dared to summon even the Grecian Emperor and other powerful Princes to embrace his religion. When, then, the inhabitants of Mecca had violated the concluded peace, he marched against them, and conquered the town (630). But he used the vanquished mildly. He purified the Kaaba of idols. Mecca acknowledged him as prophet and sovereign. In the following years he subdued almost the whole of Arabia.

His manner of life was very simple. He lived on barley, bread and dates. His couch was a carpet on the bare ground. He required no marks of honor; he did not even permit his associates to rise in his presence, when he came to see them. He would say: "I am a servant of God, like you; I eat and drink like you, and I get seated like every other man. Both he and his first successors often preached at the head of the armies. When he felt that death approached him, he set his slaves free. He died probably from administered poison. (632).

His successors conquered Egypt and other parts of Africa, Palestine, Syria and Persia, and other countries in Asia, Spain, and in more recent time (about 1400) the South-Eastern part of Europe, which now is called Turkey. Their capital first was Damask, afterwards the magnificent city of Bagdad, close to the ancient Babylon.

Mohammed's doctrine, called Islam (creed, faith), is contained in the Koran, the book of religion of his followers, who call themselves Mussulmans or Moslems (the faithful ones) The principal articles of his doctrine are the following: There is only one God (Allah), and Mohammed is his prophet. God has given man his revelation by six prophets, viz: Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Christ and Mohammed; but the last is the greatest of them. The Koran promises the elect superabundant joys in the future life, and renounces the reprobate to eternal penalties. The joys are of the most sensual kind; heaven is a beautiful garden, a paradise. Mohammed allowed his adherents polygamy, and would make them indifferent to all dangers of death by the belief in an immutable fate. Therefore they fought for their creed with courageous contempt of death. Among other duties the Koran commands principally prayers, abstinence from crime, fasts, charity, cleanli

ness and ablutions of the body, pilgrimage, and above all virtues, justice. During prayers their eyes ought to be turned towards the country where Mecca and its temple are situated. During the month of Ramadan (the ninth of their year), they ought to fast rigidly. Each one ought to spend the tenth part of his fortune for alms; also to pilgrim to Mecca, if possible, at least once in his life. The Friday of every week is ordered for public worship, which consists in prayers and sermons. It is a principal precept of the Koran to propagate its doctrine everywhere with fire and sword, and to destroy the infidels. Mohammed did not perform miracles; but his followers attribute them to him in order to confirm the faith of the blind multitude. He did not like to have any monks ; nevertheless the Fakirs, Dervis, etc., have also intruded in his church. Among the Mohammedans, also, different sects arose, which made terrible religious wars against each other.

Arts and sciences for a long time found a protective abode among the Arabs. Several of their Califs (sovereigns) favored them in a high degree; some of them were themselves artists and scholars. At the time of their rule in Spain, there were alone in Andalusia seventy public libraries. The Arabs acquired great merit for geography, mathematics, astronomy, chemistry,-which science was by them created,—and for medicine. They translated the mathematical, medical and philosophical works of the Greeks. In mathematics they excelled their teachers. Their astronomical writings have become the foundation of modern astronomy. In most of the cities of their dominion there were observatories, and institutes for mathematics and astronomy. The Gothic architecture also was invented by them. In poetry they produced peculiar tales (e. g., the renowned "Thousand and One Nights"), but no dramatic works. "The Arabs may in one respect be justly considered the restorers of learning in Europe. All the knowledge, whether of physics, astronomy, philosophy, or mathematics, which flourished in Europe from the tenth century, was originally derived from them."-Mosheim, eccl. history.

CHAPTER SECOND.

CHRISTIAN RELIGION.

FIRST PERIOD (1-1024),

From the Foundation of the Christian Religion Until the Time of the Universal Government of the Popes.

§ 11. Origin of the Christian Religion-Causes of its Fast Propagation.

During the Government of the Emperor Augustus, Jesus of Nazareth, in Palestine, was born, who constructed a new and better religion on the foundation of the old Judaic. Of his origin and youth nothing is known with certainty; his father is said to have been a carpenter. In his full, manly age he began to teach the people publicly. His method of teaching moved his hearers deeply, as he nearly always supported his propositions by reasons, and illustrated them by parables. As he attacked the ruling abuses of the religious government, and severely censured the vices of the priests and Pharisees, who formed a powerful sect, he became the object of their hatred, and perished by the violent death of crucifixion.

After his death his confessors preached his doctrine (most with the additions of the Apostle Paul) in all parts of the Roman Empire, and founded associations of their creed. After some centuries it was spread everywhere. Emperor Constantine was converted to it, and declared it to be the religion of the State (about 300 after Christ); it then became predominant in his realm. His flatterers called him the Great, but he was indeed a monster in human form. He drowned his wife in boiling water; put to death his son; murdered the husbands of his two sisters, his father-inlaw, and his nephew, a boy of twelve years of age. And this man

was the first patron of Christianity! Its confessors were called Christians, because its author, Jesus, was called Christ (the annointed, the King). Most of the German tribes embraced his religion. In Germany it was propagated by Winfried (called Boniface); in Switzerland by Gallus and Columban; in Ireland by St. Patrick. In Saxony, Emperor Charles I. established it by force of arms (771-785). He killed all who refused to be baptized. Thousands were driven to the rivers, and baptized, or drowned in the floods.

The causes of the fast propagation of Christianity were internal and external; among those the excellence of the doctrine is to be mentioned. The Greek and Roman religion had lost their authority; the more culture and enlightenment increased, the lower was the contempt intowhich they sank. The Jews themselves did not more closely adhere to the Mosaic creed; sectarianism had gained ground among them, and void ceremonies had taken the place of true religion. As Jesus taught that all men are members of one family, his religion gained a great many proselytes among the poor, the humble and the slaves, who felt themselves raised higher by such principles. Besides, these people were supported by collections from the Christians, destined for the comfort of the distressed. Other external causes were the dispersion of the Jews, the religion of whom is the foundation of Christendom, and the preservation of the Christians, by which their moral force was nerved. The blood of the martyrs grew the seed of new confessors. Still sometimes the Christians themselves were to be blamed, if they incurred persecutions, either disturbing the established religious rites, or being disobedient to the laws of the country, or pressing to the tribunals of their enemies in order to be victims of their creed. Most severely were they persecuted for some time by the Emperor Gabrius; still later he was reconciled with them.

§ 12. Origin of the Evangelies-Life and Character of JesusHis Doctrine-Paulinism.

It is doubtful by whom, when, and in which idiom the doctrine of Jesus has been written down. Jesus himself has left nothing in writing; his apostles probably did not know how to write, being

illiterate men; only little by little were his precepts collected and recorded; meanwhile, probably a hundred years or more passed away. It is certain that the evangely of John was not written before the second century. It is generally believed that only three evangelies originally were composed in Greek; but they doubt now, whether Matthew wrote his in Hebrew. From the way these writings have taken origin, it may already be inferred that the truth of their contents cannot fully be proved. Besides them, in the first epochs of Christianity, many other evangelies were in vogue, which in their form and tenor vary much from those, and among themselves; finally, the church agreed to choose those four as the most authentic, and to accept them as the foundation of its doctrine, viz the evangelies of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. But neither do the old copies of these correspond; scholars have collected 30,000 different versions of the divers manuscripts. To the evangelies yet other writings were joined: the epistles of the apostle Paul, of John, a history of the acts of the apostles, etc.

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Neither does history relate any trustworthy particulars of the life of Jesus; his cotemporaries having been ignorant and superstitious, it is natural that they related many marvellous stories of him, in a similar way as it happened with regard to Mohammed, Numa Pompilius, and other founders of religions. His adorers desired to extol him over Moses and the prophets, consequently they gave him credit for such exploits as are more admirable than the miracles reported to have been wrought by those men. As the authors of the evangelies were not cotemporaries of Jesus, they were not eye-witnesses of his miracles, therefore their reports are not worthy to be trusted. Neither can it be assumed that on the ground of the miracles at least a nucleus of the facts lieswhich in later times have been wonderfully ornated: for the number of the pretended miracles is too great, and it may be plainly understood that the composers had the intention to create a thaumaturgic hero. Like other stories of this kind, the miracles of Jesus, therefore, belong to the province of pious myths. (Cf. Views of the Univ., §3, and Bibl. Narr., II., 4.)

The most wonderful stories of the life of Jesus are the following: He did not descend from man, but from the Holy Ghost.

His