20 Manners of the Persians and Turks contrasted and described. [Aug. 1, 
and td lie when they are in a foreign 
country, where they must conceal 
their faith, and not allow themselves 
to disclose those things which they 
have most at heart. Itmay be judged, 
then, how far ignorance and wicked- 
ness can stretch this religious precept. 
Our love for truth, and horror for lying, 
excite their astonishment. A person 
of the highest rank at the Persian 
court one day testified his surprise 
to a French agent in the following 
words:—‘“ What, not mix a little 
falsehood with affairs? That appears 
to me to be impossible ; I cannot con- 
ceive how they can be managed with- 
out lying.” He then added, in a low 
voice, “Truth has its merit, however ; 
and we who lie five hundred times 
a-day are not perhaps any the for- 
warder for it.” Cunning and deceit- 
ful, the Persian is never afraid to break 
his engagements. When he keeps his 
word, it is only because it is impossi- 
ble to do otherwise. He will leave no 
means untried to evade it; and he 
easily finds false witnesses to assist 
him in cases of difficulty. This sort 
of people are still more common in 
Persia than in Turkey, where they are 
nevertheless common enough. The 
crime of theft, which is very rare 
among the Ottomans, is frequent with 
the Persians, who commit it without 
scruple. 
The Turk is covetous; he loves mo- 
ney; but in this he only resembles 
other nations. The Persian carries 
this passion to the extreme. In Per- 
sia, the smallest seryice can be ob- 
tained only by gold. The great men 
of the state are here distinguished 
from the populace by their more bare- 
faced cupidity, and the most odious 
avarice. A superior cannot be ap- 
proached without a present, especially 
when his protection is sought for. 
The Persian is so thoroughly imbued 
with this way of thinking, that, when- 
ever I arrived in a capital, I was 
asked if I had something to offer to 
the governor. 
The Fark is very magnificent in his 
presenis, when guided by ostentation, 
gratitude, or humanity. But the 
hands of the Persian, always open to 
receive, are never open to give: when 
he cannot do otherwise, than give, his 
gifts are confined within very narrow 
limits. He ruins himself only in pro- 
mises, and. in these he may, indeed, 
be said to be munificent. If you ex- 
tol the beauty of a horse, a sabre, or 
any other article, he immediately says, 
“T give it you.” If you are delighted 
with a field bearing a rich crop, or 
with a smiling valley, she says, “I 
make you a present of it.” But this is 
all mere ceremony, and never turns 
out to mean anything. The Spaniards 
have the same custom, which they 
have no doubt derived from the Arabs. 
The Persians and Turks, like all the 
rest of the Asiatics, are unacquainted 
with that refined and delicate love 
which constitutes the happiness of ci- 
vilized man. ‘They are constantly 
under the influence of jealousy, arising 
from their suspicious disposition, and 
the idea of their own superiority. ‘The 
majority of them look upon their wives 
as the slaves of their desires and ca- 
prices, and as designed only to perpe- 
tuate the species. Contempt produces 
distrust, and distrust gives rise to 
jealousy. The women cannot go 
abroad without being entirely veiled. 
Lodged in an insulated apartment, 
known by the name of harem, (which 
we improperly call seraglio,*) they are 
allowed to receive their intimate fe- 
male friends, and sometimes pass 
several days without seeing their hus- 
band; to whom they then send his 
meals in the saloon. The promenade, 
the bath, musicians, dancers, and 
games, are the pleasures which the 
women of the Fast procure in order to 
pass away their time agreeably. They 
also enjoy the company of their father’s 
and their husband’s male relations, 
and that of a few old neighbours. 
Fond of repose and tranquillity, they 
are in a great measure occupied with 
the affairs of their household, in which 
they have despotic sway; so that a 
husband would not dare to discharge 
a domestic without their consent. 
The power which they have over 
their children is also very great; they 
have the entire care of their: education, 
and the right of marrying them. It 
seems that both the laws and the cus- 
tom in these countries have wished 
to make some amends to the women 
for the privations which in other mat- 
ters they are obliged to suffer. . 
I can hardly believe that the Per- 
sians and the Ottomans in general 
experience those endearments ‘of con- 
* Serail, or rather seraz, is said not of 
the harem, but of the whole palace. The 
house of a Persian lord, though he have 
no apartment for women, is nevertheless 
called seraz. 
jugal 
