The Difcovery, Settlement, and Commerce Book I, 
3S2 
fliould thus fink at once, and within fo fmall a Space of 
-ime: It is, however, to- be confidered, that, under the 
of Cyrus,. Cambyfes, and Darius, the genuine Per- 
jtan Spirit prevailed ; whereas, in the fucceeding Reigns, 
Eunuchs and Women had a large Share of the Adminiftra- 
tion of Empire, from whom weak Councils, dark Intrigues, 
and a Policy founded wholly on Expedients, was to be ex- 
pected. it was in Confequence of fuch. Tranfadtions, that 
the Court and Empire were ufually involved either in ie- 
aet Conipiracies, or open Rebellions ; which are Seafons 
when Self- prefer vation occupies the Place of extenfive 
Pi ejects, and reftrains even Princes, of great Abilities, 
noni diftinguifhing themfelves, as they otherwife would. 
Add to this, their ill Succefs in the Conduct of Maritime 
Affairs in Europe , where, after a long and tedious Struggle 
with the Greeks , who owed almoft all their Power to this 
very Struggle ror their Liberties, the Perfians were forced 
to Submit to an infamous Treaty, by which they gave up 
not only their Dominion, but their Right of navigating in 
thofeSeas a . 
I his might, and very probably did, give them fuch a 
Difguft to Naval Concerns, that they chofe rather to pur- 
fhe the Maxims of the Babylonian Government, which be- 
gan the Practice of choaking up navigable Rivers, to pre- 
vent the Danger of Invafions, than to think of eftabliffiing 
fuch a Maritime Force in th clndian Ocean, as might protect 
the Commerce of their Subjects . But the molt fatal Er- 
ror in their Politics, and that which, in the End, proved 
the Ruin of their Empire, was their Confidence in their 
Riches ; for, believing that Money would do every thing, 
and trailing more to their Skill in Bribing, and their Abi- 
lity in hiring foreign Mercenaries, than to the Bravery 
and Difcipline of their own Troops, which, notwithftand- 
ing they were exceedingly numerous, were never formi- 
dable, they excited, by thus difplaying their Weaknefs, 
a Spirit in their Enemies, to undertake and execute what 
otherwife they never durft have attempted. 
It was from this indolent Dilpofition, and ill Ufe of 
their Wealth, that all the foreign Commerce of their Do- 
minions, was carried on by the Phoenicians and the Greeks , 
upon whom they had a conllant Dependence, for whatever 
related to Maritime Affairs, their own Subjects being 
wholly employed, either in the Working of Mines, or in 
that Inland Traffick with the Indians, of which we have 
before fpoken, and by which they grew fo immenfely rich, 
that when Xerxes made his great Expedition into Greece , 
Pythias , the Lydian , is recorded to have been poffeffed of 
two thoufand Talents in Silver, and four Millions of Da- 
rks in Gold, which, taken together, amounted to near fix 
Millions of our Money. We need not wonder, therefore, 
that the Greeks , who were an induftrious, warlike, and pe- 
netrating Nation, after having gained repeated Victories 
over the Perfian Armies, came, at laid, to form Defigns 
of attacking and conquering their whole Dominions. 
8. They were chiefly inftigated to this by the Ad- 
vantages they had of knowing the interior Condition of 
that Empire with the greateft Certainty, by the means of 
many of their Countrymen, who were employed and 
trufeed by the Perfian Monarchs. Amongft thefe there was 
one Ctefias , a Phyfician, who was in great Credit at the 
Court of Artaxerxes , that undertook to write a complete 
Hiftory of the Affairs of the Eafl. This Man had firft 
attended in the way of his Profeffion upon Cyrus the 
younger, who was Brother to Artaxerxes , and who endea- 
voured to dethrone him, but was flam in Battle •, in which 
Battle Artaxerxes himfelf was wounded ; and Ctefias , being 
taken Prifoner, was fent for to attend him ; and, being fo 
lucky as to cure him, he was retained as his dorneftic Phy- 
fician, and lived with him in that Quality feventeen 
Years b . 
In this Station he had the Opportunity of confulting the 
perfian Records, and inquiring into every thing that was 
requifite towards furnifliing him with Materials for his in- 
tended Hiftory, which he compofed in twenty-three Books. 
Of thefe, the firft fix contained an Account of the Empire 
of the Ajfyrians and Babylonians , from the Time. of Ninas 
and S emir amis, to the abfojute Deftruclion of that Empire 
by Cyrus ; the other feventeen, the Affairs of the Perfian 
Monarchy, from the Beginning of the Reign of that o- reat 
Conqueror, to the third Year of the ninety- fifth Olympiad 
which was coincident with the Year before Chrift 39% \ * 
He wrote alfo an Indian Hiftory, containing an Account 
of all that he had been able to learn concerning that Coun- 
try, and its Inhabitants, from the Perfians. The bell 
Greek Writers do not give a very good Character of this 
Author, or of his Performances, especially the laft-men- 
tioned W ork, which they tax with being fabulous and in- 
credible •, which is very probable, fince he received all 
his Informations from Hearfay. We have ftill fome Extrad 
of this Work extant in the Books of Photius and Athenaus 
which feem fully to juftify the Cenfures that have been 
paffed upon it by Arijiotle and Plutarch d ; but efpecially 
by Strabo , who calls him a notorious Lyar, and treats him 
as a Perfon unworthy of Credit e : Yet he, and other Wri- 
ters, frequently borrow from him fuch Railages as feem 
moft probable. 
The Ex trad s that we ftill have in our Hands, cannot 
ferve in any degree to our Purpofe ; and therefore we fhall 
not trouble the Reader with any Quotations upon them. 
But, perhaps, it may not be amifs to obferve, that if, one 
was inclined to apologize for this Writer, one might ffio-- 
ge ft fome Things in his Favour : For In fiance ; it is very 
clear, that thefe Extradfs were made with a View to juftify 
this Cenfure of his being a fabulous Writer ; and therefore 
we have good Reafon to doubt, whether there might not 
be abundance of valuable Paffages in his Writings, which 
are left out, as not agreeable to that Defign. In the next 
Place, it may be obferved, that though he was miftaken in 
many Things, and reprefented moft Things in too ftron°- 
a Light, yet it is very eafy to difeern, through many of his 
Miftakes, a Ground of Truth ; and, perhaps, if we had 
had his Writings intire, they would not have appeared in 
any thing nearffo bad a Light as they do at prefent. We 
might alfo add, that, in fome Things, he has been con- 
demned without any juft Reafon, efpecially for his differ- 
ing with Herodotus , who was fometirnes in the Wrong as 
well as he. On the Whole, how bad a Writer foever he 
might be, he was certainly of great Ufe to his Country- 
men, both living and dead ; for he rendered them very 
effential Services in the Court of the Perfian Emperor his 
Mailer ; was the conftant Advocate of all their Suits ; and 
feldom folicited for them without Effedl. 
Xenophon , who was as good, or perhaps a better Judge 
of this Author’s Merit, than any other Man, fince he was 
perfonally acquainted with him, and had a very compre- 
henfive Knowledge of Perfian Affairs, yet fpeaks of Ctefias 
with great Refpedt, and gives him a very fair Character f , 
though he had read his Perfian Hiftory, and faw Reafon to 
differ from it in many Places. There are fome other 
Works of our Author, mentioned by the Greek Hiftorians, 
which are loft, and which we have great Reafon to regret. 
One of thefe was a fort of general Defcription of Afia ; an- 
other Treatife of his was upon Rivers, and this we find 
commended by Plutarch s . But that which might have 
afforded us greater Advantages in treating of this Period of 
Time, was his Treatife of the Revenues of Afia •, for which, 
from his Refidence in the Perfian Court, and the known 
Pundluality of that Nation in making up their Records, 
we may, with great Probability, fuppofe, that he might 
have very good Materials ; and that it was indeed a very 
valuable Book, appears from the Author who cites it h . 
9. It is very evident, even from the Cenfures paffed 
upon Ctefias , that the Greeks had confiderable Informations 
as to the Affairs oh India from many other Quarters : And, 
it is not a difficult Matter to conceive, how they might 
come by them ; for, befides their Correfpondence with 
the Perfian Court, they had continually confiderable 
Bodies of Troops in Egypt , as well in the Pay of the 
Perfians , as of the Egyptian Princes, who rebelled againft 
them; which afforded them, doubtlefs, many Opportunities 
*. Diodor. Sicul. Thucvd. Xenophon. J.uftin, Corn. Nip. b ' Tzetzes, Chi/, i. Hijl. I. Saidas. Strabo . c Diodor. Sicu. 1 . lib. xiv. 
p. yzl . ^ Hijl,, Animal, lib, viii. cap. 28 . P 'lutarch. in ‘vit. Alexand . e Geograph, lib. xiv. ^ Hijl. Grace, lib. i. p. 157, 
i Uper. p- 1 161. 6 Atbenaus Deipnojophift. lib, ii. p. 67. X. p. 424. 
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