sources of arabian learning.—influence of greek and hindu literature.—the nestorians.—baghdad and its colleges.—the moors in spain.—the mosque schools.—arabian inventions and services to literature.—the great arab physicians.—serapion, rhazes, ali abbas, avicenna, albucasis, and averroes.
at the time of the incursions of the barbarians of the north, when spain, the south of france, italy, and north africa, with their adjacent islands, were ravaged by these hordes, multitudes of those who could escape so far found a refuge in the east; and there is good reason for supposing that by such means a vast store of the accumulated knowledge of civilized europe found its way to eastern lands. science in its turn has come back to us through the saracens, who afterwards invaded southern europe.678
it is not correct to speak of the arabians or the saracens as the source of the culture which is known as arabian and saracenic. the magnificent civilization of the greek world fell to pieces like a noble but ruined temple, and its precious relics went to form a score of other civilizations which ultimately arose from its ruins. it was not the semitic peoples of arabia which restored the philosophy and science of the decayed gr?co-roman world, it was the persians, the greeks of asia minor, the people of alexandria, and the cultured eastern nations, generally, which having been subdued by the arabs, at once began to impart to their conquerors the culture which they lacked. the ignorant followers of the prophet who burned the alexandrian library knew not what they did; the time was to come when greek culture was to reach them partly from the city whose literary treasures they had destroyed, and partly through syrian and persian influences. by these roads came the medical sciences to the saracens. the second library of alexandria, consisting of 700,000 volumes, was destroyed by them, a.d. 642; but we must conclude that many medical and other scientific works were preserved, as the jews and the nestorians (banished from constantinople to asia) first made the arabians acquainted with greek288 authors by translating them into syriac, whence they were in turn translated into arabic. justinian i. (a.d. 529) banished the platonists of athens, when chosr?es i., surnamed nushirwan, or “the generous mind,” one of the greatest monarchs of persia, hospitably received them at his court. he caused the best greek, latin, and indian works to be translated into persian, and valued gr?co-roman medical science so highly that he offered a suspension of hostilities for the single physician tribunus.
the east in a great measure owed its acquaintance with the rich treasures of greek literature to the heresy of nestorius. nestorius was a syrian by birth, and became bishop of constantinople. having denied that the virgin mary ought to be called “mother of god,” he was summoned to appear before the council of ephesus (a.d. 431), and was deposed. nestorian communities were formed, and the heretical opinions rapidly spread, patronized as they were for political purposes by the persian kings. the mahometan conquests in the seventh century, by overthrowing the supremacy of orthodoxy, afforded great encouragement to the nestorians, as by denying that mary was the mother of god, as the catholics maintained, the nestorians in calling her the mother of christ more nearly approached the mahometan conception of a pure monotheism. barsumas, or barsaumas, bishop of nisibis (435-485 a.d.), was one of the most eminent leaders of the new heresy. he succeeded in gaining many adherents in persia. maanes, bishop of ardaschiv, was his principal coadjutor; he was the means of propagating the nestorian doctrines in egypt, syria, arabia, india, tartary, and even china.
the caliphs.
in the time of mohammed himself (569-609), the arabians had physicians who had been educated in the greek schools of medicine living amongst them. pococke mentions a greek physician named theodunus, who was in the service of hajáj ibn yúsuf in the seventh century. he wrote a sort of medical compendium for the use of his son. hajáj seems also to have employed another greek doctor named theodocus, who had numerous pupils.679
the house of ommiyah encouraged the cultivation of the sciences. the caliph moawiyah, who resided at damascus, founded schools, libraries, and observatories there, and invited the learned of all nations, especially greeks, to settle there, and teach his people their arts and sciences.680
289
in the seventh century, alexandria under the rule of islam was in possession of many medical schools in which the principles of galen were taught.681
alkinani, an arabian christian, who afterwards was converted to islamism, was chiefly instrumental in introducing medical teaching into antioch and harran from alexandria.682
the caliph almansor had studied astronomy. almamon, the seventh of the abbassides, collected from armenia, syria, and egypt all the volumes of grecian science he could obtain; they were translated into arabic, and his subjects were earnestly exhorted to study them. “he was not ignorant,” says abulpharagius, “that they are the elect of god, his best and most useful servants, whose lives are devoted to the improvement of their rational faculties.” succeeding princes of the line of abbas, and their rivals the fatimites of africa and the ommiades of spain, says gibbon, were the patrons of the learned, “and their emulation diffused the taste and the rewards of science from samarcand and bochara to fez and cordova.”683
it was almamon who caused the works of the fathers of indian medical science to be translated first into persian and then into arabic; thus it was that the saracens became familiar with the medical wisdom of susruta and charaka in the eighth century of our era.684
charaka is frequently mentioned in the latin translations of avicenna (ibn sina), rhazes (al rasi), and serapion (ibn serabi).685
chaldee works at this time were also translated into persian. in the first centuries of the hijra the caliphs of baghdad caused a considerable number of works upon hindu medicine to be translated into persian.686 at the time of mohammed there existed a famous school of medicine at senaa in southern arabia, the principal of which, harit ben kaldah, had learned his profession in india.687
when the son of mesuach, a young nestorian christian, first entered baghdad, it is said688 that he appeared to have discovered a new world. he applied himself to the study of medicine, philosophy, and astronomy. he became a “treasure of learning,” and was chosen to attend prince almamon, the son of haroun-al-raschid, who, when he became caliph in 813, invited learned men of all religions and of all nations to his court, collected from them the names of all the great authors and the titles of their books which had been published in290 greek, syriac, and persian, and then sent to all parts of the world to purchase them.
the arabs studied aristotle; and when western europe had long been sunk in intellectual darkness and had forgotten him, the saracens taught him to the christians of the west. “he was read at samarcand and at lisbon,” says freeman, “when no one knew his name at oxford or edinburgh.”689 in his own tongue at constantinople and thessalonica he had never been forgotten. such learning and science as the saracens did not receive from india, such as the arabic numerals, came to them from the west. they developed and improved much, but they probably invented nothing. freeman says690 that after careful investigation he observed three things: first, that whatever the arabs learned was from translations of greek works; secondly, that they made use of only an infinitesimal portion of greek literature; thirdly, that many of their most famous literary men were not mahometans at all, but jews or christians.691 greek poetry, history, and philosophy had little charm for them. gibbon says there is no record of an arabian translation of any greek poet, orator, or historian.692
learned nestorians, jacobites, and jews in persia and syria occupied themselves with translations from greek authors, and contributed greatly to the extension of western culture in eastern lands.693 to the world at large mahomet was but an impostor; to the arab of the seventh century he was a true prophet and the greatest of benefactors.
when the persian king reproached the arabs with their poverty and their savage condition, the reply of the saracen envoy contains a grand summary of the immediate results of mahomet’s teaching.694
“whatever thou hast said,” replied sheikh maghareh, “respecting the former condition of the arabs is true. their food was green lizards; they buried their infant daughters alive; nay, some of them feasted on dead carcases and drank blood; while others slew their relations, and thought themselves great and valiant, when by such an act they became possessed of more property; they were clothed with hair garments; knew not good from evil; and made no distinction between that which is lawful and that which is unlawful. such was our state. but god, in his mercy, has sent us by a holy prophet a sacred volume, which teaches us the true faith.”695
george backtischwah, or bocht jesu, was a greek physician, a descendant of the persecuted christians of the greek empire, who embracing the heresy of nestorius had been compelled to fly for safety291 and peace to the persians. al-manzor (754-775) invited backtischwah to his court, and this physician was the first to present to the arabians translations of the medical works of the greeks. the nestorians had founded a school of medicine in the province of gondisapor, which was already famous in the seventh century. from this school issued a crowd of learned nestorians and jews, famous for their knowledge of medicine and surgery, but still more for their ability to endow the east with all the treasures of greek literature.696
baghdad.
the city of baghdad was built by the caliph almansor, in a.d. 763, on the ruins of a very ancient city; it soon became the most splendid city in the east. almansor had personally cultivated science, and was a lover of letters and of learned men. he offered rewards for translations of greek authors on philosophy, astronomy, mathematics, and medicine.
a college was established by the caliph which ultimately became famous. public hospitals and a medical school were also established by the same enlightened ruler. meryon says697 that there is reason to suppose that in the laboratories established at baghdad for the preparation of medicines the science of chemistry may have first originated.698
the son of mesuach presided over the translations of the works of galen and all the treatises of aristotle into arabic; but when they had extracted the science from greek literature, they consigned all the rest of it to the flames, as dangerous to the moslem faith.699
many christian physicians were employed at baghdad.
the vizier of a sultan gave two hundred thousand pieces of gold to found a college at baghdad, which he endowed with an annual revenue of fifteen thousand dinars.700 under the reign of haroun-al-raschid and his successors this school flourished vigorously, and many translations of greek medical works were made therein.
the arabians have greatly distinguished themselves in the science of medicine. in the city of baghdad eight hundred and sixty physicians, says gibbon, were licensed to practise. the names of mesua and geber, of rhazis and avicenna are not less famous than are those of the greatest names amongst the greeks themselves. the independent medical literature of the saracens arose in the ninth century, and gradually developed292 till it reached the zenith of its glory in the eleventh. the mosques were then the universities, and besides that of baghdad, bassora, cufa, samarcand, ispahan, damascus, bokhara, firuzabad, and khurdistan, not omitting the schools of the fatimites in alexandria, were centres of eastern science and art, and the equally famous universities of cordova, seville, toledo, almeria, murcia, granada, and valencia, sustained in europe the dignity of the arabian learning. when the conquest of africa was complete, spain was invaded, and about the year 713 was reduced to a moslem province. cordova became not less distinguished for learning than baghdad, and many writers were given to the world from the adjacent towns of malaga, almeria, and murcia. gibbon says that above seventy public libraries were opened in the cities of andalusia.
in the words of professor nicholl, “the semitic race is essentially unscientific, and adverse to the presentation of philosophical or moral truth in a scientific form. the indo-european genius, on the contrary, tends irresistibly towards intellectual system, or science.” this will at once be perceived when we examine the vedas, the works of any greek author, or those of teutonic speculative writers, and then turn to any semitic books. we instantly perceive that in the latter we have nothing but belief or intuition, with more or less of the doctrine of revelation or inspiration. in the works of aryan origin, on the contrary, we are at the opposite pole; we have speculation, inquiry, an insatiable desire to solve the mystery of things—the analytical spirit which asks a reason for every phenomenon in the universe. in the semitic races this resolves itself into either a living faith and a pure life corresponding thereto, or into a reckless fanaticism founded on fatalism. in the aryan races we have the most daring intellectual activity, or the driest dogmatism.701
it was in spain that the semitic and aryan intellects met and happily blended. spain remembered the advantages of roman influences long after they were withdrawn. the goths, who spread themselves over the peninsula, preserved the remains of the civilization which the romans had left; and the jews, afterwards to be treated with such cruel and base ingratitude by the nation which they had so greatly benefited, advanced the cause of education by their numerous schools and learned writers.702
on this stage, then, we find the semitic and the indo-germanic races transferring to each other the characteristics with which they were most happily endowed by nature.
the mosque schools of the arabians were conducted on the model of293 the alexandrian schools. the old egyptian and jewish colleges were to some extent the prototypes of these, and some writers think that our own universities were suggested by those of the saracens. how great and famous some of these must have been, may be learned from the fact that, as we have stated, no less than six thousand professors and students were collected together at baghdad at one time. there were lecture rooms, laboratories, hospitals, and residences for teachers and students, besides the great halls which must have been required for the vast libraries which the caliphs collected. it was in spain perhaps that saracenic learning shone most brilliantly. in the early part of the eighth century was founded the noble university of cordova, the city which, under arabian rule, was called the “centre of religion, the mother of philosophers, the light of andalusia.” it contained 300 mosques, 200,000 houses, and 1,000,000 inhabitants, besides forty hospitals.703
abou-ryan-el-byrouny (died 941) travelled forty years studying mineralogy, and his treatise on precious stones, says sismondi,704 is a rich collection of facts. aben-al-be?thar of malaga travelled over all the mountains and plains of europe in search of plants, and rendered most important services to botany. he wandered over the sands of africa and the remotest countries of asia, examining and collecting animals, fossils, and vegetables, and published his observations in three volumes, which contained more science than any naturalist had previously recorded.705
in one sense the arabians were the inventors of chemistry, and never was the science applied to the arts of life more beneficially than by the saracens in spain.
mahomet was skilled in the knowledge of medicine, and certain of his aphorisms are extant concerning the healing art. gibbon says706 that the temperance and exercise his followers preached, deprived the doctors of the greater part of their practice. the only medicine recommended by the koran is honey (see surah xvi. 71). “from its (the bee’s) belly cometh forth a fluid of varying hues, which yieldeth medicine to man.” there is evidence of a belief in magic in the koran as a charm against evil, and of incantations capable of producing ill consequences to those against whom they were directed. the 113th chapter of the koran was written when mohammed believed that, by the witchcraft of wicked persons, he had been afflicted with rheumatism. mohammedan peoples use as amulets to avert evil from themselves or possessions, a small koran encased in silk or leather, or some of the294 names of god, or of the prophets or saints, or the mohammedan creed engraven on stone or silver.
da’wah, or the system of incantation used by mohammedans, is employed to cause the cure, or the sickness and death of a person. the mohammedans have an elaborate system of exorcism, which is fully explained by mr. thomas patrick hughes.707
uroscopy, or the art of judging diseases by inspection of the urine, was a great feature of arabian as of greek medical practice. it was, however, with the former usually conducted with jugglery and charlatanism, and there was seldom anything scientific about it.
as the religion of the moslems forbade dissection, the sciences of anatomy and physiology and the art of surgery remained as they were borrowed from the greek writers.
the arabian faculty always stipulated for their fees beforehand; they disapproved of gratuitous treatment, because, as they declared, “no one gets even thanks for it!”
there must have been female doctors, who, in the east, had abundant opportunities for practice, as men were not permitted by the customs of the times to examine women. these female obstetricians performed the gravest operations, such as embryotomy and lithotomy.708
hospitals were established at damascus for lepers, the poor, the blind, and the sick, under the rule of the caliph walid.
paper is an arabic invention. true, it has been made from silk from the remotest ages in china, but by the arabs it was first made at samarcand, a.d. 649; and cotton paper, such as we use now, was made at mecca, a.d. 706. the art was soon afterwards introduced by the arabs into spain, where it was brought to the highest perfection.709 gunpowder was known to the arabs a hundred years before europeans mention it.710 the compass was used by them nearly two centuries before the italians and french used it. the number of arabic inventions which we unsuspectingly enjoy, without being aware of their origin, is prodigious. could we bring to light the literary treasures of the escurial, we should know something of the industrious host of arabians who have done so much for the learning of the western world, and whose names and deeds have received from us no recognition. their historical, geographical, and scientific dictionaries and histories would alone entitle them to the gratitude of an age which would know how to appreciate them.
sismondi says that295 “medicine and philosophy had even a greater number of historians than the other sciences; and all these different works were embodied in the historical dictionary of sciences compiled by mohammed-aba-abdallah, of granada.”
the great arabian physicians.
honain, a christian physician, flourished at baghdad in the middle of the ninth century. he travelled in greece that he might perfect himself in the language, and he read the works of all the great writers of that country. on his return to baghdad he was invited by the caliph to undertake the translation of the greek authors. his best known translation is the aphorisms of hippocrates with the commentaries of galen. he wrote on midwifery, and was a good oculist.
serapion the elder (of damascus), who flourished in the ninth century, was a syrian physician, of whom little or nothing is known except that he wrote two works, one of which is in the bodleian in ms., entitled aphorismi magni momenti de medicina practica. the other is entitled kunnásh, and has been translated into latin.
the classical period of arabian medicine begins with—
rhazes, “the arabic galen,” whose real name was abú becr mohammed ibn zacaríyá ar-razi, was born at rai, near chorásán, probably about the middle of the ninth century after christ. his famous work, on the small pox and measles, was translated from the original arabic into syriac, and from that language into greek. this is the first extant medical treatise in which the small-pox is certainly mentioned.711 this famous book has been published in various languages about thirty-five times; a greater number of editions, says dr. greenhill, than almost any other ancient medical treatise has passed through. he was skilled in philosophy, astronomy, and music, as well as in medicine, which he began to study when he was forty years old. he became one of the most celebrated physicians of his time, and was appointed physician to the hospital at rai, and afterwards to that of baghdad, where he became so famous as a teacher that pupils flocked to him from all parts. he afterwards resided at the court of cordova. he died at an advanced age about a.d. 932. more than two hundred titles of his works have been preserved; but his small-pox treatise is the only one which has been published in the original arabic. it is a remarkable and a very interesting fact that he explained the nature of the small-pox and measles by the theory of fermentation.712
the largest work of rhazes is al-háwí, or the comprehensive book, commonly called “continens.” in the latin translation this fills two folio volumes. although little more than a sort of medical common296place book, it has a value in that it has preserved for us many fragments from the works of ancient physicians which we should not otherwise have possessed. another important work of rhazes is the ketábu-l-mansúri, or liber ad almansorem, so called from being dedicated to mansur, prince of chorásán. it was intended to instruct the physician in everything which it was necessary for him to know. it is chiefly a compilation, but was a popular text-book in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. rhazes taught the external use of arsenic, mercurial ointments, and sulphate of copper, and the internal use of brandy, nitre, borax, coral, and gems.
ali ben el abbas (ali abbas), who lived in the latter part of the tenth century, was a persian physician, who wrote a medical text book, entitled the royal book. up to the time of avicenna, this was the standard authority on medicine amongst the arabs, and was several times translated into latin. in the theory of medicine and partly in its practice he followed the greeks, but imitated the use of the excellent materia medica of the arabs. he wrote also on ophthalmology and obstetrics.
avicenna, or ebn sina, was called “the prince of physicians,” and was the greatest philosopher produced by the arabs in the east. he was born in the province of bokhara, in 980 a.d. it is related that at the age of sixteen he had learned all the science of a physician. having cured prince nouh of a serious malady, he became a court favourite. after travelling for a while he composed his great work, the canon of medicine, by which his name was made famous both in asia and europe for several centuries. in the midst of the troubles of an adventurous life, he wrote a hundred gigantic books, the greatest of which was the al-schefà.
ishak ben soleiman (830-940) wrote on dietetics, and is said to have been the first to introduce senna.
serapion the younger (about 1070). his work, de simplicibus medicamentis, was published in latin at milan in 1473.
mesue the younger (about 1015) was a pupil of avicenna, and physician to the court at cairo. he rendered great services to pharmacy by teaching the method of preparing extracts from medicinal plants.
albucasis was a skilful arab physician, who wrote a work on surgery, entitled al tassrif, which contains much ingenious matter on the appliances of practical surgery. he died at cordova about 1106. his work treats of the application of the actual cautery, so much employed by the arabs, of ligation of arteries in continuity, of the danger of amputating above the knee or elbow, of stitching the bowel with threads297 scraped from the intestinal coat, operations for hare-lip and cataract, and fistula by cutting, ligature and cautery. he advised the use of silver catheters as now employed, in place of the copper ones used previously. he recommended anatomy as a valuable aid to surgery.713
avenzoar, one of the most famous of arabian physicians, was born near seville in the latter part of the twelfth century. he was instructed in medicine by his father, whose family had long been connected with the healing art. he was the rational improver of arabian medicine by the rejection of useless theories, and asserted for medicine a place among the advancing sciences of observation. he made it a constant practice to analyse the medicines he used, so that he might acquaint himself with their exact composition. he was loaded with favours by the prince of morocco, and died at the age of ninety-two in a.d. 1262.
ebn albaithar (died about 1197) was a moorish spaniard, renowned for his medical and botanical science. he traversed many regions of the west of africa and asia to enlarge his botanical knowledge. he passed some years at the court of saladin, and wrote on the virtues of plants, and on poisons, metals, and animals.
averroes, or ebn rosch, was born at cordova in 1126. he learned theology, philosophy, and medicine from the great teachers of his time. he was the greatest arabian inquirer in the west, as avicenna was in the east. he exercised the greatest influence both in his own and succeeding ages. he has been called “the mohammedan spinoza,” having been a religious freethinker. the study of aristotle awakened in him a species of pantheism. he was more a philosopher than a physician, but as he had made important observations in medicine, he deserves a place amongst the heroes of the healing art. he was bitterly persecuted amongst his co-religionists for treating the koran as a merely human work. he taught that the small-pox never attacks the same person more than once. in practice he held very rational views of the action of remedies, and taught that the work of the doctor was chiefly to apply general principles to individual cases. he wrote commentaries on aristotle so famous as to have gained him the name of “the commentator.” he expounded the republic of plato. he was a most voluminous writer, and was considered by his contemporaries and by our schoolmen as a prodigy of science.714
there is a very interesting account of the indian physicians at the court of baghdad in a translation made from a ms. in the rich collection in the british museum.715 the history is from the work of ibn abu298 usaibiah, who lived at the beginning of the thirteenth century of our era.
kankah the indian was a great philosopher as well as a physician; he investigated the properties of medicines “and the composition of the heavenly bodies” (!).
sanjahal, another learned indian, wrote on medicine and astrology. from the science of the stars he applied himself to the symptoms of diseases, on which he wrote a book in ten chapters. he gave the symptoms of four hundred and four diseases. he also wrote on the imagination of diseases. shánák wrote on poisons and the veterinary art. jawdar was a philosopher and a physician who wrote a book on nativities. mankah the indian was learned in the art of medicine, and “gentle in his method of treatment.” he lived in the days of haroun-al-raschid.
salih, son of bolah the indian, was “well skilled in treatment, and had power and influence in the promotion of science.”
kankah the indian, says prof. h. wilson, was very celebrated in the history of arabian astronomy. he says that it is certain that the astronomy and medicine of the hindus were cultivated anteriorly to those of the greeks, by the arabs of the eighth century. “it is clear that the charaka, the susruta, the treatises called nidán on diagnosis, and others on poisons, diseases of women, and therapeutics, all familiar to hindu science, were translated and studied by the arabs in the days of haroun and mansur, either from the originals, or translations made at a still earlier period into the language of persia.”716
we may conveniently mention here the famous jew of spain, rabbi moses ben maimon, or maimonides (died 1198), a native of cordova, who was profoundly learned in mathematics, medicine, and other arts. he retired to egypt, where he wrote books on medicine, which were much read. he advised his patients never to sleep in the daytime, and at night only on the side. he recommended them not to retire to rest till three to four hours after supper.717
medical etiquette was rather strict.299 “operations performed by the hand, such as venesection, cauterization, and incision of arteries, are not becoming a physician of respectability and consideration. they are suitable for the physician’s assistants only. these servants of the physician should also do other operations, such as incision of the eyelids, removing the veins in the white of the eye, and the removal of cataract. for an honourable physician nothing further is becoming than to impart to the patient advice with reference to food and medicine. far be it from him to practise any operation with the hand. so say we!”718
dentistry was practised, but it was considered by the arabs, as by the greek and roman doctors, a very inferior branch of the profession, and was, for the most part, as with ourselves, till very recently relegated to uneducated persons. midwifery also was, to a great extent, neglected by the higher class of physicians. the arabian faculty esteemed most highly medicine proper, though pharmacy and materia medica were especially studied. the professors were paid by the state, and handsomely as a rule. their text books were the works of the greek physicians, especially hippocrates and galen. a sort of matriculation examination was required before a student could enter the great schools, and he was subjected to professional examinations (not very severe, presumably) before he was permitted to practise. the arabian physicians were usually men of the highest culture; not only were they men of science, but of philosophy and literature also. great mystery was combined with arabian medical practice; astrology was the handmaid of medicine, and charms entered largely into therapeutics. the physicians wrote prescriptions with purgative ink; so that “take this!” was meant literally when the doctor gave the patient his prescription. it had to be swallowed in due form.
although the great civilizations of the east date their origins from a period far more remote than those of the west, they have lagged far behind the west in progress. professor freeman defines european society as progressive, legal, monogamous, and, for the last fifteen hundred years, a christian society; the east he defines as stationary, arbitrary, polygamous, and mahometan.719 the dominant note of oriental history is sameness; a monotony which enables us to read in the story of to-day that which took place amongst eastern peoples a thousand years ago. the history of a single city of europe is of infinitely greater interest to the student of humanity and the history of civilization than that of a whole nation of the east. the history of florence alone is of greater importance, from this point of view, than that of all china. there is, however, one marvellous history, that of mahomet and his creed, which excels in interest that of any other man of the oriental nations. “nowhere,” says freeman, “in the history of the world can we directly trace such mighty effects to the personal agency of a single mortal.”