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THE TRUE..* .V-Jflfc* 
 
 Nature of Imposture 
 
 Fully Difplay'd in the 
 
 LIFE 
 
 O F 
 
 MAHOMET. 
 
 W IT H 
 
 A Discourse annex'd for the 
 
 Vindication of Christianity from 
 this Charge. 
 
 Offered to the Confideration of the 
 
 D e i s t s of the Prefent Age. 
 
 By Humphrey Prideaux, D. D, 
 Dean of Norwich, 
 
 The Seventh Edition, Corrected. 
 
 LO ND N: 
 Printed for E. Curll, and J. Hooke, in FleeU 
 ftreety and IV. Mean and F. Clay without 
 Temple-Bar. Mdccxviii, Price 3/. 
 
 -\ 
 
Ill 
 
 
 T O T H E 
 
 READER 
 
 H E great prevailing of Infidelit)^ in 
 the prefent Age, making it the Du- 
 ty of every one of us that have un- 
 dertaken theMiniftry of the Gofpel 
 of Jefus Chrift, to endeavour to put 
 a Stop thereto, that I may in fome 
 Meafure do my Part herein, is a fufficient Reafon 
 to juftify the prefent Publication. But befldes, 
 the Poyfon having, I fear, reach'd fome Places, 
 where it' is my particular Duty to prevent its 
 Mifchiefs ^ and infected fome Perfons, for whofe 
 eternal Welfare, as well as temporal, I have 
 Reafon to be nearly concem'dj I have hereby 
 been more efpecially engag'd to fet forth the en- 
 fuing Hiftory, with the Tract fubjoin'd thereto, 
 for an Antidote againft it. And if I can hereby 
 avail any Thing with thofe who have caft off 
 Chriftianity as an Impofture, to make them fee 
 the Error of their ApOftacy, I {hall then obtain 
 the fall End I propofe-, if not, at leaft I fhall 
 difcharge my Confcience, and my Duty, in do- 
 ing the beft I can in order thereto. 
 
 A a That 
 
iv Totk Reade r.~ 
 
 That which at prefer) t feems moftly to carry 
 Men away into this Infidelity, is the giddy Hu- 
 mour which too many among us, efpecially of 
 the younger Sort, are liable unto, in following 
 whatfoever hath gotten into Falhion and Vogue : 
 For thefe, looking no farther than what prevails 
 moft among fuch as they converfe with, of Courfe 
 fall in with it, whatfoever it be, without any 
 other Consideration, but that the)' - think it the 
 Drefs which is moft fafhionable and genteel for 
 them to appear in, and the Mode wherein they 
 may make the moft acceptable Figure among the 
 Company they keep. And therefore that kind 
 of Infidelity which is call'd Deifm, being of late 
 impioufty patroniz'd by too many of thole who 
 govern the Humours cf the Times, abundance of 
 this fort of unthinking People have meerly, out 
 of Complyance with them, run in thereto, and 
 confidently taken upon them to call Chriftianity 
 a Cheat and an Impofture, without ever having 
 confider'd what an Impofture is, or whether any 
 of the Marks and Properties thereof can poftibly 
 agree with this Holy Religion, or no. 
 
 That therefore thefe may fee what it is they 
 charge Chriftianity with, and how far all the 
 Marks and Properties thereof are from having 
 any Agreement with it, I have in the enfuing 
 Hiftory, which contains the Life of that famous 
 Impoftor, who is on both Sides equally acknow- 
 ledged to be fuch, fully laid open what an Impo- 
 fture is •, and in the Difcourfe fubjoin'd thereto, 
 fhewn, that none of thofe Marks and Properties 
 which are fo vifible in the Impofture of Mahomet, 
 and muft be alfo in all other Impoftures in Reli- 
 gion, can poflibly be charg'd upon that Holy Re- 
 ligon which we profefs. And an Hiftory being 
 that which gives the moft lively and fenfible Re- 
 prefentations of a Matter, and Books of this Na- 
 ture 
 
To ^Reader. v 
 
 ture being fuch as moft obtain the Favour of be- 
 ing read, I hope I have taken the propereft Me- 
 thod of coming home to the Confciences of thofe 
 to whom I write. 
 
 And that I may not be thought to draw this 
 Life of Mahomet, with Defign to fet forth his 
 Impofture in the fouleft Colours I am able, the 
 better to make it ferve my prefent Purpofe, I 
 have been careful to fet down all my Authorities 
 in the Margin, and at the End of the Book have 
 given an Account of all the Authors fiom whom 
 I collected them. 
 
 And that I may the more remove all Sufpicion 
 of this Matter, I think it requifite to acquaint 
 you, That althb 1 at prefent I have adapted the 
 Life of Mahomet to this Purpofe, yet it was not 
 originally defign'd for it it 5 being when I firft 
 wrote it, only the interfperfed Parts of one Chap- 
 ter of a much larger Work, which I intended for 
 the Publick, viz. The Hijlory of the Ruin of the 
 Eaftern Church-, which beginning from the Death 
 of the Emperor Maurichis, Anno Dom. 602. was de- 
 fign d to have been brought down to the Fall of 
 the Saracen Empire, which happeiVd Anno Dom, 
 936. when the Governors of Provinces under tht 
 Caliph, ufurping the Sovereign Authority, each in 
 their feveral Diftricls, did put an End to that 
 large and formidable Empire, by dividing it a- 
 mong them. 
 
 And fuch an Hiftory I promifed my felf might 
 be of fome Ufe in our prefent Age: For notwith- 
 standing thofe earneft Expectations and ftrong 
 Hopes, which we entertain'd in the Beginning of 
 this Government, of having our Divifions heal'd, 
 and all thofe Breaches which they have caufed in 
 the Church again made up, finding thofe of the 
 Separation ftill to retain the fame Spirit on the 
 one Side, and fome others to be fo violently. bent 
 A 5 on 
 
vi To the Reade r^ 
 
 on the other, againft every Thing that might tend 
 to mollify and allay it, as to iruftrate all thofe 
 excellent Defigns which have been laid in Order 
 thereto ^ I thought I could not better let thofe 
 Men fee what Mifchief they Both do hereby to 
 the common Intereft of Chriftianity, than by lay- 
 ing before them the grievous Ruin and Defolation, 
 which from the like Caufe happenM to the Churches 
 of the Eaft, once the mofl rlourilhing of the whole 
 Earth. For they having drawn the abftrufeft 
 Niceties into Controverfy, which were of little or 
 no Moment to that which is the chief End of our 
 Holy Chriftian Religion, and divided and fubdi- 
 vided about them into endlefs Schifms and Con- 
 tentions, did thereby fo deftroy that Peace, Love, 
 and Charity from among them, which the Gofpel 
 was given to promote, and inftead thereof conti- 
 nually provoked each other to that Malice, Ran- 
 cour, and every evil Work, that they loft the 
 whole Subftance of their Religion, while they 
 thus eagerly contended for their own Imagina- 
 tions concerning it, and in a Manner drove Chri- 
 ftianity quite out of the World by thofe very 
 Controverfies in which they difputed with each 
 other about it. So that at length having wearied 
 the Patience and Long-Suffering of Cod, in thus 
 turning this Holy Religion into a Firebrand of 
 Hell, for Contention, Strife, and Violence among 
 them, which was given them out of his infinite 
 Mercy to the quite contrary End, for the Salva- 
 tion of their Souls, by living holily, righteoufly, 
 and juftly in this prefent World, he raifed up the 
 Saracens to be the Inftruments of his Wrath, to 
 punifh them for it-, who taking Advantage of 
 the Weaknefs of Power, and the Diffractions of 
 Councils, which thefe Diviflons had caufed among 
 them, foon over-run with a terrible Devaluation 
 all the Eajlern Provinces of the Roman Empire ; 
 
 and 
 
To the Reader. vii 
 
 and having fk'd that Tyranny over them, which 
 hath ever iince afflicted thofe Parts of the World, 
 turn d every where their Churches into Mofques, 
 and their Worfhip into an horrid Superftition -, and 
 inftead of that Holy Religion which they had 
 thus abufed, forcd on them that abominable Im- 
 pofture of Mahometifm, which dictating War, 
 Bloodfhed, and Violence, in Matters of Religion, 
 as one of its chiefeft Virtues, was in Truth the 
 moft proper for thofe, who had afore by their 
 Schifm and Contentions refolv d all the Religion 
 they had thereinto. And when the Matter came 
 to this Tryal, fome of thofe who were the hotteft 
 Contenders about Chriftianity, became the firft 
 Apoftates from it ^ and they, who would not 
 afore part with a Nicety, an abftrufe Notion, or 
 an unreasonable Scruple, for the Peace of the 
 Church, were foon brought by the Sword at their 
 Throats, to give up the whole in Compliance to 
 the Pleafure of a barbarous and favage Conqueror. 
 And no wonder that fuch, who had afore wrangled 
 away the Subftance of their Religion in Conten- 
 tion and Strife againft each other, and eat out the 
 very Heart of it by that Malice and Rancour 
 which they fhew'd in their Controversy about it, 
 became eafily content, when under this Force, to 
 part with the Name alfo. Thus thofe once glori- 
 ous and rnoft flourifhing Churches, for a Punilh- 
 ment of their Wickednefs being given tip to the 
 Infult, Ravage, and Scorn of the worft of Enemies, 
 were on a fudden overwhelm d by them with fo 
 terrible a Deftrudion, as brought them to that low 
 and miferable State, under the PrelTures cf which 
 they have ever fince groand ; wherein they, re- 
 taining no more than fome few and lamentable 
 Ruins of what they once were, feem thus to be 
 continued even unto this Day, by the allwife 
 Providence of God, in the fame miferable Con- 
 A 4 dition, 
 
viii To the Reader. 
 
 dition, under the Pride and Perfecution of Maho- 
 metan Tyranny, for no other End, but to be an 
 Example and Warning unto others, againft that 
 Wickednefs of Separation and Divifion, by which 
 they were brought thereto. A fad Memento to us 5 
 for of all Chriftian Churches now remaining in 
 the World, which is there that hath more Reafon 
 than we at this prefent, to learn Inftrudtion from 
 this Example, and take Warning therefrom ? For 
 are not our Divifions brought to much the fame 
 Height with theirs, which drew down from the 
 juft Hand of God this terrible Deftru&ion upon 
 them ^ when Men making no Confcience of break- 
 ing the publick Peace of the Church, divide and 
 fubdivide from it into endlefs Factions, Schifms, 
 and Contentions, about their own Imaginations ? 
 When they durft reject the ancient and primitive 
 Government of the Church, which was by the 
 Direction of God's Holy Spirit eftablifh'd in it 
 from the Beginning, to make Way for new Schemes 
 of their own Invention ^ and are content to ruin 
 all, rather than not obtain their Humour herein ? 
 When they will have the Decency and Order of 
 our outward Worfhip condemn'd as Crimes 5 and 
 for the Privilege of praying in Publick, according 
 to their own unpremeditated Conceptions, with- 
 out Method or Senfe, advance fuch Arguments 
 againft our Liturgies and Forms of Prayer, as have 
 in a Manner totally deftroy'd the Devotion of 
 the Nation ? When they fcruple more at the 
 kneeling to God in the Holy Sacrament of the 
 Eucharift, while they are receiving from him one 
 of his greateft Mercies, and ought to be rendering 
 to him their higheft Thankfgiving in Return 
 thereto, than in breaking the chiefeft of his Com- 
 mandments ^ and thus in a Manner refolve all 
 Religion into contending againft our juft and legal 
 Eftablifhments about it : And when ethers, on 
 
 the 
 
To the R e a d e R. ix 
 
 the other Hand, whofe Duty it is to labour for 
 our Peace, would rather have this devouring Flame 
 of Strife and Divifion (till continued among us, 
 than throw in one Bucket of Water to cool and 
 allay it, I fay, when Matters are brought to 
 this pafs, do we not equal or rather excel that 
 Wickednefs of Contention, Strife,* and Divifion, for 
 which God poufd out his fierce Wrath upon thofe 
 once mod flourifhing Churches of the Eaft, and in 
 fo fearful a Manner brought them to Deftruction 
 thereby ? And have we not Reafon then to be 
 warn'd by the Example ? Have we not Reafon 
 to fear, that God may in the fame Manner raife 
 'up Mahomet againft us for our utter Confufion * 
 and when we cannot be contented with that blef- 
 fed Eftablilhment of divine Worlhip and Truth 
 which he hath in fo great Purity given unto us, 
 permit the wicked One by fome other fuch Inftru 
 ment to overwhelm us inftead thereof with his 
 fouled Delufions ? And by what the Sochiian, the 
 <%htaker, and the Deifi begin to advance in this 
 Land, we may have Reafon to fear, that Wrath 
 hath fome Time fince gone forth from the Lord 
 for the Punifhment of thefe our Iniquities and 
 Gainfayings, and that the Plague is already begun 
 among us. 
 
 That therefore we may fully fee to what thefe 
 Mifchiefs among us lead, and be influenc d there- 
 by to fuch an Amendment as might divert the 
 Judgment from us, was the Reafon that made me 
 defign the Publication of the Hiftory I havemen- 
 tion'd ; wherein my Purpofe was to give an Ac- 
 count, firft of the Controversies which miferably 
 divided thofe Eajlern Churches, and then of that 
 grievous Calamity and Ruin which bappen'd to 
 them thereupon, through that Deluge of Mahome- 
 tan Tyranny and Delufron which overwhelmed 
 all th<3fe Provinces in which they were planted, 
 
 and 
 
i To^Reade?. 
 
 and hath continued there to the afflicting of the poor 
 Remainders of them with Mifery and Perfecution 
 ever fince. For Mens Minds being ufually more 
 influencd by Example, than by Precept or Exhor- 
 tation ^ and eafier convinced of the Mifchief which 
 any Evil leads to, by feeing the Sufferings of 
 others herein, than by the greateft Strength of 
 Reafon and Argument that can be preffed upon 
 them in order hereto, I hoped that, perchance, 
 hy laying open before the contending Parties here 
 among us, what Mifchief thofe Eajleni Churches 
 fuffer'd in the like Cafe, through that difmal Ruin 
 which was by their Divifions brought upon them, 
 I might awaken them with this affrighting Exam- • 
 pie, to think of thofe Things which might tend to 
 their Peace:, and hereby prevail with them to fet 
 fome Steps toward the happy Re-eftablifhment of 
 it among us, which as yet no Reafon or Argument 
 hath been able to induce them to. 
 
 But when I had made my Collections, and gone 
 a great Way in putting my laft Hand to the Com- 
 pofure, thofe Difturbances that happen'd about 
 the Doctrine of the Holy Trinity among us, gave 
 me a Reflection which put a Stop to my Pen, and 
 made me refolve to furceafe the whole Work. For 
 perceiving what Advantage the unwary ftirring 
 of this Controverfy did give the Atbeifts, the De- 
 ijh, and the Sociniart, for the advancing of their 
 Impieties, by confounding and dictating the Minds 
 of Men with their Cavils and Objections againft 
 what we hold in this Miftery to be above our 
 Underftandings fully to comprehend ^ and how fe- 
 veral of them did, in a Manner fo licentious as 
 was fcarce ever before allowed in a Chriftian State, 
 exercife their Wits in this Matter, I dm It not, 
 confidering the Subjecl of this Book, venture it a- 
 broad in fo wanton and lewd an Age. For the 
 two great Myfteries of Chriftian ity .1 -which 
 
 will 
 
To the Read e r. li 
 
 will be alwa)^ fuch unto us while in this State 
 of Ignorance and Infirmity) being the Doctrine 
 of the Trinity, and that of the Hypoftatical U- 
 nion; and this latter being the Subject upon 
 which all thofe Diviiions were, which occafion'd 
 that Ruin of thofe Churches, of which in this Hi- 
 ftory an Account was purpofcd to be given; and 
 this neceffary leading me therein, not only to un- 
 ravel all thofe Controverfies which they made 
 about it, but alfo unfold all the Niceties and fub- 
 til Notions which each Sect did hold concerning 
 it, I had Reafon to fear, that thofe who made iiich 
 Work with one of the Myfteries of our Holy Re- 
 ligion, would not be lefs bold with the other, 
 which is altogether as great, were it in that Manner 
 laid open unto them, as it is in this Hiftory con- 
 tain'd \ and therefore I rather chofe totally to 
 fupprefs my Labours, than run the Hazard, in 
 their Publication, of doing more Hurt than Good 
 thereby. Only that Part which relates to the 
 Life of Mahomet, after having gather'd it together 
 out of that Chapter of this Hiftory where it lay 
 interfpers'd with other Matters, I have here pub- 
 lifh'd, to anfwer that DelTgn which I have already 
 given an Account oi. 
 
 As to the Difcourfe annex 'd, I have directed it 
 only to thofe Deijh, who according to Mr. Blwtt's 
 Description of them, hold a Providence, and fu- 
 ture Rewards and Punifhments. For fuch feeming 
 to retain the common Principles of Natural Reli- 
 gion and Reafon, allow a fufficient Foundation 
 whereon to be difcourfed with. But as to the A- 
 tbeift, who denies the Being of a God, which all 
 Things elfe prove-, and the Epicmecm Deifi, who 
 allowing his Being, denies his Providence, and his 
 Government over us, which all the Occurrences of 
 our Life become conftant Arguments for, they 
 being fuch asmuft neceiTarily reject firft Principles, 
 
 and 
 
xii To the Reader. 
 
 and bid Defiance to all Manner of Reafon, before 
 they can fo far blind themfelves as to arrive 
 hereto, do leave no Room for any Argument but 
 that of the Whip and La(h, to convince them of 
 thofe impious Abfurdities, and therefore deferve 
 not by any other Method to be dealt with. Be- 
 fides, if you will know the true Reafon which in- 
 duceth the Atheiji to' deny the Being of a God, 
 and the Epicurean Deijl his Government over us ; 
 it is, That they may give themfelves up, with- 
 out Fear of future Judgment, to all thofe Beftial 
 Enjoyments of Luft and Senfuality which their 
 corrupt Hearts carry them after •? and therefore it 
 not being the Reafon of the Man, but the brutal 
 Appetite of the Beaft that makes them fuch, they 
 deferve no otherwife than as Beafts to be treated 
 fey us -, and for this Reafon, as I write not to them, 
 fo I defire to be underftood to have nothing to do 
 with them. 
 
 For the clearer Underftanding of the Hiftory, 
 I defire you to take Notice, That in the proper 
 Names, Al is a Particle which fignifyeth in Ara- 
 llck the fame with the Englifi The, or the Greek 
 o, it, to, as in Al Abas-, Ebn, or with the Particle 
 Al after it, Ebnol is the Son, and Abu, or with the 
 Particle Al after it, Abul, is the Father-, and thus 
 Mahomet is called Ebn Abdollah Abu Cafem, that is 
 the Son of Abdollah, the Father of Cafem. For it was 
 ufual with the Arabs to take their Names of Di- 
 ftin&ion from their Sons as well as from their Fa- 
 thers 5 and thus Ebnol Athir, is the Son of Al Athir, 
 and Abul Abbas is the Father of Al Abbas j Abd, 
 or with the Particles Al after it AbdoX fignifieth 
 Servant $ and thus AbdoUah fignifieth the Servant of 
 God, and Abdo'l Shems, the Servant of the Sun In 
 thefe and all other Arabic Names I exactly follow 
 the Arabich. Pronunciation, without regarding how 
 they have been written or fpelt by any other 
 
 Wejlern 
 
To the Re a der. xiii 
 
 Weflem Author that hath treated of theirij and 
 that the rather, becaufe of the great Agreement 
 which the Arabick hath with the Etiglijb, both in 
 the Power of its Letters and the Pronunciation of 
 its Words, there being no Language in the World 
 more a kin to ours, than the Arabick is in thefe 
 Particulars : Only as to the Name of the Impoftor 
 himfelf, I rather chufe to make Ufe of the vulgar 
 Manner of Writing it, becaufe of the Notoriety 
 of it, than make any Change, although to the 
 Truth, from that which hath been generally re- 
 ceiv'd -j and therefore I call him every where 
 Mahomet, although Mohammed be the alone true and 
 proper Pronunciation of the Name. 
 
 To conclude •, on thy Perufal of this Treatife, 
 as far as thou haft need of what is defign'd there- 
 by, either for the Reftoration of thy Faith, or the 
 Confirmation of it •, fo far I pray God it may be 
 ufeful to Thee, and I am, 
 
 The hearty Wijher of thy Veace 
 
 and Everlajling Salvation, 
 
 Norwich, 
 March 15. 
 
 16 9f 
 
 H. Prideaux. 
 
 The 
 
The General Contents of the BOOK. 
 
 I. ""fl*" 1 HE Preface to the Reader, fliewing the Defign 
 
 3. and Reafon of its Publication. 
 
 II. The true Nature of hnpoflwe fully difplayd in the 
 Life of Mahomet, frotnhis Birth, An. Dom. 571. 
 to his Death, An. Dom. 632. 
 
 III. A Letter to the Deifts, (hewing that the Gofpclof 
 ^efus Chrijl is no Impofture j hut the Sacred Truth of 
 God. 
 
 IV. An Account of the Authors quoted in this whole 
 Work. 
 
 The Contents of the Life of MAHOMET. 
 
 OF the Family of Mahomet, and his Marriage 
 
 with Cadigha. Page 1 
 
 Of his frji pretending to he a Prophet. 1 o 
 
 Of the Alcoran. 1 1 
 
 The Roofs of his pretended Mijjion. 1 2 
 
 TJ?e Framers of the Alcoran. 27 
 
 Mahomet's Marriage with three Wives. 50 
 
 His Night Journey to Heaven. 5 1 
 
 His Oral Law. 39 
 The Beginning of the Hegera, and the Computation of 
 
 their Tear. 44. 
 
 His Robberies. 5; 3 
 
 Of Mecca, and the Temple there. 56 
 
 The Month o/Ramadam their yearly Faft. 57 
 
 Mahcmet's Intimacy with the Jew Caab. 59 
 
 The 
 
The CONTENTS. 
 
 The Occafwn of his forbidding Wines and Games of 
 Chance. pag. 63 
 
 Of Pilgrimages to Mecca. 67 
 
 Mahomet's Poifoning at Chaibar, 76 
 
 His Death and Burial at Medina. 7 8 
 
 General Reflections on the Life of Mahomet. 79 
 
 Of the Contradictions in the, Alcoran. 88 
 
 The Texts of Holy Scripture Mahomet urges for his 
 Religion. 9 2 
 
 The Contents of the Letter to the DEISTS. 
 
 INtroduBion. T. What an Impoflure is, 1. What 
 are the Marks and Properties of an Impoflure. 3. 
 That all thofe Marks mufl belong to every Impoflure, 
 and all particularly did Jo to MahOmetifm ^ and 
 that none of them can be chargd upon Chriflianity ^ 
 ispropofed to be the Deflgn of the enfuing Difcourfe. 
 
 Page 97 
 
 Sect. I. Thefrfl Marl of an Impoflure, That it muft 
 always have for its End fome Carnal Intereft $ 
 not chargeable on Chriflianity. 99 
 
 Sect. 2. The fecond Mark of an Impoflure, That it 
 can have none but wicked Men for the Authors 
 of it ^ not chargeable on Chriflianity. 115 
 
 Sect. %. The third Mark of an Impoflure, That both 
 thefe two laft Marks muft appear in the very 
 Contexture of the Impoflure it felf , not chargea- 
 ble on Chriflianity. 1 1 9 
 
 Sect. 4. The fourth Mark of an Impoflure, That it 
 can never be Co framed, but that it muft contain 
 fome palpable Falfities, which will difcover the 
 Falfity of all the reft $ not chargeable on Chiflia- 
 mty. 138 
 
 Sect, 
 
 ,"- 
 
The CONTENTS. 
 
 Seel. 5. Theffth Mark of an Impojinre, That when- 
 ever it is nrft propagated, it mult be done by- 
 Craft and Fraud •, not chargeable on Chriftiamty. 1 49 
 
 Se£r. 6. The Sixth Mark of an Impoflure, That when 
 intrufted with many Confpirators, it can never 
 be long conceal'd •, not chargeable on Chrijlianity. 
 
 164 
 
 Sect 7. The feventh Mark of an ImpoJInre, That it 
 can never be eftabliftYd, unlefs back'd with 
 Force and Violence •, not chargeable on Chrijlianity. 
 
 166 
 
 The Conclufion. 177 
 
 THE 
 
T U E 
 
 LIFE 
 
 O F 
 
 MAHOMET. 
 
 'Ahomet (or according to the true Pronounci- 
 ation of the Word, Mohammed} was born 
 (a) at Mecca, a City of Arabia, of the 
 Tribe of the Korajhites, (b) which was 
 reckon'd the Noblelt in all that Country, 
 and was defcended in a direcl Line of 
 Primogeniture from Pber Koraijh, the firfl: Founder of it, 
 from whom they derive his Pedigree in this manner 5 (r) 
 The Son of Pber Koraifi Was Caleb 5 the Son of Galeb, Laiva } 
 the Son of Lava, Caab 5 the Son of Caab, Morrah $ whofe 
 younger Brother was Ada 5 from whom was defcended 
 Omar Ebno'l Chat tab, that was Calif. The Sons of Morrah 
 were Cktlab, Tayem and Yokdab : From Tayem, Abu Beker, 
 and Telha j and from Yokdab, Cbalid Ebn jValid, had their 
 t)e-fcent. Chdab was he who firfl: gave the Months of the 
 
 B Year 
 
 {a) Abul Faraghius, Abul Feda. Elmacin. Alkodai, Qpc. (/;) 
 
 Hotcingeri Hift: Orient, lib. 1.0.4. (c) Abul Feda. Pocockii 
 
 Spec. Hift. Arab. p. $0. & 51. Fcchelenfc Kift. Arab. Part i, c. 3. 
 Liter d*. Generations & Nutritura Mahometis. 
 
i The Life of Mahomet. 
 
 Year thofe Names by which the Arabs ever fince have cal- 
 led them, even to this Day. They had formerly other 
 Names, (d) but Cbelab having given them thofe new ones, 
 they firfl grew into ufe among the Korafiites, and after, by the 
 Authority of Mahomet , when he had brought all the reil of 
 the Tribes of the Arabs under his Power, obtain'd every 
 where elfe, and the old ones became totally abolished. The 
 eldefl Son of Chelab, was 'Co/a ^ and the younger, Zarah % 
 from whom was Amena, the Mother of Mahomet. (?) Cofa 
 was very famous among the Korafj'ites, for gaining to his 
 Family the keeping of the Keys of the Caaba, and with 
 them the Precedency of that Temple, which is the fame 
 to which the Mahometans now make their Pilgrimage at 
 Mecca, and was then as much celebrated for the Heathen 
 Wormip among the Arabs, as it hath fince been for the 
 Mahometan 5 and therefore the Prejidency of it was a Matter 
 of great Moment, as being a Station, which render 'd him 
 that was in it Honourable through all Arabia. It was be- 
 fore in the PofTefTion of Abu Gabjhan, of the Tribe of the 
 Cozaites, who were of the ancient Race of the Arabs, de- 
 fended from Joktan, and formerly had their dwelling in 
 Yaman, or Arabia Felix, till being driven thence by an In- 
 undation from the breaking down of the Banks of the 
 Lake Aram, which deftroyed their Country, they came and 
 fettl'd in the Valley of Marry, not far from Mecca, and 
 from thence they were called Cozaites, which fignifleth the 
 cutting off, becaufe by this remove they were feparated, and, 
 as it were, cut off from the relt of their Kindred. They 
 had not long lived at Marry, till they grew fo powerful, as 
 to make themfelves Mailers of Mecca, and alfo of the 
 Caaba, or Temple, which flood there, and held both the 
 Government of the one, and the Prejidency of the other, for 
 many Ages after ; till at length the latter falling into the 
 Hands of Abu Gabjhan, a weak and filly Man, Cofa circum- 
 vented him while in a drunken Humour, and bought of 
 him the Keys of the Temple, and with them the Prefidencj 
 of it, for a Bottle of Wine. But Abu Gabjhan being gotten 
 out of his drunken Fit, fufficiently repented of his foolifh 
 Bargain ; from whence grew thefe Proverbs among the 
 Arabs j More vex'd with late Repentance than Abu Gabfhan j 
 
 and, 
 
 (d) Cioli* Mots ad Alfraganum, p. 4. (e) Abul Fedn. Pocockii, 
 Spec Hift. Ar.ib, p. 41. 50, & ^42. Ecchelenfis Hilt. Arab. p. 1. c. j. 
 Fortaluium Fiuei 3 lib. 4. Co.iiiJ. 1. 
 
The Life of Mahomet. 3 
 
 and, "More filly than Abu Gabman : Which are ufually laid 
 of thole who part with a thing of great Moment for a 
 finall Matter. However, he was not fo filly, but when he 
 came to himfelf, he understood the value of what lie had 
 parted with, and wou'd fain have retnev'd it again j to 
 which purpofe he gave Cofa fome disturbance in the poflef- 
 iion of his Purchale ; and the reft of the Coiaites joined 
 with him herein, as not liking that he iliould be thus 
 deprived of his Right by a Trick, and thereby the Pre- 
 jidemy of the Temple go out of their Tribe into that of the 
 Kara/bites. But Cofa being aware hereof, fent privately to 
 all the Korafjites, who were difperfed abroad among the 
 Neighbouring Tribes, to meet with him at Mecca on a Day 
 appointed 5 with whofe help falling on the Cozaites, he ex- 
 pell'd them all out of the City, and from that time the 
 whole Pofleffion of Mecca remain'd to the Korafbites 5 and 
 Co/a, and his Pofterity in a right Line down to Mahomet i 
 had the Pmjidency of the Temple t and the chief Government 
 of the City ever after. 
 
 The eldeft Son of Cofa was Abd Menaph, and the young- 
 er Abdol Ux.za, Names taken from the Idols of the Temple, 
 of which Cofa had now gotten the Prejidency. For Abd Me- 
 tiapb in the Arab Language, fignifieth the Servant or Wor- 
 fhiper of Menaph • and Abdol Uxxa, the Servant or Wor- 
 fliiper of Una, which were Heathen Deities then wor/hip- 
 ed by the Arabians. Of the Pofterity of Abdol Lhn.a, were 
 Zobatr and Cadigha fhe Wife of Mahomet, 
 
 The eldeft Son of (/) Abd Menaph was Hajbem, and the 
 younger Abd]bem t whofe Son was Ommia, from whom -the 
 Gmmiadae, who for fo many Defcents governed the Saracen 
 Empire. Hafiem, as Well as his' Father and Grandfather, 
 Was Prince of his Tribe, and a Perfon of great Note in his 
 Time through all Arabia. From him the Kindred of 
 Mahomet are called Hafb-mites 3 and he who governs at Mecca 
 and Medina (who mull always be of the Race of Mahomet') 
 is called in their Language, (srj Al Emamo'l Hajhem, that is, 
 the Prince of the Hafloemites, even unto this Day. 
 
 The Son of Ha/hem Was (/?) Abdol Morallah, who fuc- 
 cceded his Father in the Government of his Tribe at Mecca, and 
 
 B 2 had 
 
 (/) Abul Feda. Pococ. Spec. Hi& Arab. p. <i. Ecchelenfis Hift. 
 Arab. Part 1. c. 3. Liber de Gcneratiorie & tfutritura Mahometi& 
 ( g) Sionua in Append", ad GeGgratJhriam tfubi*nf«aij c. 7. (fr) Abul 
 dwifis, lb. 
 
4 The Life of Mahomet. 
 
 had to do with two very formidable Enemies in his Time ; 
 (i) Chofroes, the firft of that Name, King of Perjia y and 
 Abraham King of the Ethiopians. The firft having extend- 
 ed his Empire a great way into Arabia, on the North of Mecca 5 
 and the other poffels'd himfelf of the Kingdom of the Home- 
 rites on the South, became very dangerous Neighbours un- 
 to h'm; but he defended himfelf againft both, and forced 
 the latter to a very fhameful Retreat, when he came with 
 a numerous Army to beliege the City, as fhall be hereafter 
 more fully related. He lived to a very great Age, being 
 ( k.) an hundred and ten Years old at his Death : He had 
 thirteen Sons, their Names were as followeth 5 Abdollab, 
 Hymzab, Al Abb.ts, Abu Taleb, Abu Laheb, Al-Gida^ Al-Ha- 
 reth, Jiihet, Al-Mokau-am, Dorar, Al Zoba\r y Ketkem, and 
 Abdol Caaba. The el deft of them, Abdollah, having married 
 Amena, the Daughter of Wabeb, was by her the Father of 
 Mahomet ( / ) who was born at Mecca, in the Month of 
 Mary, in the Year of our Lord 571. Jujiin the Second be- 
 ing then Emperor of Conjlantinople, and Chofroes the Firft, 
 King of Perjra. 
 
 By this it appears, Mahomet was not of fuch mean and 
 vile Parentage as fome have after ted. For being a CoraJbite t 
 he was of the nobieft Tribe of all Arabia, and the Family he 
 was born of, was the moft confiderable of that Tribe , as be^ 
 ing that, which, for feveral Defcents together, had born the 
 chief Rule over it. However, in the beginning of his 
 Life he was in (m) a very poor and defpicable Condition. 
 For his Father dying before he was two Years old, and 
 while his Grandfather Abdol Motallah was ftill living, all 
 the Power and Wealth of his Family became derived to 
 his Uncles, efpecially to Abu Taleb, whD after the Death 
 of Abdol Motallah his Father, bore the chief Sway in Mecca 
 as long as he lived, which was to a very great Age 5 and 
 under his Protection chiefly was it that Mahomet, when he 
 firft broach'd his Impofture, was fupported againft all his 
 Oppofers, and grew up to that height thereby, as to be able 
 after his Death to carry it on, and alfo eftablifh it through 
 all Arabia by his own Power. After 
 
 ( i ) Hottinger. Hift. Orient. lib. 1. c. 3. ( k ) E'macin. lib. 
 
 i.c.i. (/) Abul Fecta. Alkodai. Abul Faraghius. pag. 101. 
 Elaiacin. lib. 1. c. 1. Pocock. Spec. Hift. Arab. p. 170. Hottinger 
 Hift. Orient, lib. 1. c. (,. ( m ) Abul Fecia. Abunazar. Abul Farag. 
 p. 10 r. Elmacin. I. 1. c. 1. Hottinger. Hift, Orient 1. *»c. i- 
 Guadairnol. Tr^it. a. c. to. 
 
The Life of M a h o m e t. j 
 
 After his Father's Death, he continued under the Tuition 
 of his Mother till the eighth Year of his Age ; when («) 
 fhe alfo dying, he was taken home to his Grandfather, Ab- 
 dol Motallah, wno at his Death, which happen'd th,e next 
 Year after, committed him to the Care of his Uncle, 
 Abu Taleb, to be educated by him out of Charity, who car- 
 rying on a Trade of Merchandize, took him into this Em- 
 ployment, and bred him up in the Bufinefs of it. For M.r- 
 ca (0) being fituated in a very barren Soil, could not of it- 
 felf fubfiftj and therefore the Inhabitants were forced to 
 betake themfelves to Merchandize fax their Support 3 and the 
 beft Men among them had force any other Eftate but in 
 their Stock wherewith they did Traffick 3 and therefore 
 they all betook themfelves to this courfe of Life, which 
 they feem to have received down from the Ifmae'ttes, from 
 whom they were defcended, and in the fame manner as 
 they carried on a Trade into Syria, Perfia, and Egypt, on Ca- 
 mels backs, furnifhing thofe Countries with fuch Commo- 
 dities as came to them from India, Ethiopia, and other Sou- 
 thern Parts, for which Commerce they were very advantr.- 
 geoufly fituated, as lying near the Red-Sea , where they 
 had the Port (p) Jodda, the molt, convenient for Shipping 
 in all thofe Streights. 
 
 And in this Courfe of Life Mahomet was bred up under 
 his Uncle 3 and as foon as he was of a fit Age, he was fent 
 with his Camels into Syria. On his coming to Bojira, a City 
 on the Confines of that Country, while he was attending his 
 Uncle's Factors in the vending of his Wares in the publick 
 Market-pla-ce (7), he was there feen (fay the Mahometans) 
 by Bahira, a Learned Monk, of that place, who immediately 
 knowing him to be the great Prophet that was to come, 
 preffed with great earneftnefs through the Crowd unto 
 him, and taking him by the Hand, there foretold of him 
 all thofe great things which afterwards came to pafs. The 
 Mark, whereby he knew him (fay they) was the Prophetic!^ 
 
 B 5 Light, 
 
 in) Abul Feda. Abul Faraghius, p. ior. Elmacin. lib. 1. c. 1. 
 (0) Gcograph. Nubienfis Sionita in Append, ad eandem, c. 7. Pococ- 
 kii Spa. Hill. Arab. p. 12,7. Golii notae ad Alfaganum, p. 9?. 
 (J>) Geographia Nubienfis a clim. 2. Part 5. Golii Notae ad Alfraga- 
 num, p. 100. (tf) Abul Feda. Alkodai. Al-Jannabi. Abul Fa - 
 
 raghius. p. 10 1. Pocock. Spe. Hift, Arab. p. 170. Geatii Notae ad 
 Miilkdinuin Sadum, p. 5$ 6, 
 
<S The Life o/Mahomet. 
 
 Light, which ilionc on his Face. This Prophet icl^fr) Light t 
 they tell us, God firft placed on Adam, to be a fign of the 
 Prophets that were ro be born of him 3 That this Light d^- 
 fcending down to Abraham , was from him divided into 
 fwo 3 one on the Face of liaac^ and the other on the Face 
 of Ijmael 3 that Ifqacs Light was foon after manifeited in the 
 many Prophets which appeared of his Pofterity among the 
 Children of Ifrael 3 but that which was placed on Ljmael 
 was fuppreffed, and lay hid till the coming of Mahomet, on 
 whom it firft appeared 5 and that Bahha feeing it on him, 
 thereby knew him [fay they) to be a great Prophet fent 
 pf God, who was e're long to manifeft himfelf. But 
 others (f) fay, the Mark by which he knew him, was the 
 Seal of his Prophetic!^ Miffion, {tamped with a wonderful Im- 
 prefs between his Shoulders. But the truth is, Mahomet 
 did not become acquainted with this Bahira, till many 
 Years after, when he traded for Cadigba in thofe Parts 3 as 
 /hall in its proper place be hereafter related. 
 
 Till the Twenty fifth year of his Age, he continued in 
 this Employment under his Uncle 5 but (r) then one of 
 the Chief Men pf the City dying, and his Widow, whofe 
 Name was Cadigba (to whom he left all his Stock, which 
 was of considerable.' valued wanting a Facior to manage it 
 for her, fhe invited Mahomet into her Service 5 and having 
 offered him fuch advantageous Conditions as he thought 
 fit to accept of, he undertook this Employment under her, 
 and for three Years traded tor her at Damafcui, and other 
 Places 3 and in the management of this Charge gave her 
 that content, and fofar infinuajted himfelf into her Favour 
 and good Opinion thereby, that about the (h) i%th year of 
 his Age flie gave herfelf to him in Marriage, being then 
 forty Years old 3 and from being Servant, thus advanced 
 Jiim to be the Mailer both of her Perfon and Eflate 3 which 
 
 havipg 
 
 (V) Shareftani Liber de Gencratione & Nutritura Mahometis. Po« 
 cock. Spe. Hift. Arab. p. 53. & p. 168. (/) Gentii Notx a4 
 Mufladinum Sadum, p. 536. Vide etiam librum de Generatione & 
 Nutritura Mahometis. (*) Abui Fed:. Abul Faraghius, p. 104. 
 
 {Hiodericus Toletanus, u. Joannes Andrea^ c. 1. Pccock. Spe. 
 Hif; ; Aran', p. 171. (;<) £ or fie died in the <;oth Tear of the 
 
 Life cf Mahomet. Elrrmc. lib. 1. c. 1. aahen fie had Jived wv' 
 .?■;. ALu] Fai aghius, p. ioj,« 
 
The Life of Mahomet, 7 
 
 having render'd him equal in Wealth to the beft Men of 
 the City, his ambitious Mind began to entertain thoughts of 
 (x) pofleffing himfelf of the Sovereignty over it. His An- 
 cestors had for feveral Defcents been Chiefs of the Tribe; and 
 his Great Grandfather Ha/hem had made himfelf very con- 
 siderable, not only at home, but alfo among his Neighbours 
 abroad •-, and had his Father lived, the Power and Wealth 
 of his Family, after the death of his Grandfather, would 
 have defcended to him, as being the eldeit Son j and after 
 his deceafe, to himfelf 3 and it was only his Misrortune in 
 being left an Orphan during the Life of his Grandfather, 
 that depriv'd him of all this. Thefe Considerations meet- 
 ing with an Ambitious, Afpiring Mind, foon put him upon 
 Defigns of raifing himfelf to the Supreme Government of his 
 Country ; and being a very Subtile Crafty Man, after ha- 
 ving maturely weigh'd all ways and means whereby to bring 
 this to pafs, concluded none fo likely to effecT: it, as the 
 framing of that Impojiure which he afterwards vented with 
 fo much mifchief to the World. For the courfe of Trade 
 which he drove into Epypt, Paleji'me^ and Syria, having 
 made him well acquainted both (_y) with Chrijlians and 
 5f«w, and oblerving with what eagernefs as well they, as 
 the feveral Seels into which the Chrifiians of the Eafi were 
 then miferably divided, did engage againft: each other ; he 
 from thence concluded, That nothing would be more likely 
 to gain a Party firm to him for the compafling of his Am- 
 bitious Ends, than the making of a New Religion. And for 
 fuch a Change he judged his Citizens might be well dif- 
 pofed, bec'aufe their Traffick. and frequent Converfe with 
 Chrifiians having much taken off their Affection and Zeal 
 for that grofs Idolatry which they had hitherto been addicted 
 to, they were at that time from Heathenifm generally fallen 
 (4) into Zendicifrtty an Error among the drabs near of kin 
 to the Sadducifm of the jfejw, as denying Providence, the 
 Refurre&ion, and a Future State 5 which being in reality 
 
 B 4 to 
 
 (x) Difputatio Chriftiani contra Saracenum, c. 3. CuPani Cribratio 
 Alcorani, lib. 3. c. 8. Ricardi Confutatio Legis Saracenicae, c. 13. 
 (j) Difputatio Chriftiani, c. 1. Forraht. Fid. lib. 4. ConfJ. r. (z) Li- 
 ber Almoftatraf. Pocockii Spec. Hifh Arab. p. 136. And Mahomet 
 upbraids them with it in the 6th Chapter of his Alcoran, and elfe- 
 wbere in that jBw£. 
 
8 The Life of Mahomet. 
 
 to be without any Religion at all, they were the better fitteQ, 
 while thus void of all other Impreffions of God, and his 
 Worlhip, to receive any he fhould impofe upon them ; and 
 therefore betaking himfelf to frame fuch a Religion as he 
 thought might beft go down with them, he drew up a 
 Scheme of that Impoflure he afterwards deluded them with, 
 which being a Medley made up of Judaifrn. the feveral 
 HereJifS of the Chrijiians then in the Eaji, and the old Po;jan 
 Rites of the Arabs ^ with an Indulgence to all Senfual De- 
 lights, it did too well anfwer his Defign, in drawing Men 
 of all forts to the embracing of it. 
 
 But that he might not immediately, from that Idolatry 
 which he had hitherto praftifed with the reft of his Ott- 
 TLens, commence a Preacher againft it ; and from his prefent 
 Courfe of Life, which was very licentious and wicked, take 
 upon him a Character fo unfuitable to it, as that of a Pro- 
 phet, without fomc- previous Change: In the % 8 th Year of 
 his Age (a) he withdrew himfelf from his former Conven- 
 tion, and affecting an Eremetical Life, ufed every Morning to 
 withdraw himfelf into a Solitary Cave near Mecca, called 
 the Cave of Hira, and there continue all Day, exercifing 
 himfelf, as he pretended, in Prayers, Failings, and Holy 
 Meditations ; and there it is fuppos'd he^rll had his Con- 
 sults with thofe Accomplices, by whofe help he made his 
 jl'coran. On his return home at Night, he ufed to tell h'.s 
 Wife Gadigha of Vifions which he had feen, and ftrange 
 Voces which he had heard in his Retirement. For he 
 aimed firft of all to draw her into the bnbojlure, knowing 
 fchat thereby he fhould fecure his own Family to his De- 
 sign (without which it would be dangerous for him to ven- 
 ture on it) and alfo gain in her an able Partizan for him 
 among the Women. But fhe reiecting thefe Stories as vain 
 Fancies of his own difturbed Imagination, or elfe Delufi- 
 ons of the Devil ; at length he opened himfelf further unto 
 her, and feigned a Converfe with the Anzel Gabriel, which 
 fhe was alfo as backward to believe, till after feveral re- 
 peated Stories to her of his Revelations from the faid An- 
 ge', fhe (b) confulted with a fugitive Mink, then in their 
 
 Houfe, 
 
 (<t) LiHer Agar. Joannjes Andreas dc Confufame Sc6tx Mahometa- 
 ns, c. 1, Bartol'omx'i'.s Edeflcnus Beftotiius, Hb. J. c. 1. Guadagnol. 
 Tra<5c t. c. 10. feft. 1, (6) Theophanes. Cedrenu?,, J4jice.ll* 
 
 Hiftork. Zcaaras. 
 
The Life of Mahomet. 9 
 
 Houfe, (of whom I fhall hereafter fpeak) who being in the 
 Plot, helped to confirm her in the belief of what Mahomet had 
 communicatee! unto her, whereby being totally perlwaded 
 that Mahomet was really called to that Prophetic^ Office which 
 he pretended to, from thenceforth gave up her Faith total- 
 ly to him, and became his firft Profelyte in this Impojiure. 
 
 After he had carried this Point, having now, by two 
 Years conib.nrly pra&ifing a retired and auftcre Life, gain- 
 ed, as he thought, a fufficient reputation of Sanclity for 
 his Delign : In the 40^ Year of his Age (V) he began to 
 take upon him the Stile of the Apoftle of God, and under that 
 Character to propagate the Imjojhre which he had been 
 fo long a projecting. But for four Years he did it only in 
 private among fuch as he had moft Confidence in, clancu- 
 larly insinuating his Delufions into them. His firft Projelyte, 
 as has been (aid, was Gidigha y his Wife ; his fecond was 
 Zayd Ehn Haretb his Servant; and the third his Coufin AU y 
 the Son of AhuTakb his Uncle, who from hence w is (^) 
 ufed to ftile himfelf the flrft of Believers, not making any 
 reckonings of the other two. (e) He tempted his Servant 
 Zayd by promifing him his Freedom 3 and accordingly, on 
 his receiving his Religion, he manumifed him. And from 
 hence it hath become a Law among the Mahometans ever 
 fince, to make their Slaves free, whenever they turn to 
 their Religion. 
 
 It is to be obferved, that Mahomet began this Impofture 
 about the fame time that (/) the Bifc-jp of Ro?nc, by virtue 
 of a Grant from the wicked Tyrant Pboca*, flrft affumed 
 the Title of Univerfal Pafior, and thereon claimed to him- 
 felf that Supremacy which he hath been ever fince endea- 
 vouring to ufurp over the Church of CBrift. And from th's 
 time Both having confpired to found themfelves an Empire 
 In Impofture, their Followers have been ever fince endeavour- 
 ing by the fame Methods, that is, thofe of Fire and Sword, 
 to propagate it among Mankind 5 fo that Antkhrijl feems at 
 
 this 
 
 (0 Abu] Feda. Abul Faraghius, p. 102. Elmacin. lib. 1. c. r. 
 (rf) Siomta in Append, ad Geograpli. Nubienfem, c. 8. (r) Jo- 
 
 annes Andreas, c. 1. Bdlonius, lib. «;. c. 10. .Guadagnol. Troft. z. 
 cap. 10. fed:, i, ( f) Pnocas made this Grin* A. D. 606. tuh/cb 
 
 ttv.is the very Year that Mahomet retired to his Cave to forge that [m- 
 fojlure there ', wbitb 3 f W0 Xears after, A. D. 60S. be Icgan topropa-> 
 g£H a} Mecca, 
 
id The Life o/Mahomet. 
 
 this time to have fet both his Feet upon Chrijlendom toge- 
 ther, the one in the Eajr, and the other in the Weft $ and 
 how much each hath trampled upon the Church of Chnji, the 
 Ages ever fince fucceeding have abundantly experienced. 
 
 Mahomet's fourth Difciple was (g) Abu Belter, who being one 
 of the (b) Richeft Men of Mecca, and a Perfon of great 
 Wifdom and Experience, brought with him no fmall help 
 and Reputation to his Caufe ; and his Example was foon 
 follow'd by five others, (/) Oihman Ebn Affan, Zohair Ebtufl 
 Aw am, Saad Ebn Abu JVaccas, Abdorrahman Ebn Auf, and Abu 
 Obeida Ebuol Jerah, who were afterwards the principal Ge- 
 nerals of his Annies, and the chief Injiruments under him, by 
 whofe help he eftabliftied both his Empire, and his hn- 
 fojiure together in thofe parts of the World. 
 
 After he had gotten thefe nine Dijciples, fome of which 
 were the principal Men of the City, he began (O openly to 
 publifh his Impofture to the People of Mecca in the q.±th Year 
 of his Age, and publickly to declare himfelf a Prophet fent 
 by God to reduce them from the Error of Paganifm, and to 
 teach them the true Religion. The firft DoBrine that he 
 propagated among them was, (/) That there was but One 
 God, and that he only is to be worfhiped, and that (m) all 
 Idols were to be taken away, and their Worfhip utterly 
 abolifhed j and that thofe who fay God hath («) Sons or 
 Daughters, or that there are any other Gods (o) aflbciated 
 with him, are impious, and ought to be abhorred. By de- 
 nying him Sons and Affociates, he reflected on the Chris- 
 tians for holding the Doctrine of the Trinity, and that Jefus 
 Chriji is the Son of God j the Belief of both which he doth 
 in many places in his Alcoran vehemently forbid. By de- 
 nying him Daughters, he condemned the Idolatrous Practice 
 of the Arabians, (f>) who worshiped All at, Menah, and Al 
 XJrxa, Female Deities, which they held to be the Daughters 
 of God, whofe Idols and Temples he afterwards every where 
 deftroyed. 
 
 He 
 
 (?) Elmacin, lib. i. c. i. Abul Feda. (h) Sionita in Append, 
 
 ad Geographiam Nubienfem, c. 8. (i) Elmacin, lib. i. cap. i. 
 
 (k) Abu] feda. Abul Faraghius, p. ioz. Elmacin. lib. T. c. I. 
 (/) Elmacin. lib. i. c. I. Ale. c. 2,3,4,$, cVc. (m) Elrnac. ib. &: 
 
 Alcpaffim. (») Ale. 04,8:0 (o) Ale. c 4, 5, &c. (?) Po- 
 cockii Spec. Hill. Arab. p. 8?,'? 3. Hottingeri Hift. Orient, lib. 1. c 7. 
 
The Life o|Mahomet, i i 
 
 He did not pretend to deliver to them any new Religion* 
 but to revive the old one, which God full gave unto Adam 5 
 and when loft in the corruption of the Old World, reftored 
 jt again by Revelation to (<?) Abraham, who taught it his 
 Son Jfmatl their Forefather 3 and that he, when he firft 
 planted himfelf in Arabia, inftrucled Men in the fame Re- 
 ligion which he had received from Abraham j but their Pofte- 
 rity afterwards corrupted it into Idolatry, and that God had 
 pow fer.t him to deftroy this Idolatry, and again reftore the 
 Religion of Ijmael their Forefather. And therefore, accord- 
 in? to his own Doclrine, it is not unfitly called Ifmaelijme by 
 the jews, although they call it fo only out of contempt, by 
 tranfpofition of the Letters from Ijlamtjme, the Name 
 whereby the 'Mahometans themfelves moft love to call it, 
 from the A<'ab>ck\ (r) Word Salama, which in the Fourth Cou- 
 juzation js Ajlama, to enter into the State of Salvation 5 hence 
 Ejlam, the Saving Religion, and Mujlimon, or as we call it 
 tylujleman, he that helieveth therein. 
 
 He (0 allowed both the Old and the New Tefiament, and that 
 "Moles and 3efus Chriji were Prophets fent from God; but that the 
 Jews and Christians had corrupted thefe Holy Writings, and 
 that he was fent to purge them from thefe Corruptions, and 
 reftore ?the Law of God to that purity in which it was firft 
 deliver'd 3 and therefore moft of thofe Paffages which he 
 takes out of the Old and New Tefiament, are related other- 
 wife by him in his Alcoran, than we have them in thole 
 Sacred Bookj. And in this certainly he acled much wifer 
 than our Socinians, who with him denying the Holy Trinity 
 and the Divinity of oar Saviour, yet {till allow the Holy Scrip- 
 tures, as now in our Hands, to be genuine and uncorrupted, 
 with which their Doclrine is in the moft manifeft manner 
 totally inconfiftent. If they had with this their (0 Mafter 
 denied the Scriptures which we now have, as well as the 
 Trinity and the Divinity of our Saviour, which are fo evident- 
 
 (7) Pocockh Spec. Arab. p. 53. Ale c. 3. &c. (r)Golii Lew 
 
 in voce Salama, & Pocockuis ubi fupra. (-0 Ale. c. 3, 4, 5, &c. 
 
 (0 The Socinians fay jufl the fame, and no more of Jefus Chrirt 
 than Mahomet did before them, excepting only that he makes himfelf 
 the greater of the two ; and he-tv many other things they agree in ivith 
 him, and feem to have taken from him, may be feen in HottingerV 
 Hiftoria Qi'ientalisj lib. z. o 3. where he fully compares the DoBrinefj 
 ff bah together. 
 
1 i The Life of Mahomet; 
 
 ly proved by them, and forged others in their (lead, they 
 might have made their impious Hypothecs look much more 
 plauiible, than now it can poflibly appear to be. 
 
 He pretended to receive all his Revelations (k) from the 
 Angel Gabriel, and that he was fent from God on purpofe to 
 deliver them unto him. And whereas he was fubject to 
 the Falling Stcknefs, (*) whenever the Fit was upon him, he 
 pretended it to be a Trance, and that then the Angel Gabriel 
 was come from God with fome new Revelations unto him, the 
 Splendor of whofe appearance he not being able to bear, 
 this caufed him to fall into thofe Trances, in which the An- 
 gel converfed with him, and delivered to him thofe Mef- 
 fages from God, which he was fent to reveal unto him. 
 
 His pretended Revelations he put into feveral Chapters, the 
 Collection of which make up his Alcoran, which is the 
 Bible of the Mahometans. The Original of this Book he 
 taught them (%) was laid up in the Archives of Heaven, and 
 that the Angel Gabriel brought him (v) the Copy of it Chap- 
 ter by Chapter, according as occafion required they mould 
 be publifhed to the People. Part of thele he published at 
 "Mecca, before his flight from thence 5 and the other part 
 at Medina, which he did after this manner, (*.) When he 
 had forged a new Chapter, which he intended to publim, he 
 firft dictated it to his Secretary, and then delivered the writ- 
 ten Paper to be read to his Followers till they had learnt it 
 by heart; which being done, he had the Paper brought to 
 him again, which he laid up in a Chef}, which he called the 
 Chefl of bis Apojllejhtp. This he did, I fuppofe, in imitation 
 of the Ark. or Holy Chefl among the Jews, in which the Au- 
 thentick Copy of their Law was repofited. This Chefl he 
 left in the keeping of Hapbfa one of his Wives, and out of 
 it, after his death, was the Alcoran compiled, in the fame 
 manner as Homer's Rbapfodies were out of the loofe Poems of 
 that Poet. Abu Belter, who fucceeded the Impoflor, firft made 
 the Collection. 
 
 (*) For 
 
 («) Ale. c. z. Joan. Andre.is. c. z. Guadagnol, Tnft. z. c 10. 
 feci:, r. Liber Agar. (*) Rodericus Tolctanm, c. 6. Ricardi 
 
 Confutatio, c. 1 3. Theophanes. Zonaras. Mifcel. Hiiloria. Hottin- 
 geri Hift. Orient, lib. 1. c. l. Fortalitium Fidei lib. 4. Confid. z, 
 (x) Ale. c. 6. & c So. (jO Aic. c. 15. (*) Joannes An- 
 
 d: caSj cap. z. 
 
The Life o/Mahomet. 13' 
 
 (*) For when Mofailema, who in the laft Year of Mahomet 
 fet up for a Prophet as well as he, had, in hopes of the 
 fame Succefs, in like mtnner compofed an Alcoran, and 
 published it in a Book to his Followers (as Hull hereafter 
 be related,) Abu Beker thought it necefTary to publifh 'Ma- 
 homet's alio in the fame manner, and that not only in oppo- 
 fition to the new Impojture, but alio for the better iupportmg 
 of that which he adher'd to 5 and therefore having re- 
 courfe to Haphfa's Cheft, partly out of the Papers which he 
 found there, and partly out of the Memory of thofe who 
 had learnt them by heart, when the Impojfor firft delivered 
 them unto them, compofed the Book. For feveral of thofe 
 Papers being loll, and others fo defaced as not to be read, 
 he was forced to take in the afliflance of thofe who pre- 
 tended to remember what the Impojlor had taught them to 
 make up the Matter, and under this Pretence made ufe of 
 their Advice to frame the Book, as he thought would belt 
 anfwer his Purpofe. When the Work was compleated, he 
 caufecl the Original to be laid up in the fame Cheft, out of 
 which he had compiled it, which he ftill continued in the 
 keeping of Haphfa, and then delivered out Copies of it among 
 his Followers. But the Book had not been long publiihed, 
 but fo many various Readings were got into the Copies, 
 and fo many Abfurditiesdifcoveredin the Book itfelf, that 
 (f) when Othman came to be Caliph, he found it necefTary to 
 call it in again to be lick'd into a better Shape 3 and there- 
 fore having commanded all to bring in their Copies, under 
 pretence of correcting them by the Original in the keeping 
 ol Haphfa, he caufed them all to be burnt, and then publifh- 
 td that Alcoran a-new model'd by him, which we have, of 
 which having order'd four Copies to be written out fair, he 
 depofited the firft of them at Mecca, and the fecond at Medina- 
 the third he fent into Eracl^, or Chaldsea, and the fourth in- 
 to Syria,, The three firft were after a while all loft, but 
 the laft of them feveral Ages after (% ) was faid to be pre- 
 ferved ztDamafctu in a Mofque there, which had formerly 
 
 been 
 
 (*) Elmacin. 1. r. c. 2. Abul Feda. Pococ. Spec. Hilt. Arab. p. 
 362. Bartolomxus Edeflenu*. Golii pratfatio ad Suraram. Locinan. 
 I'Ir.ickelman. pi aefatio ad Alcoranum. Joannes Andreas, c. 2. Ricar- 
 «li Confut. 15. (f) Eutych. Tom. 2. p. 340. Abul Feda. Po- 
 
 cock. ib. DiL-Hiratio Chriftiani, c. 15. Joannes Andreas, c. 2, 
 ' v i) Biitoiomxiii Eueilemis. p. 42 j. 
 
'14 The Life of Mahomet. 
 
 been the Church of St. John the Baftijh This (%) was done 
 in the 32^ leaf of the Hegira, An. 652. twenty one Years 
 after the Death of the lmpojior 5 after which time the Book 
 underwent no other Correction. 
 
 On his firli: appearing publickly as a Prophet, (*) the 
 People laughed at him for the ridicuioufneis of his Pre- 
 tence ; forne called him a ( f ) Sorcerer, and a Magician, 
 others a Lyar, an lmpojior, and a Teller of old Fables j of 
 which he often complains in h'\sJlcoran ; lo that for the firfl 
 Year he prevail'd nothing among them, or got any thing 
 elfe by his publtming thoie Chapters of his Alcoran which 
 he had then compofed, or his Preaching to them the Doc- 
 trine of them, but Scorn and Contempt. But this did not 
 difcourage him from {till proceeding in his Dellgn, which 
 lie manag'd with great Art. For he was a Man of a (a) 
 ready Wit, and a very acceptable Addrefs 3 he bore all Af- 
 fronts, without feeming to refent any • and applied him- 
 ieif to all forts of People, without contemning the mean- 
 eft 3 was very courteous both in giving and receiving 
 Vifits 3 the Great Men he foothed with flattering Praifes, 
 and the Poor he relieved with Gifts and Alms ; and to- 
 wards all Men manag'd himfelf with that Art of Infinua- 
 tion (in which he exceeded all Men living) that at length 
 he furmountedall the Difficulties, which fo bold an Impojiv.re 
 in the firfl venting of it mutt neceffirily be liable unto, and 
 feveral other newProfilytes joined themfeives unto him, among 
 whom was (&) OmarEbno'l Ckattab, who was oneof hisSuccrfJbrs, 
 and then a considerable Man in the City. His Example 
 was foon followed, by feveral others $ fo that in the fifth 
 Year of his pretended Mijjion, he had increased his Party to 
 the Number of Nine and Thirty, and himfelf made the 
 Fortieth. 
 
 On his having made this Progref--, (r) feveral began to 
 be alarm'd at it. Thofe that were addicted to the Idolatry 
 of their Forefathers, flood up to oppofe him as an Enemy 
 of their Gods, and a dangerous Innovator in their Religion, 
 But others, who law further into his Defigns, thought it 
 
 time 
 
 ($.) Efltychius, Tom. 2. p. 340. (*) Joannes Andreas, c. 1. 
 
 (f)'Alc. c 15,25, 37) 81, &c. (a) Elmacin, liH. i.e. 1. Abu- 
 
 nafeir. Hotringcr. Hifl. Orient, lib. 2. c. 4. (b) Eimacin, lib. t. 
 
 cap. 1. Joannes Andreas, c. 1. (.r) E'macin, lib, i.ci. Joannes 
 
 Andreas, c. 1, 
 
The Life o/Mahomet. 15. 
 
 time to put a flop thereto, for the fake of the publick 
 Safety of the Government, which it manifeftly tended to 
 undermine for the eftablifhing of Tyranny over them, and 
 therefore they combining together againit: him, intended 
 to have cut him off with the Sword. But (d) Abu Taleb t 
 his Uncle, getting notice hereof, defeated the Deiign, and 
 by his Power, as being Chief of the Tribe, preferved him 
 from all other like attempts as were afterwards framed againft 
 him. For although he himfelf peril (led in the Paganifm 
 of his Ancejlors, yet he had that Affection for the Jmfjofior^ 
 as being his Kinfman, and one that was bred up in his Houfe, 
 that he firmly ilood by him againit all his Enemies, and 
 would fuffer no one to do him any hurt as long as he lived. 
 And therefore being fafe under fo powerful a Prote&ion, 
 he boldly went on to preach to the People in all publick 
 Places of the City where they ufed. to affemble, and pub- 
 lifhed unto them more Chapters of his Alcoran, in the order, 
 as he pretended, they were brought him by the Angel Ga- 
 briel. The chief Sub je£t. of which was to prefs upon them 
 the obfervance of fome moral Duties, the Belief of the 
 Unity of God, and the Dignity of his own pretended 
 Apojllejhip, in which indeed, befides fome Heathen and JewiJJj 
 Rites which he retained, confifled the whole of his new 
 forged Religion. 
 
 The main Arguments he made ufeof to delude Men into 
 this Impojttire, were his Promifes and his Threats, as being 
 thofe which eafieft work on the Affections of the Vulgar. 
 His Promifes were chiefly of Paradife, which he fo cunning- 
 ly framed to the guft of the Arabians , as to make it totally 
 conflft in thofe Pleafures which they were moil delighted 
 with : For they being within the Torrid Zone, were, 
 through the nature of the Clime, as well as the exceffive 
 corruption of their Manners, (f) exceedingly given to the 
 love of Women ; and the fcorching Heat ana Drynefs of 
 the Country making Rivers of Water, cooling Drinks, 
 /haded Gardens, and pleafant Fruits, mofl refrefhing and 
 delightful unto them ; they were from hence apt to place 
 their higheft Enjoyment in things of this nature. And 
 
 there- 
 
 (rf) Elmacin, ib. (e) Ammunus Marcellmus de Saracenis, lib. 
 
 14. c. 4. Incredibile eft quo ardore apwd eos in Venerem uterque di£ 
 folvuur iexu?. 
 
"t 6 The Life of Mahomet. 
 
 therefore, to anfwer the heighth of their carnal Deli res, he 
 made the joys of Heaven , which he propofed for a Reward 
 to all thofe that mould believe in him, to confilt totally in 
 thefe Particulars. For he tells them in many Places in his 
 Alcoran, that they Jha.ll enter into pleafant Gardens, (f) where' 
 many Rivers flow, and many cur iomFountains continually fend forth 
 tnofi pleafing Streams, nigh which they fh all repofe them/ elves on mofi 
 delicate Beds adorned "with Gold and preiiom Stones, underthe Shadow ' 
 oftheTrees of Paradife, which f jail continually yield them all manner 
 of delicious Fruits ; and that there they f jail enjoy mofi beautiful 
 Women, pure and clean, having blac}\ Eyes, and Countenances al- 
 ways f reft and white a-spohjhed Pearls, who Jhall not cafl an Eye 
 on any other but themfelves, with whom they fljall en'y.y the con- 
 tinual Pleafures of Love, and folace themfelves in their Company 
 with amorous Delights to all Eternity, drinking with them moj} de- 
 liciom Liquors, and moji favoury and pleafant Twines, without be- 
 ing ever intoxicated or overcharged ly them, which Jh all be admi- 
 r.'ijired to them by beautiful Boys, who Jhall be continually running 
 round their Beds to ferve them up unto them in Cups of Gold, and 
 Glaffes fixed on Diamonds. And as thus he framed his Pro- 
 miles of Reward in the L'fe hereafter as might bell fuit 
 with the fenfual Appetites and Defires of thofe to whom 
 he propofed them; lb, on the contrary, he defcribed the 
 Punimment of IL!! } which he threatned to all that would 
 not believe in him, to confilt of fuch Torments as would ap- 
 pear to them the mod afflicting and grievous to be born. 
 As (g) that they JJjould drinl^ nothing but boiling and jiinliing 
 Water, nor breath any thing elfe but exceeding hot Winds, ('things 
 moll terrible in Arabia) that they Jhould dwell for ever in con- 
 tinual Fire exce/Jively burning, and be furrounded with a blackfot 
 and fait Smoakj, as with a Coverlid j that they Jhould e*t nothing 
 but Briars and Thorns, and the Fruits of the Tree Zacon, which 
 Jhould be in their Bellies like burning Pitch. In the propoling of 
 thefe Promifes and Threats to the People he was very fre- 
 quent and fedulous, making them to ring in their Ears on 
 
 all 
 
 (/) Alcoian. c. 3. c. 4. c j«. c. 37. c. 43. c. 47. c. 78. c. 90. &c. 
 Joannes Andrea?, c. 9. Rkarrli Confut. c. 8. Cantacuzenus Oat. 
 2. Seel. 1 u Hottingeri Hill. Orient. 1. z. c. 4. Pocockii Mifceilanca, 
 c 7. Difputatio Chriftiani. c. z6 s & 28. Bellnnius. lib. 3. c. 9- 
 ( g ) Akcvan. c. 7. c. n. 43c C. 44. C. 47. 50. C. 74- c ' 77. C, 
 78. c. 90 Sec, 
 
The Life of Mahomet. 17 
 
 all Occafions, whereby he failed not of his End in allu- 
 ring feme, and affrighting others into the Snare he 
 laid for them. 
 
 And that he might omit nothing whereby to work on 
 their Fear, which is ufually the moil prevalent Pailion of 
 the ignorant, he terrified them with the Threats of grie- 
 vous Punimments in this Life, as well as in thlt which, 
 is to come, if they would not hearken unto him. And 
 to this end (b) he did fet forth unto them on all Occa- 
 fions, what terrible Deitru&ions had fallen upon the 
 Heads of fuch as would not be inflrucled by the Prophets, 
 that were fent before him. How the Old World, was de- 
 ftroyed by Water, for not being reformed at the preach- 
 ing of Noah j and Sodom by Fire from Heaven, for not 
 hearkning to Lot when fent unto them. How the 
 Egyptians were plagued for defpifing Mofes 5 and how Ad. 
 and Thamod, two ancient Tribes of the Arabs, were totally 
 extirpated for the fame reafon. His Stories of the two 
 lad were Fables of his own Invention, which he related 
 unto them after this manner ; that (i) Ad the Grandfon 
 0$ Aram, the Son of Sem, planted himfelf after the Ccn- 
 fufion of Languages in the Southern Parts of Arabia, where 
 his Poilerity falling into Idolatry, the Prophet Hud (whom 
 the Commentators of the Alcoran will have to be Heber) 
 was fent unto them to reclaim them unto the true Wor- 
 ship ; but they not hearkning unto him, God fent a vio- 
 lent hot Wind, which in feven Days time deftroyed them 
 all, excepting only the Prophet, and fome few who were 
 reformed by him. As to Thamod, his ( 1^) Story was, 
 that they were an ancient Tribe of the Arabs, dwelling on 
 the Confines of Syria, and that on their Revolt to Idolatry, 
 Cod fent to them the Prophet Saleh ; that on their demand 
 of a Miracle to teftify his M^To«, he caufed a Ror^to bring 
 forth a Camel in the fight of them all ; that they notwith- 
 standing in contempt wounded the Camel, and that there- 
 upon God fent terrible Thunders, which in three Days 
 time deitroyed them all, excepting Saleh, and fome few who 
 
 C be- 
 
 Xh) Ale. c. £. c. 7. c 11, &c. Joannes Andreas, c. ii. 
 (i) Ale c. 7. c. 11 , ckc. Pocockii Spec. Hift. Arab. p„ 37- (*0 Al- 
 toran, c 7. c. ii. c, z6. &o Pocockii Spec. Kilt. Anb. p. 57. Hoit. 
 Hift. Orient. lib*i*e< j, 
 
 v 
 
1 8 The Life o/Mahomet. 
 
 believed on him. And the like Fable he alfo told them 
 of (/) Chaib, another Prophet of the ancient Arabs, fent 
 to the Tribe of Madtan, and how that Tribe was in like 
 manner deflroyed by Thunder, for not hearkning unto 
 him. For the fake of thefe Stories (which he was very 
 frequent in inculcating into the People, and very often 
 repeats in his Alcoran) thofe who believed not on him, 
 called him (»z) a Teller of old Fables j but notwithstan- 
 ding, they wrought upon the Fears of others, and by 
 this and other fuch Artifices, he flill went on to encreafe 
 his Party j to which two of his Uncles, («) Hamza and 
 Al Abktiy at length joined themfelves. But the reft of 
 his Uncles approved not of his Defigns, and although 
 Abu Taleb ftill continued to befriend him, becaufe of the 
 Affection which he bore him, the other nine had not this 
 regard to him, but joined with his Enemies, and oppofed 
 him all they could, as a Man that under the falfe Malk 
 which he had put on, carried on dangerous Defigns to 
 the prejudice of his Country. 
 
 But that which gravell'd him mod, was, that his Op- 
 pofers demanded to fee a Miracle from him. For find 
 they (o) Mofes and Jefus, and the reft of the Prophets, ac- 
 cording to thy own DoHrine, worked "Miracles to prove their Mif- 
 fxon from God 5 and therefore if thou be a Prophet, and greater 
 than any that were fent before thee, as thou boaficjl thyfelfto be 
 ( p ) do thou worl^ the like Miracles to manifejl it unto us. Do 
 thou make the Dead to rife, the Dumb to f peaky ^"d the Deaf to 
 huvr • or elje do thou caufe Fountains to fpring out of the Earth y 
 and make this Place a Garden adorn'd with Vines and Palm- 
 Trees, and watered with Rivers running through it in divers 
 Channels j or fife let us fee come down from Heaven fome of thofe 
 i'unifiments which thou threatneft us with. Or do thou make 
 thee an Houfe of Gold, adorn'd with Jewels and coftly Furniture 5 
 or let us fee the Book^thou wouldeft have us believe to come from 
 Heaven \ dejeend down to us from thence legible in our EyeSy or 
 the Angel which thou telleft us doth bring it unto thee, and then 
 we will believe in thy Jford. This Objection he endea- 
 
 vour'd 
 
 (/ ) Ale. c. 7. c. 11. c. zSj&o ( m ) Alcoran, c. 25, &:c. 
 
 1 ?* ) Joanne? Andrea?, c. 1. ( ) Alcoran, c. 2. c. 6, &c. 
 
 Bidavvi ad Alcoram cap. 12. (/> ) Alcoran, c. 17, &c 
 
The Life of Mahomet* i g 
 
 Vour'd to evade by feveral Anfwers. One (?) while he 
 tells them, he is only a Man fent to preach to them the 
 Rewards of Paradife, and the Punifhments of Htll. At 
 another Time, (r) That their Predeceflors contemned 
 the Miracles of Saleh, and the other Prophets, and that 
 for this Reafon God would work no more among them. 
 And a while after, that thofe (*) whom God had ordain- 
 ed to believe, mould believe without Miracles i and thofe 
 whom he had not ordained to believe, /lieu Id not be con- 
 vinced, though all thofe Miracles mould be wrought in 
 their fight, which they required} and that therefore 
 they were totally needlels. But this not fatisfying, as be- 
 ing a plain Confeffion that he wanted that Power of Mi- 
 racles, which all other Prophets had to prove their MiJJion > 
 feveral of thofe that were his Followers departed from 
 him, of which he much complains in his Alcoran. And 
 therefore finding that this would not do, on his coming to 
 Medina, and having there taken the Sword in hand, and 
 gotten an Army to back his Caufe, he began to fins another 
 Note. For his Doftrine then was, (t) That God had fent 
 Mofes and Jefus with Miracles, and yet Men would not be 
 obedient to their Word, and therefore he had now fent 
 him in the laft place without Miracles, to force them by 
 the Power ef the Sword to do his Will : And purfuant here- 
 to (y) he forbad his Difciples to enter into any further 
 Difputes about his Religion 5 but inttead thereof he com- 
 manded them to fight for it, and deflroy all thofe who 
 fhould contradict his Law, promifing great Rewards in 
 the Life to come, to fuch as mould take up the Sword in 
 this Caufe, and the Crown of Martyrdom to all thofe who 
 jhould die righting for it. And upon this Head, fome of 
 the Mahometan Doftors argue very fubtilly. For * fay they, 
 The Prophets of God ire of divers forts,according to the divers 
 Attributes of his divine Nature, which they are fent to 
 mew forth. That Jefa Cbrift was fent to manifeft the 
 Right eoujnejsy the Power and Knowledge of God; That he 
 
 C z mewed 
 
 ( c[ ) Alcoran, c. 17. ( r ) Ale. ib. ( s ) Alcoran, 
 
 o 6. {t) Richardi Confutatio, c. 7. Cantacuzeni Apologia, 
 
 4. & Orat. 1. Seci. 11. Alcoran, c. z. c. j. c, 4, &c. ( v ) Ale. 
 
 c. 4. Cantacuzeni Orat. 1. SeQ:. n. * Ahflicd Ebn* Zin. 
 
 Cuadagnol 3 Trafr *. iq. Sett- iu 
 
so The Life of Mahomet. 
 
 fhewed forth the Rightcoufnefs of God in being impeccable; 
 his Knowledge, in that he knew the Secrets of Mens Hearts, 
 and foretold things to come 5 and his Power, in doing 
 thofe miraculom Works which none elfe but God could. 
 That Solomon was fent to manifeft the Wijdom, the Glory y 
 and the Majefiy of God ; and Mofes, his Providence, and his 
 Clemency: None of which carrying with them a Power to 
 force Men to believe, Miracles were necefTary in their 
 Miffions to induce them thereunto. But Mahomet was a 
 Prophet, fent principally to ihew forth the Fortitude of God 
 by the Power of the Sword, which being of itfelf alone 
 fufficient to compel all Men into the Faith, without any. 
 other Power accompanying it, for this reafon (fay they) 
 Mahomet wrought no Miracles, becaufe he had no need of 
 them, the poiver of the Sword, with which he was fent, of 
 itfelf alone fufficiently enabling him to accomplifh his 
 Mifion, for forcing Men to believe therein. And from 
 hence it hath become the Univerfal Doftrine of the Maho- 
 metans, That their Religion is to be propagated by the 
 Sword, and that all of them are bound to fight for it. And 
 for this reafon (x) it hath been a Cuvrom among them for 
 their Preachers, while they deliver their Sermons, to have 
 a Drawn Sword placed by them, to denote thereby, that 
 the Doctrine which they teach them, was with the Sword 
 to be defended and propagated by them. 
 
 However, it is not to be denied, but that there are fe- 
 vcral Miracles reckoned up, which Mahomet (y) is laid to 
 have wrought 5 as, That he did cleave the Moon in two , 
 That Trees went forth to meet him ; That Water flowed 
 from between his Fingers 5 That the Stones faluted him ; 
 That he fed a great Company with a little Food 5 That 
 a Beam groaned at him ; That a Camel complained to 
 him $ That a Shoulder of Mutton told him of its being 
 poifoned 5 and feveral others. But thofe who relate 
 them, are only fuch who are reckoned among their Fabtt- 
 Ioih and Legendary Writers, Their Learned (t.) Doclors re- 
 nounce 
 
 ( x) Cantacuzeni Orat. Se&. 11. Guadagnol Tra«ft. z. c. 5. 
 Sett, 3. (y) Abul Pharaghius, p. 104. Pocockn Spec. Hift. 
 
 Arab. p. 187, & iSX. Hottinger. Hift. Orient, lib. z. c. 6. Guadag- 
 nol. Trac~t. z. c. z. Seel. z. (z) Abul Pharaghius. p. 104. Pocockii 
 Spec. Hift.. Arab. p. i?; 3 lyi, &c. Hottinger. Hilt. Orient, lib. z. 
 c. 6. 
 
The Life of M a h o m e t. 21 
 
 nounce them all, as doth Mahomet himfelf, who in feve- 
 ral places in his (<*) Alcoran owns that he wrought no Mi- 
 racles. But when they are prefled how without Miracles 
 they can prove his Miflion, their common Aniwer is ; 
 That inftead of all Miracles is the Alcoran. For(&) that 
 Mahomet, who was an Illiterate Per/on, that could neither 
 write nor read, or that any Man elfe by humane Wifdom 
 alone fhould be able to compofe a Book fo excellent in 
 Eloquence, and fo excellent in Doctrine, as they will 
 have tnat to be, is what they will not admit to be pof- 
 fible 5 and therefore they alledge the Excellency of the 
 Book for the truth of all contained therein, and will 
 have that to be a Proof equivalent to the Miracles of all 
 the Prophets that went before him, to manifeft that it 
 came from God. And on this (V) the Impojhr himfelf of- 
 ten infills in his Alcoran, challenging in feveral places of 
 it all Men and Dexils by their united Skill to compofe 
 another Book, like that in Eloquence and Inftru&ion, or 
 elfe any one Chapter that can be compared in Excellency 
 with the meaneft Chapter therein : Which they taking for 
 
 f ranted that both together cannot do, will have tnis to 
 e a moft clear manifestation beyond all contradiction, 
 that thti Book, could come from none other but God himfelfj 
 and that Mahomet from whom they received it, was his 
 Mejjen^er to bring it unto them. 
 
 As to the Particulars in this Argument alledged, it mufr, 
 be allowed, that the Alcoran, bating the Folly, the Con- 
 fufednefs and Incoherency of the Matter contained there- 
 in, is as to the Stile and Language the Standard of Ele- 
 gancy in the Arab Tongue j and as to Mahomet, that he 
 was in truth, what they fay, an Illiterate Barbarian (d) that 
 could neither write nor read. But this wis not fo much 
 a defect in him, as in the Tribe of which he was, with 
 whom it was the Cuftom as to all manner of Literature, 
 to continue (e) in the fame Ignorance with which they 
 
 C 3 came 
 
 (a) Ale. c. 6, ?JPc. (b) Al. Gezali. Sepher Cozri. Bidawi. 
 
 Ahmed F,bn Edris. Hottinger. Hifl. Orient, lib. z. c. 6. Pocock". 
 Spec. Hift, Arab. p. 191, 192, &c. (c) Alcoran, c. z. c. 10. 
 
 c.17, &c. (d) Ale. c. 7. Joannes Andreas, c. 2. ' Pocockii 
 
 Spec. Hill. Arab. 156. Difputatio Chriftiani, 12. Richardi Con- 
 tutatio, c' }. (e) Ebnol Athir Shareftani. Al. Motanczi in li- 
 
 bro Mogreb. Pocock. Spec. Hill. Arab. p. 157. 
 
2 i The Life of Mahomet. 
 
 came out of their Mothers Bellies, unto their Lives end. 
 And therefore at the time when Mdiomet firft fet up for 
 a Pr[phet 1 there was not any one Man of Mecca that could 
 either write or read, excepting only (/) Warakah, a Kinf- 
 man of Cadigba's, who having firit turned Jew, and af- 
 terwards Cbnjtian, had learned to write Arabic]^ in Hebrew 
 Letters. Ane} for this reafon, the Men of Mecca were 
 called (0 the Illiterate, in oppofition to the People of 
 Medina^ who being the one half Chrijlians, and the other 
 half jfeif*, were able both to write and read ; and there- 
 fore were called (fr) the People of the Book. And from 
 them fever 1 of Mahomet's Followers, after he came to 
 Medina, learnt to read and write alfo, which fome of them 
 had begun to learn before of Bajhar the Cendian (i), who 
 having fojourned at Anbar, a City oiErae\, near Euphrates, 
 there learnt the Art ; from whence coming to Mecca, and 
 marrying the Sifter of Abufophlan, he fettled there, and 
 from him the Men of Mecca are firft faid to have received 
 the Art of Letters. Among the Followers of Mahomet, 
 Othman was the greateft Proficient herein, which ad- 
 vanced him afterwards to {JO be Secretary to the Impojlor. 
 But for want of Paper at firft, as in a place where there 
 was never before any occafion for it, they were forced to 
 make ufe (O.of the Stade-Bones of Shoulders of Mutton, 
 and of Shoulders of Camels, to write on ; which was a 
 device anciently made ufe of by other Tribes of the Arabs, 
 who had Letters, but wanted Traffic^ to accommodate them 
 with more convenient Materials for this purpofe , and 
 therefore their Books, in which their Poems, and other 
 Matters they delighted in were written, (ni) were only 
 fo many of thole Spade-bones tied together upon a String. 
 This Ba/Lar afterwards became one of Mahomet's Difciples, 
 and followed him in his Wars, till poifoned at Cbaibar, 
 as (hall be hereafter related. 
 
 But thefe Particulars being thus allowed, That the Al- 
 foran of the Mahometans is of fo elegant a Stile, and the 
 
 fup- 
 
 (f ) A 1 . Bcchari. Pocock. ib. (e) Shareftani. Pocock. Spe. Arab, 
 
 Hjft. p. 1 $<J. (h) Shareftani &c Pocock. ib. Hotti'n. Hift. Orient. 
 
 Jib: 1, c. 1 . (;) Pocockn Spec. Hift: Arab. p. 1 5 7. (*) El- 
 
 foacin, ]. i, c. 1. Barthoiomagus Ecjeflenuj, ' (I) P'ococku 
 
 Bift. Arab. p. iy /a (-) Ebncl Athir. Fcccck. ib. ;! 
 
The Life o[Mahomet. 23 
 
 fuppofed Author thereof fuch a Ricde and Illiterate Barba- 
 rian ; it will be here asked, who were the Aflilfants by 
 vvhofe help this Book was compiled, and the Imbojiwe 
 framed ? And rfhere will be the more reafon to ask this, 
 becaufe the Book itfelf contains lo many particulars of 
 the Jewi/b and Chnjlian Religion, as necefl'anly imply the 
 Authors of it to be well Ikill'd in both j which Mahomet^ 
 who was bred an Idolater, and lived fo for the firil forty 
 years of his Life, among a People totally Illiterate, can- 
 not be fuppofed to be. But this is a Quejiion not fo eafily 
 to be anlwered, becaufe the nature of the thing required 
 it fhould be concealed. The Mahometan Writers, who be- 
 lieved in the Impo/ior, as they will allow nothing of this, 
 fo to be fure will fiy little of it, and the Chrijitans 
 who abhorred his Wickednefs, are apt to fay too much. 
 For it was ufual with them, as it is with all other 
 contending Parties , to fnatch at every Story which 
 would diiparage the Religion they were againit , 
 and believe it right or wrong, if it would ferve their 
 Purpofe this way. And from hence it hath proceeded, 
 that we have fo many fabulous and ridiculous Accounts, 
 both of Mahomet and his Impojiure, go current among us, 
 which ferve only to the expofing of us to the laughter 
 of the Mahometans, when related among them. And be- 
 sides, the Scene of this Impofl are being at lead fix hundred 
 Miles within the Country of Arabia, amidft thofe Barba- 
 rous Nations, who all immediately embraced it, and would 
 not afterward permit any of another Religion, fo much 
 as to live among them 3 it could not at that difhnce be 
 fo well fearched into by thofe who were moft concerned 
 to difcover the Frauds of it, and therefore an exact Ac- 
 count cannot be expected in this Particular. However, 
 that I may give all the fatisfaction herein, that I. am able, 
 I (hall here lay together whatfoever I can find in any cre- 
 dible Author concerning it, and give the belt Judgment 
 hereof, that the Matter will admit. 
 
 That Mahomet compofed his .Alcoran by the help of 
 others, was a thing well known at Mecca, when he firft 
 broach'd his bnpofture there, and it was often flung in his 
 Teeth by his Oppofers, as he himfelf more than once 
 complaineth. In the 25/fe Chapter of the Akoran, his 
 Words are ; They fay, That the Alcoran is nothing but a Lie 
 9J thy <jw» Invention, and others have been ajfijling to thee ' e.ein. 
 
 d 4 Where 
 
2 i The Life o/Mahomet. 
 
 came out of their Mothers Beliies, unto their Lives end. 
 And therefore at the time when Mdiomet firft fet up for 
 a Pnphet, there was not any one Man of Mecca that could 
 either write or read, excepting only (/) Warakah, a Kinf- 
 man of Cad'gha's, who having firft turned ^fu-, and af- 
 terwards Chrtjiifut, had learned to write Arabick. in Hebrew 
 Letters. And for this reafon, the Men of Mecca were 
 called (?,) the Illiterate, in oppofition to the People of 
 Medina^ who being the one half Chrijiians, and the other 
 half Je-s, were able both to write and read ; and there- 
 fore were called (J?) the People of the Book. And from 
 them fever >1 of Mahomet's Followers, after he came to 
 Medina, learnt to read and write alfo, which fome of them 
 had begun to learn before of Bajhar the Cendian (*), who 
 having fojourned at Anbar, a City oiErac\, near Euphrates, 
 there learnt, the Art ; from whence coming to Mecca, and 
 marrying the Sifter of Abufophian , he fettled there, and 
 from him the Men of Mecca are firft faid to have received 
 the Art of Letters. Among the Followers of Mahomet, 
 Othman was the greateft Proficient herein, which ad- 
 vanced him afterwards to {K) be Secretary to the Impojior. 
 But for want of Paper at firft, as in a place where there 
 was never before any occafion for it, they were forced to 
 make ufe (/) of the Spade-Bones of Shoulders of Mutton, 
 and of Shoulders of Camels, to write on ; which was a 
 device anciently made ufe of by other Tribes of the Arabs, 
 who had Letters, but wanted Trajp'ck. to accommodate them 
 with more convenient Materials for this purpofe ; and 
 therefore their Books, in which their Poems, and other 
 Matters they delighted in were written, (m) were only 
 fo many of thofe Spade-bones tied together upon a String. 
 This Ba/har afterwards became one of Mahomet's Difciples, 
 and followed him in his Wars, till poifoned at Chaibar, 
 as fhall be hereafter related. 
 
 But thefe Particulars being thus allowed, That the Al- 
 ccrs.n of the Mahometans is of fo elegant a Stile, and the 
 
 fup- 
 
 (f) A 1 . Bochari. Pocock. ib. (?) Shareflani. Pocock. Spe. Arab, 
 
 Hi'ft. p. i 5 C. (h) Shai -cflani & Pocock. ib. Hottin. Hill Orient. 
 
 lib. i. 1. 1. (i) Pocockii Spec. Hift." Arab. p. 1^7. (k) £1- 
 
 niacin, J. i„ c. 1, "Barthoiomxus Edeffenux. ' ' (/) Pocockii 
 
 Hill. Arab. p. 157. ; (m) Ebhol Athir. Pcccck. ib. :i 
 
The Life ^Mahomet. 23 
 
 fuppofcd Author thereof fuch a Rude and Illiterate Barba- 
 rian 3 it will be here asked, who were the Afiiifants by 
 whofe help this Book was compiled, and the Impojiure 
 framed ? And rfhere will be the more reafon to ask this, 
 becaufe the Book itfelf contains fo many particulars of 
 the *}euifi> and Chnjiian Religion, as neceffanly imply the 
 Authors of it to be well Ikill'd in both 3 which Mahomet, 
 who was bred an Idolater, and lived fo for the firft forty 
 years of his Life, among a People totally Illiterate, can- 
 not be fuppofed to be. But this is a Quejiion not fo eafily 
 to be anlwered, becaufe the nature of the thing required 
 it fhould be concealed. The Mahometan Writers, who be- 
 lieved in the Impoftor, as they will allow nothing of this, 
 fo to be fure will fiy little of it, and the Chrijiians 
 who abhorred his Wickednefs, are apt to fay too much. 
 For it was ufual with them, as it is with all other 
 contending Parties , to fnatch at every Story which 
 would difparage the Religion they were againft , 
 and believe it right or wrong, if it would ferve their 
 Purpofe this way. And from hence it hath proceeded, 
 that we have fo many fabulous and ridiculous Accounts, 
 both of Mahomet and his Impojiure, go current among us, 
 which ferve only to the expofing of us to the laughter 
 of the Mahometans, when related among them. And be- 
 ficles, the Scene of this Impofiure being at leaft fix hundred 
 Miles within the Country of Arabia, amidft thofe Barba- 
 rous Nations, who all immediately embraced it, and would 
 not afterward permit any of another Religion, fo much 
 as to live among them 3 it could not at that diftance be 
 fo well fearched into by thofe who were moft concerned 
 to difcover the Frauds of it, and therefore an exa£fc Ac- 
 count cannot be expedted in this Particular. However, 
 that I may give all the fatisfadtion herein, that I. am able, 
 I fhall here lay together whatfoever I can find in any cre- 
 dible Author concerning it, and give the beil Judgment 
 hereof, that the Matter will admit. 
 
 That Mahomet compofed his Alcoran by the help of 
 others, was a thing well known at Mecca, when he firft 
 broach'd his Impoflure there, and it was often flung in his 
 Teeth by his Oppofers, as he himfelf more than once 
 complaineth. In the z$ih Chapter of the Alcoran, his 
 Words are 3 They fav, That the Alcoran is nothing bat a Lie 
 vj thy wn Invention, and others have been ajfijling to thee ; e.e'm. 
 
 £ 4 Where 
 
26 The Life of M a h o m e t. 
 
 for the ufe of the Embei -or Cant acuUnm, from the Original 
 Latin which is now loit. 
 
 Befides this Jeiv t the Impojhr had alfo a Cbrijilan Monk. 
 for his Affilbnt , and the many particulars in his Alcoran 
 relating to the Ckrijiian Religion, plainly prove him to 
 have had fuch an helper. Thcophanes, Zonarai, Cedi\nu6 y 
 Anajiajias, and the Author of the Hiftoria Mifcella, tell us 
 of him, without giving him any other Name than that of 
 a Nejlorian Monk.. But the Author of the Deputation 
 againft a Mahometan y which is epitomized in '/incennus 
 Bellovacenji's Speculum Htjhncum, and ixom thence printed 
 at the end of Bib'tandtr's Latin Alcoran, (h) calls him S<?;-- 
 gitti • and from thence is it, that he hath been ever fince 
 fo often fpokcn of by that Name among the Wejiern 
 Writers. But in the Eaji he is totally unknown by it, 
 he being never, as much as I can find, made mention of 
 by that Name by any of their Writers. For all there 
 that fpeak of this Monk., call him Bahira ; and Friar Ri- 
 chard*, who in the Year of our Lord izio went to Bag- 
 dad on purpofe to fearch into the Myftery of Mahometifm y 
 by reading their Books, and on his return wrote that ju- 
 dicious Confutation of it, which I have afore- mention- 
 ed (x) tells us of this Bahira as an Affiftant to Mahomet in 
 the forging of his Impojlure 5 and fo doth alfo (jy) Canta- 
 cuzenu*}, Bariholemuem Edejjentif y and the other Greek. Author 
 of the Confutation of Mahomet , publifhed by Le Moyne : 
 But not one of them fays any thing of Ser^im, fo that it 
 is plain 0) that Sergiut and Bahira are only two different 
 Names of the fame Perfon. He was a Monk, of Syria, of 
 the Se<3 of the Nejiorians. The Mahometans will have it, 
 that he flrft took notice of Mahomet, while a Boy, after 
 that Prophetick mariner as is before related ; but accord- 
 ing to that Account he would have been too old to act, 
 his part in this Impojlure fo many Years after. The truth 
 of the matter is, Mahomet did not fall acquainted with 
 him till a long while after, when he was projecting his 
 wicked Defign in his Head, in order to the better form- 
 ing of which, being very defirous to acquaint himfelf 
 
 with 
 
 («) C.15. * Caiitacuzei-u O.at. i. contra Mahometan. 
 
 (x) Cap. a. & c. i \. (y) Orac. i. cqatia Mahometcm. 
 
 iz.) Ecchekufo Hift. Arab. Part i. C,S. 
 
The Life t)f Mahomet. 27 
 
 with the Je-wifi and Chriftian Religions, he was very inqui- 
 sitive in examining into them, as he met with thofe that 
 could inform him. And in one of his Journeys into Syria, 
 either at Boj'ira (a) as lome fay, or (b) at Jernfalem as 
 others, lighting on this Bahira, and receiving great fatif- 
 faclion from him in many of thofe Points, which he de- 
 fir'd to be informed in, did thereon contract a particular 
 Friend/hip with him. And therefore not long after, 
 (c) this Monk for fome great Crime being excommunica- 
 ted, and expell'd his Monaflery, fled to Mecca to him 5 
 and being there entertain'd in his Houfe, became his 
 Affiitant in the framing of that lmpojiure, which he after- 
 wards vented, and continued with him ever after 5 till at 
 length the Impojior having no farther occafion of him, to 
 fecure the Secret, * put him to death. If Sergitn were the 
 Name which he had in his Monaflery, Bakira was that 
 which he afterwards aflumed in Arabia, and by which he 
 hath ever fince been mentioned in thofe Eafiern Parts, by 
 all that there write or fpeak of him. The (e) word in the 
 Arabicl^Language fignifieth a Camel, which after fome ex- 
 traordinary merit, according to the ufage of the ancient 
 Arabs, had his Ears flit, and was turned forth from the reft 
 of the Herd, at free Paiture, to work no more. And no 
 doubt this Monk having told the Tale of his Expulsion 
 from his Monaftery fo much to his Advantage, as to make 
 it believed at Mecca to be drawn upon him by that which 
 was reckoned there as meritorious, had from thence this 
 Name given him, as fuiting that Notion wnich they had 
 of his Condition among them. 
 
 As to his other Helpers, if he had any fuch, what is 
 faid of them is fo uncertain, and that fo little, as is not 
 material here to relate. We may fuppofe from the "very 
 nature of the Defign (it being to impofe a Cheat upon 
 Mankind) that he made as few as poflible confeious to 
 
 it 1 
 
 (a) Abul Pharaghius. Abul Feda. Al Kodai. Al Jaunabi. 
 ( b ) Georgius Monachus in Difputatione cum Abufalama. ( c ) 
 
 Theophanes, Zcinaras, Richardi Confutario, c. 13. Fortalitium 
 Fidei lib. 4. Confid. 1. * Richardi Contutatio, c. 1 '. Con- 
 
 futario Mabomeris Gr. Edita per Le Moyne. ( e ) Goiii Lexi- 
 
 con. Arab. Pococku Spec Hilt. Arab. p. 330. Hottm. Hift. Orient, 
 lib. i„ c 7, 
 
1 8 The "Life o/Mahomet; 
 
 it 5 and the two above-mention'd being fuffictent for his 
 Purpofe, it doth not appear likely that he admitted any 
 more into the Secret of it. Neither indeed is there any 
 more room in ic for another to acl. For his Religion being 
 made up of three Parts, whereof one was borrowed from 
 the Jews, another from the Christians, and the third from 
 the Heathen Arabs y Abdollak furni/hed the firil of them, 
 Bakira the fecond, and Mahomet himfelf the la ft 3 fo that 
 there was no need of any other help to compleat the Im- 
 pojiure. 
 
 I know there are many other Particulars go current of 
 this Matter, both as to the coining of the Forgery, and al- 
 fo the manner of the firft propagating of it - 7 as that the 
 Impojior (f) taught a Bull to bring him the Alcoran on his 
 Horns, in a publick AfTembly, as if it had this way been 
 fent to him front God $ that he bred up Pidgeons to come to 
 his Ears, to make (how thereby, as if the Holy Ghoji conver- 
 ged with him $ and many other fuch Stories, which being 
 without any foundation or likelihood of Truth, I pafs 
 them over as idle Fabies, not to be credited j although 
 I find fome very great Men have been too eafy to fwallow 
 themj as particularly (g) Sca!iger> ( h ) Grotiui, and (i) 
 Sionita, have that of the Pidzcons. Such Tricks as thefe 
 would have been eafily feen through by the Arabians, they 
 being Men naturally of as fubtle and acute Parts as any in the 
 World. And therefore Mahomet never fo much as offered 
 at any thing of this nature among them ; but difclaiming 
 all Miracles, thereby avoided the neceffity of hazarding his 
 Defign upon any fuch open Cheats, where it would be fo li- 
 able to be totally Waited by a Difcovery. The whole of 
 this Imbojiure was a thing of extraordinary Craft, carried 
 on with all. the Cunning and Caution imaginable. The 
 framing of the Alcoran (wherein lay the main of the 
 Cheat) was all contrived at home in as fecret a manner as 
 poffible, and nothing hazarded abroad, but the fuccefs of 
 preaching it to the People. And in doing of this, no 
 
 Art 
 
 (/) In praefatione ad Difoutationcm Chrtfliani. Purchas Pilgri- 
 mage, Book $. cap. j. Fortalit. Fid. lib. 4. Contid. $. (g ) la 
 nous ad Sphacram Manilii. ( b ) De veritate Chriftianas Keli- 
 gionis, lib. 6. c. 5. ( i ) la Appendicead Gsographiiin Nu- 
 bienfcnij c. 7. 
 
The Life of Mahomet* 29 
 
 Art or Cunning was wanting to make it as effectual to the 
 End defign'd as pofftble : And therefore whatever Stories 
 are told of this Matter, that are inconfiflent with fuch a 
 Management, we may affure ourfelves are nothing elfe but 
 Fables foolimly invented by fome zealous Cbriftians to 
 blaff the Impofture, which needed no fuch means, for its 
 Confutation. 
 
 But to go on with the Series of our Hiftory : In the 
 Eighth Year of his pretended Mifllon, his Party growing 
 formidable at Mecca, the ( k ) City paflfed a Decree, where- 
 by they forbad any more to joyn themfelves unto him. 
 But this availed nothing to his Hurt, as long as his Uncle 
 Abu Taleb lived. But (/) he dying within two Years 
 after, and the chief Government of the City, on his 
 Death, falling into the Hands of Abu Soph i an, of the Houfe 
 of Ommia, then one of his moft violent Oppofers, his 
 Enemies laid hold of this Advantage to renew their Op- 
 position againft him, and profecuted it with that fuccefs, 
 that they foon put a flop to the further progrefs of his 
 Impofture at Mecca. For their Party, after he had now loft 
 his Protestor, and they became thus headed againft him, 
 foon grew to that Strength, and appear'd with that Vio- 
 lence on all Occaiions to oppofe his Defigns, that for fear 
 of them no more new Profelytes durft joyn themfelves unto 
 him 5 and many of thofe who had afore declared for him, 
 having done it for no other end, but to joyn with a Party 
 where they thought they might beft make their Intereft, 
 as foon as they faw the Hopes which they had of his pre- 
 vailing to be again blafted by this Oppofition, which 
 they judged too ftrong for him to weather, again drew 
 back and appear'd no more with him. And therefore 
 Mahomet feeing his Hopes of carrying his Defign at Mecca 
 thus in a manner totally crum'd, began to look abroad 
 where elfe he might fix. That which he drove at, was 
 to have gained fuch a Party there, as might be ftrong 
 enough to overpower the reft, and fubjecT: the whole 
 City to him ; and then, after having poflefTed himfelf of 
 fuch a Poft, from thence to have armed his Di/ciples for the 
 gaining him that Empire over the reft of the Arabs, which 
 he projected. And to this purpofe was it, that he fo 
 
 often 
 
 ( k ) Elmacin. lib. I. c. 1. ( / ) Elmacin. l;b. r. c 2. 
 
3 o The Life of Mahomet*' 
 
 often inculcated it into them, that hisDoclrine was to be 
 propagated by the Sword, and that all that would receive 
 the Faith which he preached, mult fight for it. But 
 now feeing no likelihood of accompli ming this a: Mecca y 
 he Cet his Thoughts on work how to gain fome other 
 Town, where to arm his Party for this Defign. And 
 therefore his Uncle Abbas living molt an end at (m) 
 Tayif, (another Town of Hagiaz, at fixty Miles di fiance 
 from Mecca towards the Eaii) and having a great Intereft 
 there ( » ) he took a Journey thither, under his Wing to 
 propagate his Impojlure in that Place, in order to the ma- 
 king of himfelf Mailer of it. But after a Month's ftay, 
 having not been able, with all his Endeavour to gain io 
 much as one Profelyte among them, he again returned to 
 Mecca to make the beft of his Party there, and wait fuch 
 further Advantages as Time and Opportunity might offer 
 him for the accompliming of what he defigned. And 
 now Cadigha, his Wife, being * dead, after ihe had lived 
 Two and twenty Years with him 5 to ftrengthen 
 himfelf the more, he took Two other Wives in her {lead, 
 (f) Ayejba } the Daughter of Abu Belter 5 and Seiida t the 
 Daughter of Zama • and a while after he added to them 
 ( q ) Haphfa, the Daughter of Omar ; whereby making 
 himfelf Son-in-law to Three of the Principal Men of his 
 Party, he did by that Alliance the more firmly tie them 
 to his Intereft. Ayejha was then ( *• ) but fix Years old, 
 and therefore he did not bed her till two Years after, 
 when fhe was full eight Years old. For it is ufual in thofe 
 hot Countries, ( s ) as it is all India over, which is in 
 the lame Clime with Arabia, for Women to be ripe for 
 Marriage at that Age, and alfo bear Children the Year 
 following. 
 
 S In 
 
 ( m ) For which reafon it hath been ever Jince, even to this Day, 
 called Abbas Beladi, i. e. the "fonvn of Abbas, Goi.i Norx ad Al- 
 fraganum, p. 100. ( n ) Elnaacin. lib. 1. c. 1. * Elmacin. 
 
 Abul Pharagliius. AbulFeda, &c. ( p ) Elmac. ib. ( q ) 
 
 Gentii Norse ad Mufhdinum Sadum, p. 5^8. ( r ) Joamie9 
 
 Andreas, c. 11. Sionica in Appendice ad Geographiam Nubenfem, 
 c. 8. Guadagnol, Trad a. 10. Sect. I a. *" ( t )'£kevenoi$ 
 
 Travels, Part. 3. lib. 1. c. 49. 
 
The Life o/'Mahome t. 3 f 
 
 In the twelfth Year of his pretended Million, is pla- 
 ced the Mejra, that is, his famous Night-journey from 
 Mecca to Jerufalem, and from thence to Heaven, of which 
 he tells us in the i"jtb Chapter of his Alcoran. For the 
 People calling on him for Miracles to prove his Miffion, 
 and he being able to work none, to faive the Matter, he 
 invents this Story of his Journey to Heaven j which mud 
 be acknowledged to have Miracle enough in it, by all 
 thofe who have Faith to believe it. And yet it being 
 believ'd by all that profefs the Mahometan Religion, as a 
 main Article of their Faith, and as fuch fet down in all 
 the Books of their Authentick Traditions, how abfurd 
 foever it be, lince my Derign is to ,give as full an Account 
 as I can of this Man's Impoflure, it obtigeth me to relate 
 it. His Relation of it is asfolloweth: 
 
 ( t ) At Night as he lay in his Bed with his belt be- 
 loved Wife AycJLa, he heard a knocking at his Door, 
 whereon ariling, he found there the Angel Gabriel, with 
 feventy pair of Wings expanded from his Sides, whiter 
 than Snow, and clearer than Cryftal, and the Beaft ..Alboral^ 
 ftanding by him, which they fay is the Beaji on which 
 the Prophets ufed to ride, when they were carried from 
 one Place to another, upon the Execution of any Divine 
 Command. Mahomet defcribes it to be a Beaft as white as 
 Milk, and of a mixt Nature between an Afs and a Mule, 
 and alfo of a Size between both, and of that extraordinary 
 fwiftnefs, that his palling from one Place to another, was 
 as quick as that of Lightning 5 and from hence it is that he 
 hath the Name of Alboral^, that Word fignifying Light- 
 ning in the Arabici^Tongue. Asfoon as Mahomet appear'd 
 at the Door, the Angel Gabriel mod kindly embracing him, 
 did with a very fweet and pleafing Countenance falute him 
 in the Name of God, and told him that he was fent to 
 bring him unto God into Heaven, where he mould fee 
 lirange Myllerics, which were not lawful to be (een by 
 
 any 
 
 ( t ) Rodericus Toletanus, c. 5. Joannes Andreas, c. 8. Richar- 
 di Confutatio Legis Saracenkx. c. 1. & c. 7. Cantacuzeni Orat. 4. 
 Guadagnol, Tract. a. c. 2,. Seft. 2. Beilouiuj, 1. 3. c. 7. Bocharti 
 Hierozoic. Part 2. Lib. 6- c. 13. Liber Agar. Zamachfhari, & Bi- 
 dawi in Commentariis ad C 17. & c. 53. Akorani. Fortalit. Fid- 
 
 lib. 4. Confid 4, 
 
3 i The Life o/Mahomet. 
 
 any other Man, and then bid him get upon the Alborak. 
 But the Beajl, it feems, having long lain idle from the 
 time of Chrijl till Mahomet (there hiving been no Prophet 
 in all that Interval to employ him) was grown fo refty 
 andfkittiih, that he Would not ftand ftiflFor Mahomet to 
 get up upon him, till at length he was forced to bribe him 
 to it; bypromiiing him a Place in Paradife 5 whereon ha- 
 ving quietly taken him on his Back, . the Angel Gabriel 
 leading the way with the Bridle of the Beafr in his Hand, 
 he carried him from Mecca to Jerttfalem in the twinkling 
 of an Eye. On his coming thither,' all the Prophets and 
 Saints departed, appeared at the Gate of the Temple to 
 falute him, and from thence attending him into the chief 
 Oratory, defired him to pray for them, and then departed. 
 "Whereupon Mahomet with the Angel Gabriel going out of 
 the Temple, found there a Ladder of Light ready fixed for 
 them, which they immediately afcended, leaving the 
 Alborak. there tied at a Rock till their return. 
 
 On their arrival at the Firjl Heaven, the Angel Gabriel 
 knocked at the Gate, and having informed the Porter 
 who he was, and that he brought Mahomet the Friend of 
 God with him by the Divine Command, the Gates were 
 immediately opened^ which he defcribes to be of a pro- 
 digious largenefs. This firft Heaven, he tells us, Was all 
 of pure Silver, and that he there faw the Stars hanging from 
 it by Chains of Gold, each being of the bignefs of Mount 
 Noho, near Mecca in Arabia 5 and that in thefe Stars Angels 
 kept watch and ward for the Guard of Heaven, to keep off 
 the Devils from approaching near it, left they fliould over- 
 hear and know what was there done. On his firft entring 
 into this Heaven, he faith he met an old decrepit Man, and 
 this was our fir ft Father Adam, who immediately embraced 
 him, giving God thanks for fo great a Son, and then re- 
 commended himfelf to his Prayers. As he entred further, 
 he faw a multitude of Angels of all manner of Shapes ; 
 fome in that of Men, others in that of Birds, and others 
 in that of Btajls of all manner of forts. And among thofe 
 who appeared in the feveral Shapes of Birds, he there 
 faw a Cock_ of Colour as white as Snow, and of fo prodi- 
 gious a bignefs, that his Feet ftanding upon the flrft 
 Heaven, his Head reached up to the fecond, which was 
 at the diftance of five hundred Years Journey from it, i£- 
 
 corc 
 
The Life : of M a h o m e t. $H 
 
 cbrdlng to the rate as we ufually travel here on Earth. 
 But others' among thern, as they, relate this Matter from 
 their Proi;h(t, hyperbolize much higher concerning it 
 telling us, that the Head of this Cor/; reacherh up through: 
 all the Seven.Hcavens, as far as the Throne of God; which is 
 above feven times higher; and in the Deicription of him, 
 fay, that his- Wings are. all' over deck 'd with Carbuncles 
 and Pearls', and that he extends the one of thenv to the 
 EaJ},. and the other to the Wejl, at a di {lance proportion- 
 able to' Jits heighth. 'Concerning all thefe, the Impojlor 
 tells US' the Angel Gdbriel [niotm'd him, that they were 
 Angels which did from thence intercede with God for all 
 Living Creatures on the Earth. That thole who interceded 
 for Mew, 'had there the Shape of Men 3 that thofe who in- 
 terceded for Beafis; the Shape of Bedjls 3 and thofe who 
 interceded for' "Bifds, the 'Shape of Birds] according to 
 their feveral kinds. And' that as to the Great Cock., that" 
 he was the chief Angel of- the Cor/^r; that every Morning 
 God ringing an holy Hymn, this Cock, constantly joined 
 with him in irbv his crowing, 'which is fo loud, that all 
 hear it that are in Heaven and Earth, except Men and Fairies , 
 and then all the other Cocks that are m'Heaven and Earth 
 crow alfo. But when the Day of Judgment draws near, theri 
 God (hall command him to draw in his Wings, and crow 
 no more, .which mall be a fign, that that Day is at hand, 
 to all that [art in Heaven ind Earth, excepting {}\\\Men- 
 and Fairies, who being afore deaf to his crowing, mail not 
 then be fenllble of his Silence from it. And this Cocl^ 
 the Mahometans look on to be in that great favour with 
 God, that "whereas it is a common faying among them, 
 That there are. three Voices which God always hears ; they 
 reckon' the fTrft the Voice of him that is confiant in rea- 
 ding the Alc&ran 3 the fecond,, the Voice of him that early 
 every Morning prayeth for the Pardon of his Sins; and 
 the third, the Voice of this Cock when he croweth, which' 
 they fay T i3 ever nirift acceptable unto him. 
 
 All this jfifff of the Cod- Ahdollah helped Mahomet to, out 
 of the Talmudijls. For it is all borrowed from them, with 
 fume little .variation only, to make it look not to tally 
 the fame. For in the Tracl Bava Batbra of the 
 Balylonifh Tahnud, \VQ have a Story of fuch a prodigious 
 
 ■ X> ^Bird t 
 
34 The Life o/Mahomet* 
 
 Bird, called («) Ziz, which, {landing with his Feet upon 
 the Earth, reacheth up unto the Heavens with his Head,, 
 and with the fpreading of his Wings darkneth the whole 
 Orb of the Sun, and caufeth a total Eclipfe thereof. This 
 Bird the Chaldee Paraphraft on the * Pfalms fays, is 
 a Cocl^ which he defcribes of the fame bignefs, and tells 
 us that he crows before the Lord. And the Chaldee Pa- 
 raphraft on (x) jfo^alfo tells us of him,, and of his crow- 
 ing every Morning before the Lord, and that God giveth 
 him Wifdom for this purpofe. What is farther faid of 
 this Bird of the Talmudijis,. may be feen in Buxtorf's Syno- 
 goga Judaica, cap. 50. and in Purchases Pilgrimage, lib. 2. cap. 
 20. 
 
 From this Fhji Heaven, the Impoftor tells us, he afcended 
 up into the Second, which was at the di fiance of five 
 hundred Years Journey above it, and this he makes to be 
 the di fiance of every one of the Seven Heavens each above 
 the other. Here the Gates being opened unto him,, as in 
 the Fuji Heaven, at his entrance he met Noah,, who re- 
 joicing much at the fight of him, recommended himfelf 
 to his Prayers. In this Heaven, which was aH made of 
 pure Gold, the Impoftor tells us he faw twice as many Angels 
 as in the former, and among them one of a prodigious 
 greatnefs. For his Feet being placed on this Second 
 Heaven, his Head reached to the Third. 
 
 From this Second Heaven he afcended up into the Third, 
 which was made of Precious Stones 5 where at the entrance 
 he met Abraham, who alfo recommended himfelf to his 
 Prayers. And there he faw a vaft many more Angels than 
 in the former Heaven, and among them another great one 
 of fo prodigious a fize, that the diiiance between his two 
 Eyes were as much as Seventy thoufand Days Journey, 
 according to our rate of travelling here on Earth. But 
 here Mahomet was out in his Mathematicks $ for the diftance 
 between a Man's Eyes being in proportion to hisheighth 
 but as one to feventy two, according to this rate, the 
 heighth of this^wgf/muft have been near fourteen thoufand 
 
 Years 
 
 ( u ) Bimorfii Lexicon Rabbinkum in voce. 1M. * Pfal. 
 
 50. v. 1 1. &"P(aI. So. v. 14. ( x ) Ad cap. 3. v. 7. & ad cap.. 
 
 $S, v. }{. & ad cap. )9. v. 16. 
 
 * 
 
The Life 0/ Mahomet, 35 
 
 Years Journey, which is four times as much as the heighth 
 of all his Seven Heavens together,and therefore it is impoffible 
 fuch an Angel could ever {land within any one of them* 
 But notwithftanding this, hereheplacethhim, and in his 
 defcription of him, tells us, that he had before him a 
 large Table, in which he was continually writing in, and 
 blotting out 5 and that having aflced the Angel Gabriel of 
 him, he was informed by him that this was the Angel of 
 Death, who continually writes into the Table, which he 
 had before him, the Names of all that are to be born, 
 and there computes the Days of their Life, and as he 
 finds they have compleated the number affigned them, 
 again blots them out, and that whoever hath his Name 
 thus blotted out by him, immediately dies. 
 
 From hence he afcended up into the Fourth Heaven^ 
 which was all of Emerald 5 where at the entrance he met 
 Jofefh the Son of Jacob, who recommended himfelf to 
 his Prayers. And in this Heaven he after fiw a vaftly 
 larger number of Angels than in the former, and among 
 them another great Angel, as high as from this Fourth 
 Heaven to the Fifth, who Was continually weeping, and- 
 making great lamentation, and mourning 3 and this, 
 the Angel Gabriel told him, was for the Sins of Men, and 
 the deilru&ion which they did thereby bring upon 
 themfelves. 
 
 From hence he afcended up into the Fifth Heaven t 
 which was made of Adamant, where he found Mofes t 
 who recommended himfelf to his Prayers 5 and there 
 alfo he faw a much greater number of Angels than in the 
 former Heaven, 
 
 From hence he afcended up into the Sixth Heaven f 
 which was all of Carbuncle, where he found John the 
 Baptift, who recommended himfelf to his Prayers. And 
 here he alfo faw the number of Angels much increafed 
 beyond what he had feen in any of the former Hea- 
 vens. 
 
 From hence he afcended up into the Seventh Heaven t 
 which was all made of Divine Light, and here he found 
 Jefm Ckrift ; where it is to be obferved he alters his Stile. 
 For he faith not, that Jefm Chrijl recommended himfelf to 
 his Prayers,but that he recommended himfelf to Jefin Chrijl, 
 D a defiring 
 
36 The Life of Mahomet. 
 
 defiring him to pray for him j whereby he acknowledg"- 
 eth him certainly to be the greater. But it was his 
 ufage through the whole Scene of his Impoftitre, thus to 
 flatter the Cbrifi'tans on all Occafions. Here he faith he 
 found a much greater number of Angels than in all the 
 other Heavens befides, and among them one Extraordi- 
 nary Angel having feventy thoufand Heads, and in every 
 Head feventy thoufand Tongues, and every Tongue ut- 
 tering feventy thoufand diftincT: Voices at the fame time, 
 with which he continued Day and Night inceffantly 
 praifing God. 
 
 The Angel Gabriel having brought him thus far, told 
 him, That it was not permitted to him to go any far- 
 ther, and therefore direded him to afcend up the reft 
 of- the way to the Throne of God by himfelf,. which he 
 faith he performed with great difficulty, palling through 
 Waters and Snow, and many other fuch difficult Paf- 
 fages, till he came where he heard a Voice faying unto 
 him, Mahomet, faint e thy Creator 5 from whence af- 
 cending higher, he came into a place, where he faw a 
 vaft Extenfion of Light of that exceeding Brightnefs, 
 that his Eyes could not bear it, and this was the Habi- 
 tation of the Almighty, where his Throne was placed 5 on 
 the right fide of which, he fays, God's Name and his 
 own were written in thefe Arabic Words, La ellah ellallah 
 Mohammed refid ollah, i. e. there is no God, but God, a W Ma- 
 homet is his Prophet. Which is the Creed of the Mahome- 
 tans -j which Words he alio fays, he found written upon 
 all the Gates of the Seven Heavens^ which he paffed 
 through. Being approached to the Prefence of God, as (y) 
 near as within two Bow-mots, he tells us he faw him 
 fitting on his Throne, with a covering of feventy thou- 
 fand Vails before his Facej That on his drawing thus 
 near, in fign of his Favour, he put forth his Hand, and 
 laid it upon him, which was of that exceeding Coldnefs, 
 that it pierced to the very Marrow of his Back, and he 
 could not bear it. That after this, God entring into a 
 very familiar Converfe with him, revealed unto him a 
 great many hidden Myjleries y made him underiland the 
 
 whole 
 
 (;•) Alcoran, 55. 
 
The Life of Mahomet. 37 
 
 whole of his Lau\ and gave him many things in charge 
 concerning his inftrucling Men in the knowledge of it j 
 and in conclufion,beftowed on him feveral Privileges above 
 the reft of Mankind. As that he mould be the per -feci ft 
 of all Creatures 5 that at the Day of Judgment he mould be 
 honoured and advanced above all the reft of Mankind $ 
 that he mould be the Redeemer of all that believe rh him 5 
 that he mould have the knowledge of all Languages ; and 
 laftly, that the Spoils of all whom he mould conquer in 
 War, mould belong to him alone. And then returning, 
 he found the Angel Gabriel tarrying for him in the place 
 where he left him j who conducting him back again 
 through all the Seven Heavens the fame way that he 
 brought him, did fet him again upon the Alborack^ which, 
 he left tied at Jerufalem 5 and then taking the Bridle in 
 his Hand, conducted him back to Mecca in the fame man- 
 ner as he brought him thence, and a*l this within the 
 fpace of the tenth part of one Night. 
 
 On his relating this Extravagant Firfion to the People 
 the next Morning after he pretended the thing happen'd, 
 it was received by them as it deferved, with a general 
 hoot ; (a) fmne laughed at the ridicubufnefs of the Story, 
 and others taking indignation at it, cryed out mame up- 
 on him for telling them fuch an abominable Lye, and by 
 way of reproach, bid him afcend up to Heaven by day- 
 light there immediately before them all, that they might 
 fee it with their Eyes, and then they would believe him. 
 And even of his Difciples, a great many were fo afhamed 
 of him for this Story, that (V) they left him thereon ; and 
 more would have followed their Example, but that (r) 
 Abu Beker came in to put a ftop to the defection, by 
 vouching the truth of all that Mahomet had related, and 
 profefted his firm belief to the whole of it ; for which 
 rcafon he had ever after the Title (d) of Ajfadic\, that 
 is, the Jujly becaufe-of the extraordinary Merit of his 
 
 D 3 Faith 
 
 (a) Cantaaizen. Orat. 4. Richard i Confucatio Lcgis Sjiv.cenica?, 
 c. 14. Hott. Hift. Orient, lib. 2. c. 6. (b) Joannes A'hdreas. 
 
 c. 8. Friar Richard, and Cantacuzciui<;y"<ry, they were a tboufani 
 that left him on this occajlon. (c) Hotr. Hift. Orient lib. 2, 
 
 c. c. (d) Elmacin, lib. 1. c. 2. dick cura fie vocatum e i"; 
 
 propter verification^^ Mcfrcc, 
 
3 8 The Life o/Mahome t. 
 
 Faith in this particular. And whoever becomes a Ma- 
 hometan, muft have the fame Faith alfo ; this Story be- 
 ing as firmly believed by all of that Religion, as any thing 
 in the Go/pel is by us Chriftians. Only there has been this 
 Qjieftion moved among them, whether it (e) were only a 
 Vifion of the Night, or a real Journey. Thofe that would 
 falve the abfurdity of it, would have it only be a Vifion^ 
 and that mod of the particulars of it are to be refolved in- 
 to Figure and Allegory ; but the major Vote hath car- 
 ried it for a real Journey 5 and to this Senfe it being no\y 
 pin'd down, there is no one among them that dares in 
 the leaft to doubt thereof. 
 
 The Impofttire was never in greater danger of being to- 
 tally blafted, than by this ridiculom Fable, fuch a ftum- 
 bling-block did it lay even before thofe of his own Party, 
 and therefore he needed to interpofe the utmoft of his 
 Art to fupport the Credit of it 5 for which purpofe he 
 not only got his Friend Abu Beker to be a Voucher to it 5 
 but alfo brings in God himfelf in two places of his Alco- 
 ran bearing witnefs thereto, that is, in the Chapter of 
 the Children of Ifrael, and in the Chapter of the Star j in 
 the laft of which he makes God to fwear by the Star to 
 the truth of it, that Mihomet related nothing in this Sto- 
 ry, but what he had feen 5 that he was admitted to ap- 
 proach him in the highefl Heavens, within the length of 
 two Bow-fhoots ', and had feen the great Wonders of 
 the Lord, and had many hidden Myjieries there revealed un- 
 to him ; and that therefore Men ought not to difpute any 
 more againft him concerning it. 
 
 But how ridiculous foever the Story may appear, 'Ma- 
 homet had his Defign therein, beyond barely telling fuch 
 a miraculous Adventure of himfelf to the People. Hi- 
 therto he had only given them the Alcoran, which was 
 his written Lav, and had owned himfelf no farther than 
 barely the Mejfjenger of God to deliver it unto them, tel- 
 ling them that if was brought to him by the Angel Gabri- 
 el ; and that as he received it, fo he publi/hed it unto, 
 them, without offering at any Comment, Explication, 
 or additional Interpretation of his own concerning it ; 
 and therefore when gravelled with any objection from his 
 
 Ad- 
 
 (#) Hoctcngcri Hift. Orhnt. lib. 1. c. 6". 
 
The Life of Mahomet. 39 
 
 Adverfaries againft it (as he often was while at Mecca, 
 where he was continually teazed and perplexed with 
 fome or other of them) his ufual refuge was in this Say- 
 ing, That the* 'Alcoran was (*) God's Boo^ and that He on- 
 ly could explain the meaning of it j and it was Wifdom 
 in him at firft not to afTume any farther. But now learn- 
 ing from his Friend Jbdollab, that the Jews befides the 
 written Law dictated by God himfelf, had alfo another 
 Law called the Oral Laic, and given with it (as they pre- 
 tend) to Mofes himfelf while in the Mount, and from him 
 delivered to the Elders of the People, and from them 
 down to after Ages by Oral Tradition 3 and underftanding 
 alfo that this Law was in as great Authority with them, as 
 the other, and that it had its whole Foundation in the 
 Sayings and Dilates which were pretended to be from 
 Wlofes, and preferred by the Memories of thofe who con- 
 verfed with him^ he had a defire for the future to ad- 
 vance his Authority to the fame pitch, and make all his 
 Sayings and Dictates go for Oracles among his Muj'Jlemans, 
 as well as thofe which were pretended to be from Mofes, 
 did among the "Jews. And for this end chiefly was it 
 that he intended this Story of his Journey to Heaven. 
 For could he -once make it believed among his Followers, 
 that he had there fuch a Converfe with God as Mofes had 
 with him in the Mount, and was there fully inftrucled by 
 him in the knowledge of all Divine Truths, as this Story 
 pretends he was, he thought he Ihould therein have a 
 fufficient Foundation to build this pretence upon, and 
 might by a juft confequence from it, claim the whole 
 which he aimed at 5 and he was not miftaken herein. 
 For how ridiculous foever the thing at firft appeared, 
 yet in the refult he carried his Point, and obtained all 
 that by the Projecl, which he propofed to himfelf for it. 
 For the whole of it at length going down with thofe who 
 had fwallowed the reft of his Impofture, from that time 
 all his Sayings became looked on as Sacred Truths 
 brought down from Heaven, and every word which at 
 any time drop'd from fo enlightned a Perfon (as this 
 
 D 4 Story 
 
 (*) Alcoran, c. 3, &c. Richardi Confutatio, c 17. Canucuzem 
 Orat. 1. fee). 3. & 5. Ecchelenfis Eutych. vinaicac p. 383. 
 
4-0 The. Life of . M a ho met; 
 
 Story fuppofeth him to be) as well as every A.&ion whrioh 
 he did, any way relating to his were all careful- 
 
 ly obferved by them. 5 which being after his death all 
 (j) collected together from the .Mtmpirs of thofe who 
 converfed with him, make up thofe Volumes of Tradi- 
 tions from him, which they call the Sonnal:,. which are 
 with the ?v!al:omcta>;$ the fame in refpect of the Alcoran, 
 that the Oral Laiu among the pevss is in refpeel of the 
 JlrhicK. And as among the jcas there are many Books, 
 in which this 'Cfofi ''Lav is recited, explained and digefted 
 under feveral Heads, and Chapters by many different Au- 
 thors among their Rabbles, who have employed, their 
 Fains and Studies, in this matter 5 fo alio are there the 
 like number of Books among the Mahometans concerning 
 their Sonnah Qp in which all the Sayings and Doings of 
 Mahomet, relating to his <Re/igipif M as alfo the Conftitu- 
 tions of the Seniors, (that is, of the fjrft Caliphs that fuc- 
 ceeded him s eTpeciaJly the four firlt) concerning the 
 the fame, are collected, explained, and digeited under 
 feveral Heads or common Places, by the Compilers of 
 them, which Books make up the Sum of their Theology, 
 as well Speculative as Practical ; and in them indeed is 
 contained the whole of their Kel}giqn i as now practiled 
 among them, And therefore fo much of the Imj-ojlure 
 which I now undertake tp give an account of, being in 
 thefe Traditions, and they all founded upon this journty 
 of Mahomet to Haven, where he pretended to have been 
 inurucled in them by God himfelf ; this fufficiently juf- 
 tifieth my being thus long in relating his fabulous Story of 
 it. 
 
 But how fabulous and abfufd foever this Story be, the 
 'Socinians, who have in fo many things copied after this 
 Tmpajtdri have not (luck to horrpw this alfo from him. For 
 the many Texts ofScripfure which tell us of our Saviour's 
 coming to.iis from the Heavens above, manifeftly proving 
 
 his 
 
 »■ ' ' ■ -. ■■ " ■' . _ , — .■ . , 
 
 (;) rocockii Spec. Hift, AraJ>. p. 7,9??, ft 1,99. Joannes Andre- 
 as, c, l t Beilonius, lib, ■,. c, 4. Hoctingeri Bibliotbeca Orjentalis, 
 c. 1, Frrhetenfis F.utycl-.. v i nrt i 6 »t» q if. Gemn Notxad Muiij- 
 d'uvam S.dum, p, </S. frf EbijgtJ Ajlur, Ebuol Kauai, Pq« 
 
 co;k. ib, 
 
The Life ^Mahomet;' 41' 
 
 his Exigence there in his Divinity, before the affuming of 
 his Humanity hereon Earth (which they impioufly deny), 
 to folve the matter, they have by juft fuch another Story 
 as this of Mahomet, carried him to Heaven, a little be- 
 fore the taking of his Minirtry upon him, there to be in- 
 itrufted by God himfelf in the Doctrines which he was to 
 teach j and refer all that is faid in Holy Scripture of his 
 corning from Heaven, to thishis Journey thither of their 
 own feigning. Which fhews how miferable a fliift they 
 are reduced to, for the fupport of that Impiety which they 
 afTert. For take but this from them, and it muft all 
 necefTarily fall to the ground, 
 
 After his publifhing this Fiction, and the revolt of fo 
 many of his Difaples, as happen 'd thereon, his Adverfaries 
 grew in ftrength fo fafl: upon him, that he could no lon- 
 ger protect thofe who adhered to him, as he had hitherto 
 done 5 but fome of them, to the number of about an 
 hundred Perfons, having made themfelves more than ordi- 
 nary obnoxious to the Government, by fome practices a- 
 gainft it, (h)were forced to fly from Mecca, to Nagafi King 
 of Ethiopia, where Mahomet's Letters, which they carried 
 with them, obtained their protection, though the Men 
 of Mecca fent two of their principal Citizens after them 
 in an Emhajjy to that King, to demand them to be deli- 
 vered unto them. And Mahomet, with the reft that tar- 
 ried behind, found it very difficult for them to fubfift 
 any longer there. For after the departure of fo many of 
 his faithfulleft Adherents into this Exile, this farther dimi- 
 nution of his Number, made him ftili lefs able to with- 
 fland thefe Infults which his Adverfaries were continual^ 
 ly on all occasions making upon him. But what he loft 
 at Mecca, he got at Medina, then called Yathreb (i) a City 
 lying at the Northern End of Hagiai, two hundred and. 
 feventy Miles diftant from Mecca, which being inhabited, 
 [JO the one part by Jews, and the other part by Heretical 
 
 Christians, 
 
 (h) Abul Feda. Ebnol Arliir, Kamus, Poeockii Spec. Hid. Arab, 
 p. 172. Ecchelenfis Eutych. Vindicar. c. 2.7. Golii Noice ad Al- 
 fiaganum, p. 53. (/) Geographia Nubienfa Clim. 2. Part. 5. 
 
 Gola Notce ad Alfraganum,, p. 98. (k) Sharefiani Difputatio 
 
 fJjuiiHani, c. 4. Joannes Andrew, c. i, Poeockii Spec. Hiil Arab? 
 
42 The Life of Mahomet. 
 
 Chrifiians, it feems thefe two different Parties not well 
 agreeing in the fame City, the Factions and Feuds that 
 arofe between them, drove one of the Parties to Maho- 
 met ; and on the Thirteenth Year (/) of his pretended 
 MiJJion y there came to him from thence Seventy three Men, 
 and two Women, who embraced his Impofture, and fwore 
 fealty unto him, whereon he chofe Twelve out of them, 
 whom he retained a-while with him at Mecca to inftruft 
 them in his New Reli^.on^ and then fent them back again 
 to Yathreb, to be as his Twelve Apojiles, there to propagate 
 it in that Town ; in which they laboured with that Suc- 
 cefs, that in a fhort time they drew over a great Party 
 of the Inhabitants to embrace the Impojture 5 of which 
 Mahomet receiving an account, refolved to retire thither, as 
 finding Mecca now grown too hot for him. For the chief 
 Men of the City, finding that Mahomet's indefatigable 
 Induftry and Cunning ftill kept up his Party, do what 
 they could to fupprefs it, refolved without farther delay to 
 ftrike at the Root, and prevent the farther fpreading of the 
 Mifchief (m) by cutting off him that was the chief Au- 
 thor of it. Of which he having received full and early 
 Intelligence, and finding no other way to avoid the Blow 
 but to fly from it, ordered all his Party, whom he could 
 prevail with, to accompany him in his Banifhment («), 
 lecretly in the Evening to withdraw out of the Gty, and 
 retire to Yathreb. And when he had feen them all gone, he 
 and (0) Abu Beker followed after, leaving only Alt behind, 
 who having fet in order fome Affairs that detained him, 
 came to them on the third day after. As foon as his 
 Flight was publickly known, Parties were fent out to 
 purfue after him, and he difficultly efcaped them (/>) by 
 hiding himfelf for fome time in a Caxt % till the heat of the 
 purfuit was over. 
 
 On 
 
 (/) Elmacin, lib. 1. c. 1. (ni) Alcoran, c 8. Joannes An- 
 
 dreas, c. 1. Bidawi Comment, ad Aicorani, c. 8. Abunazar. Hot- 
 tingeri Hiftoria O.ientalis, lib. 1. c. 5. (») Elmacin. ib. Abul 
 
 Pharaghius, Abul Feda, &c. (0) Elmacin. ib. Clenardi Epift. 
 
 lib. 1. p. ^i. (p) Alcoran, c. % Bidawi in Comment. a4 
 
 illud Caput, & ad cap, i<j. Hottin^eri Hift. Orient, lib. z. c. $. 
 
The Life of Mahomet, 4$ 
 
 On the (7) izth Day of the Month, which the Arabs 
 call the former Rabia, that is on the 24th of our September, 
 he came to Yathreb, and was there received with great Ac- 
 clamations by the Party which called him thither. But 
 whether this Party were of the Jews, or tkeChriftians, 1 find 
 not faid in any Author $ only if we may conjecture from 
 the great kindnefs which at this time he exprefled towards 
 the Chrtftians, and the implacable hatred which he ever 
 after bore the Jews, it will from hence appear, that the 
 former were the Friends that invited him thither, and 
 the latter the oppofite Party that were Enemies unto him. 
 And what he faith of each of them in the fifth Chapter 
 of his Alcoran, which was one of the firfl: which he pub- 
 liJlied after his coming to Yathreb, may feem fully to 
 clear the Matter. For his Words there are, Thoujhalt 
 find the Jews to be very great Enemies to the true Believers 5 
 and the Chriftians to have great Inclination and Amity to- 
 wards them, for they have Priejls and Religions, that are humble % 
 who have Eyes full of Tears when they hear mention of the Doc- 
 trine which God hath infpired into thee, becaufe of their know- 
 ledge of the Truth, and fay, Lord we believe in thy Law, write 
 w in the number of them who profefs thy Unity. Who Jhall 
 binder f*s from believing in God, and the Truth wherein we have 
 been inftruBed ? We defire with Paljion, Lord, to be in tl)e 
 number of the Juft. By this we may fee what a deplorable 
 Decay the many Divifions and Diflra&ions which then 
 reigned in the Eajlern Church, had there brought the 
 Chriftian Religion into, when its Profeflbrs could fo eafily 
 defert it, for that grofs bnpojiure which an Illiterate Barba- 
 rian propofed unto them. And indeed it is no ftrange 
 thing for Men, when once they have deferted the Ortho- 
 dox Profeflion of the Chriftian Faith, to flee from one 
 Error to another, till at length, by feveral Changes in R*« 
 ligion, they change the whole of it away, and give them- 
 felves up to total Impiety. For we fee it daily pra&ifed 
 among us. 
 
 On 
 
 ( <f ) Elmacin, lib. 1. c 1. Golii Notae ad Alfraganum, p. if. 
 Ahmed Ebn Yufcph. Pocock. Spec. Hift. Arab. p. 174. 
 
:'44 The Life of Mahomet. 
 
 On Mahomet's firft coming to ( r ) Yathreb, he lodged 
 in the HoufeofCW/W Abu >&, one of the chief Men of 
 the Party that called him thither, till he had built him- 
 felf an Houle of his own, which he immediately fet about, 
 and adjoining thereto alfo erecled a Mofque at the fame time 
 for the exercife of bis new-invented Religion - and it is re- 
 corded as an Inltance of his Injuftice, that he ( s ) vio- 
 lently difpoflfefled certain poor Orphans, the Children of 
 an Inferior Artificer a little before deceafed, of the 
 Ground on which it flood, and lb founded this flrfl Fa- 
 brick for his Worfhip, with the like wickednefs as he 
 did his Religion. And having thus fettled himfelf in this 
 Town, he continued there ever after, to the time of his 
 Death. For which reafon it thenceforth lofing the 
 Name of Yathreb, became called ( t ) Medinato'l nabi y i. e. 
 The City of the Prophet, and limply Medina, by which 
 Name it hath been ever fince called, even unto this 
 Day. 
 
 From this flight of 'Mahomet , the (») Hcgera, which is 
 the JEra of the Mahometans, begins its Computation. 
 It was fir ft appointed by Omar the Third Emperor of the 
 Saracens, on this (iy) occasion. There happened a Con- 
 teft before him about a Debt of Money : The Creditor 
 had from his Debtor a Bill, wherein he acknowledged 
 the Debt, and obliged himfelf to pay it on fuch a Day of 
 fuch a Month. The Day and the Month being pafs'd, the 
 Creditor fues his Debtor before Omar for the Monev. The 
 Debtor acknowledged the Debt, but denied the Day of 
 Payment to be yet come, alledging the Month in the 
 'Bill mentioned, to be that Month in the Year next en- 
 duing 3 but the Creditor contended that it was that Month 
 in the Year Lift paft ; and for want of a Date to the Bill, 
 it being impoflibie to decide this Controverfy, Omar 
 
 called 
 
 ( r ) Elmacin, lib. r. c. i. Abu] Feda, &c. ( s ) PTpuca- 
 
 tio'Chriftiani, c. 4. ( t ) Geograph'a Nubienh's Clim. 2, 
 
 part. 5. Appen. ad eandem cap. S. Golu Noras ad Alfiaganum, p. 98. 
 Abu) Feda, Alkamtis, &c. ( u ) Alfraganus cap. 1. Golii 
 
 Noras ad cundem, d. 53. Elmacin, lib. c. 1. & c. 5. Eutychius. Abul 
 Pbaraghiusj Abul Feda, &c. Pocockii Spec. Hi/}. Arab. p. 17;, 
 175. ( a>) Ecchelenfis Hilt. Arab. Part, j, o jo* 
 
The Life 0/ Mahomet. 45 
 
 called his Council together, to conflder of a Method how 
 to prevent this Difficulty for the future j where it was 
 decreed, That all Bills and other Instruments mould ever 
 after have inferted into them the Date both of the Day 
 of the Month, and alio of the Year, in which they were 
 iigned. And as to the Year, he having confulted with 
 Harmut-an, a Learned Per/tan then with him, by his Ad- 
 vice, ordained all Computations to be made for the future 
 from the Flight of Mahomet from Mecca, to Medina. And. 
 for this realbn this JEra was called, the Hegira, which in 
 the Arabic!^ Language fignifleth a Flight. It takes its begin- 
 ning from the iixteenrh Day of July, in the Year of our 
 Lord Six hundred twenty and two. • And ever fince this 
 Decree of Omar (which happen'd in the eighteenth Year 
 of it) it hath constantly been ufed among the Mahometans^ 
 in the fame manner as the Computation from the Incar- 
 nation of our Lord Chriji is with us Chriflians. The Day 
 that Mahomet left Mecca, was on (x) the firft of the 
 Former Rabia, and he came to Medina on the (y) twelfth 
 of the fame Month. But the Hegira begins two Months 
 before, from the firf! of Moharr.am. For that being the 
 firft Month of the Arabian Year, Omar- would make no Al- 
 teration' as to that, but anticipated the Computation fifty- 
 nine Days, that he might begin his JEra from the be- 
 ginning of that Y r ear in which this Flight of the Impojio? 
 happened, which gave Name thereto. Till the appoin- 
 ting of this JEra, it was ufual with the Arabians to com- 
 pute from the lail great War they were engag'd in. And 
 at Mecca the JEra of the Ehfhant % and the JEra of the 
 Impious War, being thofe which they computed by all the 
 Time of Mahomet, I mall give an Account of them. 
 
 The JEra of the Elephant had its beginning from (z.) 
 a War which the Inhabitants of Mecca had with the Ethi- 
 opians. It happen'd in that very Year in which Mahomet 
 was born, on this Occafion. About fifty Years before the 
 Time of Mahomet, -there reigned over the Homerites, an 
 
 ancient 
 
 ( x ) Golii Notae ad Alfraganum, p. $£[ & ^. ( y ) El- 
 
 macm, lib. i. c. r. \z) Al Kcvdai, Golii Motse ad Alfra- 
 
 gsnumjp. $4. Pocockii Spec. Hill. Arab. p. r 37, & i"4- 
 
q6 The Life o/Mahomet. 
 
 ancient Nation of the Arabs, lying to the South of Meccai 
 a cercain King called (a) Du Naivas, who having embra- 
 ced the Jewijh Religion, perfecuted the Cbri/iian, which had 
 been planted there for atleait three hundred \ ears before, 
 and id the utmoft he was able to extirpate it out of his 
 Dominions. For which purpofe he made him a deep 
 Ditch or Furnace in the Earth, and after having heated it 
 with Fire, caufed all thofe of the Chrijiian Religion to be 
 thrown thereinto, who would not renounce their Faith, 
 and turn to Judaifm. During which Perfecution the 
 (&) Arabian Writers tell a very memorable Story of a Cbrif- 
 tian Woman, who being brought to the Furnace with a 
 Son of hers very young, whom fhe carried in her 
 Arms, was at the fight of the Fire fo affrighted, /he 
 drew back, as if fhe would rather chufe to comply with 
 the Perfecutors, and renounce her Faith, than thus peri/h 
 for it ; at which the Child cried out, Fear not, Mother, 
 to dye for your Religion, for then after this Fire you f jail never 
 feel any other. Whereon the Mother being again en- 
 couraged, went on and compleated her Marty) dom. This 
 Perfecution drove feveral of the Homeritc Chrijiians to fly 
 into Ethiopia for fafety 5 where making their Complaints 
 to the King, who was a Chrijiian, of the cruel Perfecu- 
 tion of Du Naivas againft them, prevailed with him to 
 fend Aryat his Uncle, with an Army of Seventy 
 Thoufand Men for their Relief: (r) who having over- 
 thrown Du Naivas in Battle, purfued him fo hard that he 
 forced him to the Sea, where he peri/hed. Whereon 
 the Kingdom of the Homerites fell into the Hands of the 
 Ethiopians, and Aryat governed it twenty Years. After 
 him fucceeded Abraham Al Afhram, who having built a 
 famous (d) Church at Sanaa, the chief City of the Home- 
 rites, abundance of Arabians reforted thither to the Chrif- 
 
 tian 
 
 (4) Abul Feda, Al Mafudi, Ecchelenfis Hift. Arab, part r. c. 10. 
 Pocock. Spec. Hift. Arab. p. 6 a. (b) Al Mafudi Ecche- 
 
 lenfis ib. / (c) Al Jannabi, Ahmed Ebn Yufef, Ecchelenfis 
 
 Hift. Arab. part. 2. c. 1. Pocockii Spec. Hift. Arab. p. <Jj. (<f> 
 
 Abul Feda, Al Jannabi, Ahmed Ebn Yufef, Zamachfhari, Bidawi, 
 & Jalalani in Commentariis ad cap. 10?. Alcoiani. Pococ. SpecHiiU 
 Arab. p. £4. Golii Notx ad Alrraganum, p. 54. 
 
The Life o/Mahome t. 47 
 
 tian War/lip, fo that the Temple of Mecca began to be neg- 
 lected, and the Heathen JVorftip there, hitherto performed 
 with fo great Concourfe from all Parts of Arabia, to grow 
 into decay : At which the Men of Mecca were exceeding- 
 ly dillurbed. For they had the chief of their fupport 
 from the great refort of Pilgrims who came thither every 
 ^Year from all Parts of Arabia to worfhip their Heathen Dei-, 
 ties, and perform their annual folemn Ceremonies unto 
 them. And therefore to exprefs their Indignation againft 
 this Church, which fo much threatned their main Intereft 
 with total Ruin, fome of them went to Sanaa, and get- 
 ting privately into the Church, did in a mofl contumelious 
 manner defile it all over with their Excrements. At 
 which Abraham was fo incenfed, that to revenge the Af- 
 front, he fwore the Deftruftion of the Temple of Mecca :" 
 And accordingly to effecl it, marched thither with a 
 great Army, and befieged the City. But not being 
 able to compafs his End, (1 fuppofe for want of Provi- 
 £ons for his numerous Forces in fo defart and barren a 
 Country) he was forced to march back again with Lois 
 and Difgrace ; and becaufe he had feveral Elephants in his 
 Army, for that reafon this was called, The War of the 
 Elephant ; and the JEra by which they reckoned from it, 
 The JEra of the Elephant. And to this War is it that the 
 xo^th Chapter of the Alcoran, called the Chapter of the Ele- 
 phant, doth relate ; where Mahomet tells us, How the Lord 
 treated them that came mounted upon Elephants to ruin the 
 Temple of Mecca, and that he defeated their treacherous Defign, 
 and fent agaitift them great Armies of Birds, which threw down 
 Stones upon their Heads, and made them like Corn in the Field, 
 which is dejiroyedand trodden down by the Beajis, Where (f) 
 the Commentators of the Alcoran tell us, That to preferve 
 the Temple of Mecca from the intended Deftru£tion, God 
 fent againft the Ethiopians great Armies of Birds, each of 
 which carried three Stones, the one in the Mouth, and 
 the other two in the two Feet, which they threw down 
 upon their Heads ; and that thofe Stones, although not 
 much bigger than Peafe, were yet of that weight, that 
 
 falling 
 
 (*) Zanuchfliarij Bidawi, Ja'alaui, &c. 
 
48 The Life of M a h o m e t. 
 
 filling upon the Helmet, they pierced that and the .Man 
 thorough 5 and that on each of them was written the Name 
 of him that was to be flain by it ; and that the Army of 
 the Ethiopians being thus destroyed, the Temple of Mecca 
 was faved. For Mahomet having refolved to .continue that 
 Temple in its former Reputation, and make it the chief 
 place of his new indented Worflr.p, as it had been before of the 
 Heathen, coined this Miracle among many others,, on pur- 
 pofeto gain it the greater Veneration in the Minds of his 
 deluded Followers, although there might be feveral then 
 alive, who were able to give him the Lye thereto,', it be- 
 ing but fifty four Years before the beginning of the He- 
 gira, that this War happened. For it wis the very Year 
 (/) in which Mahomet was born. But perchance : this 
 Chapter came not forth in publick, till Oihnans Edition 
 of the Akoran, which was many Years after, when all 
 might be dead, that could remember any thing of this 
 War, and the Fable thereby out of danger of being con- 
 tradicted by any of thofe who knew the contrary. 
 
 The JEra of the lmfiomWar began from the twentieth 
 Year of the JEra of the Elephant, and had its Name from 
 a terrible War, which was then waged between (:J the 
 Korajhites and Kifailanhes, in which Mahomet flrlr (fc) en-- 
 tred the School of War under his Uncle Aim Talch, being 
 then twenty Years old. It was called the bnpiom War, be- 
 caufe it proceeded' to that heat and fury, that they carried' 
 it on even in thofe Months, when it was reckon'd impious 
 among them to wage War. For it was (z) an ancient 
 Conftitution through all Arabia, to hold four Months of 
 the Year facred, in which all War was to ceafe : And 
 thefe were the Months of Moharram,, Rajeb, Dull^aada, and 
 Dulha%a 5 The Firit, the 'Seventh, the Eleventh, and the 
 Twelfth of the Year, in which it was obferved with the 
 greateft Religion among all their Trihs, toufe no Act of 
 
 Eof.i'hy 
 
 ( f ) Golii Norse ad Alfraganum, p. 54. Pocockii Spec. HiA. Arab. 
 p. 64. (g) Pocockii Spec. Hid. Arab. p. 174. Golii Noras ad 
 
 Alliaganum, p. 54. ( b ) Ai Kodai, Al Kamus, Sec. Pocockii- 
 
 Spe. Hilt. Arab. p. 174 in Margin. ( i ) Al Jauhari. Al Shareftani. 
 Al Kamus, Cazwini, Go-ir.s in Moris ad Alfraganum, p. 4, 5, Sv 9* 
 l'vcockii Spec. Hi ft. Arab, p. i -4, & 175. 
 
The Life of Mahomet.' ^9 
 
 t&ftility againft each other 5 but with how great Fury fo+ 
 ever one Tribe might be engaged againit another (is was 
 ufual among them) as foon as any of thofe Sacred Months 
 began, they all immediately defifled, and taking off the 
 heads from their Spears, and laying ahde all other 
 Weapons of War, had intercourfe, and intermingled 
 together, as if there had been perfecl Peace and Friend- 
 ship between them, without any fear of each other 5 fa 
 that if a Man fhould mee* on thofe Months him that 
 hadflain his Father, or his Brother he durir. not meddle 
 with him, how violent foever his Hatred or Revenge 
 might prompt him to it ( And this was constantly obfer- 
 ved among all the ancient Jrabs i till broken in this War^ 
 which from hence was called the Imfiom War. And in 
 this hnpiom War ( k\.) Mahomet having firft taken Arms^ 
 gave a Prefage thereby to what impious purpofe he 
 would ufe them all his Life after. 
 
 But the Hegira being thatj which all of the Mahometan 
 Religion have, ever fince the Conftitution of Omar, com^ 
 puted by 5 the Subject Matter of the Hiftory which I now 
 write, obligeth me henceforth to make ufe of thisJEra 
 through the remaining part of it. But becaufe it com- 
 puteth by Lunary Years only, and not by Solary, it's re-, 
 quiflte that I here inform the Reader of the nature of 
 thofe Years, and the manner how the Ht%ira com^utethby 
 them. Anciently the Arabs, although ( / ) they always 
 ufed Lunary Years, yet by intercalating Seven Months in 
 Nineteen Years, in the manner as do the Jews, reduced 
 them to Solary- Years 3 and confequently had their Months 
 always fixed to the fame Seafon of the Year. But this 
 growing out of ufe about the Time of Mahomet, their 
 Year hath ever fince been ftri&ly Lunary, confifling only 
 of Three hundred fifty four Days, eight Hours, and For- 
 ty eight Minutes, ( m ) which odd Hours and Minutes 
 in thirty Years making Eleven Days exactly, they do in- 
 tercalate a Day on the id, jthi -jtb, \oth i i^th, ifthj iSthj 
 
 E ' %ifti 
 
 ( k ) Al Kodai, Al Kamus, Pocockii Specim. Hift. Arab. p. 
 174. ( / ) Al Jauhari, Ebnol Athir, Pocockii Specim. Hift, 
 
 Arab, p. 177. ( m ) Golii rtotos ad AlfraganurU, pV n< 
 
 Sealiger de Emen«fati6n* tempdrunij lib,- », cap. de Anno Hegira;, 
 
50 The Life o|Mahomet. 
 
 ai/?, 24th, 26th, and 19th, Years of this Period. So that 
 their Year, in thofe Years of this Period, coniifts of 
 Three hundred fifty five Days, by reafon of the interca- 
 lated Day, which they then add to the laft Month of the 
 Year. And this Year all that profefs the Mahometan Reli- 
 gion have ever made ufe of 5 and there is a PafTage in the 
 Alcoran ( n ) whereby they are confined to it. For the 
 Impojior there calls it an bn^iety to prolong the Year, that is, 
 by adding an Intercalary Month thereto. So that according 
 to this Account, the Mahometan Year falling eleven Days 
 fhort of the Solary ; it hence comes to pafs, that the be- 
 ginning of the lear of the Hegira is unfix'dand ambula- 
 tory (the next Year always beginning eleven Days fooner 
 than the former) and therefore fometimes it happens in 
 Summer, fometimes in Spring, fometimes in Winter, and 
 fometimes in Autumn; and in thirty and three Years com- 
 pafs goes thorough all the different Seafonsof theYear, and 
 comes about again to the fame time of the Solary Year, al- 
 though not exactly to the fame Day. Which being like 
 to create fome Confufion to us who are ufed to the Solary 
 Year • to prevent this, after the Year of the Hegira, in the 
 Margin, I add the Day of the Month in the Year of our 
 Lord in which it begins. The Months of the Arab Year 
 are as follow; 1. Moharram. 2. Saphar. 3. The former 
 Rabin. 4. The later Rabia. 5. Tta former Jornada. C. The 
 later Jornada. 7. Rajeb. 8. Shaban. p. Ramadan. 10. 
 Shawall. 11. Vidkaada. 12. Didhagha. The firft hath 
 thirty Days, and the fecond twenty nine, and fo alter- 
 natively to the end of the Year ; only in the Intercalary 
 Years, Dulkagha hath thirty Days, becaufe of the Day 
 added, but on all other Years only twenty nine. 
 
 But belides this JEra, the Mahometans in Perjia have an- 
 other, which they reckon by in all Civil Matters, called 
 the JEra of Yazdejerd. It computes by Solary Years of 
 Three hundred fixty five Days without any Inter calation y 
 and is in ufe among the Ajironomers all over the Eaft. It 
 hath its beginning ten Years after the Hegira, not from the 
 Death of Yazdcjcrd (as all Chronologers hitherto, follow- 
 ing 
 
 ( n ) Akoran 3 c. 9, 
 
The Life flf Mahomet. 51 
 
 ing the Miftake of Scaliger, have erroneouily afTerted) 
 but from his fir ft Advancement to the Crown of Perjia* 
 The Hiftory of this Matter is thus. * After the Death 
 of Chofroes, the Second of that Name ( which happen'd 
 An.'Dom. 628.) in four Years time eight feveral Perfons 
 having fuccefiively poffevled themfelves of the Throne of 
 Perfia, and mod of them by violent means, this created 
 fuch Diffractions and Confufions through all that King- 
 dom, by reafon of the great Divisions, and feveral dif- 
 ferent Interests, which fo many Revolutions in fo fliort 
 a time had occafion'd among them, that at length all Par- 
 ties growing weary of fo deflruelive a State of their 
 Affairs, came to an Agreement of fettling again under a 
 Prince of the Royal Family, and to this purpofe made 
 choice of Ya^tUjerd, a Grandfon of Chofroes, who was a 
 young Man of fifteen Years old, and ferit into Arabia. 
 (where he was fled for his Safety) to Abu Belter, then 
 newly chofen Succeflbr to Mahomet, to demand him for 
 their King • and having accordingly obtain'd him, did 
 on the 16th day of June, Anno l)om. 6^2. in the Eleventh 
 Year of the Hegira, place him on the Throne of his An- 
 ceflors 5 which being fo fignal a Reiteration of that King- 
 dom to its former Peace and Settlement, after fo great a 
 diffurbance of it, they made this the beginning of a 
 new JEra f among them, which from the Name of 
 the King, they called the JEra of Yatdejerd. And 
 therefore it doth not begin from the Death of that Prince 5 
 for he lived nineteen Years after, and fought many Bat- 
 tels againfi the Saracens, during the Reign of Omar and 
 Othman, SuccefTors of Abu, Beker, in defence of his Country, 
 till at length he was flain by the Treachery of one of his 
 own Captains, in the thirty firft Year of the Hegira, Anno 
 Vow. 651. nineteen Years after this JEra, denominated 
 from him, firfr. commenced, which all agree was in the 
 Eleventh Year of the Hegira. 
 
 E 2 He*. 
 
 * Ahul Pharaghius, p. 112. & p. 1 16. Eutychius^ part 1. p. 25^. 
 & p. i?6. Eimicin, lib. 1. c. 1. & c. 4. f U:ug. Beg. de 
 
 Cog iitione Epoch, c 5. Where fpe.ihn? of the Perfun Epocha, he 
 hath theft Words , Priticipnjtp hujus Epochs tuit dies Martis initio 
 aani c^uo piinmm regnavit Yazdcjudts h ids StanriaK 
 
5 2 The Life of Mahomet. 
 
 Heg. i. July 16. A. D. 6zz.'] The firft thing that * 
 Mahomet did after his having fettled himfelf at Medina, 
 was to Marry his Daughter Fatima to his Coufin All. She 
 was the only Child then living, of fix which were born 
 to him of CaMgha, his firft Wife $ and indeed the only 
 one which he had, notwithstanding the multitude of his 
 Wives, ( p ) that furvived him, whom he exceedingly 
 loved, and wasufed to give great Commendations of her, 
 reckoning her among the perfedeft. of Women. For he 
 was ( q ) ufed to fay, That among Men there were many 
 perfect, but of Women he would allow only four to be 
 iuch, and thefe were Afiah the Wife of Pharoah ; Mary 
 the Mother of Ckrift $ CaMgha his Wife, and Fatima his 
 Daughter. From her all that pretend to be of the Race 
 of Mahomet derive their defcent. 
 
 And now the Impofior having obtain'd the End he had 
 been long driving at, that is, a Town at his Command where 
 to arm his Party, and head them with fecurity 3 for the fur- 
 ther psofecution of his Defign, he here enters on a new 
 Scene. Hitherto he had been preaching up his Impoftttre 
 for thirteen Years together 5 for the remaining ten Years 
 of his Life he takes the Sword and fights for it. He 
 had long been teazed and perplexed at Mecca with Que£ 
 tions, and Objections, and Difputes about what he Preach- 
 ed, whereby being often gravel'd and non-plus'd, to the 
 Laughter of his Auditors, and his own 'Shame and Con- 
 fuilon, out of hatred to this way ( r ) he henceforth for- 
 bids all manner of difputing about his Religion • and 
 that he might be fure to have no more of it, makes it 
 for the future to be no lefs than Death for any one in the 
 lead to contradict or oppofeany of the Doctrines which 
 he had taught. The way that his Religion was to be pro- 
 pagated, he now tells hisDifciples, was not by Diipu- 
 ting, but ( s ) by Fighting j and therefore commands 
 
 them 
 
 ' * Elmacin, lib. 1. 1. Abul Feda, &c. (/> )Abul Pha- 
 
 ragbius, p. 103. ( q ) Abul Feda, Pocockii Specim. Hift. 
 
 Arab, pi 1 is 3. ( r ) Alcoran, c. 4. Cantatuzcn. Oar. 1. 
 
 Seer. 12. Joannes Andreas, c. 12. ( s) Alcoran, c. 2, j, 
 
 4, 9, iv-'- Joamcs Andrccs, c. 12. Difputatio C uifiimi, c. 8. Can- 
 tacuzcni Oat. 1 Apolor. 4. Rkhardi Confutatio, c. 10. 
 
The Life of Makomit. 5:3 
 
 *Jiem all to arm themfrlves, and flay with the Sword .ill 
 thofe that would not embrace it, unlefs they fubmitted 
 to pay 211 Annual Tribute for the redemption of their Lives. 
 And according to this his Injunction, even unto this Day, 
 all who live under any Mahometan Government, and are not 
 of their Religion, ( t ) pay an Annual Tax for a conftant 
 Mulct of their Infidelity (which in Turkey («) is called the 
 Carradge) and are fur e to be punifhed with (w) Death, if 
 in the leail the y contradictor oppofe any Doctrine that is 
 received among them to have been taught by Mahomet. 
 And certainly there could not be a wifer way deviled tor 
 upholding or fo abfurd an Impojiure, than by thus filcncing, 
 under fo levere a Penalty, all manner of Oppofition and 
 Difputes again ft it. 
 
 After the hnfoj] or had fufficiently infufed this Doctrine 
 into his Difdples, he next proceeds to put it in practice 5 
 and having erected his Standard, calls all them to come 
 armed thereto- where having enrolled them all for the 
 War, ( x ) he gives his Standard to his Uncle Hamxa, con- 
 {lituting him thereby his Standard-bearer j and out of the 
 fpecial Confidence he had in him, fent him out on the 
 firft Expedition which was undertaken in hisCaufe. For 
 underftanding that ( y ) the Caravan of Micca was now on 
 the Road in their return from Syria, he ordered out Uamx.a 
 with a Party of Thirty Korfe to way-lay and plunder 
 them 5 and he having accordingly pofted himfelf in a 
 Wood in the Country of Yamama, by which they were 
 to pafs, they tarried their coming 5 but on their approach, 
 finding them guarded with Three hundred Men, fent 
 from Mecca to convey them fafe home, he durft not fet 
 upon them, but fled and returned to "Medina, without 
 effecting any thing. And feveral other Expedition^ 
 which were this Year undertaken of the fame nature, 
 lud no better fuccefs. 
 
 Heg. z. July 5. A. D. 623.] The next Year a very rich 
 
 Caravan going trom Mecca towards Syria, and carrying a 
 
 E 3 g rea t 
 
 ( t ) Thevenor, part I. lib. i.e. <?<;. ( « ) There jot, 
 
 part 1. lib. i. c. z '■>'. (>>«0 Cmtacuzen. Cat. i. Se<ft. «,. 
 
 Theveuot, part 1. lib. i. c. 18. ( x ) Elniacin. iij. 1. 
 
 c» 1. ^ ;, ) Elnucin, ib. Difputat. Ch/iuiani, c. 4. 
 
54 The Life o/Mahomet. 
 
 great quantity both of Goods and Money, which belong- 
 ed to the Merchants of Mecca, that traded into that 
 Country, he went out with Three hundred and nineteen 
 Men to intercept it. But (a) coming up with them at a 
 Place called Beder, he found them guarded by a Convoy 
 of a Thoufand Men, under the Command of Abu Sophian, 
 whereon a fierce Battle cnfued between them ; but Ma- 
 homet gaining the Victory, Aim Sophian made as good a 
 Retreat as he could back again to Mecca, faying moll of 
 the Caravan with him, at which Mahomet's Men much (b~) 
 repined. However great Spoils were gained by them in 
 this Battle, which had like to have made a Quarrel among 
 them about the Divifion. For the Army confifting of 
 two Parties, the Men of Medina, who were called the 
 Anfers, that is, Mahomet's Helpers 3 and the Men of Mecca, 
 who were called the Mohagerins, that is, the Companions of 
 his Flight 5 the * former would have had a larger Share 
 than the latter. To falve this Controverfy, Mahomet 
 ccmpofedthe Eighth Chapter of his Alcoran, wherein he 
 adjudgeth the fifth part to himfelf, and the reft to be 
 equally divided between them. 
 
 The Succefs of this Battle gave great encouragement 
 to the Impofior, and his Party. He frequently brags of it 
 in his Alcoran, and would have it believed that f two 
 Miracles were wrought for his obtaining of it $ the firft, 
 That God made his Enemies fee his Army as double to 
 what it was, which helped to difmay them 5 and the 
 fecond, That he fent Troops of Angels to his aiTiftance, 
 which helped to overcome them. They were to the 
 number of Three thoufand (as he (V) himfelf tells us) 
 but being invifible to every one's Eyes but his alone, the 
 credit of it Hands upon no better Foundation, than the 
 red of his Imppjiure* his own fjngle Tefnmony only. 
 
 This 
 
 — .. . .'. ", ■ > "• ' — — - — — . ''- .... 1 " 
 
 (<*) Elmacin, lib. 1. c. 1. AU'l Pharagluus, p. ioz. Alcoran, c. 
 j. Sc Conv.rentirores in illud caput. (b) Alcoran, c. }. 
 
 * Hocdnge.i Bibliotheca Qrientalis, c. z. ad Suratsm Odavarn 
 AVcorani. f Alcoran, c ? J. Bidawi, (e) Alcoran, 
 
The Life of Mahomet. 5^5 
 
 This Year he altered the (f ) Kebla, that is, the Pkcs 
 towards which they directed their Prayers. For it was 
 ufual among the People of the Eaft, of ail Religions, to 
 obferve one particular Point of the Heavens, towards 
 which they all turned their Faces when they prayed. The 
 Sfesw, in what part of the World foever they were, pray- 
 ed with their Faces (g) towards Jerufalcm, becaufe there 
 was their Temple 3 the Arabians towards Mecca, becaufe 
 there was the Caaba, the chief place of their Heathen H'or- 
 fiip $ the Sabeans (i) towards the North-Star ; and the Per- 
 Jlan Idolaters, who held Fire and Light to be their chief 
 Gods, ( /Q towards the Eafl, becaufe from thence the Stat 
 did arife, which they held to be the chief Fountain of 
 both. Mahomet, from the beginning of his hnpojiure, 
 had directed his Difciples to pray (I) with their Faces to- 
 wards Jerufalem, which he was ufed to call the Holy City, 
 and the Gty of the Prophets, and intended to have order- 
 ed his Pilgrimages thither, and to have made it the chief 
 Place where all his Seel were to Worfhip. But now 
 finding that his Followers If ill bore a fuperttitious Vene- 
 ration to the Temple of Mecca, which had for many Ages 
 before been the chief Place of the Idolatrous Worfjip of the 
 Arabians, and that it would be a very prevalent Argument 
 to reconcile his Fellow-Citizens to him, if he It ill pre- 
 ferved thir Temple in its former Honour, he changed his 
 former Law to ferve his prefent Purpofe, and henceforth 
 directed his Difciples to Pray with their Faces towards (m) 
 Mecca, and ordained the Temple of that Place, which from 
 its fquare Form was called the Caaba (that Word fignify- 
 ing a Square in the Arabic Tongue) to be the chief Place 
 of Worfhip for all of his Religion, to which they were 
 {till to perform their Pilgrimages, as in former Times. 
 And to this Change he was the more inclined, out of his 
 
 E 4 Aver- 
 
 (/) Abul PharaghiiK, p. 102. Al Kodai, Abul Feda, Joannes 
 Andreas, c. 6. v. id. Buxtcfii Synagoga Tudiica, cap. id. Matmo- 
 r.ides in Halachoch Tephillah, c. 1. Sec'r. j. (g ) A 3] 
 
 Fharag'uus, p. loi. (i) Abul Phaiaghim, p. 184. {k) Po 
 
 cockii Spec. Hift. Arab. p. 148. (/) Abul R-da, Abul Pha 
 
 raghiuj, p. idz. Joannes And-eas, c. <>. Pocockii Spec. Hill. Arab, 
 p. 175. (>») Akoran, c. a. Joanne? Andreas, c. 1. & c. 6. 
 
$6 The Life o/Mahomet. 
 
 Averfion to the Jews, againft whom having, about this 
 time contracted an irreconcilable Hatred, he liked not 
 any longer to conform with them in this Rite. And 
 that his Followers might be diitinguimed from them in this 
 Particular, is the reafon («) which he himfelf gives for 
 this Change. However, (o) many of his Difciples were 
 much fcandaliz'd hereat, judging no Truth nor Stability 
 in that Religion which was fo often given to change 3 and 
 feverai left him thereon. 
 
 From this Time, the more to magnify the Temple of 
 Mecca, and to give the greater Honour and Reputation 
 thereto, have we all thofe Fabulous Stories invented, 
 wh ch the Impojhr tells us concerning it. As that it was 
 (/> ) firft built in Heaven to be the Place where the Angels 
 were to wor/hip ; and that Adam worfhipped at it while 
 in Paradife 3 but being cart down from thence (Tor they 
 place Paradife in Heaven) he prayed God, that he might 
 have fuch a Temple on Earth, towards which he might 
 pray, and go round it in holy Wor/hip unto him, in the 
 fame manner as the Angels went round that which he had 
 {een in Haven : That thereon God lent down the fimili- 
 tude of that Temple in Curtains of Light, and pitched it 
 at Mecca, in the place where the Caaba now irands - 7 which 
 is, fay they, exactly under the Original, which is in Hea- 
 ven ; That there, after the Death of Adam, Seth built it 
 with Stones and Clay 5 and that all the People of God 
 there worfhipped till the Flood, by which it being over- 
 thrown, God commanded Abraham again to rebuild it, 
 having /hewn him the Form of the Fabrick in a Virion, 
 and direcled him to the Place by his viable Shechinah re- 
 siding on it : That accordingly (q) Abraham and Ifmacl 
 rebuilt ir in the Place where it now Hands : And that 
 Ifmael ever after, living at Mecca, there worfhipped Gqd 
 %vith the true Worfhip 5 but his Posterity afterwa ds cor- 
 rupted it with Idolatry, and prophaned this holy Temple 
 
 with 
 
 (77) &Jcoran,c. 2. (:>) Joannes Andreas, c. 6. (p) Slia- 
 
 reilani, Pooockti Spec. Hift. Arab. p. i 1 $• S.onita: Appendix ad Geo- 
 graphiam Nubicnfein, c. 7. " (9) Alcoran, c. 2, 3, & 22. 
 
 £1 jannabi in vita Abrabami, Sliarefiani, Zamachfhari, ad cap. i' t 
 Ji corani. Sharifol Ednfi, Liber Agar. Jpanues Andi\as 3 c. 1, 
 
The Life of Mahomet. 57 
 
 with Idols, from which he was now to purge it, and con- 
 secrate it anew to the true Worfhip of God, to which it 
 was primitively intended. And he did not only thus re- 
 fain the Temple of Mecca, but alfo the Pilgrimages thither, 
 and all the abfurd Rites which were performed at them 
 in the Times of Idolatry. For thefe being the Things 
 which long ufe had created a great Veneration for in the 
 Minds of the Arabians, by adopting them all into his »fiy 
 Religion, he made it go down the eafier with them. And 
 indeed this was the principal piece of his Craft, fo to 
 frame his mw Religion in every particular, as would beft 
 take with thofe to whom he propofed it. 
 
 As to this Temple of Mecca, and what it was before Ma- 
 homet, all that is true of it, is this. It was an Heathen. 
 Temple in the fame Veneration among the Arabs, that the 
 Temple of Delphos was among the Greeks, whither all their 
 (r) Tribes, for many Ages, came once a Year to perform 
 their Idolatrous Ceremonies to their Gods ; till at length Ma- 
 homet having forced them to exchange their Idolatry for 
 another Religion altogether as bad, made this Temple alfo 
 undergo the fame change, by appointing it thenceforth to 
 be the chief place for the performing of that falfe Wor- 
 fhip which he impofed, in the fame manner as it was be- 
 fore of that which he abolimed, and fo it hath continued 
 ever fince. 
 
 This fame Year he alfo appointed the Month of (s) 
 Ramadan to be a Month of Faji. At his firft coming to 
 Medina, (r) finding the Jeius obferving the Celebration 
 of their great Fuji of the Expiation on the Tenth of their 
 firft Month, which is Tifri, he allied what it meant ; And 
 being told it was a Faji appointed by t Mofes, he replied, 
 that he had more to do with Mofes than they ; and there- 
 fore ordained the Tenth Day of Moharram, the Firft 
 Month of the Arab Year, to be a Solemn Faji with his Mufjle- 
 mans in imitation hereof, which by a Name alfo borrowed 
 from the jews, he called AjJjura, which is the fame with 
 
 the 
 
 (r) Sharcftani, Go\ : i Notce cd Alfragannm, p. 8, & ?. Makrifi. 
 Pocockii Spec. Hill. Arab. p. 177, & jn. (r) Abul Phara- 
 
 bius, p. ioi. Al Kodai. (*) Al Kazwmij PcKockii Speciro. 
 
 'ill Arab. p. io?, 
 
 t 
 
5 8 The Life o/.Mahome t; 
 
 the Hebrew AJbor, that is, the Tenth, it being the (u) 
 Tenth Day of the Month Ttfri, on which this Faji of the 
 Expiation was kept among them. And he did alfo at 
 firft adopt other of their Fajh into his Religion, hoping 
 by thefe means to win tnem over unto him. But finding 
 them ftill to oppofe him all they could, and on all Occa- 
 fions to perplex him and his Follou-ers with Qyeftions and 
 Difficulties about his Religion, which he could not find 
 Anfwers for, and on the account hereof to difparage and 
 deride him and his Impofiure, he contracted that Averfion 
 and Hatred againft them, that he refolved to differ from 
 them (tr) in this too, as well as in the particular laft 
 mention 'd - 7 and therefore abolishing the faid Fajis, which 
 he had taken from them, in imitation of the Chriflian 
 way, with whom about this time (itfeems) he was very 
 defirous to ingratiate himlelf, he appointed the whole 
 Month of Ramadan to be as it were his Lent, or a continued 
 time of folemn Falling. And this Year the Month of 
 Ramadan beginning in the Month of March, it did now 
 exactly fall in with the time of the Chriflian Lent. But the 
 reafon which he himfelf gives for his appointing of it, was, 
 becafife (x) on this Month, as he pretends, the Alcoran 
 firft came down from Heaven to him ; that is, that Chapter 
 of it which he firft publifhed. Before, it was a Month 
 ufually (y ) dedicated to Jollity and good Chear among 
 the Arabs, and while they intercalated the Year, always 
 fell in the heat of Summer ; and therefore it was called 
 Ramadan, ( z. ) becauie of the Ramado'l Har, i. e. the vehe- 
 mency of the heat, which then happen'd. 
 
 The reft of this lear (a) he fpent in Predatory Ex- 
 curfions upon his Neighbours, robbing, plundering and 
 deftroying all thole that lived near Medina, who would 
 not come in and embrace his Religion. 
 
 Heg. 2. June 24. A. D. 624.] The next Year he made 
 War (&) upon thofe Tribes of the Arabs, which were of 
 
 the 
 
 («) Leviticus, c. 16. v. zj, Mifna in Trad. Toma, & Maimo- 
 nidcs in Tract. Tom K'tppur. (<w) Ebno! Achir. (x) Al- 
 
 toran, c. z. (j) Ebn Ahmed, Al Maknzi, Pocockii Spec. 
 
 Hill. Arab. p. i7<;. (^) A! Jauhari, Ebnol Atlur, Golii 
 
 Notoe ad Alfragjnum, p. 7. Pocockii Spec. Hill. Arab. p. i?6, 
 
 (a) Elnaaciu, Abul Pbaraghius. (6) Elmacin, I. c. i> 
 
The Life of Mahomet. 59 
 
 the Jeu-ifo Religion near him 5 and having taken their 
 CajVes, and reduced them under his Power, fold them all 
 for Slaves, and divided their Goods among his Followers. 
 He being exceedingly exafperated again M Caab, one of their 
 Rabbies, this War was principally undertaken for his fake, 
 that he might take him (r) and put him to Death 3 but not 
 being able to light on him in any of thofe Places which 
 he had taken, he fent out Parties to fearch after him, or- 
 dering them to kill him whereever they mould find him. 
 The Reafon of his (d) bitter Hatred againft him was this. 
 Caab was a very eminent Poet among the Arabians, and 
 having a Brother called Bejair, that had turned Mahometan, 
 he made a very Satyrical Poem upon him for this Change, 
 wherein he fo terribly galled the Impoftor, that he could 
 not bear it, but refolved to revenge the Affront with his 
 Deftruclion, if ever he could get him into his Hands. 
 For fome time Caab efcaped all the Snares which he 
 laid for him 5 but after his Power had encreafed fo far, 
 that the greater part of Arabia had fubmitted to him, 
 he found he could be no longer fafe, but by making his 
 Peace with him 5 and therefore to purchafe it, came in 
 unto him, and profeffed himfelf a Mahometan alfo. Heteon 
 Mahomet bad him repeat that Poem which had fo much 
 offended him, which he did, putting theNameof AbuBeker 
 in every Verfe, where formerly was the Name o£ Mahomet 5 
 but this not doing, Mahomet would not give him his Par- 
 don, although at that time he did not take any Advan- 
 tage of his voluntary coming in unto him. Whereon 
 putting his Wits to work, he had recourfe to this farther 
 Device for the obtaining of his Security from him. For 
 being inform'd that Mahomet had lately gotten a new 
 Miftrefs, whom he exceedingly doated upon, and much 
 regretted her Abfence from him, while then abroad upon 
 the Wars j the crafty Jeiv ftruck in with this Paflion for 
 the mollifying of him, and compofed an excellent Poem 
 in her Commendation, which having repeated before 
 him, he to took the Heart of the old Lecher thereby, that 
 ne not only pardon'd him, but alfo received him into the 
 
 Number 
 
 0) Elmacin. ib. (d) Ecche'enfts Hal. Arab, part 1. c, 
 
 j, & EutyJi, Vindicat. p. 303, & 304. 
 
&o The Life o/Mahomet. 
 
 Number of his particular Favourites, and made him one of 
 his chief Confidents ever after. And as a Mark of his Fa- 
 vour, then beftowed on him the Cloak which he wore ; 
 which being kept by him out of an affected Veneration 
 to the Impojtor, as an holy Relick, was afterwards bought 
 by Moau-ias > when be came to the Empire , for Thirty 
 thoufand pieces of Gold, and was made the Robe which 
 he and all his Succeffors of the Houfe of Ommia conlhntly 
 wore on all Solemn Occaflons. And it's faid of this Caah t 
 that he afterwards became fo intimate with the Impojior, 
 that he took him into his greateft Secrets, even to th.it of 
 the hnpojiwe iifelf, in compofing the Alcoran, for which 
 his great Skill in the Arabic!^ Language, and all other 
 Learning then in ufe among them, exceedingly qualify 'd 
 him. 
 
 Towards the end of this Year happened the Battle of 
 Ohud, which had like to have proved fatal to the Impojior. 
 For (e) Abu Sophian y to revenge the laft Year's Affront, 
 marched againit him with an Army of Three thoufand 
 Foot and Two hundred Horfe $ and having feized the 
 Mountain of Ohud, (/) which was only four Miles diftant 
 from Medina, he fo diftreffed that Place from thence, that 
 Mahomet was forced to hazard Battle to diflodge him from 
 that Poif, although he could make no more than a 
 Thoufand Men to lead out again!! him. However, in 
 the firft Conflict he had the better, but at laft being over- 
 born by the Number of the Enemy, he loft many of his 
 Men, and among them, Hamia his Uncle, who bore the 
 Standard, and was himfelf grieyoufly v.'ounded in feveral 
 places, and had been ilain, but that Telba, one of his Com- 
 panions, and Nephew to Abu Belter, came in to his refcue, in 
 which Action (c;) he received a Wound in his Hand, 
 which deprived him of the ufe of fome of his Fingers 
 ever after. 
 
 To filvethe Objections which were raifedagainft him 
 on this Defeat, he was much put to it. Some (/>) argu- 
 ed 
 
 (e) Elmacin. lib. t. c. i. Abu] Pharaghius, p. 101. (/) Geor 
 graphia Nubienfis Clim. z. part. <$. (g) Diiputatio Chri/iiani, 
 
 c. 5. with which compare Abul Pli&rag'iius. p. 117. For there it ii 
 jZid Telha had a lame Hand. {h) Akorari, 3. 
 
The Life oJ'Mahomet. 6i 
 
 edagainft him, How he that was a Prophet of God, and 
 fo much in his Favour as he pretended, could be over- 
 thrown in Battle by the Tnfdels ? And others murmured as 
 much for the Lois of their Friends and Relations who 
 were (lain in the Battle. To fatisfy the former, he laid 
 the Caufe of the Overthrow on the Sins of fome that 
 followed him ; and faid, that for this Reafon God fufifered 
 them to be overthrown, that lb the Good might be diC 
 tinguiih'd from the Bad, and thofe who were true Believers 
 might on this Occafion be difcemed from thofe who 
 were not. And to ft ill the Complaints and Clamours of 
 the latter, he invented his Doctrine of Fate and Defilny^ 
 telling them, that thofe who were flain in the Battle, 
 though they had tarried at home in their Houfes, muft 
 have died notwithftanding when they did, the time of 
 every Man's Life being predeftinated and determined 
 by God, beyond which no Caution is able in the leaft to 
 prolong it 5 that the Beftwy of all is ftated to an Hour, 
 which cannot be altered • and therefore thofe who were 
 ilain in the Battle, died no fooner than they muft other- 
 wife have done j but in that they died fighting for the 
 Faith, they gained the Advantage of the Crown of Mar- 
 tyrdom, and the Rewards which were due thereto in 
 Paradife, where he told them they were alive with God in 
 everlafting Blifs, which was of greater Advantage than afl. 
 the Treafures of the World could in this Life have been 
 unto them : That they were there rejoycing very much, 
 that they had laid down their Life fo happily, as by 
 thus fighting in the Caufe of God, and his Law, and were 
 expreffing among themfelves exceeding Gladnefs $ that 
 thofe who ran to hinder them from going to the Battle 
 met them not. Both which Doffrines he found fo well to 
 ferve his turn, that he propagated them on all Occafions 
 'after. And they have been the darling (i) Notions of all 
 this&# ever fince, efpecially in their Wars, where cer- 
 tainly nothing can be more conducive to make them fight 
 valiantly, than a fettled Opinion, That whatever Dangers 
 they expofe themfelves to, they cannot die either fooner 
 
 or 
 
 (i) Ricaut'j Hijlory of the Trefent State of the Ottoman Emftre, 
 Bcokz.c.S. 
 
6z The Life o/Mahomet. 
 
 or later than is otherwife unalterably predetermined that 
 they muft; and that in cafe this predetermined time be 
 come, in dying fighting tor their Religion, they mall ob- 
 tain that Happinefs, as to become Martyrs thereby, and 
 immediately enter into Paradife for the Reward here- 
 of. 
 
 Heg. 4. June 13. A.T>. o'a 5.] In the Fourth Year of 
 the Hegira he waged War ( ^) with the Nadirites, zTriht 
 of the ^evcijh Arabs in his Neighbourhood, whom he 
 preffed fo hard, that he forced them to leave their Cajiles 5 
 part of them retiring to Chaibar, a City belonging to 
 thofe of their Religion 3 and part flying into Syria. Thofe 
 latter that fled into Syria, Mundir Ehn Omar, with a Party 
 of the Men of Medina, purfued after, and having ever- 
 taken them near the Borders of that Country, put them 
 all to the Sword, excepting only one Man that efcaped. 
 With fuch Cruelty did thofe Barbarians hrft fet up to 
 fight for that Impojiure they had been deluded into. This 
 fame Year he fought the fecond Battle of Beder, and had 
 many other Skirmi flies with thofe who refufed to fubmit 
 to him, in which he had fometimes profperous, and feme- 
 times dubious Succefs. 
 
 But while his Army was Abroad on thefe Expeditions, 
 fome of his Principal Men engaging at Play and Drink, 
 in the heat of their Cups fell a quarrelling, which raifed 
 fuch a Difturbance among the reft of his Men, that they 
 had like to have fallen all together by the Ears, to the 
 confounding of him and all his DefTgns ; and therefore 
 for the preventing of the like Mifchief for the future, 
 ( /) he forbad the ufe of Wine, and all Games of Chance 
 ever after. And to make his Prohibition the more in- 
 fluential, he backs it with a ( m ) Fable of Two Angeh, 
 called Ana and Maria, who he tells us were in times pair- 
 
 fent 
 
 (£) Flmacin, 1. 1. c. 1. Abul Pharaj'hius, p. ioz. (I) Al 
 
 KoJai, Pocodui Spearo. Hill. Arab. p. 175. Alcoran, c. 5. Fomlit. 
 lid. lib. 4. ConfiJ. 5. (w) Alcoran, cap. 2. ZamachTiari & 
 
 Bid nvi, aliique Commentatorcs ;;d iilud canur. Dialogue Mahometls 
 cum Abdoliah, Richard i Confiiratio Legi: Saracen icae, c. 4. Canta- 
 cu7en. Orar. 2. Sect. 15. BelloniiH, 1. 3. c. 6. Guadagnol. Trac~c 4- 
 c. 4. e Libro Agar. 
 
The Life of Mahomet. 6$ 
 
 fent down from Heaven to adminifter Juftice, and teach 
 Men Righteoufnefs in the Province of Babylon • that while 
 they were there, a certain Woman coming to them for 
 Juitice, invited them home to Dinner, and fet Wine be- 
 fore them, which God had forbidden them to drink 5 but 
 being- tempted by the Pleafantnefs of the Liquor to tranf- 
 grefs the Divine Command, they became fo drunk, that 
 they tempted the Woman to Lewdnefs ; who promifed to 
 confent, on condition that the one of them mould firft 
 carry her to Heaven , and the other bring her back again. 
 But the Woman being got to Heaven would not come back 
 again, but declared to God the whole Matter. Where- 
 upon, for Reward of her Chaftity, fhe was made the 
 'Morning-Star. And the Angels having this Option given 
 them, whether they would be puni/hed for their 
 Wickednefs, either now, or hereafter, chofe the former 1 
 whereupon they were hung up by the Feet by an Iron 
 Chain in a certain Pit near Babylon y where they are to 
 continue fuffering the Punifhment of their Tranfgreffion 
 till the Bay of Judgment. And that for this Reafon God 
 forbad the ufeof Wine to all his Servants ever after. But 
 (w) Busbequiws, and out of him (0) Ricaut give the Reaion 
 ©f his forbidding the ufe of Wine from another Occaiion y 
 which they thus relate 5 Mahomet making a Journey to a 
 Friend of his, at Noon entered into his Houfe, where there wm 
 a Marriage- Feaji ; and fitting down with the Guefis, he obfer- 
 vedthem to be very merry and jovial, kijfing and embracing one 
 another, which wxi attributed to the Chesrfulnefs of their Sprits 
 raifed by the Wine, fo that he bleffed it as a f acred Thing in be- 
 ing thus an lnflrument of much Love among Men. But retur- 
 ning to the fame Houfe the next Day, he beheld another Face of 
 Things, at Gere-blood on the Ground, an Hand cut off, an Arm y 
 Foot, and other Limbs difmembred, which he was told was the 
 Ejfecl off the Brawls and Fighting, occafondby the Wine, which 
 made them mad, and inflamed them into a Fury, thm to dejiroy 
 one another. Whereon he changed his Mind, and turned his for- 
 mer Bleffng into a Curfe, and forbad it ever after to all his Dif~ 
 ciples. But he himfelf feems totally to refer the Reafon 
 
 of 
 
 ( n ) Epift. ;. ( ) Eijlors of the Prefent State of tls 
 
 Occomaii Empire. Booh 1. c. 2 5. 
 
6$ The Life o/Mahomit. ; 
 
 of the Prohibition, to the Quarrel which Wine and Plajf 
 at Games of Chance had caufed among them. For in the 
 yh Chapter of the Alcoran, where he gives his Law con- 
 cerning this Matter, his Words are, The Devil dejires to 
 foiv Diffenfion and Hatred among you, thro'' Mine and Games of 
 Chance^ to divert you from remtmbrmg God, andprayi>j;.{ unto 
 him. Abandon If ine and Games of Chance. be obedient to 
 Gody and the Prophet his Apojile, and tafy heed to yourjelves.- 
 The Truth of the Matter is, the Arabians (^J were 
 given to drink Wine to great Excefs, when they could 
 come by it ; and being ot an hot Temper, as living moft 
 of them within the Torrid Zone, were liable to be inflamed 
 by it into the higheft Diforders $ and this Mahomet having 
 had fufficient Experience of, particularly in the dangerous 
 Inftance I have mentioned, did, in refpecT: of his Ara- 
 bians, prudently enough provide againii the like Mif- 
 chief for the future, by thus taking away the Caule from 
 whence it did flow. 
 
 Heg. 5. June 2. A. D. 627.] The next Year was the 
 War of the Ditch, where Mahomet was in great Danger of 
 being totally ruined. For the Men of Mecca having en- 
 tred into Confederacy with feveral of the Tribes or the 
 Jeivijb Arabians, to whom he had declared himfelf a mor- 
 tal Enemy { q ) marched againfl: him under the Com- 
 mand of jofeph, the Brother of Abu Sophian, with an Army 
 of Ten thoufand Men. Mahomet march'd forth to meet 
 them; but being terrified with their Number, by the' 
 Advice of Abdollah Ebn Salem, the Perfian Jew above men- 
 tioned (whomElmacinut calls Salman) fortified himfelf with 
 a deep Ditch, within which Intrenchment the Enemy 
 befieged him many Days, which time the crafty Impoftor 
 employed to corrupt over to his Intereft their leading 
 Men. In which Attempt having fucceeded with fome 
 of them, he did, by their means, fow fuch Diffenfions 
 among the reft, as foon extricated him from all this 
 Danger he was fallen into, which happened on this Oc- 
 cafion. There was then in the Enemies Camp, (V) Amrm 
 
 Ebn 
 
 (p) Ecchelenfis Hift. Arab. Part, is c. <,. Richardi Confutatio, 
 c. 8. (7) Elmacin, 1. 1. c. 1. Abul Pharaghius, p» *o2.- 
 
 (r) Ecchelcafis, Hill. Arab. p. 1. c* 5* Abul Fiiaraguius, p. lvs# 
 
The Life of M a h o te t r: 45? 
 
 HiJiiHty againft each other j but with how great Fury ib- 
 ever one Vibe might be engaged again!} another (as was 
 ufual among them) as foon as any or" thofe Sacred Months 
 began, they all immediately defifted, and taking oft 7 the 
 heads from their Spears, and laying alide all othef 
 Weapons of War, had intercourfe, and intermingled 
 together, as if there had been perfect Peace and Friend- 
 ship between them, without any fear of each other 5 fo 
 that if a Man mould meet on thofe Months him that 
 hadilain his Father, or his Brother, he durtt not meddle 
 with him, how violent foever his Hatred or Revenge 
 might prompt him to it. And this was conitantly obfer- 
 ved among all the ancient Arabs, till broken in this War, 
 which from hence was called the Impious War, And in 
 this Impious War ( 1^) Mahomet having firft taken Arms, 
 gave a Prefage thereby to what impious purpofe he 
 would ufe them all his Life after. 
 
 But the Hegira being that, which all of the Mahometan 
 Religion have, ever fince the Conftitution of Omar, com- 
 puted by 5 the Subject Matter of the Hiftory which I now 
 write, obligeth me henceforth to make ufe of this ./Ens 
 through the remaining part of it. But becaufe it com- 
 puteth by Lunary Years only, and not by Solary, it's re- 
 quifite that I here inform the Reader of the nature of 
 thofe Years, and the manner how the Hegira computethby 
 them. Anciently the Arabs, although ( / ) they always 
 ufed Lunary Years, yet by intercalating Seven Months in 
 Nineteen Years, in the manner as do the Jews, reduced 
 them to Solary Years $ and confequently had their Months 
 always fixed to the fame Seafon of the Year. But this 
 growing cut of ufe about the Time of Mahomet, their 
 Year hath ever fince been ftri&ly Lunary, confifting only 
 of Three hundred fifty four Days, eight Hours, and For- 
 ty eight Minutes, ( ?») which odd Hours and Minutes 
 in thirty Years making Eleven Days exactly, they do in- 
 tercalate a Day on the id, jrfc, ftkj rorfc, tpb } i<jtb, i8rfr s 
 
 E ' zifti 
 
 ( k ) Al Kochi, Al Ramus Pocockii Specim. Hifl. Arab. p. 
 174- ( /' ) Al Jauhari, Ebnol Athir, Pocockii Specim. Hift. 
 
 Arab, p. 177. (w) Golii Mots ad Altragamun, p. n. 
 
 Sctligerde EmCudationS temporunu lib, z. cap. de Ar.no Hegirae, 
 
5<d The Life o/Mahomet. 
 
 21/?, 24th, 2<Jtf>, and 29th, Years of this Period. So that 
 their Year, in thofe Years of this Period, confills of 
 Three hundred fifty five Days, by reafon of the interca- 
 lated Day, which they then add to the laft Month of the 
 Year. And this Year all that profefs the Mahometan Reli- 
 gion have ever made ufe of 5 and there is a Paflage in the 
 Alcoran ( n ) whereby they are confined to it. For the 
 Impojior there calls it an Impiety to prolong the Year, that is, 
 by adding an Intercalary Month thereto. So that according 
 to this Account, the Mahometan Year falling eleven Days 
 fhort of the Solary ; it hence comes to pafs, that the be- 
 ginning of the Year of the Hegirais unfix'dand ambula- 
 tory (the next Year always beginning eleven Days fooner 
 than the former) and therefore fometimes it happens in 
 Summer, fometimes in Spring, fometimes in Winter, and 
 fometimes in Autumn; and in thirty and three Years com- 
 pafs goes thorough all the different Seafonsof the Year, and 
 comes about again to the fame time of the Solary Year, al- 
 though not exactly to the fame Day. Which being like 
 to create fome Confufion to us who are ufed to the Solary 
 Year; to prevent this, after the Year of the Hegira y in the 
 Margin, I add the Day of the Month in the Year of our 
 Lord in which it begins. The Months of the Arab Year 
 are as follow 3 1. Moharram. 2. Saphar. 3. The former 
 Rabia. 4. The later Rabia. 5. The former Jornada. 6. The 
 later Jornada. 7. Rajeb. 8. Shaban. <?. Ramadan. IO. 
 Shaivall. II. DnU{iiada. 1 2. Dulhagha. The firft hath 
 thirty Days, and the fecond twenty nine, and fo alter- 
 natively to the end of the Year ; only in the Intercalary 
 Years, Dulhagha hath thirty Days, becaufe of the Day 
 added, but on all other Years only twenty nine. 
 
 But befides this JEra, the Mahometans in Perjla have an- 
 other, which they reckon by in all Civil Matters, called 
 the JEra of Yazdejerd. It computes by Solary Years of 
 Three hundred fixty five Days without any Intercalation, 
 and is in ufe among the Aftronomers all over the Eafi. It 
 hath its beginning ten Years after the Hegira, not from the 
 Death of Yazdejerd (as all Chronologers hitherto, follow- 
 ing 
 
 ( n ) Alcoraiij c. 9. 
 
The Life' cf Mahomet, 51 
 
 ing the Miftake of Scaliger, have erroneoufly afTcrted) 
 but from his fir It Advancement to the Crown of Perjia. 
 The Hiltory of this Matter is thus. * After the Death 
 oiChofroes, the Second of that Name ( which happen'd 
 An.Dom. 6iti.) in four Years time eight feveral Perions 
 having fucceffively povTevTed themfelves of the Throne of 
 Perfui, and mo it of them by violent means, this created 
 fuch DiftratSHons and Confufions through all that King- 
 dom, by reafon of the great Divifions, and feveral dif- 
 ferent Interests, which lo many Revolutions in fo mort 
 a time had occafion'd among them, that at length all Par- 
 ties growing weary of fo deftruclive a State of their 
 Affairs, came to an Agreement of fettling again under a 
 Prince of the Royal Family, and to this purpofe made 
 choice of Yazdejerd, a Grandfon of Chqjroqs, who was a 
 young Man of fifteen Years old, and fent into Arabia 
 (where he was fled for his Safety) to Abu Beker, then 
 newly chofen Succeffor to Mahomet, to demand him for 
 their King ; and having accordingly obtain'd him, did 
 on the 1 6th day of Junr, Anno Bom. 61,2. in the Eleventh 
 Year of the Hegira, place him on the Throne of his An- 
 cestors j which being fo fignal a Reiteration of that King- 
 dom to its former Peace and Settlement, after fo great a 
 disturbance of it, they made this the beginning of a 
 new JEra f among them, which from the Name of 
 the King, they called the JEra of Yazdejerd. And 
 therefore it doth not begin from the Death of that Prince 5 
 for he lived nineteen Years after, and fought many Bat- 
 tels againft the Saracens, during the Reign of Omar and 
 Othmatt, SuccefTors of Abu Bekcr, in defence of his Country, 
 till at length he was (lain by the Treachery of one of his 
 own Captains, in the thirty rlrft Year of the Hegira, Anr.o 
 Bom. d'51. nineteen Years after this JErx y denominated 
 from him, firft commenced, which all agree was in the 
 Eleventh Year of the Hegira. 
 
 JE 1 Heg. 
 
 * Abul Pharaghius, p. 1 12. & p. 1 16. Futychius, part 2. p. 25 <. 
 & p. 296. E.macm, lib. 1. c."z. &, c. 4. t rT;u S- Beg. de 
 
 Co? itione Epoch, c. j. Where fyeakittgof the Perlun Epocha, he 
 laththefe Words, Prbcpium hujus Epochce tuit dies Martis initio 
 Siini <}jjo piimum regnavit Vaiifcjcrcltis fi.ius SLuhnari. 
 
5 2 The Life of Mahomet. 
 
 Heg. i. <july 16. A. D. 6zz.~\ The firft thing that * 
 Mahomet did after his having fettled himfelf at Medina, 
 was to Marry his Daughter Fatima to his Coufin ^/i. She 
 was the only Child then living,, of fix which were born 
 to turn of r Cadigha his firfl Wife ^ and indeed the only 
 one which he had, notwithflanding the multitude of his 
 Wives, ( p ) that furvived him, whom he exceedingly 
 loved, and wis ufed to give great Commendations of her, 
 reckoning her among the perfe&eft of Women. For he 
 was ( q ) ufed to fay, That among Men there were many 
 perfect, but of Women he would allow only four to be 
 fuch, and thefe were sffiah the Wife of Pharoah ; Mary 
 the Mother of Chrijl 5 Cadigha his Wife, and Fatima his 
 Daughter. From her all that pretend to be of the Race 
 of Mahomet derive their defcent. 
 
 And new the Impoflor having obtain'd the End he had 
 been long driving at, that is, a Town at his Command where 
 to arm Kis Party, and head them with fecurity ; for the fur- 
 ther p.ofccution of his Defign, he here enters on a new 
 Scene. Hitherto he had been preaching up his Impofture 
 for thirteen Years together; for the remaining ten Years 
 of his Life he. takes the Sword and fights for it. He 
 had long been teazed and perplexed at Mecca with Qiief- 
 tions, and Objections, and Difputes about what he Preach- 
 ed, whereby being often gravel'd and non-plus'd, to the 
 Laughter of his Auditors, and his own Shame and Con- 
 fuiion, out cf hatred to this way ( r ) he henceforth for- 
 bids all manner of difputing about his Rctigiqn ; and 
 that he might be fure to have no more of it, makes it 
 for the future to be no lefs than Death for any one in the 
 leaft to contradict or oppofeany of the Doclrines which 
 he had taught. The way that hislieligion was to be pro- 
 pagated, he now tells his Difciples, was not by Difpu- 
 ting, but ( s ) by Fighting ; and therefore commands 
 
 them 
 
 * Elmacin, lib. 1. c. i. Abul Feda, &c. (/> \\ nil M1.1- 
 
 rj^tiius', p. 103. ( <f ) Abul Feda, P<xoc':ii Spocim. rift. 
 
 Arab. p. 1 &$. ( r ) Akoran, c. 4. Canta uzett; O at. 1. 
 
 ."vSecl. 1:. Joanne? Andrea-;, c. 11. ( s ) A coraiS, c. 1/$, 
 
 , 4, 9, &*. Joanne? And ccs, c. iz. Difputatio C rifti m, c. 8. Can- 
 
 tacuzeni Out. 1 Apolog. 4. Richardi Contmat.o, c. 10. 
 
The Life oJMahomet. 53 
 
 t'hem all to arm thcmfelves, and flay with the Sword all 
 thofe that would not embrace it, unlefs they fubmitted 
 to pay an Annual Tribute for the redemption of their Lives. 
 And accordingto this his Injunction, even unto this Day, 
 all who live under any Mahometan Government, and are not 
 of their Religion, ( t ) pay an Annual Tax for a conltant 
 Mulct of their Infidelity (which in Turkey («) is called the 
 Carradge) and are fure to be pumfhed with (w) Death, if 
 in the lead they contradict or oppofe any Doctrine that is 
 received among them to have been taught by Mahomet. 
 And certainly there could not be a wifer way devifed for 
 upholding ot lo abiurd an Impoftnre, than by thus iilencing, 
 under fo Fevere a Penalty, ail manner of Opposition and 
 Difpures againftit. 
 
 After the Imfoftor had fufficiently infufed this DoVrine 
 into his Difciples, he next proceeds to put it in practice 5 
 and having erected his Standard, calls all rhem to come 
 armed thereto- where having enrolled them all for the 
 War, ( x ) he gives his Standard to his Uncle Hamza, con- 
 stituting him thereby his Standard-bearer; and out of the 
 fpecial Confidence he had in him, fent him out on the 
 fir{r Expedition which was undertaken in his Caufe. For 
 understanding that (jy) the Caravan of Mecca was now on 
 the Road in their return from Syria, he ordered out Hamui 
 with a Party of Thirty Horfe to way-lay and plunder 
 them ; and he haring accordingly polled himfelf in a 
 Wood in the Country of Yamama, by which they were 
 to pafs, they tarried their coming; but on theirapproach, 
 finding them guarded with Three hundred Men, fent 
 from Mecca to convey them fafe home, he durft not fet 
 upon them, but fled and returned to Medina, without 
 effecting any thing. And feveral other Expedition*, 
 which were this Year undertaken of the fame nature, 
 had no better fuccefs. 
 
 Heg. z. July ',. A. D. <5"23.] The next Yeir a very rich 
 Caravan going from Mecca towards Syria, and carrying a 
 
 ( t ) Thevenot, part 1, lib. 1. c. 55. ( it ) There lot, 
 
 pare 1. lib. 1. c. iS. ( <w ) Cantacuzen. Orat. z. Sect. <>. 
 
 Thevcaot, part. 1. iib. 1. c. 2,8. ( x ) Elniacin. lib. r. 
 
 •*' *■ ( y ) Elmacin, ib. Pifputat. Chriftiani, c 4. 
 
54 The Life of Mahomet. 
 
 great quantity both of Goods and Money, which belong- 
 ed to the Merchants of Mecca, that traded into that 
 Country, he went out with Three hundred and nineteen 
 Men to intercept it. But {a) coming up with them at a 
 Place called Bedex, he found them guarded by a Convoy 
 of a Thoufand Men, under the Command of Abu Sophian, 
 whereon a fierce Battle enfued between them ; but Ma- 
 homet gaining the Viclory, Abu Saltan made as good a 
 Retreat as he could back again to Mecca, faving moil of 
 the Caravan with him, at which Mahomet's Men much (b) 
 repined. However great Spoils were gained by them in 
 this Battle, which had like to have made a Quarrel among 
 them about the Divifion. For the Army confiding or 
 two Parties, the Men or Medina, who were called the 
 Anfers, that is, Mahomet's Helpers 5 and the Men of Mecca, 
 who were called the Mohager-vps, that is, the Companions of 
 his Flight 5 the * former would have had a larger Share 
 than the latter. To falve this Controverfy, Mahomet 
 cempofedthe Eighth Chapter of his Alcoran, wherein he 
 adjudgeth the fifth part to himfelf, and the reft to be 
 equally divided between them. 
 
 The Succefs of this Battle gave great encouragement 
 to the Impojtor, and his Party. He frequently brags of it 
 in his Alcoran, and would have it believed that f two 
 Miracles were wrought for his obtaining of it ^ the firft, 
 That Gad made his Enemies fee his jlrmy as double to 
 what it was, which helped to difinay them 5 and the 
 fecond, That he fent Troops of Angels to his afliftance, 
 which helped to overcome them. They were to the 
 number of Three thoufand (as he (e) himfelf tells us) 
 but being invifible to every one's Eyes but his alone, the 
 credit of it Kinds upon no better Foundation, than the 
 reft or his Impqjiure, his own fingle Xjcrmony only. 
 
 This 
 
 {a) Elmacin, fib. 1. c. r. Abul Pharaghiiis, p. roi. Alcoran, c. 
 
 £. & Co: h illiicl cap** (h) Alcoran, c. ?. 
 
 * Horn. 1 Qrientalis, c. 2. ad Suratam Qc~tavam 
 
 A coram. koratf.Cf'J.'Bftiawi (e) Alccjratu 
 
The Life of Mahomet. 55 
 
 This Year he altered the (f) Kebla, that is, the PLce 
 towards which they directed their Prayers. For it was 
 ufuul among the People of the Eaji, of all Religions, to 
 obferve one particular Point of the Heavens, towards 
 which they all turned their Faces when they prayed. The 
 Jews, in what part of the World ioever they were, pray- 
 ed with their Faces (g) towards Jerufalem, becaufe there 
 was their Temple $ the Arabians towards Mecca, becaufe 
 there was the Caaba, the chief place of their Heathen Wor- 
 fhip 3 the Sabeans (i) towards the North-Star ; and the Per- 
 jian Idolaters, who held Fire and Light to be their chief 
 Gods, ( ^ ) towards the Eafi, becaufe from thence the Sun 
 did arife, which they held to be the chief Fountain of 
 both. Mahomet, from the beginning of his Impojiuve, 
 had directed his Difciples to pray (I) with their Faces to- 
 wards Jerufatem, which he was ufed to call the Holy City, 
 and the City of the Prophets, and intended to have order- 
 ed his Pilgrimages thither, and to have made it the chief 
 Place where all his Se£t were to Wor/hip. But now 
 finding that his Followers {till bore a fuperllitious Vene- 
 ration to the Temple of Mecca, which had for many Ages 
 before been the chief Place of the Idolatrous Worfoip of the 
 Arabians, and that it would be a very prevalent Argument 
 to reconcile his Fellow-Citizens to him, if he it 1 11 pre- 
 ferved thir Temple in its former Honour, he changed his 
 former Law to ferve his prefent Purpofe, and henceforth 
 directed his Difciples to Pray with their Faces towards (m) 
 Mecca, and ordained the Temple of that Place, which from 
 its fquare Form was called the Caaba (that Word fignify- 
 ing a Square in the Arabic Tongue) to be the chief Place 
 of Worfhip for all of his Religion, to which they were 
 (till to perform their Pilgrimages, as in former Times. 
 And to this Change he was the more inclined, out of his 
 
 E 4 Aver- 
 
 ( f ) Abul Pharaghius, p. 102. Al Kodai, Abul Feda, Joajxags 
 Andreas, c. 6. v. 10. Buxtorfii Synago^a Jud:i:a, cap. 10. Maimo- 
 nides in Halachorh Tephillah, c. '1. Sat*. 3. (;g ) Abul 
 
 Pharaghius, p. 101. (i) Abul Pharaghius p. 184. (/.') Po- 
 
 cockii Spec. Hirt. Arab. p. 14S. (/) Abul Feda, Abul Pha- 
 
 raghius, p. 10a. Jo.mnes Andreas, c. 6. Pocck'.ui Spec. Hill. Arab. 
 P- *7.i» ('») Alcoran, c. 2. Joannes Andreas, 2. & c. 6. 
 
%6 The Life of Mahomet. 
 
 Averfion to the jfcw, againft whom having, about this 
 time contracted an irreconcilable Hatred, he liked not 
 any longer to conform with them in this Rite. And 
 that his Followers might be diftinguifhed from them in this 
 Particular, is the reafon («) which he himfelf gives for 
 this Change. However, (o) many of his Dilciples were 
 much fcandaliz'd hereat, judging no Truth nor Stability 
 in that Religion which Was fo often given to change j and 
 feveral left him thereon. 
 
 From this Time, the more to magnify the Temple of 
 TsAecca, and to give the greater Honour and Reputation 
 thereto, have we all thofe Fabulous Stories invented, 
 which the Impojior tells us concerning it. As that it was 
 (/> ) firft built in Heaven to be the Place where the Angels 
 were to wor/hip ; and that Adam worfhipped at it while 
 in Paradife 3 but being caft down from thence ("for they 
 
 Elace Paradife in Heaven) he prayed God, that he might 
 ave fuch a Temple on Earth, towards which he might 
 pray, and go round it in holy Worfhip unto him, in the 
 lame manner as the Angels went round that which he had 
 feen ip Heaven : That thereon God fent down the fimili- 
 tude of that Temple in Curtains of Light, and pitched it 
 at Mecca, in the place where the Caaba now {lands j which 
 is, fay they, exactly under the Original, which is in Hea- 
 ven : That there, after the Death of Adam, Setb built it 
 with Stones and Clay 5 and that all the People of God 
 there worshipped till the Flood, by which it being over- 
 thrown, God commanded Abraham again to rebuild it, 
 having /hewn him the Form of the Fabrick in a Vifion, 
 and directed him to the Place by his vifible Skec hinah re- 
 siding on it : That accordingly (7) Abraham and Ifmael 
 rebuilt it in the Place where it now ftands : And that 
 Ifmael ever after, living at Mecca, there worshipped Gad 
 with the true Wor/hip ■ but his Pofterity afterwaids cor- 
 rupted it with Idolatry, and prophaned this holy Temple 
 
 with 
 
 (w) A 1 co an, c. 2. (0) Joannes Andreas, c. 6. (p)SUa~ 
 
 refianij Poc'eickli S ee. Hift. Arab. p. 115. S onitce Appendix ad Geo- 
 graphic Nubienfem; 7. (7) Alcoran, c. 2, $, & 22. 
 Al Jannabi in vita Abrahami, Sharcftani, Zamachfaari, ad cap, a, 
 rani. Shame 1 Edna, Liber Agar. Joannes Andreas; c« j, • 
 
■The Life o/Mahomet. 57 
 
 .with Idols , from which he was now to purge it, and con- 
 iterate it anew to the true Worfhip of God, to which it 
 -was primitively mended. And he did not only thus re- 
 tain the Temple of M..cca, but alfo the Pilgrimages thither, 
 and all the abfurd Rites which were performed at them 
 in the Times of Idolatry. For thefe being the Things 
 which long ufe had created a great Veneration for in the 
 Minds of the Arabians, by adopting them all into his#m/ 
 Religion, he made it go down the eafier with them. And 
 indeed this was the principal piece of his Craft, fo to 
 frame his new Religion in every particular, as would beii 
 take with thofe to whom he propofed it. 
 
 As to this Temple of Mecca, and what it was before Ma- 
 homet, all that is true of it, is this. It was an Heathen 
 Temple in the fame Veneration among the Arabs, that the 
 Temple of Delphos was among the Greeks, whither all their 
 (r) Tribes, for many Ages, came once a Year to perform 
 their Idolatrous Ceremonies to their Gods 5 till at length Ma- 
 homet having forced them to exchange their Idolatry for 
 another Religion altogether as bad, made this Temple alfo 
 undergo the fame change, by appointing it thenceforth to 
 be the chief place for the performing of that falfe Wor- 
 ship which he impofed, in the fame manner as it was be- 
 fore of that which he abolifhed, and fo it hath continued 
 ever fince. 
 
 This fame Year he alfo appointed the Month of (s) 
 Ramadan to be a Month of Faft. At his firft coming to 
 Medina, (t) finding the Jews obferving the Celebration 
 of their are'it-Faft of the Expiation on the Tenth of their 
 firft Month, which is Tifri, he afked what it meant 5 And 
 being told it was a Faft appointed by Mofes, he replied, 
 that he had more to do with Mofes than they j and there- 
 fore ordained the Tenth Day of Moharram, the Firfl; 
 Month of the Arab Year, to be a Solemn Faft with his Mufjle- 
 mans in imitation hereof, which by a Name alfo borrowed 
 from the Jews, he called Ajhura, which is the fame with 
 
 the 
 
 (>•) Shareftani, Co'H Norx rd Alfraganrim, p. 8, & 9. MakriU. 
 Poccu'ki! Spec. Hiit. Arab. p. 177, & jn, (y) Abul Phara- 
 
 gluus, p. xoa. Al Kodai. (t) Al Kazwini, Pocockii Specim. 
 
 Hilt Arab, p, }o% 
 
58 The Life of Mahomet: 
 
 the Hebrew Apor, that is, the Tenth, it being the (u) 
 Tenth Day of the Month Ttfri, on which this Faji of the 
 Expiation was kept among them. And he did alfo at 
 firft adopt other of their Fajis into his Religion, hoping 
 by thefe means to win tnem over unto him. But finding 
 them ftill to oppofe him all they could, and on all Occa- 
 iions to perplex him and his Followers with Queftions and 
 Difficulties about his Religion, which he could not find 
 Anfwers for, and on the account hereof to difparage and 
 deride him and his Impojiure, he contracted that Averfion 
 and Hatred againft them, that he refolved to differ from 
 them (w) in this too, as well as in the particular laft 
 mention 'd ; and therefore aboliming the faid Fajis, which 
 he had taken from them, in imitation of the Chriftian 
 way, with whom about this time (itfeems) he was very 
 defirous to ingratiate himfelf, he appointed the whole 
 Month of Ramadan to be as it were his Lent, or a continued 
 time of folemn Fafting. And this Year the Month of 
 Ramadan beginning in the Month of March, it did now 
 exactly fall in with the time of the Chriftian Lent. But the 
 reafon which he himfelf gives for his appointing of it, was, 
 becaufe (*) on this Month, as he pretends, the Alcoran 
 firft came down from Heaven to him ; that is, that Chapter 
 of it which he firft publi/hed. Before, it was a Month 
 ufually (y ) dedicated to Jollity and good Chear among 
 the Arabs, and while they intercalated the Year, always 
 fell in the heat of Summer 5 and therefore it was called 
 Ramadan, ( x ) becaufe or the Ramado'l Har, i. e. the vehe- 
 mency of the heat, which then happen'd. 
 
 The reft of this Year ( a ) he fpent in Predatory Ex- 
 cursions upon his Neighbours, robbing, plundering and 
 deftroying all thofe that lived near Medina, who would 
 not come in and embrace his Religion. 
 
 //<?£. 2. June 24. -d> D. 624.] The next Year he made 
 War (&) upon thofe Tribes of the Arabs, which were of 
 
 the 
 
 («) Leviticus, c. ic v. 2.9. Mifna in Tract. Toma, & Maimo- 
 nides in Tract. \cm Kippur. (<iv) Ebnol Arhir. (x) Al- 
 
 coran, 2. (y) Ebn Ahmed, Al Makrizi, Pocockii Spec. 
 
 Hift. Arab. p. iy<{. (t.) Al Jauhan, Ebnol Athir, Golii 
 
 Notas ad AlFraganum, p. 7. Pocockii Spec. Hill. Arab. p. 176. 
 
 (a) Elmacin, Abul Pharaghius. (fc) Elmacin, 1. c. I, 
 
The Life of M a h o m e t. 59 
 
 the Jewifi Religion near him ; and having taken their 
 ('a/ties, and reduced them under his Power, fold them all 
 for Slaves, and divided their Goods among his Followers. 
 He being exceedingly exafperated again!! Caab, one of their 
 Rabbits, this War was principally undertaken for his Hike, 
 that he might take him (Y) and put him to Death 5 but not 
 being able to light on him in any of thofe Places which 
 he had taken, he fent out Parties to fearch after him, or- 
 dering them to kill him whereever they mould find him. 
 The Reafon of his (d) bitter Hatred againft him was this. 
 Caab was a very eminent Poet among the Arabians, and 
 having a Brother called Bejair, that had turned Mahometan, 
 he made a very Satyrical Poem upon him for this Change, 
 wherein he fo terribly galled the Impojhr, that he could 
 not bear it, but refolved to revenge the Affront with his 
 Deftruclaon, if ever he could get him into his Hands. 
 For fome time Caab elcaped all the Snares which he 
 laid for him j but after his Power had encreafcd fo far, 
 that the greater part of Arabia had fubmitted to him, 
 he found he could be no longer fafe, but by making his 
 Peace with him 5 and therefore to purchafe it, came in 
 unto him, and profeffed himfelf a Mahometan alfo. Hereon 
 Mahomet bad him repeat that Poem which had fo much 
 offended him, which he did, putting the Name of Abu Belter 
 in every Verfe, where formerly was the Name of Mahomet 5 
 but this not doing, Mahomet would not give him his Par- 
 don, although at that time he did not take any Advan- 
 tage of his voluntary coming in unto him. Whereon 
 putting his Wits to work, he had recourfe to this farther 
 Device for the obtaining of his Security from him. For 
 being inform'd that Mahomet had lately gotten a new 
 Miftrefs, whom he exceedingly doated upon, and much 
 regretted her Abfence from him, while then abroad upon 
 the Wars j the crafty Jew (truck in with this Paflion for 
 the mollifying of him, and compofed an excellent Poem 
 in her Commendation, which having repeated before 
 him, he fo took the Heart of the old Lecher thereby, that 
 he not only pardon'd him, but alfo received him into the 
 
 Number 
 
 (r) Elmacin. ib. (d) Eccheleufis Hid. Arab, part 1. Co 
 
 I. <5c Eutych. Viadkat. p. 303, & 304. 
 
60 The Life of M a h o m e t. 
 
 Number of his particular Favourites, and made him one of 
 his chief Confidents ever after. An<l as a Mark of his Fa- 
 vour, then beftowed on him the Cloak which he wore j 
 which being kept by him out of an affected Veneration 
 to the Impojtor, as an holy Rel:ck > was afterwards bought 
 by Moaivias, when he came to the Empire, for Thirty 
 thoufand pieces of Gold, and was made the Robe which 
 he and all his Succeffors of the lioufe of Ommia conftantly 
 wore on all Solemn Occasions. And it's faid of this Caab, 
 that he afterwards became fo intimate with the Impofior, 
 that he took him into his greatelt Secrets, even to that of 
 the lmpofture itfelf, in compofing the Alcoran, for which 
 his great Skill in the Ara-bU\ Language, and all other 
 Learning then in ufe among them, exceedingly qualify 'd 
 him. 
 
 Towards the end of this Year happened the Battle of 
 Ohud, which had like to have proved fatal to the Impofior. 
 For (e) Ahw, Sophian, to revenge the laft Year's Affront, 
 marched againft him with an Army of Three thoufand 
 Foot and Two hundred Horfe ; and having feized the 
 Mountain of Ohud,Cf) which was only four Miles diftant 
 from Medina, he Jo diftreffed that Place from thence, that 
 'Mahomet was forced to hazard Battle to diflodge him from 
 that Poft, although he could make no more than a 
 Thoufand Men to lead out againft him. However, in 
 the flrft Conflict he had the better, but at laft being over- 
 born by the Number of the Enemy, he loft many of his 
 Men, and among them, Hamza his Uncle, who bore the 
 Standard, and was himfelf grievoufly wounded in feveral 
 places, and had been ilain, but that Tclha, one of his Com- 
 panions, and Nephew to Abu Belter, came in to his refcue, in 
 which Action (g) he received a Wound in his Hand, 
 which deprived him of the ufe of fome of his Fingers 
 ever after. 
 
 To falve the Objections which were raifedagainft him 
 on this Defeat, he was much put to it. Some (h) argu- 
 ed 
 
 0) Elmacin. lib. i. c. I. Abul Pharaghius, p. 102. (/) Geo- 
 graphia Nubienfis Clim. 2. parr. <,. (?) Difputatio Chriftiani, 
 
 c. 5; iv'ith a-h ic h compare Abul Pharag'':us, p. 117. For there it it 
 faid Telha had a lame Band, (.h) Alcoran., 3. • 
 
The Life of Mahomet. 6i 
 
 ed againft him, How he that was a Prophet of God y aitfl 
 fo much in his Favour as he pretended, could be over- 
 thrown in Battle by the Infidels ? And others murmured as 
 much for the Lois of their Friends and Relations who 
 were flairi in the Battle. To fatisfy the former, he laid 
 the Caufe of the Overthrow on the Sins of fome that 
 followed him 3 and faid, that for this Reafon God fuffered 
 them to be overthrown, that fo the Good might be dif- 
 tinguifh'd from the Bad, and thofe who were true Believers 
 might on this Occafion be difcerned from thofe who 
 were not. And to (till the Complaints and Clamours of 
 the latter, he invented his Doclrine of Fate and Dejiiny, 
 telling them, that thofe who were flain in the Battle, 
 though they had tarried at home in their Houfes, muft 
 have died notwithstanding when they did, the time of 
 every Man's Life being predeftinated and determined 
 by God y beyond which no Caution is able in the leaft to 
 prolong it 5 that the Dejiiny of all is ftated to an Hour, 
 which cannot be altered 5 and therefore thofe who were 
 flain in the Battle, died no fooner than they muft other- 
 wife have done 3 but in that they died fighting for the 
 Faith, they gained the Advantage of the Crown of Mar- 
 tyrdom, and the Rewards which were due thereto in 
 Paradife, where he told them they were alive with God in 
 everlafting Blifs, which was of greater Advantage than all 
 the Treafurei of the World could in this Life have been 
 unto them : That they were there rejoycing very much, 
 that they had laid down their Life fo happily, as by 
 thus fighting in the Caufe of God y and Ms Law, and were 
 expreffing among themfelves exceeding Gladnefsj that 
 thofe who ran to hinder them from going to the Battle 
 met them not. Both which Doftrines he found fo well to 
 ferve his turn, that he propagated them on all Occafions 
 after. And they have been the darling (i) Notions of all 
 this&ff ever fince, efpecially in their Wars, where cer- 
 tainly nothing can be more conducive to make them fight 
 valiantly, than a fettled Opinion, That whatever Dangers 
 they expofe themfelves to, they cannot die either fooner 
 
 or 
 
 (i) Ricaut'j H'ifcry of the Trefent State of the Ottoman Empire* 
 Bcok i.e. 8. 
 
62 The Life of Mahomet, 
 
 of later than is otherwife unalterably predetermined that 
 they mutt $ and that in cafe this predetermined time be 
 come, in dying fighting for their Religion, they mall ob- 
 tain that Happinefs, as to become Martyrs thereby, and 
 immediately enter into Para&fe for the Reward here- 
 of. 
 
 Heg. 4. June 13. A. D. (Si 5.] In the Fourth Year of 
 the Hegira he waged War ( 4) with the Nadirites, xTribe 
 of the Jeu-ifi Arabs in his Neighbourhood, whom he 
 preffed fo hard, that he forced them to leave their Caftles j 
 part of them retiring to Cbaibar, a City belonging to 
 thofe of their Religion $ and part flying into Syria. Thofe 
 latter that fled into Syria, Mundir Ehn Omar, with a Party 
 of the Men of Medina, purfued after, and having over- 
 taken them near the Borders of that Country, put them 
 all to the Sword, excepting only one Man that efcaped. 
 With fuch Cruelty did thofe Barbarians iirft fet up to 
 fight for that hnpojiure they had been deluded into. This 
 fame Year he fought the fecond Battle of Beder, and had 
 many other Skirmifhes with thofe who refufed to fubmit 
 to him, in which he had fometimes profperous, and fome- 
 times dubious Succefs. 
 
 But while his Army was Abroad on thefe Expeditions, 
 fome of his Principal Men engaging at Play and Drink, 
 in the heat of their Cups fell a quarrelling, which raifed 
 fuch a Difturbance among the rert of his Men, that they 
 had like to have fallen all together by the Ears, to the 
 confounding of him .and all his Defigns ; and therefore 
 for the preventing of the like Mifchief for the future, 
 ( /) he forbad the ufe of Wine, and all Games of Chance 
 ever after. And to make his Prohibition the more in- 
 fluential, he backs it with a ( m Jl Fable of Two Angels, 
 called Arut and Marut, who he tells us were in times pair 
 
 lent 
 
 . i > 
 
 (k) Elmacin; 1. 1. c. r. Abul Pha/agbius, p. 102. (/) Al 
 
 Kodai, Pococl.ii Specim. H lib Arab. p. 175. Alcoran, c. 5. Fortalit. 
 Fid. lib. 4. Coniid. 5. (wz) Alcoran, cap. 2. ZamachTiari cV 
 
 BKl.iwr^tirqrre ■Commentarores ad Hind capon Dr.lo^m Mahomet;'; 
 cum Abdol'ah, Richaidi Conrutatio i-cgii. S.iracenkw, c. 4. Canta- 
 cuzen. O.ar. z. Sect. 15. Eellouius, 1. 3. 6. GuadaguoJ. TracM. 
 c. 4. e Lib:© Agar. 
 
The Life of Mahomet. 63 
 
 fbnt down from Hoxven to adminifter Juftice, and teach 
 Men Righteoufnefs in the Province of Babylon j that while 
 they were there, a certain Woman coming to them for 
 Jutiice, invited them home to Dinner, and fet Wine be- 
 fore them, which God had forbidden them to drink 3 but 
 being tempted by the Pleafantnefs of the Liquor to tranf- 
 grefs the Divine Command, they became fo drunk, that 
 they tempted the Woman to Le wdnefs 5 who promiied to 
 confent, on condition that the one of them mould firft 
 carry her to Heaven, and the other bring her back again. 
 But the Woman being got to Heaven would not come back 
 again, but declared to God the whole Matter. Where- 
 upon, for Reward of her Chaftity, me was made the 
 Morning-Star. And the Angels having this Option given 
 them, whether they would be punifhed for their 
 Wickednefs, either now, or hereafter, chofe the former; 
 whereupon they were hung up by the Feet by an Iron 
 Chain in a certain Pit near Babylon, where they are to 
 continue fufFering the Punifnment of their Tranfgreffion 
 till the Day of Judgment. And that for this Reafon God 
 forbad the ufe of Wine to all his Servants ever after. But 
 (w) Busbequiu>s, and out of him (0) Ricaut give the Reafon 
 ©f his forbidding the ufe of Wine from another Occafion 5 
 which they thus relate ; Mahomet making a Journey to a 
 Friend of "his, at Noon entered into his Houfe, where there wm 
 a Marriage- Feaji 3 and fitting down with the Guefis, he obfer- 
 xedthem to be very merry and jovial, ki fling and embracing one 
 another, which ,w*s attributed to the Cheerfulnefs of their Sprits 
 raifed by the Wine, fo that he blejfed it as a J acred Thing in be- 
 ing thus an lnflrument of much Love among Men. But retur- 
 ning to the fame Houfe the next Day, he beheld another Face of 
 Things, as Gore-blood on the Ground, an Hand cut off, an Arm % 
 Foot, and other Limbs difmembred, which he w.ts told was the 
 .Effetl off the Brawls and Fighting, occafion' 'd by the Wine, which 
 made them mad, and inflamed them into a Fury, thus to defiroy 
 one another. Whereon he changed his Mind, and turned his for- 
 mer Bleflinginto a Curfe, and forbad it ever after to all his Dif~ 
 ciples. But he himfelf feems totally to refer the Reafon 
 
 of 
 
 ( n ) Epift. 3. ( o).Hijtorv of the Frefent State of the 
 
 Ottoman Empire, Beck 1. c. z^ 
 
<54 The Life of Mahome t. 
 
 of the Prohibition, to the Quarrel which Wine and Plaf 
 at Games of Chance had caufed among them. For in the 
 $tb Chapter of the Alcoran , where he gives his Law con- 
 cerning this Matter, his Words are, The Devil dejires to 
 fow Dijfenfion and Hatred among you, thro'' Wine and Games of 
 Chance , to divert you from remembnng God t and praying unto 
 him. Abandon JP tne and Games of Chance. he o edient to 
 God, and the Prophet his Apojile, and take heed to your, elves. 
 The Truth of the Matter is, the Arabians (p ) were 
 given to drink Wine to great Excefs, when they could 
 come by it ; and being of an hot Temper, as living molt 
 of them within the Torrid Zone, were liable to be inflamed 
 by it into the higher! Diforders $ and this Mahomet having- 
 had fufEcient Experience of, particularly in the dangerous 
 Inftance I have mentioned, did, in refpecl: of his Ara- 
 bians, prudently enough provide againit the like Mif- 
 chief for the future, by thus taking away the Caufe from 
 whence it did flow. 
 
 Heg. 5. June i. A. D. 62. 7.] The next Year was the 
 War of the Ditch, where Mahomet was in great Danger of 
 being totally ruined. P"or the Men of Mecca having en- 
 tred into Confederacy with feveral of the Tribes or -the 
 Jewijh Arabians, to whom he had declared himfelf a mor- 
 tal Enemy ( q ) marched againft him under the Com- 
 mand of jofiph, the Brother of Abu Sophian, with an Army 
 of Ten thoufand Men. Mahomet march'd forth to meet 
 them} but being terrified with their Number, by the 
 Advice of Abdollah Ebn Salem, the Perfjan Jew above men- 
 tion'd (whomElmacinm calls Salman) fortified himfelf with 
 a deep Ditch, within which Intrenchment the Enemy 
 befieged him many Days, which time the crafty Impojior 
 employed to corrupt over to his Intereft their leading 
 Men. In which Attempt having fucceeded with fbme 
 of them, he did, by their, means, fow fuch DiCfenfions 
 among the reft, as foon extricated him from all this 
 Danger he was fallen into, which happened on this Oc- 
 caflon. There was then in the Enemies Camp, (r) Amrui 
 
 Ebn 
 
 (£) Ecchelenfis Hifl. Arab. Pair. 1. c. 5. Richardi Co futatio, 
 c. 8. (<f) Elmacin, ]. 1. c. I. Abul Pharaghius, p* ioi- 
 
 (v) Ecchelcnus, Hift. Arab, p, 1. c $« Abul Prwaghius, p» K*< 
 
The Life o/Mahomet. %f 
 
 Elm Aland, an eminent Korajhifl, and Uncle to Ah, who 
 having the Reputation of being the bell Horfeman invent- 
 bia y to mew his Manhood while the two Annies iay thus 
 idle againli each other, rode up to Mahomet's Trenches, 
 and challcng'd any of his Army to fight with him in a 
 iingle Combat. Ali y although his Nephew, accepts the 
 Challenge j and having ilain Amrut, and alfo another that 
 came to his Affiitance, thole whom Mahomet" a Injh-uments 
 had wrought into a Diflenlion from the reifj took this 
 Opportunity ( s ) to defert the Camp, and march home. 
 \\ hole Examjrte the reft in this Conllernaticn following, 
 the whole Army broke up, and feparated. And fo this 
 War, from winch fo much was expecled, ended in no- 
 thing but the lofs of fix Men on Mahomet's fide, and 
 three on the other. 
 
 But tho' the Enemy could make no ufe of the Advan- 
 tage they had, yet (r) Mahomet knew how to make the belt 
 of that which they gave him by rhis Retreat. And there- 
 fore immediately marching after the Cozaites y one of the 
 li-xijb Tribes confederated againll him, befieged them in 
 their Fortreflfes, and forced them ro lurrender at Mercy 
 to Saad Elm Saad, one of his chief Commanders. But he 
 being fore of a Wound he had received at the War of 
 the Ditch, in revenge thereof caufed all the Men, and 
 among them Hahib EbnAtab their chief Commander, to be 
 put to the Sword, and the Women and Children to be fold 
 for Slaves, and all their Goods to be given for a Prey unto 
 his Soldiers ; and as foon as this was executed, died himfelf 
 of the Wound, which he had thus cruelly revenged. 
 
 He^.6. May 2.3. A. I). 627.] In the iixth Yearhefub- 
 dued («) the Lahianites y the Muftalachites, and feveral 
 other 'Tribes of the Arabs The Mujialachites were of the 
 Poflerity of the Chozaitts, whom Cofa expelled out of 
 Mecca, (tr) Mahomet having overthrown them in Battle, 
 flew moll of the Men, according to his bloody manner, 
 and took their Wives and Children Captives, among 
 
 F whom 
 
 ( s ) Abul Pkaraghius, p. ioz. Elmacin. L 1. c. u ( t ) Fl 
 
 mac ... I. i.e. 1. ( 0) Abul Pharaghius, p. ioz. Elrtucin. 
 
 '■ i- c 1. ( w ) Abul FcJji, Pocockn" Specim, Hift. Arab. 
 
 p. 42. 
 
66 The Life o/Mahomet. 
 
 whom finding Jtiweirx, the Daughter of Hareth, a Wo- 
 man of excellent Beauty, (x) he fell in Love with her, 
 and took her to him to Wife, and for her fake, releafed 
 all of her Kindred that were found among the Cap- 
 tives. 
 
 And now the Impoflor, after fo many Advantages ob- 
 tained in his Wars, being much encreafed in Strength 
 (y ) marched his Army againft Mecca, and at Hadabia, a 
 Place near that City, on the Road from thence to Jodda, 
 a Battle was fought between them, the Confequence of 
 which was, that neither fide gaining any Advantage over 
 the other, they there agreed on a Truce for ten Years ; The 
 Conditions of which were, That all within Mecca, who 
 were for Mahomet, might have liberty to join themfe'ves to 
 him j and on the other fide, Thofe with Mahomet, who had 
 a mind to leave him, and return to their Houfes mMecca, 
 might alfo have the fame Liberty. But for the future, if any 
 of the Citizens of Mecca fhould go over to Mahomet with- 
 out the Confent of the Governor of the City, he mould be 
 bound on demand to render them unto him. And that 
 if Mahomet, or any of his Party, had a Mind to come into 
 the City, they might have Liberty fo to do at any time 
 during the Truce, provided they came unarmed in a 
 peaceable way, and tarried not above three Days at a 
 time. 
 
 By this Truce Mahomet being very much confirmed in 
 his Power, took on him (i) thenceforth the Authority 
 <jf a King, and was inaugurated by the chief Men of his 
 Army, under a Tree near Medina, which immediately (it 
 feems, curfed by the Authority given fo wicked an Im- 
 fojior under it) wither'd away and perim'd, which the 
 Mahometans themfelves relate, but make another Interpre- 
 tation of it. 
 
 On Mahomet's having thus made Truce with the Men of 
 Mecca, and thereby obtained free Accefs for any of his 
 Party to come into that City, he thenceforth ordained them 
 to make their (a) Pilgrimages thither, which have ever 
 
 fince 
 
 (x) Elniacia. 1. I. c. i. (^) Elmacin. ib. (^)EI- 
 
 macin, ic. {a) Al Kodai, Pocockii Spccim. Kift. Arab. p. 
 
 175- 
 
The Life of Mahomet. 6j 
 
 fince with fo much Religion been obferved, by all of his 
 Sett, once every Year. This was an ancient Rite of the 
 Heathen Arabs, it having been a conftant Ufage (b) among 
 them for many Ages foregoing to come once a Year to the 
 Temple of Mecca, there to worfhip their Heathen Deities. 
 The time of this their Pilgrimage, (c) was in the Month of 
 Dulbagha ; and on the tenth Day of that Month was their 
 great Ftftival, in which the chiefeft Solemnities of their 
 Pilgrimage were performed, and therefore it was called Ayd 
 al Cabir, i. e. the great Feaji 3 and alio, becaufe theie So- 
 lemnities did chiefly confift in offering up Sacrifices and 
 Oblations, Ayd al Corban, that is, The Feaft of Oblation 5 
 and the whole Solemnity, Al Hagha, i. e. The Solemn Fejli- 
 ral, in the fame Senfe as the Hebrew Word Chag, from* 
 which it is derived, fignifieth any of the three Solemn Fef- 
 tivals i on which the Jews were thrice every Year to appear 
 before the Lord at the Temple of Jerufalem. And from 
 hence the Month in which this EJiival falls, is called 
 among them Dulhagha t which is as much as to fay, The 
 Month of the Solemn Fejiixal. And that all might have free 
 Liberty fafely to come to this Fejlival from all Parts of 
 Arabia, and again fafely return, was the reafon that not on- 
 ly this Month, butalfo the preceeding and following were 
 held Sacred among them, in which it was not lawful to 
 ufe any A 61 of Hoftility againtt any Man, as I have afore 
 /hewn. And therefore this Solemn Pilgrimage to Mecca ha- 
 ving been a Religioiti Ufage, which all the Tribes of the Arabs 
 had long been devoted to, and was had in great Venera- 
 tion among them, Malomet thought not fit to ruffle them 
 with any Innovation in this Matter, but adopting it into 
 his Religion, retained it juft in the fame manner as he 
 found it praclifed among them, with all the ridiculous 
 Rites appendant thereto 3 andfo it is obferved even unto 
 this Day by all of that Religion, as one of the Fundamen- 
 tal Duties of it. For the Crafty Impojtor taught them concer- 
 ning it (as he did of all the other Heathen Rites of 'the Arabs , 
 which he found neceffary to retain) that it was a Com- 
 F 2 mand 
 
 (b) Vide fupra ad Annum Hegirse fecundum* (0 Sha- 
 
 reiuni, Makrizi, Golii No.x .id Alfragunum, p. 8, & ?> Potocku 
 Spec, Hift, Arab, p. 177, 
 
68 The Life of IVTa h o m e t. 
 
 mand from God to Abraham mdlfmael, annually to obferve? 
 this Pilgrimage to Mecca 5 and that it was given unto them 
 on their rebuilding the Caaba $ and that atfirir. it was 'on- 
 ly ufed to the Honour of God, in the coming of all the 
 Arabs thither once every Year, there to worfhip together 
 before him in one Holy AfTembly, in the fame manner as 
 the Jevs were after commanded thrice every Y ear to worfhip 
 before him in their three Solemn FefHvals at Jerujalem : 
 But that in procefs of Time it became perverted to Ido- 
 latry, from which he was now commanded again to re- 
 ftore it to its primitive Ufe. And in the making of this 
 Eltablifhment, he had no fmall refpecl to his Native City, 
 that he might preferve to it the fame benefit of this Pil- 
 grimage, which it had before fo long enjoyed. And in 
 thus providing for the Intereft of that People in the very 
 Religion which he was a framing, he thought he might 
 the eafier prevail to draw them over unto it. And in 
 this he was not miftaken. For had he totally abolifhed 
 this Pilgrimage, it being the greatefl Honour and Be- 
 nefit which that Place enjoyed, and by which, indeed, 
 it did moltly fubfift 5 their Intereft would have enga- 
 ged them to that vigorous Oppofition againft him, that 
 in all likelihood he would never have become Mafter of 
 that City, and for want thereof have mifcarried in the 
 whole Defign. 
 
 Heg. 7. May 11. A. D. tfiS.] And now being thus 
 efrablifhed in the Sovereignty, which he had been fo 
 long driving at, he took to him all the Infignia belong- 
 ing thereto ; but fo that ftill he retained the Sacred Charac- 
 ter, of Chief Pontiff oi his Religion, as well as the Royal, 
 which he had now inverted himfelf with, and tranfmitted 
 them both together to all his Succeflbrs, who by the 
 Title of Caliphs reigned after him ; fo that they were in 
 the f\me manner as the Jeirijh Princes of the Race of the 
 Maccabees, Kings and Chief Priejis of their People at the 
 fame time. Their Pontijical Authority chiefly conlilled 
 in giving the Interpretation of the Mahometan Law, 
 in ordering all Matters of Religion, and alfo in officia- 
 ting in the Duties of it themfelves, as well in Pray- 
 ing as Preaching in their Publick Mofques, as on all 
 more Solemn Occafions they were ufed to do. And at 
 length this was all the Authority the Caliphs were left 
 
 poflefTed 
 
The Life o/Mahomet. 69 
 
 j-oflefled of, they being totally ftript of all the reft, 
 firft by the Governors of the Provinces (d) (who about the 
 Year of the Hegira 325. aflumed the Regal Authority to 
 themselves, and made themlelves Kings each in their 
 particular Government )xnd after by others, who rofe up on 
 thisDiilra&ion of the Empire to ufurpupon them, till at 
 lalt they left them nothing elfe but the Name and 
 Shadow of what they had afore been. For although thofe 
 Princes {till paid fome deference to the Caliph, as to a Sacred 
 Perfon (in the fame manner as is now paid to the Pope of 
 Rome by the Princes of his Communion) and fullered him 
 to be prayed for through all the Moj'ques of their Domi- 
 nions } and his Name to be inferted in the Publick.Offces, 
 even before their own, as if they had ltill been no more 
 than his Lieutenants in the Government^ as in former times5 
 yet as to all Things relating to the Government of their 
 particular States, they difowfled all manner of Obedience 
 unto him, and often depofed him, and put another in 
 his Head, as they thought would bell fuit with their Inte- 
 relt 5 which was ufually done, according asthis Prince or 
 that Prince made themfelves Matters of Bagdat, the City 
 where the Caliph refided, till at length the Tartars came 
 in, and in that Deluge of Deftruclion, with which they 
 did over-run all the Eaft, put a total End to their (?) 
 very Name and Being, as well as their Authority. Ever 
 fince that time, moll Mahometan Princes have a parti- 
 cular Officer appointed in their reipecTtive Dominions, 
 who fullains'this Sacred Authority, formerly inverted in 
 the Caliphs, who in Turkey is called the Mufti, and in Perfm 
 the Sadre j but they being under the Power of the Princes 
 that appoint them, are moll an end made ufe of for no 
 other purpofe, but as Tools of State to ferve their In- 
 tereft, and make the Law fpeak what at any time they 
 fhall judge moll agreeable to it, how wicked and unjuil 
 foever it be. 
 
 As loon as Mahomet had rimmed his Mofque at Medina, 
 
 he always, if in the Place, officiated in ithimfelf, both in 
 
 Praying, and alfo in Preaching to the People 5 for which 
 
 F 9 he 
 
 (d) Elmicin. lib. 3. cap. 1. Abul Phanghiu^ See, (/) Abul 
 PEaragMu , p. $$9> 
 
70 The Life of Mahomet. 
 
 he had no other Convenience at firft, than a piece of a 
 Beam, or the ftump of a Palm-tree droven into the Ground, 
 on the top of which he leaned when he did officiate- 
 But being now inverted with the Supreme Authority, he 
 thought this too mean an Accomodation for his Dignity : 
 and therefore, by the Advice of one of his Wives, cauiea 
 a Pulpit to be built for him, which had two Steps up into 
 it, and a Seat within to fit on 5 and this the Impoflor ever 
 after made ufe of, leaving his Beam. And thofe, who, 
 writing of Mahomet's Miracles, tell us, among othersj That 
 a Beam groaned at him, (/) mean this Beam, which they 
 fay groaned at Mahomet's leaving of it, thereby expreffing 
 its grief for being thus deferred. Othman Ebn Affan, when 
 he came to be Caliph, hung his Pulpit with Tapejiry, and 
 Moaivi-n advanced it higher, adding fix Steps more to it. 
 For being ."(g) fo exceeding Fat that he could not ftand 
 while he officiated, as all his Predeceflbrs had done, he 
 was forced to fit when he preached to the People ; 'and 
 therefore that he might be the better heard, he raifed 
 the Pulpit to this heighth, and fo it now remains in that 
 Mofque at Medina even to this Day. 
 
 This Year he led forth his Army ( h ) againft Caihar y 
 a City inhabited by Arabs of the Jewiflj Religion, who be- 
 ing overthrown by him in Battle, he beiieged their City, 
 and took it by Storm. And here thofe who are the Mag- 
 nifiers of AH, tell this Miracle of him, That in the Af- 
 fault, Sampjoh-like, he plucked up one of the Gates of the 
 City (which was of that weight, faith Abut Eda, that 
 eight other Men could not move it) and held it before 
 him'for a Shield to defend himfelf againft the Befieged, 
 till the City was taken. On Mahomet's entring the Town, 
 )ie took up his Quarters in the Houfe oSHartth, one of the 1 
 principal Inhabitants of the Place, whofe Daughter ( *) 
 Zainah, making ready a Shoulder of Mutton for his Sup- 
 per, poifoned it. And here thofe who are for afcribing 
 
 Miracles 
 
 ( / ) Al Gazali, Pocockii Spec. Hi/h Arab. p. 1 88. (g ) El- 
 
 macin. lib. I. c. 7. Eutych'ius, Tom. z. p. 560. Abul Pharaghhis, 
 p. 114. (b) Abu] Pharaghms, p. loz. Eltnacin, ]. 1. c. I. 
 
 (;) Abul Feda, Al Kodai, Al Jannabi, Pifputatio Chriftrani, c. 8.' 
 Jlichardi Contutatio, c. 13. Pocock. Spec. Hift, Arab. p. j8?, j?o t 
 
The Life o/Mahomet, 71 
 
 Miracles to Mahomet, tell us that the Shoulder of Mutton 
 /poke to him, and difcovered that it was poifoned 5 but it 
 feems, if it did fo, it was too late to do him any good. 
 For Bafoer, one of his Companions, failing on too greedily 
 to eat of it, fell down dead on the Place. And although 
 Mahomet had not immediately the fame Fate, becaufe not 
 liking the Tafte, he fpit out again what he had taken in- 
 to his Mouth, yet he let down enough to do his Bufinefs. 
 For he was never well after this Supper, and at three 
 Years end died of it. The Maid being afked why /he did 
 this, anfwered, that /he had a mind to make trial 
 whether he were a Prophet, or no. For were he a Pro- 
 phet, faid /he, he could certainly know that the Meat 
 was poifoned 5 and therefore would receive no harm from 
 it 5 but if he were not a Prophet, /lie thought /he mould 
 do the World good Service, in ridding it of fo wicked a 
 Tyrant. 
 
 After this ( k ) he reduced under his Subjection Beder, 
 Watiha, and Selalima, which were alfo Towns belonging 
 to the yeu-ijb Arabs, who rendered to him on Articles 5 
 and thefe were, That they /hould continue in their for- 
 mer Habitations, paying for Tribute one half of the In- 
 come of their Date Trees every Year 5 but to be at his 
 difcretion to expel them when he /hould think fit. Un- 
 der the protection of which agreement they (till retain'd 
 their former Po.fTeflions, and dwelt in them without any 
 difturbance, till the Reign of Omar, who pretending that 
 Mahomet had given charge in his lait Sicknefs not to per- 
 mit tuo Religions in Arabia, drove them all out. 
 
 Heg. 8. April 50. A. D. 629.] The Impojlor, by thofe many 
 Acquifitions having now increafed his Strength to an 
 Army of Ten thoufand Men, refolved to make himfelf 
 Matter of Mecca • and therefore pretending they had 
 broken the Truce, ( / ) marched fuddenly upon them be- 
 fore they were aware of his Defign $ and therefore be- 
 ing totally unprovided in that Surprize to put themfelves 
 into a Pofture of Defence againft him, they found them- 
 felves nece/Titated to yield to him. Whereon Abu Sepbian 
 
 F 4 taking 
 
 (k) Elm-Kin, lib. 1. c. I. CO Abul Phaiagliius, p. 103. 
 
 ElnucimiSj lib. 1. c. 1. 
 
7 % The Life of Mahomed 
 
 taking with him Al Abbas, one of the Uncles of the 1m" 
 pojior (who, although of his Iieligion, had, it feems, tari 
 ried iiill at Mecca) went out unto him, and by turning 
 Mahometan, laved his Life 5 and the City, without any 
 Oppolition, was rendered to him at Difcretion. On his 
 Entry into it, having put to Death fuch as had been moft 
 violent again! t him, all the reft, without any further 
 Oppofition, fubmitted unto him, and embraced his Re- 
 ligion. And therefore having thus made himfelfabfo- 
 lute Mafter of the place, he immediately fet himfelf to 
 purge the Caaba of its Idols, and confecrate that Temple 
 a-new to his Religion, as having refolved it ill to continue 
 it in its priftme Honour, by making it the chief place 
 pf Wbrjhip for all of his Seel. There (m) were a mul- 
 titude of Idols within the Temple, and as many without, 
 {landing round its Area, all which Mahomet cauied to be 
 pulled down and deftroyed, and the Place to be totally 
 cleared of theni. The chief among thole Idols, were thofe 
 of Abraham and JJmael within the Temple, and that of Hoball 
 without. The reft were of Angels and Prophets, and 
 others of their principal Saints departed, whom they wor- 
 shiped only as Mediators, in the fame manner as theRoma- 
 nijis now do their Saints, and the Images which they erect 
 unto them. For the slrabiavs always held, that there 
 was («) but one only God, the Creator and Governor of all 
 Things, whom they called AllahTaal, i. e. the Supreme God, 
 and God of Gods, and Lord of Lords, whom they durft 
 never reprelent by any Image. But being (as they held) 
 fo great and high as not to be approached to by Men 
 while here on Earth, but through the Mediation of Advo- 
 cates or hnercfijjors, interpoiing for them unto him in 
 Heaven j that Angels and Holy Men beatified might perform 
 this Office for them, was the reafon that they fet up their 
 Images, and built them Temples, and directed their Wor- 
 ship and Devotions unto them. And in this did conlift 
 yhe whole of the Arabian Idolatry, which Mahomet, now by 
 dellroying thefe Idols, put a total End unto. 
 
 As 
 
 {m) Pocockii Spec. Ilift. Arab. p. 9 5, ?o, 9'^, 5>S. 
 f|cjwi Spec. ffifr. Arab. p. 107, & 108. 
 
The Life of Mahomet. 73 
 
 As foon as it was heard among the neighbouring Arabs, 
 that Mahomet had made himfelf Mailer oi Mecca, the ( o ) 
 Hwauns, the Tbalyjians, and ieveral other Tribes, imme- 
 diately gathered together under the Command of Melee 
 Ebn Auf, to fall upon him before he mould increafe his 
 Power any further. Hereupon Mahomet , appointing Gayat 
 Ebn Afad to be Governor of Meeca, marched out again It 
 them with Twelve thouiand Men. In the Valley of 
 Honahia, which lieth between Mecca and Tayif, both 
 Armies met, and in the firii: Encounter Mahomet fp ) was 
 beaten, tho' much iupcrior to the Enemy in Number, and 
 driven back to the Walls ot Mecca, (<j) which he afcribes 
 to the over-confidence of his Men m their Numbers 5 
 which cauiing them to neglect their Enemy, did there- 
 by give them this Advantage over them. But the hn- 
 pojlor (r) having gathered up his fcattered Forces, and 
 rallied them again into a Body, acted more cautioully 
 in the fecond Conflict 5 and then ( s ) as he faith, by 
 the help of invisible Troops of singe's (which are 
 reckon'd by fome Commentators on the Alcor.m, to be 
 Eight thoufand, and by others to be Sixteen thoufand) 
 gave his Enemies fuch a total Defeat, ( t ) that he took 
 from them their Bagg.tge, with their Wives and Children, 
 and all their Subdance, whic-h coniifted moftly of great 
 Flocks of Sheep, and herds of Cattle. For thefe being 
 of the Nomad Arabs, it was their Cuftom to carry their 
 Wives and Children, and all that they had with them, 
 where -ever they mov'd. After this Battle, thefe People 
 fent Ambajjadors unto him to pray the Refroration of their 
 Wives and Children ; to whom Mahomet gave this Option, 
 to chufe which they would have again reltored unto them, 
 either their Wives and Children, or their Goods : 
 Whereon they having chofen their Wives and Children, 
 Mahomet divided all their Goods, which he had taken from 
 them, among his Soldiers. Only Melee Ebn Auf, their 
 General, now he faw his Power was fuch as no more to 
 
 be 
 
 (0) Elmacin, lib. 1. c. 1. ( p ) ZarrucliHiar, and Bi- 
 
 cLwi on the 9th Chapter of the Akoran. ( c[ ) Alcoran a >-hap. 9. 
 
 ( r ) Bidawi & Zamadifliari, ib. (x) Alcoran, c. 9. (J) El. 
 
 macin,, ib. 1, c. *, 
 
74 The Life of Mahomet; 
 
 be refilled, came in and embraced his Religion, and there- 
 on had all his Goods again rellored unto him. 
 
 The remaining part of the Year («) was fpent in demo- 
 liming the Heathen Temples, and destroying their Idols in 
 all Places through Arabia, where his Power reached. To 
 which purpofe, feveral of his Commanders being lent out 
 with Parties, Saad destroyed the Idol of Menah 3 Chalid, 
 that of Al Uzza, and the Temple of BoJJa built thereto, 
 and others the reft of them. So that this Year proved 
 very fatal to the Idols of the Arabs, they being molt of 
 them now deltroyed, and the former Worfhipers of them 
 forced to fubmit to Mahomet, and embrace his Impojiure. 
 
 Heg. 9. April 20. A. D. 630.] And now having brought 
 molt Parts of Arabia under his Power, the enfuing Year 
 (w) he turned his Arms towards Syria, and poffefled him- 
 felf of Tabttc, a Town belonging to the Greek, Empire^ 
 and from thence falling on the Princes of Dawna and Eyla, 
 forced them to become Tributaries unto him, and then re- 
 turned to Medina in the Month Rajeb. While he was 
 abfent on this Expedition, the Taifians, whom he had be- 
 gun to befiege the former Year, being much prefled by 
 lome of his Lieutenants, whom he had committed the 
 profecution of that War unto, were forced to fubmit and 
 embrace his Impojiure, which they had afore been fo averfe 
 unto 5 of which he having received an account on his 
 return, he fent thither Abu Sophian to difarm them of alt 
 their Weapons and Inltruments of War, and appointed 
 Othman Ebn Abulas to be their Governor. And this was 
 the lalt Y'ear in which he went to the War. 
 
 Heg. 10. April 9. A. D. 6^1. ] And now the Power of 
 the lmpoftor being much increafed, the Fame of it fo ter- 
 rified the rett of the Arabs, which had not yet felt his 
 Arms, (x) that they all came in and fubmitted to him, and 
 embraced his Impojiure. So that this Year his Empire and 
 his Religion became eltablimed together through all Arabia^ 
 and he fent his Lieutenants into all Parts of it to govern 
 in his Name, who destroying the Idol Temples, and all 
 
 other 
 
 ( u ) Pocockii Spc. Hift. Arab. p. 91, & 91. ( <w ) Abul 
 
 Pharaghius, p. 1 } J. Ehnacinus, lib. I. c. 1. ( x ) Elmacin. 
 
 L I. c. 1. Abul ledo. 
 
 
The Life o/Mahomet. j$ 
 
 other th,e Remains of the Arabian Idolatry, where-ever 
 they came, fet up his new invented Religion in its itead, 
 and forced all Men, by the Power of the Sword, to con- 
 form thereto. 
 
 The greateft part of this Year being fpent in ordering 
 and fettling thefe Matters, (y ) towards the end of it Ma- 
 homet took a Journey in Pilgrimage to Mecca , and entered 
 there on the Tenth Day of Dttthagha, which is the great 
 Day of that Solemnity, where a great Concourfe of People 
 reforted to him from all parts of Arabia, whom he in- 
 ftrucled in his Law, and then returned again to Medina. 
 This Pilgrimage of his is by his Followers called the Pilgri- 
 mage of Faleditlion, becaufe.it was the laft which he 
 made. 
 
 But although he was arrived to this heighth, yet he 
 wanted not Oppofers, who gave him great difturbance in 
 this his new-acquired Empire. For feveral others feeing 
 how he had advanced himfelf to be a great King, by pre- 
 tending to be a Prophet, thought to do fo too. ( z. ) Among 
 whom the chief was Mofailcma, who fet himfelf up with 
 this Pretence in the Country of Yamama, and gathering a 
 great Company after him, preached to them that he was 
 Aflbciatewith Mahomet in the Prophetick Office, andfent 
 with the fame Commiffion to reduce them from Idolatry, 
 to the true Worfhip of God, and in order thereto he alfo 
 publifhed his Alcoran among them. For which reafon 
 the Mahometans call him the Lying Mofailema, and fpeak of 
 him always with Deteitation. However, he increafed to 
 a very confiderable Power, leading a great Army after him. 
 (<i) And at the fame time Af-wad ftarted up in Hamyar, 
 or the Country of the Homerites, with the fame pretence, 
 and feized on Sanna, Nafra, and Tayif. And after him 
 Teliha, and others thought to have played the fame Game, 
 but could not hit on the fame Succefs, being all in their 
 turns fubdued and brought to nothing. But this Work 
 Mahomet not being able to undertake himfelf, was forced 
 to leave it to his Succeffor. 
 
 Heg. 
 
 (y) Elmacin. lib. i. c. i. Abul Feda, Abul Pharaghius, p. 105. 
 ( z ) Abul Pharaghius, p. 103. Elmacin. lib. i.e. 1. & z. Diipu- 
 tttio Chriiliani, cap. 17. {a) Elmacin. lib. i. c. i,&c 
 
y6 The Life of Mahomet: 
 
 Htg. ii. March zS. A. D. 632.] For after his return 
 (fc) to Mcdma from his late PUgrima&e, he began daily to 
 decline, through the force of that Poifon which he had 
 taken three Years before at Caibar, which {till working in 
 him, at length brought him fo low, as forced him on the 
 zSth Day of Sajjhar (the fecond Month of their Year) to 
 take his Bed, and on the twelfth Day of the following 
 Month he died, after having been fick thirteen Days. 
 The beginning of his Sicknefs was a flow Fever, which 
 at length made him delirious 3 whereon, (<r) he called 
 for a Pen, Ink, and Paper, telling them that he would 
 diftate a Book to them, which fhould keep them from 
 erring after his Death. But Qmar would not admit this, 
 faying the Alcoran fufficeth, and that the Prophet, through 
 the greatnefs of his Malady, knew not what he faid. Bat 
 others who were prefent, were of another Mind, and ex- 
 preffed a great dciire that the Book might be wrote, 
 which their Prophet fpoke to them of $ whereon a Conten- 
 tion arofe between them, fome being of Omar's mind, 
 and fome of the contrary j at which Mahomet taking 
 offence, bid them all be gone, telling them, That it did 
 not become them thus to contend in his Prefence. So 
 the Book was not. wrote 5 the lofs of which was after- 
 wards lamented by fome of his Followers, as a great Ca- 
 lamity to their Caufe. 
 
 During his Sicknefs, (d) he much complained of the 
 Bit which he had taken at Caibar, telling thofe that came 
 to vifit him, That he had felt the Torments of it in his 
 Body ever fince 5 that at times it brought on him very 
 dolorous Pains, and that then it was going to break his 
 very Heart-Strings. And when, among others, there 
 came to fee him the Mother of BaJLar, who died on the 
 fpot of that Poifon, (e ) He cried out, Mother of 
 Bafliar, the Veins of my Heart are now breaking of the Bit 
 
 which 
 
 (b) Abul Pharaghius, p. 105. Elmacin. lib. r. c. 1. Eutychius 
 Tom. 2. p. 251. Abu! Feda, Al Jannabi, Al Kodai, Sharenani, 
 &e. ( c ) Bochari, Shareitani, Al Jamiubi, Pocockii Spec. 
 
 Hift. Arab. p. 178, 179. ( A ) Abul Fed.i, Ebnol Athir, 
 
 Ebn Pharcs, Al Jannabi. ( e ) Al Januabi, Pocockii Spec. 
 
 Hik. Arab. p. 1 9?. 
 
The Life of Mahomet. 77 
 
 ivhich I eat -with your Son at Gaibar. So it items, notwith" 
 Handing the Intimacy he pretended with the Angel Gabriel* 
 and the continual Revelations which he brag'd that he 
 received from him, he could not be preferved from thus 
 perifhing by the Snares of a filly Girl. 
 
 On his Death there was great Confufion among his 
 Followers. Many of them (/) would not believe that 
 he could die. For (faid they) how can he die, jince he is 
 to be a Witnejs to God for m ? It cannot be fo, he is not dead, 
 but is only taken away for a Seafon, and will return again, as 
 did Jefus. And therefore they went to the Door of the 
 Houfe where the dead Corps lay, crying out, Do not bury 
 him, for the Apojile of God is not dead. And Omar being of 
 the lame Mind, drew his Sword, and fwore, That if any 
 one mould fay that Mahomet was dead, he would imme- 
 diately cut them in pieces. For (faid he) the Apoftle of 
 God is not dead, but only gone for a Sea fen 5 as Mofes the Son 
 of Amram was gone from the People of Ifrael for forty Days, 
 and then returned to them again. For the compofing of this 
 Diforder, Abu Beker came in, crying out unto them, De 
 you iiorjhij? Mahomet, or the God of Mahomet ? If you uor- 
 jJjip the God of Mahomet, he is Immortal, and liveth for ever i, 
 but as to Mahomet, he certainly is dead. And then from fe- 
 veral PafTages in the Alcoran, he proved that he muft die 
 as well as other Men. Which having fatisfied Omar and 
 his Party, they then all took it for granted that Mahomet 
 was dead, and no more to return to Life again till the ge- 
 neral Refurre&ion of all Mankind. What goes fo cur- 
 rent among us, as if the Mahometans expected Mahomet 
 again to return to them here on Earth, is totally an Error. 
 ^There is no fuch Doclrine among them, nor are there any 
 of them that ever fancied fuch a Thing, fince the time 
 that Omar was convinced of his Mi flake herein. 
 
 But this Diforder was no fooner appeas'd, (g) but an- 
 other arofe to a much greater heat about his Burial. The 
 Mohagerines, that is, thofe who accompanied him in his 
 
 Flight 
 
 (/") Abul Feda, Shareftaril, Al Jannabi, Pocock. Spec. Hrft. 
 Arab. p. 179. (g ) Abul Pharaghius, p. 105. Ahmed Ebn 
 
 Vufef", Abu] Feda, Shareftahij Pococfeii Specim. Hifc Arab. p. 
 lotf. 
 
73 The Life of M a h o m e t. 
 
 Flight from Mecca, would fiave him carried thither, to be 
 buried in the Place where he was born. The Anfars, 
 that is, thofe of Medina, who joined with him, would 
 have him buried there where he died. And there were 
 others who had a fancy to have him carried to Jerufalem^ 
 and there buried among the Sepulchres of the Prophets : 
 for that, faid they, was the City of the Prophets. And 
 while each Party ftrove to have their own way complied 
 with, the Conteft grew fo high, that they had like to 
 have all gone together by the Ears 5 but that the Wifdom 
 of Ahu Beker compofed this Matter alfo. For he coming 
 in, told them, That he had often heard from the Prophet 
 himfelf, that Prophets were to be buried in the place where 
 they died. And then without more ado, commanded the 
 Bed whereon he lay to be plucked out, and a Grave to 
 be immediately dug under it, to which all confented, and 
 there they buried him forthwith in the Place where he 
 died, which was in the Chamber of Ayefha, his beft be- 
 loved Wife, at Medina 5 and there he lieth to this Day, 
 without Iron Coffin or Loadjl ones to hang him in the Air, as 
 the Stories which commonly go about of him among 
 Chriflians Fabuloufly relate. There was, indeed, (h) one 
 Vinocrates, a Famous ArchiteB, that had a Device, by buil- 
 ding the Dome of the Temple of Arfinoe at Alexandria 
 of Loadjione, to make her Image all of Iron, hang in the 
 middle of it, as if it were in the Air 5 but there was no 
 fuch Attempt ever made as to Mahomet's Carkafs. For 
 that being buried in the manner as I have related, hath 
 lain in the fame Place, without being moved or diiturbed 
 ever fince, only they have built over it ( i ) a fmall 
 Chapel, which joineth to one of the Corners of the 
 chief Mofque of that City, which was the flrft that was 
 ever erected to that Impious Superftition, Mahomet him- 
 felf being the firft Founder of it, as hath been afore re- 
 lated. Here fuch Pilgrims as think fit, on their return 
 from Mecca, call in to pay their Devotions. But there is 
 no Obligation from their Law for it. The Pilgrimage 
 
 which 
 
 (h) Pliniui?, 1. $4. c. 14. f / ) Appendix ad Giogra- 
 
 phiam Nubienfem, c. S, Thcvenot, Part 1. Book i.cii. 
 
The Life 0/ Mahomet. 79 
 
 which that enjoins being to be perform'd to the Caaba at 
 Mecca, and not to the Tomb of the Impojlor at Medina, -as 
 fome have erroneoufly related. 
 
 And thus ended the Life of this wicked hnpoftor ( 1^) 
 being full Sixty three Years old on the Day in which he 
 died, that is, according to the Arabian Account, which 
 make only Sixty one of our Years. For twenty three 
 Years he had taken upon him to be a Prophet, of which 
 he lived Thirteen at Mecca, and Ten at Medina. During 
 which Time, from very mean beginnings, he arofe by 
 the Impulfe of his Ambition, and the Sagacioufnefs of 
 his Wit to that heighth, as to make one of the greateil 
 Revolutions that ever happened in the World, which im- 
 mediately gave Birth to an Empire, which in Eighty 
 Years time extended its Dominions over more Kingdoms 
 and Countries, than ever the Roman could in Eight 
 hundred. And altho' it continued in its Strength not 
 much above Three hundred Years, yet out of its Allies 
 have fprung up many other Kingdoms and Empires, of 
 which there are Three at this Day, the largeft and moft 
 Potent upon the Face of the Earth j I mean the Empire 
 of Turkey, the Empire of Perfw y and the Empire of the 
 Mogul in India 5 which God hath permitted of his All- 
 wife Providence ftill to continue for a Scourge unto us 
 Chriftians, who, having received fo holy and fo excellent a 
 Religion through his Mercy to us in Jefu-s Chrift our Lord, 
 will not yet conform ourfelves to live worthy of it. 
 
 He (/) was, as to his Perfon, of a proper Stature, 
 and comely Afpeci, and afFe&ed much to be thought to 
 refemble Abraham. He had a very piercing and fagacious 
 Wit. And for the accomplifhing of the Defign which 
 he undertook, was thoroughly verfed in all the Arts 
 whereby to inflnuate into the Favour of Men, and 
 wheedle them over to ferve his Purpofes, to which he 
 chiefly owed the fuccefs of his Undertaking. 
 
 For 
 
 (k) Eutychius, Tom. 2. pag. 251. Elnucin, I. r. c. I. Abul 
 Pharaghius, p. 103. Abul Feda, Al Jannabi, Al KoJai, &c. 
 ( / ) Eimaun. 1. i. c. 1, Abunazar, Abul Feda a Al Kocbi, Schikardi 
 T-arkh, p. 32. 
 
So The Life of Mahome t. 
 
 For the firft Parr of his Life (m) he led a very w : cked 
 and licentious Courie, much delighting in Rapine, Plun- 
 der, and Blood-fhed, according to the U fa geot the Arabs, 
 who moftly followed this kind of Life, being almolt 
 continually in Arms one Tribe againft another, to plun- 
 der and take from each other all they could. However, 
 the Mahometans would have us believe that he was a Saint 
 from the Fourth Year of his Age. For then, lay (») 
 they, the Angel Gabriel took him from among his Fellows, 
 while at play with them, and carrying him afide, cut 
 open his Bread, and took out his Heart, and wrung out 
 of it that black Drop of Blood, in which, fay they, was 
 contained the Fhntes peccati, fo that he had none of it ever 
 after. And yet in the Forty eighth Chapter of his Alco- 
 ran, he brings in God giving him a large Charter of 
 Pardon for all his Sins pall and to come. 
 
 His two predominant Paffions were Ambition and Luji. 
 The Courfe which he took to gain Empire, abundantly 
 ihews the former ; and the multitude of Women which 
 he had to do with, proves the latter. And indeed thele 
 two run through the whole Frame of his Religion, there 
 being fcarce a Chapter in his Alcoran, which doth not 
 hy down feme Law of War and Bloodfhedfor the promo- 
 ting«of the one ; or el!e give fome Liberty for the ufe of 
 Women here, or fome Promife for the enjoyment of them 
 hereafter, to the gratifying of the other. 
 
 While Cadkb* lived (which was till the fiftieth Year 
 of his Age) I do not find that he took any other Wife. 
 For me being the rife and foundation of his Fortunes, it 
 feems he durll not difpleafe her, by bringing in another 
 Wife upon her. But me was no fooner dead, but he 
 multiplied them to a great (o) Number, belides feveral 
 Concubines which he had. They that r av the fewefr, 
 allow him to have married (/>) Fifteen; but others 
 
 reckon 
 
 ( m ) Bartholomxus Fdcfienus, Dilputatio Chriftian.i, &c. 
 («) Liber de Generatione & nutritura Mahometis, Joannes 
 Andreas, c. t. Belloniusj 1. j. c. i. Guadagupl, p.'iS?. e libro Agar. 
 Eccheleafas,, Hift. Arab. part. i. c. ij. (c) A '■ 
 
 Geographiapl Nubidifem, c. 8. Joannes Andreas, c. 7. Bclicnir.s, 
 1. 3, &c. (/>) Abul Feda, Al Kodai, Ahmed, Ebn Yulcf". 
 
The Life of Mahomet, 8i 
 
 reckon them to have been (7) One and Twenty, of which 
 five died before him, Six he repudiated, and Ten were 
 alive at his Death. But the Tenth, with whom he con- 
 tracted but a little before his Sicknefs, was never brought 
 home to his Houfe. The Names of the other Nine 
 were Ayejha> the Daughter of Abu Beker 3 Haphfa, the 
 Daughter of Omar 5 Zeisda, the Daughter of Zama -, 
 Zainaby the Daughter of Hajbeth $ Jeiveira, the Daughter 
 of Harttb 5 Sephia, the Daughter of Hai 5 Em Selema, Em 
 TJaliba, and Maimuna* 
 
 Ayejha, the Daughter of Abu Beker, was his befl be- 
 loved Wife. He married her very young, as hath been 
 before related 5 and although me was a very wanton Wo- 
 man, and ( r ) given to hold Amorous Intrigues with 
 other Men, and on that account Mahomet was moved to 
 put her away 5 yet his Love to her was fuch, that he 
 could not part with her. But to falve her Reputation, 
 and his own in keeping her, the Twenty fourth Chapter 
 of the Alcoran was compos'd, and brought forth as lent 
 from Cod to declare her innocent •-> wherein he tells his 
 tAufjlemans, That this Charge againft her was an Imj?oJiure y 
 and an impudent Lye, and forbids them any more to 
 fpeak of it, threatning a fevere Curfe, both in this Life 
 and that which is to come, againft all thofe who mould 
 accufe of Immodefty, Women Chafte, Innocent and 
 Faithful. . Mahomet marrying her young, took care to 
 have her bred up ( s) in all the Learning then going in 
 Arabia, efpecially in the Elegancy of their Language, 
 and the Knowledge of their Antiquities, and fhe became 
 one of the moft Accopiplimed Ladies of her time in that 
 Country. She was a (r) bitter Enemy to Alt, he being 
 the Perfon that difcovered her Incontinency to Mahomet > 
 and therefore employ 'd all the Intereft me had on every 
 Vacancy that after happened, to hinder him from being 
 chofen Caliph, altho', as Son-in-law to the Impqftor, he had 
 
 G the 
 
 ( q ) Vide Gentium in Notis ad Mufladinum Sadum, p. $£?. 
 ( r ) Difpmatio Chriftiani, c. 6. Commentatores in Alcorani c. 
 *4- ( s ) Appendix ad Geographiam Nubienfcm, c 8. 
 
 (O Difputatio Chriftiani, c. $. Elnucin. 1- r. 4. Abul l?ha- 
 raghiuy, Abul Fed^&c 
 
82 The Life o/Mahomet. 
 
 the faireft Pretence thereto $ and when at laft, after ha- 
 ving been thrice put by, heattain'd that Dignity, fheap- 
 pear'd in Arms againft him $ and altho' fhe prevail'dnot 
 that way, yet fhe proved his ruin, by caufing that Defec- 
 tion from him, which at length was the undoing of him 
 and all his Houfe. She («) liv'd Forty eight years 
 after the Death of Mahomet y and was in great Reputation 
 with her Seel, being called by them the Prophetefs, and 
 the Mother of the Faithful. And in moft Points of Diffi- 
 culty concerning their Law, they ha^l recourfe to her, to 
 Jcnow what had been the Senie of the Impoftor while 
 alive, in the Particular doubted of 5 and whatfoever 
 Anfwer fhe gave, went for an (y) Authentid^Tradition 
 among them ever after. For all their Traditions which 
 compofe their Sonnah y are pretended to be derived either 
 from her, or fome of Mahomet's ten Companions 5 that is, 
 thole ten who firft came in unto him. But her Teftimony 
 to a Tradition is reckon'd the moft Authentic^ 5 and next 
 her, that of Abdorrahman Ebn Auf. For ( x ) being of all 
 others the moft familiarly converfant with the Impoftor all 
 the time that Scene of Delufion was acting by him, and 
 a Perfon of extraordinary Memory 5 he was moft confided 
 in for the giving of an exaft account of all his Sayings and 
 Doings relating to his Religion • and there are reckoned no 
 fewer than 5540 Traditions among them, which are built 
 upon his Authority only. This Abdorrahman is alfo cal- 
 led Abu Hareira, that is, the Father of a Cat, which Name 
 Mahomet gave him for the fondnefs he had for a Cat, 
 which he was ufed moft an end to carry with him in his 
 Bofom, where-ever he went. For it is ufual in the Ara- 
 bick. Tongue, when a Man is remarkable for any one parti- 
 cular thing, thus to exprefs it, by calling him the Father 
 of it. (y ) And fo Chalid, who was Mahomet'' s Hoft when 
 he flrft came to Medina, was for his remarkable Patience 
 call'd Abu job, that is, the Father of Job, or of the Pa- 
 
 tience 
 
 ( « ) For fie died the 58/^ Tear of the Hegira, Elmacin. J. 1. 
 c. 7. (w) Joannes Andreas, c. j. ( x ) Gentius 
 
 in Notk ad Muiiadinum Saduni, p. 578, (^ ) Bochanus in 
 
 Hitrozoko, part. I. 1. i. en. 
 
The Life o/Mahomet. 83 
 
 tlence of Job. And this is that Job, (z.) who dying at the 
 Siege of ConJiantinop/e y when bclitg'd by the Saracens, 
 Was there buried under the Walls of the City, and hath 
 his Tomb there to be feen even ro rhis Day, (a) where all 
 the Grand Signtors gd forth to Be inaugurated, when they 
 firfl take upon them the Regal Authority. 
 
 Haphfa, the Daughter of Omar, was next to (£>) Ayefia, 
 moll in favour with him, and her he intruded with the 
 keeping of the Chefl: of his Apofilefiij?, wherein were lad 
 up all the Original Papers of his pretended Revelation?, 
 out of which the Alcoran was compofed, as hath been al- 
 ready faid 5 and the Original Copy of that Bock, (V) Alu 
 Belter, after the finiihing of it, delivered alfo unto her, 
 to be kept in the fame Cheft ; which proves the miilake 
 of Joannes Andrea* (d) in aligning the keeping of this 
 Cheit to Ayejha. For it is not likely that Abu Beker would 
 havedifpoffeffed his own Daughter of this Office, which 
 Was fo honourable among them, had me firil been ei - 
 truited with it by the Impojior. Hapbfa was much the 
 elder Woman, and for that reafon probably preferred to 
 this Trull. For when /he died, which was towards the 
 latter end of the Reign c£Qthman t me was Sixty Years (<) 
 old, and therefore muft have been at the Death of the 
 Impojior, at leaft Forty Years old, when Ayefia was not full 
 Twenty. 
 
 Zeivda was in leafl Favour with him of any of hisWivef, 
 (f) and he intended to have put her away $ but me e:u- 
 neltly defir'd him that me might ftill have the Reputa- 
 tion and Honour of being his Wife, promising him, if he 
 would grant her this, me would be content no more to he 
 with him, but to give her turn always to Ayefia ; which 
 Condition he willingly accepted of, out of that great 
 
 G z Love 
 
 ( z ) Flmacin. 1. I. c. 7. (a) Ricauc'J Htjlory of tie 
 
 Trefent State of the Ottoman Empire, Book r. chap. 2. Smith* 
 Brief Definition of Co; funtinople. (b) Joannes Andreas, 
 
 c. 7. (c ) Abul Feua, Hottingeri Bibhorheca Oriental^ 
 
 c. z. Pocockii Spec. Hifi. Arab, p. Jtf2. (d)Deco'iiu- 
 
 fione Scttx Mahometans, c. 2. (4) Gentius in Moris nd 
 
 Muflxiinum Sidum, p. <£?. ( f '") Gentius iti Notis ad 
 
 Muiiadmuoi Sad urn, p. 56S, 
 
84 The Life o/Mahomet, 
 
 Love which he had for Ayejha y and fo permitted her to 
 continue in his Houfeaslong as he lived. 
 
 Zainab was firft the Wife of Zeyd, his enfranchis'd 
 Slave, who being a Woman of great Beauty, (g) the 
 old Lecher fell defperately in love with her. But for 
 fear of the Scandal which his talcing of her might give, 
 he did all he could to fupprefs his Flame, till at length, 
 being able to refill no longer, he did break the matter to 
 her, and caufed Zeyd to put her away, that he might take 
 her to Wife. Which he being forced to fubmit to, this 
 gave great Offence to all his Followers, that he, who cal- 
 led himfelf a Prophet, and an Jpoftte of God, fent to teach 
 Men his Law, fhould, for the gratifying of his Luft, do 
 fo fcandalous a thing. But to falve the Matter, out comes 
 the Thirty third Chapter of the Alcoran, called the Chap- 
 ter ofHereJies, where God is brought in declaring, That he 
 had married Zainab to Mahomet, and given him free liber- 
 ty to enjoy her according to his Defire , and alfo rebu- 
 king him, that knowing God had given him this thing, 
 he fhould abftain fo long from her, out of the regard he 
 had to the People, as if he feared them more than God. 
 However, this could not clear him fo, but that many of 
 his Followers are hard put to it, to excufe him from the 
 Scandal of this Facl, even unto this Day 5 and there are 
 fome of them who make no doubt to charge him with Sin 
 on the account hereof. Zainab hereon becoming the Wife 
 of Mahomet, lived with him to the time of his Death, 
 always glorying and vaunting herfelf above his other 
 Wives, that (h ) whereas they were married to Mahomet 
 \>y their Parents and Kinsfolk, fhe was married to him 
 by God himfelf, Who dwells above the Seven Heavens. 
 
 How 
 
 ( g ) A] Jannabi, Abul Feda, Al Kodai, Pocockii Specim. Hift. 
 Arab. p. i8z. Richardi Confutatio, c. 8. Difputatio Chriftiani, c. 6. 
 F.cchckntis Hift. Arab. Part. i.e. 5. Coniutatio Maliometis, Edira 
 per Le Moyne. Joannes Andreas, c. 6. Guadagnol, Traft. 1. c. 5. 
 Sect. 3. & c. 10. Sect. 1. Zamachfhari, Bidawi & alii Commcnta- 
 tores, ad cap. 33, Akorani, Liber Almawakcph. Fortalu. Fid. Jib. 
 4. Confid. 2. (£) Ecchelenfis Hiit. Arab. p. x. c. 5. 
 
The Life o/Mahomet. 85 
 
 How he married Jru-eira, hath been already related. 
 (i) Sapbia was a Jewijb Woman, and defcended of the Race 
 ot" the Priefts, on which account fhe was ufed to brag, 
 That fhe had Aaron for her Father, Mofes for her Uncle, 
 2nd Mahomet for her Husband. Of the reft of his Wives 
 I find not any thing faid. 
 
 Befides thefe, he had a Concubine whom he much 
 loved. She was ( ^) an Egyptian Woman, and a 
 Cbrijhan of the Jacobite Sett. The Governor of Egypt 
 having occafion to treat with him about fome Matters, 
 and being informed of hisBrutifh Paffion, to gratify him 
 herein, and thereby the better incline him to his pur- 
 pofe, fent him this Maid for a Prefent, me being then 
 only Fifteen Years old : He immediately fell in love 
 with her. But how fecret foever he manag'd the Amours 
 for fear of his Wives, Ayefia and Haphfa found it out, and 
 catch'd them together in the Fa£t. Whereon they re<- 
 proached him bitterly for it, that he, who called himfelf 
 a Prophet fent from God to teach Men Righteoufnef?, 
 iliould do fuch a thing ; at which being much confounded, 
 he fwore a folemn Oath, That in cafe they would conceal 
 the Matter, and not fay any thing of it to raife a Scan- 
 dal againft him among his MttJJleman^ he would never 
 have to do with her more. On which Oath they were 
 content to pafs the Matter over, and fay nothing of it. 
 But Mahomet's Lull: being of greater force with him than 
 his Oath, he could not long hold, but was catch'd again 
 with her by his Jealous Wives. Whereon they flew out 
 into a defperate Rage againft him, and after having load- 
 ed him with a multitude of Reproaches, both for lis 
 Perjury as well as Adultery, went from him to their 
 Fathers Houfes ; which railing a great Noife, and 
 many being offended with him for it , to i'mooth 
 the Matter again, he had recourfe to his old Art, 
 and out comes a New Revelation to juftify him in it, the 
 Sixty flxth Chapter of the Alcoran, called the Chap- 
 
 G q ur 
 
 ( i ) Difputatio Chriftiani, c 6. (£) Abul Pharaghius, p. 103. 
 Joanne-; Andreas, c. 8. Bellonius, 1. J. c. 8. Richardi Confutatio, c. 
 ii. Cantacuzeni, Orat. 2. Sect. 8. Guadagnol Trad. 2. c. 10. S.v't. 
 z. Commentatores, in c. 66. Akorani, Forcalitium Fidei, lib. 4. 
 Conh'd. j. 
 
86 The Life o/Mahomet. 
 
 ter of Prohibition, wherein he brings in Cod allowing M<r- 
 homet, and all his Mu'Jlemans, to lie with their Maid* 
 when thev will, notwithstanding their Wives. The firlt 
 Words ot that Chapter are, Prophet, why doft thou forbid 
 what God hath allowed thee, that thou mayjiplcaj'e thy Wivel ? 
 God hath granted unto you to lie with your Maid-Servants* 
 Which Law being pubh/hed, it gave fuch content to his 
 licentious Followers, that no more Words were made of 
 this Matter $ but all gladly laid hold of the Liberty 
 which he had granted 3 ancl ever fince it hath been an 
 eftablifh'd Law, among all that Sett, befide their Wives 
 ( m ) to keep as pnny Women-Slaves for their Luft, as 
 they (hall think fit to buy 5 and the Children of the one; 
 are as legitimate as the Children of the other. And the 
 Grand S'^nipr, who never Marries, hath all his Women 
 under this latter Notion, that is, as his Slaves, and he 
 keeps none but fuch in Uis Seraglio ^ only after they have 
 born him a Son, he fometimes gives them the Name of 
 Sultana, which is Queen, sfyejba and Haphja, finding the 
 Matter to go thus, and that Mahomet had in the fame 
 Chapter threatned thenrwith Divorce, unlefs they fuhmit* 
 t:d, and were obedient ; they fent their Fathers to him 
 £omake their Peace, and again returned to his Houfe, and 
 totally fubmitted, for the future, to his, Will in all 
 things -j and from that time he lay with his Maid Mary as 
 often as he pleifed, without their any further Contradic- 
 tion or Controul, and had a Son by her, who was called 
 A'n-aham. But after the Death of the lmpoJior i no account 
 was had of her or her Son, but both were fent away into 
 piyptj and no mention made of either ever after among 
 them. I fuppofe ^yejla, out of the hatred which fhe 
 bore her, procured of her Father, who fucceeded the 1m- 
 t/ajtffr in the Government, to have her thys difpofed 
 of. 
 
 One of the main Arguments (n) which the Followers 
 cfMal.pina make ufe of to excufe his. having fo many 
 
 Wives. 
 
 (m) H cuit'j Hifary of the Prefent State of the Ottoman Empire^ 
 Boole 2,. Chap. : r. '! heveno", part x. lib. 1. c. r.4. Bellqnius, lib. 
 j. c $'. Ik c. ia Qle:iarc|i Epaloli, p. t? ? 3 >, $o, & 6$. ( s ) 
 A'une.cj i-ba Z-sn r 
 
The Life of M ah out r. 87 
 
 Wives, is, that he might beget young Prophets - 7 but not- 
 withstanding this, he left no young Prophet nor Prophe- 
 refs neither behind him of all his Wives. Of (o) iix 
 Children, which he had all by Caeltgha his firit Wife, 
 and none by any of the others, they all died before him, 
 excepting only Rttima the Wife of Al\ 7 and mefurvived 
 him only fixty Days. 
 
 As the gratifying of his Ambition and his Luft, was 
 the main end of his Impojiure, Co they both continually ap- 
 pear through the whole Contexture of it. At frit his 
 Ambition had the Predominancy in him $ but when that 
 began to be fomewhat fatisfled by the Power he had at» 
 tained to, his Luft grew upon him with his Age, and at 
 length he feem'd totally diffolved into it. And there are 
 ftrange things fiid of him this way 5 (p) as that he had 
 in Venery the flrength of forty other Men, and that he 
 knew all his Wives, when he had Eleven of them, one 
 after another in an (7) Hour's time. Whatever Laws he 
 gave to retrain the Luft. of other Men, he took care al- 
 ways to except himfelf, refolving, it feems, to take his 
 full fwing herein without Let or Controul, according as 
 the violent bent of his brutim Appetite this way, mould 
 lead him. For, 
 
 r. He (r) would not allow any other to have above 
 four Wives, but to himfelf (s) he referved a liberty to 
 marry without rettraint, as many as he mould think fir, 
 and he had Ten together at the fame time when he 
 died. 
 
 2. He obliged all others, who have two, three, or four 
 Wives, to ufe them all equally alike, both as to their 
 Cloathing, Diet, and the Duties of the Marriage-bed. 
 And in cafe any Wife thinks herfelf unequally ufed in any 
 of thofe particulars, and that the Husband doth not as 
 
 G 4 largely 
 
 (0) Abul Pharaghius, p. ioj. (M Fornlit. Fid. lib. 4. 
 
 ConJitT. 1. Guadagnol. Trad. z. Cap. 7. Sed. r. Richard i ^Vvfn- 
 ratio, c. ?. Difputatio Chriftkni, c. 6. (q) Joannes Andreas, 
 
 c libro Af.nali, cap. 7. Guadagnol ex eodem libro, Trad. a. Cap. 
 7. Seel. 1. (r) A'coran,c. 4. (*) Alcoran, c. Jj. 
 
 Joannes Andreas, c. 7, Guadagnol, Trad. 1. c. 10, Sed. 3. Al- 
 -coran, c. 4. 
 
88 The Life o/Mahomet. 
 
 largely d'fpenfe to her of them, as to his other Wives, it is 
 allowed through all Mahometan Countries, that me make 
 her Complaint to the Judge, and the Law will give her 
 redrefs herein, and force the Husband to do her Juftice. 
 But Makomet reserved liberty to4iimfelf to do as hefhould 
 fee fit as to this $ and therefore when fome of his Wives 
 were aggrieved, becaufe he /hewed more favour to the 
 other, and particularly to Ayefloa, than to them, and made 
 Complaints againft him on this account 5 to ftill their 
 Clamours, he brings in God in the Thirty third Chapter 
 of his Alcoran, giving him full Liberty to deal with his 
 Wives as he mould think fit, to go in to which he plea- 
 fed, and abftain from which he pleafed 5 and commanding 
 them to be content herewith, and alfo to be well pleafed 
 with whatever elfe he mould do in reference to them, 
 accepting as a Favour from him whatfoever he mould 
 give them, and take Exceptions at nothing which he 
 fhou)d be pleafed to order concerning them. 
 
 3. In the Fourth Chapter of his Alcoran, which is 
 called the Chapter of Women, he forbids his Mutjlemans to 
 marry with their Mothers, their Mothers-in-law, the Wives 
 of their Fathers, their Daughters, the Sifters of their Fathers, 
 the Sifters of their Mothers, the Daughters of their Brothers, 
 the Daughters of their Sifters, their Nurjes, their Fofter-fifter s, 
 the Mothers of their Wives, the Sifters of their Wives, the 
 Daughters of their Wives by other Hmbands, the Daughters of 
 Women whom they have known, and the Wives of their Sons, 
 and the married Wives of other Men. And yet in the 
 Thirty third Chapter he brings in God exempting him 
 from this Law, and giving him an efpecial Privilege to 
 take to Wife the Diughters of his Brother, or the Daugh- 
 ters of his Sifter, and to go in to any other Woman 
 whatfoever of the Believers, that (hall be willing to prof- 
 titute herfelf unto him. But he there takes care to ap- 
 propriate this Liberty fo peculiarly to himfelf alone, 
 that he excludes all others whatfoever from it. For it 
 jfeemsthe Old Lecher feared his Luft mould not be fuffici- 
 ently provided for, if any thing lei's than the whole Sex 
 were allowed him for the gratifying of it 5 and therefore 
 would endure no reftraint or limitation upon himfelf 
 herein, how flriclly foever he lays it upon others. In 
 the abpye mention'd Law he forbids the marrying of the 
 
 Wivtf 
 
The Life pf Mahomet. 89 
 
 Jfives of other Men $ and abundant Reafon there is for it, 
 that no Man fhall be allow'd adufreroufly to take to Wife 
 her that is at the lame time the Wife of another $ and 
 yet he tranfgreffed it in marrying the Wife of his Ser- 
 vant Zeyd. But to allay the Scandal and Offence which 
 was taken at it, and to lecure others from fearing the like 
 Injury and Violence from him, he was content after that 
 to lay a reflraint upon himfelf to do fo no more $ and 
 therefore brings in God, telling him in the fame thirty 
 third Chapter of his Alcoran, That it fhali not be lawful 
 for him for the future to take another Man's Wife, how 
 much foever he may be taken with her Beauty. 
 
 As he was thus brutifhly enflaved to the love of Wo- 
 men, fo was he as exceflively jealous of thofe whom he 
 had taken to Wife. And therefore to deter them from 
 what he feared (ti) he threatens them with double the 
 punifhment of other Wives, both here and hereafter, in 
 cafe they mould be falfe unto him. And when fome of 
 his Followers made too frequent refort to his Houfe, and 
 there entred into difcourfe with fome of his Wives, this 
 gave him that Offence, that to prevent it for the future, 
 out comes, as from God y thofe Verfes of the Alcoran (w) 
 wherein he tells them, that they mould not enter into the 
 Houfe of the Prophet without permiffion $ and that if in- 
 vited to dine with him, they fhould depart as foon as 
 Dinner was over, and not enter into difcourfe with his 
 Wives j that although the Prophet be afhamed to bid them 
 be gone, yet God is not afhamed to tell them the Truth. 
 And in the fame Chapter he forbids his Wives to Ipeak to 
 any Man, unlefs with their Faces vailed. And this his 
 Jealoufy proceeded fo far, as to go beyond the Grave, 
 For he could not bear that any one elfe fhould have to do 
 with his Wives, though after his Death ; and therefore 
 (x) ftri&ly forbids all his Followers ever to go in to any 
 of them as long as they fhould live. So that although all 
 other Women when repudiated, or become Widows, had 
 liberty to marry again, all his Wives were excluded from 
 
 it. 
 
 («) Alcoran, c. 3$. (w) Alco;an, c. 3$. (*) Al- 
 
 jcorau, c. 33. 
 
<po The Life o/Mahomht. 
 
 it. And therefore all thofewhom he left at his Death 
 (y) lived Widows ever after, although fome of them 
 were very young $ as particularly Ayejha, who was not 
 then full twenty Years old, and lived above eight and 
 and forty Years after, which was in that hot Country 
 looked upon as a very hard reftraint put upon them. 
 
 In all thefe Inftances I have mentioned, it appears how 
 much he made his Impofture ferve his Luft. And indeed, 
 almoft the whole of his Alcoran was (*.) in like manner 
 framed toanfwer fome Purpofe or other of his, according 
 as occafion required. If any new Thing were to be put on 
 foot, any Objection againit him or his Religion te be 
 anfwered, any Difficulty to be folved, any Difcontent 
 among his People to be quieted, any Offence to be re- 
 moved, or any thing elfe done for the Intereft of his 
 Defigns, his conftant recourfe was to the Angel Gabriel 
 for a new Revelation $ and out come fome Addition to his 
 Alcoran to ferve his turn herein. So that the mod of it 
 was made on fuch like Occafions, to influence his Party 
 to what he intended. And all his Commentators thus far 
 acknowledge it, that they are on every Chapter very par- 
 ticular in afligning for what Caufes and for whofe Sakes 
 it was fent down from Heaven unto them. But hereby 
 it came to pafs that abundance of Contradictions got into 
 this Boot. For as the Intereft and the Defign of the Im- 
 fojior varied, fo was he forced to make his pretended Re* 
 relations to vary alfb $ which is a thing fo well known to 
 thofeof his&ff, that they all acknowledge it 5 and there- 
 fore where the Contradictions are fuch, as they cannot 
 falve them, there they will have one of the contradicting 
 places to be revoked. And they reckon in the whole 
 Alcoran, (a) above an hundred and fifty Verfes which are 
 thus revoked $ which is the be ft fliift they can make to 
 folve the Contradictions and Inconfiftencies of it. But 
 thereby they do exceedingly betray the Unfteadinefs 
 and Inconftancy of him that was the Author of it. 
 
 In the beginning of his Impofture, he feemed more in- 
 clined to the Jews than to the CkrifHans ; and in the firft 
 
 fomj- 
 
 (y) Joannes Andreas, c. 7. (z) Ricliaidi Confutatio, c. n, 
 
 (4) Joanaes Andreas, c z. Guadagnol, Tract, i. Cap. 7. S:ct. 3. 
 
The Ufe of M a h o m i t. 91 
 
 forming of his new-invented Religion, followed the 
 Jjfettern of theirs more than any other. But after his 
 coming to Medina, he took that difguit againit them, that 
 he became their bitter and molt irreconcilable "Enemy 
 ever after, and ufed them with greater Cruelty in his 
 Wars, than any other he had to deal with. 
 
 Put to the Chrijiians he ever carried hlinfelf with as 
 much favour as could be expected from fuch a Barbarian j 
 and where-ever they fell under his Power, they had always 
 good Terms from him. His general Rule, and which 
 he laid as a Uriel: Obligation upon all his Followers, was 
 to fight for the Propagation of his Religion. And (b) 
 there were only two Conditions on which he granted 
 Peace to any he had to do with 5 and thefe were either to 
 come into his Religion, or fubmit to be Tributaries unto 
 him. They that did the former, were admitted into 
 the fame Privileges and Freedoms with the relt of his 
 Followers : But the latter had only the benefit of his 
 Protection, as to their Goods and Perfon?, and free Ex- 
 ercife of their Religion, without any other Privilege or 
 Advantage whatfoever, for which every Man paid an 
 Annual Tribute. But thofe who would not come in, 
 and make Peace with him on one of thefe two Condi- 
 tions, were by his Law to be put to the Sword. And 
 this Law, in every one of its Particulars, is {till obferved 
 in all Mahometan Countries^ even to this Day. At firft 
 few fubmitted to him, but fuch as he forced by Conquelt ; 
 but when his Power grew to be formidable, then Multi- 
 tudes, both of Chrijiians and other Religions, flocked to 
 him for his Protection, and became his Tributaries. And 
 there hath in this laft Age been publi/h'd, firfl by Stonita at 
 Paris, and after by Fabncius at Rojioch, a Writing in Jra- 
 b'uk., which bears the Title of an Ancient Capitulation of 
 the Chrijiians of the Eaji with this bnpojior, which is faid to 
 have been laid up in the Mona{]ery of Mount Carmd in 
 Palejiine, and from thence brought into France, and repo- 
 rted in the French King's Library. But (r) Grotim re- 
 jects 
 
 , . „.. .„ , ■ f 
 
 (b) Alcoran, c. 4. c. 9, &c. Difpuratio Chriftiani, c 8. Ri har- 
 di Conrutatip, c. 1, 6, 7, &c 10. Car.taai7.eni, Orat. 1. Sect. ip> 
 (c) la Epifl. ad Gallcs, 
 
92 The Life of Mahomet. 
 
 je£ts It as a Forgery , and good reafon he had fo to do. 
 For it bears date in the fourth Year of the Hegira, when 
 Mahomet was not yet in a condition to fpeak in that 
 Language which he is made to do in that Writing ; nor 
 was his Power then fo formidable, as to move any to 
 pray his Protection, he having not long before been 
 overthrown and beaten at the Battle of Ohud j and at the 
 time this Infirument bears date (which was the fourth 
 Month of that Year) not fully recovered from that Blow $ 
 but in the loweft Circumftances he had at any time been 
 lince his talcing the Sword for the propagating of his 1m* 
 pofiure$ and there is another particular in it, which mani- 
 festly difcovers the Forgery : It makes Moawias, the Son of 
 Abu Sophian, to be the Secretary to the Impojior, who 
 drew the Infirument ; whereas it is certain, that Moawias, 
 with his Father Abu Sophian, was then in Arms againft 
 him 5 and it was not till the taking of Mecca , which was 
 Four Years after, that they came in unto him, and to fave 
 their Lives embraced the Impojiure. This Infirument is to 
 be read in Englifi, in the Hiftory of the Prefent State of the 
 Ottoman Empire, Book 2. Chap. 2. 
 
 However, this is .certain, that the Chrtfiians had better 
 Terms from him, than any other of his Tributaries, and 
 they enjoy them even to this Day ; there being no Maho- 
 metan Country where their Religion is not efteem'd the beft 
 next their own, and the Profeffors of it accordingly re- 
 fpe£ted by them before the jfow, Heathens, or any other 
 fort of Men that differ from them. 
 
 As the Impojior allowed the Old and New Tejiament, fo 
 would he fain prove his Miffion from both. The Texts, 
 which are made ufe of for this purpofe by thofe who de- 
 fend his Caufe, are thefe following : 
 
 Deuteronomy, c. 33. v. 2. It is faid, The Lord came from 
 Sinai, and rofe up fom Seir unto them $ he fiinetb forth from 
 Mount Pharan, and he came with ten thoufand of Saints - 
 from his right Hand went a fery Law from them. By which 
 Words they will have {d) meant the coming down 
 of the Law to Mofes on Mount Sinai • of the Gofpel 
 
 to 
 1 
 
 (<0 Shareftani, Safiodinus, Pocockii Spec. Hilt. Arab, p. i8> 
 
The Life of Mahomet; 9 5 
 
 to Jefm at Jerufdem, and of the Alcoran to Mahomet at 
 Mecca. For, fay they, Seir are the Mountains of Jerufa- 
 lem where Jefui appeared, and Pharan the Mountains of 
 Mecca where Mahomet appeared. But they are here much 
 out in their Geography $ for Pharan (e) is a City of 
 Arabia Petrcea, near the Red-Sea, towards the bottom of 
 that Gulph not far from the Confines of Egypt and Pales- 
 tine, above five hundred Miles diftant from Mecca. It 
 was formerly (/) an Epif copal See under the Patriarch of 
 Jerufalem, and famous for Thcodorus (g) once Bifhop of 
 it, who was the firft that in his Writings published to the 
 World the Opinion of the Monothelites. It is at this Day 
 called ( h ) Fara. From hence the Defarts lying from 
 this City to the Borders of Paleftine, are called the De- 
 farts or Wildernefs of Pharan - 7 and the Mountains lying 
 in it, the Mountains of Pharan, in Holy Scripture, near 
 which Mofes firft began to repeat, and more clearly ex- 
 plain the Law to the Children of Ifrael before his Death 5 
 and to that refers the Text above-mentioned. 
 
 Pfal. 50. v. 2. We have it, Out of Sion, the Perfe&ion of 
 Beauty, God hath Joined. Which the Syriac Verfion reads 
 thus, Out of Sion Godhath Jhe-wed a Glorious Crown. From 
 whence fame Arabic k .Transitions having expreffed the two 
 laft words by Eclilan Mahmudan, i. e. an Honourable Crown 5 
 by Mahmudan, they underftand the Name of Mahomet t 
 and fo read the Verfe thus, Out of Sion hath God jhewed the 
 Crown of Mahomet. 
 
 Ifaiah, c, 21. v. 7. We read, and he faw a Chariot with 
 a couple of Horfemen, a Chariot of Affes, and a Chariot of 
 Camels. But the old Latin Verfion hath it, Et vidit currunt 
 duorum Equitum, Afcenforem jffiniy & AJcenforem Cameli : 
 i . e. And he faw a Chariot of two Horfemen, a Rider upon an 
 Afs, and a Rider upon a Camel. Where by the Rider upon 
 an Afs, they underftand Jefus Chriji, becaufe he did fo 
 
 ride 
 
 ( e ) Ptolemy. ( /) Geographia Sacra Caroli at SaniSo 
 
 Paulo, p. 317. (/?) Acta Conciiii Lateram fuh Martino 
 
 Papa( (b) Carolus 2 Saucto Paulo ubi fupra. Geography 
 
 Nubienfoj Ciim, 3. Part 5. 
 
5>4 The Life ^Mahomet. 
 
 ride to Jerufalem j and by the Rider on the Camel, Ma- 
 homet, becaufe he was of the Arabians, who ufed to ride 
 upon Camels. 
 
 John 16. v. 7. Our Saviour tells his Difciples, If I go 
 not away, the Comforter will not come unto you 5 but if I de- 
 fart, I will fend him unto you. By the Comforter, the Maho- 
 metans will have their Prophet Mahomet to be here meant ; 
 and therefore among other Titles which they give him 
 in their Language, one is Paraclet, (/) which is the Greek. 
 word here ufed in this Text tor the Comforter, 
 made Jrabicl{. They alfo fay, That the very Name ot 
 Mahomet, both here and in other Places of the Gofpel % 
 was exprefly mentioned, but that the Cbrijlians out of 
 Malice have blotted it out, and corrupted thofe Holy 
 Writings 5 and that at Paris there is a (£) Copy of thefe 
 Go/pels without thele Corruptions, in which the coming 
 of Mahomet is foretold in federal places, with his Name 
 expreily mentioned in them. And feme fuch thing 
 they had need to fry, to juftify the impudent Lye 
 of this Impojlor , who in the Sixty firft Chapter of 
 his Alcoran, entitled, The Chapter of Battle, hath thefe 
 Words , Remember that Jehus the Son of Mary faid to 
 the Children of Ifrael, I am the Mcjfenger of God, he hath 
 ftnt me to confirm the Old Teilament^ and to declare 
 trnto yotty That there Jhull come a Prophet after me t whofe 
 Name fjall be Mahomet. 
 
 There needs no Anfwer to confute thefe Glojfts. 
 The Abfurdity of them is fufficiently expofed, by 
 barely relating them. And fince they could find 
 nothing elfe in all the Books of the Old and New 
 Tejlament to wreft to their purpofe, but thefe Texts 
 above mentioned, which are to every Man's appre- 
 hending fo exceedingly wide of it 5 thefe fhew at 
 how vaft a di4ance the true Word of God is from 
 this Impious Impoflure, and how much it is in all its 
 parts contrary thereto. 
 
 And 
 
 («) Al Jannabi, Pocockii Specim. Hift. Arab. p. 18$, (£) 
 
 Pococfcii Special. Hill. Arab. p. 186. 
 
The Life of Mahomet. 9$ 
 
 And thus far I have laid together as exactly and 
 particularly as I could, out of the beft Authors that 
 treat of this lmfoftor, all that is credibly related of 
 him, and thofe Methods which he took for the fra- 
 ming and propagating that Impious Forgery , which 
 he hath impofed upon fo large a part of Mankind as 
 have been deluded thereinto. And what is my Defign 
 in the prefent publi filing hereof, is fhewn in the eo- 
 fuing Treatife. 
 
DISCOURSE 
 
 For the Vindicating of 
 
 CHRISTIANITY 
 
 FROM THE 
 
 Charge of Impofture. 
 
 O F F E R'D, 
 
 By way of Letter, 
 
 To the Cbnfideration of the DEISTS of 
 the Prefent Age. 
 
 t/ 
 
 By Humphrey Prideaux, D. D. Dean 
 6f NORWICH. 
 
 The Seventh Edition, Corrected. 
 
 L N T> N: 
 Printed in the Year M DCC XVTIt. 
 

 
LETTE 
 
 TO THE 
 
 DEISTS & 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 V I am not miftaken, the Reafon you 
 give for your Renouncing that Reli- 
 gion ye were Baptized into, and is 
 the Religion of the Country in which 
 ye were born, is, That the Gofpel of 
 Jefus Chrift is an Impofture : An AflPer- 
 tion that I tremble to repeat. But 
 
 whether that Gofpel be right, or ye are in the right 
 that deny it, will appear from the Confideration of the 
 Nature of an Impofture^ and from the Life of that mod 
 infamous Impoftor (whom we, as well as you, acknow- 
 ledge to be fuch) which I have before given you the 
 exacl: Pi&ure of. And if you can find any one Linea- 
 ment of it, any one Line of all its filthy Features in 
 the whole Gofpel of Jefus Chrift , I durft fav (fo fure I 
 am of the contrary) that for the fake hereof I will give 
 you all you contend for, and yield you up the whole 
 Caufe. And therefore that we may throughly examine 
 the Matter, I will lay down, in the firft Place, What 
 an Impofture is *, zdly y What are infeparable Marks and 
 Characters of it - , And 3^/y, That none of thefe Marks 
 
 H 
 
 can 
 
98 eA Letter to the Deist ?. 
 
 can belong to the Gofpel of Jefus Chrift. And when t 
 have done this, I hope I fhall convince all fuch of you, 
 who have not totally abandon'd your felves to your In- 
 fidelity, That the Gofpel of Jefus Chrift is that Sacred 
 f rath of God y which you are all bound to believe. 
 
 An Impofture, taking the Word in the full Latitude 
 of its Signification, may denote any Lye or Cheat, 
 whereby one Man impofeth upon another. But it is 
 moft frequently ufed to exprefs fuch Cheats as are int- 
 pos'd on us by thofe who come with falfe Characters 
 of themfelves, pretending to be what they are not, irt 
 order to delude and deceive. And when this Character, 
 which W thus ftrtfly affum'd, is- no lefs than a pretend- 
 ed Embaffy from Heaven, and under the Credit of it a 
 New Religion is deliver'd to the World as coming front 
 God, which is nothing elfe but a Forgery, invented by 
 thfc firft Propagators of it, to impofe a Cheat upon 
 Mankind, it amounts to be an Impofture in thatSenfe, 
 in which you would have the Gofpel of Jefus Chrifi to 
 to be fuch. And in this Senfe it is to be unde'rftood in 
 the Controversy between us-, fa that the whole Que- 
 ft ion which we are to examine into, is, Whether the 
 Chrifiian Religion be a Truth really given unto us by Di- 
 vine Revelation from God our Creator, or elfe a meer 
 Human Invention, contrived by the firft Propagators 
 of it, to impofe a Cheat upon Mankind. And when 
 I have fully difprov'd the latter part of this Queftion, 
 That the Christian Religion cannot be fuch an Invention 
 contriv'd tocheat and impofe upon us, that will_ fuffici- 
 ently prove the former,that it muft be thatDivineTruth, 
 which all we that are Chrift ians firmly believe it to be. 
 
 That it is poffible fuch a Cheat may be impofed up- 
 on Men, cannot be deny'd. It is fufffciently prov'd in 
 the foregoing Hiftory, which is a. very fulllnftance of 
 it ; and I have laid it before you for this very Purpofe, 
 that you may therein fee clearly delineated and dif- 
 play'd in all its proper Colours, the whole Nature of 
 the Thing, which you charge Our Holy Religion with. 
 All that I contend for, is, That if Chrift Unity be fuch 
 an Impofture as we all acknowledge the Religion of Ma- 
 homet to be, it muft be juft fuch another thing as that 
 is, with all the fame Marks, Characters; and Properties 
 of an Impofture belonging thereto ', and that if none of 
 
 thole 
 
 
<A Letter to the Deist s, 99 
 
 ihofe Marks, Characters, or Properties can be discover- 
 ed in it,it muft be a clear Eviction of the wholeCharge, 
 and manifeftly prove, That our Holy Religion .cannot 
 be that Thing which you would have it be. For our 
 only way of knowing Things, is by their Maries and 
 Properties', and it is by them only that we can difco- 
 ver what the Nature of them is. It is only by the 
 Marks and Properties of a Man, that we know a Man 
 from another Living Creature, for we cannot fee the 
 EfTences of Things. And fo it muft be only by the 
 Marks and Properties of an Impofture, that we can 
 know an Impoflure from that which is a real Truth, 
 when attefted unto us. And as where we find none of 
 the Marks and Properties of a Man, we afluredly know 
 that cannot be a Man* how muck foever any one may 
 tell us that it is : So where we find none of the Marks 
 and Properties of an Impoflure , we may afluredly know 
 that cannot be an Impoflure, how much foever you, or 
 any other like^you, may affert it fo to be. 
 
 Now the Marks and Characters which I look on to be 
 infeparable from every fuch Impoflure, are thefe fol- 
 lowing: 1. That it muft always have for its end fome 
 carnal Intereft. 2. That it can have none but wicked 
 Men for the Authors of it. 3. That both thefe muft 
 necefiarily appear in the very Contexture of the Impo- 
 fiure it felf. 4. That it can never be fo fram'd, but that 
 it muft contain fome palpable Falfities, which will dis- 
 cover theFalfity of all the reft. 5. That where-ever 
 it is firft propagated, it muft be done by Craft and 
 Fraud. 6. That when entrulied with many Confoira- 
 tors, it can never be long conceal'd. And, 7. Tfcat 
 it can never be eftabliuYd, uniefs back'd with Force 
 and Violence. That all thefe muft belong to every Im- 
 poflure, and all particularly did fo to Mabometifm% 
 and that none of them can be charged upon Chrifiian'w 
 ty, is what I fhall now proceed to mew you : Of each 
 of them in their Order. 
 
 SECT. I. 
 
 I. That every Impoflure muft have for its end fomQ 
 carnal Intereft, is a thing fo plain and evident^ that I 
 fuppofe it will not need much Proof. For to impofe 
 a Cheat upon Mankind., and in a Matter of that great 
 
 H 3 Imporr 
 
ioo oA Letter to the^T) e i s t s. 
 
 Importance, as all that have any Religion, hold that 
 to be, is a thing of that Difficulty to compafs, and of 
 that Danger to attempt, that it cannot be conceivd, 
 why any one ihould put himfelf upon fuch a Defign, 
 that doth not propofe fome very valuable Advantage 
 to himfelf in the Succefs. To cheat one Man is not al- 
 ways fo eafy a Matter, nor is it without its Mifchiefs 
 and Inconveniencies in the Difcovery. But to enter- 
 prize a Cheat upon all Mankind, and in a thing of that 
 Importance, as the introducing of a new Religion, and 
 the abolifhing of the Old one, (to which fo many both 
 by Cuftom and Education will be always zealoufly af- 
 fected, be it what it will) muft be an Undertaking of 
 the greateft Difficulty and Hazard imaginable. For 
 whoever engageth himfelf in fuch a Plot of Impefture, 
 muft unavoidably meet with many ftrong Oppofitions 
 to ftruggle with in the Management of it, which will 
 continually put his Thoughts upon the Rack, to find 
 out Devices to furmount them, and his Body to incef- 
 fant Pains and Labour to bring them into Execution j 
 and for the effecting hereof, he muft have fome Confi- 
 dents to afiift him, fome to help forward the Defign, 
 whom he muft truft with the Secret of it, and the 
 more he hath of fuch, the more he hazards all to a 
 Difcovery. And all this while his Mind will be fill'd 
 with anxious Cares, and his Thoughts diftracted with 
 many uneafy and affrighting Apprehenfions (as is ufual 
 with Men on wicked Defigns) about the Succefs, and 
 every Failure will expofe him to that terrible Revenge 
 from thofe he attempts to delude, as fuch a Villany, 
 whenever detected, molt juftly deferves. This was 
 A'lahomet's Cafe all the while he was propagating his 
 Iwpofture it Mecca, and fo it muft be of every other 
 fuch Impofior alfo. And when a Man puts himfelf up- 
 on all this, the Nature of the Thing manifeftly leads 
 us to conclude, he muft propofe fomething to himfelf 
 hereby, which may make him amends for all in the re- 
 fult. For when fo much is put to hazard, Men do not 
 a!e to do it for nothing. There muft always be fome 
 great Intereft in the Bottom of fuch a Defign, fome- 
 thing that the Undertaker values at a more than ordi- 
 nary Rate, to make him engage in fo exceeding diffi- 
 cult and dangerous an Enterpri/e. For where-ever the 
 
 Venture 
 
eA Letter to the Deists. ioi 
 
 Venture is great, it muft be taken for granted there is 
 an End propofed, which in the Eftimation of the Ven- 
 turer, is equivalent thereto. What it was that put 
 Mahomet on his Impofture, the foregoing Hiftory of his 
 Life fufficiently fhews j it was his Ambition and his 
 Luft. To have the Sovereignty over his Country, to 
 gratify his Ambition •, and as many Women as he plea- 
 fed to fatiate his Luft, was what he aim'd at} and to 
 gain himfelf a Party for the compafling of this, was the 
 grand Defign of that new Religion which he invented, 
 and the whole End and Reafon of his impofing it on 
 thofe he deluded thereinto. And whoever purfues the 
 like Method, muft certainly have fome fuch End in \t\ 
 it being totally incredible that any one mould take up- 
 on him the Trouble, Fatigue, and Danger of carrying 
 on fuch a Cheat only for cheating fake. But here we 
 challenge all the Enemies of that holy Religion which 
 we profefs, to find out any thing like this in the Gofpel 
 ofjefia Chrift, any thing that favours of worldly In- 
 tereft, either in him the firft Founder of our Faith, or 
 in any of his holy Apoftles, who were the firft Propaga- 
 tors of it. Vaninvu, one of the moft zealous Ghampi- 
 ons of Impiety that ever appear'd againft the Chrifiian 
 Caufe (for he dy'd a Martyr for it) hath attempted 
 this : But after the moft accurate and diligent Search 
 which fo keen an Adverfary could make, he was forc'd 
 to give up the Point •, and plainly acknowledge* That 
 in the whole Series of the Hiftory and Actions of our 
 Saviour, he could not find any thing that he could charge 
 with fecular Intereft or Defign to blaft him or his Reli- 
 gion with. And if you will renew the fame Attempt, 
 tho' you extend the Enquiry much farther, even to his 
 Apoftles, and all the reft of his Difciplcs, who firft 
 preached this holy Religion to the World, and take in to 
 your Afiiftance all the Enemies of it} after the ftri 
 cleft Scrutiny that you can make, you will never have 
 any better Succefs herein. 
 
 For had our Saviour's Defign been to feduce thQ 
 People for his own Intereft, he muft have taken the 
 fartie Courfe that other Seducers do. He muft have 
 flatter'd them in their Humours, and form'd his Do- 
 ctrines to their Fancies-, courted thofe that were in 
 greateft Authority and Efteem with them, and made it 
 
 H 4 his 
 
i©2 oA Letter to the D e i s t i. 
 
 his Bufmefs moftly to preach againft and decry thofe 
 who were leaft in their Favour, and ftudy'd and pra- 
 etis'd all other fuch Arts of Popularity, whereby he 
 might beft infinuate into their good liking, and gain 
 that Intereft with them, as might be fufficient to ferve 
 his Purpofe, and obtain the End propos'd. Thefe were 
 the Methods whereby Mahomet firft propagated his Im- 
 pofiure, and thefe are they which all others muft take, 
 whofe Purpofe it is to deceive the People. But our Sa- 
 viour in every particular acted contrary hereto - , which 
 fufficiently proves that he had no fuch Defign to com- 
 pafs. For he freely preach'd againft whatever he found 
 blameable in the People, fpared not their beloved Er- 
 rors, or fram'd his Doctrines to indulge them in any 
 one evil Practice, how predominant foever amongft 
 them, and was fo far from courting thofe in the great- 
 eft Authority and Ffteem with them, that he was moll 
 Jharp and bitter againft them above all others, whom 
 they moft Idoliz'd, I mean the Scribes and Pkarifees: 
 For he, on all Occafions, detected their Hypocrifies^ 
 and laid open their evil Practices, and in the fevereft 
 Manner rebuk'd and condemn'd them for their Iniqui- 
 ty therein, even to the preferring and juftifying before 
 them the wicked Publicans, who for their Exactions 
 and Oppreffions upon the People in their gathering the 
 publick Taxes, were held among them the moft hated 
 of Men, and the word of Sinners. And therefore, tho* 
 his Miracles often drew their Admiration and their 
 Applaufe on the other hand, his Doctrines and his 
 Preachings as faft alienated them from him on the o- 
 ther •, fo that thofe very fame Men, who, for the fake 
 of the former, follow'd him often in Multitudes, and 
 were ready to acknowledge him to be theMeffias,were 
 as violently fet againft him at other Times, for the 
 fake of the latter, and at laft crucify'd him on the ac- 
 count thereof. And is it poffible to conceive that he 
 who took all thofe Courfes fo contrary to the Humour 
 of the People,' without regarding how much they tend- 
 ed to exifperate them againft him, fhould have any In- 
 tereft or Defign of his own to ferve himfelf of them ? 
 
 • When our Saviour took upon him to be the Mejfuis 
 that was promis'd, had he done it only as an hnpofror y 
 to promote a Secular Intereft and Delign of his own, he 
 
 • would 
 
tsA Letter to the D e i s t «£ 103 
 
 would certainly have afTum'd that Chara&er according 
 to thofe Notions in which the Jews expected him. For 
 in this Cafe the Expectation of the People muft have 
 been the grand Motive to the Impofture, and their look- 
 ing for fuch a Meflia* to come, the main inducing Rea- 
 fon of his putting hi mfelf thereon •, and therefore to be 
 fure, had he been an Impoftor, he would have offer'd him- 
 felf to them no otherwife than jufl fuch a.Mejfias as their 
 Notions of him would have him to be \ and there are 
 two fpecial Rafons which in this Cafe would have deter- 
 min'd him hereto. 1. Becaufe thofe Notions offer'd to 
 him the higheft fecular Intereft that could be attaine4 
 unto : And, 2. Becaufe the fuiting of his Pretenfions ex- 
 actly according to them, would have been the readieft: 
 and moft likely way for him to carry the Intereft,what- 
 ever it was,which you may fuppofe him to have aim'd at. 
 And, firft, the Notions which the Jews had of the 
 Mejfias, offer'd him the higheft fecular Intereft that 
 could be attain'd unto *, and therefore to be fure, whea 
 he took upon him to be that Mejfiat, had he done it 
 only as an Impaftar, for a fecular Intereft, he would 
 have laid hold of that Intereft offer'd, and under the 
 Character which he afTum'd, moft certainly have claim- 
 ed all that which according to thofe Notions the Mejfi- 
 as was to have. For this was nothing lefs than a moft: 
 glorious fecular Kingdom *, the Expectations of the 
 Jews being then concerning this Matter the fame, as 
 they have ever fince continued amongft them •, that the 
 Mejftas * was to be a Secular Prince, who was to deli- 
 ver them from their Enemies, and reftore the Kingdom 
 of David at Jerufalem, and there reign in great Glory 
 and Splendor over the whole Houfe of/frael. And what 
 greater or more definable Intereft can this World af- 
 ford, than fuch a State of Advancement? And what is 
 there that is more valu'd and efteem'd in the Opinion, 
 of all Mankind, than the Attainment thereof? And at 
 
 that 
 
 * The Meflias Shall come and re/lore the Kingdom of the Houfe of Da- 
 vid to the antient State of its former Dominion, and /hall rebuild the Tem- 
 ple, and gather together the difperfed of Ifrael ; and then /hall be re- 
 e/labli/hcd the Legal Rites and Con/} it ut ions, as in former Times; and Sa- 
 crifices /haU be offer'd, and the Sabbatical Tears and Jubilees obferv'<k, ac- 
 cording to every Precept delivered in the Law. Mainionides in Yad 
 Ji'acluzekah in Trad, dc Regibus & Belli* eomm } cap. i l.(e<ft.i. 
 
104 &4 Letter to the Deists. 
 
 that Time when our Saviour firft appear'd on his Miffi- 
 <?.», there was the moft favourable Juncture that could 
 offer it felf, for his fetting up for all this : For then the 
 People of the Jews being fallen under the Yoke of the 
 Roman Government, and alfo grown very impatient 
 under it, entertain'd a general Expectation of the fpee- 
 dy Coming of the Mejfias, under that Character of a 
 Temporal Prince, which they had conceited of him, to 
 deliver them from this Bondage, and by conquering 
 thofe who fubjefted them thereto, again re ft ore the 
 Kingdom of Ifrael. And thefe Hopes had then taken 
 PoiTeftion of their Minds, and they were all fo full of 
 them, that every one flood in a manner ready and pre- 
 paid to join with him, whofoever mould take upon him 
 to be the Perfon,as fufficiently appeareth not only from 
 f the Scriptures, but alfo from the Hiftory which (*) 
 Jofephus wrote of thofe Times. And therefore had our 
 
 Sa- 
 
 f Marl^ 1 5. v. 43. Lu^e 2. v. 33, foe. 24. v. 31. Aftsi.v.6» 
 From all which Places compared together, it appears that there 
 was among the yews, in the Time of our Saviour, a general Ex- 
 piation of the fpeedy Coming of the Meffias, and that their No- 
 tion was of a Temporal Deliverance and a Temporal Reftoration. 
 «f the Kingdom of Jfrael to be effected by him. And this Expe- 
 ctation was it which made the Multitude fo ready to join them- 
 felves to Tbeudat, and after to Judas of Galilee, of whom mention 
 is made Afts 5. v. 36.37. and after that to an Egyptian Jew,ASs 21. 
 v. 38. on their pretending to be the Perfons from whom this De- 
 liverance was expected. 
 
 (*) Jofepbus not only makes mention of Tbeudat, and Judas of 
 Galilee, and the Egyptian, of whom we have an account in Scripture, 
 Antiq. lib. 20. c. 2, fo 6. but alfo of feveral others, who on the 
 fame Pretences, found the Multitude ready to join themfelves 
 unto them, Antiq. lib.io. c. 6,fo 7. fo dc BeUo Judaico, I. 7. c. 3 1. 
 As did alfo Barcbosbat in the Reign of Adrian the Roman Emperor. 
 And what Maimonides delivers of the Doctrine of the. Jews con- 
 cerning this Matter, might give anyMan an Handle to offer at it. 
 For, faith he, the Mejjiaf t$ not to be known by Signs or Wonders 
 (for he is to work none) but only by Conqueft. And therefore 
 his Words are ; If there arifttb a King of the Houfe of David who is 
 ftudiout of the Law, and diligent in obferving the Precepts of it, as was 
 David bis Fatb:r ; that is, not only of chc Law, which is written, but of 
 tbrOral aifi, and inclineth ail Ifrael to v:a!^ therein, and repairs the 
 Breaches, and fights the Battles of the Lord, this Vcrfm may be prefum'd 
 to be lb: M;!Tias. But if be proffers, in what be undertaks*) and fub- 
 
 dues 
 
oA Letter to the Deists. 
 
 Saviour, by taking upon him to be the M'foa- ■■ 
 only, as an Impojlor, at a fecular Intereft, W Hat \ 
 can be given, why he fhould not with the Name of the 
 Mejfias^huve alfo claimed this grand Intereft of a King- 
 dom, which, according to the Opinion of all thofe 
 who expected a MeJJias, belong'd thereto? Or why he 
 fhould not in fo favourable a Juncture, as was then of- 
 fer'd for it, have pofTefled himfelf thereof ? But he was 
 fo fir from doing either of thefe, that he wav'd both, 
 and not only omitted this Opportunity of pofFefling 
 himfelf of this Kingdom, but alfo renounc'd and dif 
 claim'd the whole thereof. For inftead of laying any 
 Pretence to it, he fet himfelf to confute thofe very No- 
 tions which gave it unto him, and to convince the Peo- 
 ple that thev were miftaken in them, and thereby o- 
 verthrew all that which offered unto him the higheft 
 Secular Intereft which the Men of this World ufe to 
 aim at. And not only fo, but advanc'd in the ftead of 
 thofe Errors, fuch Doctrines concerning the Afejfias as 
 were not only without all manner of Worldly Inte- 
 reft in them, but all levell'd directly oppofite thereto. 
 For he taught them, that the Kingdom of the Mejjias 
 was not ^Temporal, but a Spiritual Kingdom ; that he 
 was not to be a Judge and a Ruler over them in the 
 Secular Affairs of this World, and the Pomp and Glo- 
 ry thereof, but to govern and direct their Hearts with- 
 in by the Power of his Holy Spirit, in order to con- 
 form them to that Law of Righteoufnefs, which might 
 fit them to reign with him in the Kingdom of Everla- 
 ftmg Glory hereafter. And therefore when the Jews, 
 being convinc'd by his wonderful Works that he was 
 the Meflias, would have taken him by Force and made 
 him their King, he withdrew from among them to 
 difappoint the Delign. And when interrogated by Pi- 
 late, he told him his Kingdom was not of this World. 
 And had he aim'd at any fuch Thing, he would never 
 have taught fuch Doctrines of himfelf, which fodireft- 
 ly overthrew all that which gave him the moft favour* 
 able Advantage of attaining thereto. Had he offer'd at 
 
 more 
 
 dues all the neighbouring Nations round about bim, and re-kutlds ibe 
 SanSuary in its former Place~and gathers together tbcdifperfednftfrael., 
 then be is for certain the MdVias. Mahhonidcs in Yacf HachaZckah 
 Tra#. dc Regibus & Bellis eorum, c. 1 1. f«ft. 4, 
 
io6 eA Letter to tie Deists. 
 
 more of this World's Intereft, than the Notions of the 
 Jews inverted him with (if it were poffible more could 
 be had than thofe gave their Mejfias) or if he had join'd 
 thereto the Enjoyment of carnal Pleafure, as Mahomet 
 did,there might then have been fome ground of charging 
 him of differing from thofe Notions for the ferving of 
 his own Intereft-, but when the Change was on the 
 quite contrary hand, and inftead of being that reigning 
 and glorious Mtflias^ amidft the higheft Pomp and 
 Splendor of this World, as the Jews would have had 
 him to be, he declared himfelf only for fuch a Kingdom 
 as had nothing of this World in it, and whofe greateft 
 Perfection lay in its greateft Oppofition thereto*, he 
 that will fay that there was any thing of this World in 
 his thus ftripping himfelf of all the Pomp and Glory 
 of it, or that there could be any Defign of Intereft for 
 himfelf, where all manner of Self-Intereft is thus re- 
 nounc'd, muft reconcile Contradictions, and make the 
 Nature of one Extreme to confift in the other, which 
 is moft direftly oppofite thereto. Had he, when he 
 took upon him to be the AIeJ[ias y done it only for a 
 Worldly Intereft, this great Intereft of Reigning, 
 fb obvioufly offer'd it felf unto him under that Chara- 
 cter, that it cannot be conciiiv'd how he fhouid ever 
 have avoided it. The Power, and Glory, and Riches 
 of a Kingdom^ are too great Baits of Allurement to the 
 worldly-minded Man, ever to be refus'd by fuch a one, 
 after he had affum'd that Character, which, in the ge- 
 nerally receiv'd Notion of it, invefted him with them. 
 Or can it be imagin'd, fince thefe are the only Things 
 which could make that Character at all deferable to an 
 Jmpoftor, why any Man fhouid run the great Hazard and 
 and Trouble of being fuch in the afiuming of it, but 
 for the fake of them ? All thofe falfe Chrifts y who have 
 been real Impojlors? and have in feveral Ages ftarted up 
 to delude the World with this Pretence, have ever with 
 the Name of the Afejfias, claimed alfo this Kingdom^ 
 which the Jews afcribed thereto*, and that, in every 
 fuch Scene of Deceit which hath open'd in the World, 
 hath always appear'd to have been the Bait, which al- 
 lur'd thofe Wretches to aft that Part therein. And had 
 ouv Saviour been fuch a one as they, he muft certainly 
 have taken the lame Courfe. For to do otherwife, 
 
 would 
 
<A Letter to the Deist s. 107 
 
 tyflutd have been to do the Wickednefs without the 
 Temptation, and to run the Hazard without that which 
 Was to reward the Succefs. But he having been fo far 
 herefrom, that he did not only renounce this Kingdom, 
 but all manner of other worldly Intereft whatever ^ this 
 plainly (hews he could have no Defign upon this World 
 by that Miflion which he undertook, or had any other 
 Reafon for his entringon it as the Meflias^ but that he 
 was really that Perfon, whom GW, by his Holy Pro- 
 phets^ had fo often promis'd, and at length, in the 
 Fulnefs of Time, accordingly (ent to bring Life and 
 Salvation unto us. 
 
 2. Had our Saviour^ when he took upon him to be 
 the Mejjiai^ done it only as an Impoftor, for a Secular 
 Intereft, he would have aflum'd that Character accor- 
 ding to thofe Notions in which the Jews expected him, 
 becaufe this would have been the readied and moft like- 
 iy way for him to carry that Intereft,whatever you may 
 fuppofe it to be. For the eager Expectations of that Peo- 
 ple being then for fuch a reigning Mejfias, as they had 
 drawn a Picture of in their own Fancies, his only way 
 to have gotten them to own and receive him for the 
 Mejftas^ was for him exactly to have humour'd them 
 herein, and propofed himfelf to them juft fuch a one 
 as they Would have had him to be. And had his Intent 
 been only to feduce them under that Character, in or- 
 der to ferve himfelf of them for a Secular Intereft, this 
 Method is that which is fo obvioufly necefTary in fuch 
 a Cafe, that- it could not have been avoided. For to 
 do otherwife Would evidently have been to put the 
 Matter in a moft certain Method totally to mifcarry, 
 and make the whole Defign impracticable. To come 
 to them as their Meffias, under a Character totally 
 differing from that in which they expetted him, would 
 be fufficient to make them, for that very Reafon, ne- 
 ver to receive him: Altho' Humility, and the debafing 
 of a Man's felf, may, in other Cafes* be a Means to 
 court Popularity, and procure the Favour of the Peo- 
 ple, it could never have ferv'd in this *, nor would our 
 Saviour's taking upon him the Character of the MeJJi- 
 ds'j fo vaftly lower as to this World, than the general 
 Opinion then gave it unto him, have been of any ftead 
 to him in order thereto 5 but quite the contrary. For 
 
io8 eA Letter t o the D e i s t s; 
 
 the Jews had then fram'd their Notions of the Mejfias 
 they expected, for their own Sakes rather than his -, 
 fuitable to thofe Worldly Interefts they were moft in 
 love with, and thofe Notions went currant through 
 the whole Nation, as the true and exact Defcription of 
 him, by which he was to be known at his coming. And 
 therefore for any one to propofe himfelf to them, as 
 the Mejfias^ under a Character totally difagreeing here- 
 from, would have been the readied way for him to be 
 told, that he was not therefore the Man } and this, in- 
 ftead of being a Means to feduce them to him, become 
 fuch a Reafon for their rejecting him, as no Art of 
 Jmpc-ftiire would ever have been able to mafter. And 
 this, indeed, prov'd the main Caufe, that, notwith- 
 standing our Saviour's Miracles, the jews, who daily 
 law them, were ft ill harden'd in their Averfion again ft 
 him j and it continues with them to this Day the grand 
 Stumbling-block of Infidelity, which they cannot get 
 over. For they look for a Meflias, that was to fubdue 
 their Enemies, and deliver them from the Slavery of 
 the Romans, and by the Eftablifhment of a Temporal 
 Kingdom over them, advance the State of their Nation 
 to the higneft Profperity, and their Law to the high- 
 eft Perfection of Obfervance, which both were ca- 
 pable of. But he propofed himfelf unto them- as a 
 Mefjias, who had nothing to do with this World, 
 or any of the Interefts of it ; and inftead of the Tem- 
 poral Kingdom they expected, claim'd only a Spiritual -, 
 and inftead of the outward Rites and Ceremonies of 
 the A4ojaical Law-, which were all fulfill'd and done a- 
 way in him, taught them only to worfhip God in Spi- 
 rit and in Truth. And what could more difpleafe and 
 alienate from him, Men fo eager upon this W'orld, and 
 the Glory and Riches of it, than thus, inftead of Con- 
 <]neft over Enemies, Extent of Power, and a moft 
 flourishing State of Profperity, which they dreamt of, 
 to preach to them of Mortification, Repentance, Self- 
 denial, and thofe other Cbriftian Virtues, in the In- 
 crease of which the true Profperity of Chrift's Kingdom 
 only confifts-, and inftead of their Temple, and the 
 outward Pomp and Splendor of the Worfhip there 
 perform'd, which they fo much valu'd themfelves upon, 
 and fo zealoufly affected, thus to propofe to them the 
 
 wor- 
 
eA Letter to the Deist s. 109 
 
 Worfhipping of Cod without all this, only in that Spi- 
 ritual Manner, which, under the numerous Rites of 
 the Mofaical Law, they had not been accuftomed to 
 have any great Regard unto ? For this was to baulk 
 them of the Hopes they moft delighted in, and put a 
 Baffle upon them in thofe eager Expectations and moft 
 earneft Defires, which their Hearts had long dwelt up- 
 on. And how ill they were able to brook this, will 
 appear by this Inftance in the Gofpel *, 
 That thofe very fame Men, who, on the * John 2. 6. 
 feeing of his Miracles,were fo firmly con- 
 vinc'd of his being the Mejfias, that they would forth- 
 with have taken him by force, and declar'd him their 
 King \ the next Day after, on his preaching to them of 
 Spiritual Things, and offering thereby to withdraw 
 their Minds from the perifhable Things of this World, 
 to fix them on thofe which endure to everlafting Life, 
 murmur'd againft him,and would no more endure him. 
 For their Hearts were after a Mejjias that fhould Found 
 them a Temporal Kingdom, and make them great and 
 glorious, and powerful therein - and to fet up a Spiri- 
 tual Kingdom inftead hereof, was not only to deprive 
 himfelf of the Grandeur of the other, but them alfo 
 of the Portion which they expected therein. And no 
 one certainly that intended a Worldly Intereft by fuch 
 an Undertaking, would ever have projected it in fuch a 
 Method as this, which was fo totally inconfiftent with 
 it. For this would be to renounce in the very Act the 
 End which he propofed, and make the Attainment of 
 it impracticable by the very means whereby he purfu'd 
 it ', it would be to wave the higheft in this World, to 
 purfue after another, which no one can imagine what, 
 and thereby totally alienate thofe from him, by whom 
 alone he could hope in fuch aDefign as this to attain any 
 at all. And therefore had a worldly End and a worldly 
 Intereft been all that our Saviour aim'd at, in his taking 
 upon him to be the Metfias, whom the Jews expected, 
 he would never fo much^ontrary to that Intereft, and 
 fo much contrary to that moft obvious means of carry- 
 ing on fuch a Defign, have aflum'd that Character in a 
 manner fo much differing from that under which they 
 expected him : Or could he by fuch a Method of Proce- 
 dure ever have made any thing of the Attempt among 
 them, had he not on his fide the Power of God, as well 
 as his. Mifi]on,to make him fuccefsful therein ? Had 
 
no eA Letter to the D e i s f si 
 
 Had his Bufinefs only been to deceive the People fof 
 the advancing of feme fecular Intereft of his own, he 
 would never have attempted it in fo unlikely a way of 
 fucceeding, as that of abolifhing the Mofaical Law, to 
 which the whole Nation of the Jews were then (b zea- 
 loufly addi&ed,tlut they could not bear the leaft Word 
 which might feem to derogate either from the Excel'- 
 lency which they conceiv'd of it, or that Opinion which 
 they then had, and ftill retain, that it was to be immu- 
 tably obferv'd by them to the end of the World. The 
 Cafe of Mahomet with his Men of Mecca was quite o- 
 therwife, he found no fuch Zeal in them for their old 
 Religion to ftruggle with a they themfelves were then 
 grown (b weary of it, that the Generality of them 
 had in a manner totally exchanged it for no Religion at 
 all, at the Time that Mdhomet firft began to propagate 
 his Impoflure among them •, they having then fo'f tht 
 molt part given themfelves up to the Opinions of the 
 Zendikees, who in the fame manner as the Epicureans 
 among the Greeks, and too many now a-days among 
 us, acknowledg'd the Being of a God, but denying his 
 Providence, the Immortality of the Soul, and a Future 
 State, did at the fame Time deny all manner of Necef- 
 fity of paying any Worfhip unto him. And no Won- 
 der then, if fuch Men, who plac'd their All in this 
 World, were eafily brought over to a Se #, whofe chief 
 Aim was at worldly Profperity and worldly Pleafure 
 in the Religion which they pfolefs'd. This Mahomet 
 was well enough aware of, before he flatted his new 
 Religion among them •, and it feems to have been the 
 greateft Encouragement which embolden'd him to ven- 
 ture on that Attempt. However, fince they ftill re : 
 tain'd the outward Form of their Religion after they 
 had deferted the Subftance of it, he found even from 
 hence that Oppofition to his Defign, that to make it go 
 down, he was fore'd to retain all thofe Rites and Ce- 
 remonies in his new Religion,which they had been afore 
 us'd to in their old •, and in order hereto, he chofe to 
 make fome dangerous Alterations in his firft Eftablifh- 
 ments, as particularly in that of the Kebla, rather than 
 ruffle his Arabians by abolifhing what he found them 
 through long Ufageand Cuftom any way addicted to, 
 For his Bufinefs being" to deceive the People,^ his Care 
 
 was" 
 
eA Letter t a the D e t s f s. in 
 
 was to offer at nothing which might be difficult to go 
 down with them -, and fo muft it be of every "other De- 
 ceiver who takes upon him to aft the like Part. But fn 
 every particular it was quite otherwife with our Sa- 
 viour, and thofe whom he firft preached hisGofpe] un- 
 to. For the Jews having undergone feveral terrible 
 Scourges from the Hand of God for the Neglect of that 
 Law which he had given them, were from their former 
 too much Difregardof it, then grown into the contrary- 
 Extreme of being with exceeding Superftition and Bi- 
 gotry too much devoted to it. They then look'd on it 
 with the fame Veneration as they ftill do, to be an im- 
 mutable Law never to be alter'd, That the Mcjjias him- 
 felf at his coming fhould not make the leaft Change 
 therein, but that the Glory of his Kingdom fhould 
 chiefly confift in the Perfection of its Obfervance, and 
 the exact Performance of the Worfhip it prefcrib'd j 
 and for any one to advance any Doctrine contrary here-* 
 to, was reckon'd no lefs than * Blaf- 
 phefriy among them. And therefore * Acts 6. v.i$i 
 had our Saviour only confulted Flefh 
 and Blood in the MiJJion which he undertook \ had he 
 had no other Defign therein than a fecular Intereft and 
 a worldly End, he would never have oppos'd himfelf 
 againft the violent Current of fuch predominant Opi- 
 nions, as he found then reigning among them whom 
 he firft preach'd his Gofpel untOj or ever durft have of- 
 fer'd at the Abolition of that Law which they were fo 
 violently bigotted unto. Had he come to deceive them 
 as a Seducer, the very Nature of the thing muft necef- 
 farily have directed him to a quite contrary Method, 
 that is,to footh and collogue with them whom he came 
 to impofe upon •, to have contradicted no Opinion they 
 were violent for, nor oppos'd any Doctrine which they 
 were zealoufly affected to, but to have ftudy'd their 
 Humours and learn'd their Notions, and fo fram'd and 
 fuited all his Doctrines according thereto, as might beft 
 take to draw them over to the End defign'd. To have 
 done otherwife would have been to fet Prieft and Peo- 
 ple againft him, as an Enemy to their Religion, and a 
 Blafphemer of their Law. And as our Saviour found 
 it fo in the Refult, fo it muft have been obvious to any 
 one in his Cafe to have forefeen it from the Beginning. 
 
 I And 
 
ii2 cA Letter to ^Deists. 
 
 And therefore fince notwithftanding this, he took this? 
 Method-, fo contrary to the whole End and Defign of 
 one that intends a Cheat upon the People j and without 
 having any Regard to that Zeal with which the Jews 
 were then fo violently bigotted to their Law, or that 
 Rage of Refentment which they were ready to exprefs 
 againft whatfoever in the leaft fhould derogate from it* 
 did boldly preach unto them fuch Doctrines as totally 
 difannull'd it •, this manifeftly proves he could have no 
 Intereft of his own to ferve upon them in this Under- 
 taking, nor that he had any other Reafon for his En- 
 tring on it, but that he was fent of God fo to do. 
 
 The grand and fundamental Doctrine of the Religion 
 which Jefta Chrifl left his Church, was that of his Death 
 and Pallion, whereby he made Atonement for our Sins, 
 and deliver'd us from the Punifhment which was due 
 unto us for them. By this means only he propos'd to 
 fave us, that is, from Sin, the Devil, and Eternal Death } 
 and by this Conflict only did he undertake to fubdue 
 thefe our Enemies for us,and on that Conqueft to found 
 us a Kingdom^vthkh. fhould make us Holy and Righteous 
 here, and for ever Bleffed with him in Glory hereafter. 
 This was the whole End and Purpofe of our Saviour's 
 Miffion:, this he frequently foretold to his Difciples, 
 and on this was founded the whole Religion which he 
 taught them. And can any one fay he could have a De- 
 fign of fecular Intereft for himfelf in fuch a Religion as 
 this, which could have no Being but by his dying for it, 
 or any Reafon for its Eftablifhment among Men, till he 
 had laid down his Life for the compleating of it? To 
 fay there was any thing of worldly Intereft in this, 
 would be to charge it on his Crofs, and place it in that 
 bitter and ignominious Death which he underwent 
 thereon. Men fometimes put their Lives to great Ha- 
 zard for the Interefts of this World, but for a Man pur- 
 pofely to defign Death for fuch an End, and part with' 
 this World in fuch a manner as Chriji did, for the fake 
 of any thing that this World hath, is a thing which was 
 never yet heard of, and is in it felf fo contrary to the 
 the moft obvious Dictates both of Reafon and Nature, 
 that no one can be fo abfurd as to imagine it poilible 
 for any Man fo to dov 
 
 But 
 
eA Letter t o the D e i s t s. i i ^ 
 
 But that which I know you will fay in this Cafe, is 9 
 That it was not Chrifi himfelf,but his Difciples after his 
 Death that made this a Part of his Religion :, That he in- 
 tended no fuch thing in the Undertaking he enter'd on^ 
 that it fhould end in his Death, and be compleated by 
 his Crucifixion •, but that this happening unto him,thofe 
 who kept up his Party, and propagated his Religion af- 
 ter him, foifted this thereinto, to falve the Ignominy 
 of his Death, and ferve themfelves of it, for the better 
 carrying on of their Defigns thereby. And if fo, then 
 the Impojlure muft be fh i f ted from him to his Difciples,' 
 And in this Cafe the fame Enquiry muft: ftill be made, 
 What Advantage could they propofe to themfelves here- 
 from? For MChrifii having no Self-defign or worldly 
 Interefi in the Religion which he taught, be of any 
 Force to acquit him of being guilty of Impofture therein 
 (as it muft with every Man of unprejudiced Reafon) it 
 muft alfo be of force to acquit them of the fame Charge 
 who propagated it after him. And what worldly Inte- 
 reft is it which they could poftibly have in this Matter? 
 If you fay Empire, how improbable is it, that a few 
 poor Fiflje rme n, without any manner of Foundation ei- 
 ther of Power, Riches, or Intereft with others, for the 
 carrying on of fuch a Defign, mould ever frame in their 
 Thoughts the leaft Imagination tending thereto, efpeci- 
 ally at that Time when the Roman Empire.,beir\& in its 
 utmoft Heighth and Vigour, had the major part of the 
 then known World united under its Command,to crufh 
 the greateft Attempts of this Nature, which might be 
 made againft it? If Riches and Honour be alledg'd as 
 their End, I muft defire you to tell me how this could 
 be a Means to gain them ? or whether any one of them 
 ever attained to either thereby? If we examine into the 
 Accounts which we have of their Lives and Ac~tions,we 
 (hall find them journeying about the World from Place 
 to Place in great Poverty, and under all the Difficulties 
 and PrefTures of it, to discharge that Apoftlefirip which 
 was committed unto them, and in every Place where 
 they came to be loaded with Contempt,Oppreffion,and 
 Perfecution for the fake of that Religion which they 
 taught. Had Riches and Honour been the End pro- 
 pos'd for all this, certainly after having experienc'd, by, 
 the ill Succefs, how improper Means they had taken, 
 
 jt i in 
 
ii4 *A Letter to the Deist s£ 
 
 in order thereto,fome of them would have defifted from 
 the Enterprize, and no longer have purfu'd a Deffgn 
 which could not anfwer its End. But you cannot bring 
 us an Inftance of any one of them that did this. No, they 
 ftill went on in the Work which they had undertaken, 
 and without being wearied by the Poverty they labour'd 
 under, or, in the leaft difcourag'd by that Contempt, 
 Scorn, and Perfecution which they every where met 
 with, all conftantly perfever'd to preach that Gofpel 
 which they had receiv'd, even to their Lives end •, and 
 not only fo, but mod of them laid down their Lives 
 for the fike thereof,which they would never have done, 
 if they had not for that Miniftry a much higher Reafon 
 than all the Honour and Riches of this World could ever 
 amount unto. All that can be faid of any worldly Inte- 
 reft for them in their preaching up that Religion which 
 they propagated, is, That they were thereby made 
 Heads of the Party which they drew over thereto. But 
 alas,what Advantage could this be unto them to be thus 
 made Heads of a contemn'd, opprefs'd, and perfecuted 
 Party of Men, who were every where fought out for 
 Bonds,Imprifonments and Death? To head fuch a Par- 
 ty, what is it but to expofe a Man's felf to the greater 
 Danger, and fet him felt up to receive the firft Strokes 
 of every Perfecution which was levell'd againft it? For 
 in this Cafe, thofe who head the Party are moft fought 
 after, and the Ring-leaders of it are ever made the firft 
 and the moft fignal Examples of every Severity which 
 is defign'd for its Opprefiion. And this was all that the 
 Apojlles got by heading that Party which they convert- 
 ed to the Chriftian Religion •, and what of worldly Inte- 
 reft could be found therein ? If the heading of a Party 
 be of any Advantage to a Man, it muft be then only 
 when it brings him Honour, or Power, or Riches, or 
 fome other worldly Enjoyment. But to head fuch a Par- 
 ty as the firft Chrifiians were, could bring none of thefe 
 therewith} but, on the contrary, Poverty, Contempt, 
 Oppreflions, and Perfecutions, were all the Fruits, as 
 to this World, which the Apoftles of our Saviour reaped 
 thereby. And certainly on thefe Terms to head a Party, 
 could never have been the Reafon to make them enter 
 on that Undertaking-, or if it had,they could never un- 
 der fuch Difcouragements have long continued therein. 
 
 SECT. 
 
0,4 Letter to the D e i s t s. 115 
 
 SECT. II. 
 
 IT. And thus far having examin'd the firft Mark of 
 Impofiure, and, I hope, fufficiently fhown it cannot be- 
 long to that Holy Religion which we profefs : I fhall now 
 proceed to the fecond ; that is, that it muft always have 
 wicked Men for the Authors of it. For thus to impofe 
 upon Mankind a falfe Religion, is the worft of Cheats, 
 and the higheft Injuflice which can be done either to 
 God or Man \ to God, becaufe it robs him of the Wor- 
 fhip of his Creatures., either by diverting it to a falfe 
 Object:, or by directing it to him in fuch a falfe Way, as 
 cannot be accepted of before him. And to Man, becaufe 
 it deprives him of his6W, by putting him upon fuch a 
 falfe Religion as muft neceflfarily alienate both his Mer- 
 cy and his Favour from him. And to do this is fuch a 
 confummate Piece of Iniquity, that it is impofiible any 
 one can arrive thereto, without having firft corrupted 
 himfelf to a great degree in all Things elfe. For fuch an 
 one muft have caft off att Fear of God, as well as all Re- 
 gard of Man, before he could ever offer at fo great a 
 Wickednefs againft both. And when a Man is come to 
 this, to be fure he will ftick at nothing whereby his Lufts 
 may be gratify'd, or any carnal Intereft ferv'd, which 
 he fets his Heart upon, but will make the Corruptions 
 of his Mind appear in all the Actions of his Life, and be 
 thoroughly wicked in every thing where his own Inte* 
 reft, or his own Defigns, do not put aReftraint upon 
 him. And that Mahomet was fuch a one, the Hijlory of 
 his Life, whichl have laid before you, fufficiently (hows. 
 But who ever yet charged * Jefus Chrift, or his Holy 
 jlpofiles with any thing like this ? Not Celfm, not Por- 
 phyry, nor Julian, or any other of the Heathens, or the 
 Jews, who were the bitrereft Enemies of Chrifrianity, 
 and the greateft Oppofers of it. And to be fure could 
 they have found any fuch Accufation againft any of them, 
 they would never have fpar'd to have made the utmoft 
 Ufe of it they could, for the blafting of that Religion 
 
 I 3 which 
 
 * All that the bittereft Enemies of cbriftianity have ever obje- 
 cted againft our Saviour.tevc a fabulous Story of his Birth amounts 
 to no more than this, That he was a Magician, which was an In- 
 vention fram'd only to falve his working of Miracles, which they 
 could not deny in fuch a manner, as to make them give uo Ru 
 putat,ion or Auhority to the Doctrines which he taught. 
 
ii6 <A Letter to the D e i s t s^ 
 
 which they taught. For it is a popular Argument, which 
 would have ferv'd their Purpofe among the People more 
 than any other they could haveofFer'd unto them. And 
 we fee with what Succefs the various Se tls among us 
 ferve themfelves of it every Day, no Argument being 
 more prevalent amongft the unthinking Multitude, for 
 the beating down the Reputation of any Profeftion of 
 Religion, than the ripping up of the Faults of thofe that 
 teach it. To examine into all the Labyrinths and ab- 
 ftrufe Speculations of Reafon and Argument,which may 
 be brought for or againft any Religion, is an operofe 
 JBufinefs, which all have not Capacities for, and few 
 Care to attend to. But of Good and Evil every Man is 
 Judge •, and where they find the Teachers of any Reli- 
 gion to be wicked and naught, it is an Inference which 
 they are all apt too precipitately to run into, that the 
 Religion rauft be naught alfo •, and without any further 
 examining into it, condemn it fo to be. And I find 
 there is nothing which you vour felves are more greedy 
 to lay hold of, for an Argument againft our holy Chri- 
 stian Re I igi on, thzn the Faults which you obferve in fome 
 of our Ali-aiftcrs, whofe Bufmefs it is to promote it. 
 And therefore if the Faults of the prefent Teachers of 
 Chriftianity be apt thus to afford fo popular and preva- 
 lent an Argument againft it, how much more would the 
 Faults of the firft Founders and Propagators of it have 
 done fo,had there been any fuch to object againft them ? 
 And had there been any fuch, fo keen and fearching Ad- 
 verfaries would never have fuffer'd the Difcovery to 
 have efcap'd them, or ever fail'd to have objected it for 
 the ferving of their turn to the utmoft they were able -, 
 and it can be owing to nothing but their moft unblame- 
 able Innocency, that they have been fecur'd herefrom. 
 To fay that they could not have that Knowledge of 
 their Lives and Actions, as was fuffirient for them to 
 difcern their Faults, and obferve their Mi (carriages, will 
 not folve the Matter. Though Mahomet acted his Im- 
 pofture fo many hundred Miles within the remoter Parts 
 of Arabia, among a People who, by vaft Delarts, were 
 in a manner cut off from the Converfe of the reft of 
 Mankind, where very few or none of any other Nation 
 ever came to fpy out his Actions, or obferve his Doings, 
 and where he had none elfe to be WitnefTes of them,but 
 
 thole 
 
cA Letter to the Deists. 117 
 
 thofe only who all embrac'd his Forgery, and became zea- 
 loufly addicted to it ; yet all this could not ferve to con- 
 ceal his Faults,or hide his monftrous Wickedness from 
 being obferv'd and recorded againit him. The forego- 
 ing Hifiory gives you a large Catalogue of them, and 
 they are vouched by the Authority of fomeof the moft 
 authentick Writers of his own Se£t. But Chriftianity 
 had not its Birth in fuch an obfcure Hole, nor did the 
 drll Founder of it,or thofe who propagated it after him, 
 make their firft Appearance among fuch rude and illi- 
 terate Barbarians as that Impoflor did, but on one of 
 the opened Stages in the World, at Jerufalem, and in 
 the Land of Judea; and not in an Age when, as for- 
 merly, that Nation (epa rated it felf from all others, and 
 had no Converfe with any but themfelves, but when 
 they had fcatter'd themfelves abroad, and mingled with 
 all other Nations, and alfo were forced to admit all o- 
 ther Nations to mingle with them, by being made a 
 Province of the Roman Empire, which brought not only 
 Soldiers and Merchants of other Nations among them, 
 but alio open'd the Gate to all others, as they mould 
 think fit to come and refide among them. And the 
 Temple at Jerufalem being that where all of the Jew- 
 ifh Religion worfhippedj this conflantly brought thi- 
 ther from all Nations thofe who profefs'd It, which 
 made a very great Refort thither from all Parts of the 
 World, efpecially at their three great Fejiivals. And 
 therefore juft after our Saviour 's Sufferings at the Time 
 oiPentecoft next following, we are told that 
 there were then at Jerufalem f Parthi- XAEtsz.v. 
 ans, Adedes, and El am it es, and the dvoel- 9, 10, II. 
 lers oj Mefopotamia, Cappadocia, Pontm, 
 Afia,Phrygia,Pamphylia, Egypt, Libya, andCyrene, with 
 the Strangers of Rome, Cretes and Arabians. So that to 
 be fure nothing could be hid or conceal'd, which was 
 done on fo open a Stage of the World, and in tfi£ Sight 
 of fo many Nations as were then prefent upon if, nor 
 is it poftible, if thofe who then firft deliver'd the 
 Chriflian Religion to the World, had been fuch wicked 
 Perfons as Mahomet was, and all other Impofiors muft 
 be, it could ever have efcap'd their Obfervation. And if 
 it had at Jerufalem, there were other Occafions enough 
 given for a fuller Difcovery afterwards. For the Holy 
 Apofiles after our Saviour's Death 3 did not confine them- 
 
 I 4 felyes 
 
i iS qA Letter to the D e i s t s. 
 
 Selves to Jerufalem, and the Land of Judeea only, but 
 difpers'd themfelves throughout the whole Earth,and at 
 Rome, at Athens, and in many other celebrated Cities 
 appear'd openly, teaching the Religion which they had 
 receiv'd,and forming Churches of thofe whom they had 
 converted thereto, and thereby expofing their Lives and 
 A&ions publickly to the View of the whole World, 
 made all Mankind in a manner Witneffes of what they 
 did. And Chrifiianity was not fuch an acceptable thing to 
 the World, as to move the Men of it to be fo candid and 
 good-natur'd to the firft Authors of it, as to conceal 
 their Faults, and hide theirWickednefTes, had there been 
 any fuch in them. No, it was that which wasagainftthe 
 Lufts and Pleafures, and the other evil Courfes of this 
 World, more than any other Religion which was ever 
 taught therein *,and this put the World as muchagainft 
 it, and all that adhered thereto", and therefore we find 
 them to be a Party of Men not only every where fpo- 
 ken againft, but alfo every where hated, oppofed, and 
 perfecuted to the utmoft. And when fo general an O- 
 aium was rifen againft them, and both Jews and Gen- 
 tiles confpir'd together therein, to be fure there were 
 not wanting abundance that made it their Bufinefs to 
 pry into their Ac"Uons,and examine their Practices with 
 all that Spight, Unfairnefs, and ill Interpretation of 
 Things, as is ufual in fuch Cafes. And could they by 
 all this Search, Inquiry, and ftri&eft Obfervation, have 
 found any thing to charge upon Chrift or his Apoflles y 
 which might caft a Blot upon the Religion which they 
 taught, to be fine we fhould have heard enough of it. 
 For thofe who propagated their Odium againft this ho- 
 ly Religion to the next fucceeding Ages, to that exceffive 
 degree, in which the Primitive Chrifiians experienc'd it 
 in thofe terrible Perfections which they underwent for 
 three hundred Years together,would certainly have pro- 
 pagated therewith all the Accufations they were able, 
 againft thofe who were the firft Founders and Teachers 
 of it. And to be fure, when (*) Celfm, Porphyry, and 
 Juliai:. t and other bitter Qppofers of Christianity, as well 
 
 Jews 
 
 (*) The aiam Things which Celjus and Julian objected in their 
 Books againft the Cbnjiian Religion, are preferv'd in the Anfwers 
 >hich Qrigen wrote to the former, and St. Cyril of Alexandria to 
 fhtUtfer; but theBppks themfches 4re perifli'fl.a; are alfo thofe 
 
 of 
 
G/4 Letter fo fk Deists, 119 
 
 Jews as Heathens, took Pen in hand to write againfl 
 it, we fhould have been told enough of it. But nothing 
 of this appearing in any of their Writings, or any of the 
 lea ft Memorial of it being to be found in any Record 
 whatsoever againft them •, this manifeftly proves that 
 they are, even in the Judgment of their bittereft Ene- 
 mies, totally free of this Gharge,and confequently,being 
 juft and righteous Perfons, (and of Chrifl and St. James 
 one of his Apojlles y (f) Jofephus, though a Jew, par- 
 ticularly attefts, that they were fo) they could never be 
 guilty of fo great a Wickednefs both againft Cod and 
 Man, as to have impos'd a Cheat upon us in that Reli- 
 gion which they deliver'd unto us. 
 SECT. III. 
 III. And if they had been fuch wicked Perfons as thus 
 to have impofed upon us a falfe Religion for their own 
 
 Intereft, 
 
 ofForpbyry written by him in fifteen Tomes on the fame Argu- 
 ment ; for they being full of virulent Blafphemies, Theodofim the 
 Emptor., by a Law, caufed them every where to be burnt and 
 deftroy'd ; but a great many Remains and Fragments of them 
 are ftill prefcrv'd in the Works of Eufbim, and fomething alfo 
 of him in St. Hierom in Pr£fatione ad lib. i. Comment, in Epift. ad Ga~ 
 tatas. Celfus lived in the fecond, Porphyry in the third, and Julian 
 in the fourth Century after Chrift. 
 
 (f) His Words of our Saviour are, that he was a wife Man, (a 
 Title not given in thofe Days but to fuch as were alfo good) and 
 that he was a Worker of Miracles, and a Teacher of Truth, lib. i 8. c. 4* 
 And of James he hath thefe Words, Tbefe things (i. e. the Deftru- 
 tftion of Jerufalem, and the Calamities that attended it) fell by 
 way af juft Vengeance upon the Jews for James the Juft, who was the 
 Brother of Jefus called Chrift, becaufe the Jews had murtbet'd him, being 
 a muft righteous Man. It muft be acknowledg'd that this Paflage 
 is not now extant in Jofepbus, but it is quoted by Eufebius in the 
 Second Book of his Ecclefiaftical Hiftory, c. 23. and alfo by Origen 
 in his Second Book againft Celfus y which would never have been 
 done by them, had it not been extant in the Copies of his Works 
 which were then in ufe, however it came to be omitted fince. 
 For to have falfly alledg'd fuch a Teftimony to the Enemies of 
 Ctri/?idni>y,efpeciallytopne fo acute and fharp as Celfus was, would 
 have given them too great an Advantage againft it. But what 
 i? ftill extant in Jofepbus j amounts to the fame thing ; for fpeak- 
 jng of his being put to Death by Annas the High-Prieft, Antiq, 
 lit. 20. c. 8. he fays, that all good Men were offended at it ; which 
 iufficiently exprefleth him to be a gpqd Man dlfa? For why elfe 
 &eul4 they be fo concern'd for him ? 
 
i2o <A Letter to the Deist s. 
 
 Intereft, both their Wickednefs and the Intereft which 
 they drove at, muft necefTarily have appear'd in the ve- 
 ry Contexture of the Religion it felf :, and the Books of 
 the New Tefiament, in which it is contain'd, would have 
 as evidently prov'd both thefe againft them, as the Al- 
 coran doth againft Mahomet, every Chapter of which 
 yieldeth us nunifeft Proofs both of the wicked Affe&ir 
 ons of the Man, and the Self-ends which he drove at 
 for the gratifying of them. 
 
 For, firft, when a Man propofeth an End of Self In- 
 tereft, and invents a new Religion, and writes a new 
 Law on purpofe for the obtaining of it, it's impoftible 
 but that this end muft appear in the Means, and the 
 Jmpoflure, which was invented of purpofe to promote 
 it, muft difcover what it is. For in this Cafe the new 
 Religion and the new Law muft be calculated for this 
 End, and be all form'd and contriv'd in order thereto, 
 otherwife it can have no Efficiency for the obtaining of 
 it, nor at all anfwer the purpofe of the Inventor for the 
 comparing of what he propos'd •, and if it be thus cal- 
 culated, order'd and contriv'd for fuch an End, that End 
 cannot butbe feen and difcover'din thofeMeans. For the 
 End and Means prove each other \ that is, as the Na- 
 ture of the End propos'd fhows us what Means muft be 
 made Ufe of for the obtaining of it \ fo doth the Nature 
 of the Means which we ufe, difcover what is the End 
 which they drive at. And as far as the Means have a 
 Tendency to the End, Co much muft they have of 
 that End in them \ and it is not pofiible for him that 
 ufeth the one, long to conceal the other. And therefore 
 nothing is more obvious and common among us, than 
 by the Courfes which a Man takes, to difcern the End 
 which he would have. As Mahomet invented his new 
 Religion to promote his own Ends^ fo the Alcoran, in 
 which it is contain'd, fufficiently proves it, there being 
 fcarce a Leaf in that Book which doth not lay down 
 fome Particulars, which tend to the gratifying either 
 of the Ambition or the Luft of that Monfter who con- 
 triv'd it. And had the firft Founder of our holy Chri- 
 fiian Religion, or they who were the firft Propagators 
 of it, any fuch End therein, the Books of the New 7>- 
 ftament, in which it is written, would have as palpably 
 fhown it. But here we challenge all the Enemies of our 
 
 Faith 
 
eA Letter to ^Deists, i 31 
 
 faith to life their utmoft Skill to make any fuch Difco- 
 very in them. They have already gone through the 
 ftritt Scrutiny of many Ages, as well as of all manner 
 of Adverfaries, and none have ever yet been able to ta$ 
 them herewith. For inftead of being calculated for the 
 Intereft of this World, their whole Defign is to with- 
 draw our Hearts from it, and fix them upon the Intereft 
 of that which is to come. And therefore the Doctrines 
 which they inculcate, are thofe of Mortification, Re- 
 pentance, and Self-denial, which fpeak not unto us of 
 Fighting, Bloodfhed, and Conqueft, as the Alcoran doth, 
 for the advancing of a Temporal Kingdom •, but that re- 
 nouncing all the Pomps and Vanities, and Lufls of this 
 prefent World, we live foberly, righteoully, and godly 
 in the Pretence of him that made us-, and inftead of 
 purfuing after the perifhable Things of this Life, we fet 
 our Hearts only on thofe Heavenly Riches, which will 
 make us great and glorious and blefled for ever hereaf- 
 ter. For as the Kingdom oiChrijl is not of this World, 
 fo neither do thofe Books, in which are written thzLaws 
 of this Kingdom, favour any thing thereof. The Mam- 
 mon of this World, and the Righteoufnefs which they 
 prefcribe us, are declar'd in them to be totally inconfi- 
 ftent. The Old Teftament indeed, as being under the 
 Difpenfation of carnal Ordinances, which were the 
 Shadows only of thofe Things after to come under the 
 Gofpel, treated with Men fuitable thereto. And there- 
 fore we find much of this World, both by way of Pro- 
 mife as well as Threat, to be propos'd therein. But it 
 is quite otherwife with the New : For in that Revelati- 
 on, being given to the perfecting of Righteoufnefs, all 
 things were advanc'd thereby from Earth to Heaven, 
 and from Flefh to Spirit. And therefore as the whole 
 End of it is to make Men fpiritual, fo are we direfted 
 thereby to look only to fpiritual and heavenly Bleflings 
 for the Reward hereof. Had our Saviour propos'd Vi- 
 ctory, or Riches, or Carnal Pleafures to his Followers, 
 as Mahomet did, then indeed his Law would have fut- 
 ficiently favour'd of this World, to make Men fufpeft 
 that he aim'd at nothing elfe thereby. But he was fo 
 far herefrom, that inftead of this, the whole Tenour 
 of his Doctrine runs the quite contrary way, we being 
 told of nothing elfe through the whole New Teftament^ 
 
 but 
 
1 22 qA Letter to the D e i s t &J 
 
 but of Tribulations, Afflictions, and Perfecutions,which 
 fhall attend all fuch, as to this World, who faithfully 
 fet their Hearts to become his Difciples^ and the Ex- 
 perience of all Ages fince hath fuffkiently verify 'd the 
 Prediction. And indeed the very Religion which he hath 
 taught us, is of that Holinefs, that according to the 
 Courfe of this wicked World it naturally leads us there- 
 into. And how then can it be faid, that any thing of 
 worldly Intereft can be contained either in this Religi- 
 on, or thofe holy Books in which it is written ? 
 
 I cannot deny, that there are fome Men fo crafty and 
 cunning in purfuing their Intereft, that it fhall not eafi- 
 ly be difcerned in the Means, what it is which they 
 drive at for their End. But how great a compafs foever 
 fuch may fetch about to the Point which they aim at, 
 or in what bye and fecret Paths foever they make to- 
 wards it j yet if the Means which they make ufe of, 
 have any tendency thither, they can never be fo totally 
 blended, but there will always appear in them enough 
 of the End to make the Difcovery to any accurate Ob- 
 ferver ; and at length when the Plot grows ripe for Ex- 
 ecution, and the Defigner begins to offer at the putting 
 him Pelf in pofTeflion of what he propofed (as all fuch 
 Defigners rauft at laft) the whole Scene muft then be 
 laid open, and every one will be able to fee thereinto. 
 And therefore if you will have it that the Holy Apoftles 
 and Evangelijls, who were the firft Penners of the New 
 Teftament, were fuch cunning and crafty Men, as to be 
 able thus artfully to conceal theirDefigns in thofe Books, 
 which you fuppofe they wrote of purpofe to promote 
 them (which cannot reafonably be imagin'd of Men of 
 their Education and Condition in the World, they be- 
 ing all, except St. Paul and St. Luke, of the meaneft 
 Occupations among the People, and totally unlearned) 
 yet if they contriv'd thofe Books with any tendency to- 
 wards thofe Defignsfand it cannot be conceiv'd how o- 
 therwife they could help forward o the obtaining of 
 them) it is impoffible they could thus have pafs'd tho- 
 rough fo many Ages, and all the (trie: Examinations of 
 Heathens, Jews, Athcijis, and all < -her Adverfaries, 
 who have fo ftrenuoufiV endeavour'd to overthrow their 
 Authority, and no Difcovery be made hereof. For fup- 
 pofingat firft, under the Mask of renouncing the World, 
 
 they 
 
14 Letter to the Deist s. 125 
 
 they might a while conceal their Defigns for the Inte- 
 reft of it (which is the utmoft you can fay in this cafe) 
 yet this could not laft long : For if this were all they de- 
 fign'd by teaching that holy Religion, and writing thofe 
 Books in which itiscontain'd, fome time or other they 
 muft have put thofe Defigns in Execution, otherwife 
 they would have been in vain laid ', fome time or other 
 they muft have endeavour'd by them to obtain what 
 they aim'd at, otherwife the whole Proje&ion of them 
 would have been to no purpofe , and if they ever did 
 fo (as to be fure they would, had this been their End) 
 then, as it happens in all other Stratagems of the like 
 nature, with how much Artifice foever they might con- 
 ceal what they intended in the Contrivance, all at laft 
 muft have come out in the Execution j and when they 
 began to put themfelves in pofTefiion of the End they 
 aim'd at, or at leaft made amy Offer towards it, the whole 
 Cheat muft then have been ur.mask'd, and every one 
 would havd been able to fee into the depth thereof. 
 But when did our Saviour, or any of his holy Apojlles> 
 by virtue of any of thofe Doftrines deliver'd down un- 
 to us in the Books of the New Tcflament, ever put them- 
 felves in poffeflion of any fuch worldly Intereft ? Or 
 when did they ever make the leaft Offer in order there- 
 to ? Have any of the ancient Enemies of our Holy Re- 
 ligion (and it had bitter ones enough from the very be- 
 ginning) ever recorded any fuch againft them ? Or have 
 any other ever fince from any good Authority, or any 
 Authority at all, ever been able to tax them herewith ? 
 Or is it poflible their Names could have remain'd un- 
 tainted of this Charge amidft fo many Adverfaries, who 
 have now for near feventeen hundred Years flood up in 
 every Age to oppofe that holy Religion which they have 
 deliver'd unto as, had they in the leaft been guilty here- 
 of? Nay, hath it been as much as ever faidof them, that 
 they pra&is'd as to this World, any otherwife than 
 they taught, or ever dealt with the Interefts of it in 
 any other manner, than totally to renounce them ? Or 
 had they at all any other Portion in this Life, than that 
 of Perfecution, Affliction, and Tribulation, as it is fore- 
 told in thofe Holy Books that they fhould ? And what 
 then can be a greater Madnefs, than to fuppofe that 
 Men fhonld lay fuch a deep Defign, as that of inventing 
 
*24 g^ Letter to the Dei St s7 
 
 a new Religion, and undergo all that vaft trouble and 
 danger, which they did, to impofe it on the World for 
 the fake of a worldly Intereft, and yet never put them- 
 felves in pofTeflion of that Intereft, or ever make the 
 leaft Offer towards it ? 
 
 If you fay, That the whole End of the Religion Was on- 
 ly to gain the Party, and that the Steps to the Intereft 
 Were to be made afterwards •, I ftill go on to ask, Who 
 can tell us, after the Party was gain'd, of any fuch Steps 
 that were ever made, or of any the leaft Offer tending 
 thereto ? Were not the firft Chrifiians for many Ages af- 
 ter thefirft founding of our Faith, what they ought ftill 
 to be, Men that us'd this World as if they us'd it not, 
 who liv'd in it without being of it, and did truly what 
 they vow'd in their Baptifm, renounce all the Pomps and 
 Vanities, and Lufts thereof, faithfully to obferve that 
 Holy Law which they had receiv'd? And in this they per- 
 fever'd fo fteadily, that even their very Enemies admir'd 
 the Righteoufnefs of their Lives, and * bore witnefs 
 thereto, and the cruelleft Perfecutors could never beat 
 them therefrom, but they ftill went on in the Obfer- 
 vance of their Holy Religion without having any other 
 Defign therein, than to prattife that Righteoufnefs 
 which it taught, and for three hundred Years together 
 flood firm thereto aganift all thofe terrible Storms of 
 Perfecution which were raifed againft them, till at 
 length by the Holinefs of their Lives, and the Conftancy 
 of their Sufferings, they made a Conqueft over their ve- 
 ry Perfecutors, and brought over the World unto them,, 
 And are not our Principles ftill the fame, and alfo, 
 (thanks be to God, notwithftanding the Corruptions of 
 the prefent Age) the Practice of many thoufands ftill a- 
 mong us, who I doubt not will be as ready to undergo 
 
 * Plinii Epift. lib, 10. Ep. 97. »— — Hanc fuijfe fummam vcl culpz 
 fu£ vcl erroris, quod ejfent foliti ftato die ante Lucem convenire, Carmen- 
 que Cbrijio quafi Deo dicere fecum invicem fequc facramento non in fcelui 
 aliquod obfitingere, fed ne fitrta ne latrocjnia, nc adulteria committer ent, 
 nefidem fallerent, nedcpofitumapptUati abncgarent. In like manner they 
 were alfo vindicated by Seren'w Granianus, Proconful of Afia, in his 
 Epiflle to the Emperor Adrian. Eufch. Hiji. Ecclefiaft. lib. 4. c. 8, & 9.' 
 By Antonius Pirn in his Epiftle to the Commons of Afia. Juflin Mar- 
 tyr Apol. 2. and even by the Heathen Oracles themfeWes. EufetJ 
 in vita Conffantin't) lib.'}', c. 50, & 5X, 
 
eA Letter to the Deist s.' is<> 
 
 the fame Sufferings thofe Primitive Chrijhians did,when- 
 cver God (hall try them for that holy Religion which they 
 profefs, as they now are to obferve the Righteoufnefs 
 thereof. But fuppofing this had been all otherwife, and 
 the Mammon oi this World, and not the Righteoufnefs 
 of God, were really the End for which our Religion was 
 defign'd •, yet to renounce the World to gain a Party, 
 and afterwards make ufe of this Party to gain theWorld, 
 is a Project fo unfeafible, that the former Part of it miift 
 fieceffarily have overthrown the latter, whenever it had 
 been attempted. For when Men had been drawn over 
 to a Party under the fpecious Pretence of renouncing 
 the World, and been inftructed and firmly fix'd in this 
 Principle, to make thofe very fame Men afterwards to 
 (erve their turn for the gaining of a worldly Intereff, 
 would be to make their Doctrine and their Practice fo 
 monfteroufly interfere, as muft necefTarily have broken 
 all into pieces, anddeftroy'd the whole Defign. Certain- 
 ly, had they any fuch Defign, they would never have 
 thus poffefs'd their Difciples with fuch Principles againft 
 it by the Religion which they taught them } and in that 
 they did fo, I think nothing can be a more evident De- 
 monftration, that they could never intend any fuch End 
 thereby. Mahomet knew well enough, this was not a 
 way to carry what he defign'd, and therefore open- 
 ly own'd in his Religion, what he aim'd at thereby, 
 and made his Law to fpeak for that Empire and 
 Lufc, which he defir'd to enjoy \ and fo when he had 
 made his Religion to obtain, he gain'd by virtue thereof 
 the whole which he projected by it,and became poffefs'd 
 of the Empire of all Arabia for the gratifying of his Am- 
 bition ,and as many Women as he pleas'd for the {atisfy- 
 ing of his Lufi 7 which were the two Ends which he 
 drove at in the whole Impofture. And had Jefus Chrift 
 and his Apofiles had any fuch Defign in the Religion 
 which they taught, they muft in the fame manner havs 
 made their Religion fpeak for it, or elfe it could never 
 have ferv'd their purpofe for the obtaining of it. And if 
 their Religion had ever offer'd at any fuch thing, it muft 
 necefTariiy have appear'd in the Books ki which it is 
 written. 
 
 And 2dly, If they had been fo wicked, as thus to im- 
 £ofe upon the World a falfe Religion for the promoting 
 
 ef 
 
126 oA Letter to the Deists. 
 
 of their own Intereft, as that Intereft muft have appear- 
 ed in theiContexture of the Religion it felf, and in thofe 
 Books in Which it was written, fo alio muft their Wick- 
 ednefs \ for Words and Writings being the outward 
 ExprefTions of our inward Conceptions, there is that 
 Connection between them, that although the former 
 may often difguife the latter, they can never fo totally 
 conceal them, but every accurate Obferver may ftill be 
 able through the one to penetrate into the other, and by 
 what a Man utters, whether in Speech or Writing, fee 
 what he is at the bottom, do what he can to prevent it. 
 There are indeed fome that act the Hypocrite (o cunning- 
 ly,as to difTemble the greater): Wickednefs underWords, 
 Writings, and Actions too, that fpeak the quite contra- 
 ry. But this always is fuch a Force upon their Inclinati- 
 ons, and fo violent a Bar upon their inward Pafiions and 
 Defires,that Nature will frequently break thro' in fp'ight 
 of all Art, and even fpeak out the Truth amidft the high- 
 eft Pretences to the contrary. And there is no Hypo- 
 crite^ how cunningly foever he may act his Part, but 
 muft this way very often betray himfelf. For Wicked- 
 nefs being always uppermoft in fuch a Man's Thoughts, 
 and ever preffing forward to break forth into Exprefli- 
 on, it will frequently have its Vent in what that Man 
 fpeaks, and in what he writes, do what he can to the con- 
 trary , the Care, Caution, and Cunning of no Man in 
 this cafe being fufficient totally to prevent it. Further- 
 more, there is no Man thus wicked, that can have that 
 Knowledge of Righteoufnefs, as thoroughly to act it un- 
 der the Mask, with that exactnefs as he who is truly 
 Righteous, lives and fpeaks it in reality. His want of Ex- 
 perience in the Practice, muft in this cafe lead him into 
 a great many Miftakes and Blunders in the Imitation. 
 And this is a thing which generally happens to all that 
 act a Part, but never more than in matters of Religion , 
 in which are many Particulars fo peculiar to the Righ- 
 teous, as none are able to reach them, but thofe only 
 who are really fuch. And fuppofing there were any that 
 could, yet there will ever be that difference between 
 what is natural, and what is artificial , and between that 
 which is true, real, and fincere, and that which is falfe, 
 counterfeit, and hypocritical, that nothing is more ea- 
 fie than for any one that will attend it, to difcern the 
 
 one 
 
oA Letter to the D e i s t s. 127 
 
 one from the other. And therefore werejefus Chn'Jt and 
 his Ap 'files Rich Perfons as this Charge offmpofture mud 
 fnppofe them to be,it's impoflible but that the Doctrines 
 which they taught, and the Books which they wrote, 
 mud: make thebifcovery,and the New Tejlament wouldj 
 as a (landing Record ag.iinft them in this cafe, afford a 
 multitude of Inftances to convict them hereof. That 
 the Alcoran doth (b as to Mahomet, nothing is more evi- 
 dent:, a Strain of Rapine, Bloodfhed and Luft running 
 thorough the whole Book, which plainly proves the Au- 
 thor of it to be altogether fuch a Man as the Charge of 
 Jmpoflurc mud neceflarily luppofe him to be. And were 
 thefirft Founder of our Holy Religion, or the Writers 
 of thofe Books in which its Doctrines are contain'd, fuch 
 Men as he, both their Doctrines and their Books would 
 as evidently prove it again ft them. But here I muft again 
 challenge you, and all other the Adverfiries of our Holy 
 Religion, to fhew us any one Particular in it, that cam 
 give the leaft Foundation to fuch a Charge, any one 
 Word in all the Books of the New Teftament, that can 
 afford the leaft Umbrage or Pretence thereto. Let what 
 is written in them be try'd by that which is the Touch- 
 ftone of all Religions, I mean that Religion of Nature and 
 Reafon, which God hath written in the Hearts of every 
 one of us from the flrft Creation-, and if it varies from 
 it in any one Particular, if it prefcribes any one thing 
 which may in the minuteftCircumftance thereof be con- 
 trary to its Righ'teoufhefs *, I will then acknowledge this 
 to be an Argument againft us, ftrong enough to over- 
 throw the whole Caufe, and make all Things elfe that 
 can be laid for it, totally ineffectual for its Support. 
 But it is fo far from having any fuch Flaw therein, that 
 it is the perfecteft Law of Righteoufnefs which was ever 
 yet given unto Mankind, and both in commanding of 
 Good, as well as in forbidding of Evil, vaftly exceeds all 
 others that went before it, and prefcribes much more to 
 our Practice in both, than the wifeft and higheft Mora- 
 lift was ever able without it to reach inSpeculation. For, 
 1 ft, As to the forbidding of Evil, it is fo far from in- 
 dulging, or in the leaft allowing us in any Practice that 
 favours hereof, that it is the only Law which is fo per- 
 fectly broad in the Prohibition, as adequately to reach 
 whatfoever may be Evil in the Practice •, and without 
 
 K any 
 
128* oA Letter to the D e i s t $. 
 
 any Exception, Oini (lion, or Defeat, abfolutely, fully, 
 and thoroughly forbids unto us, whatfoever may have 
 but the leaft Taint of Corruption therein*, and there- 
 fore it not only retrains all the Overt-acts of Iniquity, 
 but alfo every Imagination of the Heart within, which 
 in the leaft tends thereto:, and in its Precepts prohibits 
 us not only the doing or fpeaking of Evil, butalfothe 
 harbouring or receiving into our Minds the leaft 
 Thought or Defire thereafter •, whereby it fo efFectully 
 provides againft all manner of Iniquity, that it plucks 
 it up out of every one of us by the very Roots, and fo 
 makes the Man pure and clean, and holy altogether, 
 without allowing the leaft favour of Evil to be remain- 
 ing in him : And every one of us would be thoroughly 
 fuch, could we be but as perfect in our Obedience to this 
 Law, as it is perfectly given unto us. And, 
 
 zdly, As to the commanding of Good, its Prefcripti- 
 ons are, That we employ our Time, our Powers, and all 
 other Talents intruded with us, to the beft we are able, 
 both to give Glory unto God, and alfo tofhow Charity 
 unto Men •, and this laft not only to our Friends, Rela- 
 tions, and Benefactors, but in general to all Mankind, 
 even to our Enemies, and thofe who defpightfully ufe us 
 and perfecute us •, and hereby it advanceth us to that 
 height of Perfection in all Holinefs and Goodnefs, as to 
 render us like the Angels of Light in our Service unto 
 God, and like God himfelf in our Charity to Man. For 
 it directs us in the fame manner as the Angels to worfhip 
 and ferve our God to the utmoft x\bility of our Nature y 
 and in the fame manner as God, to make our Goodnefs 
 to Men extend unto all, without Exception or Referve, 
 as far as they are capable of receiving it from us. 
 
 And can any Man think it pofiible that a Religion 
 which fo thoroughly and fully forbids all Evil, and in lb 
 high and perfect a manner prefcribes us all Good, could 
 ever be the product of a wicked Mind ? The Fruit is too 
 good to proced from fo corrupt a Root, and the Effect 
 vaftly above the Efficiency of fuch a Caufe ever to pro- 
 duce it. For can it poflibly be imagin'd, that a wicked 
 Man could either have Inclination todo fo much for the 
 promoting of that Righteoufnefs which all his Paflions 
 and Defires fo violently run counter unto ? Or if he 
 would, that fuch a one could ever be fo well acquainted 
 
 vfhh 
 
eA Letter to the E> e i s t s» 129 
 
 with all the ways thereof, as fo exacTly to prefcribe 
 them ? If it be fo difficult for fuch a one to conceal his 
 Inclinations in his Expreflions ^ if it be fo hard for him.., 
 when he venrs himfelf into Words or Writings, not to 
 let loofe fomething in them of what he really is (as I 
 have already fhown) how can any Copy be drawn from 
 fuch a Mind, but what muft in fome Feature or other 
 refemble the Original ^ or any thing at all proceed front 
 thence, but what -muft carry with it fome favour of the 
 Iniquity thereof? Set but fuch a one to write a Letter^ 
 and he will fcarce be able to do it without putting fo 
 much of his Paflions and his Temper into it, as that we 
 may read from thence what he is, as every Man's Expe- 
 rience may tell him, that correfponds with fuch } and 
 how much more then may we be afTur d will he lay him- 
 felf open, when he hath the large Scope of a Book to 
 exprefs himfelf in, and efpeciallv when that Book is of 
 fuch a nature, as gives him the fulleft Occafion, and the 
 mod inviting Opportunity fo to do ? And what Book 
 can be more fuch, than that which is to propofe a new 
 Law to Mankind ^ in the writing of fuch a Book, if e- 
 ver, certainly the wicked Man will mow himfelf, and 
 in the fame manner as Mahomet did, conform his Laws, 
 to his own Inclinations, and prefcribe fuch Rules of 
 living to others, as may beft juftify him in thofe which 
 he himfelf follows. And although he fhould not intend 
 any fuch thing, though he fhould not defign fo to do 
 (and it is hard to imagine of fuch a Man, that he fhould 
 not,) yet at leaft the prevailing Bent of his Paflions, 
 and the Corruption of his Judgment, which always fol- 
 lows therefrom, muft neceffarily lead him thereinto £ 
 it being, morally. fpeaking, altogether impoflible, but 
 that the wicked Man muft appear in what the wicked 
 Man doth -, and the Deeds, Words, and Writings? 
 which proceed from fuch a one, muft in fome meafure 
 favour of what he is. And therefore if there be nothing 
 in the Law of our Holy Religion (as I hope I have fully 
 fhown that there is not) which can make the leaft Difco- 
 very of any fuch thing, nothing that can afford the leaft 
 Pretence for fuch a Charge againft it, where fo large sL 
 Scopeis given for it} this fufficiently proves, that neither 
 the' fir ft Founder of the Chriflian Religion, nor thofe 
 V'ha firft wrote it in theBooks of the New Tejlament, in! 
 
 K 3r wMcN 
 
i^o q,4 Letter to the D e i s t ?~ 
 
 which we now have it, could poftibly be wicked Men, 
 and confequently not fuch Jmppfiors as you would have 
 them to be. 
 
 But here I know it will be objefted, That there is no 
 necefiity that all Imprftors mould be as wicked as Ma- 
 homet ; and therefore tho' Jcfus Cbrifl and his Apojlles 
 were no fuch wicked Perfons, yet however they maybe 
 frill Impofiors for alt that. For, firft, it hath happen'd 
 that very juft: and good Men have had recourle to Im- 
 pcfture, to bring to pafs and eftablifh their -mo ft com- 
 mendable Defigns ■) as we have an Inftance in Minos 
 King of Crete, and another in Numa King of Rome y 
 both which, to give the greater Authority to their 
 Laws, pretended to have had them by Divine Revelati- 
 on. And, fecondly, you will fay, It is pofiible a Man 
 may be an Impoflor by Entbufiafm^nd Miftake,and falfly 
 impofe Things for Divine Revelation, not out of a 
 wicked Defign to deceive others, but that he is really 
 deceiv'd herein himfelf. And if in thefe two Cafes a Man 
 that is not wicked may be an Impoflor -, you will urge, 
 That though Jefus Chrift and his Apojiles were not wick- 
 ed Men, yet this will not prove them not to have been 
 Jmpofiors, becaufe it is poftible, that in one of thefe two 
 Cafes they might have been fuch. 
 
 In order to the clearing of the fir ft of thefe Objecti- 
 ons, I defire you would confider thefe three following 
 Particulars. 
 
 i. That in every Religion there are thefe two Parts to 
 be obferved, very diftinft from each other, i . T y azRc- 
 ligion it felf. And 2. The Means whereby it is promo- 
 ted and propagated among Men. 
 
 2. When the Impofture is only in the former of thefe 
 two ; and a true Religion, or at leaft one that is really be- 
 liev'd to be fuch, is promoted and propagated among 
 Men by means of Impojturt ; that is, by feigning a XV- 
 'vine Revelation where there is none, or by counterfeit- 
 ing Aliracles, or by any other fuch Means tending to de- 
 ceive Men thereinto j this amounts to no higher than a 
 pious Fraud, which out of an over-hot and inconfiderate 
 Zeal fome Men have made ufe of for the promoting of 
 the beft Ends. And fuch Men for the fake of fuch Ends, 
 may ftill be denominated good and righteous in the 
 main, how much foever they may have been out in 
 making ufe of fuch Means to promote them. 
 
 3. When 
 
oA Letter to the Deist?. i ^ i 
 
 3. When the Impofture is in the End as well as in the 
 Means } and not only the Revelation pretende j, but alfo 
 the Religion it felf is all as falfe, counterfeit, and feign'd , 
 this amounts to fuch an Impofture a-s -is totally wicked, 
 without any mixture of Good therein. In the former 
 Cafe, where the Impofture is only in the Means, there 
 is a goodEnd defign'd,and therefore fomething frill from 
 whence the Perfon ufing it may be denominated Good ^ 
 but where the Impofture is in both, it is wickednefs all 
 over, without any thing at all in it to exempt him 
 from being perfectly wicked that maketh ufe thereof. 
 
 Which Particulars being premis'd, my Anfwer to 
 the Objection is as followeth. 
 
 1. I do acknowledge it to be related by* Authors of 
 good Credit, That Minos King of Crete, when he firft 
 fram'd the Laws of his Country, to give them the 
 greater Authority, us'd to retire into a Cave on Mount 
 Difre, and from thence to bring them forth to the Cre- 
 tans, as if they had been there deliver'd to him by Ju- 
 piter. And that Numa, when he founded the Laws of 
 Rome f praftis'd the fame Art, pretending to have re- 
 ceiv'd them from the Nymph Egeria, that fo he might 
 procure them to be receiv ? d by the Romans with the 
 greater Veneration. And by this Device they both ob- 
 tain'd their End, in bringing very rude and barbarous 
 People to fubmit to thofegood Orders and Rules which 
 they prefcrib'd for their living civilly, peaceably, and 
 juftly together. But this, although it were a Fraud in 
 the Means, yet as far as it related only to a Political 
 End, belongs to another matter, and doth not at all fall 
 within that Argument of Religion which we are now 
 treating of. 
 
 2. As to the Laws of Numa, I acknowledge that they 
 reach not only Matters of State, but thofe of Religion 
 alfo •, and that the whole Method of the old Roman Re- 
 ligion was regulated and ftated by them •, but that Numa 
 founded any new Religion is what I utterly deny. For 
 NumjtteSt no other Religion behind him in Rome at his 
 Death, than that very fame Heathenifm which he found 
 
 * Plato in Minoe & in primo Dialogo de legibus. Dionyfius Ha- 
 licarnafleus, lib. 1. Strabo, lib. 16. Valerius Maximus, lib. j. c. 2. 
 | Plutarchus in vita Numa:, & Dionyfius Halicarnafleus, lib. 1, 
 
 K 3 there 
 
iji eA Letter to the D e i s t s, 
 
 there at his firft coming thither to be King. For the Ci- 
 ty having been then but newly founded, and the People 
 made up of a Collection of the Refufe and Scum of di- 
 vers Nations there gather'd together, they were as 
 much out of order in Matters of Religion, as in thofe be- 
 longing to the Civil Government ; and all that Numa 
 did, when he came to reign over them, was to make 
 Laws to regulate both •, and therefore, as he founded fe- 
 veral wholefome Conftitutions for the orderly govern- 
 ing of the State, fo alfo did he for the regular worfhip- 
 pingof theGW.* then acknowledged among them, with- 
 out making any efTential Alteration in the Religion a- 
 fore pra&is'd by them. For had he done fo, then the Re- 
 ligion of the Romans muft have differ'd from the Religi- 
 on of the other Cities of Italy, which we find it did not. 
 For they communicated with each other in their Wor- 
 fhip, as they did alfo with the Greeks. And in truth, the 
 old Roman Religion was no other than the Greek Hea- 
 thenifm, the fame which was praftis'd in Greece, and in 
 all thofe Countries which v/ere planted with Colonies 
 from thence, as aim oft ?i\\ m Italy was at that time. And 
 therefore the Romans, as well as the reft of the Cities of 
 Italy, look'd on Delphos as a principal Place of their 
 Worfhip,with the fame Veneration that the Greeks did, 
 and had frequent Recourfe thither on Religious Ac- 
 counts, as the Roman Hifiories on many occafions ac- 
 quaint us. And this Religion, Numa, while he liv'd a- 
 mong his Sabines, being accurately vers'd in, and alfo a 
 diligent Prattifer of it ', on his coming to Rome, finding 
 the Romans all out of order in that little which they had 
 of it (for during the Reign of Romulus they minded lit- 
 tle elfe but fighting, and therefore had not leifure, or 
 perchance any great regard for this matter) he noton- 
 pnly inftrnfted them more fully in it, according as it 
 was receiv'd in the Neighbouring Nations, but alfo 
 fram'd feveral Rules and Conftitutions for their more 
 regular and orderly Practice of it, which did no more 
 make the old Heathenism of the Romans to be a new Re- 
 ligion, than the Body of Canons given us by King James 
 the Firft, for the more orderly regulating of our Wor- 
 ship and Difcipline, makes our Religion a new Chriflia- 
 . nity. Only Numa, the better to make his Conftitutions 
 to obtain among thofe barbarous People for whom he 
 
 made 
 
gA Letter to the D e i s t s. 13? 
 
 made them, pretended to have been inftrutted in them 
 by a Divine Perfon \ and in this he pra&is'd a pious 
 Fraud^but was by no means guilty of fuch an Impofture 
 as we are now treating of. For he taught them no new 
 Religion^ but only the very fame Greek Heathcnifm 
 which he had receiv'd with the reft of the People of Ita- 
 ly from their Forefathers, and really believ'd to be that 
 very true Religion whereby God was to be ferv'd •, and 
 therefore notwithstanding the Deceit he made life of, 
 he might from the End which he propofed, and which 
 he really effected thereby, to the civilizing of a very 
 barbarous fort of People, beftillreckon'dajuft and good 
 Man \ and to give him his due, he really was one of the 
 moft excellent Perfonages of that Age in which he liv'd j 
 and firft fow'd among the Romans the Seeds of that Vir- 
 tue with which they fo eminently fignaliz'd themfelves 
 for fo many Ages after. But, 
 
 3 . Jefm Chrift and his slpcftlcs took on them not only 
 to be Meffetigers fcnt of God, but alfo to teach a new Re- 
 ligion to the World*, and therefore if they were Impo- 
 fiors, they muft be fo in the largeft Senfe, both in refpeft 
 of the Religion it felf,as well as the Means whereby they 
 promoted it. And in this Cafe there could be nothing to 
 excufe them from being altogether as wicked asl have 
 allcdg'd, Where the Religion is true, or really believ'd 
 fo to be, there is a pious Intention in the End, which 
 may fpeak fome Goodnefs in him that ufeth Fraud to 
 promote if, and fuch a Goodnefs as greatly exceeds 
 the Obliquity of the Fault which he committed about 
 it:, and therefore, altho' he cannot on theaccount of the 
 Good be excus'd from the Evil (for it is always a Scan- 
 dal to Religion to be promoted by Falfhood) yetftill he 
 muft berecKon'd more commendable from the one,than 
 faulty from the other^ and in this Cafe there will ftill be 
 room enough left from the Goodnefs of the End defign'd, 
 and the Piety of the Intention, to denominate the Man 
 Good and Righteous in the main, notwithstanding the 
 Fault committed in ufing fuch Means to bring it to ef- 
 fect. But where the Religion is all Forgery and Faljbood, 
 as well as the Means of promoting it, Deceit and Fraud, 
 the Jmpofture then becomes fo totally and perfectly wick- 
 ed, without the leaft mixture of Good therein, as muft 
 necefTarily denominate the Authors and firft Vropaga* 
 tors of it to be perfectly wicked alfo. 
 
 K 4 ^ 
 
1 34 g/2 Letter to the D e i s t s. 
 
 If you fay, that fuch a perfect Impofture as this cm 
 have any good End, for the fake whereof the Authors of 
 it may be freed from thatChargeof Wickednefs which 
 I lay upon them, that good End rauft be either the Ho- 
 nour of God, or the Benefit of Men, But how can God be 
 more difhonour'd than by ifalfe Religion ? Or how can 
 Men be more mifchiev'd than by having the Practice of 
 it impos'd on them, whereby they mufl thus conftantly 
 difhonour, and consequently offend and lofe the Favour 
 of him that made them ? An Impoflure in this Cafe hath 
 that Aggravation from the Object it is about, as well as 
 from the Perfection of Iniquity which is in the Aft, that 
 fuppofing it could be made productive of any good End, 
 -that Good would be fo vaftly over-ballanc'dby the wick- 
 ednefs of the Means, that it would be of no weight in 
 companion thereof, or at all avail to the rendering of 
 thofe that fhall make ufe of jt, lefs wicked -than I have, 
 fiid. But when a Man can thus far proceed inWickednefs 
 towards 6W, as to be the Author of conftant Difhonour 
 unto him in a falfe Worfhip*, and towards Men, as to in- 
 fnare them into all that Mifchief which rauft be confe- 
 quential hereto*, it mufl: neceflarily imply fuch a thoro* 
 Difregard of both, as every good Intention, in refpeft of 
 either, mufl beinconfiftent : with. And therefore, if it be 
 poflible that fuch a wicked Impofture can ever be made 
 the Means to a good End, it is Icarce to be conceiv'd how 
 they who are fo wicked, as to be the Authors of it, could 
 ever intend any fuch Good thereby. 
 
 Bi\t further, if the Authors of fuch an Impoflure as we 
 are now treating of, can be lefs wicked than I have fiid, 
 on the account of anyGood,which you pretend they may 
 defign thereby:, I defire to know among what fort of 
 Men you will place them,while you thus plead their Ex- 
 cufe. For they muft be one of thefe three •, that is, either 
 Atheifis, Deifts, or Believers of an Infiituted Religion. 
 
 i. If you fay they are Atheijh, that Word alone con- 
 tains enough to prove them perfectly wicked, whatever 
 can be faid to the contrary. It is indeed agreeable enough 
 to the Principles of this fort of Men, that fuch an Impo- 
 fture as we are treating of, may laudably be made ufe 
 of to a good End, For they hold that all Religion is no- 
 thing elfe but a Device of Politicians to keep theWorld 
 in awe, But if the Atheift be the Pevifer, what Intenti- 
 on 
 
eA Letter to the D e i s t s. 135 
 
 on of Good can the Device carry therewith ? None cer- 
 tainly towards God, fince he utterly denies his Being •, 
 nor can it in this Cafe have any towards Men, fince by 
 denying him for whofe lake it is that we are to do good 
 to others, he carts off therewith all the Reafon and Ob- 
 ligation which he hath, abftraclive of his own Intereft, 
 of doing any fuch atall. All the Good therefore that fuch 
 a one can aim at, mud totally center in himfelf to ad- 
 vance his own En joy men ts, and gratify his own Lufts in. 
 all thofe things which his corrupt Affections carry him 
 after :, and to enjoy thefe without reftraintof Laws, or 
 fear of V unifimient , being that alone which is the real 
 and true Caufe that makes any Man deny that fupreme 
 and infinitely good and juft Being, whom all things elfe 
 prove : whoever is an Atheijl, muft be perfectly wicked 
 before he can be fuch •, and what is there which can, 
 while in that Impiety, ever give him abetter Character 
 afterwards ? 
 
 2. If you fiy they are Deifis, fuch as you profefs your 
 felves to be •, your main Principle is againft all Inftituted 
 Religion whatever, as if God were di (honoured, and Man 
 injur'dby every thing of this nature praftis'd among us*, 
 and can you then think, that any who are thus perfuaded, 
 can without being firft corrupted to a great degree of 
 Impiety, as well as Hipocrify, ever become themfelves 
 (fo contrary to their own Sentiments) on any Pretence 
 whatfoever, the Authors and Teachers of fuch a Religi- 
 on among us? 
 
 3. But if you place them among thofe who are Belie- 
 vers of an Inftituted Religion, they muft abolifh that 
 which they believe to be true, before they can introduce 
 that by Impofiure which they know to be falfe. And this 
 muft be the Cafe of Jefus Cbrift and his Apoftles, if they 
 were fuch Jmpoftors as you hold them to be. For they 
 were educated and brought up in the Jewi/I) Religion, 
 which they believ'd to be from God, and the whole Te- 
 nour of the Religion which they taught, fuppofeth it (0 
 to be *, and that it was the only true way whereby God 
 was to be worfhipp'dby them, till they deliver'd their 
 new Revelations, which totally abolifh'd this Religion, 
 and eftabliuYd the Chriftian in itsftead', and therefore 
 if thofe Revelations were not true and real, as they pre- 
 tended they were, but all forg/d and counterfeited by 
 
 them, 
 
i $6 \A Letter to the Deist s; 
 
 them, as you fay *, they muft abolifh a Religion^ which 
 they believ'd to be true, to make way for that which 
 they knew to be falfe, and thereby become wilfully and 
 knowingly,according to their own Belief,theAuthorsof 
 leading Men from faving Truths, into damning Errors, 
 to the utter Deftruch'onof their Souls forever;, andalfo 
 of depriving God of that acceptable Worfhip, whereby 
 he was truly honour'd according to his own Appoint- 
 ment, to introduce in itsfteada falfe Superftition of their 
 own devifing, which muft be conftant Difhonour unto 
 him as long as praftis'd among us. And if JcfusChri/lmi 
 his Apoftles were fuch lmpoftors, as all this imports •, and 
 fuch they muft be if they were lmpoftors at all *, they muft 
 be guilty of that Impiety towards God, is well as that Irt- 
 juftice towards Men herein, as muft necefTarily fuppofe 
 them the wickedeft of Men before they could arrive 
 hereto \ and therefore if they were not fuch \vicked 
 Men, this abundantly demon ft rates, they could not be 
 fuch lmpoftors as you charge them to be. 
 
 As to the fecond Objection, That a Man may be an 
 Jmpofior thro' Enthufiafm and Miftake, and falfly impofe 
 Tilings for Divine Revelations, not out of a wicked De- 
 fign to deceive others, but that he is herein really de- 
 ceiv'd himfelf •, and that therefore there is no neceflity 
 that all lmpoftors mould be fuch wicked Perfons as I have 
 alledg'd : My Anfwer hereto is, 
 
 1. 1 do acknowledge that Enthufiafmhith cirry'dMen. 
 into very ftrange Conceits and Extravagancies upon the 
 Foundation of a Religion already eftablifh'd, as we have 
 Inftances enough hereof in the Anabaptifts of 'Germany , 
 the Quakers here with us, the * Batenifts among ^.Ma- 
 hometans, and in fome of the Reclufes of the Church of 
 Rome. But that Enthufiafm could ever go fo far, as to 
 fancy a Divine Revelation for the eftablifhingof a new 
 Religion, and upon fuch a Fancy, propagate that Religi- 
 on in the World, as if it came from God, is that which 
 I cannot believe ; and there is no Inftance, that I know 
 of, that can be given hereof. But, 
 
 zdly, 
 
 * They were a fort of Mahometan Entbufiafls in the Eafi, who fol- 
 lowed the Light within them in the fame manner as the Quakers 
 with us, and therefore were call'd Batenifts from the ArabicliWordy 
 Baten, intus. And on this Principle they did all the Villanies ima- 
 ginable, pretending an Impulfe thereto from this Light wit bin them, 
 
eA Letter to the D e i s t s. 157 
 
 idly, Allowing it poffible, this Objection then, as ap- 
 ply 'd to the Cafe in hand, muft. fuppofe Jefus Chrijt, and 
 his Apoftles, to have been deceiv'd by Enthufiafm into the 
 Religion which they taught \ and that therefore, altho' 
 they were by no means fuch wicked Men as a ■ wilful Im- 
 pofture muft fuppofe them to be, yet ftill thpy might be 
 Impoftors by Miftake •, and being by Enthufiafm fo far de- 
 luded, as, to think That to come to them how, God by 
 Divine Revelation, which had no other Birth but from 
 their own wild Fancies, might preach it to Men as fuch, 
 not out of a wicked Defign to deceive, butth.it they 
 were really herein deceiv'd themfelves. But is it poffible 
 for any Man to conceive, that fo grave, fo ferious, and 
 fo wifely a fram'd Religion as Chriftianity is, could ever 
 be the Spawn of Enthufiafm fWhatfoever is the Prod u A 
 ofthat,u(ethever to be like the Parent, wild and extra- 
 vagant in all its Parts, often difagreeing with all manner 
 of Reafon, and often as much with it felf. But Chriftia- 
 nity is in all its Parts as rational as it is good, giving us 
 the jufteft Notions of God, the bed Precepts of our Du- 
 ty towards him, and the exatteft Rules of living honeft- 
 Iy and righteoufly with each other, and hatha thorough 
 Conformity to it felf in every particular of if, on which 
 account it hath been approv'd and admir'd for the ex- 
 cellency of its Compofure, and the Wifdkmi of its Con- 
 flitutions, even by the beft and wifeft of thofe who ne- 
 ver fubmitted thereto^ and therefore always carries 
 with it Marks and Evidences enough in the very Nature 
 of it, fufficiently to prove it vaftly above the Power of 
 fuch a Caufe ever to produce it. 
 
 3. The Founder and firft Teachers of Christianity gave 
 fuch Evidences for the Truth thereof, as Enthufiafm 
 could never produce. For can Enthufiafm raife the Dead 
 to Life again, cure all manner of Difeafes, and work fuch 
 other Miracles as Chrift and his Apoftles did ? Had they 
 by Enthufiafm been miftaken in the Doctrines which 
 they taught, certainly God would never have wrought 
 fuch wonderful Works by their Hands as give Tefti- 
 mony thereto. 
 
 4. Several of the principal Articles of our Faith de- 
 pend upon fuch Matters of Fact, as allow no room for 
 Enthufiafm to take place in them, as that of the Refur- 
 rettion of our Saviour from the dead, his Afcendon in- 
 to 
 
i)8 
 
 oA Letter to the Deist s. 
 
 to Heaven, and the Defcent of the Holy Ghoft in the 
 Gift of Tongues. For in fuch things as thefe, which Men 
 fee with their Eyes, and hear with their Ears, and feel 
 with their Hands (as one of the Apojlles did the very 
 Wounds of our Saviour after his Refurrctlion) no En- 
 thufiafm can ever lead Men into a Miftake. For can it 
 poflibly be faid, that it was only by Enthufiafm that 
 Five hundred Men together faw Cbrijl after he was ri- 
 fen again from the dead ? Or that it was by Enthufiafm 
 that his Apofiles faw him afcend up into Heaven from' 
 Amount Olivet in the prefence of them all at Noon day? 
 Or that it was only by Enthufiafm that the fame Apo- 
 ftles on the Day oiVentecofi receiv'd the Gift of Tongues 
 by the Defcent of the Holy Ghofi upon them, fo as to 
 be able to converfe with all the feveral Nations then at 
 Jerufalem in their own Languages, without eve: 
 ving learnt any thing of them ? To fay that Men co 
 any way be miftaken in fuch Things as thefe, will b; to 
 deny the Certainty of Senfe, and overthrow the Fou 
 dations of all manner of Knowledge whatever. It mud 
 therefore be faid as to thefe Particulars, as it mull al- 
 fo of all the Aliracles of our Saviour , which give Te 
 ftimony to the Doctrines which he taught, That his 
 jlpojlles, who teftify'd them unto the World, and up- 
 on the Credit of them built up that Religion which they 
 deliver'd unto us, did either fee them really done as 
 they relate, or they did not fee them. If they did fee 
 them, no Enthufiafm could ever make them be miftaken 
 therein , and if they did not, they mud be altogether as 
 bad Impoftors as Mahomet himfelf, in teftifying then) 
 unto us •, and what but as great Wickednefs as his, could 
 ever induce them fo to do. 
 
 SECT, IV. 
 IV. The next Mark of an Impojlure is, That it muft 
 unavoidably contain in it feveral palpable Falfities, 
 whereby may be made appear the Falfity of all the reft. 
 For whoever invents a Lie, can never doit fo cunning- 
 ly and knowingly, but ftill there will be fome Flaw or 
 other left in it, which will expofe it to a Difcovery \ 
 and no Man who frames an Invention, can ever fecure 
 it herefrom without two Qualifications, which no Man 
 can have •, and they are, ifl. A thorough Knowledge of 
 all manner of Truths. And idly, fuch an exact Me* 
 
 mory, 
 
<i,4 Letter to the D e i s t s. 139 
 
 niory } as can bring them all prefent to his Mind, when- 
 ever there fhall bean occahon. For to make the Lie pais 
 without Contradiction, he muft make it put on a feeming 
 Agreement with all otherTruths whatever. And howcaa 
 any one do this without knowing all Truths, and having 
 them alfo all ready and prefent in his Mind to confider 
 them in order thereto? And fincenoManisfufficientfor 
 this, no Man is fufficient fo to frame a Lie, but he will al- 
 ways put lomething or other into it, which will palpa- 
 bly prove it to be fo* For if there be but any one 
 known Truth in the whole Scheme of Nature with 
 which it interferes, this muft make the Difcovery, and 
 there is no Man that forgeth an Impofiure, but makes 
 himfelf liable this way to be convicted of it. This is 
 the Method whereby we diftinguifh fuppofitious Au- 
 thors from thofe which are genuine, and fabulous Wri- 
 ters from true Hifiorians. For there is always fome- 
 thing in fuch, which difagrees from known Truths, to 
 make the Difcovery j fome Flaw always left, in fpight 
 of the utmoft Care and Forefight of the Forger, that 
 betrays the Cheat. Thus Annius's Impofiure of his Be- 
 rofus, Manetho and Megafthenes became detected, and 
 fo alfo we know the Tufcan Antiquities of Inghiramius 
 to be a Cheat of the like nature. And by the fame Rule 
 is it that we receive Saluft, Tacitus, and Suetonius for 
 true Hifiorians, and reject others as Writers of Fables, 
 and of no Authority with us : And if we examine the 
 Alcoran of Mahomet by the fame Method, nothing can 
 be more plainly convicted of Falfity and Impofiure, than 
 that muft be by it. For altho' in that Book he allows 
 both the Old and the New Tefiament to be of Divine 
 Authority, yet in a multitude of Inftances he differs from 
 both : I mean not in Matters of Law and Religion, for 
 here his Defign is to differ \ but in Matters of Fact and 
 Hiftory, which if once true, muft evermore be the fame. 
 They have a Fetch indeed to bring him off, by faying, 
 that the Jews and the Chrifiians corrupted thofe Holy 
 Books, and therefore where he relates Things other- 
 wife than they do, he doth there reftore Truth, and 
 not vary from it. But certainly this will not hold, 
 where by a very grofs blunder, he makes the Virgin * 
 
 ^ Mary 
 
 * Ale 'ran, c. 3. where obferve, that through ail that Chapter, 
 in every place, where the French, and out of that the Engtijh Trai:^ 
 
140 <A Letter to the £) e i s t s. : 
 
 Mary the Mother of our Saviour , to be the lame with 
 Miriam, the Sifter of Mofes. For this Would be to put 
 the Gofpel foclofe upon the Heels of the Law, as to al- 
 io iv no time for the taking place of this latter, before it 
 would have been totally abolifh'd by the former. But 
 what mod difcovers his Impoflure, are the monftrous 
 Miftakes which he makes in the Moral part thereof. For 
 he allows Fornication, and juftifies Adultery by his Law, 
 and makes War, Rapine, and Slaughter to be the main 
 part of the Religion which he taught •, which being con- 
 trary to the Nature of God, from whom he fays he re- 
 receiv'd it, and contrary to that Law of unalterable and 
 eternal Truth, which he hath written in the Hearts of 
 all of us from the beginning •, the obvious Principles of 
 every Man's Reafon convict him of Falfhood herein, and 
 thereby manifeftly prove all the reft to be nothing elfe 
 but an abominable Impiety of his own Invention. And 
 were the Religion of Jefus Chrifi, as deliver'd to us in 
 the New Tefiament, an Impojiure like this, it muft have 
 the fame Flaws therein, that is, many Falfities in Mat- 
 ter of Fact, and more in Doctrine, and all his Prophe- 
 cies would be without Truth in the Original, or Verifi- 
 cation in the Event. And when you can make out any 
 one of thefe Particulars againft it, then we will be rea- 
 dy to fay the fame thereof that you do, That all is 
 Cheat and Impofiure, and no Creditor Faith is any 
 longer to be given thereto. 
 
 And i ft, As to the Matters of Fact contained in the 
 Hiflory of the New Teflament, who ever yet convicted 
 anyone of them of Falfhood? Or who everfo much as 
 endeavour'd it in the Age when the Books were 'fir ft 
 written, when theFalfhood might have been beft prov'd, 
 had there been any fuch in them, and the doing hereof 
 
 Jlationof the Alcoran, hath Joachim, in the Original Arabic it is Am- 
 ran, and from thence this Chapter in the Original iscall'd Suratoel Am- 
 ran, i. e. in the Chapter of Amran. But in both thefe Tranfidt ion s it is 
 called the Chapter of Joachim. For Mahomet miftakir.g the Virgin Ma- 
 ry to be the fame with Mirian, the Sifter of Mojls, makes Amran to 
 be her Father. But Syer, the French Tranjlator, very imprudently 
 taking upon him to correct the Impoftor's Blunder, puts Joachim in' 
 the place of Amran, and thereby gives us a falfe Vcrlion, where it 
 is very material in order to the expofing of that Impofiure, to 
 know the true. And the Englijh Tranjlator follows him herein. 
 
 would 
 
* (A Letter to the D e i s t s. 141 
 
 \vould have fo much ferv'd the Defigns of thofe bitter 
 Enemies of the Chriftian Caufe, who from the firft did 
 the utmoft they could to fupprefs it? When Relations 
 of Matters of Fact pafs uncontradicted and uncontroll'd 
 in the Age in which they were tranfa&ed, and among 
 thofe who thought therafelves greatly concern'd to have 
 them believ'd falfe, this muft be taken for an undeniable 
 Argument of their Truth. And this Argument the Hi- 
 ftory of the New Te ft anient hath on its fide in its fulleft 
 Strength. For the Books were written and publiuYdin 
 the very Age in which the Things related in them were 
 done, yet no one then ever contradicted or convicted of 
 Falfhood any one PafTage in them, though Chriftianity 
 had from the very beginning the Profejfors of all other 
 Religions in moft bitter Enmity againft it, who would 
 have been moft ready and glad fo to do, could they have 
 found but the leaft Pretence for it. And had any of thofe 
 Relations been falfe, there were then means enough un- 
 deniably to have convicted them of it. For thofe Things 
 whic"h are related of Jefus Chrlji and his Apoftles in the 
 Hiftory of the New Teft anient, are not there faid to have 
 been done in Corners, where none were prefent to con- 
 tradict them, but upon the open State of the World, 
 and many of them in the Sight of Thoufands \ and there- 
 fore had they not been really done, or done otherwife 
 than related, there could not have wanted WitneflTese- 
 nough to make Proof hereof. And moft certainly thofe 
 who fo bitterly oppos'd Chriftianity from the firft, would 
 have found them out, and made ufe of their Teftimonies 
 to the utmoft for the overthrowing of the Caufe they 
 fo violently oppos'd \ and had they done fo, to be fure 
 we ihould have had thofe Teftimonies in the Mouths of 
 all its Enemies ever fince. For they would have yielded 
 them the ftrongeft and the moft prevailing Argument 
 they could poflibly have urg'd againft it. The falfe Pre- 
 tences of all other tmpoftors have been detected by thofe 
 who liv'd in their Time, and the true Hiftory is given 
 of them, inftead of the falfe ones which they gave of 
 themfelves. And had Jefus Cbrift and his Apoftles been 
 like Impoftors, and the Things related of them in the 
 Books of the New Teftament falfe and forg'd, it is not 
 poflible to conceive, efpecially in the Ci rcum fiances a- 
 Dovemention'd, how they could have efcap'd the like 
 
 Difco- 
 
142 <sA Letter to the Deists. 
 
 Difcovery ; but certainly in this cafe, amidft fo many 
 Witneffes who could have prov'd the Falftiood, and fo 
 many Enemies who were eager to detect it, all muft 
 have come out, and every falfe Narrative would have 
 been fhown to be fuch, and the true one given in its 
 ftead, and we fhould have heard enough hereof from the 
 Adverfaries of our Holy Religion through every Age 
 fmce. And that this was not done when there was fuch 
 bitter Oppofition againft the Chrifiian Religion from the 
 firft propagating of it, and it would have been fo ftrong 
 an Argument againft it, can be afiign'd to no other 
 caufe, but that the Things related were fo evidently and 
 and manifestly true, as not to afford the lead Pretence 
 for the contradicting of them. But this is not all we 
 have to fay in the cafe. For it hath not only happpened 
 that none of thofe Matters of Faft have ever been con- 
 tradicted, or prov'd falfe by any of the firft Enemies of 
 Chriftianity, who were bed able to have done fo, had 
 there been that Impofturc in them which you alledge ^ 
 but on the contrary many of them have been allow 'd 
 true, and attefted by them. For two of the moft fur- 
 prizing Particulars related in the Gofpels are confirm'd 
 oy the Teftimony of Heathen Writers, I mean the 
 Murther of the Innocents by Herod at Bethlehem, and 
 the wonderful Eclipfe of the Sun, which happened at the 
 Death of our Saviour, contrary to the Nature of a Solar 
 Eclipfe, when the Moon was in the Full. (*) Macrobius 
 tells us of the former, and (|) Phlegon Trallianus of the 
 latter. And that which is the moft important part of 
 all, and bears the greateft Teftimony to the Truth of 
 the whole, was allow'd and acknowledged! oh all Hands 
 both by Jews and Heathens even in their bittereft Op- 
 pofition againft the Chrifiian Caufe, I mean the Ac- 
 count which is given in thofe Sacred Books of the Mi- 
 racles oC out Saviour. For both of them have yielded to 
 the Truth hereof ; only the Jews (ay, that he wrought 
 them by virtue of the Tetragrammaton,. or the Sacred 
 Name Jehovah, ftolen by him out of the Temple 
 (which the riiiculoufnefs of the Fable they relate con- 
 cerning it, fufficiently confutes •, and the Heathens, by 
 
 C')Saturnal.lib.2.c.4. . (f) Vide Chronicon Eufebii, & Ori- 
 genis c uiitra Celfum librum fecundum. & TratS, ad Matthxum 3 <• . 
 
 Magic k 
 
cA Letter to the D s i s t n 14 j 
 
 Magie\ Art. And therefore Ph'doftratus and Hierocles 
 finding no other way to overthrow the Authority which 
 thofe Miracles gave his Religion, confronted againft hint 
 the Hijtory of Apollonius Tyaneits, whom they pretend- 
 ed by the fame Art of Magick to have done as wonder- 
 ful Things^ and by this means endeavour'd at leaft to 
 invalidate thofe miraculous Works of his, which the^ 
 could not deny. And, 
 
 2dl>% As to the Prophecies of our Saviour, the Trutfr 
 of their Event in every particular proves the Truth of 
 him that predicted them. For did he not come from. 
 God, how could he have this wonderful Knowledge, as 
 thus to foretel Things to come ? Were he not of the 
 Secrets of the Almighty, how could he fo certainly* 
 have forefhown what in Aftertimes he would bring to 
 £afs ? If it were only by guefs that he did fo, how pof- 
 fibly could all things fo exactly fall out in the Event^ 
 that nothing mould in the leafl happen otherwife than. 
 as he predicted ■, efpeclally fince as to moft of them} it 
 cannot be fo much as faid, that there was any place for 
 Human Sagacity, or the lead probable Conjecture to 
 help him to any Forefight therein ? For how improba- 
 ble was it that the Religion which he taught^ fhould, a- 
 gainft the bent of the whole World, have made fo great 
 and fpeedy Progrefs therein^ as he foretold that it 
 fhould? or that fuch Inftruments as he employed in this 
 Work, a company of poor^ ignorant, and contempti- 
 ble Fijbermen, fhould eVer have been able to have effect- 
 ed it, without the extraordinary Providence of God 
 Over-ruling the Hearts, as Well as the Power of Men ? A 
 thing in the ordinary courfe of Human Affairs fo unlike- 
 ly to fucceed, could never have been brought to pafs 5 
 nor could Our Saviour have iny manner' of ground from 
 the nature of the thing, fo much as to guefs at fo ft range 
 an Event, and therefore could never have fo punctually 
 foretold it 5 but that being fenf of God to begin this 
 Work,- he foreknew' all that he would do for the per- 
 fecting of it. And the fame is to be faid of what he fur- 
 ther predicted of this holy Religion as to its continuance 
 among us to the end of the World,- of the calling o( the' 
 Gentiles thereinto, and the rejecting of the Jews' -,- of 
 the great Calamities which fhould attend that People 
 (as accordingly they have through ail Ages Mice,) ami 
 
 JL earl!* 
 
144 &4 Letter to the D e i s t's. 
 particularly of that great and terrible Calamity which 
 Was to fall upon them in the Deftruction ofjerufalem, 
 and accordingly happened about Forty Years after, 
 which he fo exactly foretold, not only as to the Time, 
 
 (for he faith it fhould be before that (*) 
 
 (*) Afatth. Generation fhould pafs away) but alio 
 
 c. 24. ^''34' as to all other the moft confiderable 
 
 Circumftances of it, that nothing can 
 be a more exaft and perfect Comment on the 24th. 
 Chapter of St. Matthew, and thofe other Parages in the 
 Gofpels where thisdifmal Deftruction is foretold, than 
 that Hifiory of Jofephus which gives us an account how 
 it was brought to pafs. And that part of the Prophecy 
 which relates to the final Definition of the Temple, 
 foretelling, that one Stone ftiould not be left vpon another, 
 hath been fo exactly verify'd, that notwithstanding fe- 
 veral Attempts which have been made for the re-edify- 
 ing of it, it could never be effected -, no, not as far as the 
 laying of one Stone upon another in order thereto, e- 
 ven to this Day. And when Julian the Apoftate, out of 
 defign to confront this Prophecy, and give the Lye there- 
 to, em ploy 'd both the Power and the Treafure of the 
 Roman Empire for the re-building of it, Heaven it felf 
 interpos'd in an extraordinary manner, to make good 
 what Chrift had predicted to be the eftablifh'd Purpofe 
 of the Almighty, which nothing was able to alter, and 
 by a miraculous Fire deftroy'd the Work as faftas it 
 was built, and at length forc'd the Undertakers totally 
 to defift therefrom. For the Truth whereof, I will not 
 refer you to the Teftimony of Socrates Scholafticus, So- 
 z,omen, Chryfoflom, or any other of the Chrifiian Wri- 
 ters who relate it •, but to one whom you cannot fufpect 
 of ferving the Intereft of the Chrifiian Caufc herein, 
 he being as much an Adverfary thereto as any of you ', 
 I mean Ammianics Marcellinus, who was an Heathen 
 Writer, and then ferv'd under Julian in his Wars in 
 the Eaft, at the fame time when this happened. His 
 Words concerning it (lib. 23. c. 1. ) are as followeth. 
 — Ambit iofum quondam apud Hierojolyman Templum, 
 quod pofi multa & intcmeciva certamina, obfidente Vefpa- 
 Jiano pofteaque Tito, agre ifi expugnatum, inftaurarefump- 
 tibus excogitabat it/unodicis, negotiumque maturandum 
 Alypio dederat Antiechcnfi, qui olim Bntairniascurave- 
 
 rat 
 
e,4 Letter t o the D e i s t ?, 145 
 
 rat pre Trizfeclis. Cum it a que rei idem fort it vr infarct 
 Alypius, juvaretqne Provincial Retlor, metuendi globi 
 flammarvrp prope fundament acrebris affultibus crumpentes 
 fecere locum, txujlis aliquoties operantibus, inacceffum^ 
 hocqite modo elemento deflinatius repellente, ceffavit inccp- 
 turn: i. e. " Julian having a defign tore-build with 
 " extraordinary Expence, the Temple of Jcrufalem, 
 " formerly a verv (lately Structure (which, firft fefpa- 
 " fian, and after Titus, laying Siege thereto, was, after 
 " many bloody Conflicts, at length with difficulty ta- 
 " ken and deftroy'd) committed the care of the Bufi- 
 u nefs to Aiyp'vs the Antiochian, who formerly had 
 tc been Vrcpr&fccb of Britany, to be with all fpeed ex- 
 cc pedited by him. Bat w/hil£ Alypius was diligently 
 <£ pre fling on the Work, and the Governor of the 
 " Province helping him therein, dreadful Balls of Fire 
 " breaking forth from the Foundations of the Building, 
 u did by their frequent Eruptions make the Place unac- 
 " ccllible, the Workmen being feveral times deftroy'd 
 u by the Fire, as they went to their Labour *, and by 
 " this means the Element (til! perfifting as of purpofe 
 c to obftruct it, the Work ceas'd". And it hath never 
 fince been again attempted, even to this Day, nor is 
 there now left the leaft remainder of its Ruins, tefhov? 
 fo much as the Place where this Temple once flood •, or 
 have thofe who travel thither, any other Mark where- 
 by to find it out, bat the Mahometan Aiofque, erected 
 on the fame Plat by Omar, the fecond Succeffor of Ma- 
 homct *, and which hath now continued for. above a 
 thoufand Years to pollute with the'wx>rft of Superfti- 
 tions, that facred Ground on which it was formerly' 
 built. Had our Saviour been an Impofior, and foretold all 
 thefe things without any Knowledge of theCounfels of 
 him who was to bring them to pafs, fomething certain- 
 ly mufl have happened in the Event of fo many Parti- 
 culars, as would have given the Lye to his Predictions, 
 and yoit the opportunity of convicting him thereof by 
 plain Matters of Facl: falling out contrary to them. 
 And although this could not have been done at firft,bnt 
 pofiiMy fuch Prophecies as thefe might have impos'd for 
 hile on the Credulity of many •, yet we that have 
 paiVd tha time of their Completion, coald never be de- 
 ceived thereby 5 but by the Event muft plainly know, 
 L 2 whether 
 
146 aA Letter to the Deists' 
 
 whether what he foretold be true or falfe, and from 
 thence have enough to make a Judgment alfo of the 
 Truth of him that predicted them. And therefore had 
 our Saviour ', like Mahomet, invented his Religion 'to de- 
 ceive the World yif he intended it mould have continu'd y 
 he rauft have taken the fame Courfe that Mahomet did r 
 and never ventur'd at any Prophecy at all, that he might 
 not. be confuted by the Event, and fo lofe his whole De~ 
 iign. If you anfwer, That oar Saviour foretold future 
 Events after the fame manner as the Pharifees faid he 
 wrought his Miracles ; that is, by the Prince of the De- 
 vils : You afcribe that Knowledge to the wicked One r 
 which is above his reach to attain unto. The Oracle s 
 which he gave in the Heathen Temples, only prove hinr 
 able to cheat Mankind with dubious and dark Anfwers, 
 but never clearly to inform them of the future Purpofes- 
 of the Almighty* And indeed, how can it be imagin'd 
 that fuch an- ace ur fed one, as he that is caft off at the? 
 greateft diftance from God (who alone governs all the- 
 Works of his Creation, and by the Wifdom of his Pro- 
 vidence orders every Event that attends them) fhould 
 ever be fo privy to his Cownfels, as to be able to fore- 
 know any thing that lie determines concerning them j, 
 unlefsit be where he himfelf is fupply'd as an Executio- 
 ner- of his Juftice to bring it to pals? But all our Savi- 
 ours Predictions were clear and full, foretelling Things 
 to come, in the fame manner as Hifiorians relate them 
 when part, without Ambiguity i-n the Words,, or Per- 
 plexity in the Matter, or the leaft room left for Evafion 
 or Deceit in them, and were all exactly fulfill'd in their 
 appointed time-, and we have the continuance of his 
 Go/pel, the fpreading of it through all the Nation* of 
 the Earth r the Rejection of the Jews, the Calamities of 
 thole People in a continu'd Exile, and the total Defini- 
 tion of their Temple, {landing Evidences hereof, even 
 to this Day. And how could all this ever have happen- 
 ed fo exactly according to his Word, but that he was 
 that Holy and Blefifed One,, who had the Counfels of the 
 Almighty communicated unto him, and was fentby Hint 
 on purpofe to declare unto us as many of them as were 
 neceil-ry for us. to know,, in-order to the attaining of 
 Everlafiing Life ? And, 
 
 Z<ttf*. 
 
xA Letter to the Deist £ 147 
 
 3<#/y, As to the Doftrinal part of his Religion^ what 
 can be more worthy of God, than the Notions which he 
 'gives us of him, and the Worflnp which he directs us 
 to render unto him ? And what more worthy of us, and 
 ■perfecting of our "Nature, than that Law for the Conduct 
 *of our Lives Which he hath deliver'd unto us ? And what 
 ,can be more Holy, Pure, and Perfect, than the Pre- 
 cepts thereof ? Here the Sublimity and vaft Extent of 
 the Matter give Scope large enough for the wifeft of 
 'Men to 'bewilder and lofe them felv.es, in Error and Mi- 
 stake*, and yet convince us but of any one fuch in the 
 whole Extent of our Religion^ and that alone -ft ail be 
 fufficient to prove the Impofture you would charge it 
 with, and I will yield yon all you would have for the fake 
 thereof. But it is fo far herefrom, that I durft make you 
 your felves the Judges, whether it delivers any thing 
 ■eife-unto us -of the Nature and Excellencies of God, but 
 what the Reafon of every Man (altho" barely that alone, 
 thro' that Cloud o'f'Ignorance and Error which the Fall 
 hath over-fpread us with, coatld never clearly make the 
 "Difcovery) muft now, when thus difcoverU, ever ju- 
 stify and admire ~ Whether it pre'fcribes us any one par- 
 ticular relating to his Worfhip, but what is moft agree- 
 able to thofe his Excellencies^. And whether the Pre- 
 cepts and Laws therein laid down unto us for the go- 
 verning of our Lives and Conventions, be any other 
 than what do allcorrefpond fo exactly with everything 
 which the rational Dictates of our Nature direct us to, 
 that they take them all in without Omiftion or Defect, 
 and improve them to the utmoft without Error or Mi- 
 stake in the lean: Circumftance that belongs unto them ? 
 If you fay, that all this might* be attain'd to by Human 
 Wifdom and Study.-, I anfwer, fuppofing it could, yet 
 looking on .our Saviour 'barely as a Man, and his Holy 
 jipofiles without any other Afliftance than that of their 
 own natural Endowments, how poftibly could they 
 teach fo high ? To do this requires that vaft compafs of 
 Knowledge in all the things of Nature, Law, and Mora- 
 lity, as it is not poflible to conceive Men of their Edu- 
 cation and low Employments in the World, could ever 
 liave arriv'd unto. If you examine what other Men 
 Jhave done by Human Wifdom and Study only, you 
 -kill find thofe of the moft elevated Gtnius and fublimeft 
 L 3 Under- 
 
148 <A Letter to the Deist . . 
 
 Underfeeding could never with their utmoit Induftry 
 and Search attain unto what you fuppofe herein, or th.it 
 the higheft Knowledge of Men could ever reach that 
 Perfection in any of the Particulars above-men tion'd, 
 in which the G of pel of Jefus Chrift delivers them unto 
 us. For what. Blunders and Abfurdities dothewifeft 
 of the Vhilofophers lay down concerning the Deity? 
 What Errors and Follies-have they taught and pra<fiib'd 
 concerning his.Worfhip? And what Miftakes have thofe 
 who exalted Morality to the higheft pitch among Men, 
 made therein? Plato m his Common-Wealth allow'd 
 the common ufe of Women, slriftotle affertsit to be 
 natural and mil for the Greeks to make War upon the 
 Barbarians, for no other Reafon but that they arefo^ 
 and both He and Tully place Revenge among their Vir- 
 tues. And whoever had vafter. Capacities for Human 
 Knowledge, or ever went higher by the Abilities of Na- 
 tural Reafon and under/landing only in the Search there- 
 of, than thofe Men ? Yet full being no more than Men, 
 they could not avoid putting fometning of the Infirmi- 
 ties of Man even into that wherein they made appear 
 their higheft Perfections , Error, Miftake, and Igno- 
 rance being fo natural unto ail of us, that neither the 
 greateft, the wifeft, nor the beft among us can be to- 
 tally free therefrom. And therefore had Chrift and his 
 Apoftles no other help in the Doctrines which they 
 taught, but that which is Human, they muft alio in like 
 manner have put that which is Human thereinto, and 
 the Infirmities, Miftakes and Errors that attend Human 
 Nature, would have appear'd in all that they deliver'd 
 unto us. But the Doctrines which they taught, and the 
 Books in which they delivered them unto us, being To 
 totally free from all fuch Errors and Miftakes, as I have 
 already fhewn that they are,} this directs us to look 
 higher thaa Man for the Founder of this Holy Religion, 
 and the Original Author of thofe Books in which it is 
 con tain 'd •, and necefTarily proves, that only he who is 
 infinite in Knowledge, and infinite in all other Perfecti- 
 ons, could thus give us a Law fo exactly like himfelf, 
 throughly perfect in the whole, and infallibly true in 
 &very particular thereof. 
 
 SECT. 
 
oA Letter to the D e i s t s. 149 
 
 SECT. V. 
 
 V. Another Mark of Impojlure is, that where-ever it 
 is fir ft propagated, it muft be done by Craft and Fraud \ 
 and this is natural to all manner of Cheats. For the End 
 of fuch being to deceive. Craft and Fraud are the Means 
 whereby it is to be effected. In this Cafe a Lie muft be 
 made to go for a Truth, and an Appearance for a Re- 
 ality •, and to compafs this, a great deal of Art muft be 
 made ufe of, both to drefs. up the Cheat, that it may 
 appear to be what it pretends, and alio to caft fuch a 
 Mift before the Eyes of Men, that they may not fee it 
 to be otherwife, and that efpecially where the Cheat is 
 an Impojlure in Religion. For whoever comes with a 
 new Religion to be propos'd to the World, muft find 
 all Men fo far prejudiced and prepoffefs'd againft it, as 
 they are afFe&ed to the old one they have before pro- 
 fefs'd j and therefore when Men are educated, or any 
 otherwife fix'd and fettled in a Religion (and all Man- 
 kind are in fome or other) they are not apt eafily to 
 forego it, but it muft be fomething more than ordina- 
 ry that muft bring them over to another contrary there- 
 to. When the new Religion really comes from God (as 
 the Jewift Religion firft, and after the Cbrijlian did) 
 it brings its Credentials with it, the Power of 'Miracles 
 to make way for its Reception. For when Men find 
 the Omnipotency of God working with it, they have 
 from thence .fufficient Evidence given them from whom 
 it comes, and there is need of no other Means to induce 
 them to believe, but that the Religion which God doth 
 in fuch a manner own and atteft, muft be from him. 
 But where there is no fuch Power accompanying the 
 new Religion to gain Credit thereto, the defecl: hereof 
 muft be made up by fomewhat elfe, to draw over the 
 People to its Belief-, and this is that which muft put all 
 Impoftors upon Craft and Fraud in order to the compaf- 
 fing of their Ends. But that Jefus Chrifi and his j$po- 
 files made ufe of no fuch Craft or Fraud to induce Men 
 into the Belief of that Holy Religion which they taught, 
 and confequently could be no fuch Impoftors y willbebefb 
 made appear by going over all thofe ways of Craft and 
 Fraud which Mahomet ferv'd himfelf of: and by fliow- 
 
 L ^ in| 
 
j$q oA Letter to the Deist ^ 
 
 ing you that none of them can poiTibly be (aid to have 
 been pra&is'd by any of them. For Mahomet being one 
 of the craftieft Cheats that ever fet up to impofe a falfe 
 Religion on Mankind, and the only Perfon that ever car- 
 ry 'd on his wicked Defign with Succefs, you maybe Cure 
 he left no Art or Device unpra&is'd, which could pof- 
 fibly be made ufe of with any Advantage for the com- 
 parting of it. And therefore by proving unto you that 
 none of thofe Methods of Craft and Fraud, which were 
 made ufe of for the fh'ft propagating of Mahomctij'm y 
 were ever pfactis'd in the firfl preaching of Chriftiani- 
 ty •, Ifhall fufficiently prove that no Craft or Fraud at all, 
 \yhlch is any way practicable on fuch Occafions, can 
 ever becharg'd thereupon. For, 
 
 1. Mahomet made ufe of all manner of Infinuation 
 both with Rich and Poor, for the gaining of their Affe- 
 ction, thereby to gain them to his Impojiure alfo. But 
 cur SariourChrift and his Apoftles did quite the contra- 
 ry, freefy convincing all Men of their Sins, without 
 navin --- thiiig el fe but the faithful Dif- 
 fharge of tuc .... i} \ which 
 jnftead of reconciling. Men to their Perfons", provok'd 
 the World againft them, and they fufficiently experir 
 ene'd it from the ill Ufage which they found therein. 
 
 2. Mahomet, the eafier to draw over the Arabians to 
 his Party, indulgM them by his Law'm alt thofe Paflions 
 
 id corrupt Affections which he found them ftrongly 
 addicted to, efpecially thofe of Lift and War, which 
 thofe Barbarians, above all the Nations of the Earth, 
 were by their natural Inclinations moft violently car- 
 ry 'd after \ and therefore he allows them a Plurality of 
 Wives, and a free ufe of their Female Slaves for the fa- 
 tisfying of their Lufr, and makes it a main part of his 
 Religion for them to fight againft, plunder, and deftroy 
 all that would not be of it. But Jefm Chrift and ins A- 
 pojlles allow'd no fuch Practices, but ftriftly prohibited 
 all manner of Sin, how much foever in Reputation a- 
 mong Men, even to the forbidding of many Things till 
 then allow'd and held lawful among thofe who were 
 call'd God's own People \ and therefore inftead of feek- 
 ing the Favour of Men, by indulging them in their 
 Luifcand finful Praftifes, they laid a much ftricter re> 
 jftraint upon them than was ever done before, 
 
 - '" ^%, 
 
eA Letter to the D e i s t s. 151 
 
 ^My, Mahomet to pleafe his Arabians, retain'd in the 
 Religion which he taught them, moft of thofe Rites and 
 Ceremonies which they had been accuftom'd to under 
 that which he abolifh'd, and alfo the Temple of Mecca, 
 in which they were chiefly perform'd. But Jeftts Chrifl, 
 without having any regard to the pleafing of Men, abo- 
 lifh'd both the Temple and the Law, which the Jews 
 were fo bigotted unto, and alfo the total worfhipping 
 of Godby Sacrifices, without being at all influenc'd to 
 the contrary, by that extravagant Fondnefs which he 
 Knew the whole World had then for them. 
 
 4? hly, Mahomet, when he found any of his new Laws 
 not fo well to ferve his turn, craftily fhifted the Scene, 
 and brought them about to his Purpofe by fuch altera- 
 tions as would beft fuit therewith ; and therefore when 
 his making his Kebla towards Jerufalem did not fo well 
 pleafe his Country-men, he turn'd it about again to- 
 wards Mecca, and order'd all his Pilgrimages thither, as 
 in the time of their Idolatry. And the like Changes he 
 made in many other Particulars, according as he found 
 his Tnterefl requir'd. And this is that which every Im-> 
 poftor mult do. For lite reft being the End which all 
 fuch aim at, it is impoflible that they can fo well lay 
 their Defjgns in order to it, but that emerging Changes 
 jn the one, will frequently require Changes in the other 
 alfo. But Jefm Chrifi never made the lead alteration 
 in any of the Doctrines or Precepts which he deliver'd, 
 but what he firft taught, both he and his Difciples im- 
 mutably perfifted in, without at all regarding how vi- 
 olently all the Interefts of theWorld ran counter againft 
 them herein. And what can be a more certain Evidence 
 that none fuch was the bottom which they were built 
 upon. 
 
 $thly, Mahomet, under pain of Death, forba^l all man- 
 ner of Difputes about his Religion, and nothing could be 
 a wifer Courfe to prevent its Follies and Abfurdities 
 from being detected and expos'd. For they being fuch 
 as could never ftand the trial of a rational Examination, 
 they muft all have foon been exploded, had every Man 
 been allow'd the free ufe of his Reafon to enquire into 
 them. But Chrifi and his Apofiles direct the quite con^ 
 £rary Courfe. For our Saviour bids the Jews fearch the 
 Scriptures for the trial of thofe Truths which h,e taught 
 
 them, 
 
i«; 2 sA Letter to the Deists 
 
 them, (John 5. v. 39.) And the Noble Beraans are com-" 
 mended, that they did fo, before they would receive 
 thofe Doctrines of the Chrijiian Religion which were 
 preach'd unto them, Afibs 17. v. it. And St. Paul gives 
 us this general Rule, firft to prove or try all Things, 
 and then to hold fart: that only which we find to be good, 
 1 Theff. 5. v. 21. It is only Error and Falfhood that de- 
 fires to fhelter it felf in the dark, and dares not expofe 
 it felf to an open View and Trial. But Truth being al- 
 ways certain of its own Stability, makes ufe of no Art 
 to fupport it felf, but dares venture it felf abroad on its 
 own Foundation only, and boldly offers it felf to every 
 Man's Search *, and the more it is fifted and examined 
 into, the more bright and refulgent will it always ap- 
 pear.' And fince Chriflianity from the firft ever took 
 this Courfe (as it ftill doth where-ever purely profefs'd) 
 and ihftead of prohibiting Difputes about it, invites all 
 Men to fearch and examine thereinto } this fufficiently 
 argues, how certain the firft Teachers of it were of its 
 Truth, and that no Cheat or Jmpofinre could ever be 
 intended thereby. 
 
 Ctlriy, Mahomet made choice of a People firft to pro- 
 pagate his Impofiure among, who were of ail Men moft 
 fitted to receive it \ and that on two Accounts : 1. Be- 
 caufeof the Tndifferency which they were then grown 
 to as to any Religion at all : And 2. Becanfe of the great 
 Ignorance they were in of all manner of Learning at 
 that time, when he firft vented his Forgeries among 
 them, there being then but only one Man among all 
 the Inhabitants of Mecca that could either write or 
 read. For who are more tit to be impos'd on than the 
 Ignorant? And who can be more eafy to receive a New 
 Religion, than thofe who are not prepofTefs'd with any 
 other to prejudice them againft it? The P apifis, who, 
 next Mahomet -, have thegreateft claim to Impofture, as 
 to thoie Errors which they teach, very well underftand 
 how fucha Caufe is to be ferv'd by both thefe Particu- 
 lars - , and therefore make it their Bufinefs as much as they 
 can, to keep their own People in Ignorance, and pervert 
 all thofe they call Hereticks, to Atheifm and Infidelity* 
 that fo having no Religion at all, they may be the better 
 prepar'd again to receive theirs. And that there are fo 
 many Atheifts now among us, it is too well known, 
 
 how 
 
q/4 Letter to the Deists s^ 
 
 how much it is owing to this their Hellijh Artifice zr 
 gain ft us. But all wis quite contrary as to thofe whom 
 Cbnfiznd 'lis ApoJHes fir ft preach'd our Holy Religion 
 unto. Our Saviour did not chufe fuch ignorant Times to 
 come among us in, or a People fo indifferent in Religi- 
 on, fir ft to manifeft himfelf unto. For the Jews were fo 
 far from being weary of that Religion which they had fo 
 long profefs'd, when he firft appear'd in his Afijfwi a- 
 mong them, that they were then grown into the con- 
 trary Extreme •, a very extravagant Bigottry and Super- 
 ftition concerning it} fo that nothing was more diffi- 
 cult, than to withdraw them from it} nor could any 
 thing be more ofTenfive to them, than an Offer tend- 
 ing thereto:, and fo it continues with them, even to 
 this Day..! And the Cafe was not much otherwise as to 
 all the reft, of Mankind} the G entiles being then grown 
 almoft as tenacious of their Idolatry, as the Jews of 
 their Law } and Learning was in that Age among both 
 at the higheft pitch that ever it was in the World } and 
 confequently, Men were never iefs difpos'd than at that 
 time, to receive a new Religion, or ever better able 
 to defend their Old. And therefore had Chrijlianity 
 been an Impojlure, it could never have efcap'd, in fuch 
 an Age as that, a full Detection, or ever have been able 
 to have born up againft it} fuch inquifitive Heads, and 
 piercing Wits, as were then in the World, would have 
 fifted it to the bottom, div'd into its deepeft Secrets, and 
 unravell'd and laid open the whole Plot, and thepreju- 
 die'd World-would immediately have crunYd it to pieces 
 thereupon, fo that it fhould never more have appear'd 
 among Mankind. But the Truth of our Holy Religion 
 was fuch, that it boldly offer'd it felf to thisTryal} 
 and.it feems to have chofen fuch an Age as this, firft to 
 come into the World, on purpofe to undergo it, that 
 fo it might be the better juftify'd thereby. And jufti- 
 fy'd by it, it was } for although it were oppos'd by the 
 u. tin oft Violence of the prejudie'd World, they could 
 get no ground of it } tho' it were throughly examin'd, 
 and diligently fearch'd into by the acuteft and fubtileft 
 Wits of thofe Ages in which it firft appear'd, they 
 could never difcover any Fraud, or make out the leaft 
 Flaw therein } but, in fpite of both, it triumph 'd, by 
 its own naked Truth only, over all manner of Oppofi- 
 
 tion, 
 
1 54 qA Letter to the D e i 5 t X 
 
 tion, and by God's Mercy continues ftill fo to do, even 
 to this Day. That a Cheat and a Fraud in a Thing of 
 this nature fhould be impofed on Men totally ignorant 
 and illiterate, or that fuch as they, when void of al! 
 manner of Religion, (as the Men of Mecca for the 
 mod part were when Mahomet began his Impojlure a- 
 mong them) fhould be eafy to embrace a new one, is 
 110 hard matter to conceive *, but that an Impojlure 
 fhould be receiv'd, and obtain fuch Prevaiency over 
 Men in fo learned and difcerning an Age, as that where^ 
 in Chrifiianity firft appear'd in the World, or that they 
 who were then fo zealoufly addicted to the Religion 
 they had been educated in, whether Jews or Gentiles, 
 jftiould ever have been indue'd to forfake it for a new 
 one, founded only on a Cheat and Fraud, is what, mo- 
 rally fpeaking, we may very well reckon impoffible. 
 
 jthly. Adahomct offer'd at no Prophecies, that he 
 might not run the hazard of being confuted by the E- 
 vent. But Jefm Chrift: -deliver'd many clear and plain 
 Prophecies, feveral of which refpefted that very Age in 
 which he liv'd, and were all in their proper time as 
 plainly verify 'd by the Completion of them. 
 
 Sthly, Mahomet offer'd at no Miracles in publick, al- 
 though continually call'd upon and provok'd to it by 
 his Oppofers. For not being able to work any true 
 ones, he would not hazard hi mfelf to a Difcovery by 
 thofe which were counterfeit. And therefore all thofe 
 Things which he would have go for Miracles ; that is, 
 his Converfe with the Angel Gabriel, his Journey to 
 Heaven, and the Armies of Angels that help'd him in 
 his Battles, are only related by him as Things afted 
 behind the Curtain, of which there was no other Wit- 
 nefs but himlelf alone, and confequently there could 
 be no Witnefs on the other fide ever to contradict them. 
 Rut Je fits Chrijl and his Apoftles having the real Power 
 of working Miracles, did them openly in the fight of 
 Thoufands, where all manner of Opportunity was gi- 
 ven to every Spectator to examine into them, and try 
 whether they were true or no-, and therefore had 
 there been any Cheat or Fraud in them, it is not pof- 
 fible to conceive how they fhould have efcap'd a Difco- 
 very. And yet no fuch Difcovery could ever be made \ 
 which was fo convincing an Argument of their Truth 
 
 and 
 
eA Letter to the D e i s t s. 155 
 
 and Reality, that even the bittereft Enemies of our Ho- 
 ly Religion from the firft yielded in this particular, and 
 both Jews and Heathens allow'd all thofe miraculous 
 Works which are related of our Saviour and his Apo~ 
 files in the Books of the New Tefiament^ to have been 
 really and truly wrought by them, as hath been afore 
 obferv'd. And indeed the Evidence was too manifeft 
 to be deny'd, fince thofe very Blind that receiv'd their 
 Sight, thofe Dumb that were enabled to Speak, thofe 
 Deaf that were reftor'd to their Hearing, thofe Lame 
 that were made to Walk, and thofe Dead that were 
 rais'd again to Life, Iiv'd many Years after to be as 
 ftanding Monuments of the Truth of thofe Things, 
 which no one could contradift. And therefore the Op- 
 pofers of the Gofpel of Jefus Chrijl have all along ra- 
 ther chofen to invalidate the Authority of thofe Mira- 
 des, that deny the Truth and Reality of them. 
 
 For they allowing the Matters of Facl:, objeft that 
 there are other Powers lower than the Divine, that 
 are able to bring them to pafs 7 and therefore, although 
 thofe Works were wrought, they do not yet prove ei- 
 ther the Ferfons or the Doctrines which they taught 
 to come from GW, and confequently can give no fuch 
 Evidence, as that which we infift upon from them for 
 the Truth of that Religion which we profefs j That 
 others, by Magick Art y have done the fame Things 7 
 That the Scriptures themfelves tell us fo ofjonnes y and 
 Jambres y and Simon Magus y and prophane Writers of ' 
 Apollonius TyaneuSy Apuleius y and others \ and both 
 Mofes and jefus Chriji knew this very well, and there- 
 fore fore-Warned their Difciples againft it, telling them 
 that Falfe Prophets mould arife, who mould mow Signs 
 and Wonders to deceive, if poffible, the very Elecl *, 
 and that they mould take Care not to hearken to them. 
 And therefore, fay they, if Signs and Wonders can be 
 wrought by Falfe Prophets y how can they be Evidences 
 for the true y Or how can we at all rely upon them for 
 the verifying of -any Do&rine which they deliver unto 
 us? Or if thofe Miracles which were wrought by them 
 who are fent of God, be only true Miracles, and all 
 others falfe ones, how (hall we diftinguifti the one from 
 the other, fo as by them to difcern,. whether the Do: 
 ftrines be of God or no ? 
 
 But 
 
i^6 &4 Letter to the Deist i. 
 
 But thefe Difficulties will be eafily remov'd, and the 
 Miracles of our Saviour and his Apofiles, as they are 
 allow'd to be truly wrought by them, fo alfo will they 
 as truly prove the Doctrines which they taught, to 
 come from God, if you will but confider thefe follow- 
 ing Particulars. 
 
 i. Miracles are Works done which are ft range and 
 amazing to us, as being brought to pafs out of the or- 
 dinary Road, and in a manner which we cannot Com- 
 prehend •, and thefe are of two Sorts: i. Such as ex- 
 ceed only the Power of Man to effect them :, and thefe 
 we call Signs or Wonders : And, 2. Such as exceed the 
 Power of any created Being whatfoever-, and thefe on- 
 ly are properly A-firacles. 
 ' 2, Where-ever fuch Miracles are wrought, as are of 
 this laft fort, God alone muft be the Author of them ; 
 and therefore, where-ever fuch are found, they mani- 
 festly prove the Power of God co-operating with the 
 Perfons, at whofe Word they are done - , and with 
 whomfoever it doth thus co-operate, it neceffarily de- 
 monstrates their Mijjion from him, and puts fuch an 
 authentick Seal to the Truth of the Doctrines Which 
 they teach, as cannot be deny'd. 
 
 7. Where-ever a creating Power is necessary to the 
 Effect produc'd, or the stated Laws of Nature are al- 
 ter'd, there it is certain none but God him'felf can be 
 the Author of the Work done. For he alone Is able 
 to create", and he having created all Things according 
 to his infinite Wifdom, and given to each their proper 
 Effence and Operations, he allows none but himfelf 
 to alter the Natures of them, or change that Courfe 
 which he hath put them into. 
 
 4. But within the Laws and Powers of Nature, there 
 are abundance of Things which exceed the Power of 
 Man to effect, and therefore feem as Miracles to us, 
 which may be produc'd by other created Beings, and 
 thefe are evil Spirits as well as good. 
 
 5. To the producing of thefe Effects, evil Spirits 
 as well as good are enabled two manner of Ways: 
 1. By their greater Knowledge of the Powers of Na- 
 ture:, And, 2. By the greater Agency Which they have 
 to apply them to Effect. For, 
 
 6. There are a Multitude of Things in Nature, that 
 rhoie Spirits know the Nature of, which we do not. 
 
 For 
 
IA Letter to the Deist s. 157 
 
 For': their Abilities of knowing are vaftly above ours, 
 as not working by the dull Tools of Earth and Clay, 
 as we do, and their Experience exceedingly greater, 
 as having known the Works of God from the Begin- 
 ning, and by long Obfervation pry'd deep into the Se- 
 crets of them. If a Chymiji or a Mathematician, by 
 his Skill in the Powers of Nature, can do many 
 Things, which, to the ignorant and unlearn'd, fhall 
 feem as Miracles, (as we often find) how much more 
 can thofe knowing Spirit s do fo,whofe Knowledge of the 
 Powers of Nature is vaftly more above all ours put toge- 
 ther, than the higheft and perfected of ours is above 
 that of the moil: ignorant that lives among us. But, 
 
 7. As thofe Spirits have a vaftly greater Knowledge 
 of the Powers of Nature than we can have, fo alfo 
 have they a vaftly greater Power to apply them to 
 Effect. For they are of a much greater Agility in 
 their Motion, of a much finer Subftance to penetrate 
 into Things, and actuate them into Operation •, and 
 alfo of a much ftronger Agency or Power to work 
 than we have, and which, no doubt, they are endow'd 
 more or lefs with, according to the different Orders 
 and Degrees in which God hath created them ; and by 
 both thefe together, that is, their greater Knowledge 
 of Natural Caufes, and their greater Power to apply 
 them to Effect, can they do a great many Things 
 within Nature's Limits, which exceed all the Powers 
 of Men to effect, and feem as miraculous and wonder- 
 ful unto us, whenever brought to pais. 
 
 8. Good Spirits never work thofe Miracles, but in 
 Subferviency to the Divine Will, as they are necefiary 
 for the effecting of thofe Things which God hath or- 
 daln'd by their Miniftry to bring to pafs. And to 
 them thofe Miracles mention'd in Scripture, which 
 exceed not the Power of fuch created Beings, may be 
 referr'd as the immediate Authors of them ; it not 
 being likely that God would interpofe his immediate 
 Power, excepting only in fuch Cafes, as where there 
 was need of it. For why fliould the Lord himfelf put 
 his Hand to that Work, which may as well be dif- 
 charg'd by the Minifiry of his Servants? 
 
 9. Evil Spirits having in a qreat nieafure the fame 
 Knowledge of Natural Caufes as the Good-, and the like 
 
 Power 
 
1 58 <A Letter to the D e i s t s. 
 
 Power to bring them to effect, can alfo work the like 
 Wonders, and, by God, are often permitted fo to do, 
 both for the Trial of Men, and alfo for other good Cau- 
 fes which to him, of his infinite Wifdom, feem fitting \ 
 and we have a plain Inftance of it in the Cafe of Job. 
 
 10. Evil Spirits have not only this Power of work- 
 ing the like Wonders, which Good Spirits do, but alfo 
 another, which Good Spirits will never make ufe of y 
 that is, by Juggle, Delufion, and Deceit to imitate 
 thofe true and proper Miracles, which none but God 
 himfelf can really effect. And thus, by the Delufion 
 of the Devil, was a Cheat put upon Saul in the raifing 
 of Samuel to him from the Dead. For really, to raife 
 Samuel from the dead, none but God could, and there- 
 fore that Appearance which Saul faw, was no more 
 than a falfe Appearance, contrived by the De vil to put 
 a Cheat and Delufion upon him. And of this fime lort 
 may we reckon the Miracles which Jannes and Jam- 
 bres wrought in imitation of Mofes. For to turn a Rod 
 into a Serpent, and Water into Blood, or to caufe 
 Frogs to come up upon the Land, in which three Par- 
 ticulars they did the fame thing by their Inchantments, 
 that Mofes did by the Hand of God, are Works, which, 
 if really done, require the creating Power to bring 
 them to effect, which none but God hath •, and there- 
 fore in this Cafe the Devil acted for them, not by his ef- 
 fecting, but only by his deluding; Power. And fuch Mi- 
 racks the Scripture calls Ti^ecnt 4<^*? *£?* Iv'itfeictv n Srf- 
 wva ; i. e. * Lying or falfe Miracles, which are not really 
 wrought, but only made fo to appear by the juggle arid 
 delufion of Satan. 
 
 1 1. Thofe Cheats and Delufions of the Devil, where- 
 by he imitates the true and real Miracles of God, which 
 he cannot work, are only in tranfient Effects, like thofe 
 of Juglers upon a Stage, never in fuch as are lafting and 
 permanent. And where the Effect is totally tranfient, 
 God's Works are often fo far above the Devil's Imitati- 
 on, that even in thefe there will be ft i 1 1 a multitude of 
 Particulars, wherein he can have no Power, as much as 
 by Juggle or Delufion, to do any thing like unto them. 
 
 12. Whatfoever Signs or Wonders are wrought 
 by Magicians or Falfe Prophets, muft be referr'd 
 
 • aThefl". 2. ?, frl 
 
A Letter to th Deists, 161 
 
 to one of thefe two Heads ; that is. that they are either 
 the Devil's Works, or the Devil's Delufions : And the 
 Scriptures, which tell us of Magicians and Falfe Prophets 
 working fuch Signs and Wonders, do in many Places re- 
 fer them hereto. 
 
 13. Thofe Signs or Wonders which are really wrought 
 by the Devil and his Evil Spirits, are to be diftinguiih'd 
 from thofe which are wrought by the Power ot Angels or 
 Good Spirits, by thefe following Marks: 1. That Angels 
 or Good Spirits never work thofe Wonders, but in Subfervi- 
 ency to the Will of God, for the promoting of Truth and 
 Righteoufnefs ; but the Devil and his Evil Spirits only for 
 the promoting of Error and Wickednefs. 2. Angels or 
 Good Spirits, never co-operate in the Produ£tion of thofe 
 Wonders with any Prophet ox Teacher, but fuch only as, be- 
 ing fent o£God, are good and righteous Perfons; but the 
 Devil and his Evil Spirits only with fuch as, not being 
 fent otGod, are evil like themfelves. 3. Angels or Good 
 Spirits never exert their Power to Work thefe Wonders , 
 but in Things ferious and grave, whereby either the Good 
 of Men, or the Honour of God is promoted ; but the De- 
 vil and his Evil Spirits do it moftly in Things mifchievous 
 both to God's Honour and Man's Good, or elfe in fuch 
 trivial and foolifh Matters as are beneath God or hi3 
 Holy Angels to be concerned in. And by the fa me Marks 
 alfo may we diftinguiih God's Miracles fiom the Devil's 
 Juggles, and thofe wonderful Works which the Hand of 
 the Almighty really effected!, from thofe falfe Appear- 
 ances which the Devil makes in Imitation of them, to put 
 a Cheat and a Delulion upon us. Which Particulars be- 
 ing premis'd, the Anfwet to the foregoing Objections will 
 be as followeth. 
 
 1. We do acknowledge that abundance of very won- 
 derful Works may be effected by Powers lower than the 
 Divine, and that not only by Good Spirits, but aifo by 
 Evil. 
 
 2. That therefore fuch Works alone are never furftcient 
 Proof of a Divine Mijfton, unlefs corroborated by fuch 
 concurring Circumflances as prove them not to be from 
 Evil Spirits, but only from Good. 
 
 3. That where-ever fuch wonderful Works are done at 
 the Word of a wicked Man, or to a wicked Purpofe, 
 ( i* e. cither to influence to a wkkei Practice, or to give 
 
 M Credit 
 
i£2 A Letter to the Deists. 
 
 Credit to fome falfe Doctrine ) orelfe in fuch mean and 
 trivial Cafes as are beneath the Majcjiy of God or his 
 Miniftring Spirits to be concern'd in, there we may be 
 fure that ne that doth thofe Works, how much foever he 
 may pretend to a Divine Miffion, is only a Falfe Prophet', 
 and that it is not by the Power of God or his Good Spirits, 
 but only by the Power of theDevil and his wicked Spirits, 
 that they are wrought; and againft thofe Wonders is it, 
 and the Workers of them, that Adofes warneth the Jews, 
 and Jefus Chrift his Difciples, that they fhould be aware 
 of them. 
 
 4. Where they who work thofe Wonders are holy and 
 righteous Men, and do not teach any Doctrine contrary 
 to the certain Dictates of Natural Religion, or the Revela- 
 tions of God afore given us, and tire Wonders which they 
 work are in fuch ferious and grave Matters as are not un- 
 worthy of God or his Minijlring Spirits to be concern'd 
 in, there we have no Reafon to fufpecl: Satan's Power in 
 the effecting of them ; and therefore fuch Works may, 
 altho'not of themfelves alone, yet with thefe concurring 
 Circurnftances, be fufficient Proofs of the Truth of any 
 Doclrine which they give Teftimony unto. For although 
 they cannot be prov'd to be immediately from God, be- 
 caufe producible by inferiour Beings ; yet with thefe Cir- 
 cumftances accompanying them, they muft at leaft appear 
 to be the Works of his Mini/lring Spirits, who can bear 
 Teftimony to nothing but what is from God, whofe Will 
 they are in all Things fubfervient unto. 
 
 5. As fuch Works which the Devil and his evil Spirits 
 ean do, are not of felf-fufficient Proof to a. Divine Miffion, 
 fo neither are fuch which he can by Juggle or Delttfion 
 imitate ; becaufe Men may be deceiv'd by the one as well 
 as the other ; and therefore the fame concurring Circurn- 
 ftances are necefTary to thefe alfo, and by the fame Marks 
 are they to be try'd, whether they be of God or no. 
 
 6. But where the Works are fuch as no created Being can 
 either really produce, or by Juggle or Delufion imitate, 
 there thofe Works do of themfelves alone prove a Divine 
 Miffion, and give an authentick Seal of undeniable Truth 
 to every Doftrine thus reveal'd unto us. 
 
 7. Although therefore it fhould be allow'd, that fome 
 of the Miracles which Chrift and his Apofiles wrought, 
 might be producible by Powers lower than the Divine ; 
 
 yet 
 
A Letter to fk Deists, 16$ 
 
 yet fince they who did them were mod holy and righte- 
 ous Perfons, and did not teach any Doctrine contrary 
 either to the Dictates of Natural Religion, or the Revela- 
 tions of God afore given unto Men, and the Miracles 
 themfelves were not in fuch mean and trivial Cafes as are 
 related of Apollonitts Tyaneus, and others like him ; with 
 thefe Circumftances they fufficiently appear to be, if not 
 immediately from the Hand of God, yet at leaft from his 
 Miniflring Spirits, and their Works ; fince all done in 
 Subferviency to the Divine Will, do as thoroughly prove 
 a Divine Miffion, where- ever they evidently appear to be 
 theirs, as thofe of God himfelf. That Christ and his A- 
 poftles were moft holy and righteous Perfons, and taught 
 no Doctrine which was in the leaft contrary to the Di- 
 lates of Natural Religion, hath been afore fhown j and 
 how far their Miracles were from being in mean and tri- 
 vial Matters, the Works themfelves make evident : And 
 it is as certain, that no Doctrine of theirs ever contra- 
 dicted in the leaft any Divine Revelation afore given unto 
 Men. For Jefns drift and his Apojlles every where al- 
 low both the Law and the Prophets to be from God. Had 
 they taught any Thing which would have charg'd a 
 Falihond on either, they muft then indeed have been faid 
 to contradict Divine Revelations afore given, and would 
 thereby have fallen under that Character and Mark of 
 Falfe Prophets which I have above laid down ; but they 
 were fo far from this, that the Law and the Prophets were 
 the Ground-work which they founded all their Doctrines 
 upon. For the Law contain'd in Types and Shadows, and 
 the Prophets in their Prophecies and dark Sayings, what- 
 ever the Go/pel hath in Subftance and Reality fince clearly 
 deliver'd unto us; and laid down all that in the firj? Ru- 
 diments, which Chrifi and his Apojiles afterwards built up 
 into Perfection, in that Holy Religion w|jich they have 
 given unto us. And therefore, although the G of pel hath 
 abolifh'd the Law, it was not by contradicting or con- 
 demning it, but by perfecting and fulfilling it in that 
 Manner as all the Prophets forelhow'd that it fhould. 
 
 8- But the Miracles of Jefm Chrifi and his Apoftles t 
 were moft of them undeniably fuch as could not be pro- 
 duct but by the immediate Hand of God himfelf, as ne- 
 eefiarily requiring the Creating Power to effect them ; and 
 alfo of that Permanency, as allow'd no Room for Juggle 
 M 2 ot 
 
1^4 A Letter t0 x ^ e Deists. 
 
 or Delufion to take Place in them. For what other Power 
 but that of the Almighty could raife a Man, who had 
 been four Days dead, again to Life ? Or what other 
 Hand, but that of the Creator himfllf, could make him 
 fee, who had been without the natural Organs of Sight 
 from his very Birth ? Or what but the fame Power which 
 firft formed Man of the Duft of the Earth, could reftorc 
 him, in fo many Inftances as our Saviour and his Apoflles 
 did, to Health and Perfection, when the very Parts and 
 VefTels neceffary thereto, were thoroughly perifh'd ; and 
 in fo miraculous a Manner, with a Word of their Mouth, 
 bring back total Privations again to their former Habits? 
 Or what Craft of Satan can reach as much as to an Imi- 
 tation of fuch wonderful Works as thefe, which left be- 
 hind them, for many Years after, EfTeas of Ming Per- 
 manency in the Perfons cured, not only to be Monuments 
 of the Things done, but alfo undeniable Evidences of the 
 Truth and Reality of them ? It would be too long to go 
 over all the Miracles of this Nature, which Chri[} and his 
 Holy Apoftles did for the Confirmation of thofe Holy 
 Truths which they taught. Thefe already mention'd, are 
 fnfficient to lhew, that fome of their Miracles at leaft were 
 fuch as are above the Powers of all created Beings either 
 to efTecl or imitate ; and therefore thefe certainly mull be 
 allow'd to be from God alone, without Poffibility of lm- 
 po/iure, Deceit, or Delufion in them ; and in that they are 
 fo, they muft ncceffarily prove the Miffion of them, at 
 whofe Words they were done, to be from him alfo, and 
 confequently become a Witnefs to the Truth of every 
 Doctrine deliver'd by them, as firm, certain, and infalli- 
 ble as the Veracity of God himfelf, which can never err 
 or deceive for ever. And fo much of the fifth Mark of 
 Impoftftre. 
 
 SECT. VI. 
 
 VI. No lmpofture> when entrufted with many ConfpirA- 
 tors, can be long conceal'd. For what Plot or Conspiracy 
 have we ever known or heard of, which hath been thus- 
 manag'd, and had not had fome falfe Brother or other to 
 difcover it ; efpecially if there be any great Wickednefs 
 intended by it, or any great Danger attending the Execu- 
 tion of it ( as moftly is in fuch Teligns. ) For, then if the 
 
 Thing 
 
A Letter to the Deists. 16$ 
 
 Tiling it felf doth not work the Confcience into an Ab- 
 horrence, the Fear of the Confequence may at leaft deter 
 from it ; and it feldom fails but one of thefe two, in all 
 fuch Cafes, drives fome or other into aDifcovery; and in 
 this Age of Plots we have Inftances enough hereof. And 
 what Plot can be more wicked, than to impofe a falfe 
 Religion upon Mankind ? And what can be more dange- 
 rous than to attempt it? What hath been already faid, 
 fufliciently proves both thefe Particulars ; and therefore, 
 if the firft planting of Christianity were fuch a Plot, cer- 
 tainly .one of thefe two, that is, either the Wickednefs, 
 or the Danger, would have wrought fome or other into a 
 Difcovery of it. For they were not a few that were ad- 
 mitted thereinto. They were at leaft (*) five hundred 
 that were in that, which you mull call the greateft. Secret 
 of it ; I mean the Refurretlion of our Saviour from the 
 dead • For that is the main Article of our Holy Chriflian 
 Religion 5 the Truth of which proves all the reft, and 
 without which all the reft muft have fallen to the Ground, 
 and our whole Faith become (f) vain. And therefore had 
 but any one of thefe five hundred, who are aiTerted to have 
 been the Witneifcs of it, difcover'd the Thing to have 
 been only a Con/piracy of lmpoflure between them this 
 Difcovery muft have laid open the whole Defign, and put 
 a total Hi id thereto. And were not the Thing certainly 
 true whi:h they attefted, it is fcarce to be conceived but 
 that fome or other of them muft have done fo. Among 
 the Twelve Apoftles one was found a Iraytor to his Affrj 
 and how much more then may we expea that there mould 
 have been one fuch among five hundred i And efpscialJy 
 in a Cafe where all ou^ht to have been fo ; that is to 
 difcovcr a Plot againft the Souls of all Mankind, and de- 
 liver the World from being impos'd on thereby. Among 
 fo many it fcarce happens, but fome or other prove falfe 
 to the beft Caufe • and how hard is it then to conceive, 
 that in fuch a Number none mould be found to betray the 
 worft > And can we call it any other than the worft, if it 
 be fuch an Impojime as you would have it to be? Were 
 Ghriliianity really luch, and this Doftrine iof the Refurre- 
 Bion 'of our Saviour totally the Forgery of thofe who at- 
 tested it, fo many as five hundred could never have all 
 M 3 F c 
 
 (*) i Cor. 15. 6. (t) i Cor. iy. 17 
 
166 A Letter to ^Deists! 
 
 kept the Secret; or if they ihould, out of Love to their 
 own Invention, or any Self-ends which they might have 
 therein, be inclin'd fo to do • yet Punifhment, Pain, and 
 Torture, ufe to extort the moft hidden Devices, and make 
 the moft obftinate Offenders, the clofeft Designers, and 
 the moft referv'd Plotters of Mifchief, to come to a Con- 
 feflion. And what Funiihments, what Pains, what Tor- 
 tures did thofe firft WiUieffes of this main and fundamen- 
 ral Article of our Faith go through for the Sake of that 
 Teftimony which they did bear thereto? And yet did any 
 one of them ever flinrh from it ? Did any one of them 
 ever retract what he had attefted concerning it ? Prove 
 but this, and then you will fay fomething to make out 
 the Charge which you lay againft it. But they were fo 
 far herefrom, that they all perfifted in it to fhe laft ; and 
 not only fo, but were every one of them ready to fhed 
 their Blood for a Witnefs to the Truth of what they af- 
 ferted, and a great many of them actually did fo; and all 
 the Terrors, Threats, and Tortures of their Perfecutors 
 were not able to deter them there-from. And what greater 
 Evidence then can there be given to any Truth in the 
 World, which depends upon Matter of Fad, than that 
 which Ckrifiianity hath from the Teftimony of thofe Men 
 in fo great a Number and fuch a Manner bearing Wit- 
 nefs thereto ? 
 
 SECT, vn. 
 
 VII. The laft Mark of an Impofiure is, That it can ne- 
 ver be eftablim'd without Force and Violence. For if it 
 hath wicked Men for its Authors, worldly Intereft for its 
 End, Falfity and Error for its Doctrines, and receives its 
 Rife from the Craft and Fraud of its firft Promoters, as 
 I have already ihown, the Search of the Inquilltive will 
 foon find it out, and Mankind will not long bear the lm- 
 pofture, unlefs they be over-rul'd by Violence, and have 
 all Obje&ions againft it filene'd with the Sword at their 
 Throats. This was the Method which Mahomet took to 
 eftabliih that Faife Religion which he invented. For he 
 profecuted with War all that would not fubmit thereto, 
 and made it no Jefs than Death for any to gainfay it, or 
 fo much as raife the leaft Difpute againft any of the Do- 
 ctrines of it. And without his doing this, the Reafon 
 
 of 
 
A Letter to the Deists. 167 
 
 of all Mankind muft have appear'd againft it, and it could 
 never have flood. And the Romanifts have learnt from 
 him to take the fame Courfe, as to thofe Do£lrines of Im- 
 posture which they have fuperadded to the Ckrislun Reli- 
 gion. For they declare all thofe to be Htreticks, and pro- 
 fecute them with Sword, Fire and Faggot, that refufe to 
 receive them ; and thus, by the Power of their Dragoons, 
 and their Inquisitions, they have eftablifb'd and ftill kept 
 up thofe grofs Errors in their Church, which neither Rea- 
 fon nor Religion can ever fupport; and the fame muft be 
 done as to all other Falfities impos'd on Mankind, before 
 they can have any firm Footing among them. For it is 
 only Force and Violence that can cram fuch Things down 
 Men's Throats, which their Reafon and their Judgment 
 muft ever renounce. The unthinking Multitude may for 
 a whife be carry 'd away by the Craft of the Impostor, 
 and by the Arts of Hypocrify and Delu/ion be made ea(y 
 to fwallow any Forgery that fhall be offer d unto them ; 
 but when the Heat of the firft Zeal is over, and the Mat- 
 ter comes to be examin'd into by Reafon, and cooly 
 fcann'd through by the Inquifitive, Impofture cannot ftand 
 the Teft, but muft foon be laid open, blafted, and explo- 
 ded thereupon. And therefore, unlefs it be accompany'd 
 with Force to fupprefs this Enquiry, and hath Power on 
 its Side to compel Men to acquiefce therein, how much 
 foever it may delude Men at firft, it can never obtain any 
 lafting Eftablifhment among them. And this hath been the 
 Cafe of all the Impojiors which have ever yet appear'd in 
 the World, without this Power to back them ,• and how 
 great Progrefs foever any of them may have made in the 
 firft Heat, they have all at length been dete&ed, and ex- 
 ploded, and funk to nothing, for want of his Support on 
 their Side to keep them up. For nothing but Truth can 
 of it felf alone ftand the Teft of Ages upon its own Bot- 
 tom only. Falihood and Error are too weak for fuch a 
 Tryal, and therefore unlefs fupported by fome external 
 Strength, and fenced thereby againft all Aifaults of Oppo- 
 fers, they muft neceflarily fall to the Ground, and again 
 come to nothing ; and where Education, or the Force of 
 long-receiv'd Cuftom, is not ftrong enough for this, (and 
 neither can in the firft propagating of an Impofture) there 
 the Sword muft come in to over-rule all, or nothing of 
 this Nature can be eftabliih'd among Men, But Jtfnt 
 U 4 Qrif 
 
1 68 A Letter to tie D e i s t s. 
 
 Chritt and his ^peflles, inftead of making Ufe of any 
 fuch Force to eftablifh the Religion which they taught, 
 had all the Force and Powers of the World in Oppcfition 
 againft it, and yet in Spight of the World, it at length 
 prevail'd over the World by the Dint of its own Truth 
 only ; and after having flood the Aflault of all Manner of 
 Perfections, as well as other Oppositions, for three hun- 
 dred Years together, carry'd the Vi&ory over the fierccft 
 of its Enemies, and made the greater! of them, even the 
 Roman Emperors themfelves, to fubmit thereto; and all 
 this while it had fharpen'd againft it, not only the Sword 
 of the fuperior Powers, but alfo the Tongues of the 
 Slanderers, and the Wits of all the Learned of thofe 
 Times. But how much foever it was opprefs'd by the firft 
 of thefe, blacken'd by the fecond, and lifted and fearch'd 
 into by the laft, it flood all thefe Tryals without lofing 
 any Thing thereby, but at laft came out of them all, like 
 Gold out of the Furnace, ftill of the fame "Weight, 
 Finenefs, and Purity, without receiving from that Fire 
 which confumeth all Things elfe, the leaft Wafte or Di- 
 minution thereof. Had it been falfe, and ow'd it's Ori- 
 ginal only to Deceit and Impofinre, it would have needed 
 all thofe Means of Violence for its Eflabliihment and 
 Support ; but ilice it thus flood, not only with them, 
 but alfo in Spight of them ; when all arm'd on the Adver- 
 faries Side for three Centuries together, in bitter Oppofi- 
 tion againft it, what greater Argument can we have for 
 the Truth thereof? For can you think that Fdfoood and 
 Impoflure could ever have held out with fuch fttady and 
 unlhaken Conftancy for fo many Years, as Chriftianity 
 thus did ? Or that it is pofiible for any Sort of Mm fo 
 Jong to have born all this for the fake of a Lye * Falfhood 
 can have no Founda;ion for fuch a Conftancy, or lrn- 
 pofcure any Reafon to engage Men thereto. The Intereft 
 of this World is ever the Bottom and Fount! ation of all 
 fuch Forgeries ; and therefore, as fbon as Punifhmcnts and 
 Perfections make it to be no Man's Intereft to be for 
 them, they ever fall of themfelves, for want of that Foun- 
 dation on which they afore flood. But Cbriftianity having 
 come into the World contrary to all the Interefts of it, 
 and in it's very Infancy thus flood the Shock of all the 
 powers thereof engag'd id Perfecntion againft it, as I 
 have mention'd j and not only fo, bat alfo profper'd and 
 
 became 
 
A Letter to the Deists. 169 
 
 became cftablifh'd in the midft of the hotteft AflTaults 
 thereof, this plainly iriows that it had another kind of 
 Foundation on which it was built, a Foundation of 
 Truth and Righteoufnefs, and not only fo, but a Founda- 
 tion that was laid and fix'd in fuch a Manner by the Hand 
 of God himfelf, as never to be fhakcn. For what Truth 
 of it felf alone could ever have made its Way into the 
 World in fuch a Manner as the Christian Religion did, or 
 ever have gain'd, againft all the Powers thereof, fuch a 
 Prevalency over it, without fome extraordinary Affiftance, 
 conducting and helping it therein ? The ftrongeft Truths 
 we know are crufh'd by fuch Means of Violence as that 
 encounter'd with, and even firft Principles themfelves 
 have been overpower'd by them. And therefore that 
 Chriftittnity ihould thus enter the World, and thus from 
 its firft Entry bear up againft fuch long and terrible Tryals 
 of Perfecution andOppreffion as it met with, without the 
 lea ft flinching under them, muft be owing to fomewhat 
 more than its own bare Truth. And what but the Hand 
 of God himfelf backing and ftrengthening it in the Con- 
 flict, could be fufficient to give it fuch a Victory therein : 
 For that a few poor Fifbermen, the Difciples of a Crucified 
 Maftcr, Ihould, without Power, Learning, or Reputation, 
 or any other of the Interefts or Favours of the World on 
 their Side, be able to introduce a new Religion into the 
 World directly oppofite to all the Interefts, Pleafures and 
 prevailing Humours of it, as ChrifcUnity then was ; and 
 that this Religion, in Spight of all the Powers, Cunning, 
 Malice, and Learning of the World joyo'd together in 
 moft fierce Opposition, and bitter Perfecution againft it 
 for three hundred Years together, ihould not only bear 
 up, butalfo at length prevail over the World, and fubje£t 
 the higheft Powers therein to the Obedience of its Laws, 
 is an Event fo ftrange and wonderful, and, morally fpeak- 
 ing, fo far above the Poffibility of all ordinary Means to 
 bring it to pifs, as plainly manifefteth the extraordinary 
 Working of God himfelf therein. And for my Part, had 
 the Chrijtian Religion no other Miracle to bear Witnefs 
 thereto, this alone would be a Miracle enough to me, 
 fufficiently to convince me of the Truth thereof. At leaft, 
 fince it thus enter'd into the World, and thus became 
 eftablifh'd in it, it muft be allow'd to be fo far differing 
 from an Jfxpojhrt in that Method of Violence which that 
 *• - • - needs 
 
170 A Letter to tie Deists. 
 
 needs for its Eftabliihment, as to be totally oppofite there- 
 to, and in this Particular ( as I hope I have ihown of all 
 the reft) not to have the leaft Mark or Chara£ter 
 thereof. 
 
 And thus far having laid before you all the obvious 
 Marks of lmpo(lttre y and prov'd that none of them can 
 belong to Chriftianity, I hope what hath been faid will 
 fufficiently infer the Conclusion, which 1 have undertaken 
 to make out unto you, that our Holy Chriftian Religion 
 cannot be fuch an Impofture as you would have it to be, 
 but really is that Sacred Truth of God y which you are 
 all bound to believe. 
 
 It is too common with Mankind to frame their judg- 
 ments according to their Inclinations, and upon very 
 flight Grounds haftily to run away with Ideas of Things, 
 ■when they correfpond with the prevailing Bent of their 
 Affe&ions, which, whenever put into a true Light before 
 them, mull all appear to be falfe and wrong taken. And 
 this I reckon to be your Cafe. Your Inclinations ftrong- 
 ly leading you into Infidelity, you would fain have Chri- 
 ftianity be an Impofture, and therefore have over-eafily 
 and haftily been induc'd on very weak Grounds to believe 
 it fo to be. And that you may be undeceiv'd in fo dan- 
 gerous and deftruclive an Error, I have endeavour 'd in 
 the eaileft and moft familiar Manner I could think of, to 
 put this Bufinefs into a true Light before you. 1. By 
 letting you fee what an Impoftttre is, in that true Pi&ure 
 which I have drawn of it, in the Light of him who was 
 really and truly fuch an lmpojtor as you would have Je- 
 Jm thrift to be. And, 2. By examining into the Marks 
 and Properties which naturally belong to every fuch lm- 
 pofture, and fhowing of each of them that they cannot 
 belong to that Holy Religion which we profefs. And I 
 hope, when you have coniider'd all this thoroughly, you 
 will fee how much you have been deceived in thofe Opi- 
 nions which you .have fo precipitately given up your 
 felves unto. 
 
 You cannot but be fenlible how great the Strefs is 
 which we lay on this Matter, and how very ill your Cafe 
 muft be, if we are in the right, and you in the wrong ; 
 and therefore the Thing is of fufficient Importance to de- 
 ferve your moft ferious Confideratioh, and that in fuch a 
 Manner as to make you lay afide all thofe groundlefs 
 2 Pre- 
 
 
A Letter to the Deists. 171 
 
 Prejudices and wrong Byafles which may obflru£t an im- 
 partial Inquiry ; and if you will be pleas'd, for the fake 
 of your own Souls, to do thus much, I am content to leave 
 the Succefs of what I now offer unto you, to God's Grace, 
 and your own Judgments. 
 
 As to the particular Rcafons which you may alledge for 
 your Disbelief of our Holy Cbriftiau Religion, whether 
 they be Objections drawn a<ainft it, either from Hiftory, 
 Philofopky, or the Inconfijencies which you imagine you 
 find in the Books of Holy Writ, in which it is deliverM 
 down unto us, it is not my i urpofe now to enter into 
 any Difputes with you about them. That which I at 
 prefent purpofe, is not fo much to confider thole Premffes, 
 as the Conclufim which you pretend to draw herefrom; 
 That Ckriftianity mud therefore be an Irxpofture ; 
 and from the Nature of fuch an Impofture, and the 
 Nature of our Holy Chriftian Religion laid in a true 
 Light, and compar'd together with each other, to evi- 
 dence unto you the Inconfiftency of this Charge. And if 
 what I have now faid can be ot any Force to let you into 
 a clear Sight of this Matter, it will be totally needlefs 
 for me to meddle any further. For all thofe Objections 
 which you pretend to have been the particular Reafons 
 of your Infidelity, have been already abundantly anfwer'd 
 and confuted by others. But the Opinion which you 
 have conceited, that Ckriftianity is an Impofture, having 
 fo far prepoflfefs'd your Judgment, as to influence it a- 
 gainft all Things of this Nature that can be propos'd unto 
 you, it will be in vain to offer any Thing farther as to 
 thofe Particulars, till this Prejudice be remov'd; and were 
 it once remov'd, what hath already been faid in Anfwer 
 to them, will be abundantly fufficient to give you full 
 Satisfaction. Although this Method may feem illogical, 
 thus to afftult the Conclufion without medling with the 
 Premiers from which you pretend to have dedue'd it ; 
 yet it is no other than what you your felves have necefli- 
 tated me unto, by taking up the Conclufim firft, and the 
 Premises afterward. Had you indeed firft began with 
 thofe Reafons which you offer for your Infidelity, and 
 been really, by the Convi&ion of them led into this Con- 
 chfion, That Chriftianity is an Impofture, it would then 
 have been proper and fitting that 1 mould have begun 
 there too, and no otherwife have endeavour'd to over- 
 throw the Qonchftm-, but by firft overthrowing the Pre- 
 mises 
 
372 'A Letter to the Deists. 
 
 miffes from whence you deduc'd it. But fince it is well 
 known that the Cmchfion hath been of greater Force with 
 the moft of you, to make you affent to the Premises, 
 than the Premises to prove the Conclufion ; and it is only 
 the fond Conceit you have taken up in Compliance with 
 311 Company, cr worfe Inclinations, that Ckriftianky muft 
 Jbe an Impofture, that hath made many of thofe Argu- 
 ments feem fo conclufive with you, which are brought 
 to prove it ; this makes it neceflary for me to begin my 
 Endeavours for your Conviction, at that fame Point 
 where you firft began your Infidelity, and to attack the 
 Conclufion in the firft Place, before any Succefs can be 
 expected towards the fetting you right as to any Thing 
 elfe. For as long as you are wilfully bent, out of a mecr 
 Fondnefs for Infidelity, to hold Cbriftianity to be an lm- 
 •pojturc, this will make every Argument feem ftrong to 
 you that is brought to prove it, and every Solution inef- 
 ficient which is given thereto, and render all Means for 
 your Conviflion utterly ineffectual unto you. And there- 
 fore this being in Truth the firft Error which hath influ- 
 ene'd your Mind to all the reft, this muft be firft remov'd ; 
 and if what I have faid can be of any Force in order 
 thereto, by letting you fee how much you have been 
 miftaken herein, this I hope will remove that Prejudice 
 which hath hinder'd you from feeing the Strength of 
 thofe Arguments which have been already offer'd for your 
 Conviftion, as to all other Particulars of that Infidelity 
 which you have given up your fclves unto, and make you 
 clearly difcern how much you have been miftaken in them 
 alfo, and thereby become the Means of delivering your 
 Souls from that terrible Danger which you expofe them 
 unto ; the accomplishing of which is the whole End, 
 Scope, and Deiign of this Difcourfe which I now offer 
 unto you. 
 
 But here perchance it may be ask'd, and I think it 
 reafonable to give you Satisfaction herein, Why I have 
 fet forth unto you an Impnfture by fo foul a Pi&ure as 
 that of Mahomet ?' And to this I have thefe two Anfwefs 
 to return. 1. Becaufe I have none other to doit by' 
 Mahomet being the only Impoftor who could ever prevail 
 fo far as to eftablifh his Impoftnre, and make it a ftand- 
 ing Religion in the World ; and had it not gone fo far, 
 it could not have been fuch an Impofwre as you would 
 
 have 
 
 
A Letter to ifa D e i s t s. i j| 
 
 have Chrlftianity to be, or at all fit to be compar'd with 
 it in the Argument now before us. And, 2dly, How 
 foul foever the Picture of Mahomet may be, we have no 
 Reafon, from the Nature of the Thing, ever to imagine 
 that any other Impoftor can have a fairer, 'till you bring 
 us an Inftance therof. And thefe two I hope may be 
 fufficient to clear me from afling any Way unfairly in 
 this Matter, as if I had made Choice of the Life of fo 
 wicked a Perfon as Mahomet, therein to piflure out an 
 Jmpofture unto you , only to make it appear in the foulefr, 
 Drefs it is capable of, the better to advantage thereby 
 that Caufe which I handle. 
 
 But to the firft of thefe Anfwers, I forefee this Obje- 
 ction will be made: If Mahomet be the only Impoftor 
 that ever eftabliih'd his Impoftttre in the World, how then 
 hath it come to pafs, that there have been fo many falfe 
 Religions among Mankind ? To which I reply, Not by 
 lmpojtttre, fuch as Mahomet's was, and fuch as Chriftia- 
 nity muft be, if it be fuch an Impofmre as your Charge 
 againft it fuppofeth, but by Corruptions infenfibly grow- 
 ing on from that Religion which was firft true. The firft 
 Religion which God gave unto Man, was that natural 
 Religion which he imprinted on his very Nature, when 
 he firft created him ; and as much of that as efcap'd that 
 Ruin with which the Fall overwhelmed him, was that 
 whereby God was worlhipped and ferved by him after- 
 wards ; only with this Addition, that whereas Man in 
 his Innocency addrefs'd himfelf to God immediately of 
 himfelf alone, and in his own Name, he could never af- 
 ter his Fall from it, have any more Accefs unto him, but 
 through a Mediator ; God's infinite Purity and Greatnefs 
 on the one Hand, and Man's infinite Guilt and Vilenefs 
 on the other, after that fatal Mifcarriage of our firft Pa- 
 rents, did put them at fo vaft a Diftance the one from 
 the other, that in the Nature of the Thing there could 
 be no other Way thenceforth of maintaining any Com- 
 munion between them; and therefore had not this Way 
 been found out again to bring Man to God, he muft to- 
 tally have been eftrang'd from him for ever after. But 
 God of his infinite Mercy having refolv'd not thus to 
 caft us off, he appointed us a Mediator as foon as we had 
 fallen, and promised to fend him in his appointed Time 
 to take our Nature upon him, and therein pay down 
 I th >4 t 
 
174 -A Letter to the Deists. 
 
 that Price of Redemption for us ; by Virtue whereof his 
 Mediation ihould always be fufficient to obtain Mercy, 
 and Pardon, and Acceptance for us. And this is that 
 which was meant by God's promifing immediately after 
 the Fall, that the Seed of the Woman Jhould break the Ser- 
 pent's Head i which being farther explained by After-Re- 
 velations, the whole Religion of God's People after that, 
 was to offer up their Worlhip unto him through Hope in 
 this Mediator', and all the Idolatry, Polytheifm 9 and other 
 falfe Worfhips, which after arofe in the Heathen World, 
 were all by fuch corrupt Deviations therefrom, as the 
 SuperfHtioas of Men, the unfaithful Way of tranfmitting 
 Divine Revelations by Tradition only, and the Decay of 
 all Divine Knowledge occafion'd thereby, in Procefs of 
 Time introdue'd among them. For when Mankind began 
 to increafe after the Flood, and they were taught from 
 JNoah their Fore-father thus to worlhip God through hope 
 in a Mediator, as the Knowledge of thofe Divine Truths 
 which he deliver'd to them began to decay, and Super - 
 ftition to increafe among them, they began to determine 
 themfelves to fuch Mediators as their own Imaginations 
 led them to fancy, and fome chofe An gels ; and others 
 Men deceafed, for this Office, and in Procefs of Time 
 erc£ted Temples and Images unto them, and honour'd 
 them with Divine Worlhip, in order to render them the 
 more helpful and beneficent unto them. The Babylonians 
 or Chaldeans, who were the firft form'd State after the 
 Flood, lookM on Angels to have been the Mediators God 
 had appointed, through whom they were to come unto 
 him j and for this Reafon directed their Worlhip to the 
 Sun, and Moon, and the reft of the Planets, which they 
 fancy 'd to be the Habitations (a) where thofe Angels 
 dwei It ; and alfo creeled Images unto them, into which 
 
 they 
 
 (a) Hence Arijiotle feems to have had his Do£lrine of the 
 Intelligences moving the Spheres ; and Plato that which he 
 caught of the Stars being living Bodies. For it was the Opi- 
 nion of the ancient Chaldeans, as it is of the Sabii now, who 
 are defcended from them, That there was in each Star an An- 
 gel in the fame Manner as our Souls are in our Bodies, and that 
 the Stars are animated by thefe Angels, and hence have all 
 their Motion, and alfo that Influence which they are flippos'd 
 to have over this World, and for this Reafon was it that the/ 
 worlhtpped them. 
 
A Letter to the Deists. 17? 
 
 they reckon'd their Influence and Divine Power did de- 
 fcend and remain with them, when thofe Luminaries 
 themfelves were fet and difappear'd in their Horizon ; fo 
 that their Notion was to make their Addrefles through 
 the Images to the Planets, and through the Planets to the 
 Angels that dwelt in them, and through the Angels to 
 God himfelf, whom they acknowledg'd to be the One 
 Supreme Being, who was the Creator and Governor of all 
 Things. And this was the firft Idolatrous Religion which 
 was eftablifli'd in the World, and long prevaiTd over a 
 great Part of it, and is ftill preferv'd in the Eajt among 
 the Seft of the Sabians even to this Day. But the Per [tans 
 not liking the Worfhip of the Planets by Images, would 
 endure no other Symbol to reprefent thofe glorious Lumi- 
 naries by, but Fire only, of which they reckon'd them 
 to be conftituted ; and therefore where-ever they prevail'd, 
 they deftroy'd all Images out of the Temples, and plac'd 
 Fire in their ftead ; and from hence the Magi or the 
 Wor/hippers of Fire had their Original. But from their 
 having one Symbol, they fpeedily came to the afferting 
 but of one Deity reprefented by it, which they would have 
 to be Light, and that of the Mixture of this and Darinefs, 
 all Things in this World were compounded j that Light 
 was the Caufe or Principle of all Good, and Darkaefs the 
 Caufe or Principle of all Evil ; and therefore under the 
 Symbol of Fire they worfhipp'd Light as their God, but 
 detefted Darknefs in the fame Manner as we do the Devil. 
 And from hence Manes the Heretick had his two Princi- 
 ples, which he would have introdue'd into the Christian 
 Religion. But above both thefe they acknowledg'd 2 
 Supreme God, in Refpe£t of whom their God Light was 
 but an inferiour Deity, or a God Mediator, by whom 
 they were to have Accefs unto him. And this Religion 
 pbtain'd through all Perfia, and other Parts on the Eaft 
 of it, and doth there remain even unto this Day among 
 the Perfees in India, and the Inhabitants of the Province 
 ofKerman, on the Southern Coajt of Perfia. But the Pra- 
 ctice of the Babylonians or Chaldeans in worfhipping their 
 Gods Mediators by Images, obtain'd in all the Weftern 
 Parts of the World. For they holding, that they were 
 to have Accefs to God thro' Angels as their Mediators, 
 and to the Angels through the Planets, and to the Planets 
 through the Images which they ere£ted to them, did give 
 
 to 
 
176 A letter to the Deists. 
 
 to thofc Images the Names of the Planets, and under thofe 
 Names paid Divine Woifhip unto them ; which Idolatry 
 pafiing from Babylon or Chaldea into Arabia, and from 
 thence to the Egyptians and Ph&nicians, was by them car- 
 ry 'd into Greece, and from thence fpread it felf into all 
 Parts on this Weftern Side of the World, as that of the 
 Magi did on the Eastern. For the chief Gods of the 
 Greeks, as well as the Names by which they were call'd, 
 came from the Egyptians and Phoenicians, and were no 
 more than the Images by which the Babylonians worship- 
 ped the Sun, Moon, and other Planets, with the Names 
 of thofe Planets given unto them. Afterward indeed they 
 added to their Number other Deities alfo, which were 
 originally either fome of the fix'd Stars, or elfe the Souls 
 of Men departed, as of Bel or Be Itu among the Babylonians^ 
 Abraham and Jfmael among the Arabians, Orm and O fir is 
 among the Egyptians, zAEfculapius and Hercules among 
 the Greeks, and Romulm or Quirintis among the Romans, 
 For it early began a Cuftom among all the Worlhippers 
 of Images, as well Greeks as Barbarians, to Deify Men 
 departed; reckoning thofe who liv'd juftly and righteoufly, 
 or had made themfelves eminent by any great and worthy 
 Actions in this Life, to have thofe Habitations allotted 
 them in the Heavens above, where they were in a Capa- 
 city to be Mediators to God for them; and therefore they 
 offer'd Divine Worfhip to them as fuch. And this was 
 it that gave Occaiion to fo many Apotheojes's or Deifica- 
 tions among them, and fo vaftly encreas'd the Number of 
 their Gods in all the Idolatrous Parts of the Worlds and al- 
 fo the various Methods of Superftition, whereby they paid 
 their Worihip unto them. Yet they all flill held to their 
 Notion of One Sttpreme God, and reckon'd all the others 
 to be no more than God's Mediators under him. And 
 this One God, whom they held to be made of none, and 
 to be the Maker or Father of all things elfe that are, was 
 among the Chaldeans of old ( as ftill among the Sabians, 
 who are the Remainder of them ) call'd Deus Deorum, 
 and among the Arabs, Allah Taal, i. e. the High or Su- 
 preme God ; and agreeable hereto, among the Greehs, was 
 there alfo their cr»'Sj$> avSpwv ts ^soT v ts i. e. One Supreme 
 God, who was the Father both of Gods and Men. And thus 
 far in Anfwer to your Queftion, have I given you an 
 Account how all the FalJ'e Religions in the Heathen H orid 
 
 had 
 
A Letter to the Deists. 177 
 
 had their Original ; and herein I have been the longer, 
 for the fake of two Reflexions which are obvious for you 
 to make hereon. 
 
 1 ft. That the Notion of a Mediator between God and 
 Man, was that which did run through all the Religions 
 that ever were in the World, to the coming of Jeffs* 
 Chrijt, and was the fundamental Principle which pre- 
 vail d in every one of them, as to all the Worfhip which 
 was pra&is'd in them, which could no otherwife become 
 fo univerfal among Mankind, but by a Tradition as uni- 
 verfally deliver'd unto them. And what can better ac- 
 count both for this Tradition, and alfo the Univcrfality of 
 it, than what is deliver'd unto us in Scripture, of our 
 being defcended from one common Parent, who on his 
 Falffrom the Favour of God, having had this Promife of 
 a Mediator made unto him, thro* whom we mi^ht be 
 again reconcil'd unto him, tranfmitted it to all his Po- 
 fterity. 
 
 2dly, That the Miftakes and Errors about the Wor- 
 fhip of God, and the Service we owe unto him, which 
 Men are apt to run into, when left to the Conduit of 
 their own Light only, are monftrous and endJefs, and 
 therefore evidently demonftrate the Neceflity of Divine 
 Revelations. For if God doth expeft from us an Account 
 of our Anions, it is neceflary he fhould give us a Law 
 for the Rule of them ; and if the Law of our Reafon 
 alone be infufficient for this ( as- from the continual Er- 
 rors and endlefs Abfurdities which Mankind, when left 
 to themfelves, have ever hitherto run into, it doth evi- 
 dently appear that it is : ) This demonftrably proves the 
 Neceflity of another to fupply its Defe£t, and that in our 
 Cafe we muft have a Revealed Religion as well as a iW 
 turaly or elfe we can have no certain Knowledge of the 
 Will of God, or any of thofe Duties of Worlhip and 
 Service which we are to perform towards him. And if 
 this proves the Neceflity of fuch a Rtvealed Religion ( as 
 I think it undeniably muft, to every one that beJieveg 
 God will account with us for what we do;) all that I 
 have farther to offer, is, That you would thoroughly 
 examine and confider that Holy Christian Religion which 
 we profefs, and compare it with all the other Religions 
 that are in the World ; and if it does not appear vaflly 
 above them all, the worthieft of God for hiffl to give 
 
 ■ * ■ ..... 
 
178 A Letter to the Deists. 
 
 unto us, and the worthier! of us to oblerve, and that not 
 only in Refpe6t of the Honour given to him, but alfo of 
 the Improvement and Perfection brought to our own 
 Nature thereby, I will be content that you fhall then 
 perfift to believe it an Impofture, and, as fuch, reject it 
 for ever. 
 
 Humphrey Prideaux. 
 
 A N 
 
'7? 
 
 A N 
 
 ACCOUNT 
 
 O F T H E 
 
 AUTHORS 
 
 Quoted in this Book. 
 
 Arabic Authors. 
 
 Bui Faragkim, a Phyfician of /Malaria in 
 Lejfer Armenia, of the Cbriftian Religion. 
 and of the Sell of ti e Jacobites. He is 
 an Author of eminent Note in the Easl^ 
 as well among Mahometans as Chrijtians. 
 His Hjftory of the Dynamics is from the 
 Creation of the World to the Year of our 
 Lord 1284. It was publiih'd at Oxford with a. Lit in 
 Verfvm by Dr. Poach, A. D. 1663. He flpurifli'd about 
 the Time where his . Hijlorx eivds. His Name at length is 
 
 Crcgoriits Ebn Hacim Abul Faragli. 
 
 N 2 
 
 AUl 
 
1 80 An Account of the Authors ' 
 
 Abul Feda, an Author of great Repute in the Eaft for 
 two Books xvhich he wrote : The firft, a general Geography 
 of the World, after the Method of Ptoler, • ; and the other, 
 a general Hiftory, which he calls the E\ itome of the Hiftory 
 cf Nations. He was born A. D. 127 . He finifh'd his 
 Geography A. D. 132T t Twenty Years after that he was 
 advanc'd to the Principality of Hamah in Syria, from 
 whence he is commonly call'd Shahab Hamah, i.e. Prince 
 of HxniAh, where after having reign'd three Years, two 
 Months, and thirteen Days, he dy'd A. D. 1345. being 
 feventy two Years old. He was by Nation a Turk, of 
 the Noble Family of the Jobid<e, of which was Saladin the 
 famous Sultan of Egypt. His Name at Length is ljmael 
 Ebn All Al Melee al Moaiyad Amaddodin Abttl Feda. 
 Ecchelenfis quotes him by the Name of Jfmael Shiahin- 
 fhiah. 
 
 Abunaz,ar y a Legendary Writer of the Mahometans, 
 much quoted by Hottinger. 
 
 Agar, a Book of great Authority among the Mahome- 
 tans, faith Guadagnol (pag. 165.) wherein an Account is 
 given of the Life and Death of Mahomet. Joannes An- 
 dreas makes great Ufe of it under the Name of Azaer, as 
 doth Bellonius in the third Book of his Observations under 
 the Name of Afaer. Guadagnol who had a Copy of the 
 Book, calls it the Book Agar, and takes molt of what he 
 objefls againft the Life and Adtions of Mahomet out 
 of it. 
 
 Ahmed Ebn Edru, an Author that writes in the De- 
 fence of the Mahometan Religion againft the Chriftians 
 and the Jews. 
 
 Ahmed Ebn Tujeph, an Hiftorian who flouriih'd A. D. 
 1599. for then he finifh'd his Hiftory. 
 
 Ahmed Ebn Zin Alahedin, a Nobleman of Hifpahan in 
 Perfia, of this laft Age, who hath wrote the iharpeft and 
 acuteft Book againft the Chrijtian Religion, in Defence 
 of the Mahometan, of any they have among them on this 
 Argument. It was publiih'd on this Occafion. Ecbar, 
 the Great Mogul, Great Grandfather to Aurang Zeb, who 
 at prefent reigneth in India, for fome Keafons of State, 
 making Show of encouraging the Chrijtian Religion, did 
 in the Year 1595 write to Matthias de Albuquerque^ 
 then Viceroy of the Portuguese in lnd\a, for fome Priejis 
 lo be lent to him to His Court at Agra* The Perfons 
 
 pjtch'd 
 
quoted In this Booh 181 
 
 pitch'd upon For this Million, were Jeronimo Xavier, then 
 Reftor of the Colledge of the Jefuits at Goa, and Emanuel 
 Pigneiro, and Benedict de Gois, two others of that Society. 
 On their coming to Agra, they were very kindly receiv'd 
 by the Mogul, and had a Church there built for them 
 at his Charges, and many Privileges and Immunities 
 granted unto them, which on the Death of Ecbar (which 
 happen'd A. D. 1604.) were all confirmed to them by his 
 Succeflbr Jehan Guire. At the Command of this Ecbar, 
 Xaverius wrote two Books in Perfian (which is the Lan- 
 guage of that Court; ) The firft, the Hijfory of Jeftf* 
 Chrifi, colle&ed for the moil Part out of the Legends of 
 the Church of Rome, which he intended to be inftead of 
 the Gefpel among them ; and the other call'd A Looking- 
 Glafs, fhemng the Truth, whicii is a Defence of the Do- 
 ctrines of that Gofpel againft the Mahometans- What the 
 former i=, thofe who have the Curiofity to fee what 
 kind of Gofpel the Jefuits preach in the Eaft, may fatisfy 
 themfelves, for the Book is tranflated into Latin by De 
 Dieu, and was publiih'd by him with the Original , 
 A. D. 1629. This Gofpel of the Jefuits was firft prefented 
 to Ecbar by Xaverim at Agra, A. D. 1602. But the 
 other Book was not publiih'd till a Year or two after. 
 When it firft came abroad, it unluckily fell into the 
 Hands of this learned Perfian Gentleman, who imme- 
 diately wrote an Anfwer to it, which he calls The Brufher 
 of the Looking-Glafs, wherein he makes terrible Work 
 with the Jefuit, through the Advantages which he gave 
 him by teaching the Idolatry and other Superfiitions and 
 Errors of the Church of Rome, for the DoSlrines of Jeftts 
 Christ. When this Book came abroad, it fo alarm'd the 
 Colledge de propaganda Fide at Rome, that they immedi- 
 ately order'd it to be anfwer 'd. The firft who was ap- 
 pointed for this Work was Bonaventura Malvafia, a 
 Francifcan Fryar of Bononia, who publiih'd his Diluci- 
 datio Speculi vtrum monflramis, in Anfwer to this Brufher, 
 A. D. 1628: But this, I fuppofe, not being judg'd fo 
 fufficient by the College, they appointed Philip Guadagnol, 
 another Franciscan Fryar, to write a fecond Anfwer 
 thereto. And on this Occafion he compos'd his Book 
 fhTd Apologia pro Chrijliana Religione, which was pub- 
 liih'd at Rome firft in Latin, A. D. 163 1, and after in 
 Arabic, 1637. For this, I fuppofe, meeting with bet- 
 N 3 tet 
 
1 82 An Account of the Authors 
 
 ter Approbation from the College, they order'd it to be* 
 tranilated into that Language; and it being accordingly 
 done by the fame Author, they fent it into the Ea(l to 
 be difptrs'd among the Mahometans, for the Defence of 
 the Jefuirs Looiing-Glafs again ft this rude Brujher of it. 
 But lis Performance doth by no Means anfwer the De- 
 sign, abundance of his Arguments being drawn from the 
 Authorities of Popes, and Councils, which will never con- 
 vince an Infidel of the Truth of the Chrijtian Religion, 
 how much Noife foever they may make with them among 
 thofe of their own Communion. 
 
 AlBcchari, an eminent Writer .of the Traditionary Do- 
 Urines of the Aiahometan Religion. He is reckon 'd by 
 Johannes Andreas, c. :>. and Bdhnius, Jib. 3. c. 4. to be 
 one of the Six Dollors, who, by the Appointment of one 
 of the Califs, meeting at Damafcus, firft made an Attihen- 
 tick ColleUim of all thofe Traditions which make up their 
 Sonnah. His Book contains the Pandetls of all that re- 
 lates either to their Law or their Religion, digefted under 
 their fever.nl Titles in Thirty Books, and is the ancient- 
 eft and moil authentick which they have of this Matter, 
 and, next the Alcoran, of the greatcft Authority among 
 them. He was born at Bochara ill Cmarajmia, A. D. 8cp. 
 and dy'd A. D. 86p. 
 
 AlCoran, i. e. The Bock to be read, or the Legend,, it is 
 the Bible of the Mahometans. The Name is borrow'd 
 from the fiehnw Karo or Miha ( Words of the fame 
 Root as well as Signification, with the Arabicl Al CcranJ 
 by which the Jem call'd the Old Ti : (lament , or any Part 
 of it; and fo any Part of the Mahometan Bi ble is call'd 
 Al'corm. The whole together they call Al Aiojhap, i. e. 
 The Book, which alfo in Refpcct of the Chapters, into 
 which it is divided, they call Al Furkan, from the Ara- 
 lic Word Faraka, whi h from the Hebrew Pharack digni- 
 ties to divide or di/tinguifh : but others will have that 
 Bock to te fo call'd in Refpecl of the Matter or Doctrine 
 therein containd,- "becaufe, fay they, it diftinguimetrr 
 Good from Evil. 
 
 It hath been lately publifli'd in Arabic, with a large 
 Preface before it in Latin, by Abraham Hincklcman at 
 Hamburg, A. D. 1604. Had he added a Latin Verfion, 
 he would hive made it much more uleful. For that 
 which hath been publifli'd by Bibliandcr for a Latin Ver- 
 fion 
 
quoted in thu Bool. 1 8 3 
 
 /ion of the Alcoran, is only an abfurd Epitome of it, com- 
 pos'd by Roberttu Retinenfis, near 600 Years ago, whereby 
 the Senfe of the Original is fo ill reprefented, that no 
 one can by the one fcarce any where underftand what is 
 truly meant by the other. In the Year 1 647, Andrew dpi 
 Ryer, who had been Agent for the Trench Merchants at 
 Alexandria, publifh'd a Tranflation of it in French, from 
 which it had been put into Englifb by Alexander Roffe. 
 Hottinger and Plempim much commend this Tranflation, 
 and, indeed, it muft be faid that it is done as well as can 
 be expected from one who was only a Merchant. 
 
 Al Fragani, an Ajlronomer of Fragana in Per (la, from 
 whence his Name Al Fragani, i. e. Fraganenfis, by which 
 he is commonly called. His Name at Length is Moham- 
 med Ebn Katir Al Fragani. He wrote a Book called. The 
 Elements of Agronomy, which hath been feveral Times 
 publiih'd in Europe, at A\urenburg, A. D. 1537, at Paris,, 
 A, D. 1546, at Frank forty cum Notts Chriftmanni, A. D. 
 1 ^90, in Latin ; and afterwards by Golim in Arabic and 
 Latin at Leiden, A. D. i65p, with large Notes, of great 
 Ufe for the underftanding of the Geography of the Eafi, 
 He flouriftYd while Al Mamon was Calif, who dy'd 
 A. D. 833. 
 
 Al Ga-^ali, a famous Phi'ofopher of Tufa in Perfia. He 
 wrote many Books, not only in Philofophy, but alfo in 
 Defence of the Mahometan Religion againrt Chriftians,Jevts, 
 Pagans, and all others that differ therefrom, whereof one 
 is of more efpecial Note, entituled, The De fruition of Phi' 
 lofophers, which he wrote again!!: At Fambius, and Avicen- 
 na, and fome others of the Arab Phi'ofopf.ers ; who, to 
 folve the monftrous AbfurJities of the Mahometan Religion, 
 were for turning many Things into tigure and Allegory, 
 which were commonly underftoad in the literal Senfe, 
 Thofe he violently oppofeth on this Account, accusing 
 them of Herefy and Infidelity, as Corrupters o£the Faith, 
 and Subverters of Religion, whereon he had the Name of 
 Hoghatol Eflam, Zainoddin, i. e. The Dcmonftration of 
 Ai-xhomenfm, and the Honour of Religion. He was born 
 A. D. 1058- and dy'd A. D. 1 1 1 2. His Name at Length 
 is Abu. Hammed Ebn Mohammed Al Gax.aH Al lufi. 
 
 Al Janabbi, an Hiftorian, born at Janabba, a City in 
 
 Per fir, nor far from Shiras. His Hiftery comes down to 
 
 the Year of our Lord 15.SS, and therein he tells us that 
 
 N 4 * he 
 
184 An Account of the Authors 
 
 he went in Pilgrimage to Mecca, and from thence to 
 Medina, to pay his Devotions at the Tomb of the Im- 
 poftor, in that Year of Hegera which Anfwers to the Year 
 of our Lord 1 556. His Name at Length is Abbu Ma- 
 hammed Muftapha Ebnol Saiyed Hajan Al Janabi. 
 
 Al Ramus, i. e. The Ocean, a famous Arabic Diftionary 
 fo call'd, becaufe of the Ocean of Words contain'd in it. 
 It was written by Mohammed Ebn Jaacub Ebn Mohammed 
 Al Seirazi Al Firauzabadi. He was a Perfon of great 
 Efteem among the Princes of his Time, for his eminent 
 Learning and Worth, particularly with Jfmae I Ebn Abbas, 
 King of Taman, Bajazet King ofthe7»r£j, and Tamerlane 
 the Tartar, from the laft of which he receiv'd a Gift of 
 Five Thoufand Pieces of Gold at one Time. He was 
 born A. D. 13 28, being a Per (tan by Birth, but he liv'd 
 moft at Sanaa in Taman. He finifti'd his Dictionary at 
 Mecca, and dedicated it to Ifmael Ebn Abbot, under whofe 
 Patronage he had long liv'd, and afterwards dy'd at Zi- 
 bit in Arabia, A. D. 141 4, being near ninety Years old. 
 
 Al Kodai, an Hiftorian. He wrote his Hiftory about 
 the Year of our Lord 104^, and dy'd A. D. 1062. His 
 Name at Length is Abu Abdolla Mohammed Ebn Solamah 
 Ebn Jaafar Al Kodai. 
 
 Al Mafudi, an Hiftorian. He wrote a Hiftory call'd 
 the Golden Meadows, but in what Time he liv'd I do 
 not find. His Name at Length is AH Ebn Hofain Al 
 Mafudi. He wrote alfo another Book, wherein he makes 
 it his Bufinefs to difcover and expofe the Fraud which the 
 Chriftians of Jerufalem are guilty of, about lighting Can- 
 dles at the Sepulchre of our Saviour on Eafter-Eve. For 
 then three Lamps being plac'd within the Chapel of the 
 Sepulchre, when the Hymn of the RefurreElion is fung at 
 the Evening Service, they contrive that thefe three Lamps 
 be all lighted, which they will have believ'd to be by 
 Fire from Heaven, * and then a Multitude of Chriftians 
 of all Nations are prefent with Candles to light them at 
 this Holy Fire, which hath been, a fraudulent Practice kept 
 up among them for many Hundred Years. And the Em- 
 peror Cantacuz,enus was fo far impos'd on by this Cheat, 
 
 that 
 
 * Vide W. Malmsburienfcm de Geftts Regum Anglorum, 
 lib. 4 .<. 2./. 79, fir/. 83. 
 
quoted in this Book. 185 
 
 that in his Third Apology for the Christian Religion a- 
 gainft the Mahometans, he makes mention of it, and 
 urgeth it againft thofe Infidels, as a Miracle, which being 
 annually perform'd in their Sight, ought to convince 
 them of the Truth of the Christian Religion, and convert 
 them thereto. But the Impojture hath all along been too 
 well known to the Mahometans to be of any fuch Effedt 
 with them. For the Patriarch oft. Jerusalem always com- 
 pounds with the Mahometan Governour to permit him to 
 pra&ife this Trick for the fake of the Gain which it brings 
 to his Church, and annually allows him his Share in it. 
 And therefore, inftead of being of any Effeft to convert 
 them, it becomes a Matter of continual Scandal among 
 them againft the Chriftian Religion. And not only this 
 Author, but Ahmed Ebn Edris, and moft others of the 
 Mahometans, that write againft the Chriftian Religion, 
 obje£l it as a Reproach thereto ( as in Truth it is, ) and 
 urge it with the fame Earneftnefs againft the Chriftian 
 Religion, that Cantacuzenus doth for it. Al Manfor 
 Hahm Beamrilla, Calif of Egypt, was fo offended at it, 
 that A. D. 1007, he order'd the Church of the Refurre- 
 £tion at Jerujalem, wherein this Chapel of the Sepulchre 
 itands, to be for this very Reafon pull'd down and raz'd 
 to the Ground, that he might thereby put an End to fo 
 infamous a Cheat. But the Emperor of ' Conftantinoplc ha- 
 ving by the Releafe of Five Thoufand Mahometan Cap- 
 tives, obtain'd Leave to have it re-built again, the Im- 
 pofture hath ftill gone on at the fame Rate, and it is 
 there, to the great Sport of the Mahometans ( who come 
 in Multitudes every Year to fee this Farce) a&ed over in 
 their Sight in the fame Manner as it is above related even 
 unto this Day. Thevenot, who was once prefent at it, 
 gives us a large Account of this whole Foolery in the firft 
 Part of his Travels. Book 2. Chap. 43. 
 
 Al Mojlatraf, the Name of a Book, written by an un- 
 known Author. 
 
 Al MotiarrezA, the Author of the Book call'd Mogreb, 
 he was born A. D. 11 43, and dy'd A. D. 121 3. His 
 Name at Length is Najir Ebn Abil Macarem Abal Phatah 
 Al Motamzi. He was of the Sect of the Motazali, and 
 feems by his laft Name, Al Motarrezi, ( by which he is 
 ufually calfd ) to have been by Trade a Taylor, that be- 
 ing the Signification of the Word in Arabic. 
 
 AjfamA- 
 
l8£ An Account of the Authors 
 
 AJfamael, a Book much quoted by Johannes Andreas] 
 and alfo by Guadagndl. 
 
 Bidarvi, a famous Commentator on the Alcoran. He 
 dy'd A. D. 1293. ^ s Name at length is JMaferod- 
 din Abdul/ah Ebn Omar Al Bidarvi. His Commentary is 
 written for the mod Part out of Zamachfhari. 
 
 Kazmni, an Arabic Author, fo call'd from the City 
 Kdfmn* His Name at Length is Zacharias Ebn Maham- 
 med Ebn Mahmud Al Kafnini. In what Age he iiv'd I 
 cannot find. 
 
 Dialogus Mahometls cum Abdollah Ebn Salem, a Book 
 wrote in Arabick', containing a great many of the Foole- 
 ries of the Mahometan Religion, under the Form of a 
 Dialogue between Adahomct and this Jew, who was his 
 chief Helper in forging the Imposture. It was tranflated 
 into Latin by Hermannus Dalmata; and that Verfion of it 
 is publifh'd at the End of the Latin Alcoran fet forth by 
 Bibliandcr. 
 
 Difputatio Chifliani contra Saracenttm de Lege Mahometis. 
 It was written in Arabic by a Chrifhan, who was an 
 Officer in the Court of a King of the Saracens, to a Ma- 
 hometan Friend of his, who was an Officer with hirn in 
 the fame Court, and contains a Confutation of the Maho- 
 metan Religion. P< ter, the famous Abbot of Cluny in 
 Burgundy, who flouriflVd A. D I 130, caus'd it to be 
 tranflated into Latin by peter of Toledo; an Epitome of 
 which is printed with the Latin Alcoran by Bibliander, 
 taken out of the 24th Book of the Speculum Hijloriale of 
 Vincentius Bcllovacenfis. 
 
 Elmacinus, an Hiilorian of the Chrifiian Religion. His 
 Hiftory is from the Creation of the World to the Year of 
 our Lord 1 1 1 8- The latter Part of it, which is from the 
 Beginning of Makorr.etijm, was puHilh'd by Erpenins, un- 
 der the Title of Hiftoria Saracenica, A. D. i62«>. He was 
 Son to Tafer AlAmid, who was Secretary of the Council 
 of War under the Sultans of Egypt, of the Family of the 
 Jobidte, for 45 Years together, and in the Year of our 
 Lord 1238, (in which his Father dy'd) fuceeded him in 
 his Place. His Name at Length is Geprgitts Ebn Amid ; 
 and for his eminent Learning he was alfo ftil'd Ai Shaich 
 Al Rails A ] Macin, i. e. The prime Doclor, folidiy Learned. 
 The lafl: of which Titles, Aimacin, was that whereby 
 Erpmius, ( who pronounceth it Eimancin ) chofc to call 
 
 hi in ; 
 
quoted in this Booh 187 
 
 him ,- but by others lie is generally quoted by toe Name 
 Ebn Amid. 
 
 Ebnol Athir, a Mahometan Author, who was born 
 A. D. 1149* and dy'd A. D. 1200. His Name at 
 Length is Abttjfaadat Al Moharac Ebn Mohammed Al 
 Shaibani Ebnol Athir Al Jazari Magdoddin. 
 
 Alt Ebnol Athir, an Hiftorian, Brother to the former 
 Ebnol Athir. His Name at Length is Abul Hafan Ali 
 Ebn Mohammed Al Shaibani Ebnol Athir Al Jazari Ezzod- 
 din. He was born A. D. 1160, and dy'd A. D. 1232. 
 His Hiftory, which he talis Camel, is from the Beginning 
 of the World, to the Yea'r of our Lor,! 1230. 
 
 Ebnol Kaffai, Author of the Book call'd Taarifat y which 
 is an Explication of the various Terms us'd id Arabic 
 by Philofophers, Lawyers, Divines, and other Sorts of 
 learned Profeflions among them. 
 
 Ebn Pbares, a Mahometan Author, who dy'd A. D. 
 
 IOCO. 
 
 Eutyckim, a Chriftian Author of the Seel of the Mel- 
 chites, his Name in Arabick is Said Ebn Batrick. He was 
 born at Cair in Egypt, A. D. 876, and became very emi- 
 nent in the Knowledge of Phyftch, which he praftis'd 
 with great Reputation, being feckon'd by the Mahome- 
 tans themfelves to have been one of the eminenteft Phy- 
 ficians of his Time. But towards the latter Part of his 
 Life giving himfelf more to the Study of Divinity, he was 
 A. D. 933, chofen Patriarch of Alexandria for his Sect, 
 (for there was another Patriarch of that Place for the 
 Jacobites at the fame Time ) and then he firft took the 
 Name of Entychim. But he happen'd not to be fo accep- 
 table to his People; for there were continual Jars between 
 them until his Death, which happen'd {even Years after, 
 A. D. 940, His Annals of the Church of Alexandria were 
 publiih'd at Oxford in Arabic and Latin by Dr. Pocock, 
 A. D. 16*56, at the Charge of Mr. Selden, and this is the 
 Meaning of thefe Words in the Tide-Page, [Johanne Sel- 
 deno Chorago~] for he who was the Ckoragm in the Play, 
 always was at the Charges of exhibiting the Scenes. And 
 therefore Mr. Selden having born the Expences of this 
 chargeable Edition, the molt worthy and learned Author 
 of that Verfion acknowledged it by thofe Words in the 
 Title Page, which feveral having miftaJcen to the robbing 
 him of the Honour of his Work, as if Mr. Selden h.id 
 I begun 
 
i88 An Account of the Authors 
 
 begun the Tnnflation and Dr. Pocock finifiYd it, I can- 
 not but do this Juftice to that worthy Perfon, now with 
 Go J, to clear this Matter. For he needed no Partner in 
 any of his Works. The Translation was totally his and 
 only the Charges of printing the Book Mr. Selden's. 
 Mr. Selden did, indeed, publilh a Leaf or two of the 
 Author, which he thought would ferve his Purpofe to 
 exprefs his Spight againft the Bifhops of the Church of 
 England, in Revenge of the Cenfure which was infli£ted 
 on him in the High Commiffion Court for his Htftory of 
 Tythes ; but he made thofe Slips in that Verfion, that Dr. 
 Pocock was not at all eas'd of his Labour, by having that 
 little Part of it tranflated to his Hands. 
 
 Liber de Generatione & Nutritura Mahometis, a mofl 
 frivolous and filly Trail, wrote originally in Arabic ; 
 and being tranflated into Latin by Hermanntts Dalmata, 
 is publifrYd with the Latin Alcoran by Bibliander. 
 
 Geograpkia JSIubienfis, fo the Book is call'd by Sionita 
 and Hefronita, who publifh'd it in Latin with a Geogra- 
 phical Appendix annex'd thereto, A. D. i6lp. But this 
 Book is only an Epitome of a much larger and much bet- 
 ter Book written by Sharif Al. Adrift, at the Command 
 of Roger, the fecond of that Name, King of Sicily, for 
 the explaining of a Terreftrial Globe, which that King 
 had caus'd to be made of a very large Size, all of Silver. 
 He finilh'd this Work A. D. 1153, and entituled it 
 Kctab Roger, i. e. the Book of Roger, from the Name of 
 him who employ 'd him to compofe it. The Author was 
 of the Race of Mahomet, and therefore is call'd Sharif, 
 which Word fignifieth one of a noble Race, efpecially 
 that cf Mahomet, and was defcended from the noble Fa- 
 mily of the Alrifida, who reign'd in fome Parts of Afri- 
 ca, and therefore he is call'd Al Adrift, that is, of the 
 Family of Adris. His Name at Length is Abu Abdollah 
 Mohammed Ebn Mohammed Ebn Adris Amir Olmuminin, 
 There was a very fair Copy of this Book among Dr. Pa- 
 cock's Arabic Manufcripts. 
 
 Georgia* Monachta, Abbot of the Monaftery of St. Si- 
 meon. He wrote a Tract in Defence of the Chriftian Re- 
 ligion againft the Mahometans, which is a Difputation he 
 had with three Mahometans, of whom the chief Spokef- 
 man was Abjulama Ebn Saar of MojuU 
 
 Jauhai 
 
quoted hi this Book. i89 
 
 Jauhari, the Author of a famous Arabic Di&ionary, 
 call'd Al Sahah : His Name at Length is Abu Klajer Ijmad 
 Ebn Hammad Ai Jauhari. He was by Nation a Turk, 
 He dy'd A. D. 1007. This is reckon'd the beft Di£tio- 
 nary of the Arabic Language next Kamus. Golius makes 
 his Arabick Lexicon moftiy out of it. 
 
 JaUlani, i. e. the Two Jalals. They were two of the 
 fame Name, who wrote a ihort Commentary upon the 
 Alcoran, the firft began it, and the fecond finifh'd it. 
 The firft was call'd Jabal Oddin Mohammed Ebn Ahmed 
 Al Mahalli j and the fecond Jalal Oddin Abdorrakman 
 Al Ofyuti. This latter, on the Death of the former, 
 finifh'dthe Book, A. D. 1466, and was alfo Author of a 
 Hiftory called Mez,har. 
 
 Shahrejlhani, a Scholaftical Writer of the Mahometan 
 Religion. He was born at Shahrefian, A. D. 1074, aR( ^ 
 dy'd A. D. 11 54. 
 
 Safioddin, the Author of a certain Geographical Dictio- 
 nary in the Arabic Tongue. 
 
 Zamacjhari, the Author of a Book called Al Chejhaf, 
 which is a large Commentary upon the Alcoran, and that 
 which is of the beft Efteem among the Mahometans of any 
 of its Kind. His Name at Length is Abul Cafem Moham- 
 med Ebn Omar Ebn Mohammed Al Chowarafmi Al Zamach- 
 Jbari. He was born at Zamachfhar^ a Town of Chowa- 
 rafmia, A. D. 1074, anc * ^y'd A. D. 1143. 
 
 Hebrew and Chaldee Authors, 
 
 C Hal dee Paraphrafe f an Interpretation of the OU 
 Teftament in the Chaldee Language. That of Qnke- 
 los on the Pentateuch, and that of Jonathan on the Pro- 
 phets, are ancient, being written, according to the Ac- 
 count which the Jews give of them, before the Time of 
 our Saviour. But thofe which are on the other Parts of 
 Scripture, as alfo that which bears the Name of Jonathan 
 on the Law, were written by fome later Jem. The 
 Author of the Chaldee Paraphrafe on Job, the PJalms and 
 Proverbs, was Rabbi Jofeph Ctcus. 
 
 Sepher 
 
1 90 An Account of the Authors 
 
 Sepher Court, a Book written by Way of Dialogue be- 
 tween a Jew and the King of the Coz,ars, from whence 
 it hath its Name Sepher, Cozjri or Coz,ari, i. e. the Book of 
 the Cozar. The Author of it was Rabbi Judah Levita, a 
 Sp*ni/b Jew, who wrote the Book originally in Arabic 
 about the Year of our Lord 1 140, and from thence it was 
 tranilated into Hebrew by Rabbi Judah Ebn Tibbon, in 
 which Tranflation it was publiih'd by Buxtorf, with a 
 Latin Verlion, A. D. 1660. 
 
 Rabbi David Kimchi, a famous Jewifh Com men ta- 
 Itor on the Old Teftament. He was by Birth a 
 Spaniard, Son to Rabbi Jofeph Kimchi, and Brother to 
 Rabbi Mojes Kimchi, both Men of eminent Learning a- 
 mong the Jews ; but he himfelf far exceeded them both, 
 being the beft Grammarian in the Hebrew Language 
 which they ever had, as is abundantly made appear not 
 only in his Commentary on the Old Teftament ( which 
 gives the greateft Light into the literal Senfe of the He- 
 brew Text of any extant of this kind) but alfo in a Gram- 
 mar and Dictionary which he hath wrote of the Hebrew 
 Language } both by many Degrees the beft of their Kind t 
 The iirft of thefe he calls Michol, and the other Sepher 
 Shoraflnm, i. e, the Book of Root;. Buxtorf made his The- 
 saurus Lingua. Hebr&& out of the former, and his Lexicon. 
 Lingua Hebraa out of the latter. He HourihYd about the 
 Year of our Lord t 27c. 
 
 Adaimonides, a famous Jewifh Writer ; his Book, Tad 
 Hachazakah, is a Digeft of the Jewifh Law according 10 
 the Talmudifts. His Book Morek Nevcchim, contains an 
 Explication of Words, Phrafes, Metaphors, Parables, 
 Allegories, and other Difficulties which occur in the Old 
 Teftament., It was flrft wrote in Arabic, and after tranila- 
 ted into Hebrew by Rabbi Samuel Ebn Judah Ebn Tibbcn, 
 from which Tranflation it was publilh d in Latin by 
 Buxtorf, A. D. 1629. He was born at Corduba in Spain y 
 A. D. H3r, but iiv'd moftly in Egypt, from whence he 
 is commonly cali'd Rabbi Mofcs ss£gyptius, where he dy'd 
 A. D. 12C8. 
 
 Miflonah, a Collection of all the ancient Traditions of 
 the Jews, to the Time of RabU Judah Hakfodifb, the 
 Compiler of it, who flourifh'd about the Middle of the fe- 
 cond Century, in the Reign of the Emperor Antoninus 
 Pius, This Book is the Tfc#t to the Talmud^ and that a 
 
 Com- 
 
quoted in this Booh 19I 
 
 Comment on it. The Jerufalem Talmud was compil'd 
 by {he Jews who dvveJt in Juda.i, about 300 Years after 
 Chrift ; and the BabylonifJ? Talmud by thofe who dwelt 
 in Mesopotamia, about ^00 Years after Chrift, according 
 to the Account which the J wife Writers give of them. 
 But there are feveral Things contained in the latter, 
 which feem to refer to a much later Date. Thefe three, 
 with the two Qddee Paraphrafes of Onkelos and Jonathan, 
 are the ancienteft Boo 1 s which the Jews have, next the 
 Bible. For how much Noife foever may be made about 
 their Rabbinical Writers, there are none of them above 
 feven hundred Years old. There are fome of them indeed 
 lay Claim to a much ancienter Date, but without any 
 Reafon for it. 
 
 Greek Authors. 
 
 ARiftctelis Ethica & Politica. 
 Bartbolomai Edeffeni Confutatio Hagarenl, a Greek 
 Trad againft Mahometijm, publilh'd by he Moyne among 
 his Varia Sacra. The Author was a Monk of Edcfia in 
 Mejopotamia. In what Age he liv'd it doth not appear. 
 
 Cantacuz,cnus contra Setlam Mahcmeticam. This Book 
 contains four Apologies for the CbriiUan Religion, and 
 four Orations aga'tnft the Mahometan s. The Author had 
 been Emperor oEConftantinople, but refigning his Empire 
 to John Palaohgus his Son-in-Law, A. D. 1355, he retir'd 
 into a Monaftery, where being accompany'd by Meletius, 
 formerly called Achamemid, whom he had converted from 
 Aiahomctil'm to the Chriftian Religion, -he there wrote 
 this Book for the faid Meletius, in Anfwer to a Letter 
 written to him by Samp fates, a Per fun of Hijpahan, to 
 reduce him back again to the Mahometan Superftition. 
 
 Qdreni Compendium Hift or i arum, an Hiftory from the 
 Beginning of the World, to the Year of our Lord 
 
 thryfoftomi Homilia. 
 
 Cwftitatio Mahometii, a Creel Tra<5t, publifh'd by Le 
 Moyne among his Varia Sacra ; the Authors not 
 ki;own. 
 
 Limy- 
 
I $2 dn Account of the Authors 
 
 Dionyfii Halicarnajji Antiquitates Romana. 
 Eufebii Hiftoria Erclefiajtica, and Pntparatio Evangelic*. 
 Hitrocles, the Fomenter and chief Manager of the tenth 
 Perfecution againft the Chriftians. He was firft Governor 
 of Bythinia, and after of Egypt, in both which Places he 
 profecuted the Chriftians with the utmoft Severity ; and 
 not content herewith, he alfo wrote two Books againft 
 them, which he call'd A6yes <p!\a>JJ9«?, wherein, among 
 other Things, he compar'd Apollonius Tyaneus with Jefrn . 
 Chrift, and endeavour'd to prove him, in working of Mi- 
 racles to have been equal to him ; to which Particular 
 Eufebius wrote an Anfwer, which is ftill extant among his 
 Works ; but thefe Books of Hierocles are now wholly loft, 
 excepting fome Fragments preferv'd in the faid Anfwer 
 of Eufebius. 
 
 Jofepki Antiquitates Judaic*, and de Bello Judaico. 
 Origines contra Celjum. 
 Philojiratus de Vita Apollonii Tyanei. 
 Pklegon Trali! anus, a Freed Man of Adrian the Empe- 
 ror, 'fie wrote a Chronicon or Hiftory, which he call'd 
 The Hiftory of the Olympiads. It contained 229 Olympiads, 
 whereof the laft ended in the fourth Year of the Emperor 
 Antoninus Pius. But there is nothing of this Work now 
 extant, except fome few Fragments, as they are now pre- 
 ferv'd in fuch Authors as have quoted it. That relating 
 to the Eclipfe of the Sun at our Saviour's Crucifixion is 
 preferv'd in Eufebius's Chronicon, and is alfo made Mention 
 of by Origen, in his ^th Tra£t on St. Matthews Gofpel, 
 and in his fecond Book againft Ceifus, 
 Plato. 
 
 Phtarchi Vita. 
 Strabonis Gcographia. 
 Socratis Sckolafici Hiftoria EcclefiaftUa. 
 Sozmeni Hiftoria Ecclefiaftica. 
 
 Theophanis Cironographia ; this is one of the Byzantine 
 Hiftorians, and contains a Chronological Hiftory of the 
 Rowan Empire, from the Year of our Lord 285 to the 
 Year 813. The Author was a Nobleman of Conftantino~ 
 pie, where he was firft an Officer of the Imperial Court, 
 but afterwards turning Monk wrote this Hiftory. He 
 was born A. D. 758, and A. D. 815 dy'd in Prifon in 
 the lfland of Samothracia } a Martyr for Image- Worihip, 
 
 2 for 
 
quoted in this Booh 195 
 
 For which he had heen a zealous Champion in the fe- 
 cond Council of Nice. 
 
 Zonar& Compendium Hijtoriarum. Another of the By- 
 zantine Hiftorians. 1 1 contains an Hiftory from the! Be- 
 ginning of the World to the Death of J'exitu Comnems, 
 Emperor of Conftantinople ; which happen'd A. D. 11 18, 
 when the Author flourifh'd. He was firft a prime Officer 
 of the Imperial Court at Conftantinople j but < afterwards 
 became an Ecclefaftici , and is the fame who wrote the 
 Comment on the Creek Canons. 
 
 o 
 
 Latin 
 
I 94 An Account of the Authors 
 
 $&w 
 
 rflffjHFlV ^JnPP*" 
 
 
 
 
 f^®C 
 
 ipMrl 
 
 miffle^ ' 
 
 
 
 pp™f JSSjpJ^g^^^i^B 
 
 §§^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 Latin Authors, Ancient 
 and Modern. 
 
 AMmiani Marcellini Hiftoria. 
 Anaftafii Bibiiotbecarii Hiftoria Ecde/iajtica. The 
 Author was a Frieft of the Church of Rome, and Library- 
 Keeper to the Pope. He flourifh'd about the Year of our 
 Lord 870. 
 
 Bellonii Obfervationcs de Lock ac Rebus Memorabilibus in 
 Afta. This Book was firft publihYd in French, A. D. 
 1 5^3, and after ia Latin, A. D. 1585?. 
 
 Bccharti Hierezoicon. 
 
 Busbeqtiii EpiftoU, the Author was Ambtfjador from the 
 Emperor Ferdinand the Firft to the Port, from whence he 
 wrote his Epiftlcs. 
 
 Buxtorfii Lexicon Ralbinicum. 
 
 Buxtorfii Synagoga Judaic** 
 
 Caroli a Sanfio Panto Geographia -fatna, five Notitia anti- 
 qua Epifcopatunw EcclefiA Univerja. Lutetia Parifiorum, 
 A. D. 1 641. 
 
 Clens.rdi Epiftoht. The Author of thefe Epi flies was the 
 moft famous Grammarian of his Age, Out of Love to the 
 Arabic Tongue, he went to Fez, on Purpofe to learn it, 
 A. D. 1540. when well advanced in Years, from whence 
 he wrote many Things in his Epiftles, of the Manners and 
 Religion of the A'lahometans. He dy'd at Granada in Spain 
 2s foon as he rcturn'd. 
 
 Cufani Cnbratio Al coram. The Author of this Book was 
 the famous Nicola* de Cufa, the emincntcft Scholar of the 
 A ge in which he 1 iv'd. In the Year 1448 he was made 
 
 Cardi- 
 
quoted hi this Book. j g * 
 
 Cjrdinal of Rome, by the Title of St. Peter sad Vinculc^ 
 and dy'd A f D. 1464, about ten Years after the Turks 
 thad taken Conjiantinople. Which feems to have given him 
 the Occalion of writing this Book, that fo he might pro- 
 vide an Antidote againft that Falfe Religion, which on 
 that Suecefs had gotten fo great an Advantage for hi 
 farther fpreading it feJf in thofe Parts of the World, 
 for it appears by the Dedication, that this Bonk was not 
 written till after the Lofs of that City ; it being dedica- 
 ted to Pope Pius SecHndus, who enter'd not on the Papacy 
 till the Turks had been about three Years in Poiieflion 
 of it. 
 
 Abrahami-Ecchcllenjis Hiftoria Arabum. This Book is 
 ubjoin'd to his Chronic n Orientate, in two Parts, col- 
 e£ed out of the Arab Writers. The Author was a A4a- 
 ronitTy of Mount Libanus in Syria, and was employ d as 
 ProfeiTor of the Oriental Languages in the College de pro- 
 paganda Fide at Rome, from whence abqut the Year 1 643, 
 lie vvascall'd to Paris, to affift in preparing the great Po- 
 lyglot t Bible fir the Prefs, which was there publi thing, 
 and made the King's ProfefTor of the Oriental Languages 
 in that City. The Part aflign'd him in this Work, was 
 that which they had before employ 'd Sionita in, a Man of 
 thorough Abilities to perform it ; but on fome Diftafte 
 taken againft him, they difcharg'd him, and fent to Rome 
 for Ecchellenfts ; of whofe Performance herein a learned 
 Sorbonijt making a Cenfure, truly fays, Ibi peccatum eft totics 
 ac tarn enormiter in appnnendis vopalibm & apiciilvs, ut auod 
 ibi primum inter Ugendum cccttrrerit, fumrnam Japere videa- 
 turTyronis alichjus ojcitamiam. He was indeed a Man but of 
 little Accuracy in the Learning which he profefs'd, and. 
 ihews himfelf to be a very futilous and injudicious Wri- 
 ter, in moft of that which he hath publiuYd. 
 
 Abrakami Ecchellenfts Eutyckim vindicatus; which Book 
 is in two Parts; the firft writ againft Mr. Sddens Euty- 
 ehii Patriarch*, Alexandrini Ecclefia ftsa Origines ; and the 
 fecond againft Hottinger's Hiftoria Orientalise The great- 
 eft Skill which he ihews in this Book, is in Railing. It 
 was publith d at Rome A. D. 1661. 
 
 Forbefti Inftrucliones Hijiorico-Tbeologi;*, putliih'd at 
 An. ft er dam, 1 6.1 5. 
 
 Fortalitium Fidei, a Book written in Defence of the 
 
 Chriftian Religion againft the Jews, Mahometans, and 
 
 O % ©thct 
 
ii)6 An Account of the Authors 
 
 other Adverfaries. The Author takes Occafion to a'c° 
 quaint us Lib. 2. Confideratione 6. Haref. 5, that he 
 was at Work in writing this Book A. D. 1458 ; and the 
 Title of the firft printed Edition tells us, that it was 
 finifh'd the Year following, and that the Author was an 
 eminent Doclor of the Order of the Francifcan fryers* It 
 was printed firft at Nuremberg, A. D. 1494, and after 
 that, at Lyons, A. D. 1525. But in all thefe Editions the 
 Name of the Author bein^ fupprefs'd, fome have called 
 it the Work of William Toton, who was only the Editor 
 of the fecond Edition ; and others have afcrib'd it to 
 others. But Mariana, in the fecond Tome of his Spanifh 
 Hiflory, Lib 22. Cap. 13. tells us, the true Author of the 
 Book was Alphonjm Spina, a Francifcan Fryar of Caftile 
 in Spain, who from a Jew turning Gcriftian, enter'd him - 
 felf of that Order, and after, by fevertl Advances' 
 came to be a Biihop in that Kingdom. But the pte- 
 fent General of the Jefrits, rotwith'ftanding the Autho- 
 rity of this great Man of his Order, in a Book lately pub- 
 lish' d by him againft the Mahometan Religion, ftill afcribes 
 it to William Tot on But the Book is of better Ufe to ac- 
 quaint us with the Doftrines and Opinions of the Chri- 
 Itians of that Age, than to give us any true Light either 
 of Mahomet or his Religion.*' For in that Part which is 
 levelld againft this fmpofture, too many of his Arguments 
 are built upon fu:h Relations, both concerning it and the 
 Author thereof, as have no other Bottom, but the miftaken 
 Traditions of the Vulg.ir. 
 
 tjolii Not<c ad Aljragandi Element a Asironomica ; which 
 are exceeding ufeful for the understanding of the Geogra- 
 phy of the Eaft. The Book was publith'd at Ley den, A.D. 
 
 1669. 
 
 Philippi Gtudagno'i Apologia pro Chrijtiana Religione, 
 contra Objefliones Ahmed Filii Zin Aabed'm Ptrj* AJpha- 
 henfis. Of which Book I have already given an Account 
 in what I have written of Ahmed Ebn Z'w, againft whom 
 it is written. 
 
 ' Gentii JMot<c ad Mnjladini Saadi Rojar'wm PoUticum ; 
 publiftul at Amsterdam, A.D. 1651. 
 
 Gm ins de Veritaie Ckriftian* Reltgionis ; & EpiftoU ad 
 G alios. 
 
 H ttinveri Hiftona Oriental*. Of this Book there are 
 two Editions; the firft A. D. 1651, and the fecond A. D 
 
 l6COy 
 
quoted in this Booh I 97 
 
 i66o, the latter is much enlarg'd. The Author was Pro- 
 feflbr of the Oriental Tongues, firft at Zurich in SmJJerland, 
 and afterwards at Heidelbergh ; from whence being call'd 
 to be Profeflbr at Leyden, he was* while on his Removal 
 thither, unfortunately drown'd in the Rhine* He was a 
 Man of great Induftry and Learning 5 but having written 
 very much within the Compafs of a few Years ( for he 
 dy'd young ") his Books want Accuracy ; tho' all of thera 
 have their Ufe. 
 Hiftoria Mifcellanea, a Roman Hiftory begun by Eutropias, 
 continu'd by Paulus Diaconus, and finihYd by Landulphus 
 Sagax. 
 
 Johanna Andreas, de Confuftone Seflm Mahometan*. The 
 Author of this Book was formerly an Alfaki , or a Doctor 
 of the Mahomet an Law; but in the Year 1487, being at 
 Valentia in Spain converted to the Chriftian ReJigion, he 
 was receiv'd into Holy Orders, and wrote this Book in 
 Spanifli again ft the Religion which he forfook; from 
 whence it was tranilated into Italian by Dominions de 
 Gaz.Au, A. D» 154.0. And out of that Tranflation it was 
 publiih'd in Latin by Johannes Lattterback, A. D. 1595, 
 and re-printed by Voetim at Utrecht. A. D. 16*56. He ha- 
 ving thoroughly underftood the Religion which he con- 
 futes, doth much more pertinently write a gain ft it, than 
 many others do that handle this Argument. 
 
 Macrobii Saturnalia. 
 
 Qii Plinii Secundi Natural is- Hiftoria. 
 
 Caii Plinii Gecilii Secundi EpiftoU. 
 
 PococL Tiie famous Profeffor of the Hebrew and Ara- 
 lie Tongues ax. Oxford', who was, for Eminency of Goo J- 
 nef?, as well as Learning, the greateft Ornament of the 
 Age in which he liv'd, and God bleiTed him with a long 
 Life to be uftful thereto. He was born A. D. 1604, and 
 dy'd at Chrijt-Church in Oxford in the Month of ' Septemb. 
 A. D. 1 69 1. He was above fixty Years aconftant Editor 
 of learned and ufeful Books: The firft which he publiih'd 
 contains an Edition of Four of the Githolick EpifiUs in 
 Syriac, i. e. the Second of St. Peter, the Second andTniri 
 of St. John, a"d the Epiftle of St. Jude, with Vcriions 
 and Notes, whi< h was printed at Ley den, A. D. 1630, 
 by Voffms, to whom he prefenred it the Year before at 
 Gx'ord, en his coming thither to fee that University : 
 And the laft was n ^ s Commentary on Joel, which came 
 I forth 
 
198 An Account of the Authors 
 
 Forth the Year in which he dy'd. His Specimen Hi/tori* 
 Arabic*, which I frequently make Ufe of in this Traa, 
 was publifh'd A. D. 1650, and is a moft accurate and 
 judicious Collection out of the beft Arab Writers, relating 
 to the Subject which he handles. 
 
 Richardi, Confutatio Legis Saracenic*, The Author was 
 a Dominican Fryar, who in the Year 1210 went to 
 Bagdat, on Purpofe to ftudy the Mahometan Religion out 
 of their own Books, in order to confute it ,• and on his 
 Return publiftYd this learned and judicious Trail concern- 
 ing it. Demetrius Cydonius tranflated it into Greek for the 
 Emperor o£ Cantecu&anus, who makes great Ufe of it, ta- 
 king thence moft of that which he hath of any Moment 
 in his four Orations againft the Mahometan Religion. 
 From this Greek Vcrfion of Demetrius Cydonius it was 
 tranflated back again into Latin by Bartholomew Picenus, 
 which Tranflation is publilh'd with the Latin Alcoran of 
 Bibliander, and th.it is all we now have of it, the Origi- 
 nal being loft. This, and Johannes And-eas's Trait de 
 Confu/ione Sella A4ahometan&, are the beft of any that 
 have been formerly publifh'd by the Wtftern Writers on 
 this Argument, and beft accord with what the Mahome- 
 tans themfelves teach of their Religion. Others have too 
 . much fpent themfelves on falfe Notions concerning it, for 
 want of an exa£f Knowledge of that which they wrote a- 
 gainft. 
 
 Roderici Toletani Hiftoria Arabum. It contains an Hi- 
 ftory of the Saracens from the Birth of Mahomet to the 
 Year of our Lord 11^0. The Author was Archbifhop of 
 Toledo in Spain, and was prefent at the Lateran Council, 
 A. D. 1215. His Hiftory, from the Tenth Chapter, is 
 moftly confln'd to the Saracens of Spain, and is but cf lit- 
 tle Credit, where he relates any Thing of them out cf 
 that Country. It was publilh'd with Erpenius's Hiftoria 
 Saracenica at Leyden, A. D. 1625. 
 
 Schickardi Tarich, j:u Series Regum Perfarum, Tubing*, 
 A. D. 1628. 
 Spanhemii Introdutlio ad Hiftoriam Sacram, Amftel. A. D. 
 1694. 
 
 Scaliger de Emendations Temporum, and Not* ejus ad 
 SpKaram Manilii. 
 
 Valerius Mtximm. 
 
 Va- 
 
quoted in this Booh 199 
 
 Vdninusy a famous Atheift. He was by Birth a Neapo- 
 litan, and came into France on Purpofe to promote the 
 Impiety he* had embraced; of which being convicted at 
 Tkolotife, he rather chofe to become a Martyr for it, than 
 renounce it ; and therefore was publkkly burnt in that 
 City, A. D. t6iq, perfifting to deny the Being of aGocJ 
 with a wonderful ObfUnacy even in thofe very Flames in 
 which he perifh'd. He wrote two Books ; the firft was 
 publifh'd A. D. 1 6 1 5, entituled -iALurn<z ProvidmtU Am" 
 pbitheatrum ; and the other the next Year after, which is 
 his Dia/ogi de Admirandv Natura,, in both which he ferves 
 that Caufe for the Sake of which he dy'd. 
 
 Englifh 
 
200 
 
 'An Account of the Authors. 
 
 Englifh and French Authors. 
 
 YyUrchass Pilgrimage. 1 
 
 I Ricaut's Hillory of thePrefent State of the Ottoman 
 
 Empire. 
 
 Smyth's Remarks upon the Manners, Religion, and Go- 
 vernment or the Turks. 
 1 Jhtvenot's Travels. 
 
 FINIS, 
 
** 
 
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 Ir- 
 
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 • AJ|A*i».JK .• 5.A* •-/.-» •.jjue.«.*. 
 
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 1