THE.SOURCE OF THE NILE. 3 



Saracens ; the Coptic patriarch, and all the Chriftians of the 

 church of Alexandria, were their Haves or fervants ; but the 

 Abyffinians were free and independent, both in church and 

 ftate, and a mortal hatred had followed the conquefl from 

 variety of caufes, of which the perfecution of the Chriftians 

 in Egypt was not one of the leaft. As it was probable that 

 thefe reafons would increafe daily, the confequence which 

 promifed inevitably to follow was, that the Abyffinians 

 would not apply to Alexandria, or Cairo, for a metropolitan 

 fent by the Mahometans, but would choofe a head of their 

 own, and fo become independent altogether of the chair of 

 St Mark. As they were cut off from the reft of the world 

 by feas and deferts almoft inacceffible, as they wanted books, 

 and were every day relaxing in difcipline, total ignorance 

 was likely to follow their feparation from their primitive 

 church, and this could not end but in a relapfe into Pagan- 

 ifm, or in their embracing the religion of Mahomet. 



This prohibition of making any of their countrymen 

 Abuna, fecured them always a foreigner, and a nian of "fo- 

 reign education and attachments, to fill the place of Abuna, 

 and by this means affured the dependence of the Abyffini- 

 ans upon the patriarch of Alexandria. This is what I judge 

 probable, for I have already invincibly fheivn, that it is im- 

 poffible this canon could be one of the firft general Council'; 

 and its being in Arabic, and conceived in very barbarous 

 er ms, fufficiently evinces that it was forged at this period. 



A 2 I G B A. 



