the ineftimable remains of Menander, Alcaus, Sappho, and the reft, were publickly burned at Conftantinople by order of a Greek Emperor; and when the inhabitants of all Europe befides had never heard of Menander, or Alcaus, or Sappho.

The differtation on Afiatick Geography muft, from its very nature, be stiff and uniform. Tully, whose noble style might have given a grace to any subject whatever, had begun, at the request of Atticus, to compose a Geographical Treatife; but he never finished it, because he found it a barren foil, that was not favourable to the flowers of his language*.

I was very foon aware of this objection; but, as fuch a work was neceffary to my plan, it occurred to me, that the subject would appear lefs dry, if it were interspersed with anecdotes of Eastern literature, and with fummary accounts of the learned men, whom each city of Afia has produced; for a relation of all their fieges and revolutions would have been still more unpleasant, and, in general, the cities of Perfia have had the fame fortune with the Empire itself. It will be fair to

* Etenim yewygaçà, quæ conftitueram, magnum opus γεωγραφικά, eft; et hercule funt res difficiles ad explicandum et ὁμοειδεῖς ; nec tam poffunt ανθηρογραφεῖσθαι, quam vide. batur. Ad. Att. 2. 3.

acknowledge, that, in both parts of the Introduction, many paffages are borrowed from the celebrated work of M. d'Herbelot; but nothing has been copied from him, which has not also been found in feveral manuscripts: our materials were taken from the fame originals; and it is natural for two perfons, who search the fame mine, to meet with the fame kind of ore. The principal Geographers, whom I confulted, were Abulfeda, and Ulugbeg; the first, a King of Hama in Syria, and the fecond, a grandfon of Tamerlane, who was also an excellent Aftronomer, and built a fine Obfervatory in his imperial city of Samarcand. It is much to be wished, that a correct Map of Afia were engraved, with all the names properly spelled, and the latitudes of the cities exactly marked, upon the authority of these illuftrious writers; but fuch a work would require infinite labour, fince a number of manuscripts must be collated, left the mistakes of ignorant tranfcribers fhould mislead the defigner of the map, and the fine art of engraving be applied to perpetuate their ridiculous errours*. Until fome Geographer,

* A table of longitudes and latitudes is already prepared by me, with a view to the work here recommended: but I despair of ever finding leisure to execute a task, which requires fuch attention and accuracy.

equally skilled in the Eastern languages, and in the science which he profeffes, will fupply an able artist with materials to accomplish this useful defign, the reader of Afiatick hiftory must be fatisfied with the Maps of M. de la Croix, which are inferted in his Life of Tamerlane, and are far the most accurate of any, that I have had occafion to confult; especially in the description of Khorafan, where notice is taken even of the castle at Kelat, fo frequently mentioned in the following Hiftory. The reader will be candid enough to confider this essay on the Geography of Afia as the sketch only of a larger tract, which, from the very nature of an introductory piece, must needs be superficial and imperfect, for it would be abfurd to make any introduction fo copious, as to divert the reader's attention from the work, which it was intended to illuftrate.

In the short history of Perfia, which follows the chapters on Geography, I purfued, as clofely as I was able, the plan of a book compiled by Atticus, which was greatly admired by the Romans, but is now unfortunately loft; it contained an abstract of general Hiftory, and exhibited in one view a relation of the most interesting events, that happened in a pe

Thus the

riod of feven hundred years fecond part of my Introduction comprises all the great and memorable occurrences in the Perfian Empire, from the doubtful and fabulous ages to the decline of the Sefi family in the prefent century: it was extracted from feveral Afiatick writers, Mirkhond, Khandemir, Ferdufi, &c. and might have been confiderably enlarged, if all the fables and dull events, which are found, it must be confeffed, in great abundance in the originals, had been tranfcribed at full length; but it has long been a maxim with me, that, as nothing should be admitted into Hiftory, which is falfe, how agreeable foever it may be, fo nothing should be related, merely because it is true, if it be

Cognofcat etiam rerum geftarum et memoriæ veteris ordinem maximè fcilicet noftræ civitatis, fed eft imperioJorum populorum et regum illuftrium: quem laborem nobis Attici noftri levavit labor; qui confervatis notatifque temporibus, nihil cùm illuftre prætermitteret, annorum feptingentorum memoriam una libro colligavit. Cic. Orat.

Nempe eum dicis, inquit, quo ifte omnem rerum memoriam breviter, et, ut mihi quidem vifum eft, perdiligenter complexus eft? Iftum ipfum, inquam, Brute, dico librum mihi faluti fuiffe. Tum Atticus: Optatiffimum mihi quidem eft quod dicis ; fed quid tandem habuit liber ifte, quod tibi aut novum aut tanto ufui poffet effe! Ille verò et nova, inquam, mihi quidem multa, et eam utilitatem, quam requirebam, ut explicatis ordinibus temporum, uno in confpectu omnia viderem, &c, Id. De Clar. Orat.

not either instructive or entertaining.

The

dulleft records of ancient times fhould be preserved, that they may occasionally be confulted; but they should be repofited in cabinets and archives: as the old arms and utenfils of the Romans are kept in museums for the inspection of the curious, while modern pieces of elegant or useful workmanship are the conftant furniture of our apartments, either for our pleasure, our convenience, or our defence. The poetical fables of the old Perfians, however curious or amufing, ought not to be mixed, like glittering drofs, with the pure ore of true Hiftory: but, if some ftudent of Eaftern literature would amuse himself with collecting these fables, and reducing them to a Syftem of Perfian Mythology, he would greatly affift every learner of the Afiatick languages; who, without fuch help, must be stopped in every page by allufions to adventures, of which he never heard; fince a man, who is unacquainted with the fairies, dragons, and enchanters, fo frequently introduced in the poems of Ferdufi; who knows nothing of the griffon Simorg, the fpeaking horfe of Roftam, the dark fea which furrounds the world, the mountain of Kaf, or the battle of the twelve Heroes, can no more pretend to read the finest writings of