805 
LITE R ATUR E. 
mans. His book De Confolatione Philofophi® lias been 
often printed. In Spain, Martin, archbifhop of Braga, 
following the footlleps of Seneca, wrote feveral-traCls of 
practical philofophy; which were publifhed at Bafil, in 
1562. Iiidore introduced into his etymologies many lo¬ 
gical, moral, and phyfical, obl'ervations. In France, Clau- 
dianus, Ecdicius, Mamertus, and Gerbert, were the only 
philofophers of note. The former was a difciple of Arif- 
lotle, but not a blind follower. His book De Statu Ani¬ 
mas was publifhed by Barthius in 1655. Gerbert, after¬ 
ward Siivelter II. was one of the firft writers of his age: 
liis letters are replete with philofophical obl'ervations, 
which may be read in Du Chene ; and his book De Ra- 
tionali et Ratione may be found in Pezius’s Thel'aurus 
Anecdotum. In Germany, Alcuinus alone is a hoft: he 
was a native of York, but palled the gretter part of his 
life in France or Germany, in which he founded feveral 
fchools. In England, the writings of Lanfranc and An- 
felm had a great influence on every fcience, and conf'e- 
quently on philofophy. John Scot was an Irifliman, and 
of conliderable reputation as a philofopher. 
It is ftrange that, in this period, genuine poetry is 
chiefly found among the Arabs; not that either Greece 
or Italy was without poets; but the true poetical talte had 
vanilhed. We now wonder that fuch compofitions as the 
Rophaline and Leonine verfes (the produce of thole ages) 
could be conlidered as prodigies of wit. The principal 
Greek poets were Nonnus, Coluthus, Tryphiodorus, and 
Q. Calaber, the bell Greek poet of this period. The 
poets of Italy were Boethius, Ennodius, Fortunatus, and 
the anonymous author of the Expedition of Attila. Spain 
bad its Prudentius; France, its Numatianus, Apollinaris, 
and Drepanius Florus. Germany po lie fled Walafrid Stra¬ 
bo, and Rofweida, a nun of Ganderlheim, who wrote in 
profe fix fpiritual comedies, and a number of Leonine hex¬ 
ameters : they were publifhed at Wittemberg in 1707. 
Some vernacular poets appeared in Germany during this 
period ; the principal of whom was Ottfried. Ccelius 
Sedulius appears to have been an Irilhman. His work 
Mirabilium divinorum is no contemptible performance : 
indeed, he was the moll elegant of the Chriltian poets. 
The poets in Arabia were numerous. We fhall only 
mention Ali-ben-Ali Taleb, Abubeker-Muhamed, Mota- 
nabi, and Abul-Olah. Several of their pieces have been 
publillied by Golius, Scheid, and Reilke. 
The principal Greek orators of this period were Syne- 
fius, whole works were publifhed by Petavius in 1612, 
and often afterward ; TheophylaCtus Simocatta ; and the 
emperor Leo VI. In Italy, Peter Damian, bilhop of Of- 
tia and a cardinal, born in 1007, was the bell Chriftian 
orator of his age, and indeed of this whole period. His 
flyle is fuperior to that of all his contemporaries, and his 
eloquence has fometimes irrefiftible charms. His works 
have been often edited. In France, the letters of Serva- 
tus Lupus, publilhed by Baluze in 1710, are not inelo- 
quent; nor the Epiftles of Felbert, publifhed at Paris in 
1608. In Germany, we find only l'ome fcantlings of elo¬ 
quence in the works of Witekend, Lambert, and Bruno. 
Among the Arabs, the Conventions of Hareri are gene¬ 
rally admired; and it is to be regretted that they have ne¬ 
ver been all publifhed. 
Statillics. The emperor Bafil’s Liber Regius, infcribed 
to his fon and fuccc-iTor Leo; was publilhed with a Latin 
verfion by Dravsfeld at Gottingen in 164.2, and may alio 
be found in Banduri’s Imperiuin Orientale. The Geo- 
ponics of Vindonius Anatolius were firft publifhed by 
Needham, but were corrected by manufcripts, and repub- 
lilhed by Niclas at Leipfig in 4. vols. 8vo. 1781. 
State of phyfical (not medicinal) knowledge. Here is 
a. ftrange blank indeed. The only works quoted by M. 
Meufel are Agobard’s Trail De Grandine et Tonitrue, 
edited by Baluze in 1666; a work on Alchemy by Geber, 
a Latin tranfiation of which, from the Arabic, is to be 
found in Cafiri’s Bibliotheca, and Stephanus’s ACtiones de 
Arte Chryfopoeide, publifhed at Padua in Latin, 1573. 
Vo,L. XII, No. 873. 
State of medical knowledge. Superftition feized on 
this branch of fcience, as well as on religion. Even the 
molt fkilful Greek phyficians were not free from this de¬ 
fect ; the moff eminent writers were generally mere com, 
pilers; and of thefe the Arabs were the belt. The fcience 
palfed gradually into the hands of monks, abbots, and 
even bifhops. One of the mod renowned phyficians, of 
the fchool of Alexandria, was Oribafus, the profefifed fol¬ 
lower of Zeno. He was appointed queftor by the emperor 
Julian, and at his defire made a compilation from the me¬ 
dical works of former ages, in 4.0 books; and a fynopfis in 
9 books. His works were publifhed in Latin by Rofarius, 
at Bafil, in 1557- About the fame time lived Nemenus, 
firft bilhop of Emefla; who wrote in Greek a work On the 
Nature of Man ; publifhed at Oxford in 1671. In the 
middle of the fixth century, Aetius of Mefopotamia made 
a collection fimilar to that of Oribafus; of which the lalt 
and belt edition is that of Franz, at Leipfig, in 1777. 
Soon after him, lived Alexander Trallenfis; who thought 
for himfelf, and ranks as the belt writer after Galen. He 
wrote 12 books on the knowledge and cure of dileales; 
publifhed in Haller’s Principes Medici, at Laufanne, in 
1772. Paul of zEgina has left a compendium of medical 
fcience in 7 books, publilhed at Bafil, in 1538; and fince 
at Gottingen, in 1768. In Italy, towards the latter part 
of this period, the fchool of Salerno was eflablifhed, and 
loon became a renowned feat of medical knowledge. The 
work called Medecina Salernitana, or Regimen Sanitates* 
in Leonine rhymes, is well known. The lalt edition is 
that of Ackermann in 8vo. in 1790, with a hiltory of the 
Salernian fchool. Among the Arabs, phyfic was much 
cultivated during this period. The greater number of 
their phyficians were Neftorian Chriltians; and fome of 
them were Chriftian priefts. M. Meufel gives a lilt of 
their names; which our readers will, perhaps, thank us 
for pafling over; but we mult not omit Avicenna, whofe 
Arabic name is Abu-ZEli-Kofani-Ebn-Abdallah-Ebn- 
Sina. He was a mathematician and philofopher, as well 
as an excellent phyfician for thole days. His works 
were printed in Arabic and Latin, at Rome, in 1593. See 
Avicenna, vol. ii. p. 563. 
The Theodofian Code was the production of this pe¬ 
riod ; the lalt and belt edition of which is that of Dan. 
Ritter, at Leipfig, in 1736-1745. The Novell® Leges was 
publilhed at Leipfig in 1745, but more amply at Faventia 
in 1766, and at Rome in 1767. About one hundred years 
afterwards was compiled the Codex Juftinwnus. The 
lateil edition of the Corpus Juris Civilis is that of Leip¬ 
fig, 1740. Thefirlt fyntagmaof canon-law was compofed 
by John the fcholallic, a prielt of Antioch in the fixth 
century. He is alfo the author of the Nomo Canonon. 
In the ninth century, the celebrated Photius compiled 
his Syntagma Canonum, and his Nomo Canonon. The 
former has not been publifhed; but the latter was given, 
with a Latin verfion and Balfemon’s commentary, by Juf- 
telle, at Paris, 1615. In the weft, Dionyfius Exiguus 
compiled his Codex Canonum in the beginning of the fixth 
century, publifhed by Juftelle in 1628. Crefconius, an 
African bilhop, towards the end of the feventh century, 
wrote a work called Concordia Canonum, and a Breviarium; 
the former of which may be feen in Juftelle, the latter in 
Meermann’s Thel'aurus, tom. i. The collection of Diony¬ 
fius was improved by Iiidore of Seville, and appropriated 
to the discipline of Spain. About the year 612 were fa¬ 
bricated the falfe decretals of Iiidore Mercator; which fo 
much contributed to deftroy the more ancient difcipline 
of the Chriftian churches, and to ereft the wondrous em¬ 
pire of papal power. The author mentions alfo the Bre- 
viarium Alaricanum, the Leges I.ongobardic®, the Leges 
Anglo Saxonic®, and the Capitularies of Charlemagne, re- 
publifhed by du Chiniac in two vols. folio, 1780. 
The corruption of philofophy, the decay of tafte, and 
a general fuperftition, had a combined and powerful influ¬ 
ence over Chriftian theology. Articles of faith were 
multiplied, and circutnftantiaily defined; but contributed 
ft T- neither 
