[1] Tradition attributes even stronger approval of Holy Wars to Mohammed than can be found in the Koran,--_e.g._, "The sword is the key of Paradise and Hell. A drop of blood shed in the cause of God, a night spent in arms, are of more avail than two months of fasting and prayer. Whoever falls in battle against the infidel, his sins are forgiven him." [2] Koran, xlvii., ad init. [3] Koran, v., v. 73. This may be said in the general sense of Acts x. 35. [4] Koran, ii., v. 258. [5] See Freeman's "Saracens," p. 230; from Malcolm's "Persia," i. p 583. [6] _Ibid._, from "Ayeen Akbery," p. 11. Yet far too often have portions of the Christian Church been conspicuous for intolerance rather than tolerance. Alcuin, indeed, does say in his letter to Aquila, Bishop of Winchester, that he does not approve of punishing heresy with death, because God, by the mouth of His prophet, had said: "I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live;"[1] but Alcuin was a man of unusual mildness and sweet reasonableness, as his letters to Felix and Elipandus testify. On the other hand, there were too many frantic bigots in the Church, like Arnold of Citeaux, whose impious words, in connection with the massacre of Albigensians, are not likely to be forgotten--"Slay all; God will know His own." In fact, so opposed did the Christian spirit come to be to the Mohammedan in this respect, that their toleration was made a principal argument against the Moors by the Archbishop of Valencia in his memorial to Philip III. at the end of the sixteenth century.[2] A very melancholy instance of bigotry and intolerance is afforded by Bernard, a French monk, who was made Archbishop of Toledo by Alfonso, on the capture of that city in 1085. By the treaty of capitulation certain mosques had been expressly reserved to the Moslems, just in the same way as certain churches had been reserved for the Christians by Musa in 712. But Bernard, by way of showing his zeal in the cause of God, in defiance of the king's plighted word, chose to perform mass in the chief mosque. Alfonso was furiously angry when he heard of his archbishop's proceedings, but the Moslems, with wonderful forbearance, seeing that the king had not authorised Bernard's outrageous conduct, came forward of their own accord and begged him to pardon the act, and even voluntarily surrendered their mosque.[3]