and he charged himself with the execution. Educated in the most profound ignorance, he had the boldness all of a fudden to declare him felf a prophet. His masters, who paffed for his disciples, composed a confused medley of the Christian and Jewish religions; threw fome fparks of truth into an abyfs of obscurity; agreed to announce a God eternal, incorporeal, infinite, fource of all perfection and juftice, a God who rewards and punishes, to these grofs idolaters, who had been able to make for themfelves, only Gods infenfible and deaf. Mahomet and his accomplices promised themfelves much from the weight which evidence has on all mankind; but they meant to make ufe of truth, only to deceive with more certainty. A worship fimple and pure would never have procured the impoftor a throne; he would be king, legislator, and prophet; it was therefore neceffary, in order to captivate, to have recourfe to what was marvellous. The Jew furnished him with all the reveries of the Talmud; he perfuaded him likewife to feign revelations, extacies, and converfations with God. Mofes and Jefus Chrift, he faid, had been fent as prophets one after another, to enlighten mankind; but mankind had forfaken their ways. Mahomet, a greater prophet than either of them, affected a more extenfive miffion; he was come to announce greater truths. It was neceffary to fedúce, feduce, and the impoftor opened to his profelytes a Paradife of delights. The Arabians, more fenfual than any other people, were captivated by the fenfes. Mahomet offered them a felicity, fuch as they could comprehend and defire. Women, whose beauty was unfading, and who would never grow old; de-' licious gardens, a climate always temperate, a pure air, woods, fountains, meadows, evergreen trees, flowers exhaling a thousand perfumes, fruits of an exquifite tafte, in fhort, all the delights of a terreftrial Paradise, displayed in emphatic defcriptions, prefented to the inhabitants of burning Arabia the most pleasing images, and an idea of happiness, fuch as ignorant people could paint to their imagination. Polygamy, which Mahomet authorised by his law, contributed greatly to its propagation; as he was defirous of reigning by force, he obliged the feebler fex to put up with an unjust lot, in order to procure himself profelytes, and particularly foldiers, a fort of apoftles, on whom he relied ftill more than on the reveries of the Alcoran.* In order to adapt his law to the manners, wants, and defires of his countrymen, frequent washings, which are highly neceffary among the burning heats and arid fands of Arabia, were ordered in the Alcoran as a practice indifpenfable.§ * Al Coran fignifies, the fcripture by excellence. This § As the Muffulmen think to recover their purity by washings, they have recourfe to them feveral times a day, before they go to prayer. This book, which Muffulmen confider as the only one divine, was neither composed by the fame hand, nor at the fame time. The diforder and inequality which reign throughout, and the perpetual medley of maxims and facts which oppose one another, prove that different circumftances and neceffities were the occafion of each chapter. Whenever it was neceffary to prevent fome contradiction, or do away fome prejudice, the Angel Gabriel brought an order on purpose from God. The collection of thefe chapters was not made 'till after the death of Mahomet. Meanwhile the prophet's miffion manifefted itfelf by degrees. His relations and flaves were his firft difciples. Cadisja, his wife, had no difficulty to believe him a prophet whom the looked upon already as a God. But Mahomet experienced at firft in the bofom of his country, the perfecutions which every novator must expect. He called himself the envoy of God and the inftrument of his power. His republican countrymen had no inclination to acknowledge a mafter, more abfolute than the most powerful potentate. It was ftill much worfe when he pretended to have had, like Mofes, converfations with God, and wanted to give his new difciples the relation of his pretended journey into the feven Heavens. This abfurd fiction, made, according to Mahomet and his friends, to give him, among the Mecchefe, Mecchefe, all the marks of legiflator and envoy from God, irritated at firft the fmall number of fenfible people, who faw only disgusting puerilities in a fable fo badly made; but it enraged still more the multitude, jealous of their liberty, which the prophet attacked, and of their idolatry, which he wanted to fubvert. And indeed, Angels with seventy-two heads, in the mouth of each of which were seventy-two tongues, who spoke all. at the fame time each feventy-two different languages; a celeftial fpirit in the human form of fuch a prodigious fize, that the distance from one eye to the other was ninety days journey; a cock, whofe feet rested on the fecond Heaven, who hid his head in the third, at the distance of five hundred days journey the one from the other, and whofe crowing was heard by every living creature except man: fo many wonders of this nature would have enchanted ignorant, enthufiaftic Idolaters, if other abfurdities, which had been longer refpected, had not been contradicted by them. Be that as it may, Mahomet's most zealous difciples were foon driven from Mecca, and fled to Medina, a town of Arabia, about two hundred and ten miles from Mecca. Notwithstanding his flight, Mahomet's family fupported his interest for some time in his country. Medina was full of Jews and Chriftians, who had some authority there. The latter being informed that there there was a man perfecuted at Mecca for having attempted to fubvert the idols, for having announced a God infinite and incorporeal, a God who rewards good actions and punishes bad ones, for having faid that Jefus was the envoy of God, fon of the virgin Mary, they thought, or rather hoped, to find a fupporter of Christianity, in him, who thought only of its fubverfion. . Several Medinese haftened to Mecca, where Mahomet was tolerated with difficulty through the credit of fome powerful relations, who, without believing him a prophet, protected his imposture. It was in favor of these abused Christians, that we fee those encomiums on Christianity in the first chapters of the Alcoran. Mahomet invented the faft called the ramazan, in order to imitate the lent of the Chriftians,* as he borrowed of the Jews, or even of the Arabians, who likewife ufed it, the circumcifion, the gift of tenths, which he bestowed on the poor, and the abftinence from fwine's flesh. The Muffulmen ftill obferve the ramazan with as much aufterity as the Faithful their lent in the Roman catholic church; for they take no kind of food 'till after sun-set, even when this lunar month happens in the longest days of the fummer. As to the gift of tenths, it being *The yamazan is the ninth month of the Turkish year. As their year is composed of twelve lunar months, and is confequently near eleven days jefs than the folar, this month falls fucceffively on all the feasons of the year, |