178 o;n the philosophy 



ancient Arabs. Nor would the Muselmans fail to re- 

 cite four distichs of Ha'fiz, who has illustrated that 

 maxim with fanciful but elegant allusions : 



Learn from yon orient shell to love thy foe, 

 And store with pearls the hand that brings thee woe : 

 Free, like yon rock, from base vindictive pride, 

 Emblaze with gems the wrist that rends thy side: 

 Mark, where yon tree rewards the stony show'r 

 With fruit nectareous, or the balmy flow'r : 

 All nature calls aloud ; " shall man do less 

 ** Than heal the svtiter, and the railcr bless ?" 



Now there is not a shadow of reason for believing 

 that the poet of Shiraz had borrowed this doctrine 

 from the Christians; but, as the cause of Christianity 

 could never be promoted by falsehood or error, so 

 it will never be obstructed by candour and veracity; 

 for the lessons of Confucius and Chanacya, of 

 Sadi and Ha'fiz, are unknown even at this day to 

 millions of Chinese and Hindus, Persians and other 

 Mahommedans, who toil for their daily support; nor, 

 were they known ever so perfectly, would they have 

 a divine sanction with the multitude; so that, in 

 order to enlighten the minds of the ignorant, and 

 to enforce the obedience of the perverse, it is evi- 

 dent,/? priori, that a revealed religion was necessary 

 in the great system of Providence: but my principal 

 motive for introducing this topic, was to give you a 

 a. specimen of that ancient oriental morality which 

 is comprised in an infinite number of Persia?^ Arabic, 

 and Sanscrit compositions. 



Nearly one half of jurisprudence is closely con- 

 nected 



