‘GAZETTEER OF PERSIA VOL. I Comprising the Provinces of ASTARÁBÁD, SHÁHRUD-BÚSTAN, KHÚRÁSÁN, AND SÍSTÁN’ [‎215v] (437/722)

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attained to such eminence in this art, that a few lines written hy one
of these celebrated penmen are often sold for a considerable sum.
« The merchants of Persia are all taught to read and write; and some of
them are men of learning. Their better acquaintance with foreign countries,
while it renders them free from prejudice, adds greatly to their knowledge;
and their manners, though not so highly polished as those of the principal
nobility and courtiers, are in general equal, if not superior, to the other
classes of the community in which they live. Though the society of mer
chants of information and education is courted by the first nobles and the
highest officers of the Persian government, the former, in general, endea
vour to avoid any political connections; and the observance of this rule is
recommended by the almost invariable luin of all those who aie deluded to
forsake the path of profit to pursue that of ambition.
“ It is a peculiar usage of the principal merchants in Persia to carry on all
their mercantile correspondence in cipher; and every person has a different
one. The causes for this extraordinary precaution are obvious. In a
country where there are no regular posts, they are under the necessity of
trusting their letters to couriers, whom a small sum would bribe to betray
their slcrets to commercial rivals ; and it is of great consequence to their
interests that they should have the first intelligence of political changes,
respecting which their correspondent would fear to write in an open manner.
In Persia the authenticity of a merchant’s letter, as well as his bills,
depends entirely upon the seal. It is not usual to sign either; and they are
not often written in the hand of the person by whom they are sent. It is
the seal, therefore, which is of importance; it has always engraven upon it
the name and title, if he has one, of the person to whom it belongs, and
the date at which it was cut. The occupation of a seal-cutter is one of
much trust and some danger. He keeps a register of every seal he makes;
and if one is stolen or lost by the party to whom he sold it, his life would
answer the crime of making another exactly the same. He must affix the
real date on which it is cut; and the person to whom the seal belongs,
if in business, is obliged to take the most respectable witnesses of the
occurrence, and to write to his correspondents declaring all accounts and
deeds with his former seal null from the day upon which it was lost.
“ Among the lower classes of the citizens of Persia there is not much
perceptible difference of manner. That which exists arises from the nature
of their respective occupations and from the partial diffusion of knowledge.
Almost all the tradesmen, and many of the mechanics, have received some
education. There are schools in every town and city of Persia, in which
the rudiments of the language of that country and of Arabia are taught.
The child, who attends at one of these seminaries, after he has learnt the
alphabet, is made, as a religious duty, to read the Kuran in Arabic; which
he usually does without understanding one word of it. He is next taught
to read some fables in the Persian language, and to write a legible hand.
Here his education commonly ends; and, unless he is led by inclina
tion to devote himself to study, or his occupation requires that he
should practise what he has learnt, the lessons he has received are soon
forgotten.
“ But this course of education, slight and superficial as it may seem, has
the effect of changing the habits and of introducing a degree of refine
ment among those who benefit by it, which is unknown to their ruder
countrymen.