Persia

“ History, however, has some splendid exceptions to this rule, and Persia has had three successive periods of intellectual prosperity,—three times has the national spirit awakened as from a torpor, and for a season it has gleamed like a star in the Orient, but three times it has either died out, or been crushed beneath the storm of conquest. ”

“ The silver, next in value and endurance, of which were the arms and breast, stands for Persia. Centuries ago Persia was the great Power of the earth. At one time it would seem as if she never would decay or ever have a rival; but her day came, and she has dwindled down to the little kingdom and monarchy—the Persia of to-day. Her power is gone, she is consumptive, and will soon disappear as a separate kingdom. ”

“ Persia proper was a table-land, lying between the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf, with deep valleys and rapid rivers. It was such a country, with such a climate, as required a constant struggle by mankind for existence. Thus was produced a vigorous race, a race of our own blood, Aryans, that had one great wave of emigration to the West, peopling Europe, and a later wave into India. The Persians were quick, keen-witted, lovers of art and poetry, filled with energy and courage, and having a very high regard for truth. ”

“ No poetry has ever been more peculiarly national than that of Persia, for three centuries her lyre has been virtually silent, and yet her people cherish with peculiar fondness the memory of her poets. The finest odes of Hāfiz and the most beautiful passages of her Shāh Nāmah still live, even in the memory of her peasants; and the sorrows of Lailī and Majnūn will be chanted by Persian and Arab as long as the sons of the desert are found amidst the roses of Īrān. ”

“ The great empire of Persia, which covered the world from the shores of the Euxine to the sources of the Nile, and from the Ægean to limits undefined, beyond the regions of mystery through which the Indus flowed, was to be invaded. It had endured for centuries as an immense and impregnable power. Fierce tribes dwelt in the fastnesses of its snow-clad mountains, numberless caravans crept across its scorching deserts, gigantic cities flourished upon its fertile plains. Nations were lost among the uncounted millions of its population. ”

“ The fame of its cats and carpets, its poets and philosophers, its wine and its rose gardens is widespread; but of the fame of its men and women little is heard. Persia still lives on the credit of its past glory, yet nationality is indestructible, and the germ of the power which made such a bold bid for world conquest, though it has lain dormant for the greater part of the last 2,250 years, is still vital, and with the help and guidance of the West, Persia may yet take an honourable place among the nations of the Middle East. Isolation and sleep have gone, and huge changes are bound to come. ”

“ That there is such a country as Persia we all know, that English interests predominate in the south and Russian interests in the north we have all superficially understood from childhood; but in this knowledge, coupled with the fact that Persia is comfortably far away, we are apt to rest content. It is only to the eyes that see through long-distance glasses, the minds that regard the present as nothing more nor less than an inevitable link joining the future to the past, that this distant, debatable land stands out in its true political significance. ”

“ Knives, forks and spoons are things unknown in Persia. It is utterly repulsive to the European to see the master of the house pulling to pieces, with his fingers, a boiled chicken, and giving each guest a piece of it, or having a cup of sherbet passed round, in which a dozen men have already steeped their henna-dyed moustaches.
Persian refinement is confined only to gestures, speech and conversational manner. But in these they excel all the Eastern nations—perhaps the nations of the West, too—and these elegant manners are, of course, to be found in their highest perfection at the capital. ”

“ Men may praise the doctors of Europe and of India, but where is science to be found, if it be not in Persia?—Who shall dare to claim a superiority, as long as the land of Persia is enlightened by the presence of its Shah without compare?'
'That's all true,' said the king. 'Persia is the country which, from the beginning of the world to the present day, has always been famous for the genius of its inhabitants, and the wisdom and splendour of its monarchs. From Kaiumars, the first king of the world, to me who am the present Shah, what list is so perfect, so glorious? ”

“ The dry, rarefied climate of the high table-land of Persia redeems its inhabitants from sluggish dulness of the imagination, but it does not redeem them from the listlessness produced by the Eastern Sun.
The inhabitants of Persia are contented with their condition and dead to all desire of progress, to which indeed their religion is a sufficient bar. Under these circumstances it is in vain to look for the dawn of a brighter day over the realms of Iran until a fresh element be introduced into its population. ”

“ I have striven to describe life in Persia as I saw it, not exaggerating or softening anything, but speaking of Persia as it is. The whole narrative may be considered as a record of life in an out-of-the-way corner of the world ”

“ In this day Persia is in such a state of decadence and ruin that all intelligent men, whether Persians or foreigners, who realize the true state of affairs, recognize that its progress, its civilization and its reconstruction depend upon the promulgation of the teachings and the development of the principles of this great Personage. ”

“ While the sky of Persia was covered with heavy clouds of ignorance and even the dim ray of light in Assyria was almost quenched, suddenly God, in His great wisdom and wise providence, awakened the consciences of godly men in America to think about mission work in Persia. ”

“ Persia—long-neglected and sorely-tried—continues, despite the revival of recent hopes, to be the down-trodden victim of unscrupulous personal rivalries and factious intrigue, of tribal revolt, political dissensions and religious animosities—all of which have in times past brought in their wake the shedding of the blood of so many of its innocent and choicest sons. ”

“ True, the country over which I pass is not interesting, but, as everywhere in Persia, craggy mountains are in sight, softened by a veil of heavenly blue, and the country, though uninteresting, suggests pleasant thoughts of fertility, an abundant harvest, and an industrious and fairly prosperous people. ”

“ Persia was originally a small province on the Persian Gulf, still known as Fars. But Persia Proper included, besides the sandy plain on the gulf, a mountainous plateau north of it, and was bounded by Media on the north, by Carmania on the east, by the Persian Gulf on the south, and by Elam on the west. Its people were of the Aryan race, and at first subject to the Medes. They revolted under Cyrus the Great, and became the controlling power in the conquest of Nebuchadnezzar's dominion. ”

“ One striking peculiarity of Persia, is, that a kingdom of such extent contains not a single navigable river, to impart fertility to the country and to facilitate the communication between different provinces. All the mountains, excepting those which run parallel to the Gulf and the Caspian Sea, are destitute of trees, the hills exhibiting nothing but bare and dreary crags. In summer no refreshing dew gives moisture to vegetation, no vapour veils the face of heaven, no fog hovers over the hills. ”

“ I have thought them over day and night, and have come to the conclusion that it is my bounden duty to attack the Persians. When these lines are delivered to you, I shall be on the route to Ararat. A mercantile speculation will be to the world the ostensible motive of my journey, and it is singular enough that one which offers considerable prospect of advantage has just presented itself on the confines of Persia. ”

“ Persia was a small, rocky, hilly, arid country about three hundred miles long by two hundred and fifty wide, situated south of Media, having the Persian Gulf as its southern boundary, the Zagros Mountains on the west separating it from Babylonia, and a great and almost impassable desert on the east, so that it was easily defended. Its population was composed of hardy, warlike, and religious people, condemned to poverty and incessant toil by the difficulty of getting a living on sterile and unproductive hills, except in a few favored localities. ”

“ Persia proper was a small country, three hundred miles from north to south, and two hundred and eighty from east to west, inhabited by an Aryan race, who brought with them, from the country beyond the Indus, a distinctive religion, language, and political institutions. Their language was closely connected with the Aryan dialects of India, and the tongues of modern Europe. Hence the Persians were noble types of the great Indo-European family, whose civilization has spread throughout the world. ”

“ During the last two thousand years, whose history we possess, Persia has been repeatedly overrun by foreign conquerors, and the sequel of each conquest has been the same, namely, that the influence of climate and of luxurious Persian habits has relaxed the energies and the original virtues of the invaders, and disposed them in turn to fall victims to another conquering people. ”

“ We seemingly catch glimpses of ostentatious luxury, of a political and military organisation, and a method of government analogous to that which prevailed at later periods among the Persians, but more imperfect, ruder, and nearer to barbarism—a Persia, in fact, in the rudimentary stage, with its ruling spirit and essential characteristics as yet undeveloped. ”

“ With regard to some portions of the history of modern Persia, I have had to trust to such information as was to be derived from Persian sources. The English reader may be disposed to look with mistrust on information coming from such authorities; but in all that refers to what has taken place in Persia in relation to any European state, I have availed myself of every opportunity of testing the accuracy of Persian statements by comparing them with the accounts given by European authorities. ”

“ Persia was a land of extremes, and the richest part of her dominions was fated to lie beneath the early snows, and feel the severity of winter, while the central portion of the country was one vast desert, whose scorching simoons were as much to be dreaded as the snows of her northern table-lands. The early settlers of Īrān, therefore, were forced to win their bread and develop their resources by the most arduous labor, and the dreamy mythology of the Hindūs gave way in their minds to the sterner conflict between good and evil. ”

“ I will not say that all my dreams were realized, for perhaps no country in the world less comes up to one'd expectation than Persia, whether in the beauties of nature, or the riches and magnificence of its inhabitants, But in what regards manners and customs, it appears to me that no Asiatics bear so strong the stampm of an ancient origin as they. ”

“ Still, these limits include an area about thrice the size of France, the sovereign has reassumed the title of King of Kings, Persia takes her own place—and that not a low one—in the comity of nations, and the genuine Persians retain vitality enough to compel the allegiance of the numerically important tribes included within their frontiers, though scarcely more than 30,000 soldiers are with the colours at any given time. ”

“ After a journey of nine months through Persia, I am strongly of opinion that if the Empire is to have a solid and permanent resurrection, it must be through the enterprise of Persians, aided it may be by foreign skill and capital, though the less of the latter that is employed the more hopefully I should regard the Persian future. ”

“ HISTORIC OUTLINE. ORIGIN OF PERSIAN LITERATURE—ACCAD AND SUMER—LITERATURE OF NINEVEH—BABYLON—ĪRĀN OR PERSIA—PHYSICAL FEATURES—PERSIAN ART—MANUSCRIPTS—EARLY LITERATURE—THE ARABIAN CONQUEST—LITERATURE OF MODERN PERSIA—PERSIAN ROMANCE.
Every nation has a literature peculiarly her own, even though it may find its sources in foreign fields. As Persia was founded upon the ruins of more ancient monarchies, as she gathered into the halls of her kings the spoils of conquered nations, so also her literature was enriched by the philosophy and science, the poetry and mythology of her predecessors. ”

“ It is twelve days journey from Tauris to Persia [2] . In the confines stands the monastery of St Barasam, of which the monks resemble Carmelites: they make girdles, which they lay on the altars and give to their friends, who esteem them as holy. Persia is divided into eight kingdoms, viz. Casbin, Curdistan [3] , Laristan, Susistan or Chorassan, Spahan, Ispahan or Fars, Shiras [4] , Soncara [5] , and lastly Timochaim, which is near Arboreseco, towards the north [6] . Persia breeds excellent horses, which are sold to the Indies ”

“ We followed the course of a small brook, which wound through barren valleys and ravines; not a single village lay on our road; and with the exception of some little mills and the ruins of a mosque, I saw no more buildings in Persia. Persia is, on the whole, very thinly populated, on account of the scarcity of water. No country in the world has more mountains, and fewer rivers, than Persia. The air is, on this account, very dry and hot.
The valley in which Arax is situated is large, and the extraordinary formation of the mountains and rocks renders it very picturesque. ”

“ And the Persians were not barbarians by any means. And when you talk of Asia, remember that it is as far a cry from Persia to China, as from Persian to England. Let us have not more of this preoccupation with externals, and blind eyes to the Spirit of Man. I suppose ballot-boxes and referenda and recalls and the like were specified, when it was said Of such is the kingdom of Heaven?...
But Persia would not have flowed out over Europe, if Marathon, Salamis, and Plataea had gone the other way. Empires wax and wane like the moon; they ebb and flow like the tides ”