85

^ adopt the regulations of Akbar.'9—Nobody in the
assembly had an answer to give to the learned phi-
losopher, who, after the effort which he had made,
left the hall.1

The lord vicar of God said to his disciples, that,
it is an indispensable duty to worship God, the all-
just, and that it is necessary to praise those who are
near him; among mankind, said he, none is higher
in rank than the planets, to the station of which no
man can attain. None except God, the all-mighty,
is the wish of the godly man, that is, whatever the
godly undertakes, the object of his wish in it is
God; for instance, he takes some food, that he may
be able to perform the service of God; performs
that service, that he may not be slack and deficient
in his duties to God 5 desires a wife, that he may
give existence to a virtuous son, worshipper of God;
pays veneration to the lights of the stars, because
they are near God the all-just; and abandons him-
self to sleep, that his soul may ascend to the upper
world. Finally, the godly man is at all times in the

* In the Transactions of the Literary Society of Bombay,, vol. II. pp.
242-270, is to be found: " A Notice respecting the religion introduced
*' by the Emperor Akbar, by Captain Vans Kennedy, written ia 1818,"
with an elegant, but in several places abridged, translation of the just-
given disputes, between the doctors of the different religions, in form of a
dialogue, accompanied with valuable remarks respecting the author of
the Dabist&n, of which I availed myself in several quotations in the Pre-
liminary Discourse, as well as in this place.