olic clergy as possessors of many coDTatfullacs^
of the other religions parties, of the lidi IndvwK^
and of the Turki^ offidals. A terrible octte^ 1^
occurred in May, 1860. Throughout the Lebucs t^
Druses attacked the Maronites, ptoadcred fid ^
their villages, and massacred a large noabercf^
sons without distinction of age or sex. Tbe T=ii
ish authorities made no efforts to stop these oa^
and in some instances Turkish troops evei tcckfK^
in the massacres and pUlages. The war easing
throughout the month of June ; theMsrautaalEM
terribly, and in Damascus some 6000 CluiiliBiT^
reported to have perished. Upon the vm d ^
massacre France sent a corps of 12,000 nes t» 5*aj
while England increased its fleet on the eosHa t\
der to assist, if necessary, the French m re-rt>i^
ing order. The commander of the Fresdi tn^ pi
vailed upon Fuad Pasha, who had been lort bj «
Turkish government to Syria as extrsoidlEST m.
missioner, to order the execution of 168 of tie cM
accomplices of the massacre. Soon after vka A'te^
Pasha, the governor of Damasctn, and a lo^ c,
prominent Turkish officers, were execoted. Snd
chiefs of the Druses were sdso sentenced to dnlW
this sentence was for most of them commoted iiii^
long imprisonment On the 5th of October u fte*^
national commission of plenipoCentiartei of Eai^
powers met at Beirut to investigate the cmw d^
late disturbances, and to secure the pmuafaoiat^^
guilty and indemnifleation of the sufleien. le ^
way of punishment and indemnification httk n! ^
tained ; but the representatives of the gieit |«^
prevailed upon the Turkish government to igtK.«
June 9, 1861, to a special treaty concerning tbe »2Sii
istration of the Lebanon. Accorduig to tbis «P^
ment, the administration of the whole ooimin «^
placed for a term of three years under ooe Q»tifl
governor, who was to reside at Deir d-Kantt ^^.
be durectly dependent upon the Turkish go«ii»=j
The government appointed for this positioo Tk^^
fendi, a^JRoman Catholic Armenian, who^ sftff tfe tj
piration of his first term of office, was reapfw«^^^
five years. No disturbance took place nader hs ^
ministration, as &r as the Druses were coocenwi
II. UtoffeM, Rdigum, rtc.— The Dmsei ^^^ sian extraction. They are violent, cmuiiBfe ^ erous, covetous, warlike, love independency ^^\ successfully defended their Ubeity. If they bwj faults of Eastern nations, they also poeiees their m,^ est virtues : they are hospiti^e, obligia^ to « ctfW extent, careful, clean, and industriooi, bat vl^ *^ ly any intellectual culture. Beading and writac f idmost unknown among them ; thej look ^ ^
DRUSES
001
DRUSES
a^ for bloodshed as a sacred doty. They raise n, ^wine, tobacco, and silk. Their language is a act of the Arabic ; their religion, a mixtare of idol- ', Jtftdaism, Mohammedanism, and Cliristiani^. y make no secret of their doctrines, and yet they but little known. They look upon the caliph Ha^ , of Csypt, as holy ; teach metemipsychosis and the >nd advent of the prophet (mcamation of Crod) ; f permit polygamy, bat it is only practised by the er classes. There is no regular order of priest- d, the office being filled by consecrated or learned sons called Akkalt, comprising especially the emirs
sheiks, who form a secret organization divided
» BeTeral degrees, keep the sacred books, i^nd hold
ret religions assemblies. The great mass of the
pie are almost ignorant of any principles of relig-
They recognise neither ceremonies, festivals,
fiEists.
The following summary of their doctrines is glveil the London Review, Oct. 1860, p. 161 : " We are told t there is one God, unknown and unknowable ; the )ator, Preserver, and Judge of the universe. We mot speak of him by comparison or by negation. !e is,* is all we can say of him ; and if we go further in this, we bring in Uie human element, and there- e fail to set forth the truth. There can be no rep- lentation of God beside the form of man, who re- cts the image of God, as the mirror reflects the ject before which it is placed ; and man is chosen to
the veil of God, as being the noblest work of his matures. There have been nine avatars of the one Ml, who has appeared in the form of men, but with- t man*8 impurity or corruption. They were not operly incarnations. €rod did not become flesh, but sumed the veQ of flesh, as the man who puts on a be is still distinct fh)ra the robe. The Druses admit e doctrine of free will in opposition to Islam, and ink that predestination is irreconcilable with eternal istice. There are five invisible intelligences of a su- irior order, all of whom tiave been impersonated in I many Druse teachers, of whom Hamsa was the lief. These intelligences are regarded as mediators I behalf of those who in earnest seek wisdom. The tuls of men migrate into other human bodies, and se to higher grades of intelligence by an attention to Iter duties and submission to the divine will. In le religions that appeared in the ages preceding Ha- im there was a mixture of truth ; but these were only ) starlight revelations, all of which were to be over- owered by the radiance of the full-orbed sun, which 3se in its perfect majesty when the system of the >ruses was proclaimed to the world. They liave sev- n great precepts : 1. To speak the truth. 2. To ren- er to each other mutual assistance. 3. To renounce U error. 4, To separate entirely from the wicked nd the ignorant. 5. To assert on all occasions the verlasting unity of God. 6. To be submissive under rial. 7. To rest contented in whatever situation they nay be placed, whether of joy or sorrow. The first is he principal precept. But these obligations are not 0 be regarded as in force when intercourse is held Tith the unbeliever. Of their outward forms and ."eremonies we have little or no information of a char- M5ter upon which we can rely. In their temples there ire no ornaments, and their sacred edifices are found imong the shadows of high trees, or on the summit of the mountain. They have no prescribed rites, and do act offer prayer. When outwardly conformhig to the iwactioes of other sects, they refrain from the prayer of the heart. There are instances in which a spirit more in accordance with man's weakness is manifest; but even then there is inconsistency lietween the pro- fession and the practice. An akkal, on visiting Da- mascus, as we learn from colonel Churchill, having wighted at the house of a sheik of Islam, the two friends entered into conversation, when the sheik •sked the Druse if there were any true Mussulmans