AQUINAS. 75 



return to God " ; here Erigena turned to Plato's 

 conception of Final Cause. 



Thomas Aquinas. — Of much greater influence 

 is the teaching of Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) as 

 late as the middle of the thirteenth century, for he 

 was and is one of the highest authorities in the 

 Church. He does not contribute to the Evolution 

 idea, but simply expounds Augustine : " As to pro- 

 duction of plants, Augustine holds a different view, 

 . . . for some say that on the third day plants 

 were actually produced, each in his kind — a view 

 favoured by the superficial reading of Scripture. 

 But Augustine says that the earth is then said to 

 have brought forth grass and trees causaliter ; that 

 is, it then received power to produce them." (Quot- 

 ing Genesis II. 4): "For in those first days, . . . 

 God made creation primarily or causaliter, and 

 then rested from His work." 



Arabic Science and Philosophy. 



If we now look back several centuries before 

 Aquinas to the Arabs, we find that, while science 

 declined in Europe, it was kept alive, or rather re- 

 vived, in Arabia. The natural philosophy of the 

 Arabs, which was largely derived from Aristotle,^' 

 was destined to exert a considerable influence 

 in Europe. Between 813 and 833 Aristotle was 

 translated into Arabic, and his works were soon 

 held in the crreatest reverence. Avicenna (980-1037) 



