and Books and among others the Laughing Statue which was made of a green Precious Stone They had dispos'd all these things within that place for fear of the Inundation and spoil As to the Priests who were in Egypt after the Deluge there were a great number of them The first who then follow'd that Profession was the Son of Philemon who was imbarqu'd in the Ship with his Father and Sister whom Noah married to Bansar the Son of Cham which happened thus King Pharaan sent the Priest Philemon to the Prophet of God Noah to dispute with him about the Worship of the Idols but Philemon by the grace and conduct of God believed in Noah and confirm'd his Mission He afterwards imbarqued with him in the Ship he and his Children and seven of his Disciples and after that gave his Daughter in Marriage to Bansar the Son of Cham the Son of Noah After they were come out of the Ship Philemon carried Bansar his Son in Law into Egypt where his Daughter had by the said Bansar her Husband a Son whom he named Masar who was since King of Egypt and caused it to be call'd Masre from his own Name always worshipping one onely God according to the Religion of Noah The name of Priest was not then a reproach among them for the Priest was then look'd upon as a Judge who does not oppose the Laws prescribed unto him The first who made an absolute profession of Priesthood in Egypt who brought Religion into esteem and applyed himself to the Worship of the Stars was Bardesir the Son of Cophtarim the Son of Masar the Son of Bansar the Son of Cham for he was King after his Father and it is reported that he made the great Laws build the Pyramids and set up for Idols the Figures of the Stars The Coptites affirm that the Stars spoke to him and many Miracles are attrited to him Among other things it is said he kept himself out of the sight of Men for several years of his Raign appearing only from time to time that is to say once a year when the Sun entred into Aries Then People came in to him and he spoke to them but they saw him not afterwards he absented himself from them till the like time again and then he gave them Commands and Prohibitions yet so as that they saw him not with their Eyes After a long time thus passed he ordered to be built a Tower of Silver Gilt and to be embellished with several Ornanaments then he began to sit on it in a most Magnificent and Magestical form and to speak to them After that he went and sate before them in the Clouds in a Humane form then he absented himself from them save only when he discovered to them his Figure in the Temple of the Sun when the Sun entred in Aries and ordered them to take for their King Garim the Son of Cophtarim acquainting them that he would not return any more to them wherein they obeyed him As to the Priestess Bedoura she was a strong Woman and as they say the Sister of Bardesir and that he gave her his Art of Priesthood and Divination whereupon she made most of the Talismans in the Pyramids She also made the speaking Idols in Memphis The Priesthood continued in her Family and Posterity who received it successively one of another and enjoyed its advantages The Egyptians affirm that in her time the wild Beasts and the Birds hindered them from drinking the Water of the Nile so that most of them dyed of Thirst and that she sent against these Animals an Angel who made so great a cry amongst them that the Earth shook and the Mountains were cleft It is said that by her Magick she fled in the Air and that the Angels smote her with their Wings As for Savan the Asmounian who they say was the ancient Hermes he it was that built the House of the Statues by which the measures of the Nile are know and built to the Sun a Temple in the Province named Basta and also ordered the building of Asmounia and in the like manner that of the City of Basre in Egypt which was twelve miles in length above which he caused a Castle to be made He also built Danae where he established the Schools and the Recreations 'T is also said that he built the Pyramids of Behansa where the women were in favour of his Daughter and that he there erected Pillars on which he raised a Tower of fine Glass which might be seen from the City of Gainosamse He also built on the descent of the Eastern Mountain in Egypt a City which he named Outiratis that is in the Coptick Language The King's Favourite and put into it abundance of miraculous things Among others he ordered four Pyramids to be made on the four sides of each Gate and caused to be set on the Eastern Gate a Tower in the form of a Turret or Steeple on which there was the Figure of a Black Eagle and on the Western Gate another Tower like the former with the Figure of a Bull on the Maritime Gate the like Tower with the Figure of a Lyon and on the outer or Southern Gate another such Tower with the Figure of a Dog He sent into these Figures Spirits that spoke so that when any Stranger came into that City at what Gate soever he entred the Figure upon it made a noise and the Inhabitants knew thereby that a stranger was come into their City and immediately they seiz'd on him where-ever he were He planted there also a Tree which shaded the whole City and bore all sorts of Fruits He also raised in the midst of the City a high Watch-tower the heighth whereof was fourscore Cubits according to the measure of that time and on the top of it a little Turret which every day assum'd a different colour till the seventh day after which it re-assumed its first colour wherewith it filled the whole City About this Watch-tower he disposed a great quantity of Water wherein there was bred abundance of Fish All about the City he set Talismans which diverted all inconveniencies from the Inhabitants and he called it the City of the Jovians that is Enchanters There was in it for him a great Tower for the exercise of the Sciences of Magick wherein he caused Assemblies to be made It was seated on a mountain opposite to the City God smote the Inhabitants of it with the Pestilence so that they all died and so ruin'd it that there is not any track of it to be seen As to the time when the Pyramids were first built in Egypt Historians relate that there was a King named Saurid the Son of Sahaloc three hundred years before the Deluge who dreamt one night that he saw the Earth overturned with its Inhabitants the Men cast down on their faces the Stars falling out of the Heavens and striking one against the other and making
that he shall be able to see all sorts of Spirits He there found also the Figure of an Icâ—neumon or Egyptian Rat made of Gold which being exposed to the Air the Sky was overcast and immediately there came Rain He there found moreover a Seat of Marble on which there was the Figure of a Raven made of a black Stone which being questioned spoke and answered to what was asked of it They say that in each of those Store-houses there were ten Miraculous things which it would be long to declare one after another wherefore we shall content our selves with what we have briefly said thereof After Gebirus saith the Author had acquitted himself of the Building of the City he sent the tidings of it to Charoba and invited her to come and see it It was her Nurse who brought her the news and withall said to her Fear not nor give your self any trouble concerning him Then presently she carried to Gebirus a piece of Tapistry of great value and said to him Put this on the Seat in which you shall sit and afterwards divide your people into three parties and send them to me that I may give them a Treatment such as they deserve When the first party shall be about a third part of the way you shall send away the second then afterwards the third to the end they may be near us dispersed in the Countrey for our safety He did so and in the mean time she continued sending to him precious Houshold-stuff till such time as she knew that they were upon their way and that he had sent to her the third part of his Army Then she caused to be set for them Tables replenish'd with Poisoned Meats and Drinks and when they were come to the Tables her Servants Men and Maids made them stay and sit down to eat standing all about them with Umbrellos or Fans so that they all died from the first to the last They afterwards quitted that Post and passed to the other where the second party met them whom they treated after the same manner Then they removed to the third and serv'd them as they had done the others so that all died After that she sent word to the King that she had left his Army in her own City and in her Castle and thereabouts for the safety of her Women and that she would be served by his Attendants who should be about him ready to obey him Accordingly she went to his Palace accompanied by her Nurse and some of her meaner Women who were with her and carried Perfumes in Porcelain Dishes He rose up and went to meet her and immediately her Nurse put about him a sumptuous Robe but poisoned which she had prepared for that purpose and blew a Fume into his face which in a manner deprived him of his senses then she sprinkled him with a water which she had which loosened all his members and dislocated all his joyn 〈…〉 so that he fell to the ground in a swound Then she opened his veins and emptied them of all his bloud saying The bloud of Kings is an excellent remedy Her Nurse came up to him and said to him Is the King well to night Mischief on your coming hither replied he may you be treated accordingly Do you stand in need of any thing replied she before you taste death I do said he I would intreat thee to cause these words to be engraved upon one of the pillars of the Castle I Gebirus the son of Gevirus the Mutaphequian who have caused Marble to be polished and the hard red stone and the green to be wrought who have been possessed of Gold and Precious stones who have built Palaces and raised Armies who have cut through Mountains who have stopped Rivers with my arm with all this my power and my might and my prowess and my valour I have been circumvented by the artifices of a Woman weak impotent and of no worth who hath deprived me of my understanding and taken my life and discomfited my Armies Whoever therefore is desirous to prosper though there be no prosperity in this world let him have a care of the wilely subtilties of Women This is the advice I give those who shall come after me I have no more to say Charoba thereupon commanded his head to be cut off and that it should be set upon the gate of the City of Memphis which was put in executtion by her people After that she caused the Tower of Alexandria to be built and to be graved thereon her own name and that of Gebirus and what she had done to him and the time when the City had been built Her fame came to the ears of Kings who respected and esteemed her and made submissions and proffers of obedience to her She did since that many miraculous things in Egypt among others she caused Castles and Bridges to be made upon the Frontiers and put Garrisons of Souldiers therein to be a Guard and to repell Enemies on which side soever they came to plunder them They say that Gebirus made this discourse to her at the point of death O Charoba triumph not at my death for there will happen to thee a day like this and yet much longer such is the custom of Fortune She troubled not her self at what he said but she had not lived above a year after him when having imbarqu'd upon the Nile in a small Vessel which she had to take the air by Moon-light on one side of the Pyramids and being afterwards gone ashore to ease nature attended by her Men and Women-servants who were about her whilest she was in the height of her mirth and jollity she trod on a Serpent which stung her in the heel and made her immediately lose her sight Wo is me cried she It will prove nothing Madam replied her Attendants You are deceived said she the day which Gebirus threatened me withall is come Accordingly she died he next morning The Egyptians made King in her stead her Cousin-german Dalic or rather as others affirm they made Queen her Cousin Dalica for she had continued a Virgin and was never married Dalica was endowed with a great understanding prudence and conduct and wanted not beauty She caused the body of Charoba to be embalmed in Camphire and brought into the City which she had built on the West side For Charoba had caused to be prepared for her there a Tomb embellished with all sorts of ornaments and had appointed for Inhabitants of the City a great number of Priests and Artizans and Doctors and Military persons That City continued in a flourishing condition and populous till it was ruined by Nabuchodonosor upon the Conquest of Egypt Dalica reigned 70 years and then died King Ablin reigned after her and after him the Valide son of Domegus the Amalekite and after him his son the Rajan son of the Valide who was the Pharao of Joseph and after him his son Magadan and after
it Masre a name common to all Aegypt and which we have several times rendred the ancient Metropolis of Aegypt in the Mahumetan History Alexandria is on the Sea-side near the Western mouth The Nile flows in one single Chanel through the midst of the plain from Eliphantina to the point of the Delta which is about fifty leagues from the Sea there it is divided into two afterwards into several branches before it falls into it Their conjecture who held Aegypt to be a new Land and come from some remote part was that heretofore the space between the two Mountains from Elephantina or a little below it to Alexandria had been a gulph of the Sea like and in a manner parallel in its situation to that which is called the Red Sea and entred into the Countries from the North towards the South as the Red Sea enters into them from South to North and that in processe of time the abundance of slime which the Nile brings down when it is overflown had filled that space and framed therein the land which is now seen there and which had no resemblance to those of Arabia and Africk which are adjoyning thereto whence they imagined it a stranger and come from far Herodotus was of opinion that that collection of slime might have been made in less then twenty thousand years taking haply his conjecture according to the increase of it from Homer's time to his own For Homer affirms that the Island of Pharos was in his time at a far greater distance from the Continent then it hath been since as Pliny hath observed inferring consequently thence that Aegypt was augmented and advanced nearer the Sea What I think miraculous in this is that the Inhabitants of a Countrey which in appearance began not till a long time after the rest should count the Years of their Antiquities in a far greater number then other Nations their Neighbours and should make in their Countrey sumptuous Structures which yet could not preserve the memorie of their Authors to a time when other Nations were but in a manner beginning to entertain thoughts of doing somewhat of that kind though they have lasted a long time after the ruine of those which were made much later And yet all this methinks depends on the same cause which is the excellency of the soil of that Province and the facility of cultivating it in as much as having always been able to maintain a far greater number of men then were requisite about the culture of it the Princes who were possessed thereof were obliged to find out other employments for the greatest part of their Subjects and this occasioned the early invention of Philosophy by those who were inclined to meditate on the wonderful things of nature and to spend the rest allowed their bodies in employing the intellectual faculties of their souls in those noble labours Aristotle speaks thus of it when he says that they studyed Philosophy in Aegypt sooner then any where else because there they soonest permitted the Priests to live in a commendable exemption from labour 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 As for others who could only work with their hands in regard the mild temperature of the Air dispenced with their employing themselves in many professions necessary elsewhere to secure mens bodies from its injuries it was requisite they should be employed in such works as might declare the powerfulness and magnificence of their Kings Whence I conceive Pliny justly blameable for the character he gives these Miracles of the World when he says they are Regum pecuniae stulta ostentatio and that after he had said that those who had written of them before him differed about the Names of the Kings who built them he should add these words Justissimo casu obliteratis tantae vanitatis authoribus For if all the works which contribute nothing to the supply of the necessities of humane life are follies Pliny himself is in hazard to be esteemed to have done many and this conceit of his is in my judgement much different from that of Pythagoras who as Cicero relates affirms that among the several sorts of persons who met ordinarily at the great general Assembly of all Greece those who came not thither upon any business nor out of design to get any thing but only to see what passed were the honester people Genus vel maxime ingenuum whom he therefore compared to the Philosophers These great Princes therefore are methinks rather to be bemoaned that their Names were already forgotten above fifteen hundred years since after they had made for the eternization thereof the Works which are to this day seen and admired rather then they are to be blamed for having done such noble things And this oblivion also no doubt proceeds from the excellency of their Countrey which having been envyed by all Foreiners who have known it hath always been one of the first preys of the Conquerours and by that means so often changed Masters that it is no wonder the memorie of the most Ancient should be lost whereas the Princes who once settled themselves therein were well satisfied with that possession and thought not of disturbing their Neighbours True it is that Strabo affirms that in Thebais above Diospolis and Memnon's Temple he saw on the magnificent Tombs of forty Kings Obelisks on which there were writings graven which mentioned great Conquests made by those Kings as far as Scythia Bactriana and the Indies Herodotus affirms the same of Sesâ—stris but it may be doubted whether these great Conquerours were natural Egyptians or Strangers who among other Countries had subdued Aegypt for Alexander the Great was no Aegyptian though he had his Tomb at Alexandria and had been the Founder of that great City However it were yet this is certain that the inclination of the Kings of Aegypt for great Structures is very ancient since the Pharao's who Reigned in the times of Joseph and Moses and who probably are comprehended by Herodotus under the single name of Pheron had it as may be seen by the complaints of the Israelites against them when they made them work hard in the making of Brick and paid them ill That Pheron of Herodotus was such a Person as the Pharao's are represented to us for he was no Conquerour but an insolent and impious Prince and the Pharao's were such as the Arabian expression at this day affirms it who say To play the Pharao that is to demean himself insolently and tyrannically whence haply comes the French word Faire le Fanfaron As to the Antiquity of the Sciences in Aegypt there is no doubt to be made of it since Plato and Eudoxus learn'd Astronomy there in a School where they studied thirteen years and which was shewed at Heliopolis as a rarity in Strabo's time who affirms he saw it there and adds that the Grecians never knew exactly of how many Days Hours and Minutes the Year consisted till they had read thereupon the Books of the Priests of Aegypt
second Pyramid which is the Colour'd is an ancient Nubian having a Basket on his head and in his hands a Censer like those used in Churches wherewith he incenses about it at all the Obelisks As to the Birba of Achemima its Spirit is a Young Man Beardless and Naked sufficiently known among the Inhabitants of the place The Spirit of the Birba of Semir is a black swarthy Old Man of high Stature and having a short Beard The Spirit of the Birba of of Phacat appears in the form of a black young Woman having in her arm a little black Infant deformed shewing his Dogs teeth and having his eyes all white The Spirit of the Birba of Ridousa appears in the form of a Man having the head of a Lion with two long Horns The Spirit of the Birba of Busira appears in the form of an old white Monk carrying a Book The Spirit of the Birba of Gaphi appears in the form of a Shepherd clad in a black Robe with a Staff in his hand As to the Pyramids of Dehasoura their Spirits are seen in the form of two black old Men. The Spirit of the Birba of Samnos appears in the form of a Monk who comes out of the Sea and views himself in it as in a Looking-glass All these Spirits are manifestly seen by such as come near them and the places of their retirement and frequent there abouts along time There are for all of them certain particular Offerings by means whereof it is possible the Treasures of the Birbas and the Pyramids may appear and that there may be a friendship and familiarity between Men and Spirits according to what the Sages have establish'd Saurid the Son of Sahaloc says the Author continued King of Egypt a hundred and seven years His Astrologers told him the time he should die whereupon he made his last Will to his Son Hargib told him whatever was necessary for him and ordered him to have him carried into the Pyramid and to have him disposed into the Tomb which he himself had caused to be made that he should cover the bottom of it with Camphire and Santal-wood and that he should enbalm his body with the drugs which prevent corruption and that he should leave by him the richest of his Armour and the most precious of his Housholdstuff His Son performed all this after his death and then Hargib Reigned after his Father in the Land of Egppt and follow'd his footsteps being careful as he had been to administer Justice to the People to have the Countrey cultivated and inhabited and to procure the wellfare of his Subjects which obliged them to have a great affection for him He afterwards caused to be built the first of the Pyramids of Dehasoura and to be brought thither abundance of Wealth and precious Stones of great value Hargib was particularly addicted to Chemistry to get Metals out of the Mines and to gather money he afterwards enterred every year a great quantity thereof and minded not the putting of Statue and speaking Idols into his Pyramid He a long time continued that exercise during which he had a Daughter who being grown up suffer'd herself to be debauched by one of hi◠people which obliged him to sent her away into the West where he had a City built for her in the Countrey of Barca This City being built they gave it the name of that Princess which was as they say Domeria For he caused a Pilory t◠be built in the midst of the City and her name to be grav'd on it then he sent to live there with her all the old Women of his House He continued King ninety nine years then dyed and was interred in the Pyramids His Son Menaos Reigned after him in Egypt and was a proud and hauty Prince who spilt much blood ill treated his Subjects Ravished many Women and squandered away a great part of the Treasures of his Ancestors For he built Palaces of Gold and Silver into which he brought Chanels of the Nile the bottom whereof he caused to be covered with Jacinths and other precious stones instead of Sand. He tormented Men and took away their goods and Cattel by force This got him the hatred of the People and at last the Beast he rid on threw him and broke his neck Gods curse go with him So God delivered the Egyptians of him As to the History of the Deluge and the adventures of Noah to whom God grant peace and mercy take in few words what is said thereof They relate that Adam Gods peace be with him after God had descended from Paradice and been merciful to him after his Sin was by God himself appointed King of the Earth and Mankind descended of his Race He was the first that Prayed to God Fasted and knew how to Read and Write He was Beardless and Hairless comely and well made There was afterwards sent him one and twenty pages of Writings then he dyed aged nine hundred and fifty years His li 〈…〉 should have been a thousand years but he bestowed fifty of them on hi◠Son David His Successor and L 〈…〉 gatee was his Son Seth to whom a 〈…〉 to whose Children continued the Prophecy with the true Religion and the Superintendency of Divine Laws God afterwards sent Seth twenty nine sheets He liv'd on the Mountain and Cabel built in the bottom of the Valley Seth lived nine hundred and twelve years and had for Successor his Son Enos who lived nine hundred and fifty years and appointed for hi◠Successor after his death his Son Cainan in whose favour he made his last Will and afterwards distributed the Earth among the Sons of his Sons Cainan died aged nine hundred and twenty years and made his last Testament in favour of his Son Mahalel In his time the square Temple was built He died aged nine hundred seventy five years and appointed for Successor his Son Jared whom he taught all the Sciences and told all that was to happen in the World He considered the Stars and read the Book of the secrets of the Kingdom which was sent from Heaven to Adam then he had to his son Enoch who is Edrisus Gods peace be with him There was then King in the World Mechavel the son of Cabel The Devil Gods curse with him went to him seduced him by his deceits and made him fall into errour then he told him that there was born to Jared the son of Mahalel a son who should be an enemy to theie Gods and come to great reputation Whereto Jared answered Canst not thou destroy him I 'le endeavour to do it said the Devil Whereupon God gave Edrisus Gods peace be with him Angels to guard him from the Devil and from his Progeny and Artifices When he was grown up to adolescency his Father made him Guardian of the Temple and taught him the sheets of Seth and Adam Gods peace be with them He was
when the Sun is ready to set Upon that Gebirus lighted off his Beast and said to the Shepherd Take off thy Garment and strip thy self The Shepherd obey'd and the King put on the Shepherds garment cloathed himself like him and sate in his place A while after behold the young Lady who was already come out of the Sea comes to salute him He returned the salute and she said to him Wilt thou wrestle any more on the same terms we have done already With all my heart said the King Immediately she came near him and endeavoured to cast him down but Gebirus gave her a fall presently and violently crush'd her Whereupon she said to him You are not my ordinary match No said the King Since I cannot avoid being taken said she put me into the hands of my former match for he has treated me courteously and I have tormented his heart many times mean time he hath captivated me as I have captivated him In requital I will teach you the way to complete this Building as you desire After therefore he had put her into the hands of the Shepherd he desired her to tell him whence came that which happened every day to his Building and if there were any means to make it continue in that condition whereto they brought it There are reply'd she but know great Prince that the Land of Egypt is a Land of Enchanters and that the Sea there is full of Spirits and Demons which assist them to carry on their affairs and that they are those who take away your Buildings But what means is there to prevent it said the King To do that said she you shall make great Vessels of Transparent glass with Covers thereto which may keep the waters from entering in and you shall put into them Men well-skill'd in Painting and with them Meat and Drink for a week and Cloaths and Pencils and whatever is necessary for Painting Then you shall stop the Vessels well after you have fastened them at the top with strong Cords and ty'd them to the Ships and then you shall let them go into the Sea like Anchors and you shall put at the top of the cords little Bells which the Painters shall ring and then I will tell you what it is requisite that you should do Gebirus did all she had ordered him he caused the Vessels to be made and brought the Painters before her who heard all she said to him then he promised them great wealth and honours and they promised him to do his business They therefore put these Vessels to the bottom of the Sea after they had stopped them well above and fastened them with cord and left them there a week after which the Painters rung the Bells and presently they were taken out of the water and they opened the Vessels out of which they took along with them the Draughts they had made The King presented them afterwards to the young Lady Marina and she said to them Make now Statues of Copper and Tin and Stone and Earth and Wood resembling your Draughts and set them on the Sea-side before the Buildings you shall make for then the Beasts of the Sea when they shall come out to demolish your Buildings as they are wont seeing those Figures will imagine that they are companies of Demons like themselves come to fight with them and they will presently return to the place whence they came The Painters and Gravers did so and by that means Gebirus completed his Structure as he desired After that he spoke thus to the Nymph Behold all the Money we had hath been expended in the Building of this City know you not where there is some Treasure in this Land for the City is not yet finished and we have no more Money There is reply'd the Nymph in this ruin'd City she meant Alexandria on the one side of your Building an empty round place and about that place there are seven Pillars with a brazen Statue standing on the top of each of them Sacrifice to every one of those Statues a fat Bull and cause the Pillar under it to be rubb'd with the blood of the Bull then perfume it with the hair of his Tail and with somewhat you shall cause to be shaved from his Horns and his Hoofs and speak thus to it Behold the Offering I make to thee let me therefore have what is about thee Having done and said this measure from every Pillar on that side that the Statue upon it shall have its face turned the space of a hundred Cubits then cause people to dig there You shall do all this when the Moon is at full and Saturn direct After you have digg'd fifty Cubits you will find a great Floor cause it to be rubb'd with the gall of the Bull then taken away for thence you will descend into a Cave 50 Cubits in length at the end whereof you will find a Store-house made of stone and made fast with a Lock the Key whereof shall be under the Threshold of the Door take it and rub the Door with what shall be left of the Bulls gall and perfume it with the shavings of the Horns and Hoofs of the same Animal and the hair of his Tail for then it shall open You shall afterwards expect till the Winds that shall be within get out when they shall be calmed enter for you will meet with an Idol of Brass having about its neck a plate of the same metal on which you will find written whatever is in the Store-houses of Silver precious Stones Statues and other Wonders Take thereof what you please but make no stay before a dead person whom you shall find there and let not what there is upon him of Jewels and precious Stones give you occasion of envy Do afterwards as much to every Pillar and its Statue you will find there again as much Wealth in a like Store-house for they are the Tombs of seven Kings buried with their Treasures Gebirus having heard this discourse of the Nymph was extremely satisfy'd He punctually did all she had said to him and found great wealth which cannot be described and abundance of rare and admirable things By this means he completed the Building of the City which coming to the knowledge of Charoba she was very much displeased thereat and fell into a great disturbance For her intention was only to weary out the King and to reduce him to an impossibility They say that among other Miracles which Gebirus found there there was a little golden Cabinet seal'd up with an unknown Seal and that having open'd it he found in it a Box made of red precious Stones and full of a green Powder in the form of a Collyrium or Eye-Medicine the mouth of which Box was in like manner stopped with a green Emerald and that upon the Cabinet there was written He who shall use this Collyry shall grow young again his hair shall grow black again and his sight shall be clear'd
secure the High-ways and protect Travellers Punish the wicked that they may be kept in by fear and that the Marchant be in safety Strive not with the weak for the things whereof they are possessed claim not the thing wherewith they sustain themselves eat not of their Bread in their Houses that you may have no remorse of Conscience Understand you not what is read to you out of the Book of your Lord which was inspired into the heart of your Prophet Gods peace and mercy be with him He will not desire your goods of you that you might not mutually desire them one of another and that you be not covetous in your hearts and that that may not make a discovery of your maliciousness Abunasre of the West Gods mercy on him in the Book of the Histories of Egypt which God continue populous and well cultivated says that on the Castle-gate at Masre in the time of the Romans before the Mussulmans conquered Egypt there was near the great Gate of the Church of Mugalleca called the Gate of Grace an Idol of Brass in the form of a Camel with the Figure of a man riding on him having an Arabian Turbant on his Head and his Bow over his Shoulder and Shoes on his Feet The Romans and the Coptites when any one injured or unjustly persecuted another came to that Statue and standing before it he who suffered the injury said to him who did it Give me what belongs to me otherwise I will make my complaint to that Cavalier who will oblige thee to do me right by fair means or by foul By that Cavalier they meant Mahumet Gods peace and mercy be with him for it is written among them in the Law of Moses and the Gospel where the countenance and posture of Mahumet is described He shall ride or the Camel and have Shoes on he shall carry the Arabian Bow and have a Turbant on his Head Gods peace and mercy be with him When Gamrou came to Egypt to conquer it he and the Mussulmans Gods peace be with them the Romans perceiving they would certainly be subdued and not doubting of the Victory of the Mussulmans hid that Statue under ground that it might not serve the Mussulmans for an Argument against them in the dispute I have heard says the son of Lahigus that that Statue had continued in that place several thousands of years and that they knew not who had made it God knows how it stands This story minds me of another which is this The Sultan the Malcolcamel Mahumet the son of Abubeker the son of Job Gods mercy on him sent the son of Sagad Ambassador into one of the Islands of Andalouzia the Soveraign whereof as I think was the Emperour This Ambassador returning related to the Sultan what strange things he had seen in the Island He told him among other things he had seen opposite to a Church belonging to the Romans a Statue of Stone in the form of an Ass with a man upon it set on a square Pedestal so that the Statue and the Pedestal were all of a piece of a black bright stone and all who entered into the Church or came out of it did spit upon the Statue and railed at it then turned away from it I ask'd the King continued the Sagadian as he related this story as I sate with him what figure that was and he told me that the Romans thought it a Statue of the Prince of the Mussulmans Whereupon added he I felt my self smitten with the Zeal of the Mussulman Religion which obliged me to speak thus to him Certainly great King this people is ill informed of that Statue and the opinion they have of it far from any likelihood of truth Why said the King Because said I he whom they imagine it represent never rid but upon Camels on the contrary 't is the Messias Gods peace be with him who rode on an Ass The King thereupon sent for a company of Priests and Monks and related my discours to them and they doubted not but that I had reason and spoke the truth which made them presently consider what they should do with that Figure The result was that ere next day was over they prepared it a Chappel where they lodg'd it in the Church afterwards burning incense before it and cloathing it with Silk and making a Procession about it and doing it great honours with much Devotion This was a business said they which was concealed from us This Figure had not been set up in this Countrey had it not been the Figure of the Messias for this is not the Countrey of the Mussulmans and their Prince never came thither He who related this story said to the Sultan Have I sinned in doing so No by the true God said the Sultan on the the contrary you have done well and deserved reward since what you did was out of the good zeal you had for the Mussulman Religion and the service of the Prophet Gods peace and mercy be with him As to the Statue that is it which the Christians adore and wherein they put their hope The Sangian relates in his ancient Annals that one of the Caliphs of this Province caused Tribute to be paid at great Constantinople and that Geuhar General of the Armies of Mugazzoldinil built the City of Cairo which was called from the name of the Chaliph Cairo of the Mugazzoldinil and founded the Castles They say he dilated his Conquests as far as Damas before the Mugazzoldinil entered into Egypt They relate that in the seventh year of the Prophet's Retreat God replenish him with his Favours and Benedictions Chatteb the son of Abubalig came into Egypt from the Mucaux bringing along with him Mary the Egyptian and another young Lady which they said was her Sister and that the Apostle of God Gods peace and mercy be with him bestow'd her on Chasan the son of Thabet who had by her his son Gabdorrachaman His Mule was a great Hedghog and his Ass a wild Goat The Mucaux who was then Cesar's Lieutenant in Egypt made him a present of all that Gabdolaglai the Othmanidan relates what follows I said one day to the son of Sagad the Egyptian Lawyer Gods mercy on him Tell us something whereby we may know the excellency of the Countrey of Egypt To that purpose said he 't were sufficient to tell what Historirians relate of the son of Masgud and what the Prophet Gods peace and mercy be with him said to him of Egypt before he died We were together said the son of Masgud in the House of our Mother Gaisa Gods peace be with he and the Apostle of God Gods peace and mercy be with him cast his eye on us being pressed with pain with tears in his eyes and declared to us that he should die within a short time speaking to us in these terms You are welcome God give you a good and a long life God preserve you God govern you God
is nothing Miraculous or extraordinary For at that time it was Summer in Aegypt as it is this day and consequently at the same time it was Winter in those Places where the current of the Nile begins since the Sources of it are at a great distance beyond the Equinoctial Line where the Seasons are directly contrary to those which are on this side it The Waters therefore were then about those Sources higher then at any other Season but having fourteen or fifteen hundred leagues to advance ere they got to Aegypt after the rate of about four leagues a day they were about a year by the way and consequently there could not be an overflux of the Nile in that Province sooner then now And if it be true that the Ganges overflows also in Summer as Pliny and Modern Relations seem to affirm and that consequently it is now in the same condition in the Indies as the Nile is in Aegypt the cause may haply be the same For its course being but half the length of that of the Nile there needs but six Moneths for the Waters to get from the Sources to their Mouths it being supposed those of the Nile take up a whole Year Now it was Winter six Moneths before at the Sources of the Ganges which are on this side the Equinoctial Line as it was a Year ago at the Sources of the Nile which are beyond it The same is to be said of the River Menam As to the long continuance of the overflux of the Nile which is a hundred days according to Herodotus or rather six Moneths according to the same Author in another passage where he says that in his time the water flowed out of the Nile into the Lake Myris or Moeris during the space of six Moneths and returned out of the same Lake into the Nile at the same place whereat it had entred into it during the other six Moneths of the Year this continuance I say hath no other cause according to this position but that which prolongs the Inundations of other Rivers For it proceeds partly from the length of time that the Snow is dissolving or the Waters falling and partly from the different distance of the place from which they come into the Chanel of the Nile after the dissolving or falling For thence it comes that some get a long time after others from the place of their Rendezvous and consequently they come in like manner into Aegypt We see also in all other Rivers something like the overflowings of the Nile For many times the Seine for example is high and overflows at Paris when no rain has fallen thereabouts nor any Snow dissolved and it is ordinarily some days after the Rain is past or the Snow dissolved when the weather is fair and clear that its overflux is in its greatest force and height Moreover That the Waters which cause the augmentations of the Nile and its Inundations in Aegypt come from the Torrents the slâ—me which they bring along with them and which hath made some conjecture that it is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 seem to testifie it For the Waters which come from running Springs by ordinary Chanels are not muddy It may also methinks be inferred from the same slime that those Torrents force their way through cultivated and manured Lands for the Waters which fall from the Sky upon Desert and Untilled places are pure and clear in their descent thence If this be true with the conjectures we have mentioned before it must follow that the Meridional parts of Africk were inhabited and cultivated before Aegypt was in the World and that being granted if the Nitre of Aegypt be of the nature of our Saltpeter which is framed of old Manure amass'd and fermented a long time together it might seem to be rather an effect then a cause of the overflowing of the Nile But haply we have said too much of the Nile and Aegypt in a Preface which was to serve only for an Introduction to what is said thereof by our Author of whom the Reader might expect we should give some account though we have nothing to say of him but only what may be conjectured by the Reading of his Book according to which he was as I conceive of Cairo that is to say of Masre for thus is that Famous City called to this day by its Inhabitants as we have already observed and the name of Cairo under which it is known in Europe came to it from that which the Mugazzoldinil after he had conquered Aegypt caused to be built near it for the Quartering of his Militia and which he called Cahire or Cahâ—re that is to say the Victorious or Conqueress either for the reason given thereof by Macinus in the Year 362 or in regard that being the Habitation of the Soldiery it subdued in effect and caused its Commands to be obeyed not only by the Neighbouring City but also by the whole Empire of the Phatimite Chaliphs as the Camp near Rome in the time of the Roman Emperors Commanded both the City and the Empire and many times the Emperour himself Our Author then as far as I can conjecture was of the same Countrey with Macinus and lived about the same time that is above four hundred Years since For methinks he speaks of the Sultan the Macolcamel the Son of Abubeker the Son of Job as of a Prince Reigning in his time and he mentions not any other that Reigned since though he speaks of divers who had Reigned before The esteem which the Arabians have at this day for his work sufficiently appears in my judgment by the beauty of the Copy out of which we have made this Translation and which was communicated to us by the late Cardinal Mazarine's Library-keeper by the favour of Monsieur Colbert who amidst his infinite cares for what concerns the Glory of his Majesty and the happiness of his Subjects is some times pleased to think on our Arabian Muses and forgets not our labours in the distribution of the Favours which he obtains from his Majesty for those who seriously apply themselves to the noblest kind of Learning The Manuscript of the Onirocrit Mussulman whereof we have lately published the Translation was put into our hands by Monsieur de Montmor principal Master of Requests a Person as Eminent for his great Wit and rare Learning as his Quality I am glad to make this Discovery for their satisfaction who were desirous to know whence I had it and that it might be an acknowledgement of the kindnesses I have received from that Person upon that and divers other occasions But to return to our Aegypt Were there nothing butthe History or rather the Fable of Gebirus and Charoba and the Nymph Marina which is about the middle of this Work I should not repent me of the Translation of it for I little imagined to find in a Mussulman Author any thing so much allyed to the witty Fables of the ancient Greek and Latine
affirm on their behalf that in their Divinations they were inclin'd to Astrology that they invented the occult Sciences and knew hidden Secrets that they made famous Talismans and noble Laws that they were the Authors of speaking Works and moving Figures that they raised high Structures and grav'd their Sciences on the hardest stones which were then soft like Earth water'd or Paste that they particularly excell'd in the Structure of Pyramids exactly built on which they made exquisite Talismans by means whereof they kept their Enemies from entering into their Cities and Provinces by that means giving a clear demonstration of the Prodigies of their Science and discovering the effects of their Wisdom Egypt was then they say divided into fourscore and five Provinces whereof there were forty five in the lower part and forty in the upper And in every Province there was a Governour taken from among the Princes of the Priests who are they of whom God speaks in the History of Pharaoh when he says Send Heralds through the cities to bring unto thee all the learned Magicians he means those Governours They say that the Cities of the Princes of the Magicians were built by Busiris The Priest who served the Stars was seven years in that Imployment and when he was come to that degree they called him Cater as much as to say Master of the Influences and then he sate in the same Seat with the King and the King led his Beasts to the Watering-place and brought them back that is did all his business according to his counsel When he saw him coming he rose up to receive him went to meet him and made him sit down Then the Priests approched and with them the Masters of the Arts who stood beneath the Cater Every Priest served one particular Star and was not permitted to serve any other and he was called the Servant of such a Star as the Arabians served every one his own God and were called Gabdosamse Gabdiagoth Gabdolgasi that is Servant of Samse or the Sun Servant of Jagoth Servant of Gasi The Cater said to the Priest Where is now the Star which thou servest The Priest replied It is in such a Sign such a Degree such a Minute Then he put the same question to another and when all had answered and that he knew the Position of all the Stars he addressed himself to the King and said thus to him It is requisite that you do such a thing to day that you send an Army to such a place that you clothe your self after such a manner that you speak at such a time and so of all he thought fit to be done in all the Kings Affairs and in all the Government of the Kingdom The King writ down all the Cater said and whatever he disapprov'd Then he turn'd to the Artists and said thus to them Grave thou such a Figure on such a Stone and Plant thou such a Tree and to another Make thou a Geometrical Draught of such a Work and so to all from the first to the last Immediately they all went every one to his Shop and beset themselves to do the works enjoyned them exactly following the design propos'd to them by the Cater They set down that day in a Register the Works performed therein and the Register was folded up and kept in the Kings Treasury Their Affairs were dispatch'd according to this order then the King when he had any Affair assembled the Priests without the City Memphis and the People met together in the Streets of the said City Then they made their entrance one after another in order the Drum beating before them to bring the people together and every one made some miraculous discovery of his Magick and Wisdom One had to their thinking who look'd on him his Face surrounded with a light like that of the Sun so that none could look earnestly upon him Another seem'd clad with a Robe beset with Precious stones of divers colours green red or yellow or wrought with gold Another came mounted on a Lion compass'd with Serpents like Girdles Another came in cover'd with a Canopy or Pavilion of light Another appear'd surrounded with Fire turning about him so as that no body durst come near him Another was seen with dreadful Birds perching about his Head and shaking their wings like black Eagles and Vultures Another made appear before him in the air dreadful and terrible persons and winged Serpents In fine every one did what was taught him by the Star he served yet all was but Apparition and Illusion without any reality insomuch that when they came up to the King they spake thus to him You imagin'd that it was so or so but the truth is that it was such or such a thing There was heretofore in ancient Masre which is Emsos a King-Priest named Gancam of the race of Gariac the Son of Aram of whom the ancient Egyptians tell several stories part whereof are beyond all likelihood He liv'd before the Deluge which he by his Science foresaw whereupon he commanded the Doemons who accompanied him to build him a Palace beyond the Equinoctial Line which the ruines of this Universe could not reach They built the Castle seated on the descent of the mountain of the Moon which is the Castle of Brass where are the Brazen Statues in number LXXXV out of the Throats whereof issues the Water of the Nile which falls into a Fen full of Gravel whence the water of the Nile flows into Egypt and other Climats distributed and proportionably compass'd for were it not for that it would spread over the greatest part of the Earth The Spirits having built him that Castle he had the curiosity to see it and make his abode therein To that end he sate in a Pavilion made purposely with much artifice and the Spirits carried him on their shoulders to the Castle where having consider'd the excellency of the Structure and beauty of its Walls with the Sculptures and the Paintings that were about it and the Figures of the Celestial Bodies and divers other wonderful things for in the greatest obscurity of the night people saw clearly without Torches There were Tables set and spread with all sorts of Meat yet none perceiv'd to set them there so all sorts of Drinks in vessels of Marble Gold and Silver which he made use of yet were they not increased or diminished In the middest of the Castle there was a Cistern of Water congeal'd into Ice whereof the motion might be perceived through that part which was frozen as one sees through a Glass what is contained in it Having considered all this he was astonished thereat and immediately returned into Egypt where he left for his Lieutenant and Successour his Son Gariac recommending his Subjects to him and the Government of the Kingdom and then he return'd to the Castle and continued there till he died He is thought to be Author of the Books of the Coptites out of
horrid and dreadful cries as they fell He thereupon awoke much troubled and related not his Dream to any body and was satisfied in himself that some great accident would happen in the World A year after he dreamt again that he saw the Fixed Stars come down to the earth in the form of white Birds which carried men away and cast them between two great Mountains which almost joyned together and covered them and then the bright shining Stars became dark and were eclips'd he thereupon awaked extremely astonished and entered into the Temple of the Sun and beset himself to bathe his cheeks and to weep Next morning he ordered all the Princes of the Priests and Magicians of all the Provinces of Egypt to meet together which they did to the number of a hundred and thirty Priests and Southsayers with whom he went aside and related to them his Dream which they found very important and of very great consequence and the interpetation they gave of it was that some great accident would happen in the World Among others the Priest Aclimon who was the greatest of all and resided always in the Kings Court said thus to him Sir your Dream is admirable and I my self saw another about a Year since which frightned me very much and which I have not revealed to any one Tell me what it was said the King I dreamt said the Priest that I was with your Majesty on the top of the Mountain of Fire which is in the midst of Emsos and that I saw the Heaven sunk down below its ordinary Situation so that it was near the Crowns of our Heads covering and surrounding us like a great Basin turn'd upside down that the Stars were intermingled amongst Men in diverse Figures that the people implored your Majesties succour and ran to you in multitudes as to their refuge that you lifted up your hands above your head and endeavoured to thrust back the Heaven and to keep it from coming down so low and that I seeing what your Majesty did did also the same While we were in that posture extreamly affrighted methought we saw a certain part of Heaven opening and a bright light coming out of it that afterwards the Sun rose over us out of the same place and we began to implore his assistance whereupon he said thus to us The Heaven will return to its ordinary situation when I shall have performed three hundred courses I thereupon awaked extreamly affrighted The Priest having thus spoken the King commanded them to take the heights of the Stars and to consider what accident they portended Whereupon they declared that they promised first the Deluge and after that Fire Then he commanded that Pyramids should be built that they might remove and secure in them what was of most esteem in their Treasuries with the bodies of their Kings and their Wealth and the Aromatick Roots which served them and that they should write their wisdom upon them that the violence of the Water might not destroy it wherein they presently set themselves at work The Egyptians relate in their Annals that Saurid is he who himself caused the Pyramids to be built and that inasmuch as after the death of his Father he follow'd his steps causing the Provinces to be inhabited and cultivated and Governing them well administring Justice to the People even to his own prejudice and that of his Domesticks causing Temples to be built and Statues and Talismans to be erected so that the People had a great love for him In the Upper-Egypt he built three Cities and did so many wonders therein that it is not possible to relate them He first regulated the Tribute in Egypt and enjoined works on Artists according to their power He also was the first who ordered Pensions out of hi Treasuries for maimed and sick people He caused to be made a Mirrour of all sorts of Minerals wherein they saw all the Climats where there was abundance of Provisions or Sterility and what new accident happen'd in any of the Coasts of Egypt This Mirrour was upon a high Turret of Brass in the midst of ancient Masre which is Emsos He also first ordered Registers to be made wherein was set down every day's receipts and expences and the augmentation or diminution thereof and kept them in the Royal Treasuries then when a Moneth was pass'd he caused all to be reduced into one total sum which he also had kept in the Royal Treasuries sealed with the Royal Seal causing moreover to be graved on Stone what was to be graved thereon He made very liberal gratifications to the Masters of Arts and those who deserved something should be given them He also set up in the midst of the City the Figure of a Woman sitting made of green stone with a little Child in her lap sucking All women who were troubled with any disease came to that Idol and set their hands on the breasts of it and presently they were cur'd of their indisposition When a Woman was in very hard labour as soon as she set her hand on the little Childs head she was immediately brought to bed with ease If an unchaste Woman set her hand on the same Childs head all her members shook so that she was not able to speak He made also several other works which were destroyed by the Deluge Yet the Coptites affirm that they were found again after the Deluge and used and adored as Idols that their Figures are represented in all the Pyramids of Egypt and their diverse names that those who taught them were Disciples of the Priest Aclimon who also shewed them all the other works in Egypt We shall speak of them in their proper place with the assistance of Almighty God Saurid did also other prodigious things in his time and among others he made an Idol named Becres consisting of a mixture of divers Medicinal drugs which had a marvellous vertue in securing Mens bodies from all sorts of diseases and inconveniences By means hereof they knew who should escape and who should die of their sickness by certain signs which appeared in the Idol so that they gave over using remedies to some and endeavoured the curing of others They washed the members of that Idol and gave the washings thereof to the sick to drink who were thereupon immediately eased of their pain 'T was he also built the two great Pyramids so famous in all Nations For a great part of the Sages affirm they were built by Sedad the Son of Gad and that he was interred in one of the two but the Ancients of the Coptites and their Sages deny the Gadites ever entred into the Land of Egypt They deny also the same thing of the Amalekites and say that Egypt was always inaccessible to them by reason of its Enchanters and their Artifices and Stratagems The Learned relate in the Lives and Histories that the Pyramids were built three hundred years before the Deluge
preserve her swiftness to her and that she might be a domestick Bird and belov'd of Men. He pray'd him also to give her patience to endure the loss of her young ones and gave her his benediction her feet have been red from that very time He let her go seven days after and she return'd bringing an Olive-leaf in her Beak and told him for news that there was not remaining on the surface of the Earth any Tree but the Olive-tree They say the Earth was dry the 27th day of the 11th Moneth of the year After that God revealed to Noah that he should let out the Beasts and the Reptiles out of the Ark. Noah cry'd out so violently at it that he fell into a Feaver They say those who were in the Ark were incommodated with the dung of the Creatures which oblig'd Noah to give a cuff o'th'Ear to the Elephant by vertue of which cuff the Elephant sneez'd and cast out a Hog which took away that ordure They say also that the Rats troubling them Noah gave a box o'th'Ear to the Lion who sneez'd out a Cat which devour'd the Rats Others say these stories were invented for pleasure sake and that they are not of faith as having no grounds Noah came afterwards out of the Ark with his four Sons Sem Cham Japhet and Jacheton which is he whom God gave him in the Ship Then God said thus to them Multiply fill the Earth and cultivate it I give you my benediction and take my curse from the Earth permitting it to bring forth its good things its fruits and productions Then he added speaking to them Eat that which is permitted and good and shun what is impure as Beasts sacrific'd to Idols or naturally dead and Swine's Flesh and whatever hath been Sacrific'd to any other then God Kill no man for God forbids the doing of it unless it be by the way of Justice It is written in the Law of Moses that after they were come out of the Ark and settled in the Earth God spake thus to them Multiply and fill the Earth let the Beasts of it fear and respect you and all the Fowls in the Air and all the Fish in the Sea In the great Alcoran it is spoken of this in these terms Then it was said to him O Noah descend out of the Ark in peace on our part and the rest of the Verse Then Noah ordered them to built every one a Habitation whereupon they built fourscore of them in the City which is to this day called the City of Themanine that is Fourscore They afterwards fell a Sowing and Planting of Trees They had ready for that end the Seeds the Corn and the Fruit which had been put up in the Ship there was onely the Vine that is the Tree which bears Grapes which Noah wanted and could not find Whereupon Gabriel told him that the Devil had stoln it away as having some part in it Noah thereupon sent for him and when he was present he said to him O cursed Spirit why hast thou done this Because I have part in it said the Devil Divide it then between you said Gabriel I am content said Noah I resign him the fourth part of it 'T is not enough for him said Gabriel Well said Noah I will take one half let him take the other It is not yet enough said Gabriel but he must have two thirds of it and thou one When therefore the juice of it shall have boyl'd over the fire till two thirds thereof be consum'd thou shalt be allow'd the use of the rest and in like manner the Grape as well new as dry and the Viniger As to the surplusage which may inebriate it is forbidden thee and thy posterity thou art not to expect any part thereof from the Devil nor to commence any action against him for it Then the Devil God hinder him from doing harm said thus to Noah Gods peace be with him I am oblig'd to you for the great kindness you have done me and for which I shall not be ungrateful O Noah beware of Envy Intemperance Avarice and Impatience For Envy enclin'd me to make God incensed against me and was the cause of my banishment out of Paradice Intemperance made your Father Adam transgress the Commandment of his Lord and eat the fruit of the Tree Avarice made Cabel kill his Brother Abel And Impatience brought you to make imprecations against your Nation which caused God to bring destruction on all and hath given a relaxation of the pains I took to deceive them Then Noah caused the Shrine wherein Adams body was to be brought into the Cave of Old Age at Meca and left it there The History relates that when Noah took the Scorpion and the Serpent into the Ship with him he pray'd his Almighty and All-good Lord to take away their venom from them which was granted When therefore he put them out of it they spoke thus to him O Prophet of God pray your Lord for us that he would restore us our venom and that we may make our advantage thereof against our enemies and by means thereof defend our selves against those who would injure us We promise you in requital and in the name of God we grant that whoever shall every day and every night pronounce these words God grant peace to Noah for ever we will not come near him and will do him no hurt Noah pray'd to his Lord and he order'd the making of that agreement and that security to be taken of them and after he had done it God restored to them their venom according to what he had ordain'd by his Providence since no man can destroy what he h 〈…〉 ordain'd nor defer the execution 〈◊〉 his Judgments They say moreover that when the Chastisement was taken from the Inhabitants of t 〈…〉 Earth and that fair weather ha◠succeeded the Clouds Noah look'd 〈◊〉 on high and that having observ 〈…〉 the Rain-bow he said thus Wh 〈…〉 means this O Lord And that G 〈…〉 answer'd him This is an assurance 〈◊〉 the Inhabitants of the Earth th 〈…〉 there shall be no more Deluge The Kings of Egypt who Reig 〈…〉 before the Deluge says the Author and were Coptites are Craos the Gyant and his son Tegares and his son Mesra 〈…〉 and his son Gancam and his son Gari 〈…〉 and his son Louchanam and his 〈◊〉 Chasalim and his son Harsal and his son Jadousac and his son Semrod and his son Josedon and his son Sariac and his son Sahaloc and his son Saurid who built the Pyramids and his son Hargib and his son Menaos and his son Ecros After that the successio 〈…〉 from Father to Son was interrupted which oblig'd the Egyptians to tak 〈…〉 for their King a certain man of the Royal House named Ermelinos and after him Pharaan who was the first who reigned insolently and tyrannically and who gave the name to the Pharaohs He was also the last
of the Kings of Egypt before the Deluge The first of the Kings of Egypt after the Deluge was Masar the son of Mesraim who is Bansar the son of Gham the son of Noah to whom God grant peace and mercy This Masar was son to the daughter of the Priest Philemon who believed in Noah For they say that Pharaan the last of the Kings of Egypt before the Delugu grew proud upon the earth and treated his people insolently and tyrannically taking away their goods and committing Injustices such as none had done before or after him and shedding Mens bloud by his continual murthers Nay Kings themselves were afraid of him and respected him He it was who writ to Darmasel the son of Mechavel King of Babylon and advised him to put Noah to death Darmasel had already written to the Inhabitants of Gueraca and of all the other Provinces to know of them whether there were any other Gods besides the Idols and had related to them the History of Noah and the Religion which he preached and how he incited them to the worship of one onely God different from those whom they adored Every one of them had rejected this and had advised him to put Noah to death But after God had commanded Noah to build the Ark Pharaan King of Egypt writ to Darmasel exhorting him to fire it which Darmasel thought to do but at the same time the Prince of the Priests of Egypt Philemon gave him other advice and writ to him that he counselled him to leave it as it was in regard that if what that man said was true that is what Noah said the King should embarque with those of his house and then put Noah to death that he might be no more troubled with him The Learned of Egypt knew well that the Deluge was to come but knew not how great it was to be nor how long it was to continue on the surface of the earth The Priest Philemon dreamt as he slept that he saw Emsos which is the City of Masre overturned upon its Inhabitants and the Idols falling with their Noses to the ground and that there descended from Heaven men armed with sharp-pointed Instruments of Iron wherewith they beat the people and that he seemed to approach one of them and spoke to him thus Why treat you the men after that manner Because replied he they are ungrateful and irrespective towards their God who hath created them and gives them subsistence Is there no means for them to be saved said Philemon Yes replied the other those who would be saved are onely to apply themselves to him who hath built the Ark. Philemon awaked thereupon very much astonished He had a wife and two children a son and a daughter and seven of his Disciples He therefore settled his affairs with an intention to go to Noah Gods peace be with him Then afterwards he saw another Dream He seem'd to be in a green Medow where there were white Birds which smell'd of Musk and as he stood still to take a view of them and to admire their beauty one of them began to speak saying to the rest Let us go let us deliver the Believers Whereupon Philemon said to him Who are those Believers They are replied the Bird the men of the Ark. He thereupon awaked very much astonished and affrighted and related that to those of his House and his Disciples Then he went and spoke to the King in these terms I have seen a Dream according to which if it please Your Majesty to send me to Darmasel King of Babylon I shall know what that man is who hath built a Ship in a dry Countrey I will discourse with him and dispute against him about this new Religion which he preacheth and would introduce and will inform my self of the truth of his pretensions and I hope at length to turn him out of the way which he would have others to follow The King approved the design and ordered him to depart Philemon then left Egypt with his Family and his Disciples and travelled till he came to Babylon and discoursed with Noah Gods peace be with him so as that he found what he said to be true and believed in him and followed his Religion When God will put a man into the right way said Noah no man can put him out of it Philemon continued with Noah ever after and ceased not to serve him and his Children and his Family and his Disciples till they imbarqued with him in the Ark. Mean time Pharaan God curse him continued his divertisements and remained in his errour unworthily treating the people of Egpyt and afflicting them by his Injustices and Murthers which caused many Tumults and Spoils in the Countrey and dearth of provisions Men oppressing one another and no body reproving vice The Temples and the Birbas were lock'd up and their doors full of dirt The Deluge came upon them and the Rain overwhelm'd them on Sunday the 24th day of the Moneth Pharaan being then drunk so that he came not to himself till the water began to fasten on him He started up of a sudden and ran away as fast as he could but his feet sunk into the ground and he fell on his Face and fell a roaring like a Bull till the Unbeliever perish'd he and all his Nation Those who retired into some Cave or other secret place perished there also The water cover'd the Pyramids to the end of the Quadrature The marks of it are manifest to this day After the Deluge the first who Reign'd in Egypt was Masar the Son of Bansar the Son of Cham the Son of Noah The Mussulmans who follow the Traditions affirm that this Masar was the first King of Egypt after the Deluge and that he became so having been before designed for it by his Grandfather Noah which happen'd upon this that Philemon intreated Noah to have a particular affection for him and for his Family and his Children and spoke to him thus O Prophet of God I am come to you out of desire I had to believe in God and to follow your precepts I have to that end forsaken my Countrey and the place of my Birth give me some Prerogative and Preheminence which may cause me to be spoken of after I am What do you desire in order to that said Noah I desire said Philemon that you would joyn my Family to yours and that you would take this my Daughter to be Wife to one of your Sons Noah took her and married her to Mesraim the Son of Cham to whom she bore a Son whom his Grandfather Philemon named Masar When Noah would afterwards divide the Earth amongst his Children Philemon spoke to him in these terms O Prophet of God send along with me this my Son meaning Masar and permit me to bring him into my own Countrey to shew him the Treasures of it and to teach him the Sciences and remarkable things thereof Noah sent him along with him accompanied
by some of his own House He was a delicate young man and they travelled during the great heat of the Sun so that when they came near the Land of Egypt Masar made a kind of Arbour of the Boughs of Trees at the place now called Garisa that is to say the Arbour and covered it with the Grass he found on the ground Near that place he afterwards built a City which he called Darsan that is to say the Door of the Garden about which they planted Trees and sow'd the grounds and made sweet smelling Orchards Between Darsan and the Sea-side there were tilled Fields and Gardens and well cultivated grounds Masar's people were mighty robust and valiant They cut stones and raised remarkable Buildings and liv'd very much at ease for a long time Masar married a Woman of the Race of the Priests of whom he had a Son named Coptim and he was the Father of all the Coptites Afterwards at ninety years of age he married another Woman and had by her Sons Coptarim and Asmomus and Abribus who grew up and peopled the Land and were prosperous therein Their Cities were called from their names and will be so call'd till the day of Judgment They say the number of those who accompanied Masar was thirty Men and that they built a great City which they called Maca for Maca signifies thirty and that it is the City of Memphis Philemon afterwards discovered to them the Treasures of Egypt made them understand the writing of the Birbas opened the Pyramids for them and taught them the Talismans of their gates and the ways to be obey'd by the Spirits appointed over them He shew'd them the Mines of Gold and Silver and Topazes and Turqueses and Esnadosammes He taught them the Art of handling white and black Marble and Jasper whereof they made their Vessels and Instruments and the Pillars of their habitations He writ down for them the Operations of the Art which he attributed to a Man of his house named Moncatam who practised Chemistry upon Mount Mactam They say the origin of the art of working Marble as well White as Black came from Chemistry in as much as the waters and essences which they distill and circulate by their artifices passing through the earthen vessels he compos'd for them the white stone in Sand and Glass and made the hard red stone for them of a soft stone and red Arsnick or Sandarack and Pitch he kindled a fire thereon and ordered them by his wisdom He made Mills for them in the ground and caused these materials to be put into them then the stones came out figured after what manner they desired in all sorts of vessels Nay they say that the stones were soft with them from the break of day till the afternoon and that they made what they would of them Philemon taught them also to make Talismans for there came out against them out of the Sea certain Creatures which threw down their Buildings whereupon they made Talismans against those Creatures and they never came afterwards They built several Cities upon the Roman Sea and among others that of Racoda at the place where now Alexandria stands They made in the midst of that City a little Turret upon pillars of Copper guilt and set upon it a Mirrour consisting of a mixture of divers materials in length and breadth five spans and the Turret of the height of 100 Cubits according to their measure When therefore any Enemy came against them they made certain Operations on the Mirrour then they made the rays of it fall on the Enemy so that they burnt him This Turret and the Mirrour remained there till the Sea reach'd and destroyed them The Pharos also of Alexandria had not been made but for a Mirrour that was upon it and discovered those who came against them from the Roman Countrey One of the Roman Emperours prevailed so far by his artifices and great expences that he destroyed it It was of white Marble well design'd and well wrought They relate says the Author to whom God be merciful that God promised Noah Gods peace be with him to hearken to him in a prayer he should make for his son and that he deferred that prayer till the next morning at which time very early in the morning he was to call his son and him of his sons who should readily answer him God would bless when he had prayed for him and he who answered not should not have that benediction The readiest to answer was Sem wherefore he prayed God for him and his posterity and the most backward to answer were Cham and Japhet wherefore he prayed God against them Masar the son of Bansar the son of Cham was an useful and serviceable Young man for which reason Noah cherished him and he was always with him never leaving him Having therefore heard the prayer which Noah had made against his Grandfather and his children and the children of his children he fell a weeping and turned to Noah and said thus to him O Great Grandfather I have heard the Imprecations you have made against my Grandfather Cham and against his children and yet for my part I have been always obedient to you and ready to serve you Pray therefore unto God for me These words pleased Noah and immediately he put his hand on his head saying O great God behold here one of my sons who answered me when I have called him bless him him and his posterity and divert from them weakness and grief and affliction and give them generosity and valour and drive away far from them trouble care and displeasure Arm the middle of their bodies with girdles of Steel never let them be disabled to perform the Sacred voyage give them for their habitation a Land whereof the air is pleasant the waters sweet and the pastures green which may be the Mother of Nations and the relief of Men which may allure to it all sorts of persons Citizens and Countrey-people out of all the Plains and out of all the Mountains both far and near a Land that hath a River transcending all Rivers whereof the History may be the most admirable of Histories from which the Abysses of the Sea are derived which divides the Desarts of Countries with its pregnant surges and swollen waves from the remainder of Countries to the Metropolis of all other places the chosen City the Countrey of fair ways through which the noble Nile flows with its excellent waters on which the eye of the Almighty watches night and day supplied with springs and fair waters the Favourite of Heaven in all its parts adorned with a River coming from Paradise replenished with the favours of the Gratificator and the mercies of the Merciful where Plants sprout forth and thrive exceedingly where there is abundance of all sorts of good things and an aâ—fluence of all benedictions After that Noah prayed his Lord to subject the Land to Masar
preserve Some make another Description of Egypt saying that it is a Land wherein there are for famous places Qâ—irata and Ecbata and Damiette and Igora and Rebata whose River is clear and its waters sweet where diseases are dispell'd and hope crown'd with effect where the vicissitude of things passes without confusion and without disturbance Those who come thither with an intention to do ill return thence without accomplishing their design those who contrive the destruction of it meet with their own those who have their Habitations therein are in safety and make their advantage and those who leave it repent them of it It was said one day to an excellent person What say you of Egypt What reply'd he would you have me say of that Province Those who leave it repent them that they ever did it It quels Kings and destroys them and supports the poor All those who have an affection for it find there how to employ themselves about what they like best according to their power An Extract of the Annals of the Geranian An ancient Egyptian of the chiefest of the Countrey relates as having taken it out of Abuquilus the Mogapherian the Pacifier whom Gabdol the Son of Nasilus had taught That Noah Gods peace and mercy be with him after he had divided the Earth among his Children had a numerous Posterity by whom he caused it to be Inhabited and Cultivated The Kingdom of Egypt fell to Masar the son of Bansar the son of Cham the son of Noah who had many children and by them a great progeny Noah had prayed God for Masar or Mesraim that he would give him his benediction in his Land and to his Children after him whence it came that the Land was fertile and abundant to them it s Nile overflow'd all its quarters fructify'd its Cattel were multiply'd its Mines had been discovered The Trees bore Dates as big as Pillars The Grains of Wheat were as big as Hens Eggs soft as Butter and sweet as Hony There were some among them who particularly apply'd themselves to the Mines of Topazes which are adjoyning to the Countries of Syene at the upper part of High Egypt opposite to the Provinces of the Nubians whom Mesraiâ— the son of Bansar had appointed for his Lieutenants upon the Frontiers of of Egypt saying unto them Be my Lieutenants over the Frontiers of this Land whence they were called Nubians that is to say Lieutenants One man took out of the Mines such a piece of Tapaze as that he might make a Table of it with Dishes and Trenchers to set upon it All their Vessels were Marble and Gold and Silver and Topaze The Nile cast on its Shores certain Leaves which came from Paradise so Odoriferous that they needed not other perfumes There were on both sides of the Nile Gardens from Syene quite to the extremities of the Land of Egypt so that a man walking along the Banks of the Nile had a perpetual coolness and shade and had not his head any way incommodated by the heat of the Sun The first City which Mesraim founded in the Land of Egypt was Memphis There was not then in Egypt any thing that incommodated the Inhabitants of the kind of Serpents or other venemous Beasts They lived along time without being impaired by old age sickness or infirmity and without having any having any hatred or envy one against another till they alter'd the Religion of their Ancestor Noah Gods peace and mercy be with him and changed his Law Then the Devil Gods enemy got dominion over them by his craft and circumventions distracted their affairs and sowed discord and enmity amongst them He made them delight in the worship of Idols so that they adored them during the space of five hundred years whence it came that their fruits diminish'd their Cattel perished and their Mines became barren There came out against them mischievous Creatures out of the Earth and out of the Sea the shade forsook them the Benedictions were taken away from them and exemplary punishments fell upon them Certainly God changes not the state of a Nation untill it be changed of it self and the rest of the Verse Thus their affairs went worse and worse till the King of the Amalekites came out of Syria to War against them The King of Egypt then was Cophtarim the son of Cophtim the son of Masar the son of Bansar The King of the Amelekites was named Gainon from whom Baitgainon in the Land of Syria derives its â—ame He was insolent and impious and very corpulent He had to his Uncles among the Amalekites Gebirus the Mutaphequian and his Brother Gebrin This King then came with his Forces consisting of a thousand Amalekite Lords and six hundred thousand Soldiers They entred into the Land of Egypt and Encamped upon its Frontiers on the side of the great Banks Gainon Warred against the Inhabitants of Egypt for the space of a Moneth after which he defeated them and took possession of the Countrey Cophtariâ— and his Forces having forsaken it and got into the Desarts of the West The Amalekite continued in Egypt without injuring any person for he said to the the Egyptians You are the Inhabitants of the Countrey his Subjects who is possessed of it and his Servants who is Conquerour He afterwards gave them security as to his part and appointed over them for Governour his Brother named Gamrou on whom he bestow'd for Visier a Coptite named Zephton who was then of the principal Inhabitants of Egypt being there possess'd of a great estate and having many Friends and others inclin'd to his party His skin was black and he resembled the children of Cham. Gamrou founded a City upon the Nile's side which he named Gamra and ordered his Visier Zephton to build such another opposite to it The Visier obeyed him and named the City he built Zephta each of them deriving its name from the Founder They caused them both to be built and whitened with great care and Vault to be made therein under ground and Aqueducts coming out of the Nile and compassing the publick places They also caused Walls and Trenches to be made about their Cities enrich'd them with Villages and Farms ordering Justice and Equity to be strictly observ'd in the Land of Egypt They took but the tenth part of the profits of the Dairies and Farms In the mean time Gainon got Provisions together and fitted his Army to pursue Cophtarim and his People who were fled towards the West They pursued them so closely that they forced them to enter into Afriâ— and to take refuge on a Mountain called the Mount of Sosa where Cophtarim and his People Fortify'd themselves There was on the descent of the Mountain a Castle built by one of the Children of Cham very high and inaccessible They held out stifly in that Castle and got into it their goods There was on one side of the Castle a Spring of fresh water which occasioned them to put their Cattel
and Horses that way Gainon the Amalekite came and Encamped about the Castle and Besieged it That Siege lasted two Years for they play'd upon him with Stones and Arrows and he could do them no hurt whereupon he caused Trenches to be made about them and pressed not upon them having resolved to take them by a long Siege He therefore caused Houses and Huts to be made in the Plain his Visier Gamrou relieving him with Money and Provisions which he sent out of Egypt They grew at length so confident that they began to neglect the business of Cophtarim and his People so that at last in a Winter night the weather being cold they entered into their Tents and fell a Drinking having no Guard abroad because they had no distrust Cophtarim had Spies among them who presently gave him notice of that opportunity and told him the Enemies were all Drunk and immoveable as dead men and if he let pass that night without taking advantage of the posture they were in he should never escape out of their hands Upon this intelligence Cophtarim came out of the Castle accompany'd by his Infantry onely without Horse His People being set upon the enterprise he divided them into four Battallions and ordered them at the same time to set upon the four quarters of Gainon's Camp They gave a great shout and fell a cutting them to pieces not one of them making any resistance The slaughter continued all night till the next morning those who escaped fled some one way some another not knowing which way to go and afterwards dyed of hunger and thirst Cophtarim's men took all their Baggage their Cattel their Horses and their Money and took King Gainon Prisoner with the chiefest Lords of his Court King Gainon recovered not himself out of his Debauch till they had bound him with Chains of Iron weighing fifty pound They set him on a Camel and immediately took their way towards Egypt joyful and well satisfy'd This news coming to Gamrou Gainon's Lieutenant he secretly packed up for his departure out of Egypt with those that were about him His Visier Zephton followed him with his Baggage and Equipage and his Family and those of his party They got both of them into Syria Cophtarim and his Forces returned in good order with Colours flying marching night and day not making any stop upon any occasion whatsoever till he got into his Countrey and had put on his Arms and was advantageously dressed and his Soldiers in like manner causing to march before him Gainon bound and chained and the Camels loaden with the Heads of his Favourites who had been killed and their Cattel and their Horses The Egyptians went to meet him joyful and glad of his coming after they had beautified and adorned the City for his reception Cophtarim came and lodged in his Royal Palace with great joy and caused it to be publickly Proclaim'd that his intention was to have Justice and Equity and good manners to flourish He ordered also that Gamra and Zephta the Cities built by Gamrou and Zephton should be demolished as well out of the horrour he had for their Names as to give a good presage of their punishment saying He would not leave in Egypt any track of the Amalekites Wherefore the Coptites have it among their Proverbs Gainon was blind and Zephton covered with Infamy When any one digs the ground and finds it so hard that he cannot get forward they say of him He hath met with Zephton ' s good Fortune Mean time the chiefest among them put Cophtarim's action among the Stratagem of the Coptites inasmuch as his flight say they was a mischievous subtilty against Gainon and not an effect of the fright he had put him into for they will ever be sly and subtile The tracks of the two Cities Gamra and Zephta continued a long time in the same condition they were afterwards both rebuilt by one of the Kings thendestroy'd again by Nabuchodonosor when he entered into Egypt and wasted it Then when those who were remaining of the Inhabitants of Egypt return'd thither with Belsa the son of the Coptess when he entered into Egypt after his death that is after the death of his Father Nabuchodonosor they advised him after he had build the Castle of Cira and the Church of Mugalleca and the others to built also upon the ground of the City of Gamrou and that which was opposite thereto upon the Nile but he would not Yet they say concerning these two Cities that a long time after there were two Villages built upon their Ruines which were called by their names and that those names have continued to them God knows how it is how ere it be kept secret from men They relate that when the Commander of the Faithful Omar the son of Chettabus Gods peace be with him came into Syria to receive the Keys of Jerusalem according to what Abugabidas had writen to him of it in regard the Patricians of the Romans who were then in Syria had intreated him to do it when he was come near them he made a halt at a Village not far from Jerusalem and continu'd there some time during which the Governour of the City sent a Spy to him saying Go thy ways and observe the King of the Arabians who comes hither to take possession of our Lands and the Patrimony of Caesar and return quickly to tell me how he looks and describe him so to me that I may know him as well as if I had seen him my self The Spy came away and made a shift to get just over against Omar and view'd him as he sate on a She-Camel he had clad in a Wollen Garment mended with a piece of Sheep-skin made as it were into a thread on that side towards the Sun which had already burnt and blacken'd his face with a bag hanging behind him into which having put his hand he pulled out pretty big pieces of Barley-bread and with his Fingers struck off the husks saying In the Name of God then he did eat till he was satisfied and afterwards took a Bottle of Leather which he carry'd with him full of water and quench'd his thirst saying after that Praise be to God The Spy brought this news to the Patrician who sent him and describ'd in what posture he had seen him whereupon the Patrician continued along time without saying any thing and then he spoke thus to such as were about him Grant these people all they desire for otherwise there is no way to be rid of them without fighting with them and they have the favour of Heaven Their Law and their Prophet enjoins them Humility and Modesty and Compliance and these qualities lead to advancement and dominion This description proceeds from that little party which appears above all the Inhabitants of the Earth Their Law shall abolish all the Laws My Father predicted this to me having learnt it of his Father who had received it from his Grand-father They
The subject of those Verses was that Quisias the son of Caltham one of the Children of Som Gods mercy on him came from Syria to Masre with Gamron the Son of Gasus and entered into it with 100 men of his Nation bringing their equipage on horses which men he commanded having belonging to him 50 Servants and 30 Horses Gamrou and the Mussulmans being afterwards resolved to besiege the Castle Quisias chose a place where he and his men might continue and caused his Tent to be pitched there according to the relation of Abugamrou Mahumet the Son of Joseph and aboad there during the whole Siege of the Castle till God brought it into their power After that Quisias was with Gamrou at Alexandria leaving his people and his baggage in that place and after Alexandria had also been taken by the Mussulmans as Gamrou was returning to Masre having imposed on the Alexandrians the Tribute they were to pay and signed the Articles of their Accommodation Quisias returned also to his Quarters at Masre and lodg'd there still The Mussulmans marked Lodgings for themselves and Gamrou caused his own to be marked opposite to that heap of Sand where Quisias had taken up his Post Then the Mussulmans had a Council about the building of a Mosquey where they might meet together and writ concerning it to the Commander of the Faithful Omar Gods peace be with him who returned this answer I have received the news of the resolution which you have taken up all together for the building of a Mosquey where you may celebrate the Friday and make your Assemblies It is no doubt athing necessary for you and you follow in that the example of your Prophet Gods peace and mercy be upon him For the first mark whereby he began to signalize the Mussulman Religion and the first foundation upon which he would settle it was the building of his own Mosquey in the place of his Retreat Assemble therefore hereupon your Commanders and take counsel of your ancients who are Companions of the Apostle of God Gods peace and mercy be with them for the benediction of God is in the Ancients What they shall resolve on with a general consent approve it OGamron and oppose it not For the assembly of the Council brings the mercy of God who protects that Nation out of the kindness he hath for his Prophet Gods peace and mercy be with him Through the grace and mercy of God they will never agree about a thing wherein there is any errour God keep you in union and prosper your affairs and settle you in the possession of your Conquests and assist both you and me with his graces and bless Mahumet and his family The Mussulmans having seen Omar's answer Gods peace and mercy be with him held a Council concerning the building of the Mosquey and found it might be conveniently built on the place where Quisias the son of Colthom was lodg'd Gamrou sent for him and ask'd his advice saying O Abugabdorrachaman I will take up a lodging for you instead of this where you please to have it Whereupon Quisias spoke thus I have already told you O ye Mussulmans who are hear assembled that this habitation pleases me well and that it is mine but I bestow it with all my heart on God and the Mussulmans He therefore quitted that place and lodg'd with those of his Nation who were the children of Som and took up his Quarters among them Whereupon Abucainan the son of Magamar the son of Rabagui the Nachesian in memory of those adventurers and to honour these Victories made the ensuing verses And we had the good fortune to Conquer Babylon where we have pitch'd upon booty in abundance for Omar and for God The good man Quisias the son of Calthom quitted and delivered up his habitation and the lodging which belonged to him upon the divine intreaty All those who shall do their devotions in our structure will know with the inhabitants of Masre what I say and will publish it Abumansor the Balavian Gods mercy on him made these Verses upon the same subject wherein he speaks of Gabdorrachaman the son of Quisias the son of Calthom Gods peace be with him And thy Father quitted and deliver'd up his habitation to the people of prayer and adoration Lithus the son of Sagad Gods mercy on him a Lawyer of Masre speaks thus of the ancient great Mosquey of that City Our Mosquey was only Gardens and Vineyards Abugamrou the son of Serragus sayes this of it which he had from Saguidus who had it from the Ancients of his time The place saith he of our great Mosquey of Masre was heretofore only gardens and groves of Palmes but the Mussulmans got it and caused a Mosquey to be built there for their assemblies Gods peace be with them all Guemarus the son of Zebirus the Cryer sayes his Father spoke thus of it I have heard said he our Ancients of whom some had been present at the Conquest who spoke thus There were fourscore of the Companions of the Prophet of God God's peace and mercy be with them present at the foundation of the Mosquey of Masre Zebirus the son of Gavam Mecdad the son of Asouad Guebad the son of Samet Abuldarda Phedal Gamron Gaqueb and the rest as well of the number of those who came for refuge as of that of the Protectors Gods peace be with them all Jezibus the son of Chebib speaks thus of it Our Mosquey was founded by four of the Companions of the Prophet Gods peace and mercy be with them Abudar Abunasre Mahumet the son of Gerou the Zebirian and Manbehe the son of Derar Gabidol the son of Gegafur speaks thus of it in these terms Our Temple was raised by Guebad the son of Samet and by Raphecus the son of Malichus who were two Captains of the Protectors Gods mercy on them Abudaoud saith that Gamrou the son of Gasus sent Rabigas the son of Sergil and the son of Galcamas the Carsian the Guedavian to determine on which side should be the Front of the Mosquey and that he spoke thus to them Go you and stand on the top of the Mountain when the Sun is ready to set and when there shall be one half of it under the Horizon do you turn so as that it may be on your Eye-brows and take with all the exactness you can the true side on which the Temple ought to be turned I pray God to assist you in the doing of it They did what he had commanded them I have heard says Lithus Gods mercy on him that Gamrou the son of Gasus went up to the Mountains and exactly observed the time and the shade of the Sun setting till the side on which the front of the Temple should be turn'd was agreed upon Guemarus related to me that he had heard his Father say that Gamrou the son of Gasus said to his Companions Turn the front of the Mosquey towards the East that