80 LITERATURE OF THE ARABS. 



The natural sciences were cultivated by the Arabs 

 not only with great ardour and success, but with 

 judicious views of the means whereby their progress 

 might be promoted. The knowledge which they 

 possessed of medicine is a subject of curious inquiry. 

 In a country where the climate is healthful and the 

 inhabitants abstemious, the healing art was not likely 

 to be highly esteemed ; and accordingly we find the 

 starving physicians of Arabia complaining that exer- 

 cise and temperance deprived them of the greatest 

 part of their practice. About the time of Moham- 

 med the profession appears to have been held in 

 better repute. His contemporary, Hareth ibn Kal- 

 dah, an eminent practitioner, who had settled at 

 Mecca, was occasionally honoured with his conver- 

 sation and applause. This learned personage was 

 physician to Abu Beker, and a pupil of the Greek 



Abulfarage (Dynast, a Pococke), Asseman (Bibl. Orient.), Ca- 

 siri (Bibl. Arab. Hisp.), Toderini (Litter, des Turcs), Anciies 

 (Deir Orig. Prog, e Stat. d'Ogni Litterat.), Schnurrer (Bibl. 

 Arab.), Renaudot (Hist. Pat Alex.), Fabricius (Bibl. Graec). 

 Each department of learning has been treated by particular wri- 

 ters : — Philosophy, — Brucker (Hist. Grit. Philos.), Leo Africanus 

 (De Virib. Illust. Arab.). Poetry, — Sir W. Jones (Comment de 

 Poes. Asiat.), Carlyle (Specim. of Arabian Poetry), Sismondi 

 (Litt. du Midi.). Medicine, — Le Clerc (Hist, de la Med.). Freind 

 (Hist, of Med.), Sprengel (Hist.de la Med.), Moir (Ancient Hist. 

 of Med.). Botany, — Haller (Bibl. Botanlca, tome i.). Chymis- 

 try, — Beckmann (Hist, of Inventions), Watson (Chemic. Es- 

 says), Boerhaave (Chymistry). Mathematics, — Montucla (Hist. 

 deMathemat.), Encyclopasd. Britannica(Playfair's Supplement). 

 Astronomy, — Lalande (Astronom. tome i.), Bailly (Hist, de I'As- 

 tronornie), Halley (Philosoph. Transact, vol. xvii.), La Place 

 (Sysl^me du Monde). Architecture, — Murphy (Arabian Antiqui- 

 ties of Spain), Sw^inburne (Travels in Spain), Professor Shak- 

 spear and Hartwell Plorne (Hist, of the Mohammedan Emp. 

 in Spain.) Agricultiire, — Jacob (Travels in Spain), Tovvnshend 

 (ditto), La Borde (Voyage, Pittoresque et Historique, de I'Es- 

 pagne), Masdeu (Hist. Grit. d'Esp.), Gregorius (Rerum Ara- 

 bic. quae ad Hist. Siculam spectant Gollectio). The most valu- 

 able collection of Arabic literature is that of Casiri, who has 

 preserved and classed 1851 manuscripts ; but it is to be regretted 

 that the work was not executed, until a fire, in the year 1671, 

 had consumed the greater part of the Escurial library. 



