A History of Bohemian LiteratureLützow, Francis, hrabe
History
A History of Bohemian Literature
Lützow, Francis, hrabe
Czech literature -- History and criticism
Budova then tells us how he became a member of the numerous embassy
that accompanied the ambassador John of Zinzendorf to Constantinople.
While most of his companions, after a short stay at Constantinople,
continued their travels to "Jerusalem, Damascus, Babylon, Arabia, and
Persia," Budova was detained there, for he had accepted the position
of _hofmistr_ (master of the ceremonies) to the ambassador. "I then,"
Budova writes, "decided to make inquiries as to what the religion,
or rather irreligion, of the Turks really was, and, as it were, to
outline and depict for others that Turkish Antichrist with his fables
and other frauds. It was of great assistance to me that I had with me
a copy of the _Alkoran_ (Koran), which in Spain had been translated
from the ancient Arabic, such as it was at the time of Mahomet, into
the Latin speech. This book was then, at the time of Luther, about the
year 1550, printed with a preface by Philip Melanchthon. I, possessing
this work, often entered into discussions, not only with the Turks,
but also with the renegades--that means those who have fallen from the
Christian faith, and of such there are here not hundreds but thousands.
The result was that they themselves were surprised, and had to laugh
at those most foolish fables (of the Koran), which are sillier than
anything that has been taught by any heathens since the beginning of
the world. Then, overcome by their consciences, they arrived at this
conclusion--that they did not believe in God and in eternal life, but
that, in accordance with Epicurus and the Sadduceans, they considered
every religion as a political institution, and favoured such religious
doctrines as were convenient to their bodily welfare, and contributed
to their glory and advantage in the world. And as at Constantinople I
saw all this with my eyes, that 'Gog and Magog', which in Bohemian can
be described as the secret building, the extraordinary edifice composed
of parts of the New and Old Testament, in which that Satan (_i.e._ the
Sultan) endeavours to hide himself with his _Alkoran_--as I talked
much on these subjects with Turks and renegades, that is, men who have
abandoned the Christian faith, therefore am I better able to write
on these subjects than those who only write what they have heard at
second-hand." The _Anti-Alkoran_ is divided into three parts. The first
consists of copious extracts from the edition of the Koran mentioned in
the preface; the second contains a refutation of the Mohammedan creed.
The third part, scarcely connected with the others, consists of nine
small treatises, which prove that the inclination to mysticism, that
proved so harmful to Komenský and many brethren, existed in Budova's
mind also, and that, like so many of his contemporaries, he was given
to the study of astrology.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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