alexandria and her schools-第21节

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ereigns；　worshipped　by　the　most　hideous　empire　of　parasites　and　hypocrites；　cowards　and　wantons；　that　ever　insulted　the　long…suffering　of　a　righteous　God。

But；　for　Alexandria　at　least；　the　cup　was　now　full。　　In　the　year　640　the　Alexandrians　were　tearing　each　other　in　pieces　about　some　Jacobite　and　Melchite　controversy；　to　me　incomprehensible；　to　you　unimportant；　because　the　fighters　on　both　sides　seem　to　have　lost　（as　all　parties　do　in　their　old　age）　the　knowledge　of　what　they　were　fighting　for；　and　to　have　so　bewildered　the　question　with　personal　intrigues；　spites；　and　quarrels；　as　to　make　it　nearly　as　enigmatic　as　that　famous　contemporary　war　between　the　blue　and　green　factions　at　Constantinople；　which　began　by　backing　in　the　theatre；　the　charioteers　who　drove　in　blue　dresses；　against　those　wild　drove　in　green；　then　went　on　to　identify　themselves　each　with　one　of　the　prevailing　theological　factions；　gradually　developed；　the　one　into　an　aristocratic；　the　other　into　a　democratic；　religious　party；　and　ended　by　a　civil　war　in　the　streets　of　Constantinople；　accompanied　by　the　most　horrible　excesses；　which　had　nearly；　at　one　time；　given　up　the　city　to　the　flames；　and　driven　Justinian　from　his　throne。

In　the　midst　of　these　Jacobite　and　Melchite　controversies　and　riots；　appeared　before　the　city　the　armies　of　certain　wild　and　unlettered　Arab　tribes。　　A　short　and　fruitless　struggle　followed；　and；　strange　to　say；　a　few　months　swept　away　from　the　face　of　the　earth；　not　only　the　wealth；　the　commerce；　the　castles；　and　the　liberty；　but　the　philosophy　and　the　Christianity　of　Alexandria；　crushed　to　powder　by　one　fearful　blow；　all　that　had　been　built　up　by　Alexander　and　the　Ptolemies；　by　Clement　and　the　philosophers；　and　made　void；　to　all　appearance；　nine　hundred　years　of　human　toil。　　The　people；　having　no　real　hold　on　their　hereditary　Creed；　accepted；　by　tens　of　thousands；　that　of　the　Mussulman　invaders。　The　Christian　remnant　became　tributaries；　and　Alexandria　dwindled；　from　that　time　forth；　into　a　petty　seaport　town。

And　nowcan　we　pass　over　this　new　metaphysical　school　of　Alexandria？　Can　we　help　inquiring　in　what　the　strength　of　Islamism　lay？　　I；　at　least；　cannot。　　I　cannot　help　feeling　that　I　am　bound　to　examine　in　what　relation　the　creed　of　Omar　and　Amrou　stands　to　the　Alexandrian　speculations　of　five　hundred　years；　and　how　it　had　power　to　sweep　those　speculations　utterly　from　the　Eastern　mind。　　It　is　a　difficult　problem；　to　me；　as　a　Christian　priest；　a　very　awful　problem。　　What　more　awful　historic　problem；　than　to　see　the　lower　creed　destroying　the　higher？　to　see　God；　as　it　were；　undoing　his　own　work；　and　repenting　Him　that　He　had　made　man？　　Awful　indeed：　　but　I　can　honestly　say；　that　it　is　one　from　the　investigation　of　which　I　have　learntI　cannot　yet　tell　how　much：　and　of　this　I　am　sure；　that　without　that　old　Alexandrian　philosophy；　I　should　not　have　been　able　to　do　justice　to　Islam；　without　Islam　I　should　not　have　been　able　to　find　in　that　Alexandrian　philosophy；　an　ever…　living　and　practical　element。

I　must；　however；　first　entreat　you　to　dismiss　from　your　minds　the　vulgar　notion　that　Mohammed　was　in　anywise　a　bad　man；　or　a　conscious　deceiver；　pretending　to　work　miracles；　or　to　do　things　which　he　did　not　do。　　He　sinned　in　one　instance：　　but；　as　far　as　I　can　see；　only　in　that　oneI　mean　against　what　he　must　have　known　to　be　right。　　I　allude　to　his　relaxing　in　his　own　case　those　wise　restrictions　on　polygamy　which　he　had　proclaimed。　　And　yet；　even　in　this　case；　the　desire　for　a　child　may　have　been　the　true　cause　of　his　weakness。　　He　did　not　see　the　whole　truth；　of　course：　　but　he　was　an　infinitely　better　man　than　the　men　around：　　perhaps；　all　in　all；　one　of　the　best　men　of　his　day。　　Many　here　may　have　read　Mr。　Carlyle's　vindication　of　Mohammed　in　his　Lectures　on　Hero　Worship；　to　those　who　have　not；　I　shall　only　say；　that　I　entreat　them　to　do　so；　and　that　I　assure　them；　that　though　I　differ　in　many　things　utterly　from　Mr。　Carlyle's　inferences　and　deductions　in　that　lecture；　yet　that　I　am　convinced；　from　my　own　acquaintance　with　the　original　facts　and　documents；　that　the　picture　there　drawn　of　Mohammed　is　a　true　and　a　just　description　of　a　much…calumniated　man。

Now；　what　was　the　strength　of　Islam？　　The　common　answer　is；　fanaticism　and　enthusiasm。　　To　such　answers　I　can　only　rejoin：　　Such　terms　must　be　defined　before　they　are　used；　and　we　must　be　told　what　fanaticism　and　enthusiasm　are。　　Till　then　I　have　no　more　e　priori　respect　for　a　long　word　ending　in　…ism　or　…asm　than　I　have　for　one　ending　in　…ation　or　…　ality。　　But　while　fanaticism　and　enthusiasm　are　being　defineda　work　more　difficult　than　is　commonly　fanciedwe　will　go　on　to　consider　another　answer。　　We　are　told　that　the　strength　of　Islam　lay　in　the　hope　of　their　sensuous　Paradise　and　fear　of　their　sensuous　Gehenna。　　If　so；　this　is　the　first　and　last　time　in　the　world's　history　that　the　strength　of　any　large　body　of　peopleperhaps　of　any　single　manlay　in　such　a　hope。　　History　gives　us　innumerable　proofs　that　such　merely　selfish　motives　are　the　parents　of　slavish　impotence；　of　pedantry　and　conceit；　of　pious　frauds；　often　of　the　most　devilish　cruelty：　　but；　as　far　as　my　reading　extends；　of　nothing　better。　　Moreover；　the　Christian　Greeks　had　much　the　same　hopes　on　those　points　as　the　Mussulmans；　and　similar　causes　should　produce　similar　effects：　　but　those　hopes　gave　them　no　strength。　　Besides；　according　to　the　Mussulmans'　own　account；　this　was　not　their　great　inspiring　idea；　and　it　is　absurd　to　consider　the　wild　battle…cries　of　a　few　imaginative　youths；　about　black…eyed　and　green…　kerchiefed　Houris　calling　to　them　from　the　skies；　as　representing　the　average　feelings　of　a　generation　of　sober　and　self…restraining　men；　who　showed　themselves　actuated　by　far　higher　motives。

Another　answer；　and　one　very　popular　now；　is　that　the　Mussulmans　were　strong；　because　they　believed　what　they　said；　and　the　Greeks　weak；　because　they　did　not　believe　what　they　said。　　From　this　notion　I　shall　appeal　to　another　doctrine　of　the　very　same　men　who　put　it　forth；　and　ask　them；　Can　any　man　be　strong　by　believing　a　lie？　　Have　you　not　told　us；　nobly　enough；　that　every　lie　is　by　its　nature　rotten；　doomed　to　death；　certain　to　prove　its　own　impotence；　and　be　shattered　to　atoms　the　moment　you　try　to　use　it；　to　bring　it　into　rude　actual　contact　with　fact；　and　Nature；　and　the　eternal　laws？　　Faith　to　be　strong　must　be　faith　in　something　which　is　not　one's　self；　faith　in　something　eternal；　something　objective；　something　true；　which　would　exist　just　as　much　though　we　and　all　the　world　disbelieved　it。　　The　strength　of　belief　comes　from　that　which　is　believed　in；　if　you　separate　it　from　that；　it　becomes　a　mere　self…opinion；　a　sensation　of　positiveness；　and　what　sort　of　strength　that　will　give；　history　will　tell　us　in　the　tragedies　of　the　Jews　who　opposed　Titus；　of　the　rabble　who　followed　Walter　the　Penniless　to　the　Crusades；　of　the　Munster　Anabaptists；　and　many　another　sad　page　of　human　folly。　　It　may　give　the　fury　of　idiots；　not　the　deliberate　might　of　valiant　men。　　Let　us　pass　this　by；　then；　believing　that　faith　can　only　give　strength　where　it　is　faith　in　something　true　and　right：　and　go　on　to　another　answer　almost　as　popular　as　the　last。

We　are　told　that　the　might　of　Islam　lay　in　a　certain　innate　force　and　savage　virtue　of　the　Arab　character。　　If　we　have　discovered　this　in　the　followers　of　Mohammed；　they　certainly　had　not　discovered　it　in　themselves。　　They　spoke　of　themselves；　rightly　or　wrongly；　as　men　who　had　received　a　divine　light；　and　that　light　a　moral　light；　to　teach　them　to　love　that　which　was　good；　and　refuse　that　which　was　evil；　and　to　that　divine　light　they　stedfastly　and　honestly　attributed　every　right　action　of　their　lives。　　Most　noble　and　affecting；　in　my　eyes；　is　that　answer　of　Saad's　aged　envoy　to　Yezdegird；　king　of　Persia；　when　he　reproached　him　with　the　past　savagery　and　poverty　of　the　Arabs。　　〃Whatsoever　thou　hast　said；〃　answered　the　old　man；　〃regarding　the　former　condition　of　the　Arabs　is　true。　　Their　food　was　green　lizards；　they　buried　their　infant　daughters　alive；　nay；　some　of　them　feasted　on　dead　carcases；　and　drank　blood；　while　others　slew　their　kinsfolk；　and　thought　themselves　great　and　valiant；　when　by　so　doing　they　became　possessed　of　more　property。　They　were　clothed　with　hair　garments；　they　knew　not　good　from　evil；　and　made　no　distinction　between　that　which　was　lawful　and　unlawful。　　Such　was　our　state；　but　God　in　his　mercy　has　sent　us；　by　a　holy　prophet；　a　sacred　volume；　which　teaches　us　the　true　faith。〃

These　words；　I　think；　show　us　the　secret　of　Islam。　　They　are　a　just　comment　on　that　short　and　rugged　chapter　of　the　Koran　which　is　said　to　have　been　Mohammed's　first　attempt　either　at　prophecy　or　writing；　when；　after　long　fasting　and　meditation　among　the　desert　hills；　under　the　glorious　eastern　stars；　he　came　down　and　told　his　good　Kadijah　that　he　had　found　a　great　thing；　and　that　she　must　help　him　to　write　it　down。　And　what　was　this　which　seemed　to　the　unlettered　camel…driver　so　priceless　a　treasure？　　Not　merely　that　God　was　one　Godvast　as　that　discovery　wasbut　that　he　was　a　God　〃who　showeth　to　man　the　thing　which　he　knew　not；〃　a　〃most　merciful　God；〃　a　God；　in　a　word；　who　could　be　trus