ISIDORE
187
ISIDORE
encyclopedia epitomized all learning, ancient as well
as modern. In it many fragments of classical learn-
ing are preserved to posterity which otherwise had
been hopelessly lost. The fame of this work im-
parted a new impetus to encyclopedic writing, which
bore abundant fruit in the subsequent centuries of
the Middle Ages. His style, though simple and lucid,
cannot he said to be classical. It discloses most of
the imperfections peculiar to all ages of transition.
It particularly reveals a growing Visigothic influence.
Arevalo counts in all Isidore's writings 1640 Spanish
words.
Isidore was the last of the ancient Christian phi- losophers, as he was the last of the great Latin Fathers. He was undoubtedly the most learned man of his age and exercised a far-reaching and im- measurable influence on the educational life of the Middle Ages. His contemporary and friend, Braulio, Bishop of Saragossa, regarded him as a man raised up by God to save the Spanish people from the tidal wave of barbarism that threatened to inundate the ancient civilization of Spain. The Eighth Council of Toledo (6.53) recorded its admiration of his char- acter in these glowing terms: "The extraordinary doctor, the latest ornament of the Catholic Church, the most learned man of the latter ages, always to be named with reverence, Isidore". This tribute was endorsed by the Fifteenth Council of Toledo, held in
ess.
As a writer Isidore was prolific and versatile to an extraordinary degree. His voluminous writings may be truly said to constitute the first chapter of Spanish literature. It is not, however, in the capacity of an original and independent writer, but as an indefati- gable compiler of all existing knowledge, that litera- ture is most deeply indebted to him. The most important and by far the best known of all his writings is the " Etymologia; ", or "Origines", as it is some- times called. This work takes its name from the subject-matter of one of its constituent books. It was written shortly before his death, in the full maturity of his wonderful scholarship, at the request of his friend Bravilio, Bishop of Saragossa. It is a vast store-house in which is gathered, systematized, and condensed, all the learning possessed by his time. Throughout the greater part of the Middle Ages it was the textljook most in use in educational institutions. So highly was it regarded as a depos- itory of classical learning that, in a great measure, it superseded the use of the individual works of the classics themselves. Not even the Renaissance seemed to diminish the high esteem in which it was held, and, according to Arevalo, it was printed ten times between 1470 and 1529. Besides these numer- ous reprints, the popularity of the "Etymologia;" gave rise to many inferior imitations. It furnishes abundant evidence that the writer possessed a most intimate knowledge of the Greek and Latin poets. In all, he quotes from one hundred and fifty-four authors. Christian and pagan. Many of these he had read in the originals and the others he consulted in current compilations. In style this encyclopedic work is concise and clear, and in order, admirable. Braulio, to whom Isidore sent it for correction, and to whom he dedicated it, divided it into twenty books. The first three of these books are taken up with the trivium and quadrivium. The entire first book is devoted to grammar, including metre. Imi- tating the example of Cassiodorus and Boethius, he preserves the logical tradition of the schools by reserving the second book for rhetoric and dialectic. The remaining books of the " Et j-mologioe " treat of the following subjects: book four, of medicine and libraries; book five, of law and chronology; book six, of ecclesiastical books and offices; book seven, of God and of the heavenly and earthly hierarchies; book eight, of the Church and of the sects, of which
latter he numbers no less than sixty-eight; book nine,
of languages, peoples, kingdoms, and official titles;
book ten, of etymology; book eleven, of man; book
twelve, of beasts and birds; book thirteen, of the
world and its parts; book fourteen, of physical geog-
raphy; book fifteen, of public buildings and road-
making; book sixteen, of stones and metals; book
seventeen, of agriculture; book eighteen, of the ter-
minology of war, of jurisprudence, and public games;
book nineteen, of ships, houses, and clothes; book
twenty, of victuals, domestic and agricultural tools,
and furniture. In the second book, dealing with dia-
lectic and rhetoric, Isidore is heavily indebted to
translations from the Greek by Boethius. Caelius
Aurelianus contributes generously to that part of the
fourth book which deals with medicine. Lactantius
is the author most extensively quoted in the eleventh
book, concerning man. The twelfth, thirteenth, and
fourteenth books are largely based on the writings
of Pliny and Solinus; whilst the lost "Prata"
of Suetonius seems to have inspired the general
plan of the "Etymologise", as well as many of its
details.
Similar in its general character to the "Etymolo- gise" is a work entitled "Libri duo differentiarum ". The two books of which it is composed are entitled, respectively, "De differentiis verborum"and "De differentiis rerum". The former is a dictionary of synonyms, treating of the differences of words with considerable erudition and not a little ingenuity; the latter, an exposition of theological and ascetical ideas, dealing in particular with the Trinity and with the Divine and human nature of Christ. It suggests, and probably was in.spired by, a similar work of Cato's. It is supplementary to the first two books of the "Etymologise". The "Synonyma", or, as it is sometimes called on account of its peculiar treat- ment, "Liber Lamentationum ", is in a manner illus- trative of the first book of the "Differentia-". It is cast in the form of a dialogue between Man and Reason. The general burden of the dialogue is that Man mourns the condition to which he has been re- duced through sin, and Reason comforts him with the knowledge of how he may still realize eternal happi- ness. The second part of this work consists of a dis- sertation on vice and virtue. The " De natura rerum ", a manual of elementary physics, was composed at the request of King Sisebut, to whom it is dedicated. It treats of astronomy, geography, and miscellanea. It is one of Isidore's best known books and enjoyed a wide popularity during the Middle Ages. The authen- ticity of ' ' De ordine creaturarum " has Ijeen questioned by some critics, though apparently without good rea- son. Arevalo unhesitatingly attributes it to Isidore. It deals with various spiritual and physical ques- tions, such as the Trinity, the consequences of sin, eternity, the ocean, the heavens, and the celestial bodies.
The subjects of history and biography are rep- resented by three important works. Of these the first, "Chronicon", is a universal chronicle. In its preface Isidore acknowledges his indebtedness to Julius Africanus; to St. Jerome's rendering of Eu- sehius; and to Victor of Tunnuna. The "Historia de regibus Gothorum, Wandalorum ct Suevorum " concerns itself chiefly with the Gothic kings, whose conquests and government deeply influenced the civilization of Spain. The history of the Vandals and the Suevi is treated in two short appendixes. This work is regarded as the chief authority on Gothic hi.story in the West. It contains the interesting statement that the Goths descended from Gog and Magog. Like the other historical writings of Isidore, it is largely l>ascd on earlier works of history, of which it is a compendium. It has come down to us in two recensions, one of which ends at the death of Sisebut (621), and the other continues to the fifth year of
