in Gabriel the Porter there where he saw a Cock so great that standing upon the Moon his Coxcomb reacht into the imperial Heaven many millions of miles altitude and when this mighty Chanticlear crowed all the Cocks upon earth re-ecchoed him this he saw in the first Heaven In the fourth he beheld an infinite company of Angels whereof every one was a thousand times bigger then the Globe of the earth each of them had ten thousand heads every head threescore and ten thousand tongues and every tongue praised God in seven hundred thousand several languages amongst other of these Angels saith he was one named Phatyr or the Angel of mercy who was of that immense greatness that every step he trode was twelve times more then the distance betwixt the Poles This Angel said he had a quill or pen of Orient Pearl of such a length that an excellent Arabian Courser could hardly reach to the end of it in five hundred years continual galloping with this pen saith he doth God record all things past present and to come in such a mysterious Character that none but he and Seraphael can understand it with this quill were written all the hundred and four Holy Books viz. the ten which Adam received Seth fifty Enoch thirty and Abraham the remainder this pen forsooth also writ Moses Law David's Psalms Christ's Gospel and Mahomet's Alcoran In the seventh Heaven he saw the. Throne of God supported by seven Angels each of them so great that a Faulcon with incessant flying could scarce in a thousand years reach the distance of one eye from another fourteen everlasting burning candles hung about the Throne whose length according to Mahomets measure was as much as a horse could run in five hundren years There saith this blasphemer did he see the Almighty who bid him welcome and stroaked him on the face with his hand which was a thousand times colder then ice Here Mahomet for shame of his own baseness blusht and sweat six drops which he wiped from his brow and threw into Paradise where one became a Rose another a grain of Rice and the other four became four learned Men viz. Armet Sembelin Almamed Molec-zed Seh-naffin Who would think people should be so credulous to believe such antick stories but his other opinions were full as ridiculous as concerning the day of Judgement that he should paint it out by a great and fearful Duel betwixt him and death who being overcome shall be so inraged that he shall destroy all the world presently and being armed in flaming brass shall sound his Trumpet to each quarter of the world whose affrighting noise shall make all creatures to give up the ghost yea the very Angels also shall die as also Adriel who wrapping his iron wings about him shall strangle himself with such a hideous noise as is not to be imagined Then shall ensue a terrible earth-quake and a violent shower of parching brimstone which shall turn the world into a disordered Chaos in which condition it shall remain the space of forty days at which time God shall take it in his fist and say Where are now the haughty Princes the cruel Tyrants lascivious ' Wantons and covetous Muck-worms of the earth Then will he rain down mercy for forty dayes and nights together incessantly which shall reduce the world again into a flourishing estate Then shall the Angel Seraphiel take a golden Trumpet in his hand of length 500 years travel from one end to another with which he shall give such a sound as shall revive again both Angels and men who shall re-assume their former estate after this Michael the Arch-Angel comes with a mighty Ballance and poyses every mans actions in either scale those whose good deeds outweigh their evil are put on the right hand the other on the left Then is every man loaden with his sins in a satchel and hung about his neck with which they pass on a narrow weak bridge over the mouth of Hell now those that be heavy laden break the bridge and fall therein but such as have but few sins pass over securely on the other side of the bridge stands Mahomet who shall be transformed into the shape of a mighty Ram full of locks and long fleeces of wool in which all his Sectaries like Fleas shall shroud themselves then will he jump into Paradise and so convey them all thither Paradise he described to be as many miles about as there be Atoms in the Sun and that it is enclosed with a wall of ninety times refined gold ten thousand miles high and three thousand thick it hath seven Gates to enter in at and is divided into seven spacious Gardens and those subdivided into seventy times seven several places of delight In this place he promises to his Mussel-men or true Believers all sensual pleasures and delights imaginable namely that they should have garments of silk with all sorts of colours bracelets of gold and Amber Parlors and Banquetting-houses upon floods and Rivers vessels of Gold and Silver Angels serving them bringing in Gold and Silver Flaggons Milk and Wine curious Lodgings rarely furnished Cushions Pillows and Down-beds most beautiful Women to accompany them Maidens and Virgins with twinkling eyes Gardens and Orchards with Arbors Fountains Springs and all manner of pleasant fruit Rivers of Milk Honey and spiced Wine all manner of sweet Odours Perfumes and fragrant Scents yea whatsoever the flesh shall desire to have In this Paradise saith Mahemet there is a Table of Diamond seven hundred thousand dayes journey long this is for men to feast upon sitting on chairs of Gold and Pearl Gabriel the Porter of Paradise hath seventy thousand keys which belong to his Office and every key is seven thousand miles long questionless he must be very strong or else those keys must needs tire him Here saith the Alcoran shall men tumble in all manner of pleasure reposing upon fair beds lined with Crimson there shall they gather the fruits of the Garden to their contentment there shall they enjoy the company of fair and beautiful Damosels whose hairs be threds of Gold their eyes of Diamonds as big as the Moon their lips of Cherries their teeth of Pearl their tongues of Rubies their cheeks of Coral their noses of Jasper their fore-heads of Saphyr their eyes exceeding black and bodies exceeding white round fac'd sweet amorous and beautiful there shall they spend the time with these Virgins in pleasant Arbors who being enjoyed shall have their Virginities again renewed as often as lost In the midst of this delightful place saith he is a very high spreading Tree higher then all the Mountains in the world were they heap'd one upon another and so broad that it shadeth all Paradise The trunk of this extraordinary rate tree is all of Diamond the leaves of Ophirian gold and the boughs of jet each leaf hath an antick shape having on one side growing the name of God and on the other that of Mahomet Such
gross absurdities did he publish to catch the credulous inconsiderate multitude but his devices are so ridiculous that a wise man cannot chuse but smile at his conceits in pleasure this indeed hath made many of the most serious of them to mislike his inventions and sensual delights amongst the rest hear Avicena one of his own Sect Mahomet saith he hath given as a Law which sheweth the perfection of felicity to consist in those things which concern the body whereas the wise and sages of old had a greater desire to express the felicity of the soul then of the body as for the bodily felicity though it were granted them yet they regarded it not nor esteemed it in comparison of the felicity which the soul requireth Nor were his ridiculous fopperies of Hell less then the other namely that it was in the navel of the world compassed with a large high wall of attractive Adamant having seven gates of flaming brass to enter in at that it was divided into several Cells or Dungeons whereof some were more loathsom and fuller of torments then others which are prepared for those souls who have highest transgressed Some of these Caves saith he are so deep that a milstone in a thousand years cannot attain to the bottom and other places are without bottom In the descent of these deep Caves or Dungeons are placed sharp pikes and swords to wound and torment the souls that move there These Dungeons are full of flaming oyle and brimstone which striketh such a terror that the very Devils themselves do howl scrich and rage there beyond measure other Dungeons be full of serpents toads and all manner of venemous and noison creatures that can be imagined Here shall the wicked eat of the fruit of the Tree Zacon which being in their guts shall flame like sulphur they shall drink boyling water and every day have alteration of new torments Some Rivers saith he be full of Crocodiles others so cold as makes them gnash and chatter others boyl with violence of heat yet saith the Alcoran shall not these pains endure for ever for after so many thousand years when each soul hath suffered according to the demerits of the sins which he hath committed then shall they be delivered by Mahomet yea his charity is so great that he will deliver the Devils also first changing their affrighting shapes into others more tolerable and then by washing them in a River flowing out of Paradise called Alcanzar they shall become whiter then the driven snow and from thence forward sing Lala hillulaes unto Mahomet His doctrine of Angels was that they were either good or bad yet both subject to death the good as consisting of flame because Lucifer an Angel by ambition was cast out of Paradise the bad Angels are imprisoned in Dogs Swine Toads Wolves Bears Tygers c. After the Judgement day they must be tormented in Hell some millions of years and afterwards be delivered by Mahomet As absurd and ridiculous were his opinions concerning our Saviour Christ as that the Virgin Mary conceived him by smelling to a Rose presented to her by the Angel Gabriel and that he was born out of her breasts also that he was not crucified but Judas or some other wicked thief in his stead Christ being separated from them by a cloud that covered him which came from Heaven that at the last day the Righteous should enter into Heaven the Jews under the banner of Moses the Christians under the banner of Christ and the Saracens under his banner Having with these and the like odd whimzies patched up his Alcoran to give it the better credit that the people might imagine it to come from Heaven he devised this cuning way He secretly caused a wild Ass to be taken and bound his Alcoran being fairly written about his neck then as he preached unto the people he pretended a sudden rapture of some extraordinary thing that was revealed to him from above and with a loud voice spake to the people Ye have desired a Law behold God hath sent you a Law from Heaven go to such a Desart there shall ye find an Ass and a Book tyed about his neck which will direct you in the wayes which God hath commanded Thereupon the people ran in great hast and as they could do no other found it according as he had said so with great pomp they bring back the Ass with the book about his neck suitable to the bearer and now as thoroughly convinced they give great honour to this their new Prophet Thus were these silly souls deluded by this cunning Impostor who worse then Herostratus purchased to himself a lasting name by by the grandest wickedness that could be committed We shall conclude this Chapter with a brief Epitomy or Summary of their Religion such as it is wherein all those that are not wholly given over to sensuality and brutishness may see the ridiculous machine whereon the great fabrick of their faith is grounded A Summary of the Religion of the TURKS THe Turks believe one sole God in one sole Person Creator of heaven and earth the rewarder of the good and punisher of the wicked who hath created Paradise for the recompence of the righteous and Hell for the last punishment of crimes They believe that Mahomet was a very great Prophet whom God sent in the world to teach men the way of salvation and call themselves Musulmans that is to say recommended to God or saved They believe the Decalogue of Moses and are obliged to observe it they celebrate Friday as the Christians Sunday that day they assemble in Temples at noon to pray They are obliged to pray five times a day viz. in the morning at noon at the evening when the Sun setteth and an hour within night They fast the month or moon which they call Ramazan during this month they neither drink nor ear all the day until the Sun be set but in the night drink and eat according to their appetites flesh and fish except the flesh of swine and wine that is all times forbidden them after this fast they have the feast of great Bairan as the Christians Easter after Lent In this Bayran or Byram lasting 3 days they are very jolly and give Presents like our New years gifts especially the Grand Seignior gives and receives much They are great founders of Temples and Hospitals and are obliged to give to the poor the first day of the year the Tyth of what they have gained during the preceding year They believe that after being well washt saying some prayer appropriate to that Ceremony they have also the soul purified from all filthiness of sin which is the cause that they wash and bath often especially before they pray They have no Sacrament but Circumcision they cause their children to be circumcised at the age of seven or eight years and when they can pronounce these words La ilha ilha allha Mehemet rasoul allha that is There is
a fained holiness he retired to Mecca the Metropolis of his new Empire under which mask he intended to take his ease sequestred himself from publique affairs committing the Government of his estate to the Lieutenants and within three years following which was in Anno Dom. 631. the sixtieth year of his Age and the tenth of his reign he died but others say in the seventieth of his age and the twenty third of his impostures and that he died frantick Mahomet dies Upon his death-bed he commended unto his principal Commanders the care and use of his fantastical Law assuring them that it was agreeable to the Will of God and that so long as they and their posterity should hold and maintain it they should flourish His dead body being kept four dayes in expectation of a resurrection which he promised to perform in three grown full of stench and putrefaction was carried by his successors who pretended to be his Caliphs or Vicar Generals to Medina where it yet continues but not drawn up to the roof of the Chappel by a Load-stone as is vulgarly fabled This false Prophet and usurping Prince pretended paternally to discend from the Patriarch Abraham by his eldest Son Ismael Mahomet pretends discent from Abraham and to avoid the infamy of an unlawful bed he affirmed that Ismael was the Son of Sara not of the Bond-woman Agar whereupon the Arabians which is the undoubted name of that people are by some writers of Ismael called Ismaelites and by others of Agar Agarens And of Sara Sarazens but in this latter time they are distinguished by the name of Arabians Moors and Mahometans the first is proper only to those which inhabit in Arabia the Moors are the Progeny of such Arabians as after their Conquests seated themselves in that part of Africa the Mahometans is the general name of all Nations that profess Mahomet as Turks Tartars Persians c. Of the successors of Mahomet until the year of our Lord 673. the writers vary in opinion both in name and number of the Caliphs and in the years of their reigns the reason that begat their errors proceeded from the dissention that happened about the succession amongst Mahomets Kins-men evermore Anti-Caliphs starting up with pretending Titles in opposition to him that had the Diadem whereof some were murthered and others deposed so as the writers either out of ignorance not able to discern the truth or wilfully partial have erred Notwithstanding their civil tumults they kept Mahomets Dominions and inherited his fortunes for every of them added somewhat to his Monarchy whereby they became fearful to the world and potent in Asia Africa and Europe The fourth Caliph agreed upon by Historiographers was called Aozman or Azman Husband to Mahomets Daughter who perceiving that in this upstart Religion Schisms and diversities of opinions began to rise by the help of his Wifes Mother recovered Mahomets papers wherein his Law was written which with some additions of his own he caused to be digested into one volume containing four books divided into 124. Chapters and called it the Alâ—oran that is to say the Collection of Precepts the Original whereof they feign to be written in a Table which is kept in heaven and the Copy of it brought to Mahomet by the Angel Gabriel by his mistake say the Persians but for Mahomets vertue approved by God A Book so highly reverenced by the Mahometans that they write upon the Cover of it The esteem of the Alcoran Let none touch this but he that is clean Commanding expresly upon pain of death that that book and that only should be received as Canonical through his Dominions The whole body of it is but an Exposition and gloss on these eight Commandements 1. Every one ought to believe that God is a great God and one only God and Mahomet is his Prophet They hold Abraham to be the Friend of God Their opinion concerning Christ Moses the Messenger of God and Christ the Breath of God whom they deny to be conceived by the Holy Ghost affirming that the Virgin Mary grew with child of him by smelling to a Rose and was delivered of him at her breasts They deny the mystery of the Trinity but punish such as speak against Christ whose Religion was not say they taken away but mended by Mahomet And he who in his pilgrimage to Mecca doth not coming or going visit the Sepulchre of Christ is reputed not to have merited or bettered himself any thing by his journey 2. Every man must marry to increase the Sectaries of Mahomet Four Wives he allowed to every man and as many Concubines as he will between whom the Husband setteth no difference either in affection or apparel but that his Wives only can enjoy his Sabbaths benevolence The women are not admitted in the time of their lives to come into their Churches nor after death to Paradise 3. Every one must give of his wealth ' to the poor Hence you shall have some buy slaves and then manumit them buy birds and then let them flie They use commonly to free Prisoners release Bond-slaves build caves or lodgings in the wayes for the relief of Passengers repair bridges and men High-ways 4. Every one must make his prayers five times a day When they pray they turn their bodies toward Mecca but their faces sometimes one way sometimes another way believing that Mahomet shall come behind them being at their devotions And those which cannot come must when they hear the voice of the Cryars fall down in the place where they are do their devotions and kiss the ground thrice 5. Every man must keep a Lent one month in a year This Lent is called Ramazan in which they suppose the Alcoran was given unto Mahomet by the Angel Gabriel This fast is onely intended in the day time the law giving leave to frolick it in the night as they best please so they abstain from Wine and Swines flesh Turks unnatural to their parents 6. Be obedient to thy Parents Which Law is the most neglected of any in all the Alcoran never any children being so unnatural as the Turkish 7. Thou shall not kill And this they keep inviolated among themselves but the poor Christians are sure to feel the smart of their fury And as if by this law the actual shedding of blood onely were prohibited they have invented punishment for their offenders worse then death it self 8. Do unto others as thou would be done unto thy self To those that keep these Laws he promiseth Paradise The Turks Paradise a place of all delights adorned with flowery fields watered with Chrystalline Rivers beautified with trees of Gold under whose cool shade they shall spend their time with amorous Virgins whose mansion shall not be far distant The men shall never exceed the age of thirty nor the women of fifteen and those to have their virginities renewed as fast as lost he taught too that at the end of the