SCS L I T E R 
neither to a more rational belief nor to a more holy life. 
Religions quarrels became every year more numerous and 
acrimonious; and alternate persecutions and profcriptions- 
ultimately decided the conteft. The chief dogmatifts of 
the fifth and fixth centuries propagated their dofiVrines 
according to the Platonic philofophy, as adopted and ap¬ 
plied by Origen. The work of Pfeudo-Dionylius, who 
lived in the fifth century, introduced a myftical fyftern, 
which has ever fince mere or lefs prevailed in the Chrif- 
tian church ; efpecially after that compofition became, 
known in the welt in the ninth century. The belt edi¬ 
tion of this work, with the fciiolia of Maximus, was pub- 
liftied by Corderius, at Antwerp, in 1634. John Damaf- 
cene, in early life the fervant of a khalif, and afterward a 
monk, compofed the firft fyftern of fcholaftic divinity in 
the beginning of the eighth century ; which he called 
An accurate Expofition of Orthodox Faith. A fimilar 
fyftem was compofed by Anfelrn, archbilhop of Canter¬ 
bury. 
Hermeneutics, both in theeaft and weft, were very negli¬ 
gently and aukwardly treated. The Hebrew Was totally 
unknown, and even the Greek but little ftudied in the weft. 
The allegorical method of Origen was generally followed; 
but Theodorus of Mopfuefte, and his difciple Theodoret, 
are exceptions. The works of the latter contain many 
good interpretations of a great part of the O. T. as well 
as of the New. Indeed the works of Theodoret on the 
feriptures are, after thofe of Origen and Jerome, the moft 
ufeful of all that have been written by the church fathers. 
We may rank among the feripture interpreters, alfo, Ifio- 
dore of Pelufium, Euthalius, Photius, Theophylactus, and 
Euthymius Zygadenus, a monk of Conftnntinople, about 
the year 1118, who wrote a commentary on the four Gof- 
pels, tranflated by Hentenius, and publilhed with remarks 
by Matthei at Leiplig, 3 vols. 8vo. in 1792; a work of 
merit, which deferves to be read. 
Of Latin interpreters, during this period, the moft no¬ 
table were Eucherius o? Lyons, whole commentary on 
Genefisand Kings was publilhed by Schott in the-fixth vo¬ 
lume of the Biblioth. maxima of Lyons. Junilius, an 
African bilhop, about the year 530, wrote an Introduction 
to the Knowledge of Scripture. Rabanus Maurus, and 
his difciple Walafried Strabo, gave themfelves the thank- 
lefs trouble of colledting a curfory expofition of the Bible 
from all the more ancient interpreters, called Glojfa ordina¬ 
ries, which was afterward improved by De Lyra. The 
laft edition of this huge work is that of Antwerp, in 6 
vols. fol. 1633. ClaudiusTuronenfis wrote feveral works 
on feripture, of which his explication of the Epiftfe to 
the Galatians was publilhed at Paris in 1543. Angolemus, 
a Burgundian monk, wrote a commentary on t-he Firft 
Book of Mofes; in which, it is to be remarked, he fol¬ 
lowed a Latin verfion very different from the prefent Vul¬ 
gate; probably the old Italic. He alfo wrote cn the four 
Books of Kings, and on the Song of Soloynon. Beren- 
gasrius of Tours wrote fotne comments on parts of ferip¬ 
ture, but none of them have been publifned. 
In the firft half of the feventh, century, a moft wonder¬ 
ful revolution, political as well as ecclefiaftical, happened in 
theeaftern world ; viz. the eftablifhment of Mahometanifm, 
which in a fliort time overran almoft all the eaft, and a 
great portion of the weft. The doftrines of this new re¬ 
ligion are contained in a book called the Koran. It is a 
fort of anthology, or collection of the layings and de¬ 
crees of the Arabian prophet, reduced into its prefent 
order by Abubeker. The Mahometans ufe it only in 
manufeript; and wonderful pains are bellowed in making 
correft and beautiful copies of it. It has been often pub- 
liftied in Europe, in Arabic and in other languages. 
Marracci gave it in Arabic and Latin, in a huge folio vo¬ 
lume, (with a partial and often filly confutation,) at Pa¬ 
dua, 1698. The German tranflation of Boyfen was 
printed at Halle, 1773 1 t ^ ie French of Savary at Paris, 
178a, and the Englifli of Sale at London, in 1734. 
A T U R E. 
V- From the Crufades to the. Revival of Letters ; comprehending 
about 400 years. 
Many circumftances concurred, during this period, to 
repel barbarilm, and to recall a better tafte. The Cru¬ 
fades, with Afiatic luxury, had alfo brought into.Europe 
many ufeful arts and fciences; with a general tafte for 
chivalry, which polilhed down the rough warrior, and 
made him the friend and proteCior of learning as well as 
of beauty. The inftitution of univerfities, in the twelfth 
century, contributed not a little to the advancement of 
knowledge ; and after the conqueft of Conftantinople by 
the Turks in 1453, a number of learned Greeks carne into 
t-he weft, who diffeminated tafte and clafiic lore over all 
Europe. The invention of paper from cotton and linen, 
and that of the more glorious art of printing, the rapid 
progrefs of free-thinking and free-writing which hence re- 
i'ulted, the difeovery of America, and the inftitution of 
polls for carrying letters, &c. all contributed to the dif. 
fufion of learning, and prepared the way for that funftiine 
of fcience which fucceeded this period. 
The principal promoters of learning were, in Italy, the 
Vifcontis of Milan, the Carraras in Padua, but chiefly the 
Medici of Florence, and the popes Gregory IX. and X. 
Nicholas V. and Pius II. in Spain, Alphonlus of Caftile 
and Alphonlus of Arragon ; in Portugal, Dionyfius ; in 
France, Louis VII. Philip II. and Charles V. and VII, 
in Germany, the emperors of the houfe of Swabia, parti¬ 
cularly Frederic II. in England, Edward III. and Hen¬ 
ry VII. in Denmark, .Chrillian I. in Poland, Cafi- 
mir III. in Hungary, Matthias Corvinus. The perfons 
by whofe influence learning was chiefly benefited were, 
Peter Abelard, Robert Grofl'etete, Albert the Great, Mat¬ 
thew Paris, Roger Bacon, Petrarch, Raymund Lully, 
JEneas Sylvius, or Pius II. and the abbot Tritenheim, 
commonly called Trithemius. 
The fchools of this period were of two forts ; particu¬ 
lar, called Jiudia ; and general, called Jludia generalia, or 
univerfities. Both differed from thofe of former times. 
They were endowed with privileges by popes, and by fe- 
cular princes. The firft great privileged fchools, in Italy, 
were thofe of Salerno and Bologna, the archigymnafium 
of Rome, and the univerfities of Padua, Perugia, Sienna, 
Ferrara, Cremona, and Florence ; in Sicily, Catania; in 
Spain and Portugal, Salamanca, Valentia, Siguenza, To¬ 
ledo, Coimbra, Ferreira, and Lifbon ; in France, Paris, 
Touloufe, Montpellier, Avignon, Orleans, Grenoble, Per¬ 
pignan, Angers, Caen, Poitiers, Bourdeaux, and Bourges; 
in Germany, Heidelberg, Prague, Vienna, Erfurt, Wirfz- 
burg, Leiplig, Ingollladt, Roltock, Triers, Freyburg, Tu¬ 
bingen, Mentz; in Swifferland, Bafil; in the Netherlands, 
Louvain ; in Great Britain, Oxford, Cambridge, St. An¬ 
drew’s, Glafgow, and Old Aberdeen ; in Denmark, Co¬ 
penhagen ; in Sweden, Upfal; in Poland, Cracow. The 
principal fchools of the Jews during this period were, in 
Spain, at Seville, Granada, Cordova, and Toledo. The 
Orientaiifts had colleges at Bagdad, Damafcus, Kupha, 
Baffora, and Bockhara. In Africa, were fchools at Mo¬ 
rocco, Fez, and Tunis. 
Before the invention of printing, great collections of 
books were rare. The libraries of the Arabian nations 
confided chiefly of tranflations from Greek authors. That 
of Abumanzar Bahalram at Firuzabad contained 7000 vo¬ 
lumes. In the twelfth century, Spain poffefTed not fewer 
than feventy open libraries belonging to the Moors; the 
principal of which, at Cordova, is laid to have contained 
250,000 volumes. The libraries of Conftantinople were 
almoft annihilated by the ravages of the Crufaders, and 
the devaftations of the Turks ; but many of the books 
which efcaped enriched the collections of Italy, where 
Bologna was the great b6ok-market. In general, the 
cloifters were the chief repofitories of writings, becaufe the 
monks had more inclination and leifure for copying than 
any other clafs of .mankind. It does not appear that., 
early in this period, there were any open public libraries, 
even, 
