A. D. 973. 



'^IZ 



bable, that, within five years after Gerbert's return from Spain, fome 

 native of England had learned at leaft as much of the new arithmetic, 

 as to combine the figures 975, which are fuppofed to be infcribcd upon 

 an antient portal of Saxon architedurc at Worcefiier *. 



By the favour of Robert king of France, and Otto emperor of Ger- 

 many, who had both been his pupils, Gerbert was promoted fucceflive- 

 ly to the fees of Rheims, Ravenna, and at lafl: Rome itfelf under the 

 name of Silvefier 11. The ignorant vulgar and the envious pretenders 

 to fcience agreed in afcribing the wonders of his fuperior knowlege to 

 a compadl with the devil ; and a number of extravagant fictions were 

 invented to fupport the flander ; whereupon William of Malmfbury, 

 though not entirely above aflenting to the abfurdity, obferves, that it 

 was common to afperfe the fame of learned men, and to afcribe their 

 pre-eminence to intercourfe with the devil f . Such is too often the un- 

 grateful return made by mankind to their beft benefadors j and fuch 



and fo lie concliidca liis edition of Gerbert's Epiilles. 

 [Vide Prff.etp.ult.-\ 



Do6lor North {^^rchiiologui, V. x] has adduced 

 many arguments to proYC, that the Arabians were 

 not yet niaftera of that kind of numeration by 

 figures, to which we give their name. Without 

 prefuming to determine on either fide of fo difficult 

 a queftion, I may be permitted to obferve, that his 

 poiitive eviderci! reds chiefly upon the authority of 

 Theophanes, ' the father of many a lie,' \_Gibbon, 

 I''. ix,p. 253] and that his other arguments are of* 

 the negative kind. It ia not at all fingular, that 

 the evidences of Gerbert's introduftion of this moft 

 important fcience into Chriftendora are but flight, 

 when we advert to the extraordinary darknefs 

 of the age, in which he flione a folitary ftar : but, 

 ns there is not equal evidence of the introdudlion 

 of it by auy other perfon, and it war introduced 

 by fomebcdy, the balance of evidence is in favour 

 of Gerbert. The benevoleiit inventors of arts or 

 improvements, which add to the happinefs of man- 

 kind, have fcarcely ever received their due praife, 

 though fame has in all ages been lavifhed upon the 

 deftroyers and fcourges of the human lace. When 

 not one of a thoufand could read, and flill fewer 

 concerned themfelves with arithmetic of any kind, 

 we need not wonder that the knowlege of it ftould 

 fpread very flowly : and, indeed, the progrefs of 

 any improvement muft have been very tardy, be- 

 fore the propagation of knowlege was facilitated 

 by the art of printing. I have already obferved, 

 that the introduction of filk-worms in Europe was 

 unknown to Ifidore, bi(hop of Hifpalis in Spain, 

 when manufaftures from their filk had been efta- 

 bliftied a hundred years in Greece. — It mull be ac- 

 knowleged, that Bzovius, in his treatife, entitled 

 ♦ Sil-veflcr II a calumniis iiindlcatus,'' has not a word 

 of arithmetic : but fuch a matter wras of little con- 



Vol. I. 



fequence to an author, who fets out with deducing 

 the parentage of his hero from Hercules, and la- 

 bours to vindicate him from the guilt of acquiring 

 fcience from the Saracens of Spain — his chief 

 glory, and probably the caufc of his exaltation. 



* The time when numeral figures were intro- 

 duced in this country has been much difputed by 

 the learned ; and, confequently, the genuinenef* 

 of this date is denied by thofe who do not allow 

 tiiem to be fo antient ; as is alfo that of 1090, 

 fuppofed to be remaining on the fill of a window 

 at Colchefter, and fome others even later. [See 

 Philofophical tranfaBions, V. yi.yi\, p 2Sj, and DoSor 

 North' s EJfay abonie mcntinned.1 But nothing can 

 be concluded on cither fide of the queftion from 

 fuppofed numbers, which require conjefture to read 

 them, and which, if they v/ere perfeclly plain, 

 might be only renovations of more antient fculp- 

 tures. — The introduftiou of our numeral figures 

 is a fubjeft well worthy of inveftigation in a judi- 

 cious treatife. 



•f- William of Malmfbury confounds Gerbert 

 (or Silvefter II) with John XV, between whom 

 and Gerbert there were no fewer than four popes, 

 Sergius, who fucceeded to the papal chair in one 

 year after the death of Gerbert, infcribcd on his 

 monument an epitaph, containing an excellent cha- 

 raiffer of him. The continuator of Airaonius, 

 who wrote in France about the fame time that 

 Malmlbnry wrote in England, calls Gerbert fimply 

 a philofophcr, and fays, that his elevation to the 

 popedom was at the unanimous defire of the whole 

 people of Rome. But neither lie, nor any of the 

 writers of the age immediately after that of Ger- 

 bert, has one word of devils, or any thing fuper- 

 natural. — Marvelous ftories improre prodigioufly 

 by tcmotenefs of time and place. 



M na 



