Part I. Travels into ^i?^? 'L e v a n t. 59 
under the name of the Comforter^ that therefore they endeavoured to kill him, 
but that having difappeared from among them, and afcended up inco Heaven, 
they crucified Jiidcis whom they took to be Jefus. In the firft Chapter of the 
Gofpel of St.John^ at the tweny feventh vcrfe, it is faid, He it u who coming 
after tne^ is preferred before me^ whofe flwes latchet I am not worthy to imloofe^ where 
St. John means our Lord, whofe (hoes latchet he was unworthy to unloofe ^ they 
fay , that is faife, and invented by the Chriilians , and that it was not 
St. John who faid that of Jefus, but Jefus who faid it of Mahomet : They 
believe that Jefus will come and Judge the World, that he lhall reign forty 
years in Damafcm^ Marry, and have Children, at which time Antichrift fiiall 
arife, whom they call Dedgial^ who fhall lead away many, efpecially of the ^ed^i^iJ. 
Jews, and put a mark on the foreheads of all thofe whom he fhall deceive; but 
•that Jefus fiiall deftroy Antichrift and all that have his mark. When that time 
is expired. that he lhall again afcend up into Paradife, then the Day of Judgment 
ftiall come ; after which, that God fhall create a fort of very little People, fuch 
as are defcribed by the Name of Pygmies ^ who fhall be great Drinkers, for they 
ihall drink the S.ea dry, and thefe they call Metjiucb. In fhort, they give great M^i^ch. 
honour to Jefus Chnh and the l^irgin Mary^ and if they heard any Man fpeak The Turks 
ill of them, they would challife him no lefs than if he fpakeamifsofMJjowf?. honour ^ejus 
They believe that the Gofpel was knt to Jefus, as the Law was to Mo fes, and ^nc^the Vn- 
the Pfalms to David. They believe all the Prophets. They believe a Paradife 
that ihall be filled with the Juft, and a Hell that fhall be filled with the Wicked ; 
but they believe not Purgatory ; and neverthelefs they will have a place called 
jiaraf, which is betwixt Paradife and Hell, wherein they fhall be who have '^^^J- 
done neither Good nor Evil. Mahomet promifes the Bleffed in Paradife wonder- 
ful Gardens, where many Rivulets fhall run, and delicious Fruits abound in all The Turks 
Seafons. He fays alfo, that in that Paradife there fhall be Rivers of Water, p"; 
Rivers of Milk, Rivers of Wine, and Rivers of Honey. He promifes them alfo, ^^[l"*^"^ ^" 
that they fhall be clothed in Green and Scarlet j and that they fhall have lovely 
Virgins, whom they call Dgennet Kz.lar, that is to fay. Virgins of Paradife, Dgesnet if^/jr 
who fhall be exceedingly beautiful, as white as new-Iay'd Eggs, with great ' 
black Eyes, and the ccmpiexion of the Body extremely white ; that they fhall , 
be alwaies young, and never paffing the Age of fifteen years, have every day a ^ 
new Maidenhead, and never call an eye upon any but them j that they fhall 
never exceed thirty years of Age , and lhall be ferved by young Boys \ that 
God fhall appear to them once a Vv'cck, to v^'it^ on Friday. They tell a thou- 
fand other Fopperies of this voluptuous Paradife, which I fhall not relate, as 
having been m'entioned "by many Authours. Mahomet promifed them in this 
Paradife, all things that he thought could work upon their fenfes ; and he 
feafts them with Gardens, Fruits, Brooks and Rivers, becaufe he was of a Coun- 
trey where it is exceffively hot, where there is but little Fruit, and where Wa- 
ter is fo fcarce,that a good Well is a great treafure. He promifes them Cloahts 
of Green and Scarlet, becaufe he delighted much in thefe colours, as the Tnrks 
and Moors àoât prefent, efpecially in Green, which is held in great veneration 
among them. Seeing they are very lafcivious,he would have his Paradife provi- 
ded with beautiful Maids,and young Boys^and becaufe they reckon Women with 
big black Eyes, and red Cheeks, to be the greatefl Beauties, fo they fancy to 
themfelves thofe Cœleftial Virgins, who fhall look upon none but their own 
Husbands, which will be very grateful to them, for they are jealous to extre- 
mity. Thofe that are in Hell fhall drink fcalding hot Water, and eat of the opinion 
Fruit of the Tree Zacon ^ this Tree grows out of the bottom of Hell, and rifes conœrrdns^^ 
to a great height, the Branches of it being like the Heads of Devils. If thofe Hell, 
that are in Hell, have a little Faith, that is to fay, if they be not Atheifls, after 
that all their fins are confumed, and they wadied in a water which they call Sel- Z'Z««,aTree« 
z.aM, they fhall be admitted into Paradife, where they fhall receive and enjoy Sci^donh 
as, much happinefs, as thofe who entered at firft: And on the contrary, they 
who have no Faith, that is to fay, Atheifls, fhall burn everlaflingly in Hell-fire ; 
and their Bodies being reduced into Afhes, by continual torments, God fhall 
create them a-new, and fo they fnall fulFer Eternally. They pray for the 
Dead afwel as Chriftians, and theylikewife invocate their Saints, as being able 
to recommend them to God, 
CHAR 
