epoch of the Hegira, Mahomet, with his friend Abubekar, and a few other followers, escaping from Mecca, fled to Medina, where he assumed the military, as well as the prophetic character. Having made many proselytes in that place, he assembled a determined and daring band, inspired with enthusiasm, and animated with the expectation of a paradise of sensual delights, which he promised to all his followers, but in a superior degree of glory and pleasure to those who should fall in the cause of the Koran. This was the first vital spark of the empire of the Arabs. Here he assumed the exercise of the regal as well as the sacerdotal function; and declared himself authorized to use force as well as persuasion, in order to propagate his doctrines. Liberty of conscience was granted to Christians and Jews, on condition of the payment of tribute; but to idolaters, no other alternative was left but conversion or the sword.

6. By inculcating, in the most absolute sense, the doctrines of fate and predestination, he extinguished the principles of fear, and exalted the courage of his followers into a dauntless confidence. By impressing strongly on the ardent imagination of the Arabs a voluptuous picture of the invisible world, he brought them to regard death as an object not of dread, but of hope and desire. From all sides, the rovers of the desert were allured to the standard of religion and plunder; and the holy robbers were soon able to intercept the trading caravans. In all enterprises of danger and difficulty, their leader promised them the assistance of the angel Gabriel, with his legions of the heavenly host; and his authoritative eloquence impressed on their enthusiastic imaginations the forms of those angelic warriors, invisible to mortal eyes. By these arts, he inspired his followers with an irresistible enthusiasm.

7. A regular war was commenced between the Mahometans and the inhabitants of Mecca, in consequence of an attack by the former upon a caravan belonging to the latter. The caravan was plundered, although it was escorted by 950 men, while the assailants amounted to no more than 313. In the year 625, the Meccans, with about 10,000 men, laid siege to Medina, but without success; and finally lost all

What is Mahomet's flight to Medina called?-When did it take place? -What toleration did he allow the Jews and Christians of Arabia?

hopes of subverting the throne, or of putting a stop to the conquests of the exiled prophet. Mahomet, encouraged by their defeat, directed his attention to the subjugation of Mecca, his native city. His power had increased by the submission of several Arabian tribes; and his army, which consisted of a few hundreds only, now amounted to 10,000 enthusiastic warriors. Mecca surrendered on his approach, and acknowledged him as the apostle of God. Thus, after seven years of exile, the fugitive was enthroned as the prince and prophet of his country.

8. The conquest of Mecca determined the faith and obedience of the principal Arabian tribes; and the obstinate remnant, which still adhered to the idolatry of their ancestors, was soon subdued or extirpated. The famous kaaba, or pantheon of Mecca, was purified, and 350 idols, with which it was defiled, were broken in pieces. The sentence of destruction was in the same manner executed on all the idols of Arabia. All the people of that vast country adopted the worship of one God, and acknowledged Mahomet as his prophet and their sovereign. The rites of pilgrimage were, through piety or policy, re-established. The prophet himself set an example to future ages, by fulfilling the duties of a pilgrim; and 114,000 pious believers accompanied his last visit to the kaaba, or house of God. A perpetual law was also enacted, prohibiting all unbelievers in the Koran from setting foot within the precincts of the holy city.

9. A revolution was thus effected in an obscure corner of the world, which shortly after subverted or shook the most powerful monarchies, and extended its effects to the distant regions of Asia, Africa, and Europe. The prophet of Arabia commenced hostilities with the Greek empire, and unfurled his banners on the confines of Syria; but after having lost some of his most intrepid commanders, without having made any great progress, the war was neither of long continuance, nor productive of any remarkable events. mission and life of Mahomet now drew near to an end. During the space of four years, his health had gradually declined; but till the third day preceding his dissolution, he performed the functions of public prayer, and asserting to the last the divine authority of his mission, he expired at about

The

How long had Mahomet been exiled from Mecca, when it surrendered to his arms?

the age
of sixty-three, with the firmness of a philosopher, and
the faith of an enthusiast.

10. In making an impartial estimate of the qualifications
which distinguished the prophet of Arabia, it must be ac-
knowledged that the vigor of his mind, and the measure of
his intellectual powers, appear to have been extraordinary.
At the commencement of his mission, his hopes could rest
only on a very precarious foundation. The difficulties which
he had to encounter were great. During a considerable
time, converts were slowly made, and his prospects of suc-
cess were far from being such as could animate his efforts,
or flatter his hopes. Amidst all these embarrassing circum-
stances, his enterprising spirit, his steady fortitude, and his
patient perseverance, command admiration.

11. But among the distinguishing characteristics of his mind, his extraordinary talent of knowing mankind is the most remarkable. No one had ever more accurately or more successfully studied human nature. No one more exactly knew what suited the ideas and inclinations of men, or more perfectly understood the method of gaining an ascendency over their minds, and of rendering their passions subservient to a great design. An impartial view of the character of this extraordinary man shows that he was formed for every thing that is great, that his ideas were grand and elevated, and his views extensive.

EMPIRE OF CHINA.

1. THE antiquity of this vast empire, and the state of its government, laws, manners, and attainments in the arts and sciences, have furnished a most ample field of controversy. Voltaire, Raynal, and other writers of similar principles, have, for the purpose of discrediting the scriptural account of the origin of mankind, and the received notions of the age of the universe, given to the Chinese empire an immense antiquity, and a character of such high civilization and knowledge of the sciences and arts at that remote period, as to be utterly irreconcilable with the state and progress of man, as described in the books of Moses. On the other hand, it is

At what age did Mahomet die ?

probable that the desire of invalidating those opinions has induced other writers of ability to go to an opposite extreme; to undervalue this singular people, and to give too little weight to any accounts which we have, either of the duration of their empire, the economy of their government and police, or of their attainments in the arts and sciences. Amidst this contrariety of sentiments, we shall endeavor to form such opinion as appears most consonant to the truth.

2. The panegyrists of the Chinese assert that their empire has subsisted above 4000 years, without any material alteration in its laws, manners, language, or even fashion of dress; in evidence of which they appeal to a series of eclipses, marking contemporary events, all accurately calculated, for 2155 years before the birth of Christ. As it is easy to calculate eclipses backwards from the present day to any given period of time, it is thus possible to give to a history, fictitious from beginning to end, its chronology of real eclipses. This proof, therefore, amounts to nothing, unless it were likewise proved that all those eclipses were actually recorded at the time when they happened; but this neither has been nor can be done; for it is an allowed fact, that there are no regular historical records beyond the third century before the Christian æra. The present Chinese are utterly ignorant of the motions of the celestial bodies, and cannot calculate eclipses. The series mentioned has therefore in all probability been calculated by some of the Jesuits to ingratiate themselves with the emperors, and flatter the national vanity. The Jesuits have presided in the tribunal of mathematics for above 200 years.

3. But if the authentic annals of this empire go back even to the third century before Christ, and record at that time a high state of civilization, we must allow that the Chinese are an ancient and early polished people, and that they have possessed a singular constancy in their government, laws, and manners. Sir William Jones, no bigoted encomiast of this people, allows their great antiquity and early civilization, and, with much apparent probability, traces their origin from the Hindoos. He appeals to the ancient Sanscreet records, which mention a migration from India of the military class termed Chinas, to the countries east from Bengal. The sta

To whom does Sir William Jones trace the origin of the Chinese?

tionary condition of the arts and sciences in China proves that these have not originated with that people; and many peculiarities of the manners, institutions, and popular religion of the Chinese, have a near affinity with those of the Hindoos.

4. The government of China is that of an absolute monarchy. The patriarchal system pervades the whole, and binds all the members of this vast empire in the strictest subordination. Every father is absolute in his family, and may inflict any punishment short of death upon his children. The mandarin of the district is absolute, with the power of life and death over all its members; but a capital sentence cannot be inflicted without the emperor's approbation. The emperor's power is absolute over all the mandarins, and every subject of the empire. To reconcile the people to this despotic authority, the sovereign alone is entitled to relieve the wants of the poor, and to compensate public calamities, as well as the misfortunes of individuals. He is therefore regarded as the father of his people, and even ådored as a benevolent divinity.

5. Another circumstance which conciliates the people to their government is, that all honors in China are conferred according to merit, and that chiefly literary. The civil mandarins, who are the magistrates and judges, are appointed to office according to their measure of knowledge and mental endowments. No office or rank is hereditary, but may be aspired to by the meanest of the people. The penal laws of China are remarkably severe, but their execution may be remitted by the emperor. The judicial tribunals are regulated by a body of written laws of great antiquity, and founded on the basis of universal justice and equity. The emperor's opinion rarely differs from the sentences of those courts. One tribunal judges of the qualification of the mandarins; another regulates the morals of the people, and the national manners; a third is the tribunal of censors, which reviews the laws, the conduct of the magistrates and judges, and even that of the emperor himself. These tribunals are filled by an equal number of Chinese and Tartars.

What is the government of China?-How are honors in China conferred?