82 THE HISTORY OE THE ORDER OE [book i.

prayers to the living God, instead of the idolatiyof the Caaba. It is no approval of his tenets, torefuse accusing him falsely. Who grieve he wentno further towards true religion, may praise him,as far as he went. That the Koran is the mostclassic of the language has been long ago decided,on the best possible authority and beyond all appeal_that of the whole Arab people themselves.

It is no defect of his, if, notwithstanding ourcherished ideas of Oriental magnificence and anestablished reputation for richness, and that theArabs have a great idea of their own superiorityin everything, and contempt for all who do notspeak Arabic and wear any other dress, still theArab tongue is very poor. Will it be believed thata warlike nation has no word for garrison ? Yetso it is, and hundreds of such deficiencies. Forthe Arabic in general has but one word for eachthing, including all its varieties. For which I havethe authority of one of the most learned Orientalistsof France—Renaud, in his preface to the ArabianChronicles. If the Ommydes were harsh andaudacious, beginnings are proverbially so, and theFatimites were weak and falling, and may haveimbibed the credulous cruelty of Egypt; but theAbassides and Spain can tell whether in its besttimes Mahometanism was remarkable for intole-