251 



SALE, GEORGE. 



SALERNITANA, SCHOLA. 



262 



(A.H. 588), left Jerusalem to the sultan, while the Christians were 

 confirmed in possession of the coast from Jaffa to Tyre. Salah-ed-deen 

 survived only a few months the termination of the war. His consti- 

 tution was broken by the constant toil to which he had for many years 

 been subjected ; and a bilious fever which had seized him at Damascus, 

 carried him off after twelve days' illness, March 4, A.D. 1192 (Sefer 29, 

 Abulfeda; not 27, as stated in the 'Art de Verifier les Dates,' A.H. 589), 

 aged fifty-seven lunar years, of which he had reigned more than 

 twenty, reckoning from the death of Noor-ed-deen. 



The popular tales of the shroud displayed for a standard as an 

 emblem of departed greatness, and of the equal distribution of alms 

 among Moslems, Christians, and Jews, are unnoticed by Oriental 

 writers, and are probably fictitious. The character of Salah-ed-deen 

 has been, like that of his predecessor Noor-ed-deen, a favourite theme 

 for eulogy among the writers both of the East and the West. The 

 historian Abulfeda, who was himself descended from a collateral 

 branch of the Ayubite family, and the cadhi Bohadin (whose biography 

 of his sovereign and friend has been rendered familiar by the edition 

 of Schultens, Leyden, 1755), are scarcely more profuse than the 

 Christian chronicles of the Crusades in their panegyrics on the valour, 

 justice, and magnanimity which shone conspicuous in the life and 

 actions of the sultan of Egypt and Syria. His ingratitude to the family 

 of his early benefactor Noor-ed-deen, and the insatiable ambition 

 which led him to despoil so many minor princes of his own faith, are 

 more than atoned for in the eyes of the Orientals by his exploits in 

 the holy war against the Frank invaders of Palestine, and by the rigid 

 justice which he administered impartially to the meanest suppliant for 

 redress ; and his generous humanity to the helpless multitude of 

 captives which fell into his hands at the capture of Jerusalem may be 

 favourably contrasted with the massacre of the garrison of Acre, after 

 the capitulation, by the orders of Cceur-de-Lion. The supremacy of 

 his power and virtues was recognised by the voluntary homage of con- 

 temporary princes; and Abulfeda relates that on one occasion his 

 stirrup was held by Kaissar-Shah, a Seljookian prince of Anatolia, 

 while Ala-ed-deen, atabek of Moussoul, of the race of Zeughi, arranged 

 his robes after he had mounted. His zeal for the improvement of his 

 territories was attested by the erection of numerous fountains and 

 caravanseras, particularly on the road to Mecca ; and the numerous 

 public buildings with which he decorated his first and favourite realm 

 of Egypt, though attributed in the lapse of years, from the similarity 

 of name, to the patriarch Joseph (Yusef ), still remain as monuments 

 of his splendour. 



At the death of Salah-ed-deen, his vast dominions were again 

 divided : the three eldest of his sixteen sons received the kingdoms of 

 Egypt, Damascus, aiid Aleppo, while the others were provided with 

 appanages under the suzerainty of their brothers ; but discord speedily 

 succeeded, aud the dominions of the first-named branches were 

 eventually seized by their uncle Seif-ed-deen (the Saphadin of Christian 

 writers), whose son Malek-al-Kamel was married to the only daughter 

 of Salah-ed-deen. The branch of Aleppo maintained itself longer ; aud 

 on the extinction of the Ayubites descended from Seif-ed-deen in 

 Egypt and Damascus, by the revolt of the Baharite Mamelukes, 

 A.D. 1250 (A.H. 648), the reigning sultan of Aleppo, a great grandson of 

 Salah-ed-deen, and bearing, like his ancestors, the titles of Malek-al- 

 Nasser Salah-ed-deen Yusef, succeeded in reuniting Damascus to hia 

 dominions; but ten years later his power was overthrown by the 

 irruption of the Moguls from Persia ; Malek-al-Nasser submitted to 

 their leader Hulagu-khan, and was put to death by his orders, A.D. 1260 

 (A.H. 658), and with him ended the direct line of Salah-ed-deen. 



(Bohadin, Saladini Vita et Res GesUe ; Abulfeda ; Abulfarah ; 

 Isfahan! ; Vinisauf ; D'Herbelot; DeGuignes; Gibbon; Von Hammer, 

 H-lstory (if the Assassins ; &c.) 



SALE, GEORGE, a learned Oriental scholar, was born in 1680. 

 Very little is known of his private life, except that he was a lawyer. 

 He was a contributor to the ' Universal History,' edited by Swinton, 

 Dr. Campbell, and others, and he wrote for that work the cosmogony, 

 besides several valuable fragments of Oriental history, in which he 

 was deeply versed. He was likewise one of the authors of the ' General 

 Dictionary' (Lond., 1734, 1C vols. 4to), which contains a translation of 

 that of Bayle. But the work by which he is best known is a translation 

 of the Kordn into English, from the original Arabic, with explanatory 

 notes aud quotations from Zamashkhari Beydslwi, and approved com- 

 mentators. To this version, which in point of fidelity will bear a 

 comparison with the excellent Latin translation by Marracci, published 

 in 1698, Sale prefixed a preliminary discourse on the social and 

 religious state of the Arabs, Jews, and Christians at the time of 

 Mohammed's appearance [MOHAMMED] ; on the doctrines inculcated 

 in the Kordn ; on the principal sects among the Mohammedans ; and 

 on various other subjects connected with IsMm (Lond., 1734, 4to). 

 This discourse was afterwards translated into French, and prefixed to 

 the French version of the Kora"n by Duryer (Antw., 1770, 2 vols. 8vo). 

 Sir James Porter, in his ' Observations on the Religion, Law, Govern- 

 ment, and Manners of the Turks' (Lond., 1768, p. 60), has accused 

 Sale of making an apology for the Kontn, rather than trying to point 

 out the pernicious doctrines contained in that book. The charge 

 however is wholly groundless, as every scholar acquainted with the 

 writings of the Mohammedan divines will readily admit. Sale was 

 one of the founders and a member of the first committee of a Society 



for the Encouragement of Learning, instituted in 1736. He died in 

 the same year (14th November 1736), leaving one son. Soon after 

 his death a catalogue of his Oriental MSS. was published, containing 

 many choice articles in Arabic, Persian, aud Turkish literature. They 

 are all now in the Radcliffe Library, Oxford, for which they were 

 purchased. 



SALERNITA'NA SCHOLA, or ' School of Salerno,' the earliest 

 school in Christian Europe where medicine was professed, taught, and 

 practised. Salerno, from its connection with Constantinople and the 

 Saracens, became the centre of the united learning of the Latins, the 

 Greeks, and the Arabians ; and hence it was one of the first cities iu 

 Europe where the sciences awoke from the slumber of barbarism. 

 Amongst other arts, it was celebrated very early for the profession of 

 medicine, and its first fame was derived from the extraordinary cures 

 said to have been performed by the relics of Saint Archelais. This lady, 

 with two other holy virgins, Thecla and Susanna, suffered martyrdom 

 in the persecution of Diocletian, about the year 293, and their remains 

 were at length deposited in the church of the,Beuedictine nuns of Saint 

 George at Salerno. (Anton. Mazza, ' Histor. Epit. de Rebus Salern.,' 

 Neap., 4to, cap. vi., 1681.) In au ancient chronicle, quoted by Mazza, 

 it is said that the first founders of the school of Salerno were Rabinus 

 Elinus, a Jew ; Pontus, a Greek ; Adala, a Saracen ; and Saleruus, a 

 Latin, who taught medicine in their respective languages, but at what 

 era is not mentioned. (Anton. Mazza, ' Salern. Hist.,' cap. ix.) Though 

 medical works had never been wanting in the dark ages, and the works 

 of Hippocrates and Galen were translated into Latiu as early as the 

 6th century, yet this art was principally derived from the Arabians, 

 who likewise learned it from the Greeks. After that warlike people 

 had softened into habits of peace and luxury, by the encouragement 

 of their kalifs, and particularly of Al-Mamotin, at the beginning of the 

 9th century, they applied themselves to learning. Many of the Greek 

 writers were translated into Arabic; and the philosophy of Aristotle, and 

 the art of medicine by Hippocrates and Galen, became their favourite 

 studies. In. their frequent visits to the port of Salerno, the knowledge 

 which they freely communicated was eagerly received there and 

 diligently cultivated. Fojr many centuries the most able professors of 

 medicine were the higher prelates and the superior monks. Subse- 

 quently, by the councils of Lateran in 1139, of Tours in 1163, and the 

 decree of Honorius III. in 1216, the clergy and monks were prohibited 

 from exercising the professions of advocates and physicians, but they 

 still continued the practice. 



Connected with the city of Salerno by its vicinity, and the similarity 

 of its literary pursuits, was the monastery of Mount Casino. Here 

 aud at Salerno great progress in the sciences had been made, when the 

 arrival of Constantinus Afer commenced a new era of learning and 

 fame. This celebrated man was born at Carthage. After thirty-nine 

 years spent in study at Baghdad and iu travel, he returned to his 

 native country, master of all the learning then current iu the world, 

 and particularly of medicine. His talents excited the jealousy of hia 

 rivals, he was obliged to fly, and took refuge at Salerno in 1060. He 

 was discovered by the brother of the kalif of Egypt, who happened to 

 be in that city, and who recommended him to Robert GuiscarJ. By 

 this prince he was patronised, and made his secretary. Having been 

 converted to Christianity, he became a monk, and retired to the 

 monastery of Mount Casino about the year 1075, where Desiderius 

 was the abbot. He died in 1087, after having, by his wonderful cures, 

 the multitude of books he wrote, and the number and fame of his 

 scholars, raised the reputation of the School of Salerno to the greatest 

 height. Some of his works have been printed (Basil., 2 vols. folio, 

 1536, 1539), and others remain in manuscript. The names of few of 

 his disciples have been recorded. We find mention however of Atto, 

 chaplain to the Empress Agnes, who translated the works of his master 

 from various languages into Latin. (Pet. Diac., 'De Viris Illustr./ 

 cap. xxix.) Another of his pupils was John, the physician, an 

 eloquent and learned man, who published a book of aphorisms, and 

 died at Naples, where he deposited the books written by his master. 

 Gariopontus seems likewise to have been a contemporary. (Moreau, 

 ' Prolegom./ p. 11.) 



It may not bo uninteresting to ascertain the other celebrated phy- 

 sicians of Salerno in the 12th century, and soon after the time when 

 the 'Regimen SanitatisSalernitanum' was written. The earliest whose 

 name occurs is Nicolaus, who, amongst other works, wrote a book, 

 still extant, entitled ' Antidotarium,' upon medicines, which was 

 thought to have been the summit of medical knowledge. [NICOLAUS 

 PRvEPOSiTDS.] It was commented upon by John Platearius, in the 

 middle of the 12th century, and many other writers. Musandinus 

 wrote upon diet, Maurus upon urine and phlebotomy. The specific 

 works of John Castalius, Matthew Solomon, and Ricardus Senior are 

 not enumerated. There were other learned men who studied medicine 

 at Salerno in that century, but removed to other places, such as Saint 

 Bruno, bishop of Signia, afterwards abbot of Casino, and again bishop, 

 who died in 1126: Romualdus the second, archbishop of Salerno from 

 1157 to 1181, who attended William, kiug of Sicily, as his physician, 

 in 1127 ; Saladinus Asculanus, physician to the Prince of Tarentum in 

 1163. (Aegidius Corbol. ; Petrus Diac.; Mazza; &c.) Nor was the 

 healing art confined to men only : there were many of the fair sex 

 who were celebrated for their medical skill. The time when most of 

 them lived is uncertain, but probably in the llth, 12th, and 13th 



