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theology; conne£\ed with the Ariilotelian philofophy. Under 

 Avenzonr he ftudicd medicine ; and under Jbnu-Ssig, the ma- 

 tliematicalfcienccs ; and hecoimefted himfclf with the Maho- 

 metan fedt of tlic AHiaiites. Upon his fathci's demifc, he 

 was chofen to fuccecd him in the diief magiilracy at Cor- 

 duba. The fame of his talents and erudition having reached 

 the cahph Jacob Al-Manfor, king of Mauritania, he wv.s 

 appointed by this prince fiipreme magillrate and prieft of 

 Morocco and all Mauritania, and allowed to retain his for- 

 mtr honours. Av^-rroes accepted the appointment ; and 

 ]iaving provided a fubftitute at Corduba, removed to Mo- 

 rocco, and continued there till he had infhituted, thromrli the 

 kingdom, judges well flcilled in the Mahometan law, and 

 fettled the whole plan of adminillration. He then returned 

 hon-.c, and refumed his offices. This rapid advancement 

 excited the envy of his rivals at Corduba ; and, in order to 

 juftify an aecuiation of his having deferted the true Maho- 

 inetan faith, they engaged a number of young perfons to 

 requelt his inftruttion in philofophy, that they might detect 

 liis hcrefy. Averroes frankly communicated his theological 

 fentimer.ts, of which they took minutes for the ufe of his 

 accufcrs. Accordingly, a charge of herefy attelled upon 

 oath, and figr.cd by one hundred witneflts, was conveyed to 

 Al-Manfor. The caliph admitted the accufation, and pro- 

 ceeded to punifh h'.m by an order for the confifcation of his 

 goods, and by requiring him to refide in thofe precincts of 

 Corduba which were inhabited by the Jews. Here he be- 

 came an objeft ot general obloquy and perftcution ; and he 

 was pelted by the boys in the ftreets, whenever he repaired 

 to perform his devotions at the mofque of the city. His 

 pupil Maimonides, in order to prevent the neeeffity of join- 

 ing in this general outcry againft him, left Corduba ; and 

 Averroes himfclf at length finding means to efcape, fled to 

 Fez ; but here he was foon difcovered, and committed by 

 the magiftrates to prifon. The king, as foon as he heard 

 of his ffight, convesied an affenibly to deliberate upon the 

 nieafures which were proper to be purfued againft this here- 

 tic. In the affembly, a diverfity of opinions prevailed ; fume 

 recommended death, and others pubhc penance and a recan- 

 tation of his errors. Al-Manfor approved the fcntiments of 

 thofe who were moil mild and moderate in their judgment ; 

 and Averroes was condufted, at the time ot public prayers, 

 to the gate of the mofque ; and being placed upon the 

 upper lltp, every one that pafTed was allowed to fpit upon 

 his face. At the clofe oi the fervice, he was interrogated 

 by the judge, accompanied by his attendants, whether he 

 repented of his herefics. Averroes profefled his penitence, 

 and was releafed. During his continuance at Fez he opened 

 a courfe of leclures on the civil law ; but finding little 

 encouragement, he obtained leave of the king to return to 

 Corduba, where he e>:perienctd all the miferits of poverty 

 and contempt. The people, however, diiTatisfied with the 

 regent who had fucceeded him, petitioned the king that 

 their former govcr.ior might be reftored. Al-Manfor, un- 

 willing to acton his own judgment, called a general aflembly, 

 and it was determlr.ed, that the penitent heretic- fliould be 

 rellored, by the royal mandate, to all his former honours. 

 In confequence of this fortunate change in his circumftances, 

 Averroes removed to Morocco, taught in its fchools, and 

 fpent there the remainder of his days. According to Leo 

 Africanus, his death happened in the year of the Hegira 

 603, A. D. i2o6j others fay that he died about the year 

 1198. 



Tliis philofopher has been highly celebrated for his pcr- 

 fonal virtues. Such was his temperance, that he partook 

 only once in the day of the plamell food. In his appli- 

 eatioa he was unremitting and indefatigable ; allowing him- 



A V E 



felf no other recreation in the courfe of the day than the 

 change of fevertr literary occupations for thofe of poetry or 

 hiftory, and fpmding whole nights in iludy. In his ju- 

 dicial capacity, he difcliarged iiis duty with gre-ut wifdom 

 and integrity ; and his humanity was' fiich, tliat he could 

 not pafs ientence of death upon any criminal, but perform- 

 ed this ofiice by his deputies. In the cxercife of forb.-ar- 

 ancc, meeknefs, and felf-command, he was figiiall)- exem- 

 plary. When a fervant, employed by an ei!e:iiy, ir.tnide-d 

 upon him in one of liis'imblic ledturcs and whir,) -d 

 fome abufive language, Averroes, with pcrfeA felf.poiT.iU u, 

 turned round to him, and faid, " WcU well ;" and pro- 

 ceeded with his bufmefs. Thii fervant waited upon him 

 the next day to implore his pardon for tiie iijfult he liad 

 offered him. « God forgive thee," faid Aveiioes, " ihou 

 haft publicly fhewn me to be a patient man ; and as for 

 thine injury, it is not worthy of notice." He then gave 

 him money, and difmiHed him with this admonition ; " what 

 thou haft, done to me, do not to another." In the excrcife 

 of his liberality to learned men, Averroes made no dif- 

 crimiuation between his friends and his encmit •, and for 

 his conduct in this refped, iiis apology was, that in giving 

 to his friends and relations, he merely followed the dictates 

 of nature ; but in giving to his enemies, he fulfilled the 

 obligations of virtue: and he alfo boafted that by thij 

 method he had converted enemies into friends. Upon the 

 occaiion of burning fume amatoiy verfes which he had 

 written in his youth, he remarked, that when he was vourig, 

 he was difobedicnt to rcafoii ; but now in his old age, he 

 followed it ; and he added this fingular wi;h, that he had 

 been born an old man : " utinam natus fuilTem fenex." 

 However, when he was requellcd to exercifc his magiilerial 

 authority in the fupprefTion of fome licentious poems thit 

 had been publilhed by a learned Jew, and informed that his 

 own fon had copied ibnie of the verfes, and that there was 

 not a man, woman, or child in Corduba, who had not 

 learnt fome of the fongs of Sahal, he exclaimed, " Can a 

 fingle hand Hop a thouiand mouths V 



In philofophy, Averroes was an enthufiaftic admirer of 

 Ariftotle, and yielded a fuperllitious deference to his au- 

 thority ; he even indulged his admiration to fuch an excefs, 

 that he afcribed to the writings of the Stagirite a dcTree of 

 perfection " which is truly miraculous, and which prove"* 

 him to have been rather a divine than a human being." — "The 

 dodtrine of Ariftotle," fays he, " is the perfee'tion of truth, 

 and his underllanding attained the iitmoll limit of human 

 ability ; fo that it might be truly faid of him., that he was 

 created and given to the world by divine providence, that 

 we miglit fee in him how much it is poflible for man to 

 know." This extravagance of admiratiou on the part of 

 Averroes is the more uirpriring, as he was unacquainted 

 with the Greek language, and was therefore obliged to pe- 

 nife the writings of his oracle in wretched Arabic tranlla- 

 tions, taken immediately from Latin or Syriac verfior.s. 

 His commentaries, however, though they abound with er- 

 ror, mifieprefentation, and confufion, have been held in 

 fuch high Cilimatioi), even fince the revival of letters, that 

 Averroes has been ftiled by way of eminence, '• The Con.- 

 mentator." Many of his v.ritiiigs in this way were fo much 

 admired by the Jews, that feveral of them were tranflated 

 into Hebrew. Averroes alfo wrote a paraphrafe of I'lato's 

 Republic ; and a treatife in defence of philofophy againft 

 Al-Gazel, intitled, " Habapalah Altabapalah," or " Dc- 

 llruiitiones Dellruftionum ;" the defign of which was to 

 confute the mctaphylical opinions maintained againft thoCe 

 philofophers, who alfeit two uncreated natures. 



Though it is evident from the whole tenor of his hfc, that 

 T t J Averroes 



