are great and reverenced by their neighbours; and now, insulted and
despised, they suffer all the miseries of servitude. The Arabians alone
have never been known to vary in the smallest circumstance, either of
their internal policy or external situation. They inhabit a climate
which would be intolerable to the rest of the human species for its
burning heat, and a soil which refuses to furnish any of the necessaries
of life. Hence they neither plough the earth, nor sow, nor depend upon
corn for their subsistence, nor are acquainted with any of the mechanic
arts; they live chiefly upon the milk of their herds and flocks, and
sometimes eat their flesh. These burning deserts are stretched out to an
immense extent on every side, and these they consider as their common
country, without having any fixed or permanent abode. Arid and barren as
are these wilds in general, there are various spots which are more
productive than the rest; here are found supplies of water, and some
appearances of vegetation; and here the Arabians encamp till they have
exhausted the spontaneous products of the soil. Besides, they vary their
place of residence with the different seasons of the year. When they are
in perfect friendship with their neighbours, they advance to the very
edges of the desert, and find more ample supplies of moisture and
herbage. If they are attacked or molested, the whole tribe is in motion
in an instant, and seeks a refuge in their impenetrable recesses. Other
nations are involved in various pursuits of war, or government, or
commerce; they have made a thousand inventions of luxury necessary to
their welfare, and the enjoyment of these they call _happiness_. The
Arab is ignorant of all these things, or, if he knows them, he despises
their possession. All his wants, his passions, his desires, terminate in
one object, and that object is the preservation of his liberty. For this
purpose he contents himself with a bare sufficiency of the coarsest and
simplest food; and the small quantity of clothing which he requires in
such a climate, is fabricated by the women of the tribe, who milk the
cattle and prepare the food of their husbands, and require no other
pleasures than the pleasing interest of domestic cares. They have a
breed of horses superior to any in the rest of the globe for gentleness,
patience, and unrivalled swiftness; this is a particular passion and
pride of the Arabian tribes. These horses are necessary to them in thei