Parián

“ The reader has probably learned to consider the Hindu Pariah as a merely wretched outcast, ignorant, vulgar, and oppressed. Such is not, however, exactly their status. Whatever their social rank may be, the Pariahs—the undoubted ancestors of the gypsies—are the authors in India of a great mass of philosophy and literature, embracing nearly all that land has ever produced which is tinctured with independence or wit. ”

“ Surely He must yet have labor for me in His vineyard; perchance the bearing unto these children of Amalek the message of peace."
"Do you propose preaching unto them?"
"Ay, why not? Inspired thereunto by the Spirit, I have already sought serious converse with yonder priest of Baal, kneeling at this side of that accursed shrine of idolatry. Yet so wedded is he to idols of wood and stone, he merely chattered back at me in unintelligible speech, and when I laid hand upon him to compel him to listen, the brown savage beyond grievously thrust me with a spear. ”

“ There are Pariahs in every village. It might be said that there are Pariahs in every family. The Pariah is one who is born with an innate inability to deal vigorously and effectively with his fellow animals. One sees these unfortunates every day—on the street, in the office, at the domestic hearth. One knows them by the queer look in their eyes; the look of animals who have been crushed rather than tamed. ”

“ Our own peasants often go some distance from their homes to sow their fields. On the western side of the mountain was a large plain. The Spaniards were well satisfied to drop anchor in such a great river. [7] As soon as the natives knew of the landing of an unknown race on their coasts, they collected about the Spaniards anxious to examine them, and displaying not the slightest fear. It was learned by signs that that country was called Paria, that it was very extensive, and that its population was most numerous in its western part. ”

“ Paros is a large and important island situated near the center of the southern portion of the Ægean Sea. It is of an oval form, and is about twelve miles long. The surface of the land is beautifully diversified and very picturesque, while, at the same time, the soil is very [Pg 273] fertile. In the days of Miltiades, it was very wealthy and populous, and there was a large city, called also Paros, on the western coast of the island, near the sea. ”

“ In mother earth here Periander lies,
The prince of sea-girt Corinth rich and wise.
My own epitaph on him is: [74]
Grieve not because thou hast not gained thine end,
But take with gladness all the gods may send;
Be warned by Periander's fate, who died
Of grief that one desire should be denied.
To him belongs the maxim: Never do anything for money; leave gain to trades pursued for gain. ”

“ Among the Parsíán, called also the Iraníán, is a Pg 6 sect styled the Yazadíán or Yazdáníán, Abádíán, Sipásíán, Hushián, Anushkán, Azarhóshangíán, and Azaríán. They believe it impossible for man, by the force of intellect, or the energy of spirit, to comprehend the exalted essence of the Almighty and Holy Lord. Entity, unity, identity, or all his divine attributes of knowledge and life, constitute the fountain of his holy essence. ”

“ The country of the Carians was the mountainous district in the southwestern angle of Asia Minor, the coast of which is indented with gulfs and frayed with long-projecting rocky promontories. The island of Rhodes lies close to it on the south. The Carians were subjugated by the Lydian King Crœsus, and afterwards passed under the Persian yoke. The Persians permitted the establishment of a vassal kingdom, under a dynasty which fixed its capital at Halicarnassus, and made that city one of the splendid Asiatic outposts of Greek art and civilization, though always faithfully Persian in its politics. ”

“ At the same time as the dogs, awake the hardly-better lodged Parias of the Tartar capital—I mean the wretched men afflicted with incurable and contagious skin diseases, who sit at the corners of the streets en famille, and house in miserable tents. In Persia they are met with, remote from cities and villages, on the high roads; but here, owing to the absence of sanitary regulations, they are tolerated in the middle of the city. Their lot is far the most terrible to which any son of earth can have to submit, and unhappily they are long livers too. ”

“ Down in the village I have noticed that whenever the sun touches the crest of these rocks the priests up here go forth, waving a flame into the air from yonder platform. I fear if it were missed, the savages below would come swarming up to discover the cause. Take a light from the pile, and wave it yonder."
The stubborn preacher grimly shook his head.
"Nay," he replied. "I have borne part enough in their heathen orgies already; it will take a lifetime to purge my soul. I bow down to Baal no more." ”

“ Paeans were sung at the festivals of Apollo (especially the Hyacinthia) , at banquets, and later even at public funerals. In later times they were addressed not only to the gods, but to human beings. In this manner the Rhodians celebrated Ptolemy I. of Egypt, the Samians Lysander of Sparta, the Athenians Demetrius, the Delphians Craterus of Macedon. The word “paean” is now used in the sense of any song of joy or triumph.
See A. Fairbanks, “A Study of the Greek Paean.” No. ”

“ As Péron passed, he threw some money among them, not that he had it to lavish, but his heart was tender, and the stony face of poverty appeals most sharply to those who have known trouble [249] themselves; and his life had had its trials. The gates were not yet opened, but Paschal Luce found means to overcome this difficulty; after some parley in the guardhouse he came out triumphant, and the two rode out of the city together. So far all was well; they had no cause to suppose that they were followed, and they proceeded along the highroad at a brisk gait with lighter hearts. ”

“ Parris, in slow and measured tones, answered:
"No man knows until the time comes what depths are within him. To some men it never comes. Let them rest and be thankful. To me it was brought—it was forced upon me. I am despised, misused and abused by the world for the fact that I stand in the hand of God to do his holy will."
"You talk strangely, Mr. Parris," said Charles, when the wild-eyed fanatic had finished and turned his haggard face up toward heaven. "I think your earnestness and zeal are mistaken." ”

“ Lying dressed upon his bed, the noise awoke him with a start and found a gloomy echo in his heart. He could not endure it, and sent Parry to ask the sentinel to beg the workmen to strike more gently and not disturb the last slumber of one who had been their king. ”

“ We reach Paraïso at last; the name had prepared us for something better than the wretched hamlet where we land. It was destroyed, it seems, in a local affray, as the ruins, the fallen trunks of large trees sufficiently attest. Outward appearance is no sure index to gauge Paraïso or its “descalzado” inhabitants, who are in reality well-to-do. The good man who kindly offered to escort us about, is, for this country, quite wealthy ”

“ The same year which saw Shakspeare carried to his grave beside the Avon witnessed the founding of Pará, or, speaking more respectfully, of Santa Maria de Belém do Gram Pará. The city stands on a low elbow of land formed by the junction of the rivers Guamá and Pará, seventy-five miles from the ocean. The great forest comes close up to the suburbs; and, in fact, vegetation is so rapid the city fathers have a hard struggle to keep the jungle out of the streets. ”

“ The inhabitants of Pará present a most varied and interesting mixture of races. There is the fresh-coloured Englishman, who seems to thrive as well here as in the cooler climate of his native country, the sallow American, the swarthy Portuguese, the more corpulent Brazilian, the merry Negro, and the apathetic but finely formed Indian ”

“ The first long shafts of sunlight made wide avenues of glory through the forest, and there was the merry twittering of birds in every thicket. Péron felt his spirits rise with the day; whatever the outcome of his mission, he had steadily endeavored to do his duty, and he had assuredly accomplished something of importance. Aware now of how nearly Renée de Nançay had defeated his plans, he could not suppress a feeling of curiosity to know how she regarded the turn of events. ”

“ Few men would have lost an opportunity to get rid [61] of beasts they did not require, but Pierson was a man in a thousand.
At that time he had eight horses in his stable, all good and all sound. He had named them after heathen gods, Jupiter, Pluto, Saturn, Cupid, Hercules, etc. But his pet nag, Apollo—a grey he had given one hundred and twenty tomans, or fifty pounds, for, an enormous price in those days in Persia—had a few weeks before caught his foot in a hole while galloping over turf; horse and man came down with a crash; Pierson was insensible ”

“ Pírán's spirits rose at this bold speech, and encouraged by its effects, he repaired to the Khakán of Chín, with whom he settled the necessary arrangements for commencing battle on the following day. Early in the morning the different armies under Kámús, the Khakán, and Pírán-wísah, were drawn out, and Rustem was also prepared with the troops under his command for the impending conflict. He saw that the force arrayed against him was prodigious, and most tremendous in aspect; and offering a prayer to the Creator, he plunged into the battle. ”

“ Anquetil du Perron says (Zend-Avesta, t. II. p. 601) : “Of all the religions known, that of the Parsís is perhaps the only one in which fasting be neither meritorious nor even permitted. The Parsí, on the contrary, believes to honor Ormuzd by nourishing himself well: because the body, fresh and vigorous, renders the soul stronger against the bad genii; because the man, feeling less want, reads the word with more attention, and feels more courage for performing good works ”

“ Ah, well, what else was life than a gamble on the turn of a card? A proper man ought not to hesitate whenever the stake was worth the hazard. Teresa Fernandez would risk as much for him, of this Richard Cary felt convinced. She was that kind of a woman. Win or lose, he would try to meet her in the house of Uncle Ramon Bazán while the Tarragona was in port. ”

“ But the principal charm of Pará, as of all other tropical places, is the Dolce far niente (carefree idleness) . Men, in these countries, are not ambitious. They are not annoyed, as the more masculine people of colder climates are, to see their neighbors going ahead of them. They are contented to live, and to enjoy, without labor, the fruits which the earth spontaneously offers ”

“ Presently, when the Persians had come and had crossed the Maeander, they and the Carians joined battle by the river Marsyas; the Carians fought obstinately and long, but at the last they were overcome by odds. ”

“ The facts, taken together, seem to show that the Paraiyan priests (Valluvans) , and therefore the Paraiyans as a race, are very ancient, that ten centuries ago they were a respectable community, and that many were weavers. The privileges they enjoy are relics of an exceedingly long association with the land. ”

“ That which is the spoiling of this country is the extravagance of the admiration expressed for it. Since the time of Ramond no one who speaks of the Pyrenees can describe a site without declaring it to be incomparable. If they have judged it incomparable, it is because they have seen nothing with which to compare it. ”

“ He cultivated friendly relations with the tyrants of Miletus and Mytilene, and maintained a connexion with the kings of Lydia, of Egypt and, possibly, of Phrygia In spite of these varied achievements Periander never entirely conciliated his subjects, for he could not trust himself without a bodyguard. ”

“ A peasant boy, named Giorgio Terni, and a half-bred Arabian mare seemed pawns of fate, doomed to a life of tragedy. Their battle to outwit destiny is a drama of human and animal courage.
The secret plotting of the Palio is so strange that I had to journey from America to Siena three times in order to understand the inner workings. ”

“ The formidable barrier of Spain now rises before us in all its majesty. The Pyrenees are not, like the Alps, a complicated system of peaks and valleys, they are simply a mighty wall that drops to lower elevations at its extremities. Two peoples, distinct from one another—the Basques at the west, the Catalans at the east—hold the doors of two worlds. These irritable and capricious porters open and shut at will, wearied and impatient at the incessant passage of the nations through these ports. ”

“ He is shy and uneasy before strangers, but if they visit his abode, he treats them well, for he has a rooted appreciation of the duty of hospitality; there is a pride about him, and being naturally formal and polite, he acts the host with great dignity. He withdraws from towns as soon as the stir of civilisation begins to make itself felt. When we first arrived at Pará many Indian families resided there, for the mode of living at that time was more like that of a large village than a city ”

“ The island of Panay has twenty-five thousand Indians as tributarios, or about one hundred thousand souls, rather more than less. It is one hundred leguas in circumference, and has sixteen encomenderos, and fourteen religious of the order of St. Augustine, in six monasteries founded there—one on the river of Panay, which is in the royal crown lands of your Highness, and the other five monasteries in villages of the encomenderos. All the other villages of this island, which is the best in that land, after Luzon, are without ministers. ”

“ If he dies the bark is in our hands, and the treasure. The thing to consider now is how to get control. Once we have won, we care nothing if he live or die. Come, we have wasted time enough in talk; it is action that counts—what say you? Are we together in this?"
He thrust out a lean, yellow hand, and I gripped it firmly.
"Si, Senor; you speak right. To do this we must act. I am with you."
"You pledge your word, Francois?"
"I pledge it, Senor."
"Good! and you have mine. Now to the work—first Manuel Estevan, and then the men on deck. 'Tis his stateroom yonder." ”