A victorious line of march had been prolonged above a thousand miles from the Rock of Gibraltar to the banks of the Loire; the repetition of an equal space would have carried the Saracens to the confines of Poland and the Highlands of Scotland; the Rhine is not more impassable than the Nile or the Euphrates, and the Arabian fleet might have sailed without a naval combat into the mouth of the Thames. Perhaps the interpretation of the Koran would now be taught in the schools of Oxford, and her pupils might demonstrate to a circumcised people the sanctity and truth of the Revelation of Mahomet.

从直布罗陀的最后一块礁石，直至卢瓦河河畔超过一千英里的土地上，一条不可抵挡的行军线赫然升起；只消再过相同的距离，撒拉森人将军临波兰于高地苏格兰的边界；莱茵河将不再如同尼罗河与幼发拉底河一般难以逾越，而阿拉伯人舰队将畅通无阻地驶入泰晤士河。或许到那时，《古兰经》将会在牛津的学校中被习传，而她的学徒们也会继续向着受过割礼的人们传达神性与先知的显灵。