290 PHYSICAL SCIENCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES. 



himself on the subject of ideas. Others, again, 

 wrote Epitomes, Compounds, Abstracts ; and endea- 

 voured to throw the works of the philosopher into 

 some simpler and more obviously regular form, as 

 John of Damascus, in the middle of the eighth 

 century, who made abstracts of some of Aristotle's 

 works, and introduced the study of the author into 

 theological education. These two writers lived 

 under the patronage of the Arabs ; the former was 

 favoured by Amrou, the conqueror of Egypt ; the 

 latter was at first secretary to the Caliph, but after- 

 wards withdrew to a monastery 10 . 



At this period the Arabians became the fosterers 

 and patrons of philosophy, rather than the Greeks. 

 Justinian had, by an edict, closed the school of 

 Athens, the last of the schools of heathen philo- 

 sophy. Leo, the Isaurian, who was a zealous Ico- 

 noclast, abolished also the schools where general 

 knowledge had been taught, in combination with 

 Christianity 11 ; yet the line of the Aristotelian com- 

 mentators was continued, though feebly, to the later 

 ages of the Greek empire. Anna Comnena 12 men- 

 tions a Eustratus who employed himself upon the 

 dialectic and moral treatises, and whom she does 

 not hesitate to elevate above the Stoics and Pla- 

 tonists, for his talent in philosophical discussions. 

 Nicephorus Blemmydes wrote logical and physical 

 epitomes for the use of John Ducas ; George Pachy- 

 meus composed an epitome of the philosophy of 



10 Deg. iv. 150. ll Ib. iv. 163, 12 Ib. 167. 



