, preached again from the hill Safa, and proclaimed
his new revelations, praying for the people, and ending every prayer
with the declaration now universal throughout the Moslem world,--

"God! There is no God but he, the ever-living! He sleepeth not, neither
doth he slumber! To him belong the heavens and the earth, and all that
they contain. Who shall intercede with him unless by his permission? His
sway extendeth over the heavens and the earth, and to sustain them both
is no burthen to him. He is the High, the Mighty!"

The sublimity of this eulogy of the Most High may be readily traced to
the psalms, particularly to that grandest of all songs, the one hundred
and fourth psalm, which has been said to be remarkable in that it
embraces the whole cosmos. And, in fact, the whole trend of the Koran
may be traced to a study of the Bible, particularly to the New
Testament, with occasional digressions into the Mishnu, and the Talmud
of the Hebrews.

"Feed the hungry! Visit the sick! Bow not to idols! Pray constantly, and
direct thy prayers immediately to the Deity!" These were the constant
exhortations of the prophet during these first days of his
ministry--exhortations which demand the admiration of all who consider
the grossness and idolatry of the age in which he lived. Had he never
gone further, succeeding ages might have been tempted to pardon his
hallucinations. At the time, doctrines which savored of so much
magnanimity, and which were immeasurably in advance of the mockery of
religion that had so long held sway among the majority of the Arabs, at
once commended themselves to many. The effect of the new teaching was
enhanced by the burning enthusiasm and powerful oratory of Mohammed, who
was not ignorant of the effect of eloquent delivery and glowing language
on a people ever passionate and keenly susceptible to the influence of a
strong and vivid presentation.

Ridicule and persecution ceased for a time, and at last, when the decree
was removed, Mohammed and his followers returned in triumph to Mecca.

Once again he was obliged to fly for his life. Accompanied by Zeid, he
went to Tayf, and there spent a month in its perfumed vales, wandering
by cooling streams, meditating beneath the waving fronds of the
palm-trees, or resting in cool gardens, lulled by the rustling leaves of
the nebeck (the lotus-tree), and inhaling the fresh perfume of peach and
apple blooms.

But the inhabitants of Tayf grew hostile, and the