53. This circumstance, as it is noticed by Ammianus, serves
to prove the veracity of Herodotus (1. i. c. 133), and the
permanency of thc Persian manners. In every age the Persians
have been addicted to intemperance, and the wines of Shiraz
have triumphed over the law of Mahomet. Brisson de Regno
Pers. 1. ii. p. 462-472, and Chardin Voyages en Perse, tom.
iii. p. 90.