relapsing into the faults wherewith he was charged Noah Gods mercy to him expected till the day of one of their great Festivals on which they assembled themselves to serve their Idols He then came to them and said thus Say there is no other God then the true God and that I am his Servant and Apostle With those words the Idols fell down of all sides and the people fell upon Noah cruelly beating him making several wounds in his head and dragging him along the ground with his Face downwards Then the Heavens and the Earth the Mountains and the Seas cryed vengeance to God saying O Lord do you not see the cruel treatment made to your Prophet Noah The Almighty and All-good God made them sensible that that cruelty was exercised on himself that he would punish those Rebels and do right to Noah They afterwards carried Noah before the King who spoke thus to him Have not I already pardoned thee and opened my Fathers Prisons conditionally thou shouldst not return to thy faults I am replied Noah a Servant who does what he is commanded Who hath given thee that command said the King My God replyed Noah Who is that God said the King The Lord of the Heavens and the Earth said Noah the Lord of all Creatures And what hath he commanded thee said the King He hath commanded me replyed Noah to call you to his service and he commands you and your Subjects to forsake the Worship of Idols and to follow the ordinances of Prayer payment of the Sacred Tribute and the observance of Fasting And if we do it not said the King what will be the issue If he please replied Noah he will immediately destroy you and if he please he will give you time to reflect on your ways till a certain term Let thy God alone said the King and what he desires of us and do thou thy self give over importuning us How can I give over replied Noah when I am a Servant who does what is commanded him and cannot disobey his All-good and Almighty Master Then the King says the Author caused Noah to be imprisoned to make an oblation of him to the Idols as his Father had done before Presently after Saudib who was a powerful Lord and a Priest rebelled against the King and attempted to deprive him of his Crown The Wars which the King was engaged in against him diverted him from thinking on the business of the Prophet of God Noah and obliged him to put him out of Prison till he had the leisure to have him brought before him He afterwards agreed with Saudib by granting him a portion of the upper part of Egypt and return'd to his Royal Palace The Devil Gods curse on him soon began to sollicit him to put the Prophet of God Noah to death but Almighty God diverted him so that the affaires of Noah were in different postures The Son of Darmasel sent thereupon to all the Kings of the Earth desiring them to send him all the Priests and Doctors that they might dispute against Noah They came to him from all parts and disputed against the Prophet but he baffled them all Among others came to him the Egyptian Priest Philemon of whom we have already spoken God shew him mercy He disputed against him and Philemon acknowledged the Unity of God who directed him so that he became faithful and embarqued with Noah in the Ship After that God revealed his will to Noah in these terms Make the Ark and the rest of the Verse How shall I make it said Noah Then Gabriel came to him and shew'd him the Model of it ordering him to give him the Figure of a Gondola of glass He was ten years a building of it and he made it of the Indian Plane Tree a hundred Cubits in length according to the measure of his time and fifty Cubits in height and divided it into three Stories The people of his Countrey in the mean time pass'd by him and laughed and scoffed at what he did Some brought to him their little Children and charged them to beware of him And sometimes the Children seeing him endeavoured to hurt and disturb him When Noah had compleated the Ship he made the entrance on the side and it continued lying on the ground seven Moneths till they had offered up to their Idols three companies of those who had believed Noah Then was the Decree of their chastisement confirmed and God commanded Noah to put into the Ship two pairs of every species Whence shall I be able to get all that said Noah Immediately God commanded the four Winds to bring together about him all he had ordered to be put into the Ark which they did He took in at the first door the Wild and Tame Beasts the Reptiles and the Birds at the second which was that of the middle he took in Meat and Drink and the Body of Adam which was in a Shrine Then he entered himself at the highest door with his children and those who had believed in him Relations agree not about the number of the Faithful who entered into the Ark most affirm they were forty Men and forty Women When Noah and his Companions were got into the Ship the news of it came to the King who began to laugh at it saying Where is the water on which that Vessel is to Sail They knew well enough that the Deluge was to come but had no notice of the time of its coming that the will of God might be fulfilled upon them Upon that Mechavel the Son of Darmasel got on Horseback with a party of his People and went first to the Temple of his Idols where he stayed a while then went towards the place where the Ship was with an intention to fire it Being come near it he call'd Noah with a loud voice and Noah having answered him Where said he is the water which is to bear thee in this Ship It will be immediately with you replied Noah before you go out of this place Come down O Noah said the King and also those who are with thee O unhappy Man said Noah turn to God for behold his Chastisements are ready to fall upon you These words incensed the King so that he commanded fire to be cast into the Ship upon him and upon his Companions But immediately there comes a Messenger in great haste telling him for news that a Woman heating the Oven to bake her Bread water rush'd out of it as out of a great Torrent Unfortunate Man replied the King how could water come out of a hot Oven Unfortunate King replied Noah 't is one of the signs of my Lords wrath which is descending on you and yours according to what he hath revealed to me to threaten you withall Another sign of the same thing is that the Earth is going to shake and to stagger that the water is going to overflow it on all sides and that it is going to spring up under the Horse's
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
feet on which you are mounted even in the place where you now are Immediately the King was obliged to put back his Horse from the place where he was seeing the water springing up under his Feet by the permission of God As soon as he was got to another place behold his Messengers returning to him tell him that the water was very much risen and augmented which forc'd him to a sudden departure to return with all speed to his Castle that he might take his Servants and his Children and dispose them into the Fortresses which he had prepared on the tops of the Mountains and where he had put in provisions as much as he imagin'd would be necessary But presently the Earth began to open and the Feet of the Horses to enter into it so that they could not get them out which obliged them to get off and to leave them there In like manner the doors of Heaven were opened and let fall a great Rain as if water had been poured out of great Earthen Pots so that the waters overtook them ere they could recover the Mountains and hindered their getting up to them They justled and thrust one another and knew not which side to turn by reason of the violence of the Thunder and Lightning and the greatness of the evil which was come upon them The Women carried their Children at their backs then when the water was come up to their mouths they cast them under their feet and endeavoured to save themselves Had God been disposed to have compassion on the Unbelievers he would have been merciful to the Mother and the Child One of Noah's Sons was with the King the Son of Darmasel when he came to fire the Ship His Father cried out to him O my dear Son Embarque thy self with us I will retire said he into a Mountain which shall secure me from the water Noah answered him according to what God had taught him I 〈…〉 onely the mercy of God which c 〈…〉 this day preserve any body from 〈◊〉 chastisements He was destined misery and destruction and he w 〈…〉 one of those who were drowned T 〈…〉 water rose above the Earth 40 C 〈…〉 bits and above the Mountains 〈◊〉 Cubits All that was upon the 〈◊〉 face of the Earth perished the Math 〈…〉 and Signs therefore were defaced 〈◊〉 the permission of God there remain 〈…〉 only the Ark and those within 〈◊〉 Those who adore the Stars affi 〈…〉 nevertheless that there rema 〈…〉 ed some places upon the Ea 〈…〉 which the waters of the Delu 〈…〉 reached not but the Mussulmans de 〈…〉 it The Persians whom God curs 〈…〉 say the History of the Deluge is n 〈…〉 true and make no mention of th 〈…〉 Prophecy of Noah in regard they a 〈…〉 Magi by Religion and adore the Fir 〈…〉 The Indians affirm in like manner that there happened nothing of it i 〈…〉 their Countrey and so also the Inhabitants of the Maritime Countries and of most of the Indian Islands They say the Ark continued on the water six Moneths that it Sail'd by all the Countries of the Earth in the East and in the West and that one week it compass'd about the place of the square Temple They had with them a large Sea-Pearl put on a Thread by means whereof they in the Ship distinguished between Day and Night and the hours of Prayer They had also their Cock which Crew to call up the People to Divine Service It is written in the Law of Moses that God swore by himself that he would not punish any Nation by the Deluge after the Nation of Noah I found says the Author of this Book Murtadi the Son of Gaphiphus on whom God have mercy in a Book the greatest part whereof was torn out the History of Noah with considerable Additions and Augmentations which I will fully set down here to the end this Book may want no advantage which may raise its value with those who shall read it or hear it read with the direction and assistance of God These Augmentations then relate that the Patriarch the Father of Noah Gods peace be with him dreamt that he saw issuing out of his Mouth a fire which burnt the whole Terrestrial World He thereupon awaked much astonished Some days after he dreamt again that he was upon a Tree in the midst of a great Sea without Shores which also astonish'd him very much After that there being born to him a Son the Prophet of God Noah the good tidings of it spread over the whole Earth and the Priest Galoumas related it immediately to Mechavel the Son of Darmasel assuring him further that the Terrestrial world should perish in his time that is in the time of Noah whose life was to be very long The Priests knew also by their Sciences that there would happen a Deluge which should drown the Earth and its Inhabitants but they always hoped to secure themselves from what should happen with King Darmasel The King therefore commanded that there should be strong Castles built on the tops of the Mountains that they might retire thither and be safe as they imagined They built seven Castles of that kind according to the number of their Idols whereof they gave them the names and graved thereon their Sciences After that Noah being grown up God grant him peace and mercy God sent him to them for an Apostle and there happen'd to him what God himself relates in his Book Noah was of delicate complexion his Head was somewhat long his Arms very large as also his Leggs his Thighs very fleshy his Beard long and broad he was large and thick He was the first Prophet that came after Edrisus and he is numbered among the famous Envoys for their constancy and resolution He liv'd 1250 years The Philosophers will not have him live so long as differing among themselves about long lives His law prescribed the profession of the Unity of God and the Sacred Combat against those who opposed the establishment of his Religion commanding the good and forbidding the evil ordered the following of things permitted and the avoiding of things forbidden and the observance of purity and cleanliness Almighty God had commanded him to induce his Nation to the proefession of his Unity to mind them of the good things they had received of him and to raise in them a fear of his indignation The History relates that Noah was born in the Reign of Mechavel the Son of Darmasel and that being two hundred years of age Mechavel died and had for Successor his son Darmasel who was much addicted to the worship of the Idols exalting them as much as lay in his power and commanding the People to serve them well In the mean time Noah began to Preach the Religion of Almighty God going through the Market-places the Assemblies the Temples the Inns and calling the people to God They kept his Preaching secret and discovered nothing of it to King Darmasel till such
time as his enterprize having been observed Men bewared of him and the King heard of him They say that Mechavel God curse him imprisoned Noah 3 years before he died and that after his death his son Darmasel who was his Successor brought Noah out of Prison and commanded him to forbear corrupting Religion and exclaming against the Gods There was among them for their seven great Idols a Feast which they celebrated every year during which they assembled to offer Sacrifices and make Processions about the Idols The time of that Feast being come which is also the Feast of Jagoth the people came together from all parts and then Noah came to that Assembly and having pass'd through the midst of the People and cry'd with a loud voice O Friends say as I do There is no other God then the great God The people put their fingers into their Ears and their Heads into their garments but the Idols fell at Noah's cry which obliged the men to fall upon him and to beat him cruelly giving him several wounds in the head then dragging him along the ground with his face towards the Kings Palace into which they made him enter and brought him before him Have not I done thee a favour said the King in taking thee out of Prison though thou hast spoken against our Religion rail'd at our Gods and forsaken the footsteps of thy Fathers and Grand-fathers Mean time thou comest again to exercise thy Magick against the Gods so as thou hast made them to fall from their thrones torn from their stations and the places of their honour and their glory What hath forc'd thee to this extremity If these Idols replied Noah were Gods as you imagine they would not have fallen at my voice Fear God unhappy Prince turn to him and believe nothing equal to him for he sees you Who is he said the King who has made thee so confident as to speak to me in these terms I will sacrifice thy Bloud to the Idols He thereupon commanded him to be kept in prison till the day of the Feast of Jagoth that he might be sacrificed to him and that the Idols might at the same time be exalted to their thrones But he saw afterwards a Dream which startled him and obliged him to order Noah to be put out of prison giving out among the people that he was distracted Noah being afterwards 500 years of age had his son Sem and after him Cham and after him Jam then Japhet Their mother was named Noubaâ—he the Daughter of Enos the son of Enoch Noah was afterwards a long time preaching to hiâ— Nation yet could convert to the profession of the Unity of God but a small company of the meaner sort of people wherefore they made this reproach to him according to what God himself said to him Thou hast been followed by the drâ—gs of the people Noah was a Carpenter and those who believed in him were of his own profession He spent afterwards three Ages in preaching always to the people the Religion of Almighty God without other effect save that they grew the more impious and insolent Nay they kill'd some of those who believed in him and rifled their honses and then God revealed to him that of his Nation there would be no other Believers save onely those who had already embraced the Faith Noah despairing of their Conversion began to pray to God against them and to say O my Lord suffer not upon earth any habitation of the Unbelievers Then Almighty God commanded him to build the Ship then he smote them with Sterility as well to the Fruits of the earth as the Procreation of children making their women unable to bring forth and in like manner the Females of their Cattel incapable of generation and withdrawing his benedictions from their Orchards and Agriculture They invoked their Idols but it did bestead them nothing with God Then Noah began to build the Ship and spent three years in cutting down Indian Plane-trees and polishing them in making Nails and Pins and providing whatever was necessary then he set it together in the moneth of Regebe Those of his Nation would needs pass by him as he was at work laughing and making sport at him After he had finished it God commanded him to put into it two pairs of every species Those who embarqued with him of the sons of Adam and his own were Sem Cham and Japhet and the others who belonged to him and were of his family The Angels brought to him Adams Shrine which was in the Countrey of Tehama which is the Septentrional Territory of Meca There was also with him in the Ark the Egyptian Priest Philemon with his family and his daughters The rest were of the children of his Father and of his Grandfather Edrisus After the chastisement was completed by the destruction of the Inhabitants of the Earth that the Heaven had given a check to the Rains that the Earth by the permission of her Lord had drunk up the waters and that the Ark rested on Mount Gâ—edis they went out and built a City which they called The Match of Fourscore and which is at this day famous in its place under the name of Themanine which signifies Fourscore They say that the several Nations though they were not ignorant of the Deluge and that they knew well enough it was to come yet could not learn of their Priests precisely the time of its coming because it was the will of the Almighty and All-good God to punish them The Mountains cast stones at them and they knew not which way to turn to avoid the falling of the Rain and the Stones They say also that the water which fell was hot and corrupted as if i had come out of a boiling Pool of Sand. Some affirm that the Ship continued on the water a hundred and fifty days others that it continued 11 Moneths God knows how it was Some affirm also that the Deluge happen'd in the Moneth of Regebe and that the Ark nested on Mount Geudis the tenth day of the Moneth of Mucharram There were between the descent of Adam and the Deluge two thousand one hundred fifty six years When God would restore the Earth to a good condition he sent a wind upon the water which dry'd it and put a stop to the Springs The ordinary light return'd to the World and the Sun and the Moon and the Night and the Day Forty days after God commanded Noah to open the Ark. He opened it and let out the Raven to see how low the water was The Raven went out and stayed to feed on the Carrions of the dead and returned no more Whereupon Noah made imprecations against her that she might always be a Stranger and never a domestick Bird and that it should feed on Carrions Then he let out the Dove after her She soon return'd with her feet dy'd with the slime of the Earth which was grown hot Wherefore Noah prayed God to
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
him his son Axames and after him his son Lates and after him Tolma the Coptite otherwise called the Valide son of Masgab who was the Pharao of Moses and who governed unjustly and tyrannically attributing to himself what belonged not to him wherefore Moses destroyed him after he had given him the space of 400 years to be converted and drowned him and all his people and all the Egyptians who had followed him in the Red Sea by the virtue of his Rod according to the Decree of the Malediction of God as we shall relate hereafter if God give us leave Some would have the Pharao of Joseph to be the same with that of Moses grounding their conjecture on what Almighty God said of him A Believer of the house of Pharao said thus Joseph is already come to you heretofore and the rest of the verse God knows how it is AN ABRIDGMENT OF The Second Part of the Book OF THE PRODIGIES OF EGYPT THE Reverend Prelate the Doctor Murtadi the Son of Gaphiphus the Son of Chatem the Son of Molsem the Macdesian the Sapheguian Gods mercy upon him saith citing his Author That the Apostle of God Gods peace and mercy be with him said what follows When I was raised to Heaven I saw two Rivers and I asked Gabriel which they were He answered me thus They are the Nile and Euphrates The Son of Guebasus says that the same Apostle of God Gods peace and mercy be with him spoke thus The All-mighty and All-good God hath caused to descend from Paradise upon the earth five Rivers Sichone which is the River of the Indies Gichone which is the River of Balca the Tigris and Euphrates which are the two Rivers of Gueraca and the Nile which is the River of Egypt He made them descend from one of the Springs of Paradise seated at the lowest of its stories upon the wings of Gabriel Gods peace be with him and hath committed them to the custody of the Mountains causing them to flow upon the earth and making them useful for men for divers conveniencies of their Lives And that is it which the Almighty saith And we have made the Waters of Heaven to descend after a certain measure and have appointed them their habitation upon earth and we and the rest of the verse When the time of the going forth of Gog and Magog was come Almighty God sent Gabriel Gods peace be with him who took up by his Order from above the earth the Alcoran and Science and the Black Stone and the Support which is the place of Abraham Gods peace and mercy be with him and the Shrine of Moses Gods peace be with him with what was within it and these five Rivers mentioned before All this was taken up into Heaven And that is it which the Almighty saith And it is in our power to carry it away and when I have taken up these things from the earth the Inhabitants of it were the choice part of Religion and of the World And citing his Authors he speaks thus I have heard Abulamamus the Bahelian and Gabdollus the son of Basar the Mazenian who said The Apostle of God Gods peace and mercy be with him one day called his Companions together and said to them The All-mighty and All-good God shall enable you to conquer Egypt after me Make your advantage of the Fruits it brings forth for he who wants money wants not honesty for that Egypt is the Mother-nurse it supplies wherewithall to live plentifully Other Countries want her but she does not stand in need of any other Countrey He said to them also I have received it from Gabriel that God hath sent four Rivers out of Paradise the first of Wine the second of Milk the third of Water and the fourth of Honey Then the All-mighty and All-good God said I have made my particular standard of the Lord of Rivers which is the Nile in the book of God and it is a River flowing out of Paradise Megavius ask'd Cabay and said to him I ask thee in the Name of the great God giver of all good things Doest thou find in the Book of the All-mighty and All-good God that God declares his Will to this Nile twice a year I do replied he God tells her when he would have her flow and saith to her The All-mighty and All-good God commands thee to flow and she flows as far as God orders her and after that God discovers his Will to her and saith to her O Nile the All-mighty and All-good God commands thee to return to thy former condition and to praise him Jezidus the son of Chebibus speaks thus of it When Moses called upon God against Pharao and his Servants God hindered the Nile to encrease as much as it would have done Then they had recourse to Moses and desired him to pray to God for them which he did hoping they would believe in God This happened during the time they adored the Cross The next morning God had augmented the Nile for them 16 full Cubits Quisus the son of Chagegus affirms that somebody related it to him that Gamrou the son of Gazus after he had conquered Egypt having entered into it in the moneth of Baune which is one of the barbarous moneths the Inhabitants of the Countrey came to him and said Lord Commander our Nile which you here see governs its course according to a Law which it inviolably observes What Law is that says Gamrou When the 12th of this present moneth is come said they we take a young Maid a Virgin from her Father and Mother after we have satisfied them both and made them condescend to what we would do according to the custom we dress and adorn her with Jewels and Sumptuous Clothes then we bring her in the night time and cast her into the Nile and immediately it increases and spreads and raises its course This cannot be continued said Gamrou according to the Mussulman Law for the Mussulman Law destroyes the profane customs that have been in vogue before her So the Moneth Banne and the Moneth Abibe and the Moneth Mesri pass'd away and the Nile encreased not its course neither more nor less so that the Inhabitants of Egypt were upon thoughts of leaving the Countrey Gamrou seeing that writ of it to the Commander of the Faithful Omar Gods peace be with him acquainted him with what the Egyptians had said to him and desired to know his resolution thereupon Omar made him answer in these terms After that O Gamrou you have done what you ought to have done upon that occasion for the Mussulman Law abolishes the evil customs that have preceded it But I have inclosed a Note within the fold of this present Letter when you have read it take that Note and cast it into the Nile and God will do what he shall think fit Gamrou having receiv'd the Letter took the Note out of it on which he found these words written In the Name
it may be right opposite to Meca It was turned said he very much towards the East but after that Corras the son of Coris made it incline a little toward the South I have heard saith Masgab the son of Abuchebib who spoke thus upon these words of the All-mighty and All-good God We shall see on which side thou wilt turn thy Face towards the Heaven and we shall appoint thee a Situation which thou shalt be pleased withall This Situation saith Jezidus which the Apostle of God Gods peace and mercy be with him observed in his Prayers and which All-mighty God commanded him to comply withall consisted in having the face turned towards the Chanel and it is the Situation of the Egyptians and of the Inhabitants of the Western parts I have heard the same Abuchebib added Masgab read that passage after another manner putting the first person instead of the second thus And we will appoint thee a Situation which we shall be pleased withall One of the Protectors saith that Gabriel came to the Apostle of God Gods peace and mercy be with him and said unto him Dispose the Situation of thy Mosquey so as thou maist have thy face turned towards the square Temple Then he made his draughts upon all the Mountains which were between him and the square Temple and so he drew the Plat-form of his Mosquey having his face turned towards the square Temple which happen'd to be the Chanel side Malicus affirms that the Front of the Mosquey of the Prophet of God Gods peace and mercy be with him is Situated opposite to the Chanel Several Authors relate that in the Mosquey of Gamrou the son of Gasus there was no vaulted Upper-room nor in that built by Muslemas nor in that built by Gabdolgueziz the son of Merouan and that the first who made an Upper-arched room was Corras the son of Masquin They say the son of Serich speaks thus of it In the great Mosquey which Gamrou the son of Gasus built there was no Arch that is no Arched Upper-room Saguidus the son of Serich speaks also of it in these terms Abusaguid related this to me The Chemirian who is the most aged of those whom I have met said to them I have found this Mosquey where you assemble your selves and which was built by Gamrou the son of Gasus fifty Cubits in length and thirty in breadth Gamer the son of Omar the son of Chebib the Crier speaks thus of it Gamrou the son of Gasus spoke to us and made a Street which compassed the Mosquey on all sides then he made two Gates opposite to the House of Gamrou the son of Gasus and two Gates on the East side and two Gates on the West side so that when the people went out of the little Street of the Lampe they found the East-corner of the Mosquey opposite to the West-corner of the House of Gamrou the son of Gasus and that before they had taken out of Gamrou's House what was since taken out The length of the Mosquey from the front to the opposite end was equal to the length of Gamrou's House The Roof on the outside was very flat In Summer the people sate all about in the spacious place which was at the entrance Abusalich speaks thus of it Lithus said to me one day can you tell what distance there was between the Mosquey built by Gamrou and his House No said I. Our Ancients told me reply'd he that there were seven Cubits and that before they took out of Gamrou's House what was since taken and made part of the Mosquey This shews that the Eastern Gate was opposite to the great House of Gamrou The son of Lahig relates it to us as a thing he had learnt of the son of Habir that Abutemim the Chisanian had said to him that he had heard Gamrou the son of Gasus speaking in these terms One of the Companions of the Apostle of God Gods peace and mercy be with him told me he had heard the Prophet Gods peace and mercy be with him speak thus The All-mighty and All-good God commands you one Prayer besides the ordinary ones say it in the intervall there is from the Evening Prayer to the break of day Abunasre the Gopharian related it and Abutemim speaks of it thus As we sate down together Abudar and I Abudar took me by the hand and we went together to Abunasre whom we met at the Gate which is on the side of Gamrou's House where Abudar spoke to him thus O Abunasre have you heard the Apostle of God Gods peace and mercy be with him speak in these terms God hath yet enjoined you a Prayer say it in the intervall between the Evening and betimes in the Morning He repeated this to him three times and he always answered Yea. Jachi the son of Salich relates what follows as having it from Gadras who had it from his Father and he from Gamer the son of Omar Muslemas said he caused to be made in the great Mosquey four Chappels at the four corners of it For he first put them there and they were not there before He also was the first who spread it with Mat for before that it was only strew'd with Gravel After him Gabdolgueziz the son of Merouam the son of Chacam caused somewhat to be done therein according to the relation of Gamer the son of Omar the son of Chebib the Raguinian who affirms that Gabdolgueziz the son of Merouan quite de-Demolish'd the great Mosquey and that he augmented it on the West-side so that he left between it and the House of Sand and the House of Gerou's Son and the others but a small Street which is now called the Pav'd Street and brought into it the spacious place which was on the North-side but on the East-side he had no place to enlarge it This was done in the year 79. As to the augmentations made in the great ancient Mosquey after the building of it by Gamrou the son of Gasus it is to be observed that Gamrou did this work after his return from Alexandria to the place of his Tent and that he had taken Masre in the Moneth Mucharram in the twentieth year after the Prophet's Retreat whom God favour with his most excellent Benedictions Abusaguid the Chemirian speaks of it also I have found that that Mosquey where you assemble your selves was built by Gamrou fifty Cubits in length and thirty in breadth After him Muslemas the son of Muchalled made some enlargements in it under the Reign of Megavius the son of the Abusophian in the Year 35. Then afterwards Gabdolgueziz the son of Merouan in the year 79. and after him Corras the son of Serich upon the account of the Valide the son of Gabdolmelic This last would needs demolish what Gabdolgueziz had built and afterwards completed his building He gave the ovesight of these works to Jachi the son of Chandelas and above him to Gamer the son of Levi. He quite
From God comes strength and power and all things return to him Know Lord Commander of the Faithful that the Countrey of Egypt is nothing but a blackish Soil and green Plants between a dusty Mountain and a reddish Sand. Between its Mountain and its Sand there are high-raised Plains and levelled Eminences It is surrounded by an Ascent which supplies it with provisions and is in compass from Syene to the extremities of the Land and the side of the Sea a Moneths riding for a Man on Horse-back Through the midst of the Countrey there runs a River blest in the morning and favoured of Heaven at night which rises and falls according to the course of the Sun and Moon It hath its time wherein the Springs and Sources of the Earth are opened to it according to the command given them by its Creator who governs and dispenses its course to supply the Province with sustenance and it follows according to the order prescribed it till such time as its waters being risen and its Waves rolling with noise and its surges being come to their greatest elevation the Inhabitants of the Countrey cannot pass from one Village to another but in little Boats and a man sees the little Wherryes turning to and â—ro as white and black Camels in the imaginations of the people Then when it is come to this condition behold it begins to return back and to confine it self within its Chanels as it came out of it before and rose up by little and little And then the most forward and the most slothful prepare themselves for labour they are scattered up and down the Fields in multitudes the people of the Law whom God preserve and the people of Alliance whom men protect they are seen stirring to and fro like Ants some weak others strong and wearying themselves out at the task imposed upon them for that is not obaained of them by their good will but by force and constraint by ill-treating and oppressing them They are seen searching into the Earth and turning up so much of it as hath been overflown and casting into it all sorts of Grain which they hope with the assistance of God will multiply therein And it will not be long ere the Earth puts off the black hew of its manure and cloaths it self in green and casts forth a pleasant scent while it produces Stalks and Leaves and Ears making a delightful show and giving a good hope the dew of Heaven watering it from above and the moisture giving nourishment to its productions from beneath Sometime there come certain Clouds with a little Rain sometimes there fall onely certain drops of water and sometimes none at all After that Lord Commander of the Faithful the Earth displayes her Beauties and makes a Triumph of her Favours cheering up the Inhabitants and assuring them of a good Harvest of her Fruits for the sustenance of them and their Cattel and to be Transported elsewhere and to make their Beasts multiply She appears now Lord Commander of the Faithful like dusty ground then presently it is a blewish Sea and as it were a white Pearl then like black Dirt then as green Taffata then as a piece of Embrodery of divers colours then like a fount of molten Gold Then they Harvest their Corn which being Thrash'd out passes afterward diversly among Men some taking what belongs to them and others what does not belong to them This vicissitude returns every year every thing in its Season according to the order and providence of the All-mighty may that great God be ever praised blessed be he the best of Creatures As to what is necessary for the carrying on of these Works and what should make the Countrey populous and well cultivated maintain it in a good condition and make it advance from good to better according to what hath been told us by such as are acquainted therewith as having had the government of it in their hands we have made a particular observation of three things The first is not to credit the malicious discourses of the meaner sort of people against the chiefest of the Countrey because they are envious and unthankful for the good which is done them The second is to lay out one third of the Tribute raised therein towards the reparation of Bridges and Causeys And the third is not to raise the Tribute out of any Species till it be in its perfection This is the Description of Egypt Lord Commander of the Faithful whereby you may know it as if you had seen it your self God continue you in your good conduct and make you happily manage your Empire and assist you to undergo the charge he hath imposed on you and inspire you with an acknowledgment of the favours he hath done you Peace be with you May God be praised and assist with his favours and benedictions our Lord Mahumet and those of his House and those of his party The Commander of the Faithful Omar Gods mercy on him having read says the Author Gamrou's Letter spoke thus He hath made an exquisite Description of the Land of Egypt and its Appurtenances he hath design'd it so well that it cannot be mistaken by such as are capable of knowing things Praised be God O Assembly of Mussulmans for the favours he hath done you by bringing you into the possession of Egypt and other Countries He it is whose assistance we all ought to implore They relate that when the House of Gamrou the son of Gasus was demolish'd and made part of the great Mosquey of Masre there was found in a corner a stone on which these verses were written Slight not a favourable occasion wherein thou maist stretch forth thy hand to do some good We live but to die and death is deceitfull from one hour to another there is a change of affairs They relate also that while the same Gamrou was Governour of Egypt certain Coptites came and made evil reports to him against certain persons about affairs which he knew nothing of thinking by that means to insinuate themselves into his favour and be powerful about him but he reproved them of it saying O ye Coptites who are here assembled know that when any one comes to give us evil reports of his Brother we shall advance his Brother to higher Dignity and debase the Detractor for the Detractor envies the prosperity of his Neighbour and endeavours to ruine him the cauldrons of his malice boil in his breast so that it rises up into his Tongue and these wicked discourses are the smoke of that fire which sets them a boyling He said also Gods peace be with him he who makes ill reports to thee calumniates thy self he who speaks ill to thee of another speaks ill of thy self He said sometimes to his Captains and those whom he employed about his affairs Use me not as a Dagger to stab people withall Shew your selves kind and obliging to all for who would live in peace must practise it Be carefull to