58 HISTORY AND SIGNIFICANCE OF SCIENCE 



were approximately ascertained. Methods of distillation, 

 filtration, and crystallization were elaborated. The cir- 

 cumference of the earth was calculated after several meas- 

 urements of the arc of a degree on the surface. The principal 

 of position in numbers and the idea of infinite series were re- 

 ceived, like Algebra, from the Hindus; and the so-called 

 arable numerals were likewise passed on to Europe, where 

 they quickly superseded the clumsy Roman notation. The 

 mariner's compass and gunpowder appear also to have 

 reached Europe through Arab channels. 



Among their great teachers, Avicenna (980-1037) wrote 

 on medicine and became an authority in European schools 

 for centuries; while Averroes (1126-1198), who was so largely 

 instrumental in making known to Europe the works of 

 Aristotle, became the greatest philosopher of the later Mid- 

 dle Ages. Anticipating the Renaissance, the Arab seemed to 

 catch the Greek spirit of the individual as opposed to the 

 horde composing the race, and to grasp the subjective in the 

 midst of the objective. It is, doubtless, indicative of an un- 

 recorded survival of the ancient learning in Alexandria, after 

 the destruction of the Museum, that Arab science advanced 

 along the very lines that were highly developed by the 

 Museum during the Hellenistic Age and the early centuries 

 of the Christian Era. 



The turning point in the intellectual development of 

 Europe came about the year 1200. It is significant that 

 Arab science began its more intimate contact with Europe 

 during the preceding centuries. In general, the Arab culture 

 was much more important in southern Europe during the 

 Middle Ages than during the Renaissance. It appears that 

 most of the scientific ideas of the later Middle Ages, of any 

 value in mathematics, astronomy, geography, medicine, and 

 natural history, are traceable directly or indirectly to the 

 Arab learning. Men like Gerbert of Rheims and Roger 

 Bacon seem to have owed their initial knowledge and inspira- 

 tion to this source. Despite their superstitious quests for 



