An Apology For The Life And Character Of The Celebrated Prophet Of Arabia, Called Mohamed, Or The Illustrious by Higgins, Godfrey - 1829

London: Rowland Hunter, 1829. 1st Edition 1st Printing. Hardcover. Near Fine. Plates. Viii, 108 + Appendix (1 P.), With Half Title, And With Erratum On P (Vi). Hand Correction Of Text On P. 99. Black Morocco Spine And Tips, Gilt, Over Ribbed Cloth. Light Yellow Endpapers, No Names Or Marks. Near Fine, Contents Immaculate And Crisp.This Volume With Small Engraved Plates Tipped In, Apparently 18Th Century, All With Similar Format And Apparently Extracted From Another Book, Including Portraits Of 13 Turkish Rulers, Also One Of Scanderbeg (Referencing Vol. 1, P. 163 Of An Unidentified Work) And Another Of Tamerlane (Referencing Vol. 1, P. 138), Otherwise Plates Have Just Portrait Busts, And Their Names, Titles, And Dates Of Accession. Godfrey Higgins (1772-1833), Was An English Magistrate And Landowner, Who Was A Prominent Advocate For Social Reform. He Was Also A Keen Antiquarian. He Is Now Best Known For His Writings On Ancient Myths, In Which He Asserts A Commonality Among Various Religious Myths, Which He Traces Back To The Supposed Lost Religion Of Atlantis. He Has Been Called A "Political Radical, Reforming County Magistrate And Idiosyncratic Historian Of Religions". Higgins' Work As A Magistrate Was Highlighted By Reformist Campaigns, Within Which He "Courageously Exposed The Scandalous Treatment Of Pauper Lunatics And Campaigned For Parliamentary Reform, Criticizing Excessive Taxation, The Corn Laws, And The Exploitation Of Children In Factories. In 1814 He Played A Leading Role In Uncovering The Abuse Of Patients At The York Lunatic Asylum After Rumors Of Serious Misconduct Had Come To His Attention. Higgins Was Appointed As A Governor Of The Asylum. In Anacalypsis Higgins Asserts A Commonality Among Various Religious Myths. "One Thing Is Clear-The Mythos Of The Hindus, The Mythos Of The Jews And The Mythos Of The Greeks Are All At Bottom The Same; And What Are Called Their Early Histories Are Not Histories Of Humankind, But Are Contrivances Under The Appearance Of Histories To Perpetuate Doctrines." Higgins Bluntly Declares That Every Ancient Author, Without Exception, Has Come To Us Through The Medium Of Christian Editors Who Have "Either From Roguery Or Folly, Corrupted Them All.". "Osiris And His Bull Were Black; All The Gods And Goddesses Of Greece Were Black: At Least This Was The Case With Jupiter, Bacchus, Hercules, Apollo, Ammon.The Goddesses Venus, Isis, Hecati, Diana, Juno, Metis, Ceres, Cybile, Are Black. " . "There Seems To Be Nothing Improbable In These Ethiopians Being The Tribe Of The Jews-The Tribe Of Jacob Or Israel. I Think These Ethiopians Did Come Under Jacob, And Did Settle In Goshen, And Gave The Names Of Maturea And Avaris To The City In Which They Dwelt." ."Solomon Was A Personification Or Incarnation Of Wisdom, And The Jews, Of Asia Minor Were A Tribe Or Colony From India, Of Black Buddhists, At Or About The Same Time With The Ioudi To Syria,Under The Brahmin."."Theseus, Bacchus, Æsculapius, &C., Were Saviours And Black Saviours Too. These Black Icons Were Made When Man Himself Was Black. He Made His God After Himself, And Then Said That Man Was Made After The Image Of God.