76 THE GEOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HORSE. 
poem is laid in the land of Uz, which Bishop Lowth has shewn to 
be Idumea. The Arabs also themselves trace the genealogy of 
their Nedjyds up to the time of Abraham ; and when we consider 
the almost religious zeal with which the preservation of their pedi- 
grees has ever been regarded, and the rigorous enactments which 
have been resorted to in order to preserve the purity of their breed, 
we certainly must give them some credit for their statement. 
The Nedjyd breed, so serviceable in the cause of Islam, is 
supposed by the Arabs to have obtained, through Mahomet, the 
prophet of God, an occult capacity to read or repeat, tacitly, every 
day some verses of the Koran. It Was one of their old proverbs — 
that, after man, the most eminent creature is the horse — the best 
employment is that of rearing it — the most delightful posture is 
that of sitting on its back — the most meritorious of domestic actions 
is that of feeding it ; and they were taught by the Prophet to be- 
lieve that it was originally predestined for their special service. 
“ When God,” said he, “ wished to create it, he called the south 
wind, and said, ‘ I desire to draw from out of thee a new being. 
Condense thyself, by parting with fluidity:’ and he was obeyed. 
He then took a handful of the element, now become tangible, and 
blew upon it, and the horse was produced. ‘ Thou shalt be for 
man,’ said the Lord, f a source of happiness and wealth ; he will 
render himself illustrious by ascending thee.’ ” 
To those who delight to study man in his pastoral simplicity — 
to moralize on the destiny of nations, or the rise and fall of em- 
pires — the history of Arabia cannot fail to be attractive. From 
time immemorial it has been celebrated for its precious produc- 
tions, and distinguished as the home of liberty and independence ; 
and the only land in all antiquity that never bowed to the yoke of 
a foreign conqueror. 
The history of antiquity is not without traces of the early in- 
fluence of the Arabs on the condition of neighbouring nations. The 
Book of Genesis mentions Nimrod as the founder of the Babylo- 
nian empire, and we think we recognise in the mighty hunter 
an Arabian chieftain, like the modern sheiks of the Bedouins. 
To the Arabian, principally, England is indebted for her im- 
proved and unrivalled breed of horses for the turf, the field, and 
the road; and it is in consequence of their very superior qualities 
that the honour has been given to Arabia, as being the country 
that cradled the first-born courser. But the superiority of the 
breed may be easily accounted for without this. The singular 
local situation of the country, the inequalities in the nature of the 
soil and climate, and the peculiar method and religious care with 
which the horse is reared there, are alone sufficient to account for 
their very peculiar organization. 
The same observations will apply to their human population, 
