THE HESPERIAN STUDENT.
the sky; omens pointed to naught but disaster. Now that
crescent lay ntliwirt the fairest portion of the globe, one
point resting on the Hellespont, the other on the Spanish
Pyrenees. That crescent wns borne nlofl on tho banners
of myriads of victorious Saracens, who prcsssd hard up
on Christendom with a determination to blot it from the
earth. The onward course of tho crescent was stayed
only after centuries of heroic effort,- after the best blood
of Europe had been poured forth in torrents.
The meteoric appearance of this new faith, the exploits
of its ienzied hosts, arc unique enough to command the
attention of the world through all ages. Mahommetanism
was and is great. An exception to the rule that great in
stitutionsnrc developed, not created, its foundation was the
work of one man. All the essentials of the religion of the
Koran, all the powers that transformed and revitalized Ara
bia, became potent with the warrior-prophet Mahomet. At
the dawn of Arabian history he stands, behind him the
black night of Fetich worship, before him a belt of light
not the brightness of the Christian day, indeed, but still a
zone of light ever broadening in its course down the ages
until to-day 3Iohamctaiiism is upheld by one-fifih the
human race; over one hundred and eighty millions of
human beings icgard the Koran as the guide-book of the
road to Paradise.
The prophet is at once the most highlv praised and the
most deeply execrated of mortals. Looking from the
stand point of a devout Mussclmau our vision must pone
late the haze of twelve hundred years of religious adora
ion and we sec in him a god. Gazing through the hot
vopojs from the venom of his foes, he appear a depraved
sensualist, a delibciatc imposter, and nrch-hvpocrite.
To judge him fairly it is not necissary to cast aside all
religious prejudice ami don the impartial ermine. Broad
charily not only permits but demand that whatever there
is of good in the the life of any man should be uncovered.
Christian toleration will not endeavor to check admira
tion for traits of character shown in a toe, or enthusiasm
lover htjoic deeds accomplished by an enemy.
Follow Mohamet through his eventful life. Rest on
his lowly tomb at Medina and balance well the deeds
and misdeeds of the great reformer. Au innocent
youlli 'and pure early manhood, a call to take up his mis
sion at an age when rest is most welcome, arc not marks
of imposture. Thirteen years of ridicule and persecution
after the mission was announced, thirteen long years of
sulk-ring with but a handful of converts and nothing in
the future save a forlorn hope, could not have been
borne by a designing hypocrite. He carried the load
with manly patience. In the caves of Mount Ilira he hud
passed in prayer and meditation the holy mouths of a
decade of years. "Worshipping as a simple believer in the
crude failh of the day, his devotion was interrupted by
mysterious voices. Unseen bells mingled their chimes
with bis simple supplication, and tailing into a trance he
often held communion with angels and saw bey on J the
portals of eternity the walls of Paradise.
A diseased body had done its work. Tho earnest man
was buffeted by nervous shocks, driven to despair by
mental hallucinations. Suspecting that tho sights and
sounds that haunted iiim were but phantoms from his
own fevered brain, lie called in vaiu for the messenger of
death to relieve him from his agony of apprehension. At
englh the voices grow stronger. The highly-wrough t
mind has yielded to the strain, shadows take shape and
form, dim spectors become realities, and doubt and fear
are past. Gabriel appears with revelations from God,
and invests Mahomet with the dignity of a prophet. No
genera) ever received his commission from the hands of
his king witlt more faith in its genuineness than did this
distracted Arab take from creations of his own diseased
brain authority and instructions (or evangelizing the
world. Willi life-work mapped he left the gloomy
mountain, feeling, believing, living the truth of the newly
learned formula. "There is no god but God, and Mahomet
is his prophet."
Enthusiasm born of deep conviction can be but feebly
imitated. If the trials of the first years of the faith prove
the prophet to be deeply sincere, his influence upon his
companions throughout life shows that he was no hypo
crite. Men watched every movement, studied every phase
of character, saw his entire life, and believed. Kinsmen
and bosom friends were tiic first to attach tncmselvcs to
his cause, but not thorough selfish motivics, his bound
less enthusiasm compelled belief. Iu bitter persecution
at Mecca, when malice hurled the stone and sharpened
the dagger; in the flight to Medina to escape the fury of
of the rabble and the swords of their own tribesmen, his
little band of followers never wavered in their devotion,
never doubted that he was crowned with divine favor.
Iu prosperity, when all Arabia bowed before the throne
of Islam, deepest piety was found among those who stood
nearest, who felt most stronglv the magnetism of the
spiritual monarch. Unflinching loyalty followed him
through life, and when he died the calamity seemed jio
great that comrades threw themselves on their swords
over his grave in despair. HcirU wMI go out, admiration
will be felt for a life tried in this crucial personal
test and not found wimting. Carlyle would place
Mahomet on his roll of heroes fur this alone.
Turn the tearching light of inquiry on this character
let the mjs of 'ruth fall on every side, and many place
will be found black only because they have rested iu the
shadow. War. he cruel and sensual ? Serious charges,
these, and not without foundation. But cruelty and sensual
ity seethed in the race before him and faults in this direc.
lion prove only the weakness of the flesh. If he over
threw the church wherever his arms penetrated and built
on its ruins tho mosque, in few cases was the change to
be deeply deplored. Image worship and mystery, athe
ism anu corruption, deluding the masses under the
name of Christianity, fell before the advancing standards
or Mahomet, aud it was well. Did he fiamc revelations
to suit his own needs? Implicit faith in his own pro
phetic power made every striking thought appear tho
voice of the Infinite. The soaring mind, dazed by its
elevatiou and confused by success must not be
loo savagely attacked if it seemed to blend with
the Almighty Spirit. The needs of tho man thus became
the needs of his God, and it is not unreasonable to believe
that the most arbilriary and selfish revelations were con
scientiously regarded by Mahomet as expressions of di
vine will.
He was ambitious, but what ambition I A roof of palm
leaves, the simplest food known to frugal Arabia, rough
clothing, hard labor, and severe discipliue,-all thesa
when he had the power lo demand the luxuries of the
world. An absolute monarch with few temporal desires,
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