A source-book of ancient history - The Search For Mecca

Opinion of Other Nations 6i
the mouth; but if one of them is a httle inferior to the other,
they kiss one another on the cheeks, and if one is of much
less noble rank than the other, he falls down before him
and does worship to him.
And they honor of all most after themselves those na- Their opin-
,..,,, , , , , . ,
ion of other
tions which dwell nearest to them, and next those which nations.
dwell next nearest, and so they go on giving honor in proportion
to distance; and they hold least in honor those who
dwell furthest off from themselves, esteeming themselves
to be by far the best of all the human race in every point,
and thinking that others possess merit according to
the
proportion which is here stated, and that those who dwell
furthest from themselves are the worst. And under the
supremacy of the JNIedes the various nations used also to
govern one another according to the same rule as the
Persians observe in giving honor, the Medes governing
the whole and in particular those who dwelt nearest to
themselves, and these having rule over those who bordered
upon them, and those again over the nations that
were next to them: for
from government by themselves to
the race went forward thus ever
government through
others.
The Persians more than any other men admit foreign They borrow
'^^^'
usages; for they both wear the Median dress, judging it to tomsf"
be more comely than their own, and also for fighting, the
Egj'ptian corslet: moreover they adopt all kinds of luxu- /j. 135
ries when they hear of them. . . .
It is established as a sign of manly excellence next after
Family ana
excellence in fight, to be able to show many sons; and to education,
those who have the most the king sends gifts every year: ib. 136.
for they consider number to be a source of strength.
And
they educate their children, beginning at five years old
and going on till twenty, in three things only, in riding,