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thereof by several prophets, of whom || 4, 5.) But it matters not so much who Moses and Jesus were the most distin- had it first as who observes it best. guished, till the appearance of Ma- The caliph Hassan, son of Hali, being homet, who is their seal, and no other at table, a slave let fall a dish of meat to be expected after him. The more reeking hot, which scalded him severeeffectually to engage people to hearken ly. The slave fell on his knees, rehearsto him, great part of the Koran is em- ing these words of the Alcoran; "Paraployed in relating examples of dread-dise is for those who restrain their anful punishments formerly inflicted by ger." "I am not angry with thee," God on those who rejected and abused answered the caliph. And for those his messengers; several of which stories, who forgive offences against them," or some circumstances of them, are ta- continues the slave, "I forgive thee ken from the Old and New Testaments, thine," replies the caliph. But, above but many more from the apocryphal all, for those who return good for evil," books and traditions of the Jews and adds the slave. "I set thee at liberty," Christians of those ages, set up in the rejoined the caliph; "and I give thee Koran as truths, in opposition to the ten dinars." There are also a great 'Scriptures, which the Jews and Chris- number of occasional passages in the tians are charged with having altered; Alcoran relating only to particular and, indeed, few or none of the relations emergencies. For this advantage Maof circumstances in the Koran were in-homet had, by his piecemeal method vented by Mahomet, as is generally of receiving and delivering his revelasupposed; it being easy to trace the tions, that, whenever he happened to greatest part of them much higher, as be perplexed with any thing, he had a the rest might be, were more of these certain resource in some new morsel of books extant, and were it worth while revelation. It was an admirable conto make the inquiry. The rest of the trivance to bring down the whole AlAlcoran is taken up in prescribing ne- coran only to the lowest heaven, not to cessary laws and directions, frequent earth; since, had the whole been pubadmonitions to moral and divine virtues, lished at once, innumerable objections the worship and reverence of the Su- would have been made, which it would preme Being, and resignation to his have been impossible for him to have will. One of their most learned com- solved; but as he received it by parcels, mentators distinguishes the contents of as God saw fit they should be published the Alcoran into allegorical and literal: for the conversion and instruction of under the former are comprehended all the people, he had a sure way to anthe obscure, parabolical, and enigmati- swer all emergencies, and to extricate cal passages, with such laws as are re-himself with honour from any difficulty pealed or abrogated; the latter, such as which might occur. are clear, and in full force. The most 3. Koran, history of the. It is the excellent moral in the whole Alcoran, common opinion, that Mahomet, asinterpreters say, is that in the chapter sisted by one Sergius, a monk, compoAl alraf, viz. "Show mercy, do good to sed this book; but the Mussulmans beall, and dispute not with the ignorant;" lieve it as an article of their faith, that or, as Mr. Sale renders it, Use indul- the prophet, who, they say, was an gence, command that which is just, and illiterate man, had no concern in indiwithdraw far from the ignorant. Ma-ting it; but that it was given him by homet, according to the authors of the God, who, to that end, made use of the Keschaf, having begged of the angel ministry of the angel Gabriel; that, Gabriel a more ample explication of however, it was communicated to him this passage, received it in the follow-by little and little, a verse at a time, ing terms: "Seek him who turns thee and in different places, during the course out, give to him who takes from thee, of 23 years.-"And hence," say they, pardon him who injures thee; for God" proceed that disorder and confusion will have you plant in your souls the roots of his chief perfections." It is easy to see that this commentary is borrowed from the Gospel. In reality, the necessity of forgiving enemies, though frequently inculcated in the Alcoran, is of a later date among the Mahometans, than among the Christians; among those later than among the heathens; and to be traced originally among the Jews, (See Exodus, xxxiii.

visible in the work;" which, in truth, are so great, that all their doctors have never been able to adjust them; for Mahomet, or rather his copyist, having put all the loose verses promiscuously in a book together, it was impossible ever to retrieve the order wherein they were delivered. These 23 years which the angel employed in conveying the Alcoran to Mahomet, are of wonderful service to his followers; inasmuch as

built on reason. They have likewise their casuists, and a kind of canon law, wherein they distinguish between what is of divine and what of positive right. They have their beneficiaries, too, chaplains, almoners, and canons, who read a chapter every day out of the Alcoran in their mosques, and have prebends annexed to their office. The hatib of the mosque is what we call the parson of the parish; and the scheiks are the preachers, who take their texts out of the Alcoran.

they furnish them with an answer to such as tax them with those glaring contradictions of which the book is full, and which they piously father upon God himself; alleging that, in the course of so long a time, he repealed and altered several doctrines and precepts which the prophet had before received of him. M. D'Herbelot thinks it probable, that when the heresies of the Nestorians, Eutychians, &c. had been condemned by œcumenical councils, many bishops, priests, monks, &c. being driven into the deserts of Arabia and Egypt, fur- 4. Koran, Mahometan faith concernnished the impostor with passages, and ing. It is the general belief among the crude ill-conceived doctrines, out of the Mahometans that the Koran is of divine Scriptures; and that it was hence that original; nay, that it is eternal and unthe Alcoran became so full of the wild created; remaining, as some express and erroneous opinions of those here- it, in the very essence of God: and the tics. The Jews also, who were very first transcript has been from evernumerous in Arabia, furnished mate- lasting, by God's throne, written on a rials, for the Alcoran; nor is it without table of vast bigness, called the presome reason that they boast twelve of served table, in which are also recorded their chief doctors to have been the the divine decrees, past and future; authors of this work. The Alcoran, that a copy from this table, in one vowhile Mahomet lived, was only kept in lume upon paper, was by the ministry loose sheets: his successor, Abubeker, of the angel Gabriel sent down to the first collected them into a volume, and lowest heaven, in the month of Ramacommitted the keeping of it to Haphsa, dan, on the night of power, from whence 'the widow of Mahomet, in order to be Gabriel revealed it to Mahomet in parconsulted as an original; and there be- cels, some at Mecca, and some at Meing a good deal of diversity between dina, at different times, during the space the several copies already dispersed of twenty-three years, as the exigency throughout the provinces, Ottoman, of affairs required; giving him, however, successor of Abubeker, procured a the consolation to show him the whole great number of copies to be taken from (which they tell us was bound in silk, that of Haphsa, at the same time sup- and adorned with gold and precious pressing all the others not conformable stones of paradise) once a year; but in to the original. The chief differences the last year of his life he had the fain the present copies of this book con- vour to see it twice. They say, that sist in the points, which were not in use only ten chapters were delivered entire, in the time of Mahomet and his imme- the rest being revealed piecemeal, and diate successors; but were added since, written down from time to time by the to ascertain the reading, after the ex- prophet's amanuensis, in such a part of ample of the Massoretes, who added such and such a chapter, till they were the like points to the Hebrew texts of completed, according to the directions Scripture. There are seven principal of the angel. The first parcel that was editions of the Alcoran, two at Medína, revealed is generally agreed to have one at Mecca, one at Cufa, one at Bas-been the first five verses of the ninetysora, one in Syria, and the common, or vulgate edition. The first contains 6000|| verses, the other surpassing this number by 200 or 235 verses; but the number of words and letters is the same in all; viz. 77,639 words, and 323,015 letters. The number of commentaries on the Alcoran is so large, that the bare titles would make a huge volume. Ben Oschair has written the history of them, entitled, Tarikh Ben Oschair. The principal among them are, Reidhaori, Thaalebi, Zamalchschari, and Bacai. The Mahometans have a positive theology built on the Alcoran and tradition, as well as a scholastical one

sixth chapter. In fine, the book of the Alcoran is held in the highest esteem and reverence among the Mussulmans. They dare not so much as touch the Alcoran without being first washed, or legally purified; to prevent which an inscription is put on the cover or label,

Let none touch but they who are clean. It is read with great care and respect, being never held below the girdle. They swear by it; take omens from it on all weighty occasions; carry it with them to war; write sentences of it on their banners; adorn it with gold and precious stones; and knowingly not suffer it to be in the possession of any

of a different religion. Some say that it is punishable even with death, in a Christian, to touch it; others, that the veneration of the Mussulmans leads them to condemn the translating it into any other language, as a profanation: but these seem to be exaggerations. The Mahometans have taken care to have their Scripture translated into the Persian, the Javan, the Malayan, and other languages; though, out of respect to the original, these versions are generally, if not always, interlineated.

the adherents of Mahomet, and to whom the Koran was addressed, few, probably, were able to pass a very accurate judgment on the propriety of the sentiments, or on the beauty of the diction: but all could judge of the military abilities of their leader; and in the midst of their admiration, it is not difficult to conceive that they would ascribe to his compositions every imaginary beauty of inspired language. The shepherd and the soldier, though awake to the charms of those wild but beautiful compositions in which were celebrated 5. Koran, success of the, accounted their favourite occupations of love or for. The author of the "View of war, were yet little able to criticise any Christianity and Mahometanism" ob- other works than those which were adserves, that, "by the advocates of Ma- dressed to their imagination or their hometanism, the Koran has always been heart. To abstract reasonings on the held forth as the greatest of miracles, attributes and the dispensations of the and equally stupendous with the act of Deity, to the comparative excellencies raising the dead. The miracles of Mo- of rival religions, to the consistency of ses and Jesus, they say, were transient any one religious system in all its parts, and temporary; but that of the Koran is and to the force of its various proofs, permanent and perpetual, and therefore they were quite inattentive. In such a far surpassed all the miraculous events situation, the appearance of a work of preceding ages. We will not detract which possessed something like wisdom from the real merits of the Koran; we and consistence; which prescribed the allow it to be generally elegant and rules and illustrated the duties of life; often sublime; but at the same time and which contained the principles of a we reject with disdain its arrogant pre- new and comparatively sublime theotence to any thing supernatural, all the logy, independently of its real and perreal excellence of the work being easily manent merit, was likely to excite their referable to natural and visible causes. astonishment, and to become the stanIn the language of Arabia, a language dard of future composition. In the first extremely loved and diligently cultiva- periods of the literature of every counted by the people to whom it was ver- try, something of this kind has happennacular, Mahomet found advantages ed. The father of Grecian poetry very which were never enjoyed by any for- obviously influenced the taste and imímer or succeeding impostor. It requires tation of his country. The modern nanot the eye of a philosopher to discover tions of Europe all possess some original in every soil and country a principle of author, who, rising from the darkness national pride: and if we look back for of former ages, has begun the career of many ages on the history of the Ara- composition, and tinctured with the bians, we shall easily perceive that pride character of his own imagination the among them invariably to have consist- stream which has flowed through his ed in the knowledge and improvement posterity. But the prophet of Arabia of their native language. The Arabic, had in this respect advantages peculiar which has been justly esteemed the to himself. His compositions were not most copious of the eastern tongues, to his followers the works of man, but which had existed from the remotest the genuine language of Heaven which antiquity, which had been embellished had sent him. They were not confined, by numberless poets, and refined by the therefore, to that admiration which is constant exercise of the natives, was the so liberally bestowed on the earliest most successful instrument which Ma-productions of genius, or to that fond athomet employed in planting his new re-tachment with which men every where ligion among them. "Admirably adapted by its unrivalled harmony, and by its endless variety, to add painting to expression, and to pursue the imagination in its unbounded flight, it became in the hands of Mahomet an irresistible charm to blind the judgment and to captivate the fancy of his followers. Of that description of men who first composed

regard the original compositions of their country; but with their admiration they blended their piety. To know and to feel the beauties of the Koran, was in some respect to share in the temper of heaven; and he who was most affected with admiration in the perusal of its beauties, seemed fitly the object of that mercy which had given it to ignorant

man. The Koran, therefore, became || are on every side, with error and ab naturally and necessarily the standard surdity. But it might be easily proved, of taste. With a language thus hallow- that whatever it justly defines of the ed in their imaginations, they were too divine attributes was borrowed from our well satisfied either to dispute its ele- Holy Scripture; which even from its gance, or improve its structure. In suc- first promulgation, but especially from ceeding ages, the additional sanction of the completion of the New Testament, antiquity or prescription, was given to has extended the views and enlightened those compositions which their fathers the understandings of mankind: and had admired; and while the belief of thus furnished them with arms which its divine original continues, that admi- have too often been effectually turned ration which has thus become the test against itself by its ungenerous enemies. and the duty of the faithful, can neither In this instance, particularly, the copy be altered nor diminished. When, there- is far below the great original, both in fore, we consider these peculiar advan- the propriety of its images and the tages of the Koran, we have no reason force of its descriptions." to be surprised at the admiration in which it is held. But, if descending to a more minute investigation of it, we consider its perpetual inconsistence and absurdity, we shall indeed have cause for astonishment at that weakness of humanity, which could ever have received such compositions as the work of the Deity."

7. Koran, the sublimity of the, contrasted. "Our Holy Scriptures are the only compositions that can enable the dim sight of mortality to penetrate into the invisible world, and to behold a glimpse of the divine perfections. Accordingly, when they would represent to us the happiness of heaven, they describe it, not by any thing minute and particular, but by something general and great; something that, without descending to any determinate object, may at once by its beauty and immensity excite our wishes, and elevate our af fections. Though in the prophetical and evangelical writings, the joys that shall attend us in a divine state, are often mentioned with ardent admiration, they are expressed rather by allusion

6. Koran, style and merits of the, examined. "The first praise of all the productions of genius (continues this author) is invention; that quality of the mind, which, by the extent and quickness of its views, is capable of the largest conceptions, and of forming new combinations of objects the most distant and unusual. But the Koran bears little impression of this transcendant character. Its materials are wholly bor-than by similitude; rather by indefinite rowed from the Jewish and Christian and figurative terms, than by any thing Scriptures, from the Talmudical le- fixed and determinate. Eye hath not gends and apocryphal gospels then cur- seen, nor ear heard, neither have enrent in the east, and from the traditions tered into the heart of man the things and fables which abounded in Arabia. which God hath prepared for them that The materials collected from these se- love him,' 1 Cor. ii. 9. What a reveveral sources are here heaped together rence and astonishment does this paswith perpetual and heedless repetitions, sage excite in every hearer of taste and without any settled principle or visible piety! What energy, and at the same connection. When a great part of the time what simplicity in the expression! life of Mahomet had been spent in pre- How sublime, and at the same time paratory meditation on the system he how obscure, is the imagery! Different was about to establish, its chapters were was the conduct of Mahomet in his dedealt out slowly and separately during scriptions of heaven and paradise. Unthe long period of twenty-three years. assisted by the necessary influence of Yet, thus defective in its structure, and virtuous intentions and divine inspirano less objectionable in its doctrines, was tion, he was neither desirous, nor indeed the work which Mahomet delivered to able to exalt the minds of men to subhis followers as the oracles of God. lime conceptions, or to rational expecThe most prominent feature of the Ko-tations. By attempting to explain what ran, that point of excellence in which the partiality of its admirers has ever delighted to view it, is the sublime notion it generally impresses of the nature and attributes of God. If its author had really derived these just conceptions from the inspiration of that Being whom they attempt to describe, they would not have been surrounded, as they now I

is inconceivable, to describe what is ineffable, and to materialize what in itself is spiritual, he absurdly and impiously aimed to sensualize the purity of the divine essence. Thus he fabri cated a system of incoherence, a religion of depravity, totally repugnant to the nature of that Being, who, as he pretended, was its object; but therefore