SCIENCE OF THE ARABS. 39 



CHAPTER VI. 



SCIENCE OF THE ARABS. 



Dark Ages of Europe —Taking of Alexandria by the Arabs and burning 

 of the Library — The Arabs, checked in their conquests by Charles 

 Martel, settle down to Science — The Nestorians and Jews trans- 

 late Greek Works on Science — Universities of the Arabs — Chemistry 

 first studied by the Arabs — Alchemy, or the attempt to make 

 Gold — Hermes the first Alchemist — Hermetically-sealed Tubes — 

 Gases and Vapours called * Spirits ' by the Arabs — The use of this 

 Word retained by us. 



Arabian Science. — We have now arrived at what have been 

 called the * Dark Ages/ because for several hundred years 

 Europe was too much engaged in wars and disputes to pay 

 any attention to learning or science. You have, no doubt, 

 read in history how the Goths and Vandals, a barbarous 

 people from north-eastern Asia, spread themselves over 

 Europe, conquering the Romans, and taking possession of 

 all their colonies. They even crossed over into Africa, but 

 were driven out again by the famous General Belisarius, in 

 the reign of Justinian, Emperor of Constantinople. This 

 was in the year A.D. 534, and the Romans held Alexandria 

 again for about one hundred years, and then came the Arabs 

 or Saracens, pouring out of Arabia, and they took posses- 

 sion of Alexandria in the year a.d. 639, only seven years 

 after the death of their great leader Mahomet. 



The first thing they did on taking the city was to burn 

 the famous library of Alexandria, and it seemed as if they 



