the articles MURDER, OATHS, &c. befide other inftances which do not come fo directly under our view. That the more northern nations have improved fo happily this first principle of theology, which dawned on them through the Mohammedan fyftem; and perhaps affifted them in recovering and refining the Chriftian religion from the rubbith under which it was overwhelmed by craft and ignorance, may be partly accounted for from those principles which will equally explain why they have afferted and maintain, the natural and civil rights of mankind, in a greater or lefs degree, while the foft nations of the east, continue from century to century the difpirited subjects to an abfolute and fixed despotism.' But enough of Introduction : let us now proceed to the prin cipal part of this compilement, the collections from the Koran. These are not, however, very numerous; the following general heads comprehending most of the several subjects, thus alphabetically digefted, viz. Alms, Avarice, Beneficence, Calumny, Charity, Civility, Covetoufnefs, Diffentions, Divorces, Envy, Forgiveness, Hypocrify, Infidelity, Justice, Marriage, Modefty, Murder, Qaths, Pa. rents, Patience, Pride, Retaliation, Slander, Toleration, Ufurg, Whoredom, Women; and a few others, which we have omitted for the fake of brevity. To what has been delivered on most of these topics, by the Arabian Legislator, our editor has fubjoined fuch remarks as refpectively occurred to him, on the several subjects; and these remarks feem in general to be founded in good fenfe, and an enlarged generous turn of thinking. Some of his opinions, however, will, we believe, appear very fingular to many of his readers; and may, perhaps, be combated with fuccefs, by thofe who entertain different fentiments, with regard to his notion of polygamy, and one or to other capital points. What he has said, under the article INHERITANCE and LEGACIES, is, to fay the leaft of it, ingenious. The Koran ordains, that "Men ought to have a part of what their parents and kindred leave behind them when they die and women ought also to have a part of what their parents and kindred leave, whether it be little, or whether it be much; a determinate part is due to them. And when they who are of kin are prefent at the dividing of what is left, and alfo the orphans, and the poor, diftribute unto them fome part thereof; and if the eftate be too finall, at leaft fpeak comfortably unto them. And let thofe fear to abufe orphans, who, if they leave behind them a weak offspring, are folicitous for them: let them therefore fear God, and speak that which is convenient. Surely they who devour the poffeffions of orphans unjustly, fhall fwallow down nothing but fire into their bellies, and fhall broil in raging flames. God hath thus commanded yout concerning your children. A male fhall have as much as the thare of w/ of two females: but if they be females only, and above two in number, they fhall have two third parts of what the deceased shall leave; and if there be but one she shall have the half. And the parents of the deceased fhall have each of them a fixth part of what he fhall leave, if he have a child; but if he have no child, and his parents be his heirs, then his mother shall have the third part. And if he have brethren, his mother shall have a fixth part, after the legacies which he fhall bequeath, and his debts be paid. Ye know not whether your parents or your children be of greater ufe unto you. This is an ordinance from God, and God is knowing and wife. Moreover, ye may claim half of what your wives fhall leave, if they have no iffue; but if they have iffue, then ye fhall have the fourth part of what they fhall leave, after the legacies which they fhall bequeath, and the debts be paid. They also fhall have the fourth part of what ye fhall leave, in cafe ye have no iffue; but if ye have iffue, then they shall have the eighth part of what ye fhall leave after the legacies which ye fhall bequeath, and your debts be paid. And if a man or woman's fubftance be inherited by a distant relation, and he or she have a brother or fifter; each of them two shall have a fixth part of the estate. But if there be more than this number, they fhall be equal fharers in a third part, after payment of the legacies which fhall be bequeathed, and the debts, without prejudice to the heirs. Chap. iv. vol. i. P. 93. "We have appointed unto every one kindred, to inherit part of what their parents and relations fhall leave at their deaths. And unto those with whom your right hands have made an alliance, give their part of the inheritance; for God is witness. of all things. Men fhall have the preheminence above women, because of thofe advantages wherein God hath caufed the one of them to excel the other, and for that which they expend of their substance in maintaining their wives. Chap. iv. vol. i. P. 101. "If a man die without iffue, and have a fifter, she shall have the half of what he fhall leave; and he shall be heir to her, in cafe she have no iffue. But, if there be two fifters, they shall have between them, two third parts of what he fhall leave; and if there be feveral, both brothers and fifters, a male fhall have as much as the portion of two females. God declareth unto you thefe precepts, left you err; and God knoweth all things.' Chap. iv. vol. i. p. 127. To the foregoing ordinance, the Editor has fubjoined the following remark. The Turkish empire was founded on conqueft; the prince is the fountain of property, and may be confidered as a perfect defpot: yet, under this defpotifm, according to the law of Mohammed, by which the the private concerns of the fubject are to be regulated: fucceffion is more equitably fettled, than it is by the feudal fyftems which have obtained in other parts of Europe. It is true that commerce and the arts have in the latter, given commercial and monied property, fuch a counterbalance to that of land, that landed property has gradually loft much of its tyrannic influence; and the forms of government first founded on these military tenures, have mellowed down to more equitable fyftems, in proportion to their attention to thefe objects. But, if the Ottomans at any time, feized by the contagion of litera- Jurks ture, fhould come to understand the native rights of mankind better, and by commerce to poffefs an influence which may enable them to avail themselves of their knowledge against their haughty Sultans; this fundamental advantage, of a partition of inheritance, would, fo far as it obtained in ufe, give them great advantages over ftates where landed property continues fubject to its antient limitations, while their fovereigns have loft that afcendancy and military ftrength it formerly procured them. If we confider the extenfive fize of this vaft empire, and conceive it freed from the oppreflive government under which its inhabitants groan, and become full of people, fpringing from the allowance of polygamy; they would under fuch circumftances promife fairer for univerfal empire, than any cramped state where land is tied up, where numbers of people are continually drained off from fociety, and buried in religious celibacy; and where prepoftcrous reftriations obftruct the entrance into matrimony, to the eventual check of propagation or if an extenfion of knowledge and popular vigour, thould break the Orientals into feparate independencies, they would in all probability flourish in arts, commerce, and maritime strength, while Europe, in either cafe, declining, may fee all thefe bleflings by a reflux retire back to thofe climes from whence they firft dawned on mankind.' We fhall conclude this article, with the Author's Remark on Divorces; omitting the extract from the Koran on this fubject, on account of its too great length. It is fufficient to observe, that Mohammed allowed his followers to put away their wives, (for what reasonable caufe or caufes is not faid) under certain legal regulations and reftrictions; and this they are permitted to do a fecond, and even a third time, in cafe of their so often renewing the matrimonial connexion. On this head, we have the following obfervations: It would be impertinent to enlarge on the natural intentions of matrimony; of which, every man's reafon, and much more his feelings, give him fufficient information: as it is capable of communicating the higheft earthly felicity, fo can it be perverted to the greateft extremity of mifery. When the ends of entering into an indiffoluble engagement, on which the domeftic comfort of all the future parts of our lives, fo intimately depends, are frustrated! no fituation can be conceived more intolerable; and it is painful even to think that fufferers in these circumstances should have all their fond expectations, all their focial enjoyments, all their peace of mind, ruined beyond redemption and that the laws which ought to protect the injured, thould fhould in thefe circumftances betray them; and often strengthen the hands of oppreffion! Divorces, by the Chriftian law are difcouraged, except in cafes of adultery; but numberlefs caufes of unhappiness occur, which render the matrimonial ftate unfupportable, that do not offer fuch a plea to juftify feparation: and when this union, from whatever caufes, becomes grievous,-for life is a dreadful term! the apoftles replied very naturally-if the cafe of the man be fo with his wife, it is not good to marry.-By the Mohammedan law divorces are allowed to take place between the fame perfons repeatedly: here therefore the facility of feparating and coming together again, not only grants the remedy wished for, but grants it to an extream; and appears to afford too great a latitude to caprice. Perhaps the golden mean may lie between them. For, let whatsoever render it disagreeable for man and wife to live with each other, the fufferer ought to be allowed recourse to an eafy remedy:-but if, after feparation, they were prohibited the privilege of coming together again on any confideration; this would caufe the motives of parting, to be as carefully weighed, as thofe of the first connexion. For if a couple found on enquiry, that notwithstanding their difcontents, they had a foundation of fecret tenderness for each other, which the thoughts of parting discovered, and which started at the undoing of what could not be renewed; the union which ought to fubfift, would on fuch a refult of felf-examination, receive a fresh cement: while those who ought to part, would be gratified with the opportunity. Many gentle honeft hearts would thus be preferved from breaking, many ufeful lives be prolonged, many a pains-taking perfon refcued from beggary, and many fortunes fnatched from ruin. Those who failed in one adventure, might have the opportunity of trying another with more fuccefs; while thofe; of which there are many, with whom hobody ought to live, would be denied the diabolical pleasure of tormenting others to death, or of involving them in the confequences of ruinous conduct. This would indeed be a law of reasonable liberty.' This fubject of divorces, is a very delicate one; and we believe there are few of our Readers who will not enlarge on it, in their own minds. For us, we have neither room nor leisure, at prefent, to expatiate on this head. One remark, however, is obvious, as to the policy and expediency of this law of liberty to the Muffelmans,-that as they were allowed to have no lefs than four wives at once (befide as many concubines as they could maintain) it was the more requifite to permit the husband to get rid of as many of them as he found himself unable to manage for, otherwife, we do not fee how it could be in the power of mortal man to keep his houfe quiet, with fo many rival females under his roof: and mercy on him, if all or any of them proved to be Xantippes! G. Voyages and Travels in the Levant, &c. By the late Frederick Haffelquift, M. D. continued from Page 145, in our Review for February. HA AVING given a pretty full account of that part of this curious performance in which the Author defcribes the feveral countries through which he paffed, the manners and cuftoms of the people, together with the incidents of his travels, we shall in the prefent article confider more particularly his obfervations and difcoveries in natural hiftory, medicine and commerce. But before we enter upon this fecond part of the work, we shall transcribe, from the firft, an anecdote, relative to natural hiftory, with which the world in general is unacquainted. At Smyrna, I waited, fays our Author, on Mr. Peyfonel, the French conful, and member of the academy of infcriptions and belles lettres. To his great knowledge I am indebted for the following obfervation relating to natural hiftory. Corals have in our age been efteemed a proper fubject for the pens of the greatest naturalifts. Nature hath fo contrived this part of her works, that corals have had a contrary lot from other naturalia, and have been claffed under the different kingdoms of nature and it is yet uncertain to which they properly belong. In Mr. Peyfonel's company the learned Count Marfigli had the good, fortune to overcome all the doubts he had entertained about thefe naturalia, when in his invaluable Hiftoria Maris, he laid before the world what he took to be the flowers of the corals. At that time they were thought to be vegetables. We know of none who immediately diffented from this opinion. Mr. Peyfonel, by fome obfervations he made on the French coaft, before Marfigli printed his book, had reafon to think otherwife, experience convincing him that corals were inhabited by worms. Mr. Peyfonel did not make natural history his study; he did not fet much value on thefe obfervations, yet communicated them to his brother, a learned phyfician, who intended to publish them. At length Count Marfigli anticipated Mr. Peyfonel, who fuppreffed his and his brother's obfervations; but afterwards informed Mr. Reaumur of them, who knew how to make use of such a confiderable fpeculation. Mr. Reaumur gave it to the royal Parifian academy of fciences, augmented with his own obfervations; nor omitted to attribute the honour to the real difcoverer. This was the rife of an opinion about corals, that fince hath been thought worth the enquiry of the learned, and has received an almoft univerfal applaufe.' Dr. Haffelquift, being a pupil of the truly wonderful Linnæus, arranges the various parts of the creation according to the REV. April, 1766. T fyftem |