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great atrocity among that superstitious people; and had they over- 
taken me, my life might have been the forfeit of my temerity. The 
next day the brahmins sent orders to the English party at Quilone 
to keep at a distance from their districts, lest the atmosphere 
should be tainted by our breath; and some of the milder sort sent 
a basket of live poultry to an English lady of our party, that 
during our abode there, we might abstain from eating beef. 
Civilization, as far as the Malabars are susceptible of it, has 
long attained its height: Egypt, Assyria, Persia, Greece, and 
Rome, from the pinnacle of grandeur, perfection in the fine arts, 
and the luxury of opulence, have dwindled to a name: the Mala- 
bars seem to have been for some thousand years in the same state 
of mediocrity; on such a system, no new designs in building, no 
alteration in manners or dress, no improvements in art or science^ 
are to be expected. 
This ma} r be alleged of a great part of the world besides; 
but I do not compare the Negroes and Hottentots of Africa, nor 
the savages of America, with the natives of India, or the gene- 
rality of Asiatics: these are certainly placed on a higher scale: as 
already mentioned in the northern cities of Hindostan, especially 
among the Moguls, we find eloquence, poetry, painting, and 
architecture, in a considerable degree of perfection: the Chinese 
shine with still brighter lustre in the scale of civilized society: as 
a nation they have never been conquered, although the Tartars 
usurped the sovereignty, and introduced some changes in their 
customs: during numerous revolving centuries they have cultivated 
the arts of peace, have been governed by wise laws, and have en- 
joyed many enviable blessings; considering their limited inter- 
