destitute of every other. Dante’s inscription over the gate of hell was written in the same sense, and perhaps in allusion to the saying of the Grecian sage:—

Per me si va nella città dolente:

Per me si va nell’ eterno dolore:

Per me si va tra la perduta gente.

Giustizia mosse ‘l mio alto fattore:

Fecemi la divina potestate,

La somma sapienza, e ‘l primo amore.

Dinanzi a me non fur cose create,

Se non eterne, ed io eterno duro:

Lasciate ogni speranza, voi che ‘ntrate.

canto iii.

Strongly impressed with this idea, and in order to complete his description of the infernal dungeon, Milton says,

——————where——————

————————hope never comes

That comes to all.

Paradise L. 1. 66.

About the Author

WILLIAM THOMAS BECKFORD (October 1760–May 1844) was born in London, England, to a wealthy, esteemed family. The only (legitimate) son of William Beckford (Alderman Beckford, who twice held the office of Lord Mayor of London), he inherited vast family wealth at the age of ten, when his father died unexpectedly. This inheritance was so prodigious, it made him one of the richest individuals in all of England, consisting of £1 million cash (over $150 million U.S. by today’s standards), as well as immense English estate holdings and ownership of several sugar plantations in Jamaica. Young William went on to indulge in a life of extreme debauchery, whimsy, scandal, and artistic fulfillment.

As a child he received piano lessons from Wolfgang Mozart and throughout his life wrote copious amounts of music. He was also trained in art and architecture and became an eccentric collector and purveyor of art from around the world, often selling priceless collections, only to purchase them back years later when the mood struck. Most famous of these endeavors was his construction of Fonthill Abbey, a colossal “country house,” said to be the most sensational building of the English Gothic Revival, built to house a library collection that he purchased.

In 1782, before his twenty-second birthday, Beckford travelled to Italy and penned his first book, Dreams, Waking Thoughts and Incidents (first published in 1783). Upon his return to England later that year, he wrote Vathek. Beckford claimed it only took him three days and two nights, but its polish suggests otherwise. The book was not published until 1786, when Rev. Samuel Henley translated the work into English and arranged for publication in England, without Beckford’s name, as An Arabian Tale, from an Unpublished Manuscript, adding extensive notes. The first French edition (dated 1787) was published later in 1786.

After 1784, Beckford exiled his young wife and himself from England for about twelve years after he was publicly outed for a reputation of sexual aberrancy (bisexuality with a youth, as well as involvement in multiple other affairs); although he was never “officially” sentenced, his prestige was forever scarred. (Curiously, thirty years later, George Gordon, Lord Byron, who lived much the same sexual life as Beckford, also self-exiled to Switzerland but was lionized by the press and literati. Byron was reportedly inspired by Vathek to pen his epic poem The Giaour.) Beckford spent the time abroad travelling through much of Western Europe and publishing travel memoirs that were widely read (particularly Letters from Italy with Sketches of Spain and Portugal, 1835). He was an avid reader and involved in literary circles across the continent, including a particularly close friendship with author Jane Austen.