The Persian Letters

, by Montesquieu (Author); Betts, C. J. (Translator); Betts, C. J. (Introduction by)

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ISBN: 9780140442816 | 0140442812
Cover: Paperback
Copyright: 6/1/1977

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This richly evocative novel - in - letters tells the story of two Persian noblemen who have left their country - the modern Iran - to journey to Europe in search of wisdom. As they travel, they write home to wives and eunuchs in the harem and to friends in France and elsewhere. Their colourful observations on the culture differences between West and East culture conjure up Eastern sensuality, repression and cruelty in contrast to the freer, more civilized West - but here also unworthy nobles and bishops, frivolous women of fashion and conceited people of all kinds are satirized. Storytellers as well as letter - writers, Montesquieu's Usbek and Rica are disrespectful and witty, but also serious moralists. Persian Letters was a succhs de scandale in Paris society, and encapsulates the libertarian, critical spirit of the early eighteenth century.

Introduction

(17)

Further reading

(3)

PERSIAN LETTERS

(248)

Montesquieu's Preface

(2)

Letter 1 Usbek to Rustan. The virgin of Kum; Usbek's and Rica's quest for knowledge

(1)

2 Usbek to the First Black Eunuch. The eunuch's office-service and command; orders concerning the wives

(1)

3 Zashi to Usbek. Memories of winning a contest of beauty against the other wives; reproaches for Usbek's departure

(2)

4 Zephis to Usbek. Protests against being deprived of the slave-girl Zelid

(1)

5 Rustan to Usbek. Disapproval in Ispahan of Usbek's departure

(1)

6 Usbek to Nessir. Regrets at leaving his country and his wives; jealous fears for the future

(1)

7 Fatme to Usbek. Dreams about Usbek; women's desires and the advantage men take of them

(2)

8 Usbek to Rustan. Reasons for his departure: dangers at court for a man of virtue

(1)

9 The first Eunuch to Ibbi. His castration; tactics of both sides in the conflict between eunuchs and wives

(3)

Letter 10 Mirza to Usbek. Does virtue lead to happiness?

(1)

11 Usbek to Mirza. His answer: the parable of the Troglodytes, whose complete selfishness led to disaster

(3)

12 Usbek to the same. The Troglodytes: a second more virtuous generation prospers

(2)

13 Usbek to the same. The Troglodytes: examples of unselfish behaviour; defeat of the invaders

(2)

14 Usbek to the same. The Troglodytes: election of a king; his regrets

(1)

15 The First Eunuch to Jahrum. His affection for Jahrum; how he looked after him in boyhood

(1)

16 Usbek to Mohammed Ali. Admiration of the mullah's wisdom and request for his protection

(1)

17 Usbek to the same. Why is pork impure?

(1)

18 Mohammed Ali to Usbek. His answer: a legend about the animals in the Ark

(2)

19 Usbek to Rustan. Turkey: economic and military backwardness

(1)

20 Usbek to Zashi. Reproaches for being found alone with a eunuch

(2)

21 Usbek to the First White Eunuch. Threats of punishment if he is not more careful

(1)

22 Jahrum to the First Eunuch. Usbek's decision to send Jahrum back to Ispahan

(1)

23 Usbek to Ibben. First reactions to a European town

(1)

24 Rica to Ibben. Surprising aspects of French life; the King's power over his subjects, and the Pope's over him; his invisible enemies

(2)

Letter 25 Usbek to Ibben. Rhedi, Rica, and Usbek's feelings for Ibben

(1)

26 Usbek to Roxana. Her chastity and her love for Usbek compared to the immodesty of French women

(3)

27 Usbek to Nessir. Letters for Ispahan; his feelings of depression

(1)

28 Rica to ***. Curious sights at the theatre; a letter from an actress at the Opera

(2)

29 Rica to Ibben. The Pope, bishops, heresy, and the Inquisition

(2)

30 Rica to the same. The interest taken in him by the Parisians until he changes his costume

(1)

31 Rhedi to Usbek. Advantages and disadvantages of Venice for a Muslim

(1)

32 Rica to ***. The Fifteen-Score

(1)

33 Usbek to Rhedi. Physical and rational remedies for despondency

(1)

34 Usbek to Ibben. The gaiety of the French in comparison with Persians; the influence of eunuchs in this respect

(2)

35 Usbek to Jemshid. Request for his views on the Christians; similarities between Christianity and Islam

(1)

36 Usbek to Rhedi. Coffee-houses and the disputes which go on in them; other habitual controversialists

(2)

37 Usbek to Ibben. Louis XIV: inconsistencies in his behaviour

(1)

38 Rica to Ibben. Eastern and Western attitudes to women; a philosopher's feminist arguments

(2)

Letter 39 Hadji Ibbi to ben Joshua. Legends of the birth of Mohammed

(1)

40 Usbek to Ibben. Funerals, and the Grand, Mogul's weight

(1)

41 The First Black Eunuch to Usbek. Suggestion that a slave should be castrated

(1)

42 Pharan to Usbek. Plea to be spared castration

(1)

43 Usbek to Pharan. Pharan's plea granted

(1)

44 Usbek to Rhedi. Examples of social conceit, in France and elsewhere

(1)

45 Rica to Usbek. An alchemist and his fortune

(2)

46 Usbek to Rhedi. How to please God independently of sectarian disputes

101

(1)

47 Zashi to Usbek. An adventurous expedition

102

(2)

48 Usbek to Rhedi. In a country house: a tax-farmer, a society confessor, a poet, an old soldier and a womanizer

104

(5)

49 Rica to Usbek. A monk's plans for a mission to Persia

109

(1)

50 Rica to ***. Praise of modesty; a conceited talker

110

(1)

51 Nargum to Usbek. Russia, its king, and some strange customs concerning women; letter from a Russian wife

111

(2)

52 Rica to Usbek. The vanity of four women, from twenty to eighty

113

(2)

53 Zelis to Usbek. Plans for a marriage between a eunuch and a slave-girl

115

(1)

54 Rica to Usbek. Two would-be wits discuss their tactics

116

(2)

55 Rica to Ibben. European customs concerning sex and marriage

118

(1)

56 Usbek to Ibben. Gambling and its popularity with French women

119

(1)

57 Usbek to Rhedi. Monks and their vows; conversation with a casuist

120

(2)

58 Rica to Rhedi. Ingenious ways of making a living in Paris

122

(1)

59 Rica to Usbek. Self-interested nostalgia; the relativity of human judgements

123

(2)

60 Usbek to Ibben. Judaism and other religions; the decline of intolerance in Europe

125

(1)

61 Usbek to Rhedi. A clergyman on the difficulties of relationships with the laity

126

(2)

62 Zelis to Usbek. The upbringing of her daughter; factors involved in women's subordination to men; her private pleasures

128

(1)

63 Rica to Usbek. National character and the influence of women in France and Persia

129

(1)

64 The Chief Black Eunuch to Usbek. Indiscipline in the seraglio; recommendations to follow the methods of the eunuch's first teacher

130

(3)

65 Usbek to his wives. Reproaches for their bad behaviour

133

(1)

66 Rica to ***. Intellectual pretensions in France; foolish writers; attack on anthologists

134

(1)

67 Ibben to Usbek. Friendship; the story of Apheridon and Astarte, the Gabar brother and sister

135

(8)

68 Rica to Usbek. The judge who sold his books

143

(1)

69 Usbek to Rhedi. The perfections of God; how can men have free will if God foresees their actions?

144

(3)

Letter 70 Zelis to Usbek A young man repudiates his newly-married wife

147

(1)

71 Usbek to Zelis. The impossibility of proving whether a woman is a virgin

148

(1)

72 Rica to Usbek. The decisioneer

148

(1)

73 Rica to ***. The idiosyncrasies of the French Academy

149

(1)

74 Usbek to Rica. Arrogance and sense of position in noblemen

150

(1)

75 Usbek to Rhedi. Christian changeability and unfaithfulness to their beliefs

151

(1)

76 Usbek to Ibben. Doubts concerning suicide

152

(2)

77 Ibben to Usbek. Reasons for laws against suicide

154

(1)

78 Rica to Usbek. Spanish solemnity, pride, devoutness, and other oddities; French lunacy

155

(2)

79 The Chief Black Eunuch to Usbek. Inspection and purchase of a Circassian slave-girl

157

(1)

80 Usbek to Rhedi. The best mode of government; the advantages of a mild policy in dealing with political crimes

158

(2)

81 Nargum to Usbek. The Tartars and their unrecorded glory

160

(1)

82 Rica to Ibben. Bad habits in conversation

161

(1)

83 Usbek to Rhedi. The universal principle of justice, in God and man

162

(1)

84 Rica to ***. Praise of the Invalides and its inhabitants

163

(1)

85 Usbek to Mirza. The disadvantages of religious intolerance, in Persia and Europe

164

(2)

86 Rica to ***. Families and family law

166

(1)

87 Rica to ***. Sociability carried to extremes; epitaph of a visitor

167

(2)

88 Usbek to Rhedi. Social importance in France and Persia

169

(1)

89 Usbek to Ibben. The desire for glory and its consequences in France, the ancient states, and Persia

169

(2)

90 Usbek to the same. The feudal `point of honour'

171

(1)

91 Usbek to Rustan. An unworthy envoy from Persia

172

(1)

92 Usbek to Rhedi. Louis XIV's death and Philippe d'Orleans' manoeuvres to become regent

173

(1)

93 Usbek to his brother the santon. The santon's holiness; the interpretation of legends about hermits

174

(1)

94 Usbek to Rhedi. International law and its distortions

175

(1)

95 Usbek to the same. Sanctions in international law

176

(2)

96 The First Eunuch to Usbek. Purchase of an Indian woman for Usbek's brother's seraglio; effects of her arrival there; plea for Usbek's return

178

(2)

97 Usbek to Hosain. Western science and Eastern religion

180

(2)

98 Usbek to Ibben. The swiftness of changes of fortune in France

182

(1)

99 Rica to Rhedi. The caprices of fashion

183

(1)

100 Rica to the same. French authority over fashion and dependence in legislative matters

184

(2)

101 Usbek to ***. The ignorant bishop and his adviser

186

(1)

102 Usbek to Ibben. The exercise of royal power in Europe and Persia

187

(2)

Letter 103 Usbek to the same. The Asians' indifference towards their rulers and the likelihood of assassination

189

(1)

104 Usbek to the same. English ideas about the bond between king and people

190

(2)

105 Rhedi to Usbek. Doubts concerning the value of technical progress

192

(1)

106 Usbek to Rhedi. Refutation of Rhedi's doubts; the dependence of national power on the industriousness of the people

193

(3)

107 Rica to Ibben. The young Louis XV; the political influence of women

196

(2)

108 Usbek to ***. Literary journals; reviews, reviewers and writers

198

(1)

109 Rica to ***. Trivial controversies at the University of Paris and in Spain

199

(1)

110 Rica to ***. The difficulties of being a women of fashion

200

(1)

111 Usbek to ***. Propaganda warfare at the time of the Fronde

201

(1)

112 Rhedi to Usbek. The problem of the depopulation of the modern world

202

(2)

113 Usbek to Rhedi. Universal catastrophes which cause depopulation; the Flood and the question of the creation of man

204

(2)

114 Usbek to the same. Polygamy as a cause of depopulation

206

(2)

115 Usbek to the same. How the Roman slave system encouraged population and wealth

208

(1)

116 Usbek to the same. The Christian ban on divorce as a cause of depopulation

209

(2)

117 Usbek to the same. Monasticism as a cause of depopulation; economic advantages of Protestantism

211

(2)

118 Usbek to the same. The African slave trade as a cause of depopulation

213

(1)

119 Usbek to the same. Religious and other beliefs which affect population

214

(1)

120 Usbek to the same. Causes of depopulation among primitive tribes

215

(1)

121 Usbek to the same. Colonies as a cause of depopulation; the disasters due to the Conquistadores

216

(3)

122 Usbek to the same. The effect on population of different modes of government

219

(2)

123 Usbek to Mohammed Ali. Defeats inflicted by the Christians on the Turks

221

(1)

124 Usbek to Rhedi. The generosity of kings to their courtiers; an imaginary edict in their favour, at the expense of other classes

221

(2)

125 Rica to ***. The pleasures of Paradise; a Hindu widow and the rite of suttee

223

(1)

126 Rica to Usbek. Sympathy towards a prince imprisoned for conspiracy

224

(1)

127 Rica to Ibben. The chief minister of Charles XII of Sweden and ministerial influence on kings

225

(1)

128 Rica to Usbek. In a coffee-house; the mathematician and the translator of Horace

226

(3)

Letter 129 Usbek to Rhedi. The shortcomings of legislators; the importance of paternal authority

229

(1)

130 Rica to ***. The futilities of newsmongers; three letters from them

230

(3)

131 Rhedi to Rica. The prevalence of republican government in ancient times

233

(2)

132 Rica to ***. In a coffee-house: the value of money as against land; fears of military and cosmic disasters

235

(2)

133 Rica to ***. A monastery library; the monk and the refectory bell

237

(1)

134 Rica to the same. The library: books concerned with religion

238

(1)

135 Rica to the same. The library: various sciences; an argument about astrology

239

(2)

136 Rica to the same. The library: national histories

241

(2)

137 Rica to the same. The library: works of literature

243

(1)

138 Rica to Ibben. Financial policy in France: its changeability, complexity, and bizarre social consequences

244

(2)

139 Rica to the same. Greatness of character in two queens of Sweden

246

(1)

140 Rica to Usbek. The Parlement of Paris exiled; duties of Parlements to king and people

246

(1)

141 Rica to the same. Two stories: Anals in Paradise, and the two Ibrahims

247

(7)

142 Rica to Usbek. A letter from an antiquarian scholar; a mythological fragment about the son of Aeolus

254

(4)

Letter 143 Rica to Nathaniel Levi. Arguments against magic spells; a letter from a doctor on curing insomnia by reading; prescriptions following the same principle

258

(6)

144 Usbek to Rica. Conceit and modesty

264

(1)

145 Usbek to ***. The social disadvantages of an intellectual; a letter from a scientist; the risks of publishing

265

(3)

146 Usbek to Rhedi. The degradation of a nation by a finance minister

268

(2)

147 The Chief Eunuch to Usbek. Faults committed by Usbek's wives

270

(1)

148 Usbek to the First Eunuch. Orders to investigate without pity

271

(1)

149 Narsit to Usbek. Death of the Chief Eunuch

271

(1)

150 Usbek to Narsit. Reiteration of his orders

272

(1)

151 Solim to Usbek. Usbek's wives suspected of infidelity

272

(2)

152 Narsit to Usbek. Assurances that all is well; loss of a letter from Usbek

274

(1)

153 Usbek to Solim. Orders to avenge his honour

274

(1)

154 Usbek to his wives. Appointment of Solim as Chief Eunuch

275

(1)

155 Usbek to Nessir. Anxieties about the seraglio and fears of what he will find on his return

275

(1)

156 Roxana to Usbek. Protests at Solim's measures

276

(1)

157 Zashi to Usbek. Protests at being punished by Solim

277

(1)

158 Zelis to Usbek. Protests at Usbek's orders

278

(1)

159 Solim to Usbek. Roxana's infidelity and the death of her lover

279

(1)

Letter 160 Solim to Usbek. Decision to punish

280

(1)

161 Roxana to Usbek. Her true feelings for Usbek; her revenge on the eunuchs and her suicide

280

(3)

Montesquieu's `Some Reflections on the Persian Letters' (1754)

283

(2)

Appendix: Letters' and fragments not published by Montesquieu

285

(16)

Notes

301

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The Persian Letters

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