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THE KEY OF KNOWLEDGE.
eloquence, and it was the way in which the Prophet delivered his discourses which went a long way to captivate their hearts. They cared little, or nothing, for the science of religion, and were easily swayed by arguments which appealed to the ear and the emo
tions.
The sudden nature of the wholesale conversions made by the Prophet, after lie was firmly established at Medina, bears ample testimony to their causes being other tlan mental conviction. The widespread apostasy which followed on the death of Mahomed among his followers, also shows the superficial nature of these conversions ("The Preaching of Islam ').
As Mr. T. W. Arnold points out, the acceptance of Islam was, in many instances, due to the fiery eloquence of the Prophet, as well as to political expediency, and, more often than not, in the nature of a bargain struck under pressure of violence, or from motives of worldly prosperity. But eloquence is too feeble as a means for altering one's deep-rooted convictions, since it only appeals to the emotional side of life, and causes a temporary effervescence of the emotion appealed to. It is incapable of producing permanent results. Hence, when philosophers come to look into the nature of the discourses of the Prophet, as contained in the Qur'an, they seldom find aught but long-winded entanglement,' as Carlyle calls it, in the Book. But, while agreeing with Carlyle as to the monotonous and uninteresting nature of the perusal it affords, we are inclined to the opinion that the Qur'an is not to be so easily rejected from consideration as that great writer would like us to do.
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