SECT. VI. And those who first embraced each of these religions.

THEY who embraced the law of Christ were men who feared God, and led innocent lives; and it is not reasonable that God should suffer such persons to be deceived with cunning words, or with a shew of miracles. But they who first embraced Mahometanism were robbers, and men void of humanity and piety.⁷⁷⁵⁷⁷⁵   This the word Saracen shews, which signifies robber. See Scaliger’s emendation of the times, book iii. chap. of the Arabian period.—(The first followers of Mahomet were, indeed, truly robbers; but the Arabian word, to which Scaliger refers, signifies to steal privately, not to rob; nor is it credible that they would take upon themselves such an infamous name; not to mention that this was more ancient than Mahomet, for we find it in Ptolemy and Philostorgius; wherefore, I rather follow the opinion of those who deduce the name Saracen from the word שרק Schark, which signifies Eastern, whence comes שרקיין, Sharkiin, Saracens, or people dwelling in the east, as the Arabians are called in Scripture. About which see Edward Pocock on the specimen of the history of the Arabians, in the beginning. Le Clerc).