SCOT TRANSLATES AVERROES 107 



known to have devoted his life to the study and 

 exposition of Aristotle ; then, as for many ages, the 

 idol of the Christian schools. His philosophy was 

 further understood to embody the strangest and 

 most daring speculations regarding the origin of the 

 universe and the nature of the soul. For these he 

 had suffered severely at the hands of the Moslem 

 orthodox. They had proscribed his works and com- 

 pelled him to leave his employment and pass the 

 most precious years of his life in exile. 



These common impressions regarding Averroes 

 were in the main correct. His labours had appeared i 

 in three forms ; a paraphrase, and a lesser and 

 greater commentary on the books of Aristotle, and 

 the philosophy which these writings contained was 

 undoubtedly Manichsean, if not in a measure Pan- 

 theistic. Like that of all the Arabian philosophers, 

 to whose teaching Averroes gave its final and most 

 characteristic form, this doctrine was really Greek : 

 the Aristotelic scheme of the universe as it had been 

 conceived anew by Porphyry of Alexandria. At 

 the foundation lay a mighty Duality : that of the 

 opposing powers of Good and Evil. With the 

 notion of exalting Him above the possibility of 

 blame, God, the Centre of the Universe, about 

 whom all revolves, was declared to be the Absolute 

 and unconditional Being ; while over against Him "^ 

 was set Matter, also eternal, from which, in its 

 stubborn resistance to the Divine Will, all evil had 

 arisen. Any direct action of Deity upon matter ^ 

 could not be thought of; so the interval between 

 them was conceived of as occupied by several 

 Emanations proceeding from God, among which w^e 

 may notice those of the Divine Wisdom and the 



