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IV.

Argues with Mahomedans in favour of

How dangerous for an emperor! How difficult for a man bred up in the ease and liberty of the Alcoran !"

12. Notwithstanding his reluctance openly to avow his belief in Christ, Akbar was so the Gospel. thoroughly convinced of the falsehood of the Mahomedan books, that he took delight in confounding the Moulahs. The following specimen of his reasoning will show that his mind was of no ordinary cast. He would say to them "If the books of Moses and that of the Psalms are inspired, as Mahomet himself allows, why does he forbid us to read them? It is said in the Alcoran, that the Gospels of Jesus Christ are faithful Scriptures. And yet, what a difference do we find in the main points of religion, between one and the other. Does the Almighty differ from Himself, when He speaks by the organs and by the voice of Jesus? To deliver myself from a perplexity, into which I am thrown by the contradictions I perceive between the two books, which I am equally obliged to look on as divine-if I take Mahomet's word, should I not argue thus? It is allowed on both sides that the Gospel is divine; the Christians do not allow that the Alcoran is so; therefore, in prudence, I ought to go over to the surest side, and renounce the Alcoran, which the Christians reprove, for the Gospel, which the Mahomedans revere."

But with all this conviction of the truth of Christianity, nothing could induce him to embrace it. It is affirmed, that "the seed of truth had fallen on this prince's heart; but that incontinency had rendered it as hard as a stone."

6 Teachers of Mahomedan law.

A. D.

1582.

urges him

-his mind

diverted

the revolt

from it by

of the

Patans.

13. The missionaries found an auxiliary in their efforts to convert the emperor where they, probably, least expected one. An ambitious Abdul Fazel Moulah, named Abdul-Fazel, wishing to pay to embrace court to Akbar, and suspecting his predilection Christianity for Christianity, urged him to embrace it, and also to establish it as the religion of the empire. As for himself, he made an open profession of regard for the missionaries, and thereby so ingratiated himself with his master as to excite the jealousy of his competitors. The arguments of this courtier, addressed chiefly to the emperor's vanity, are not worth repeating; and if Akbar ever seriously thought of attending to them, he was soon diverted from his purpose by the critical state of his affairs. The Patans, a restless nation in the North, had revolted: while the emperor's own brother had taken up arms in their favour, and stirred up the whole country of Cabulestan against him.

dan Moulahs

try to reclaim him;

the mission

to leave him

his altered

towards

14. The moulahs, in their turn, took advan- Mahometage of this conjuncture to endeavour to reclaim the emperor. They tried to work upon his fears, by representing the perils that now aries wish threatened his kingdom, as the judgments of in conseheaven upon him for renouncing the Mahomedan quence of law. Whether he was actually moved by such behaviour representations, is uncertain. It is more prob- them. able, that he saw the policy, under present circumstances, of conciliating this body of men, who exercised a commanding influence over the public mind. But from whatever cause, his behaviour towards the missionaries was immediately altered. He still permitted them to employ their zeal as they chose for the propagation of Christianity, but discontinued his personal conferences with them on the subject. They knew too well, however, the difficulty of

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CHAP.

IV.

Oneinduced

to remain by his renewed expressions of regard.

converting the proud and sensual Mahomedans even with the advantage of Akbar's countenance, to look for any success among them, now that his favour was withdrawn. Indeed, their ministrations were henceforth confined to the small number of Europeans in the emperor's service, and accordingly they became anxious to return to Goa. But when about to depart, Abdul-Fazel interposed, and, assuring them that the emperor's esteem for the Gospel continued undiminished, induced them to remain for the present.

66

15. It is probable that this courtier informed Akbar of the missionaries' intention to leave his court, as he soon renewed his visits to them, and thought proper to apologize for not openly embracing their religion. He represented his chief difficulty as arising from the opposition of his family. The moulahs of the palace," said he, "and the sultaness, my mother, never cease inveighing against the new religion which I protect. I have yet greater contests with the women of my seraglio. In the dread of being cast off, as soon as Christianity shall have reduced me to one wife, there are no kind of caresses which they do not employ to tear Jesus Christ from my heart. In a word, the Gospel is too holy, and my manners are too corrupt."

There can be little doubt that this was spoken in sincerity, and it convinced the missionaries that they had nothing to expect from him or his subjects under present circumstances. Father Aquaviva, therefore, ventured to ask permission to return to Goa; but the emperor protested against it, alleging the necessity of his presence. "The stronger my chains are," said he, "the more need have I of an able hand to

break them." This appeal induced the missionary to remain; but he sent away his colleagues, F. Heneric returning to Goa, and A. Manserrat proceeding to Agra, with the prince, his pupil.

A. D. 1582.

He returns from the

triumphant

field-again

appears less

friendly to

the mission

16. Immediately after, the emperor took the field; and, having vanquished his enemies, soon returned home again. He is said now to have carried himself very strangely towards the missionary, which was attributed to the pride ary. of conquest and the distractions of war. Indeed, it was at length suspected, that he had no other design in sending for the Jesuits but to promote a commercial intercourse with the Portuguese, and to gratify his thirst for the European sciences. In fact, he was professedly

7 M. Manouchi relates a whimsical experiment of Akbar's, "to show that the love of knowledge was his predominating passion. Having heard that Hebrew was the natural language of all that had never been taught any other tongue, he determined to put it to the proof. For this purpose he caused a dozen children at the breast to be shut up in a castle about six leagues from Agra. Each child was reared by a nurse who was dumb the porter was also a mute, and he was forbidden, upon pain of death, ever to open the gates of the castle. When the children had attained the age of twelve years, Akbar ordered them to be brought before him. He assembled in his palace persons learned in all languages. A Jew, who then happened to be at Agra, was to tell whether the children spoke Hebrew or not. It was no difficult matter to find Arabians and Chaldeans at this capital. On the other hand, the Indian philosophers pretended that the children would speak the Sanscrit, which is the classical language of the Hindoos, and is understood only by their learned men. They study it for the purpose of reading the Shasters, which are their ancient books of philosophy and Indian theology. When these children appeared before the emperor, the company was surprised to find that they could speak no language at all. They had learned from their nurses to make a shift without words, and only expressed themselves by gestures. In fine, they were so shy and bashful, that it was a very hard matter to induce them to loose their tongues,

CHAP.

IV.

His design

a new re

causes him

self to be

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fixed to no religion himself, and was a persecutor of none, until he formed the infamous project of compounding all the creeds professed in his empire into one new religion, in imitation of Mahomet, and caused himself to be worshipped as its author. This impious intention he announced in the following terms.

17. "Mahomet was but a man as I am, and to establish not near so powerful. He has invented a religion ligion- after his own fancy, composed of Judaism, Christianity, and the productions of his own worshipped. brain. By it the pretended prophet has immortalized his name, and great emperors call themselves his disciples. It is both for my interest and glory, to become the head and inventor of a new religion. My people are a strange medley of Mahomedans, Idolaters and Christians. I am resolved to bring them all to one opinion. I will join the baptism of the one, and the circumcision of the other, to the worship of Bramah. I will retain the Metempsichosis, plurality of wives, and the worship of Jesus Christ. Thus compounding my religion of those points which are most agreeable to the professors of the respective sects, I shall be able to form them into one entire flock, of which I myself shall be leader and head."

Upon the promulgafion of his new religion he changed his name to Cha-Geladin, the Potent King of the Sovereign Law, and chose the imperial city of Lahore, where the Moguls had a palace, as a suitable scene for the commencement of operations. At first he met with the

which they had made but
Manouchi, pp, 151, 152.
metichus, King of Egypt.
part iii. p. 98.

little use of in all their lives."--M. A similar story is related of PsamRollin's Ancient History, book i.

8 James Fraser's History of the Mogul Emperors, p. 11.

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