1 06 Travels into the L, e v a n t. Part II. 
tiii. 
alfo in a thoufand trifles, which concern not at all Aflrology. For inftance. 
They will not eat any thing that aChridian hath but touched, thinking it Pol- 
luted j and therefore they will notfuffer t'dcm to touch Fleib, or ar^ thing elfe that 
A pirpan fu- is Eatable, before they have bought-it ; if a Chriftian drink in their Pot, they break 
jperfiicion. it immediately, and it is very rare to fee them lend one to any body : if a Peece 
mifs firing, they are perfuaded that fonne Enemy- hath laid a Charm upon it » and 
to cure the pretended Charm, he that is to fhoot knocks the mu2zle of his Peece 
againft the ground, and then he thinks the Charm is fpoilt, and that if will not 
mifs again, though the defedt he found proceeded only perhaps from the foulnefs 
of the Peece. 
Chriftians e- Theyfuffcrno Chriftians to enter into their Coffee- Houfes, nor their Bagnios, 
ftecmed im- becaufe they (fay they) are Medgis^ that is to fay, impure. Whereupon I had a 
pretty pleafant adventure, when I was coming from Bagdad io Hamadatr-, being as 
yet ignorant of that cufiom, I very fairly went one day to one of their Bagnios » 
they not knowing rae to be a Chriflian, fu/îeredme to ftrip, and enter the Bagnio, 
where there were a great many Perfians and 'ïitrhj- \ but fome arnong them know- 
ing me, prefently whifpered the reft that I was a Chriftian h at which being ex- 
treamly ftartled, they acquainted the Mafter of the Bagnio with it, whotodifmifs 
me civilly, came and told me that the F/zi>, or Lieutenant of thc'Chan, defired 
to (peak with me; I, who undcrftood nothing of their intrigue, made him an- 
fwer that I would wait upon him fo foon as I had done in the Bagnio, and though 
he told me that he ftayed forme, I would not go » but at length perceiving that the 
Servants attended all the reft, and left rtîe to look to my felf, I went to my Cloaths, 
and quarelled with the Mafter, becaufe they had not fcrved me-, which hefuifered 
without making anfwer : whereupon one of thofe who was in the Bagnio, told 
me that the Bagnio- Ma fier muft wafh all the Bath over, as being polluted by 
my entring into iti and I heard no more of the Vizirt Orders. The Perfians 
hate the 'turkj no left, and hold them to be as impure as the Chriftians, but dare 
not tell them fo as they do the Chriftians, .to whom there are fome Moulof that will 
not fo much as teach the Tcrfian Tongue for love nor mony, but there are others 
who are not fo fcrupulous. 
The Pfvfidns The fiUieft of all their Supcrftitions, in my judgment is this, that if a fire break 
th« is*o''°fire ^^^^'^ Houfes, they will not put it out, but only fave what Goods they can, 
to burn out. ^'^^ h\nm down as many Houfes as it can, till others, who are not of 
their Law, put it out. They fulfer not Chriftians to enter their Mofques, and if 
theycatched one there, they will oblige him to turn Mahometan^ or at Jeaftmake 
him pay a good fum of mony, if he were able, and if not, they will give him 
many Baftonadoes. Neverthelefs they will fuffcr Chriftians to difpute with them 
about matters of Faith, which amongft the fUrks would te a crime puniûiable 
by death. 
CHAR XIII 
The (Continuation of the ObferlDation of IfpaJian. 
Of the Religion of the Terfians. 
The Religion ^TT^HE Religion of the Perfians is in fubftance the fame with that of the Turk/, 
of the perfi- J[ though, neverthelefs, no Nations in the World hate one another fo much 
upon the account of Religion as thofe two do : they look upon one another as 
Hereticks i not without appearance of reafon, ( as fome think,) nor yet becaufe the 
Perfians hzvQTtznûitcà the Alcoran into Perfijtr-, for though it be true, that they 
have feveral Alcorans Tranflated in Pcrfian, nevertljelefs Uiat is but an interlineal 
Tranflation of Tranflation, word for word, and without any Sence : and they believe, as well as 
the Alcoran. l)^^1^f]^J^ that that Book can not be explained in any other Language Iduî m Ara- 
bic}^ 
