removed beyond possibility of assailment.

Ruthlessness and trust in the sword were his only chances of success. If
he relaxed his vigilance or allowed any humane feelings to prevent the
execution of severe measures upon any of his enemies, his very existence
would be menaced. From now he may be said to pass under the tyranny of
war, and its remorseless urging was never slackened until he had his own
native city within his power. The god of battles exacted his pitiless
toll from his devotee, compelling him to work out his destiny by the
sword's rough means. The thinker has become irrevocably the man of
action; prayer has been supplemented by the command, "Fight, and yet
again fight, that God may conquer and retain." Reverses show the temper
of heroes, and Mahomet is never more fully revealed than in the first
gloomy days after Ohod, when he steadfastly set himself to retrieve what
was lost, refusing to acknowledge that his position was impaired,
impervious to the whispers that spoke of failure, supreme in his mighty
asset of an impregnable faith.

CHAPTER XIV

THE TYRANNY OF WAR

"And we have sent down Iron. Dire evil resideth in it, as well as
advantage to mankind."--_The Kuran._

After the battle of Ohod, two months passed quietly for Mahomet. He was
unable to undertake any aggressive expeditions, and both the Jews at
Medina and the exterior desert tribes were lulled into tranquillity by
the knowledge that his power was for the time considerably weakened. But
the Prophet knew that this security could not continue for long, and for
the character of his future wars he was fully prepared--sufficient proof,
if one were still necessary, of his skill as soldier and leader.

He knew the Kureisch had instituted a policy of alliance with the
surrounding tribes, and that now their plan would be to crush him by a
ceaseless pressure from the east, united to the inevitable disaffection
within the city as its inhabitants witnessed the decline of their
leader's power. Watchfulness and severity were the only means of holding
his position, and these two qualities he used with a tenacity which alone
secured his ultimate success.

The first threatenings came from the Beni Asad, a powerful tribe
inhabiting the country directly east of Medina. Under their chief
Tuleiha, they planned a raid against Mahomet. But his excellent system of
espionage stood him, now as always, in good stead, so that he heard of
their scheme befor