70

A learned philosopher came into the ball, where
Hindus also were present, and three other learned
men; a Muselman, a Nazarene, and a Jew: these
were summoned, and ranged In opposition to the
learned philosopher. The latter opened the dis-
cussion in this manner : " The divine mission of
'' your prophets has not been proved, for several rea-
*' sons: the first is, that whatever the prophet says
" ought to be conformable to reason; the second is,
'- that he ought to be free from crime, and not hurt-
" ful to other beings. But Moses, according to the
" opinion of the Jews, was brought up by Pharaoh,
"'and yet he caused him by a stratagem to be
" drowned in. the waters of the Nile, and listened
" not to his repentance. What they say of the
" water of the Nile having opened a passage to
" Moses, is an error. Nor did he attend to the
" repentance of Kariin (liorah),1 but, from cove-
64 tousness of gold, he caused him to be swal-
4i lowed up by the earth. Jesus permitted the kill-

1 According to Richardson's Diet., edit, of F. Johnson: " Kanin is
"supposed to be the same person called Korah (Numbers, chap. XVI)
i% whom the Muhammedans describe as the cousin of Moses. He is fre-
-' quently alluded to by the poets and moralists, not only as being ex-
14 tremely handsome, but as possessed of immense wealth, acquired by his
'* skill in chemistry, and the discovery of the philosopher's stone; whilst
" his avarice is represented as so remarkable, that his name is prover-
^ bially applied to all misers. They add, that it was on account of his
41 refusal to pay Moses a tithe of his possessions for the public use, that
*' the earth opened and swallowed him up."