Page:History of Mahomet, the great imposter.pdf/18

 making them to ring in their ears on all occasions, whereby he failed not of his end in alluring some, and affrighting others into the snare he laid for them. And that he might omit nothing whereby to work on their fear, which is usually the most prevalent passion of the ignorant, he terrified them with thie threats of grievous punishment in this life, as well as in that which is to come, if they would not hearken unto him. And to this end he did set forth unto them on all occasions, what terrible destructions had fallen on the heads of such as would not be instructed by the prophets, that were sent before him. How the old world was destroyed by water for not being reformed at the preaching of Noah; and Sodom by fire from heaven for not hearkening to Lot when sent unto them. How the Egyptians were plagued for despising Moses; and how Ad and Thamed, two ancient tribes of the Arabs, were totally extirpated for the same reason. His stories of his two last were fables of his own invention, which he related unto them after this manner:—that Ad the grandson of Aram, the son of Sem, planted himself after thothe [sic] confusion of languages in the southern parts of Arabia, there his posterity falling into idolatry, the prophet Hud (whom the Commentators of the Alcoran will have to be Heber) was sent to reclaim them into the true worship; but they not hearkening unto him, God sent a violent hot wind, which in seven days destroyed them all excepting only the prophet, and some few that were reformed by him. As to his story of Thamed, he said that they were an ancient tribe of the Arabs, dwelling on the confines of Syria: and that on their revolt to idolatry God sent unto them the prophet Saleh; that on their demand of a miracle to testify his mission, he caused a rock