Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1870-05-27
- Written for the Perrysburg Jourual.l
OUR DICTIONARY.


ALcoRAN.-The Koran, or Aleoran, " the
sacred writing Of the Nah, mmedsns. II is
written 10 the pursst Arabic, and is considered
masterpiece OF literature. The author sx-
olains, Ia the tsnth ehaptss, "who but God can
have composed the Korani Mahomct, you say,
has forged this book. Well; try then to write
one chapter resembling II, and call to your sid
whomscever you please" its unexampled ex-
eellence Is referred 10 as proof 81 its divine
origin. Some have supposed that Mahomet was
assisted In its composition BY tho Jew Bensslen
or the Christian Sergius. ] am inclined 10
think that those who make this assertion know
nothing Of the matter. Itis not probable that
Jew would have lent his assistance in writing
against the Jews, or . Christian in reviliug
Christ Mahomet c0uches his claims to inspira-
ton and infallibiity in much the same terms 40
other grea, religious chieftains. He uses the
following language
"In all sobcrness Of mind and fervor of
thought, Mahomet declares that he was sent By
God to be bis holy prophet. Verify, God sent
him to be witness Of truth, = bearer Of g,'od
aud merciful udiDgs, = repudiator OF threats,
an inviter OF the faithful unto God, to be unto
the world shininS light. Unto Mahomet ap-
psared the holy angel Gabriel, in all the seem
ing OF the human form, and caused, in n won
derful manner, the interested Koran N descend
on his heart; and confirmed, BY the mereiful
permission Of God, all which was before revealed
through hahomet, his prophet"
Agsin;
"This book admitteth not of doubt. II is for
the direction of the just, who believe in the
depths Of faith who observe the times Of prayer,
wins distribute in aims what IL hath pleased me
10 give them, who believe in tho revelation
which hath descended to thee. aud was deliver
ed to the prophets before thee"
And again:
A. fne k.lt ol hatl,
thou callest them or they dp not believe;
the seal Of unbelisf Is on their hearts and ears
. terrible punishment Rwateth them. They
think TO deceive the Eternal; they deceive them
selves without knowing it,"
Mahomct has been charged with permitting
gluttony, intOxicatiOn, and sensuality Of every
kind, to any possible extent. The least we can
say is, this charge is false. The Aicnran per.
mits no such things. On the contrary, il en-
joins the slrctest sObricty and peremptorily for
bids the use OF intoxicating liquors. Mahomet
taught many good maIinis aud many bad ones.
He appeared about six hundred years after
Christ. His religion has spread over a large
portion Of the globe. and at present counts over
two hundred million believers. Men like to be
huubugged, aud they have been.
And what results from all this trickeryf
These men believe that they shall surely be
Transported to place Of lasting pleasure,
IL, without fear Of suffering or death,
They show devotion to MahOmet's faith.
ASSIMILATION to your pastor, and say,
NY dear sir, where are your Lroofs that the
wicked will be annihilatcd2 He will answer,
It is taught in Sacred Writ, you will find it in
Nal. iv Il. But suppose that passage, and sim
liar ones, was int.rEOlated by copyists or trans
lators? In that case what would be the value
Of your proof2 My son, he would answer, you
must believe all or none. II a starving man
were to implore this pastor for food, should he
carry out his Logic, he would set before him a
loaf of bread. and say, Ny son, You must eat all
or nothing. Why should not the soul take what
il needs for its nourishment and leave the bal
ance, as well as the bodyf l know not. Ask
your minister.
ANrTorIrY.--Why is Il that men have such
strange penchant for things Of great antiquity
Is it because ancient deeds were better, or au-
cieut heroes greater, than those Of our own
time1 Alas, no. II is because antiquity
abounds in fables which please the imagina-
tiou. We love to read OF the demigods who
ruled over men in the early ages Of the world,
of the time when the children of earth were
drowned by their own father, of the exploits Of
Hercules, the passage of Bacchus and Moses
across the sea, the box Of Pandora, the taking
Of Troy, and the wonders OF the Pantheon.
These fables and allegories are attractive to our
ideality. Our pOmpcus vanity is hattered by
the attention which the gods paid to men. Our
excited. Man always desires 10 better his con-
dition, and is continually imagining that others
are more favored than he. Hence he is always
exalting the past and debssng the present. He
is fond Of curious and wonderful things. aud is
envious Of those who have seen wonders which
he has not. One would go a long distance, at
present, to behold a snake and woman holding
conversation, for, it must be confessed, such oc-
currences are extremely rare.
We should ALWAYS doubt the truth OF any
story for which we have no other authority than
that of antiquity. Those who originated them
never expected that they would be viewed in
any light other than as allegorics. The sole
intention was to give q reason, in a pleasing
farm; for existing facts. The existence Of fire
was explained by the story Of Promrtheus hav-
ing stolen il from heaven and brought 1t 10
earth. The fact OF a snake crawling upon its
belly, always biting at the heels. and that when
man kills one he invariably crushes its head, is
pleasingly illustrated by Moses. And so on to
the end. But men were credulous and super
stitious. They accepted what the author in
tended to pass as allegory, for the literal TRUTH
And in that form it has been given to us. Hence,
hearsay ia the only reason have for believing
those romances of the imagination. 1t is the
worst form Of hearsay, for it is that OF the days
OF ignorance. In those days were attributed all
things in nature, which they did not compre-
bend, to the agency Of the gods. They were
men who stared, with open mouths, hearts Of
hHu W NOnurIb Wuen tuOy OSHSiN VIC
simplest operations Of natural law. II they saw
thunder and lightning, they imagined the gods
were fighting. II the earth was rent by the
natural force Of confined steam, they were SER
tain it was the effnrt Of Satan tO release himself
fIom his chains. II any one performed feat cf
magic, he was in league with either gods
devils, according as they were Of tho same ma
tion or Tot.
Many persons wrote prodigious tales through
dishonest motives. Honesty is so rare quail
ity in man that n ancient writer gives vent to
the following satire:
Ye naked bpeds, without beaks or claws,
Hairless, and featherless, and tender er-bided,
Weeping ye come into the world. because
Ye feel your evil destiny decided
Nature has given you industrious paws;
You, like the parrot, are with speech provided
But have We honest hearts2 Alas ! alas!
IN this the swine your bipedships surpass!