‘GAZETTEER OF PERSIA VOL. I Comprising the Provinces of ASTARÁBÁD, SHÁHRUD-BÚSTAN, KHÚRÁSÁN, AND SÍSTÁN’ [‎222v] (451/722)

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are therefore, as a body, entitled to more respect ; for habits of violence
and injustice do not debase the nature of men so much as those of deceit
and falsehood.
“ The religious orders in Persia are divided into several classes. The
character of the few who have attained very high rank has been before
noticed. They are usually men of learning, of mild temper, and retired
habits. They are very careful to preserve the respect they enjoy by cher
ishing those impressions that are entertained of their piety and humility
It is rare to see them intolerant, except in cases where they deem the inter
est of that religion of which they are the head in danger. The lower
classes of the priesthood in Persia are commonly of a very opposite character
to their superiors. With little knowledge and great pretensions, they
. demand a respect which they seldom receive, and are in consequence among
the most discontented of the community. The general disposition of the
Persians to treat strangers of a different religion with kindness and hospi
tality is a subject of constant irritation to them. They rail at all com
munication with infidels, and endeavour to obtain an importance with the
lower orders of the people by a display of their bigotry and intolerance.
This class of men are often accused by their countrymen of indulging in
the gratification of the worst passions of the mind. To say a man hates
like a mulla, is to assert that he cherishes towards another sentiments of
the most inveterate hostility.
“There is considerable difference of character among the inhabitants of
the yarious cities and towns of Persia, which originates in the opposite
feelings and habits which they have derived from their ancestors. The
natives of Kasvin, Tabriz, Hamadan, Shiraz, and Yazd are as remark
able for their courage as those of Kum, Kashan, and Isfahan are for
their cowardice. The former are chiefly descended from martial tribes;
while the forefathers of the latter have, for many centuries, pursued civil
occupations. But though some of the citizens of Persia are less warlike
than others, the different shades of character which this occasions are not
of so much consequence as to prevent their being included in a general
description. The whole of this community may be deemed, as far as
regards their personal appearance, a fine race of men. They are not tall, but
it is rare to see any of them diminutive or deformed ; and they are in
general strong and active. Their complexions vary from a dark-olive to
a fairness which approaches that of a northern European; and if they have
not all the bloom of the latter, their florid, healthy look often gives them no
inconsiderable share of beauty. Asa people, they may be praised for their
quickness of apprehension, vivacity, and the natural politeness of their
manners. They are sociable and cheerful, and, with some remarkable
exceptions, as prodigal in disbursement as they are eager of gain. The
higher classes of the citizens of Persia are kind and indulgent masters; and
the lower ranks are, as far as respects the active performance of their
duty and the prompt execution of the orders they receive, the best of ser
vants. In countries where the law grants equal protection to all ranks of
society, and servitude does not imply dependence, the master and servant
are much more separated than in despotic states. In the latter, where there
are _ no middle classes, the servant is often the humble friend, and lives in
habits of intimacy, that could only exist where the actual distinction is so
great as to remove all danger of either forgetting the inequality of their
condition.