CONTENTS. T 



Pag« 



The vast Sphere of new Ideas opened to Mankind by the Cam- 

 paigns of Alexander 155 



The Countries through which the Macedonians passed 157 



The Natural Products first made known 158 



A.ristotIe 160 



The Men of Aristotle's School 163 



The Comparison of Races 165 



The Schools of Babylon 166 



Alexander's Advance to the Land of the Five Rivers 168 



III. Extension of the Contemplation of the Universe under the 

 Ptolemies 170-179 



The three great Ptolemies 171 



The Caravan Trade, its Influence in extending a Knowledge of 



different Countries 171, 172 



Proofs of the Commercial Relations maintained by the Egyptians 174 



The Tendency of the Schools of Alexandria 174 



The Foundation of the Alexandrian Museum 175 



The Alexandrian Astronomers 176 



The slow Advance of Astronomy from those remote Ages to its 



present high Stand 179 



IV. Universal Dominion of the Romans 180—199 



The Extent of the Area of the Roman Dominions 181 



The few Observers of Nature who appeared at this Period 182 



The Greatness of the National Character of the Romans 184 



Diffusion of the Latin Tongue 185 



The Expeditions undertaken by Asiatic Rulers 186 



The Works of Strabo and Ptolemy 187 



The Way-measurers in use among the Chinese 191 



The Optical Inquiries of Ptolemy 193 



The Botanical Gardens of the Romans 195 



The Historia Naturalis of Pliny 195 



Reference to the Influence exercised by the Establishment of 



Christianity 199 



V. Invasion of the Arabs 200-228 



Principal Momenta of the Recognition of the Unity of Nature . . 200 



The Arabs 201 



Natural Products of Arabia 204, 205 



Nomadic Life in Arabia 207 



Mental Culture of the Arabs 208 



Arabian Geographers 213 



The learned Men of Arabia 216 



Astronomical Works of the Arabs 222 



Science of Numbers 225 



VI. Period of Oceanic Discoveries 228—301 



The fifteenth Centmy, its Tendencies 228 



The first Discovery of America 230 



