"He adds further, That there is nothing so absurd, as to command the Turks to wash their Bodies, when their Souls are defiled with Filth; to give them at the same time Charity by Precept, and to command them Robberies by Devotion."
— Marana, Giovanni Paolo (1642-1693); Anonymous [William Bradshaw (fl. 1700) or Robert Midgley (1655?-1723)?]
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed by J. Leake
Date
1687, 1691
Metaphor
"He adds further, That there is nothing so absurd, as to command the Turks to wash their Bodies, when their Souls are defiled with Filth; to give them at the same time Charity by Precept, and to command them Robberies by Devotion."
Metaphor in Context
The Father did not leave off so; he said, That seeing the Alcoran is filled with Dreams, with Bestialities, with Blasphemies, and Impurities; the Mufti's, the Doctors, and Interpreters of the Law, must be in a great Blindness, not to condemn a Possessed, an Enchanter, who gives for the Precepts of his Religion, the committing of Violences, Robberies, and all that may satisfie the most Irregular Appetites. What Extravagancy, urged he, to adore the Heel of so vile a Slave as Mahomet; and to believe, upon his Report, that Jacob's Father was his Porter, to Deifie his Camel, and to place it in Heaven? He adds further, That there is nothing so absurd, as to command the Turks to wash their Bodies, when their Souls are defiled with Filth; to give them at the same time Charity by Precept, and to command them Robberies by Devotion. It seems also to him foolish, to believe that Mahomet is the only true Prophet, the only agreeable Person to God; and to swear afterwards by One hundred twenty four thousand Prophets. He still entertains me with this Sort of Discourse.
(p. 30)
(p. 30)
Categories
Provenance
Searching in EEBO-TCP
Citation
Based on a 30-letter Italian original, L'esploratore turco (1684), by Giovannia Paolo Marana (1642-1693), L'espion turc was published in French in 1684; The Turkish Spy, in English in 1687. Multiple entries in the ESTC. Sixth edition in 1694, 19th edition in 1718, 25th in 1753. After the success of the first volume, the work was expanded to 632 letters and published in eight volumes, attributed to various authors in 1696-97.
Text from second edition: The First Volume of Letters Writ by a Turkish Spy, Who lived Five and Forty Years, Undiscovered, at Paris: Giving an Impartial Account to the Divan at Constantinople, of the most Remarkable Transactions of Europe; And discovering several Intrigues and Secrets of the Christian Courts, (especially of that of France) from the Year 1637, to the Year 1682. Written Originally in Arabick, first Translated into Italian, afterwards into French, and now into English. 2nd edition (London: Printed for Henry Rhodes, 1691). <Link to EEBO-TCP>
Text from second edition: The First Volume of Letters Writ by a Turkish Spy, Who lived Five and Forty Years, Undiscovered, at Paris: Giving an Impartial Account to the Divan at Constantinople, of the most Remarkable Transactions of Europe; And discovering several Intrigues and Secrets of the Christian Courts, (especially of that of France) from the Year 1637, to the Year 1682. Written Originally in Arabick, first Translated into Italian, afterwards into French, and now into English. 2nd edition (London: Printed for Henry Rhodes, 1691). <Link to EEBO-TCP>
Date of Entry
07/26/2013
