The history of the life of Nader Shah, King of Persia. Extracted from an Eastern manuscript, which was translated into French by order of His Majesty the King of Denmark ... / With an introduction ... and an appendix ... By William Jones, esq.

  • Mahdī Khān Astarābādī, active 1733-1759.
Date:
1773
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The history of the life of Nader Shah, King of Persia. Extracted from an Eastern manuscript, which was translated into French by order of His Majesty the King of Denmark ... / With an introduction ... and an appendix ... By William Jones, esq. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    20/322
    his nine books with the advantage of a more polifhed drefs : there is a noble fimplicity in his didion, to which the open vowels of the lonick dialed: greatly contribute, and many of his narratives are extremely pleaflng; but his accounts pf the Perjian affairs are at lead doubtful, if not fabulous ; and he followed his Egyptian guides with an implicit confi¬ dence, not fcrupling to relate a number of fads, which he could never have verified, if he thought they would improve the manners, or gratify the curiofity, of his own inquifitive nation. THUCYDIDES added flronger nerves to hiftorical compofition 5 his fads are in general authentick, his obfervations deep and faga- cious; but his language is abrupt, obfcure, and iententious, particularly in the fpeeches, which, though they abound with wife maxims and exalted fentiments, bear all the marks of la¬ bour and ftiffnefs, and have not even the air of probability, fince it is impoffible, that many of them could have been comprehended by a popular audience. What Thucydides wanted, namely, a fimple and graceful ftyle, XENO¬ PHON poliefTed in an eminent degree: nothing can equal the fweetnefs and delicacy of his lan¬ guage • but that fweetnefs itfelf is hardly con- fiftent with the gravity of his fubjed, and all his pieces, if we except that on the Expedition of Cyrus, in which he was perfonally engaged, have more livelinefs of imagination than depth of jlodgement, and difplay more of the fcholar