A party which separated from the Quakers in Pennsylvania, in the year 1691. They were headed by the famous George Keith, from whom they derived their name. Those who persisted in their separation, after their leader deserted them, practised baptism, and received the Lord's supper. This party were also called Quaker Baptists, because they retained the language, dress, and manner of the Quakers.
Power of the, a term made use of in reference to
ecclesiastical jurisdiction, denoting the power of excommunicating and
absolving. The Romanists say that the pope has the power of the keys, and can
open and shut paradise as he pleases; grounding their opinion on that
expression of Jesus Christ to Peter--"I will give thee the keys of the
kingdom of heaven," Matt. xvi. 19. But every one must see that this is an
absolute perversion of Scripture; for the keys of the kingdom of heaven most
probably refer to the Gospel dispensation, and denote the power and authority
of every faithful minister to preach the Gospel, administer the sacraments, and
exercise government, that men may be admitted to or excluded from the church,
as is proper. See ABSOLUTION.
In St. Gregory we read that it was the custom for
the popes to send a golden key to princes, wherein they inclosed a little of
the filings of St. Peter's chain, kept with such devotion at Rome; and that
these keys were worn in the bosom, as being supposed to contain some wonderful
virtues! Such has been the superstition of past ages!!
The name of a petty ecclesiastical judicatory in Scotland. Each parish according to its extent is divided into several particular districts, every one of which has its own elder and deacons to oversee it. A consistory of the ministers, elders, and deacons of a parish form a kirk session. These meet once a week, the minister being their moderator, but without a negative voice. It regulates matters relative to public worship, elections, catechising, visitations, &c. It judges in matters of less scandal; but greater, as adultery, are left to the presbytery, and in all cases an appeal lies from it to the presbytery.--Kirk sessions have likewise the care of the poor, and poor's funds. See PRESBYTERIANS.
Civil behaviour, favourable treatment, or a constant and habitual practice of friendly offices and benevolent actions. See CHARITY, GENTLENESS.
A denomination in the 16th century; so called from Bertrand Knipperdoling, who taught that the righteous before the day of judgment shall have a monarchy on earth, and the wicked be destroyed: that men are not justified by their faith in Christ Jesus; that there is no original sin; that infants ought not to be baptized, and that immersion is the only mode of baptism; that every one has authority to preach and administer the sacraments; that men are not obliged to pay respect to magistrates; that all things ought to be in common, and that it is lawful to marry many wives.
Is defined by Mr. Locke to be the perception of the connexion and agreement, or disagreement and repugnancy of our ideas. It also denotes learning, or the improvement of our faculties by reading; experience, or the acquiring new ideas or truths, by seeing a variety of objects, and making observations upon them in our own minds. No man, says the admirable Dr. Watts, is obliged to learn and know every thing; this can neither be sought nor required, for it is utterly impossible: yet all persons are under some obligation to improve their own understanding, otherwise it will be a barren desert, or a forest overgrown with weeds and brambles. Universal ignorance, or infinite error, will overspread the mind which is utterly neglected and lies without any cultivation. The following rules, therefore, should be attended to for the improvement of knowledge. 1. Deeply possess your mind with the vast importance of a good judgment, and the rich and inestimable advantage of right reasoning.--2. Consider the weaknesses, failings, and mistakes of human nature in general.--3. Be not satisfied with a slight view of things, but to take a wide survey now and then of the vast and unlimited regions of learning, the variety of questions and difficulties belonging to every science.--4. Presume not too much upon a bright genius, a ready wit, and good parts; for this, without study, will never make a man of knowledge.--5. Do not imagine that large and laborious reading, and a strong memory, can denominate you truly wise, without meditation and studious thought.--6. Be not so weak as to imagine that a life of learning is a life of laziness.--7. Let the hope of new discoveries, as well as the satisfaction and pleasure of known truths, nor take up suddenly with mere appearances.--9. Once a day, especially in the early years of life and study, call yourselves to an account what new ideas you have gained.--10. Maintain a constant watch, at all times, against a dogmatical spirit.--11. Be humble and courageous enough to retract any mistake, and confess an error.--12. Beware of a fanciful temper of mind, and a humorous conduct.--13. Have a care of trifling with things important and momentous, or of sporting with things awful and sacred.--14. Ever maintain a virtuous and pious frame of spirit.--15. Watch against the pride of your own reason, and a vain conceit of your own intellectual powers, with the neglect of divine aid and blessing.--16. Offer up, therefore, your daily requests to God, the Father of Lights, that he would bless all your attempts and labours in reading, study, and conversation. Watts on the Mind, chap. i; Dr. John Edwards's Uncertainty, Deficiency, and Corruption of Human Knowledge; Reid's Intellectual Powers of Man; Stennett's Sermon on Acts xxvi. 24,25.
Is often taken for the fear of God and the whole
of religion. There is, indeed, a speculative knowledge, which consists only in
the belief of his existence, and the acknowledgment of his perfections, but has
no influence on the heart and conduct. A spiritual saving knowledge consists in
veneration for the Divine Being, Psal. lxxxix. 7, love to him as an object of
beauty and goodness, Zech. ix. 17. humble confidence in his mercy and promise,
Psal. ix. 10. and sincere, uniform, and persevering obedience to his word, 1
John ii. 3. It may farther be considered as a knowledge of God, the Father; of
his love, faithfulness, power, &c. Of the Son, as it relates to the dignity
of his nature, 1 John v. 20. the suitability of his offices, Heb. ix. the
perfection of his work, Psalm lxviii. 18. the brightness of his example, Acts
x. 38. and the prevalency of his intercession, Heb. vii. 25. Of the Holy Ghost,
as equal with the Father and the Son; of his agency as enlightener and
comforter; as also in his work of witnessing, sanctifying, and directing his people,
John xv. xvi. 2 Cor. iii. 17,18. John iii. 5,6. Rom. viii. 16. This knowledge
may be considered as experimental, 2 Tim. i. 12, fiducial, Job xiii. 15,16.
affectionate, 1 John iii. 19. influential, Ps. ix. 10. Matt. v. 16.
humiliating, Isa. vi. Job xlii. 5,6. satisfying, Psal. xxxvi. 7. Prov. iii. 17.
and superior to all other knowledge, Phil. iii. 8. The advantages of religious
knowledge are every way great. It forms the basis of true honour and felicity.
"Not all the lustre of a noble birth, not all the influence of wealth, not
all the pomp of titles, not all the splendour of power, can give dignity to the
soul that is destitute of inward improvement. By this we are allied to angels,
and are capable of rising for ever in the scale of being. Such is its inherent
worth, that it hath always been represented under the most pleasing images. In
particular, it hath been compared to light, the most valuable and reviving part
of nature's works, and to that glorious luminary which is the most beautiful
and transporting object our eyes behold. If we entertain any doubts concerning
the intrinsic value of religious knowledge, let us look around us, and we shall
be convinced how desirable it is to be acquainted with God, with spiritual,
with eternal things. Observe the difference between a cultivated and a barren
country. While the former is a lovely, cheerful, and delightful sight, the
other administers a spectacle of horror. There is an equal difference between
the nations among whom the principles of piety prevail, and the nations that
are overrun with idolatry, superstition, and error. Knowledge, also, is of
great importance to our personal and private felicity: it furnishes a pleasure
that cannot be met with in the possession of inferior enjoyments; a fine
entertainment, which adds a relish to prosperity, and alleviates the hour of
distress. It throws a lustre upon greatness, and reflects an honour upon
poverty. Knowledge will also instruct us how to apply our several talents for
the benefit of mankind. It will make us capable of advising and regulating
others. Hence we may become the lights of the world, and diffuse those
beneficent beams around us, which shall shine on benighted travellers, and
discover the path of rectitude and bliss. This knowledge, also, tends to
destroy bigotry and enthusiasm. To this we are indebted for the important
change which hath been made since the beginning of the reformation. To this we
are indebted for the general cultivation and refinement of the understandings
of men. It is owing to this state that even arbitrary governments seem to have
lost something of their original ferocity, and that there is a source of
improvement in Europe which will, we hope, in future times, shed the most
delightful influences on society, and unite its members in harmony, peace, and
love. But the advantages of knowledge are still greater, for it points out to
us an eternal felicity. The several branches of human science are intended only
to bless and adorn our present existence; but religious knowledge bids us
provide for an immortal being, sets the path of salvation before us, and is our
inseparable companion in the road to glory. As it instructs in the way to
endless bliss, so it will survive that mighty day when all worldly literature
and accomplishments shall for ever cease. At that solemn period, in which the
records and registers of men shall be destroyed, the systems of human policy be
dissolved, and the grandest works of genius die, the wisdom which is spiritual
and heavenly shall not only subsist, but be increased to an extent that human
nature cannot in this life admit. Our views of things, at present, are obscure,
imperfect, partial, and liable to error; but when we arrive to the realms of
everlasting light, the clouds that shadowed our understanding will be removed;
we shall behold with amazing clearness the attributes, ways, and works of God;
shall perceive more distinctly the design of his dispensations; shall trace
with rapture the wonders of nature and grace, and become acquainted with a
thousand glorious objects, or which the imagination can as yet have no
conception."
In order to increase in the knowledge of God,
there must be dependence on Him from whom all light proceeds, James i. 6.
attention to his revealed will, John v. 39. a watchful spirit against corrupt
affections, Luke xxi. 34. a humble frame of mind, Ps. xxv. 9. frequent
meditation, Ps. civ. 34. a persevering design for conformity to the divine
image, Hos. vi. 3. Charnock's Works, vol. ii. p. 381; Saurin's Serm. vol. i.
ser. 1; Gill's Body of Div. vol. iii. p. 12. oct.; Tillotson's Serm. ser. 113;
Watts's Works, vol. i. ser. 45; Hall's Sermon on the Advantages of Knowledge to
the Lower Classes.
See OMNISCIENCE.
Or ALCORAN, the Scripture or Bible of the
Mahometans, containing the revelations and doctrines of their pretended
prophet.
1. Koram, division of the. The Koran is divided
into one hundred and fourteen larger portions of very unequal length, which we
call chapters, but the Arabians Sowar, in the singular Sura; a word rarely used
on any other occasion, and properly signifying a row, or in building, or a rank
of soldiers in an army, and is the same in use and import with the Sura, or
Tora, of the Jews; who also call the fifty three sections of the Pentateuch
Sedarim, a word of the same signification. These chapters are not, in the
manuscript copies, distinguished by their numerical order, but by particular titles,
which are taken sometimes from a peculiar subject treated of, or person
mentioned therein; usually from the first word of note, exactly in the same
manner as the Jews have named their Sedarim, though the word from which some
chapters are denominated be very distant towards the middle, or perhaps the
end, of the chapter; which seems ridiculous. But the occasion of this appears
to have been, that the verse or passage wherein such word occurs, was, in point
of time, revealed and committed to writing before the other verses of the same
chapter which precede it in order, the verse from whence such title was taken
did not always happen to begin the chapter. Some chapters have two or more
titles, occasioned by the difference of the copies. Some of them being
pretended to have been revealed at Mecca, and others at Medina, the noting this
difference makes a part of the title. Every chapter is divided into smaller
portions, of very unequal length also, which we customarily call verses; but
the Arabic word is Ayat, the same with the Hebrew Ototh, and signifies signs or
wonders; such as the secrets of God, his attributes, works, judgments, and
ordinances, delivered in those verses; many of which have their particular
titles, also, imposed in the same manner as those of the chapters. Besides
these unequal divisions, the Mahometans have also divided their Koran into
sixty equal portions, which they call Anzab, in the singular Hizb, each
subdivided into four equal parts; which is likewise an imitation of the Jews,
who have an ancient division of their Mishma into sixty portions, called
Massictoth. But the Koran is more usually divided into thirty sections only,
named Ajaza, from the singular Joz, each of twice the length of the former, and
in like manner subdivided into four parts. These divisions are for the use of
the readers of the Koran in the royal temples, or in the adjoining chapels
where the emperors and great men are interred; of whom there are thirty
belonging to every chapel, and each reads his section every day; so that the
whole Koran is read over once a day. Next after the title, at the name of every
chapter except only the ninth, is prefixed the following solemn form, by the
Mahometans, called the Bismallah.--"In the name of the most merciful God;"
which form they constantly place at the beginning of all their hooks and
writings in general, as a peculiar mark and distinguishing characteristic of
their religion, it being counted a sort of impiety to omit it. the Jews, and
eastern Christians, for the same purpose, make use of similar forms. But
Mahomet probably took this form from the Persian Magi, who began their books in
these words, Benam Yezdam, bakshaishgher dadar; that is, In the name of the
most merciful just God. There are twenty-nine chapters of the Koran which have
this peculiarity, that they begin with certain letters of the alphabet, some
with single ones, others with more. These letters the Mahometans believe to be
the peculiar marks of the Koran, and to conceal several profound mysteries; the
certain understanding of which, the more intelligent confess, has not been
communicated to any mortal, their prophet only excepted: notwithstanding which,
some take the liberty of guessing at their meaning by that species of cabala
called by the Jews, Notarikon.
2. Koran, general design of the. The general
design of the Koran was to unite the professors of the three different
religions, than followed in the populous country of Arabia, (who, for the most
part, wandered without guides, the far greater number being idolaters, and the
rest Jews and Christians, mostly of erroneous opinion,) in the knowledge and
worship of one God, under the sanction of certain laws and ceremonies, partly
of ancient, and partly of novel institution, enforced by the consideration of
rewards and punishments both temporal and eternal; and to bring them all to the
obedience of Mahomet, as the prophet and ambassador of God; who, after the
repeated admonitions, promises, and threats of former ages, was sent at last to
establish and propagate God's religion on earth; and to be acknowledged chief
pontiff in spiritual matters, as well as supreme prince in temporal. The great
doctrine, then, of the Koran is the unity of God, to restore which, Mahomet
pretended, was the chief end of his mission; it being laid down by him as a
fundamental truth, That there never was, nor ever can be, more than one true
orthodox religion: that, though the particular laws or ceremonies are only
temporary and subject to alteration, according to the divine direction; yet the
substance of it, being eternal truth, is not liable to change, but continues
immutably the same; and that, whenever this religion became neglected or
corrupted in essentials, God had the goodness to re-inform and re-admonish
mankind thereof by several prophets, of whom Moses and Jesus were the most
distinguished, till the appearance of Mahomet, who is their seal, and no other
to be expected after him. The more effectually to engage people to hearken to
him, great part of the Koran is employed in relating examples of dreadful
punishments formerly inflicted by God on those who rejected and abused his
messengers; several of which stories, or some circumstances of them, are taken
from the Old and New Testaments, but many more from the apocryphal books and
traditions of the Jews and Christians of those ages, set up in the Koran as
truths, in opposition to the Scriptures, which the Jews and Christians are
charged with having altered; and, indeed, few or none of the relations of
circumstances in the Koran were invented by Mahomet, as is generally supposed;
it being easy to trace the greatest part of them much higher, as the rest might
be, were more of these books extant, and were it worth while to make the
inquiry. The rest of the Alcoran is taken up in prescribing necessary laws and
directions, frequent admonitions to moral and divine virtues, the worship and
reverence of the Supreme Being, and resignation to his will. One of their most
learned commentators distinguishes the contents of the Alcoran into allegorical
and literal: under the former are comprehended all the obscure, parabolical,
and enigmatical passages, with such laws as are repealed or abrogated; the
latter, such as are clear, and in full force. The most excellent moral in the
whole Alcoran, interpreters say, is that in the chapter Al alraf, viz.
"Show mercy, do good to all, and dispute not with the ignorant;" or,
as Mr. Sale renders it, Use indulgence, command that which is just, and
withdraw far from the ignorant. Mahomet, according to the authors of the
Keschaf, having begged of the angel Gabriel a more ample explication of this
passage, received it in the following terms: "Seek him who turns thee out,
give to him who takes from thee, pardon him who injures thee; for God will have
you plant in your souls the roots of his chief perfections." It is easy to
see that this commentary is borrowed from the Gospel. In reality, the necessity
of forgiving enemies, though frequently inculcated in the Alcoran, is of a
later date among the Mahometans, than among the Christians; among those later
than among the heathens; and to be traced originally among the Jews, (See
Exodus, xxxiii. 4,5.) But it matters not so much who had it first as who
observes it best. The caliph Hassan, son of Hali, being at table, a slave let
fall a dish of meat reeking hot, which scalded him severely. The slave fell on
his knees, rehearsing these words of the Alcoran; "Paradise is for those
who restrain their anger." "I am not angry with thee," answered
the caliph. "And for those who forgive offences against them,"
continues the slave, "I forgive thee thine," replies the caliph.
"But, above all, for those who return good for evil," adds the slave.
"I set thee at liberty," rejoined the caliph; "and I give thee
ten dinars" There are also a great number of occasional passages in the
Alcoran relating only to particular emergencies. For this advantage Mahomet
had, by his piecemeal method of receiving and delivering his revelations, that,
whenever he happened to be perplexed with any thing, he had a certain resource
in some new morsel of revelation. It was an admirable contrivance to bring down
the whole Alcoran only to the lowest heaven, not to earth; since, had the whole
been published at once, innumerable objections would have been made, which it
would have been impossible for him to have solved; but as he received it by
parcels, as God saw fit they should be published for the conversion and
instruction of the people, he had a sure way to answer all emergencies, and to
extricate himself with honour from any difficulty which might occur.
3. Koran, history of the. It is the common
opinion, that Mahomet, assisted by one Sergius, a monk, composed this book; but
the Mussulmans believe it as an article of their faith, that the prophet, who,
they say, was an illiterate man, had no concern in inditing it; but that it was
given him by God, who, to that end, made use of the ministry of the angel
Gabriel; that, however, it was communicated to him by little and little, a
verse at a time, and in different places, during the course of 23
years.--"And hence," say they, "proceed that disorder and
confusion visible in the work;" which, in truth, are so great, that all
their doctors have never been able to adjust them; for Mahomet, or rather his
copyist, having put all the loose verses promiscuously in a book together, it
was impossible ever to retrieve the order wherein they were delivered. These 23
years which the angel employed in conveying the Alcoran to Mahomet, are of
wonderful service to his followers; inasmuch as they furnish them with an
answer to such as tax them with those glaring contradictions of which the book
is full, and which they piously father upon God himself; alleging that, in the
course of so long a time, he repealed and altered several doctrines and
precepts which the prophet had before received of him. M. D'Herbelot thinks it
probable, that when the heresies of the Nestorians, Eutychians, &c. had
been condemned by aecumenical councils, many bishops, priests, monks, &c.
being driven into the deserts of Arabia and Egypt, furnished the impostor with
passages, and crude ill-conceived doctrines, out of the Scriptures; and that it
was hence that the Alcoran became so full of the wild and erroneous opinions of
those heretics. The Jews also, who were very numerous in Arabia, furnished
materials, for the Alcoran; nor is it without some reason that they boast
twelve of their chief doctors to have been the authors of this work. The
Alcoran, while Mahomet lived, was only kept in loose sheets: his successor,
Abubeker, first collected them into a volume, and committed the keeping of it
to Haphsa, the widow of Mahomet, in order to be consulted as an original; and
there being a good deal of diversity between the several copies already
dispersed throughout the provinces, Ottoman, successor of Abubeker, procured a
great number of copies to be taken from that of Haphsa, at the same time
suppressing all the others not conformable to the original. The chief
differences in the present copies of this book consist in the points, which
were not in use in the time of Mahomet and his immediate successors; but were
added since, to ascertain the reading, after the example of the Massorettes,
who added the like points to the Hebrew texts of Scripture. There are seven principal
editions of the Alcoran, two at Medina, one at Mecca, one at Cufa, one at
Bassora, one in Syria, and the common, or vulgate edition. The first contains
6000 verses, the others surpassing this number by 200 or 236 verses; but the
number of words and letters is the same in all; viz. 77,639 words, and 323,015
letters. The number of commentaries on the Alcoran is so large, that the bare
titles would make a huge volume. Ben Oschair has written the history of them,
entitled, Tarikh Ben Oschair. The principal among them are, Reidhaori,
Thaalebi, Zamalchschari, and Bacai. The Mahometans have a positive theology
built on the Alcoran and tradition, as well as a scholastical one built on
reason. They have likewise their casuists, and a kind of canon law, wherein
they distinguish between what is of divine and what of positive right. They
have their beneficiaries, too, chaplains, almoners, and canons, who read a
chapter every day out of the Alcoran in their mosques, and have prebends
annexed to their office. The hatib of the mosque is what we call the parson of
the parish; and the schelks are the preachers, who take their texts out of the
Alcoran.
4. Koran, Mahometan faith concerning. It is the
general belief among the Mahometans that the Koran is of divine original; nay,
that it is eternal and uncreated; remaining, as some express it, in the very
essence of God: and the first transcript has been from everlasting, by God's
throne, written on a table of vast bigness, called the preserved table, in
which are also recorded the divine decrees, past and future; that a copy from
this table, in one volume upon paper, was by the ministry of the angel Gabriel
sent down to the lowest heaven, in the month of Ramadan, on the night of power,
from whence Gabriel revealed it to Mahomet in parcels, some at Mecca, and some
at Medina, at different times, during the space of twenty-three years, as the
exigency of affairs required; giving him, however, the consolation to show him
the whole (which they tell us was bound in silk, and adorned with gold and
precious stones of paradise) once a year; but in the last year of his life he
had the favour to see it twice. They say, that only ten chapters were delivered
entire, the rest being revealed piecemeal, and written down from time to time
by the prophet's amanuensis, in such a part of such and such a chapter, till
they were completed, according to the directions of the angel. The first parcel
that was revealed is generally agreed to have been the first five verses of the
ninety-sixth chapter. In fine, the book of the Alcoran is held in the highest
esteem and reverence among the Mussulmans. They dare not so much as touch the
Alcoran without being first washed, or legally purified; to prevent which an
inscription is put on the cover or label,--Let none touch but they who are
clean. It is read with great care and respect, being never held below the
girdle. They swear by it; take omens from it on all weighty occasions; carry it
with them to war; write sentences of it on their banners; adorn it with gold
and precious stones; and knowingly not suffer it to be in the possession of any
of a different religion. Some say that it is punishable even with death, in a
Christian, to touch it; others, that the veneration of the Mussulmans leads
them to condemn the translating it into any other language, as a profanation:
but these seem to be exaggerations. The Mahometans have taken care to have
their Scripture translated into the Persian, the Javan, the Malayan, and other
languages; though, out of respect to the original, these versions are
generally, if not always, interlineated.
5. Koran, success of the, accounted for. The
author of the "View of Christianity and Mahometanism" observes, that,
"by the advocates of Mahometanism, the Koran has always been held forth as
the greatest of miracles, and equally stupendous with the act of raising the
dead. The miracles of Moses and Jesus, they say, were transient and temporary:
but that of the Koran is permanent and perpetual, and therefore far surpassed
all the miraculous events of preceding ages. We will not detract from the real
merits of the Koran; we allow it to be generally elegant and often sublime; but
at the same time we reject with disdain its arrogant pretence to any thing
supernatural, all the real excellence of the work being easily referable to
natural and visible causes. In the language of Arabia, a language extremely
loved and diligently cultivated by the people to whom it was vernacular,
Mahomet found advantages which were never enjoyed by any former or succeeding
impostor. It requires not the eye of a philosopher to discover in every soil
and country a principle of national pride: and if we look back for many ages on
the history of the Arabians, we shall easily perceive that pride among them
invariably to have consisted in the knowledge and improvement of their native
language. The Arabic, which has been justly esteemed the most copious of the
eastern tongues, which had existed from the remotest antiquity, which had been
embellished by numberless poets, and refined by the constant exercise of the
natives, was the most successful instrument which Mahomet employed in planting
his new religion among them. Admirably adapted by its unrivalled harmony, and
by its endless variety, to add painting to expression, and to pursue the
imagination in its unbounded flight, it became in the hands of Mahomet an
irresistible charm to blind the judgment and to captivate the fancy of his
followers. Of that description of men who first composed the adherents of
Mahomet, and to whom the Koran was addressed, few, probably, were able to pass
a very accurate judgment on the propriety of the sentiments, or on the beauty
of the diction: but all could judge of the military abilities of their leader;
and in the midst of their admiration, it is not difficult to conceive that they
would ascribe to his compositions every imaginary beauty of inspired language.
The shepherd and the soldier, though awake to the charms of those wild but
beautiful compositions in which were celebrated their favourite occupations of
love or war, were yet little able to criticise any other works than those which
were addressed to their imagination or their heart. To abstract reasonings on
the attributes and the dispensations of the Deity, to the comparative excellencies
of rival religions, to the consistency of any one religious system in all its
parts, and to the force of its various proofs, they were quite inattentive. In
such a situation, the appearance of a work which possessed something like
wisdom and consistence; which prescribed the rules and illustrated the duties
of life; and which contained the principles of a new and comparatively sublime
theology, independently of its real and permanent merit, was likely to excite
their astonishment, and to become the standard of future composition. In the
first periods of the literature of every country, something of this kind has
happened. The father of Grecian poetry very obviously influenced the taste and
imitation of his country. The modern nations of Europe all possess some
original author, who, rising from the darkness of former ages, has begun the
career of composition, and tinctured with the character of his own imagination
the stream which has flowed through his posterity. But the prophet of Arabia
had in this respect advantages peculiar to himself. His compositions were not
to his followers the works of man, but the genuine language of Heaven which had
sent him. They were not confined, therefore, to that admiration which is so
liberally bestowed on the earliest productions of genius, or to that fond
attachment with which men every where regard the original compositions of their
country; but with their admiration they blended their piety. To know and to
feel the beauties of the Koran, was in some respect to share in the temper of
heaven; and he who was most affected with admiration in the perusal of its
beauties, seemed fitly the object of that mercy which had given it to ignorant
man. The Koran, therefore, became naturally and necessarily the standard of taste.
With a language thus hallowed in their imaginations, they were too well
satisfied either to dispute its elegance, or improve its structure. In
succeeding ages, the additional sanction of antiquity or prescription, was
given to those compositions which their fathers had admired; and while the
belief of its divine original continues, that admiration which has thus become
the test and the duty of the faithful, can neither be altered nor diminished.
When, therefore, we consider these peculiar advantages of the Koran, we have no
reason to be surprised at the admiration in which it is held. But, if
descending to a more minute investigation of it, we consider its perpetual
inconsistence and absurdity, we shall indeed have cause for astonishment at
that weakness of humanity which could ever have received such compositions as
the work of the Deity."
6. Koran, style and merits of the, examined.
"The first praise of all the productions of genius (continues this author)
is invention; that quality of the mind, which, by the extent and quickness of
its views, is capable of the largest conceptions, and of forming new
combinations of objects the most distant and unusual. But the Koran bears
little impression of this transcendant character. Its materials are wholly borrowed
from the Jewish and Christian Scriptures, from the Talmudical legends and
apocryphal gospels than current in the east, and from the traditions and fables
which abounded in Arabia. The materials collected from these several sources
are here heaped together with perpetual and heedless repetitions, without any
settled principle or visible connection. When a great part of the life of
Mahomet had been spent in preparatory meditation on the system he was about to
establish, its chapters were dealt out slowly and separately during the long
period of twenty-three years. Yet, thus defective in its structure, and no less
objectionable in its doctrines, was the work which Mahomet delivered to his
followers as the oracles of God. The most prominent feature of the Koran, that
point of excellence in which the partiality of its admirers has ever delighted
to view it, is the sublime notion it generally impresses of the nature and
attributes of God. If its author had really derived these just conceptions from
the inspiration of that Being whom they attempt to describe, they would not
have been surrounded, as they now are on every side, with error and absurdity.
But it might be easily proved, that whatever it justly defines of the divine
attributes was borrowed from our Holy Scripture; which even from its first
promulgation, but especially from the completion of the New Testament, has
extended the views and enlightened the understandings of mankind: and thus
furnished them to arms which have too often been effectually turned against
itself by its ungenerous enemies. In this instance, particularly, the copy is
far below the great original, both in the propriety of its images and the force
of its descriptions."
7. Koran, the sublimity of the, contrasted.
"Our Holy Scriptures are the only compositions that can enable the dim
sight of mortality to penetrate into the invisible world, and to behold a
glimpse of the divine perfections. Accordingly, when they would represent to us
the happiness of heaven, they describe it, not by any thing minute and
particular, but by something general and great; something that, without
descending to any determinate object, may at once by its beauty and immensity
excite our wishes, and elevate our affections. Though in the prophetical and
evangelical writings, the joys that shall attend us in a divine state, are
often mentioned with ardent admiration, they are expressed rather by allusion
than by similitude; rather by indefinite and figurative terms, than by any
thing fixed and determinate. 'Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have
entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that
love him,' 1 Cor. ii. 9. What a reverence and astonishment does this passage
excite in every hearer of taste and piety! What energy, and at the same time
what simplicity in the expression! How sublime, and at the same time how
obscure, is the imagery! Different was the conduct of Mahomet in his
descriptions of heaven and paradise. Unassisted by the necessary influence of
virtuous intentions and divine inspiration, he was neither desirous, nor indeed
able to exalt the minds of men to sublime conceptions, or to rational
expections. By attempting to explain what is inconceivable, to describe what is
ineffable, and to materialize what in itself is spiritual, he absurdly and
impiously aimed to sensualize the purity of the divine essence. Thus he
fabricated a system of incoherence, a religion of depravity, totally repugnant
to the nature of that Being, who, as he pretended, was its object; but therefore
more likely to accord with the appetites and conceptions of a corrupt and
sensual age. That we may not appear to exalt our Scriptures thus far above the
Koran by an unreasonable preference, we shall produce a part of the second
chapter of the latter, which is deservedly admired by the Mahometans, who wear
it engraved on their ornaments, and recite it in their prayers. "God!
there is no God but he; the living, the self-subsisting; neither slumber nor
sleep seizeth him: to him belongeth whatsoever is in heaven, and on earth. Who
is he that can intercede with him but through his good pleasure? He knoweth
that which is past, and that which is to come. His throne is extended over
heaven and earth, and the preservation of both is to him no burden. He is the
high, the mighty.' Sale's Koran, vol. ii. p. 30. To this description who can
refuse the praise of magnificence? Part of that magnificence, however, is to be
referred to that verse of the psalmist whence it was borrowed: 'He that keepeth
Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep,' Psal. cxxi. 4. But if we compare it
with that other passage of the inspired psalmist, (Psal. cii. 24-27.) all its
boasted grandeur is at once obscured, and lost in the blaze of a greater light!
'O, my god, take me not away in the midst of my days; thy years are throughout
all generations. Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth; and the
heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure;
yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change
them, and they shall be changed. But thou art the same, and thy years shall
have no end.' The Koran, therefore, upon a fair examination, far from
supporting its arrogant claim to a supernatural work, sinks below the level of
many compositions confessedly of human original; and still lower does it fall
in our estimation, when compared with that pure and perfect pattern which we
justly admire in the Scriptures of truth. It is, therefore, abundantly
apparent, that no miracle was either externally performed for the support, or
is internally involved in the composition of the Mahometan revelation."
See Sale's Koran; Prideaux's Life of Mahomet; White's Sermons of Bampton
Lectures; and article MAHOMETANISM.
A branch of the Monophysites, which maintained that the body of Christ before his resurrection was corruptible.