Mohammad, as may well be surmised, continued his sermons with unfailing ardour. The enmity of the Quraish tribesmen assumed a more serious aspect; their representatives returning to see Abu Talib, to make the following declaration: 'We have the greatest respect for thine age, nobility and rank, but we asked thee to rid us of thy brother's son and thou didst not do so. Now, we can no longer put up with the affronts with which he overwhelmeth our beliefs and traditions, so deprive him of thy protection and leave us free to treat him as we choose. In case of refusal on thy part, we must reckon thee as being against us in the war we declare on him, and which will last until one of the two parties are exterminated!' They then departed, leaving Abu Talib in despair at being cut off from his partisans and, on the other hand, firmly resolving never to throw over his nephew. In that state of mind, he sent for Mohammad. 'O son of my brother!' quoth he; 'our fellow-citizens of the Quraish have returned and made solemn declarations to me. Reflect; take compassion on me; have pity for thyself, and do not put upon me a burden too heavy to bear. 'O my uncle!' replied the Prophet; 'if in order to make me renounce my Mission, they placed the Sun on my left and the Moon on my right, I swear that, by Allah, I would not yield before I fulfilled my task triumphantly or perished in the attempt!' Thinking that Abu Talib had spoken as he did as a hint that he would have to cast him adrift, by reason of his inability to protect him, his nephew burst into tears and went away. Abu Talib, much moved, called him back at once and said to him affectionately: 'Go, O son of my brother! Go forth and preach as thou wilt. By God, I'll never turn away from thee!' Finding that no threats succeeded in estranging uncle and nephew, the delegates went back to Abu Talib for the third time, taking with them Ammarah ibn Walid, and then the deputation made the following proposal: 'O Abu Talib! here is Ammarah ibn Walid, one of the most accomplished and handsome young men among all the youths of Makkah. We bring him to thee. Adopt him for thy son. He belongeth to thee. In exchange, hand over to us thy brother's son thou didst adopt, so that we put him to death, for he hath stirred up strife in our tribe.'--'By God!' replied Abu Talib, 'what's this fine bargain ye now put forward? You would fain give me your son, so that I feed and clothe him; and I should have to let you take mine to be killed by you! That could not be! No, by God!--never!'