Page:History of Aurangzib (based on original sources) Vol 1.djvu/19

Rh was proverbial, and at the same time he took to the business of governing with all the ardour which men usually display in the pursuit of pleasure. In industry and attention to public affairs he could not be surpassed by any clerk. His patience and perseverance were as remarkable as his love of discipline and order. In private life he was simple and abstemious like a hermit. He faced the privations of a campaign or a forced march as uncomplainingly as the most seasoned private. No terror could daunt his heart, no weakness or pity melt it. Of the wisdom of the ancients which can be gathered from ethical books, he was a master. He had, besides, undergone a long and successful probation in war and diplomacy in his father's life time.

And yet the result of fifty years' rule by such a sovereign was failure and chaos! The cause of this political paradox is to be found in Aurangzib's policy and conduct. Hence his reign is an object of supreme interest to the student of political philosophy no less than to the student of Indian history.

Happily, the materials for a study of it are abundant in Persian, the literary language of Mughal India. First, we have the official annals,—the Padishahnaman (in three sections by three