farm of the pofts and meffengers of France which eight-and twentieth part amounted that year to the fum of one hundred and eighty-four thoufand'livres, or thereabouts".

It is not therefore without reafon, that the univerfity, to whom this regulation has reftoted a part of her ancient luftre, reckons Lewis XV. as a kind of new founder, whofe bounty has at length delivered her from the unhappy and hameful neceffity of receiving wages for her labours; which in fome measure difhonoured the dignity of her profeffion, as it was contrary to that noble, difinterefted fpirit, which becomes it. And indeed, the labour of mafters and profeffors, who inftruct others, ought not to be given for nothing; but neither ought it to be fold. (i) Nec venire boc beneficium oportet, nec perire.

SECT. V. Adminiftration of the revenues.

THE prince, is the fword and buckler of the state; by him is the peace and tranquillity thereof fecured. But to enable him for thefe ends, he has occafion for arms, foldiers, arfenals, fortified towns, and fhips; and all thefe. things require great expences. It is moreover juft and reafonable, that the king have wherewithal to fupport the dignity of the crown, and the majefty of empire; as alfo to procure reverence and refpect to his perfon and authority. These are the two principal reafons, that have given occafion for the exacting of tribute and impofition of taxes. As the publick advantage, and the neceffity of defraying the expences of the ftate, have been the first caufes of thefe burdens; fo ought they likewife to be the conftant standard of their ufe. Nor is there any thing in the world more just and reasonable than fuch impofitions; fince every private perfon ought to think himfelf very happy, that he can purchafe his peace and fecurity at the expence of fo flender a contribution..

(k) The revenues of the Perfian kings confifted partly in monies impofed upon the people, and partly in their being furnished with feveral of the products of the earth in kind; as corn, and other provifions, forage, horfes, camels, or whatever rarities each particular province afforded. (1) Strabo relates, that the fatrape of Armenia fent regularly every year to the king of Perfia, his mafter, twenty thousand young colts. By this we may form a judgment of the other levies in the feveral provinces. But we are to confider, that the tributes were only exacted from the conquered nations: For the natural fubjects,

(i) Quintil. 1. xii, c, 7. P. 530.

(*) Herod. l. iii. c. 89-97.

About 85001. ferling.

(7) Lib. xi.

fubjects, that is, the Perfians, were exempt from all impoftions. Nor was the cuftom of impofing taxes, and of determining the fums each province was yearly to pay, introduced till the reign of Darius; at which time, the pecuniary impo fitions, as near as we can judge from the computation made by Herodotus, which is attended with great difficulties, amounted to near forty-four millions French money *.

(m) The place wherein was kept the publick treasure, was called in the Perfian language Gaza. There were treasures of this kind at Sufa, at Perfepolis, at Pafargada, at Damafcus, and other cities. The gold and filver were there kept in ingots, and coined into money, according as the king had occafion. The money chiefly ufed by the Perfians, was of gold; and called Daricus, from the name of + Darius, who first caufed them to be coined, with his image on one fide, and an archer on the reverfe. The Darick is fometimes also called Stater aureus, because the weight of it, like that of the Attick Stater, was two drachms of gold, which were equivalent to twenty drachms of filver, and confequently were worth ten livres of French money.

(n) Befides these tributes, which were paid in money, there was another contribution made in kind, by furnishing victuals and provifions for the king's table and houthold, grain, forage, and other neceffaries for the fubfiftence of his armies, and horfes for the remounting of his cavalry. This contribution was impofed upon the fix-fcore fatrapies, or provinces, each of them furnishing fuch a part as they were feverally taxed at. dotus obferves, that the province of Babylon, the largest and wealthieft of them all, did alone furnifh the whole contribution for the space of four months, and confequently bore a third part of the burden of the whole impofition, whilst all the rea of Afia together did but contribute the other two-thirds.

Hero

By what has been already faid on this fubject, we fee the kings of Perfia did not exact all their taxes and impofitions in money, but were content to levy a part of them in money, and to take the reft in fuch products and commodities as the feveral provinces afforded; which is a proof of the great wif dom, moderation, and humanity of the Perfian government. Without doubt they had obferved, how difficult it often is for the people, efpecially in countries at a diftance from commerce, to convert their goods into money without fuffering great loffes; whereas nothing can tend fo much to the rendering of taxes eafy,

(m) Q. Curt. 1. iii. c. 12. About tavo milliens ferling.

(n) Her. 1. iii, c. 91-97. & l. i,. c. 192. Cyanares, is fuppofed to bave been the + Darius the Mede, otherwife called | firft who caused this moncy to be coined,

eafy, and to fhelter the people from vexation and trouble, as well as expence, as the taking in payment from each country fuch fruits and commodities as that country produceth; by which means the contribution becomes eafy, natural, and equitable.

(0) There were likewife certain canions affigned and fet apart for the maintaining of the queen's toilet and wardrobe; one for her girdle, another for her veil, and fo on for the rest of her vestments: And thefe cantons, which were of a great extent, fince one of them contained as much ground as a man could walk over in a day; thefe cantons, I fay, took their names from their particular ufe, or part of the garments to which they were appropriated; and were accordingly cailed, one the queen's girdle, another the queen's veil, and fo on. In *Plato's time, the fame custom continued among the Perfians.

(p) They way of the king's giving penfions in thofe days to fuch perfons as he had a mind to gratify, was exactly like what I have obferved concerning the queen. We read, that the king of Perfia affigned the revenue of four cities to Themistocles; one of which was to fupply him with wine, another with bread, the third with meats for his table, and the fourth with his cloaths and furniture. (9) Before that time, Cyrus had acted in the fame manner with Pytharchus of Cyzicus, for whom he had a particular confideration, and to whom he gave the revenue of feven cities. In following times, we find many inftances of a like nature.

ARTICLE I
Of their WAR.

THE of were a ware HE people of Afia in general were naturally of a war like difpofition, and did not want courage; but in time they all grew effeminate, through luxury and pleasure. When I fay all, I must be understood to except the Perfians, who even before Cyrus, as well as in his reign, had the reputation of being a people of a very military genius. The fituation of their country, which is rugged and mountainous, might be one reafon of their hard and frugal manner of living; which is a thing of no little importance for the forming of good foldiers. But the good education which the Perfians gave their youth, was the chief caufe of the courage and martial spirit of that people.

With respect therefore to the manners, and particularly to the article which I am now treating of, we must make some diftinction (p) Plut. in Themist, p. 127.

(0) Plut, in Alcib, c. i. p. 123.

(9) Athen. I. i. p. 30.

diftinction between the different nations of Afia. So that in the following account of military affairs, what perfection and excellence you find in the rules and principles of war, is to be applied only to the Perfians, as they were in Cyrus's reign; the reft belongs to the other nations of Afia, the Affyrians, Babylonian's, Medes, Lydians, and to the Perfians likewife after they had degenerated from their ancient valour, which happened not long after Cyrus, as will be fhewn in the fequel.

I. Their entrance into the fervice, or into military difcipline.

(r) The Perfians were trained up to the fervice from their tender years, by paffing through different exercifes. Generally fpeaking, they ferved in the armies, from the age of twenty to fifty years. And whether they were in peace or war, they always wore fwords, as our gentlemen do, which was never practifed among the Greeks or the Romans. They were obliged to lift themfelves at the time appointed; and it was esteemed a crime to defire to be difpenfed with in that refpect, as will be feen hereafter, by the cruel treatment given by Darius and Xerxes () to two young noblemen, whofe fathers had defired, as a favour, that their fons might be permitted to stay at home, for a comfort to them in their old age.

() Herodotus fpeaks of a body of troops appointed to be the king's guard, which were called immortal, because this body, which confifted of ten thoufand, perpetually fubfifted, and was always complete; for as foon as any of the men died, another was immediately put into his place. The establishment of this body probably began with the ten thousand men fent for by Cyrus out of Perfia to be his guard. They were distinguished from all the other troops by the richness of their armour, and ftill more by their fingular courage. (2) Quintus Curtius mentions alfo this body of men, and another body bed fides, confifting of fifteen thoufand, defigned in like manner to be a guard to the king's perfon: The latter were called Doryphori, or the Lancers.

II. Their armour.

The ordinary arms of the Perfians were a fabre, or fcymitar, acinaces, as it is called in Latin; a kind of dagger, which hung in their belt on the right fide; a javelin, or half-pike, having a fharp-pointed iron at the end.

(r) Strab. 1. xv. p. 734. Am. Mar. 1. xxiii, fub finem.

1. iv. & vi. Sen. de Ira, 1. iii, c. 16 & 17.

4) Lib. ii. c. 3.

It

(4) Herod. (1) Lib. vii, c, 83.

It feems that they carried two javelins, or lances, one to fling, and the other to fight with. They made great use of the bow, and of the quiver in which they carried their arrows, The fling was not unknown amongst them; but they did not fet much value upon it.

It appears from feveral paffages in ancient authors, that the Perfians wore no helmets, but only their common caps, which they called tiara's; this is particularly faid of Cyrus the younger, w) and of his army. And yet the fame authors, in other places, make mention of their helmets; from whence, we muft conclude, that their cuftom had changed according to the times.

The foot for the moft part wore cuiraffes made of brafs, which were fo artificially fitted to their bodies, that they were no impediment to the motion and agility of their limbs; no more than the vambraces, or other pieces of armour, which covered the arms, thighs and legs of the horfemen. Their horses themselves for the most part had their faces, breafts and flanks covered with brafs. These were what are called equi cataphracti, barbed horfes.

Authors differ very much about the form and fashion of their fhields. At first they made ufe of very small and light ones; made only of twigs of ofier, gerra. But it appears from feveral paffages, that they had alfo fhields of brafs, which were of a great length.

We have already obferved, that in the first ages the lightarmed foldiers, that is, the archers, flingers, &c. compofed the bulk of the armies amongst the Perfians and Medes. Cyrus, who had found by experience, that fuch troops were only fit for fkirmishing, or fighting at a distance, and who thought it most advantageous to come directly to clofe fight; he, I fay, for thefe reafons, made a change in his army, and reduced thofe light-armed troops to a very few, arming the far greater hamber at all points, like the reft of the army.

III. Chariots armed with feythes.

(x) Cyrus introduced a confiderable change likewife with refpect to the chariots of war, Thefe had been in use a long while before his time, as appears both from Homer and the facred writings. Thefe chariots had only two wheels, and were generally drawn by four horfes a-breafts, with two men in each; one of diftinguished birth and valour, who fought, and the other only for driving the chariot. Cyrus thought this method, which

(b) De exped. Cyr. Li. p. 263.

(x) Xen, Cyr, 1. vi. p.