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possesses, to our lord Hakem (whose name be glorified!)— that he submits to his disposal of him, without opposing him in any thing, or disapproving any thing in his works, whether he bestow pleasure or pain. If he renounces the religion of our lord Hakem (whose name be glorified!) to which he has submitted by this writing, and to which he has bound his soul by this authentic declaration, or if he reveals it to others, or if he disobeys any of its commandments, he shall no longer have any part with the Creator who is adored: he shall be deprived of the advantages which he might have received from the Ministers [of the Religion of the Unity], and he shall merit the chastisements of God most high (whose name be glorified!) Whosoever confesses, that he has not in heaven any God worthy of adoration, nor on earth any Imâm existing other than our lord Hakem (whose name be glorified!) is in the number of the happy Unitarians.

Written in such a month, of such a year of the era* of the servant of our Lord (whose name be glorified!) and of his slave Hamza, son of Ali, son of Ahmet, the director of those who are obedient, and the avenger of those who adore many Gods, and of Apostates by the sword of our lord (whose name be glorified!) and by the force of his sole power.

The Christian Reader will discern, in the midst of this unintelligible jargon, various traces of Judaism, Christianity, and Mahomedanism. The general

scope of the system, supposing these documents to exhibit it truly, would seem to be pure Deism. The doctrine, however, of Incarnate Deity, and the expectation of a Second Advent of the Head of the Druse Religion, are points of resemblance to the New Testament, peculiarly striking. That the Druses are not to inquire into the time of this Second Advent, is analogous to the feeling which the Jews at present have concerning their Messiah; and the

"The era of the Druses, or of Hamza, begins with the year 408 of the Hegira; that is, about A.D. 1016." (Note by De Sacy: p. 379.)

belief that all nations are to be subject to Hakem may be a corruption, either of the secular expectations of the Jews, or of the spiritual hopes of Christians. In respect to the practical or experimental part of this religion, while much is said of acknowledging undeserved favours, while human merit seems to be disclaimed, and an allusion is even made to the idea of mediation; it is nevertheless impossible not to see, that the exhortations to piety all proceed on the idea that man has the power in himself to become pious. However far Mahomedans, Druses, Deists, or the propagators of any other false religion, may extract matter from the Old or the New Testament, yet they all drop the doctrine of man's corruption by the Fall-both the fact, and all its train of inevitable consequences. These documents form an additional proof of the tendency of mankind to corrupt pure Revelation, and to fabricate a religion of their own; while the barrier of secrecy, with which they endeavour to surround it, is but a stratagem of the Arch-enemy to preclude the detection and overthrow of their errors.

A curious additional circumstance shall here be quoted from the writings of the Jesuit Missionaries, which, if correct, seems to prove that the Druses are not exempt from the reproach of Idolatry.

There are only two of their villages, which have the honour (speaking their language) of possessing the statue of their great Legislator.

His statue, according to their law, must be of gold or of silver. They inclose it in a wooden case, and exhibit it only on the day of their grand ceremonies; when they address their vows to it, to obtain the object of their desires. They imagine that they are speaking to God himself, so great is

their veneration for this idol. The only two villages where it is preserved are called Bagelin and Fredis.

(Lettres Edifiantes et Curieuses: Vol. I. pp. 371, 372.) Volney has intimated, that the Druses have, at different times, imposed upon the Missionaries in the Levant, by a profession of Christianity. It is almost superfluous to observe, that the statements of an avowed enemy of the Gospel are to be received with extreme reserve. The following extract from that traveller, so far as it may demonstrate the facility of temper of the Druses, is worthy of attention; but cannot be regarded as a faithful account of the proceedings of the Missionaries:

When they go among the Turks, they affect the external appearance of the Mussulman: they enter the Mosques, and perform the ablutions and prayers. Or are they among the Maronites? They follow them to Church, and take the holy water like them. Many of them, importuned by the Missionaries, have received baptism: then, solicited by the Turks, they have allowed themselves to be circumcised; and have finished by dying, neither Christians nor Mussulmans.

(Volney's Travels in Syria: Chap. 22. Section 3.)

It will, however, be proper to hear what the Romish Missionaries themselves relate concerning the reception which their labours have had among the Druses. They speak without reserve of their total want of success; and even seem to regard the conversion of this people as a hopeless experiment. With the following extract, the account of the Druses shall conclude.

We often perform a Mission to the Catholics who are in their country; and we have as often the pain of seeing that this Nation is very far from the Kingdom of God. It is true that they love the Christians, and do not love the Turks. It is true, likewise, that they prefer calling themselves Chris

tians rather than Turks, although they wear the green turban. They even receive us kindly and joyfully into their houses. Notwithstanding these favourable dispositions, their inviolable attachment for their religion, which is a frightful compound of Christian and Mahomedan Ceremonies, and, still more, their obstinacy in refusing instruction, give just reason to fear that this Nation will persist in shutting its eyes to the light of the Gospel.

(Lettres Edifiantes et Curieuses: Vol. V. pp. 372, 373.)

E

Ansari.

THE Ansari are a people residing in the mountainous parts near Antioch, and in other places of Northern Syria. The origin of this Sect, marvellous and semi-fabulous, is thus given by Assemann, translated from the Syriac of Bar-Hebræus :—

Whereas many desire to know the origin of the Nazaræi, receive the following account from us. In the year of the Greeks 1202,* there appeared an old man in the region Akula [this is Cupha, a city of Arabia, as Bar-Hebræus elsewhere notices], in a village which the inhabitants call Nazaria. This old man having the appearance of a person given to severe fasts, great poverty, and strict devotion, many of the natives of that place followed him; out of whom having chosen twelve, according to the number of the Apostles, he commanded them to preach a new doctrine to the people. The governor of the place, hearing of this, commanded to apprehend him; and, having cast him into a dungeon in his own house, swore that on the following morning he would have him crucified. On the same night, the governor, going to bed half intoxicated with wine, placed the key of the dungeon under his pillow: a maid of the household, perceiving this, when he was fast asleep withdrew the key; and, pitying this old man, given to fasting and prayer, opened the dungeon, set him at liberty, and then restored the key to its former place: the governor, going in the morning to the dungeon, and opening it with the same key, and finding no person, imagined the culprit to have been miraculously removed; and as the maid, through fear, kept silence as to what she had done, the report spread abroad that the old man

*Corresponding to A.D. 891.

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