men of
the purest Arabic, and written in half poetry and half prose. It has
been said that in some cases grammarians have adapted their rules to
agree with certain phrases and expressions used in it, and that though
several attempts have been made to produce a work equal to it, as far
as elegant writing is concerned, none have as yet succeeded.

With the Koran, then, as a basis to work upon, Muhammad became the
author and, it may be said, also founder of the Muhammadan faith,
although as regards the foundation of any religion the followers of
the author are generally the real founders of his faith. Of the three
authors of great religions, viz., Moses, Buddha, and Jesus, who had
gone before, Moses seems to have had much in common with Muhammad, and
the two resembled each other in some ways. Buddha and Jesus were, on
the other hand, entirely spiritualistic, their ideas on many subjects
much the same, and their preachings and teachings run together very
much on parallel lines.

The connecting links, however, between Buddhism and Christianity, if
any, have yet to be discovered and determined. It may happen that some
day further light may be thrown upon the subject; but at present, in
spite of similarity of ideas, of sentiments, and of parables in the
two religions, there is no positive proof of any connection between
them, except that one preceded the other. While history has recorded
every detail of Muhammad's life, both before and after his public
ministry, which did not begin until he was forty years of age,
history, alas! gives us no detailed record of the life of Jesus prior
to the commencement of His public ministry in His thirtieth year. Had
He travelled Himself to the further East? Had He studied under
Buddhist missionaries? Had He taken the vows of poverty, chastity, and
obedience, before He was baptized by John the Essene? Had He anything
to do with the sects called Essenes, Therapeuts, Gnostics, Nazarites,
the Brethren, which existed both before and during His lifetime?
These, and many other questions which might be asked, can now probably
never be answered, and the only thing that can be confidently asserted
is that the character and the spiritual teachings of Christ, as handed
down to us, much resemble the character and spiritual teachings of
Buddha.

A few paragraphs must be devoted to Moses and Muhammad, as the first
organizers of the Jews and the Arabs into separate and distinct
nationalities. The two me