182 CHARACTER, MANNERS, AND CUSTOMS 



era. Even in the present day it is occasionally used 

 in Africa on public monuments, the large size of the 

 letters being well adapted for such purposes. Nie- 

 buhr and Chardin have given several engraved 

 specimens of it, found on mosques and sepulchral 

 stones.* 



The Hamyaric vpas very different from the Cufic, 

 or the alphabet of Moramer, and w^as not allowed to 

 be taught to the vulgar except by special permission. 

 This fact may account for the statement of Pococke, 

 that when the Koran first made its appearance, not 

 a single person in Yemen was able to read it. On 

 the general diffusion of the new religion this primi- 

 tive alphabet fell into disuse. The Danish traveller 

 vi^as assured that inscriptions in it were to be found 

 among the ruins of Dhafar, and on the walls of a vil- 

 lage between Damar and Sanaa. Though prevented 

 from visiting them, he was shown copies, which he 

 thought resembled the Persepolitan or arrow-headed 

 character. The language of the Koran has in its 

 turn been superseded by new idioms. It may now 

 be regarded as a dead tongue, and is studied in the 

 native schools as the Latin and Greek are in the 

 countries of Virgil and Homer. 



In what is properly called learning and philoso- 

 phy, the ancient Arabs had made little progress. 

 They had some pretensions to astronomy ; if, to use 

 the words of Sir William Jones, we can dignify with 

 that appellation the mere amusement of giving names 

 to the stars. Their knowledge on this subject was 

 rather the fruit of long experience than of regular 

 study or scientific rules. Babylon, Thebes, and 

 Memphis had schools where astronomy was culti- 

 vated ; but the only academy open to the native of 

 Arabia was a clear firmament and a naked plain. 



* Mills's Hist, of Muham. p. 282, note. Chardin's Travels. 

 Nieb. Descrip. Arab. Elinacin, Hist. Saracen, chap. iii. Noble's 

 Aiab- Vocab. Introd. Meninski, Thesam. vol. i. p. 16-24. Ad 

 le , M-U8. Cufic. Borg. p. 34, &c. 



