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*4 body, on which account people call it' the house
%' ' of God." If it be so, or if the Kabah be situ-
'4 ated in the midst of a country, other prophets may
" have chosen another place, such as the holy house
" (of Jerusalem), and the like; but this is but by
" error; thus it happened—that, at first, the lord
* * Muhamined did not offer his prayers at the Kabah.
" Since therefore the detestable suspicion of pagan-
44 ism rests upon all the worship of stone, earth, and
4 ' bodies, then water, fire, and the planets, are objects
" more proper to be honored; and if a centre be
" desired, let it be the sun in the midst of the seven
" heavens. In like manner objectionable is the
" sacrifice of animals, and the interdiction of what
4 c may be proper for the food of men, and the admit-
" ting thereof by one prophet to be lawful what is
u forbidden by another. Thus, if it be not right to
46 eat pork, why was it permitted by Jesus? if it
6 * was interdicted on account of pollution in conse-
44 quence of the animal's feeding upon unclean and
" nasty things, so the cock is objectionable for the
" same reasons. Similar to these are most other
(* commands, and contrary to the precepts of reason.
£ * But the greatest injury comprehended in a pro-
*' phetic mission is the obligation to submit to one
'' like ourselves of the human species, who is sub-
" ject to the incidental distempers and imperfec-
" tions of mankind; and who nevertheless controls