of the tongue, than in Occidental countries. The employment of eunuchs, on account of their supposed trustworthiness, and also as guardians of the women, has likewise lasted in Asia from the times recorded in the sculptures of Nineveh to the present day.(2) Tortures, sometimes of the most horrible and disgusting nature,() have been constantly practised in the East, both for punishment and for the extraction of evidence. Among the European nations, there has doubtless at times been great cruelty, and men have been destroyed in cold blood by thousands; but, there has been, on the whole, a much greater moderation in bodily inflictions than among the Orientals. Penal mutilations appear in the German codes, (28) but have been disused in later times. Torture was for some centuries established in the criminal jurisprudence of Europe; but it was at first regulated, with a view of subjecting it to restraint, and is now abolished.

(26) Eunuchs were anciently employed in the Oriental states in all offices of trust and confidence about the king's person. They were his wine-bearers; they brought his food, and thus protected him from poison (Joseph. Ant. xvi. 8, § 1); they also acted as his instruments in deeds of secrecy, such as poisoning his sons and other near relations (Livy, xxxv. 15). They were not merely chamberlains, or guardians of the women, but were also employed in affairs of state (Tac. Ann. vi. 31); they likewise accompanied the king into the field, and fought like other men (see the Nineveh sculptures). They were peculiarly employed in the responsible office of treasurer (Plutarch, Demetr. 25; compare Acts, viii. 27). Eunuchs were preferred on account of their superior fidelity to their master (Herod. viii. 105), and compare the conduct of the eunuchs in the attack of the seven Persian conspirators upon Smerdis, ib. iii. 77-8. ἄνδρας ευνούχους Kai TIσTOÙS Baσiλeî, in Plutarch, Artax. c. 17, where the text does not require alteration. On eunuchs and their fidelity, see also Chardin, Voyage en Perse, tom. vi. p. 43. Their fidelity was owing to the absence of family ties, or feelings of love, and to their consequent single-minded devotion to their employer's service.-Xen. Cyrop. vii. 5, § 60-5. Compare Winer, B. R. Wörterbuch, art. Verschnittene.' The institution of eunuchs was referred to Semiramis, the Assyrian queen, or to the Persians.-See Ammian. Marcellin. xiv. 6; Steph. in Enáda; Brisson. de Regn. Pers. p. 217.

As to the light in which castration was viewed by the Romans, see the expressions of Dio Cassius, lxxv. 14, on the act of Plautianus. As the Roman empire, however, assumed a more Oriental character of government, eunuchs advanced into favour.-Gibbon, c. 19, ad init. In modern Europe, castration has been only practised, under the patronage of the Pope, for musical purposes.

(27) See Plutarch, Artax. c. 16, 17; Xen. Anab. i. 9, § 13; ii. 6, § 29; Brisson de Reg. Pers. p. 242-8.

(28) See Grimm, Deutsche Rechts Alterthümer, p. 701-11.

9. Loose dress.

9. Dress closely fitting the body.

The Orientals have, from an early time, shown a preference for a looser dress, and one less admitting of active bodily exertion, than the Europeans. The dress of the Medes, adopted by the Persians, was of this character, and was considered by the Greeks more suitable to women than to men.(29) It was even said to have been invented by Semiramis in order to make it uncertain whether the wearer was man or woman.(30) The assumption of the Oriental dress by Alexander was highly offensive to the Greek feeling, as the assumption of the same dress by Elagabalus was offensive to the Romans. (31)

The dress of men in Europe is likewise generally plain. Ornament is the characteristic of female dress. In the East, women do not appear at public ceremonials, or even in private society; and the splendour of dress, particularly in the matter of jewels,

(29) Onλvoroλeir vπépewav, Strab. xi. 13, § 9. As to the effeminate dress of the Lydians, Herod. i. 155; Polyæn. vii. § 4. The cognati regis, in the army of Darius, were 15,000 men : Hæc vero turba, muliebriter propemodum culta, luxu magis quam decoris armis conspicua erat.'-Curt. iii. 3. On the ornaments of Persian dress, Plutarch, Cimon, 9; Aristid. 16. Justin (xli. 2) says of the Parthians: Vestis olim sui moris; posteaquam accessere opes, ut Medis, perlucida ac fluida.'

Et Syriæ gentes, et laxo Persis amictu,
Vestibus ipsa suis hærens.'

Manilius, Astronom. iv. 750.

'Quicquid ad Eoos tractas, mundique teporem
Labitur, emollit gentes clementia coli.

Illic et laxas vestes, et fluxa virorum
Velamenta vides.'

Lucan, viii. 365.

See Winer, in Kleider. The use of umbrellas, as a protection against the sun, held by slaves over the head, is likewise characteristic of Oriental usage. See the Xanthian marbles; and Plutarch, Themist. 16.

Les Turcs, les Arabes, en un mot tous les Mahométans, portent des habits longs et larges: cependant, chaque nation se distingue, au premier coup d'oeil, par quelque mode, qui lui est particulière. D'ailleurs, les Orientaux qui habitent les villes changent de modes, tout comme les Européens.-Niebuhr, Voyage en Arabie, tom. i. p. 127. Oriental dress varies little from one age to another, Chardin, tom. iv. p. 1. Mr. Elphinstone confirms Niebuhr, and states that fashions of dress change in the East.-Account of Caubul, vol. i. p. 323, n.

(30) Diod. ii. 6.

(31) See Plutarch, Alexand. c. 45; Curtius, vi. 6; Diod. xvii. 77; Justin, xii. 3; and with respect to Elagabalus, Gibbon, c. 6.

is principally reserved for the men. In Asia, all the finest jewels are worn by the princes, not by their women. (2)

10. Intricate alphabet.

10. Simple alphabet.

The mode of alphabetical writing exercises so important an influence on civilization, that it deserves a separate mention. The Sanscrit, the Chinese, the Arabic, the Persian, and other Oriental modes of writing, are so intricate, the forms of the letters and their combinations are so deficient in simplicity and perspicuity, that the difficulty of writing and of reading written characters is far greater than in the European alphabets; (3) and printing with moveable types is thus rendered either impossible, or more expensive.(3)

(32) Compare the description of the dress of Darius, in Curt. iii. 3: 'Cultus regis inter omnia luxuriâ notabatur: purpureæ tunicæ medium album intextum erat: pallam auro distinctam aurei accipitres, velut rostris inter se corruerent, adornabant; et zonâ aureâ muliebriter cinctus acinacem suspenderat, cui ex gemmâ erat vagina.'

(33) See Niebuhr, Descript. d'Arabie, p. 89; Volney, ib. tom. ii. p. 284. Mon maître Turc commença par me faire apprendre à écrire, c'est la règle. L'habitude du dessin m'y fit faire quelques progrès; je lus ensuite, et alors les difficultés se multiplièrent. La suppression des voyelles suffit de donner une idée de mes premiers embarras et du travail pénible et fastidieux qu'il me fallut subir; mais il y a plus encore-les Turcs, en suppléant à la pauvreté de leur langue originelle par l'adoption totale de l'Arabe et du Persan, en se composant cinq alphabets, dont les différens caractères sont, cependant, au choix des écrivains, ont encore créé de nouveaux obstacles à l'instruction; et quand la vie d'un homme suffit à peine pour apprendre à bien lire, que lui reste-t-il pour choisir ses lectures, pour profiter de ce qu'il aura lu ?1— Mémoires du Baron de Tott, tom. i. p. 7. Rien ne fondera certainement l'instruction des Turcs, tant que les difficultés de la langue en fixeront les bornes au seul talent de lire et d'écrire.' -Ib. p. 112.

(34) Non seulement il y a disette de bons livres en Orient, mais même les livres en général y sont très rares. La raison en est évidente: dans ces pays, tout livre est écrit à la main: or, ce moyen est lent, pénible, dispendieux; le travail de plusieurs mois ne produit qu'un seul exemplaire ; il doit être sans rature, et mille accidens peuvent le détruire.'-Volney, ib. P. 285.

Speaking of the Arabs, Volney says: Leurs sciences sont absolument nulles; ils n'ont aucune idée ni de l'astronomie, ni de la géométrie, ni de la médecine. Ils n'ont aucun livre, et rien n'est si rare, même parmi les chaiks, que de savoir lire. Toute leur littérature consiste à réciter des contes et des histoires, dans le genre des Mille et Une Nuits.'-Ib. tom. i. p. 373. Chardin (tom. iv. p. 89, 274) says that the Persians have not the art of printing. Niebuhr (Descript. d'Arabie, p. 188) states that there is no printing-press in Arabia. The obstacle to the use of printed books is,

The characters of the European alphabet, and of the numerical notation, were both derived from Asia; but the nations which borrowed them gave them a practical value and finish which they never have attained in the East. ()

11. Poetry and mystical 11. Argumentative prose.

prose.

The literature of the East has been, for the most part, confined to poetry and tales of fiction. Its histories have been rare, and, when they existed, have been mere dry, uninstructive chronicles. It has produced some collections of apophthegms, (3) and some meagre scientific treatises, chiefly borrowed from the Greek. Argumentative prose composition, such as was originated by the Greeks after Socrates, and instructive histories, such as those of Herodotus and Thucydides, are not to be found within the circle of Oriental literature. The application of ridicule or irony to the investigation of truth, and to matters of serious import, is also purely European. Aristophanes, a Lucian, a Swift, a Voltaire, or even a Socrates,

he says, not the existence of a prejudice against them, but the difficulty of representing the forms of the letters in print. He adds that he had often shown to Arabs books printed in their language, which they could scarcely read.

(35) Litteras semper arbitror Assyrias fuisse.-Plin. H. N. vii. 57. If the Arabic numerals really were of Asiatic origin (see Bohlen, Altes Indien, vol. ii. p. 221-7), they are an example of the simplification and perfection of scientific instruments, proceeding from an Oriental people. In this case, there would be a remarkable coincidence with the European alphabet, which the Greeks certainly derived from the Phoenicians.-See Mure's Hist. of Gr. Lit. vol. i. p. 78.

'Phoenices primi, famæ si creditur, ausi
Mansuram rudibus vocem signare figuris.'

Lucan, iii. 220-1.

Si famæ libet credere, hæc gens [the Phoenicians] literas prima aut docuit aut didicit.'-Curt. iv. 4.

Tacit. (Ann. xi. 14) places the Egyptians first, and the Phoenicians second. Strabo (xvi. 2) says that astronomy and arithmetic came from the Phoenicians, as geometry or land-measuring came from the Egyptians. The metrical system of Greece was ultimately derived from the Babylonians.Boeckh, Metrologie, c. 4.

(36) The Oriental nations have always included their wisdom in proverbs and fables, partly on account of the despotic character of their governments, which rendered it dangerous to speak openly.-Chardin, tom. v. p. 3. Il n'y a que les Européens au monde qui voyagent par curiosité.'-Ib. p. 118.

a Plato, or a Pascal, is only to be found in the Occidental nations.

Only two Oriental nations have possessed a native dramathe Chinese and the Hindus. The Chinese drama serves for popular amusement, and is acted to large audiences, (*) but the Hindu drama, composed in Sanscrit, could only, on the rare occasions when it was acted, have been understood by a select and learned audience, and by them but imperfectly.(3) The drama, considered as a refined, intellectual amusement, addressed to the emotions, the taste, or even the political passions, of large bodies of people, is unknown in Asia.

§ 4 Carrying our views from Asia to Africa, we may observe that the negro communities of the latter continent, from Abyssinia to Morocco, from Morocco to Dahomey, and from Dahomey to Caffraria, live for the most part in a state of political society, but that their level is considerably lower than that of the Oriental nations. (39) Both classes of communities are governed despotically; both are without any refined law of nations; both recognise slavery and polygamy. But the government of the African races is ruder than the Oriental system; the punishments are more cruel, and the disregard of human life and pain more pronounced; the criminal and civil law, and the military organization, are all in a more barbarous state; the women are not secluded, but enslaved; their condition is too menial and degraded for the indolent and luxurious life of the harem or zenana. Among the African nations, the mode of living is more squalid,

(37) See Davis's Chinese, c. 17.

p. xiii.

(38) See Wilson's Theatre of the Hindus (ed. 2; London, 1835), pref. Bohlen (Altes Indien, vol. ii. p. 429) ascribes to the Hindu theatre a more popular character; but the reasons for the opposite opinion adduced by Prof. Wilson appear decisive. With respect to Hindu dramatic criticism, Prof. Wilson remarks: Indian criticism has been always in its infancy. It never learned to connect causes and effects; it never looked to the influence exercised by imagination or passion in poetry; it never, in short, became either poetical or philosophical.'-Ib. p. xvii. The Parthian court was sufficiently Hellenized to enjoy the representation of Greek tragedies. Plutarch, Crass. 33.

(39) Concerning the political and social state of the African nations see Comte, Traité de Législation, liv. iii. c. 29, 30, 35.