three, or four wives, at the most.. I f you think you cannot maintain them equally, marry only one.” (T h is subject has been elucidated in a preceding chapter, it is therefore unnecessary to say any thing furth er upon it here). It has been said by Euthymius Zygabenus, and an anonymous author, who wrote Mohammed’s life, in Sylburgh’s Saracen. p. 60, that Mohammed, in his Koran, placed Moses amongst the damned ; but whoever has th e lea st knowledge o f Arabic, must know, by consulting the Koran, that Moses is eve ry where mentioned with great respect, and the Mohammedans call him Seedna, i. e. our Lord or Master. From the foregoing observations, it w ill be perceived that the principles o f the Mohammedan religion are neither so pernicious nor so absurd as many have imagined. T h e y have sometimes been vilified from error, or for the purpose o f e x alting the Christian do ctrine; but that doctrine is too pure and celestial to need any such aids. CHAPTER X. Languages o f Africa— Various Dialects o f the Arabic Language — Difference between the Berebber and Shelluh Languages Specimen o f the Mandinga— Comparison o f the Shelluh Language with that o f the Canary Islands, and Similitude o f Customs. Y a r e b , the son o f Kohtan,* is said to h a v e been the first who spoke Arabic, and the Mohammedans contend that it i the most eloquent language spoken in any part o f the globe, and that it is the one which w ill be used at the day o f ju d g ment. T o write a long dissertation on this copious and energetic language, would be only to repeat what many learned men have said b e fo re ; a few observations, however, may not be superfluous to the generality o f readers. T h e Arabic language is spoken b y a greater proportion o f the inhabitants o f the known world than any other : a person having a practical knowledge o f it, may travel from the shores o f the Mediterranean sea to the Cape o f G ood Hope, and notwithstanding that in such a journey he must pass through many kingdoms and empires o f blacks, speaking distinct languages, y e t he would find men in all those countries versed in Mohammedan learning, and therefore acquainted w ith the Arabic ; again, he might * This Kohtan is the Yoctan, son of Eber, brother to Phaleg, mentioned in Genesis. Chapter 10, verse 25. E E
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