Kaina kai palaia Things new and old, or, A store-house of similies, sentences, allegories, apophthegms, adagies, apologues, divine, morall, politicall, &c. : with their severall applications / collected and observed from the writings and sayings of the learned in all ages to this present by John Spencer ...

[ 1365] The grand impostory of pretended Revelations.

MAhomet,* 1.1 that grand Hellish Impostor, often pretended Visions from Hea∣ven; And the Story assures us,* 1.2 that he cunningly made use of the disease of his body, to perswade his Disciples of the soundnesse of his doctrine: For being

afflicted with the Falling-sicknesse, when at any time a fit was upon him, he made the People believe, that he was in an ex••asie, or ravishment of the Spirit at the appearance of the Angel Gabriel, who revealed many mysteries unto him: And having by long use and familiarity taught a Pidgeon to feed at his ear, he by art prevailed with the People to feed at his poysonous mouth, as if his words had been the inspirations of the Holy Ghost,* 1.3 who (as she affirmed) came then to him in the form of a Dove, and taught him those secrets: Thus it is,* 1.4 that when vain Men, such as the Apostle calls filthy dreamers, would put a new-nothing upon the World, as an infallible Truth, and have it swallowed down without chewing, received without disputing, then usually they pretend that it is quid Divinum, a Doctrine or Message come down immediately from God; and so shaping their own dark conceptions, by the light of Divine Revelation, do with the more estimation, put off either such points of doctrine, or such rules of Policy as themselves have onely invented.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Frid. Sylbur∣gii.
• * 1.2

  Mahometica.
• * 1.3

  Iude 8.
• * 1.4

  Jos. Caryll on Iob, chap. 4.