CHAPTER IX.

The Bashaw Hayanie, an old man of 100 years of age, who governed Suse and Agadeer part of the time when I was established there (and who was a favourite of the Emperor Muley Ismael) has assured me, that by compelling the Bukarie blacks to carry burdens up the mountain to the town of Agadeer, in the heat of the day, they have been cured of this disease. If this be true, it can be attributed only to the profuse perspiration induced by violent exercise in a hot country. The constant and general use of the warm bath may also tend to assuage the virulence of this enemy to the human constitution.

Leprosy.—Leprosy, called Jeddem, is very prevalent inBarbary; people affected with it are common in the province of Haha, where oil argannick is much used, which, when not properly prepared, is said to heat the blood.[159]The lepers of Haha are seen in parties of ten or twenty together, and approach travellers to beg charity. In the city of Marocco there is a separate quarter, outside of the walls, inhabited by lepers only. In passing through this place, I observed that its inhabitants were not generally disfigured in personal appearance; the women, when young, are extremely handsome; some few have a livid, spotted, or cracked skin: they are sometimes flushed in the face, and at others pale: when they appear abroad, they assist their complexion with (el akker) rouge, and (el kahol) lead ore, with which latter they blacken their eye-lashes and eye brows, and puncture the chin from the tip to the middle of the lower lip; but this practice, which they think increases their beauty, rather disfigures them.

Leprosy being considered epidemical, those who are affected with it are obliged to wear a badge of distinction whenever they leave their habitations, so that a straw hat, with a very wide brim, tied on in a particular manner, is the signal for persons not to approach the wearer; the lepers are seen in various parts of Barbary, sitting on the ground with a wooden bowl before them, begging; and in this way they collect sometimes a considerable sum for such a country: they intermarry with each other; and although the whole system is said to be contaminated, yet they seldom discover any external marks of disease, except those before-mentioned, and generally a paucity or total want of eye-brows. On any change of weather, and particularlyif the sky be overcast, and the air damp, they will be seen sitting round a fire, warming their bones, as they term it, for they ache all over till the weather resumes its wonted salubrity.

Elephantiasis and Hydrocele.—Persons affected with the elephantiasis, dropsy, and hydrocele, are frequently met with, particularly about Tangier, the water of which is said to occasion the latter; and those who are recently affected with it, affirm, that it leaves them on removing from the place.[160]During my stay once at Tangier, after travelling through the country, I observed one of my servants labouring under the disorder; on speaking to him about it, and regretting that there was no physician to afford him relief, he laughed, and made light of it, saying he hoped I would not stay long in Tangier, as it was occasioned by the water of the place, and would leave him as soon as we departed; which was actually the case, for two days after our departure it had almost entirely subsided. The elephantiasis has been thought a species of leprosy, for it desiccates the epidermis of the legs, which swell and appear rugous.

(El Murrar) Bile.—This is a very general disease, as well as all those which proceed from a too copious secretion of bile. The Jews, and the Mohammedans who are not scrupulous, use brandy made from raisins or figs to remove the bilious sensation, which operates as an anodyne. Senna, rhubarb, and succotrine aloes, mixed with honey, are administered with temporary success.

(Bu Saffra) Jaundice.—Men, as well as horses, having the jaundice, are punctured with a hot iron, through the skin,at the joints. I have seen both cured in six or seven days by this operation.

(Tunia) Tape-worm.—This is a disease to which the people are particularly subject; they take large quantities of (El Assel ou Assheh) honey and worm-seed, which produces beneficial effects. The children are generally afflicted with this disease; the eyes appear hollow, with a whiteness of the adjacent skin.

(Bu Wasir), Hæmorrhoides.—This disease is very general; refrigerants are applied for its cure internally, and an unguent, composed of oil of almonds, and the juice of the opuntia, or prickly-pear tree.

Hydrophobiais entirely unknown in West Barbary, which is the more extraordinary, as dogs abound every where, are frequently destitute of water, and suffer intolerably from heat and exposure to the sun.

Hernia.—Cases of hernia are sometimes met with, though not so frequently as in Europe.

They have no effectual remedy for any of the before mentioned diseases; their whole materia medica consists, with little exception, of herbs and other vegetables, from their knowledge of the medical virtues of which much might be learned by European physicians. Bleeding is a general remedy for various complaints; the healthy let blood once a year. Scarification on the forehead, at the back of the head, below the root of the hair, on the loins, the breast, and the legs is generally practised in cases of violent head-ache proceeding from an obstructed perspiration.

The classification of remedies among the Arabs is remarkably simple, the two grand divisions are refrigerants and heating medicines: they quote some ancient Arabian, who says,

FOOTNOTES:[147]See the Author’s observations, in a letter to Mr. Willis, in Gentleman’s Magazine, February 1805.[148]Seepage 105.[149]I have been informed that there are still at Marocco, apartments wherein the dead were placed; and that after the whole family was swept away the doors were built up, and remain so to this day.[150]There died, during the whole of the above periods, in the city of Marocco, 50,000; in Fas, 65,000; in Mogodor, 4,500; and in Saffy, 5,000; in all 124,500 souls![151]Des gens parvenues, as the French express it; or upstarts.[152]The good, or benediction.[153]At this time I received from Marocco a caravan of many camel loads of beeswax, in serrons containing 200 lbs. each; I sent for workmen to place them one upon another, and they demanded one dollar per serron for so moving them.[154]M’drob is an idiom in the Arabic language somewhat difficult to render into English; it is well known that the Mohammedans are predestinarians, and that they believe in the existence of spirits, devils, &c. their idea of the plague is, that it is a good or blessing sent from God to clear the world of a superfluous population—that no medicine or precaution can cure or prevent it; that every one who is to be a victim to it is (mktube) recorded in the Book of Fate; that there are certain Genii who preside over the fate of men, and who sometimes discover themselves in various forms, having often legs similar to those of fowls; that these Genii are armed with arrows: that when a person is attacked by the plague, which is called in Arabic l’amer, or the destiny or decree, he is shot by one of these Genii, and the sensation of the invisible wound is similar to that from a musquet-ball; hence the universal application of M’drob to a person afflicted with the plague, i.e. he is shot; and if he die, ufah ameruh, his destiny is completed or terminated (in this world). I scarcely ever yet saw the Mooselmin who did not affirm that he had at some time of his life seen these Genii, and they often appear, they say, in rivers.[155]Late British Consul in Egypt.[156]A sanctuary a mile south-east of the town of Mogodor, from whence the town receives its name.[157]Mr. Baldwin observed, that whilst the plague ravaged Egypt, the dealers in oil were not affected with the epidemy, and he accordingly recommended people to anoint themselves with oil every day as a remedy.[158]In Arabic, el murd el kabeer, or el murd En’sâh.[159]Seepage 138.[160]I mention this, from its being the popular, and generally received opinion of the natives only; the case of my servant would, indeed, seem to favour such an opinion, but his cure was probably owing to other causes.

FOOTNOTES:

[147]See the Author’s observations, in a letter to Mr. Willis, in Gentleman’s Magazine, February 1805.

[148]Seepage 105.

[149]I have been informed that there are still at Marocco, apartments wherein the dead were placed; and that after the whole family was swept away the doors were built up, and remain so to this day.

[150]There died, during the whole of the above periods, in the city of Marocco, 50,000; in Fas, 65,000; in Mogodor, 4,500; and in Saffy, 5,000; in all 124,500 souls!

[151]Des gens parvenues, as the French express it; or upstarts.

[152]The good, or benediction.

[153]At this time I received from Marocco a caravan of many camel loads of beeswax, in serrons containing 200 lbs. each; I sent for workmen to place them one upon another, and they demanded one dollar per serron for so moving them.

[154]M’drob is an idiom in the Arabic language somewhat difficult to render into English; it is well known that the Mohammedans are predestinarians, and that they believe in the existence of spirits, devils, &c. their idea of the plague is, that it is a good or blessing sent from God to clear the world of a superfluous population—that no medicine or precaution can cure or prevent it; that every one who is to be a victim to it is (mktube) recorded in the Book of Fate; that there are certain Genii who preside over the fate of men, and who sometimes discover themselves in various forms, having often legs similar to those of fowls; that these Genii are armed with arrows: that when a person is attacked by the plague, which is called in Arabic l’amer, or the destiny or decree, he is shot by one of these Genii, and the sensation of the invisible wound is similar to that from a musquet-ball; hence the universal application of M’drob to a person afflicted with the plague, i.e. he is shot; and if he die, ufah ameruh, his destiny is completed or terminated (in this world). I scarcely ever yet saw the Mooselmin who did not affirm that he had at some time of his life seen these Genii, and they often appear, they say, in rivers.

[155]Late British Consul in Egypt.

[156]A sanctuary a mile south-east of the town of Mogodor, from whence the town receives its name.

[157]Mr. Baldwin observed, that whilst the plague ravaged Egypt, the dealers in oil were not affected with the epidemy, and he accordingly recommended people to anoint themselves with oil every day as a remedy.

[158]In Arabic, el murd el kabeer, or el murd En’sâh.

[159]Seepage 138.

[160]I mention this, from its being the popular, and generally received opinion of the natives only; the case of my servant would, indeed, seem to favour such an opinion, but his cure was probably owing to other causes.

Some Observations on the Mohammedan Religion.

I shallnot attempt to give a philosophical dissertation on the tenets of the religion of Mohammed, a subject that has been often ably discussed by various authors; but a few desultory observations may, perhaps, be not improper in this place.

Many writers have endeavoured to vilify the Mohammedan religion, by exposing the dark side of it, and their representations have been transmitted to posterity by enthusiasts who, probably, have been anxious to acquire ecclesiastical fame; but we shall, on a minute examination of the doctrines contained in the Koran, find that it approaches nearer to the Christian religion, in its moral precepts, than any other with which we are acquainted. Indeed, were there as many absurdities in this religion as some persons have attributed to it, it is probable that it would not have extended itself over so great a portion of the habitable globe; for we find it embraced, with little exception, from the shores of West Barbary, to the most eastern part of Bengal, an extent of upwards of 8000 miles; and from the Mediterranean to Zanguebar and Mosambique, with the exception of some nations of Pagans; neither is there any language spoken and understood by so great a proportion of the population of the world as that in which it is promulgated.

Koran, chap. vii.—“Forgive easily: command nothing but what is just: dispute not with the ignorant”

Koran, chap. xi.—“O earth, swallow up thy waters: O heaven, withhold thy rain; immediately the waters subsided, the ark rested on Mount Al Judi, and these words were heard: Wo to the wicked nation!”

Chap. xiii.—“They who do good for evil shall obtain paradise for their reward.”

From these extracts we see that the Mohammedans have some of the same moral precepts laid down for their guidance which are inculcated by the Gospel of Christ. They believe in the flood; they teach forgiveness of injuries, justice, and rendering good for evil. The nations which followed paganism were taught by Mohammed the unity of God. He exhorted them to believe with the heart, that there is only one God, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, eternal, and that he is spiritual. That the angels are subtle, pure bodies, formed of light; neither eating, drinking, or sleeping; not of different sexes; having no carnal desires, nor degrees of relationship, and are of various forms.

Mohammed maintained that Jesus Christ was a prophet, and that those who believed it not were infidels. He says, the sacred books are 104, of which the Almighty gave

and he asserts, that whoever rejects, or calls in question the divine inspiration of any of the foregoing books, is an infidel. He says also, that he who can lay his hand on his heart and say, “I fear not the resurrection, nor am I in any concern about hell, and care not for heaven,” is an incorrigible infidel.

Religion and the State are considered as twins, inseparable; if one die, the other cannot survive.

The most refined and intelligent Mohammedans are not of opinion, that God is the author of all good and evil; but maintain that every man who follows the direct or good way, has the protecting eye of God upon him, and that God is with him; but that, if he withdraw his influence from any one, then evil or misfortune ensues; not actively from God, but passively from the withdrawing of that protecting influence; that this is an act of the Almighty, which cannot be easily comprehended by our weak reason: and that it is not willed by him with approbation, but necessarily. The Mohammedan thinks himself unworthy to prostrate himself before God, until he be clean and undefiled: this opinion makes ablutions so necessary; of which there are three kinds: the first is El gasul (the g pronounced guttural), which is an immersion of the whole body, and is performed by the affluent, or those in easy circumstances; the second is El woden, which is a washing of the hands, fingers, and arms, up to the elbows, the feet, face, and head, the sexual parts, the mouth and nostrils, the toes, separately and singly; and this should be repeated three times: the third mode of purification is practised only in the Desert, where the difference is the substitution of sand for water, as the latter can seldom be procured there.

Charity is considered a cardinal virtue, and an indispensible duty: those, however, who possess not five camels, or thirty sheep, and 200 pieces of silver, are not considered as obligated to give alms; for it is held, that the alms-giver should not injure himself. It is expected that a person of good property ought to give a muzuna[161]in a mitkal, which is equivalent to 6d.in the pound, to the poor, out of his annual profits, which being calculated at the end of the sacred month of Ramadan, the people have ten days to prepare their donations, when the feast of L’ashora commences, and the poor go about to the inhabitants to collect their respective donations, which they call (mtâa Allah)God’s property.[162]

During the fast of the moon, or month of Ramadan (which, from their years being lunar, happens at various periods of the year), they are very rigorous; it is necessary that the fast should be begun with an intention in the heart to please God: during this month they do not eat, nor even smell food, drink, smoke, nor communicate with women, from the rising to the setting sun; but at night they eat plentifully. Even those who indulge in wine at other times, refrain from it in the sacred month of Ramadan.

Mohammed declared that the Jews, Christians, and Pagans, cannot be saved, so long as they remain in infidelity and idolatry: of which last, the Mohammedans accuse the RomanCatholics, who worship a cross, or an image, carved by the hands of man: as to the English, they seem not to have determined what denomination to give them; they are commonly called infidels, who never pray; this opinion having obtained among them because Protestants have no public chapels in the Mohammedan towns in Africa, which the Catholics have, as already mentioned. They have it on record, that the sultan of the English (Richard Cœur de Lion) received from the Sultan Solhaden or Saladine, or from Mohammed himself, the letter admitting him and his followers as Mohammedans: but that the English king being engaged in various negociations whilst in Palestine, he did not give so much attention to the letter as was expected, and that after returning to England, he still doubted whether he should embrace the Mohammedan doctrine, or remain a Christian!

It is highly probable, in that age of fanaticism, when the holy wars were undertaken, that the Sultan Saladine, apprehensive for the cause of Mohammedanism, did make overtures to Richard; for it was the custom in the days of Mohammed, and afterwards in the days of those enthusiasts, to invite all powerful princes to embrace their religion.

The 2nd, 5th, and 9th chapters of the Koran declare a believer to be one who embraces the Mohammedan faith (i.e. a belief in the divine inspiration of the Prophets, of Jesus, and of Mohammed); this and Islaemism are synonymous terms.

Koran, chap. v.—“If Jews and Christians believe, they shall be admitted into paradise.”

1. Believe, implies a belief in one God, and of the day of judgment, the two grand pillars of Islaemism.

2. Believe in Islaemism; this admits of various interpretations:Islaem is performing obedience and prostration before God! in another interpretation it implies Mohammedanism, or a belief in the divine mission of Mohammed.

The generality of religions, which have made any progress in the world, make it indispensable to believe in its own tenets: Mohammed, although he naturally gives the preference to the religion of his own forming, yet he has the liberality to acknowledge, that those who have professed other religions may be saved, after suffering a degree of chastisement or damage in the life to come, as it is termed by him.

“Whoever shall have professed any religion except Islaemism, his belief shall not be acceptable to God, and he shall receive damage in the life to come, or be not so well received, as if he had professed Islaemism, or the law of peace and obedience.”

Although the Prophet reprobated the Jews as well as the Christians, whom he accused of perverting the Scriptures, yet he took care to keep up the latitudinarian principle of his own law, called Dêne-el-Wasah (the extended doctrine) by believing the divine inspiration of both the Old and New Testament, thus giving an opportunity to the expounders of the law, to regulate themselves according to circumstances.

The Mohammedans, when disputing with Christians, which they rarely do, say, that Christians believe faith will save the soul: they also believe so; and that if their religion is the true one, they will go to Paradise; they tell us, if your’s be the true one, we both shall go there, because we believe in the divinity of Christ, but you do not believe in that of Mohammed, therefore, if faith save the soul, we have the advantage of you in being, in any case, on the safe side.[163]

The Mooselmin’s ideas of the Creator are grand and elevated. Whatever is, exists either necessarily and of itself, and is God, or has not its being from itself, and does not exist necessarily, and is of two sorts: substance and accidents: substances are of two kinds, abstract and concrete; abstract substances are, all spirits and intellectual beings: concrete being the matter and form.

Whenever God is spoken of by the Mohammedans, as having form, eyes, &c. it is meant, allegorically, to convey the idea of some particular attribute.

They deny that Christ was crucified.

Finally, the Mohammedan religion recommends toleration; and all liberal Mohammedans insist that every man ought to worship God according to the law of his forefathers. “If it pleased God,” say they, “all men would believe; why then should a worm, a wretched mortal, be so foolish as to pretend to force other men to believe? The soul believes onlyby the will of God: these are the true principles of Mohammedans.”

It must, however, be observed, that the principles here laid down are not always the rule of action, any more than the sublime truths inculcated by the Christian religion are altogether acted upon by its professors.

Both religions acknowledge the greatness of God, and yetbigotry is so prevalent at Old Fas, that if a Christian were there to exclaim Allah k’beer, God is great, he would be invited immediately to add to it, and Mohammed is his prophet, which, if he were inadvertently to utter before witnesses, he would be compelled to become a Mohammedan, and would be circumcised accordingly:so that Europeans should be extremely cautious, when unprotected, or not in the suite of an ambassador, what words they ever repeat after a Mohammedan, even if ignorant of the meaning thereof. I do not apprehend, however, that it is necessary to observe this caution in any part of the empire except at Old Fas, where bigotry, as before observed,predominates.

Martin Martinius, the jesuit, and Abraham Ecchellensis, professor of Oriental languages at Rome in the 17th century, tax the Koran with asserting, that God himself prays for Mohammed; this absurdity has probably originated in an incorrect translation of the Koran, published about 270 years since, which translates, “may the blessing of God be upon thee, may the prayers of God be upon thee:” the same Arabic word (Sollah) which signifies peace or blessing, when applied to a man, signifies prayer. Sollah Allah ala Seedna Mohammed, signifies, “pray to God through our master Mohammed,” not, “the prayers of God are upon Mohammed.”

It has been said by Maccarius, in his Theolog. Polemic. p. 119, that Mohammed does not acknowledge any hell. Why then does he explain the seven gates of hell, mentioned in the Koran, chap. xv.? which are an emblem of the seven deadly sins, and of their various punishments; for, according to the Arabian prophet, hell has seven gates, allegorically, and heaven has seven heavens, or degrees of happiness; the highest and chiefest of which, according to the Mohammedans, is to see God. The (Gehennume) hell of Mohammed is not aneternalpunishment.

Monsieur de St. Olon, ambassador from the King of France at Marocco, says, in his description of the kingdom of Marocco, chap. ii.—“The Mohammedans maintain, that by washing their head, hands, and feet, they are purified from all sin:” but thisis an error, and I may presume, from the nature of the assertion, that the Ambassador, like many others, who are sent to Mohammedan countries, knew nothing of the Arabic language, and that he was obliged to negotiate through some Jewish interpreter. The washing is merely a necessary ceremony, and is similar to our custom of going washed and clean to church; it is a purifying of the shell, or the outward man, prayers are a purifying of the kernel or inward man; as by purifying the kernel, the amendment of the heart is implied.

With regard to spirits or devils (called Jin, Sing. and Jinune (pl.); Sale translates Genii, which is the word Jin, with the vowel point thus,جنِjinee), Philip Guadagnolo,[164]in his apology for the Christian religion, p. 291, asserts, that the Koran is full of contradictions, from what it says about devils in the chapter calledthe chapter of Devils; but this is really the chapter of spirits (Genii, spirits), for of these Mohammedans admit three kinds, besides the departed souls of men, called Rôh Benadam, viz.

1. Lucifer, the chief of the devils, is called Shetan.

2. All rebellious or deformed spirits belonging to Shetan are called Iblis.

The 3d kind are called Genii, in Arabic Jinune; they are both good and bad, offensive and inoffensive, and assume various forms. The good are called Melik.

Of sins, the Mooselmin affirmenvyto have been the first committed in heaven and on earth; they say Iblis envied Adam; when God ordered all Angels to honour him, he tacitly condemned God; and expostulated with him on ordering him, who was made of fire, to adore or honour the first man, whowas made from earth. ‘Now,’ said the wretch Iblis, ‘it is not just that the superior being should honour the inferior;’ and he was cast down from heaven for his disobedience: thus envy was the first sin in heaven.

Kabel and Habel (the Arabic names of Cain and Abel) offered sacrifice to God; the offerings of Habel met with a more favourable reception; Kabel envied him and killed him; so envy first occasioned infidelity in heaven, and murder on earth.

The heighth of the celestial happiness is to see God; all those elegant descriptions of beautiful virgins, rivers flowing with honey, gardens of delicious fruits, &c. which are said by some to compose the happiness of the Mohammedan paradise, are allegorical descriptions.

Chap. xl.—“Whoever shall believe and do good works, whether man or woman, shall enter paradise.”

Thus we see that the fate of the Mohammedan women is not altogether so deplorable as some Christians have made it.

Peter Cevaller, in hisZelus Christi contra Saracenos, p. 137, speaking of Mohammed, says—“This madman places Haman in the time of Pharoah, which is such a proof of his ignorance, as ought to put him and all his beastly followers to an eternal silence.”

Peter Cevaller, it appears, was not apprised that Pharaoh was a general name for all the kings of the Pharoah dynasty, which continued to reign in Egypt many centuries. The Mohammedans, moreover, have many traditions about a man of the name of Haman, who was a general of one of the Pharaohs.

Bartholomew of Edessa, in p. 442 of theVaria Sacra, publishedby Stephen le Moine, reproaches Mohammed with saying, that the blessed Virgin became pregnant by eating dates:

Koran, chap. xix.—“Remember what is written of Mary. We sent to her our spirit, (or angel,) in the shape of a man; she was frightened, but the angel said to her, O Mary! I am the messenger of your Lord, and your God, who will give you an active and prudent son. She answered, How shall I have a son without knowing any man? The angel replied, God has said it, the thing shall happen; it is easy to your Lord, and your son himself shall be a proof of the almighty power of God. Then she conceived, and retired for some time into a solitary place, near a date-tree, and her labour-pains began forthwith; but the angel said, Do not afflict thyself; shake the date-tree, and gather the dates; eat them, drink water, and wash your eyes.” Now this passage, which is the one alluded to, does not say that the pregnancy proceeded from the eating of the dates, although the dates eased the pains of pregnancy. Hence, probably, that superstitious African tradition, that when the Virgin Mary was in pain, she exclaimed, O that I had some dates! and immediately the exclamation, or letter O, was marked on the stone of the fruit.[165]

Dogandhogare synonymous terms of contempt or degradation among the Mohammedans: they are the two unclean animals; and if either of them drink out of a cup, it must be washed. They will not sit down where a dog has been, nor will they wear the skin of the animal, even if made into leather. Some men of rank, however, keep greyhounds, and other dogs for hunting; but seldom let them go into those apartments of their houses,where the women are, for they say, no angel or benediction comes to any place where a dog is.

In the xivth chap. of the Koran Mohammed makes Abraham beg of God to protect Mecca, and to make it a place of peace or safety (amanالمعانin the original) to all the world. The learned Robert of Retz, who translated the Koran in the 16th century, has rendered this word, Aman or Hammon, and hence the prophet has absolutely been accused ofplacing Meccain the country of the Hammonites, and consequently abused for his geographical ignorance, as if any man of common understanding could so far mistake the place of his birth, a place he had lived in so long, had conquered, and from whence he had made so many eruptions against his neighbours. The word Aman in the original isa consecrated place, or place of faith, of safety, of refuge, of protection. Birds, fish, or animals, are not allowed to be killed in such places, neither is blood to be spilt therein.

Mohammed has also been accused of contradicting himself, in saying, sometimes, that he could read, and at others, that he could not; and the following passage of the Koran (ch. xlvii.) is thence produced as evidence that he could read: God is introduced as saying to Mohammed—“God knows what you do, and what you read.”[166]But the whole is a mistake, both of the version and of the annotator, for in the original Arabic, God does not speak to Mohammed, but the latter speaks to other men, and says, “God knows what ye do, and what ye meditate,” (not read).

With regard to marriage, the Koran (chap. iv.) allows four wives: “Receive in marriage such women as you like, two,three, or four wives, at the most. If you think you cannot maintain them equally, marry only one.” (This subject has been elucidated in a preceding chapter, it is therefore unnecessary to say any thing further upon it here).

It has been said by Euthymius Zygabenus, and an anonymous author, who wrote Mohammed’s life, in Sylburgh’sSaracen.p. 60, that Mohammed, in his Koran, placed Moses amongst the damned; but whoever has the least knowledge of Arabic, must know, by consulting the Koran, that Moses is every where mentioned with great respect, and the Mohammedans call him Seedna, i.e.our LordorMaster.

From the foregoing observations, it will be perceived that the principles of the Mohammedan religion are neither so pernicious nor so absurd as many have imagined. They have sometimes been vilified from error, or for the purpose of exalting the Christian doctrine; but that doctrine is too pure and celestial to need any such aids.

FOOTNOTES:[161]Forty muzuna make one mitkal.[162]In the evening of the feast of L’ashora, they have a masquerade, during which the masquers proceed through the different streets, and go to the houses, to collect charity: their masks are made in a rude way, but the characters are well represented throughout. Amongst them we generally find an English sailor, a French soldier, a cooper, a lawyer, an apothecary, and a sheik or alkaid, who determines all disputes, and whose decree is absolute.[163]This is similar to the Catholic lady, who, worshipping the picture of Satan alternately with that of the Virgin, declared that her object was to secure a friend on both sides.[164]He translated the Bible into Arabic in 1671.[165]All date-stones have a circular mark on them, like the letter O.[166]Robert de Retz’s translation.

FOOTNOTES:

[161]Forty muzuna make one mitkal.

[162]In the evening of the feast of L’ashora, they have a masquerade, during which the masquers proceed through the different streets, and go to the houses, to collect charity: their masks are made in a rude way, but the characters are well represented throughout. Amongst them we generally find an English sailor, a French soldier, a cooper, a lawyer, an apothecary, and a sheik or alkaid, who determines all disputes, and whose decree is absolute.

[163]This is similar to the Catholic lady, who, worshipping the picture of Satan alternately with that of the Virgin, declared that her object was to secure a friend on both sides.

[164]He translated the Bible into Arabic in 1671.

[165]All date-stones have a circular mark on them, like the letter O.

[166]Robert de Retz’s translation.

Languages of Africa — Various Dialects of the Arabic Language — Difference between the Berebber and Shelluh Languages — Specimen of the Mandinga — Comparison of the Shelluh Language with that of the Canary Islands, and Similitude of Customs.

Yareb, the son of Kohtan,[167]is said to have been the first who spoke Arabic, and the Mohammedans contend that it is the most eloquent language spoken in any part of the globe, and that it is the one which will be used at the day of judgment. To write a long dissertation on this copious and energetic language, would be only to repeat what many learned men have said before; a few observations, however, may not be superfluous to the generality of readers. The Arabic language is spoken by a greater proportion of the inhabitants of the known world than any other: a person having a practical knowledge of it, may travel from the shores of the Mediterranean sea to the Cape of Good Hope, and notwithstanding that in such a journey he must pass through many kingdoms and empires of blacks, speaking distinct languages, yet he would find men in all those countries versed in Mohammedan learning, and therefore acquainted with the Arabic; again, he mightcross the widest part of the African continent from west to east, and would every where meet with persons acquainted with it, more particularly if he should follow the course of the great river called the Nile of the Negroes, on the banks of which, from Jinnie and Timbuctoo, to the confines of Lower Egypt, are innumerable cities and towns of Arabs and Moors, all speaking the Arabic. Again, were a traveller to proceed from Marocco to the farthest shore of Asia, opposite the islands of Japan, he would find the Arabic generally spoken or understood wherever he came. In Turkey, in Syria, in Arabia, in Persia, and in India, it is understood by all men of education; and any one possessing a knowledge of the Korannick Arabic, might, in a very short time, make himself master of the Hindostannee, and of every other dialect of the former.

The letters of this language are formed in four distinct ways, according to their situation at the beginning, middle, or end of words, as well as when standing alone; the greatest difficulty, however, to be overcome, is the acquiring a just pronunciation, (without which no living language can be essentially useful), and to attain which, the learner should be able to express the difference of power and sound between what may be denominated the synonymous letters, such asطandثwithت;عwithا;صwithس;ضandظwithد;هwithح;ڧandكwithخ;غwithر.

Besides these, there are other letters, whose power is extremely difficult to be acquired by an European, because no language in Europe possesses sounds similar to the Arabic lettersعغخ, nor has any language, except, perhaps, the English, a letter with the power of the Arabianث. Those who travel into Asia or Africa scarcely ever become sufficientlymasters of the Arabic to speak it fluently, which radical defect proceeds altogether from their not learning, while studying it, the peculiar distinction of the synonymous letters. No European, perhaps, ever knew more of thetheoryof this language than the late Sir William Jones, but still he could not converse with an Arabian, a circumstance of which he was not conscious until he went to India. This great man, however, had he been told that his knowledge of this popular eastern language was so far deficient, that he was ignorant of the separate powers of its synonymous letters, and consequently inadequate to converse intelligibly with a native Arab, he would certainly have considered it an aspersion, and have disputed altogether that such was the fact. Considering how much we are indebted to the Arabians for the preservation of many of the works of the ancients, which would otherwise have never, perhaps, been known to us, it is really surprising that their language should be so little known in Europe. It is certainly very difficult and abstruse (to learners particularly), but this difficulty is rendered insurmountable by the European professors knowing it only as a dead language, and teaching it without due attention to the pronunciation of the before mentioned synonymous letters, a defect which is not likely to be remedied, and which will always subject the speaker to incessant errors.

To shew the Arabic student the difference between the Oriental and Occidental order of the letters of the alphabet, I shall here give them opposite each other.

Besides this difference of the arrangement of the two alphabets, the student will observe that there is also a difference in the punctuation of two of the letters: thus—

Among the Western Arabs, the ancient Arabic figures are used, viz. 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9: they often write 100 thus, 1 . .-200, 2 . .

To explain the force of the synonymous letters on paper would be impossible; the reader, however, may form some idea of the indispensable necessity of knowing the distinction by the few words here selected, which to one unaccustomed to hear the Arabic language spoken, would appear similar and undistinguishable.

It is difficult for any one who has not accurately studied the Arabic language, to imagine the many errors which an European commits in speaking it, when self-taught, or even when taught in Europe. Soon after my arrival in Africa, when I had not attained the age of eighteen, I happened one day to be in the house of an European gentleman who had then been in the country twenty years; an Arab of the province of Tedla came in, when the former (at all times desirous of exhibiting his knowledge of their language) addressed him, and after making a long speech, the Arab very coolly replied, “I entreat thee to speak Arabic, that I may understand thee (tkillem Eaudie b’lorbea besh en fhemik).” This was interpreted to me by a friend, who was present, and it made such a strong impression on my mind, that I resolved to apply myself assiduously to discover the reason why a person who spoke the language tolerably quick, should be altogether so little understood, and I was some time afterwards, by making various observations andtrials, convinced that the deficiency originated in the inaccuracy of the application of the synonymous letters.

The ainعand theغr’gain cannot be accurately pronounced by Europeans, who have not studied the language grammatically when young, and under a native; I have, however, heard an Irishman,[169]who did not understand it grammatically, but had acquired it by ear, pronounce the latter equally as correct as any Arabian; but this was a rare instance. He was in England whilst Elfie Bey was here, who, as I was afterwards informed, had declared, that he was the only European whose Arabic he could easily understand. The aspiratedh, and the hards, in the word formorning(sebah), are so much like their synonymes, that few Europeans can discern the difference; the one is consequently often mistaken for the other; and I have known a beautiful sentence absolutely perverted through an inaccuracy of this kind. In the words renderedHatredandHarvest, the two synonymes ofسandصorshard andssoft, are indiscriminately used by Europeans in their Arabicconversations, a circumstance sufficient to do away the force and meaning of any sentence or discourse.

The poetry as well as prose of the Arabians is well known, and has been so often discussed by learned men, that it would be irrelevant here to expatiate on the subject; but as the following description of the noblest passion of the human breast cannot but be interesting to the generality of readers, and without any exception to the fair sex, I will transcribe it.

“Love (العشك) beginneth in contemplation, passeth to meditation; hence proceeds desire; then the spark bursts forthinto a flame, the head swims, the body wastes, and the soul turns giddy. If we look on the bright side of love, we must acknowledge that it has at least one advantage; it annihilates pride and immoderate self-love: true love, whose aim is the happiness and equality of the beloved object, being incompatible with those feelings.

“Lust is so different from true love (العشك), and so far from a perfection, that it is always a species of punishment sent by God, because man has abandoned the path of his pure love.”

In their epistolary writing, the Arabs have generally a regular and particular style, beginning and ending all their letters with the name of God, symbolically, because God is the beginning and end of all things. The following short specimen will illustrate this:

Translation of a letter written in the Korannick Arabic by Seedy Soliman ben Mohammed ben Ismael, Sultan of Marocco, to his Bashaw —— of Suse, &c. &c.

“Praise be to the only God! for there is neither power, nor strength, without the great and eternal God.”

[L.S. containing the Emperor’s name and titles, as Soliman ben Mohammed ben Abdallah, &c. &c.]

“Our servant, Alkaid Abdelmelk ben Behie Mulud, God assist, and peace be with thee, and the mercy and grace of God be upon thee!

“We command thee forthwith to procure and send to our exalted presence every Englishman that has been wrecked on the coast of Wedinoon, and to forward them hither withoutdelay, and diligently to succour and attend to them, and may the eye of God be upon thee!”

26th of the lunar month Saffer, year of the Hejira 1281.(May 1806.)[170]

The accuracy of punctuation in the Arabic language is a matter that ought to be strictly attended to; thus they maintain writing to be the first qualification of a scholar, and that, from a want of a due knowledge of punctuation, the Christians have misunderstood the word of God, which says, “I have begotten thee, and thou art my son.” This passage, they say, first stood as follows, (which if the Scriptures had been originally written in Arabic would have had some plausibility.)

“I have adopted thee, and thou art my prophet.” The difference of punctuation in one word makes all this difference in signification, for—

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