A R A
A R A
and Dcmocritus, travelled into Arabia to converfe with their fagcs\— [ a V. Carpzov. Irttrod. ad Libr. Poet. V. T. c. 2. §. 45. Reinbard, Comp. Hift. Phil. P. 1. c. 1. §. 4- b Gund ~ ling, Hift. Philof. Mor. c. 4. §. I. feq.] The Arab learning in this period, confifted, according to Abulpharagius*, in the knowledge of their language, the propriety of difcourfe, the compofition of verfe, and the fci- ence of the ftars : But their chief attention feems to have been to oratory and poetry b .— [ a Abulpb, Hift. Dynaft. 9. p. 101.
- > V. Renaudot. de Barbar. Arift. Verfion. §. 6. Fabric. Bibl.
Grsc. 1. 6. c. 5. §. 6.]
The fccond period is more diftinguifhed, at leaft from the time of Al-Mamon, the feventh caliph of the family of the Abaffides, who flourished about the year 820, and has the honour of being the founder of the modern Arabian learning. That prince, Klmacinus a tells us, was not only learned him- felf in aftronomy, and the fcience of the winds, but outwent all the European patrons, ever heard of, in the encourage- ment he gave to fciences, and the pains he took to propagate them. He fent for all the beft books out of Chaldea, Greece, 'Egypt, and Perfia, relating to phyfic, aftronomy, cofmo- graphy, mufic, chronology, bV. And penfioned a number of learned men, fkilled in the feveral languages and fciences, to tranflate them into Arabic b . By this means, divers of the 1 'Greek authors, loft in their own country and language, have teen preferved in Arabic c . — [" Ebnac. Hift. Saracen. 1. 2. c. 8. b Leo African, de Viris Bluftrib. ap. Arabes, c. I. Fabric. Bibl. Gnec. 1. 6. c, 9. c Greav. in Pref. ad Tab. Geogr. Vojf. de SecT:. Philof. c. 3. §. 17. G uniting, loc. cit.]
Not but great defects are charged on thefe Arabic translators, who, for want of Skill in the Greek, or acquaintance with their fubjecr, have often obfeured and mifreprefented their author's meaning ; as has been more efpecially complained of in refpecT: of Ariftotle. Merhef. Polyhift. Philof. 1. 1. c. 10, From that time Arabia became the chief feat of learning 1 ', and we find mention in Abulpharagius % Pocock b , D'Her- belot c , and Hotringer d , of learned men, and books without number. — [ a Abulpkar. Hift. Dynaft. b Poc. Not. ad Abul- | phar. *D'£t*r&. 'Bibl. Orient. d Hottinger, Bibl. Quadrip.J 1 The Arabian oratory, according to Renaudot, conliited in a Juxuriancy of quaint, high flown words, epithets, and de- scriptions. Renaiti. loc. cit.
The Arabian poetry may be divided into two ages. The an- ticnt, according to Voflius, was no other than rhiming ; was U Arranger to all meafurc, and rule ; the verfes loofe and irre- gular, confined to no feet, number of Syllables, or any thing elfe, fo they rhimed at the end; oftentimes all the verfes in 'the poem ended with the fame rhime. 'Tis in fuch verfe that ' the alcoran is find to be written. See Alcor an.
The modern Arabian poetry takes its date from the chaliphate of at Rafchid, who lived toward the clofc of the eighth cen- tury : Under him poetry became an art, and laws of profody were laid down : But in this there is no proper diftincfion of long and fhort Syllables ; but the whole depends on rhime, a certain number of letters, and, in the obfervation of certain CtefurtSi which are found, by carefully diftinguifhing the moveable confonants from the quiefcent. A fyllable to which a quiefcent letter is added at the end, becomes long by pofition, as that where this is wanting becomes fhort by pofition. Bibl. Univ. T. 9. p. 231. feq. Clark, Profod. Arab. c. 1. Samuel Clark has publifhed an exprefs treatife on the Arabic profody. Scientia Metrica & Rythmica,, Seu Traclus de Pro- fodia Arabica, Oxon. 1661. 8°.
Renaudot adds, that the Arab compofitions in verfe are ftill "wild and irregular, being neither epic, dramatic, lyric, or -reducible to any other kind. Their hymns to God, and their tales and jocular (lories, are in the fame Style. Their comparifons, in which they abound, are taken, with little choice, from tents, camels, hunting, and the antient manners of the Arabs. Renaud. de Barbar. Ariftot. Verfion. §. 7. Fabric. Bibl. Gnec. 1. 6. c. 5. §. 6. Arabian Philofophy is divided into two periods, or ages, viz. The time of ignorance, as they denominate it, before the mif- fion of Mahomet ; and the time of knowledge, fince. The Arabian philofophy, before Mahomet, was Sabian, and included the fyftem and ceremonies of that feci: of idolaters \ This it was that Mahomet fet himfclf to decry ; and he is even laid by fomc, to have carried his oppofition fo far, as to prohibit, if not punifh, all ftudy of philofophy b . But his fol- lowers, by degrees, got over this reitraint; the love of learn- ing encreafed ; till, under the memorable caliphate of Al- Mamon, Ariftotle's philofophy was introduced and eftabifhed among them ; and from them propagated, with their conquefts, through Egypt, Africa, Spain, and other parts. Avicenna only flourished in the eleventh century, and Averrhoes a hun- dred years after him ; Co that the honour of translating the Greek philofophy, by many attributed to thefe authors, is not jullly due to them : Though they were the chief propagators of it through the countries of Europe c .— [* 'Sale, Prelim. Difc. to Koran, §. 4. p. 14. f cq . * Ryffet, Contin. Vojf. de Se&. Philof. c. 3. §. 16. Thomas'. Introd. Phil. Ant. c. 1. §. 50. c Walcb, Hift. Logic. 1. 2. Sec. 2. §. 4.] Their method of philosophizing was faulty ; they followed
Ariftotle implicitly, and, in aflrology, run into ftrange fuper- Aritions. They founded fchools and academies, gave them- felves much to fubtilties and disputation, and divided into fe- veral fects. Hotting, Analect. Dif. 6. Gundlhig. loc. cit. As they chofe Ariftotle for their matter, they chiefly applied themfelvcs to that part of philofophy called Aoyixu, and thus became proficients in the knowledge of words, rather than things. Whence they have been fometimes denominated, Majhrs of the wifdom of words ; fometimes the Talking feci. Their philofophy was involved in quaint arbitrary terms and notions, and their demonflrations drawn from thence, as from certain principles, &c. Walch, loc. cit. Arabian Logic was that of Ariftotle, as explained by Avicenna and Averrhoes. Thofe commentators had taken immenfepainsto illustrate their author ; but the tatter being born in Spain, and both of them utterly unacquainted with the Greek tongue, they had nothing but a faulty mutilated translation to go by, which frequently mifreprefentcd the author's real fenfc, fo that 'tis no wonder they made no greater advances in the art. Rhodig. LetSt. Antiq. 1. 3. c. 2. Horn. Hift. Phil. 1. 5. c. 10. Gent%. Hift. Philof. P. 2. §. 2. Morbof. Polyhift. Philof. 1. 1. c. 1 0. Walch, ubi fupra.
Majus and Spanheim have treatifes exprefs on the Arabian philofophy of Job; Leo Africanus has given the lives of the Arabian philoibphers. Hottinger and D'Herbclot accounts of Arabian books, authors, o*c. Struv. Bibl. Philof. c. 3.
§• 4-
Arabico-Aristotelian, a title fome give to the philofo- phy of Ariftotle, as taught and explained by the Arabs. Rein- bard. Comp. Hift. Phil. c. 5. §. 2.
This philofophy commenced with the caliphate of Al-Mamon, in the ninth century. The chief ph'ilofophers of this fe£t are Avicenna, and Averrhoes.
Nicholas Antonio has given an Arabico-Spanijb library, or an account of writers born in Spain, who have written in Arabic. Bibl. Hifp. T. 2, p. 231.
Arabian Phyfic and Phyficians fucceeded the Grecian, and handed down the art to us, having made considerable improve- ments, chiefly in the pharmaceutical and chemical parts. Schelhammer obferves, that, bcfides a number of obfervations relating to the caufes and hiftory of difeafts, they greatly en- larged the lift of Simple medicines, adding much to the ad- vantage of the practice of phyfic. 'Tis certain we owe to them moft of our fpices and aromatics, as nutmegs, cloves, mace, and other matters of the produce of India. We may add, that moft of the gentler purgatives were unknown to the Greeks, and firft introduced by the Arabs, as manna, fena, rhubarb, tamarinds, caflia, &c. *Twas they likewife who brought fugar into ufe in phyfic, where, before, only honey was ufed. They alfo found the art of preparing waters and oils, of divers Simples, by distillation and fublimation. V. Schelham. Addit. ad Coming. Introd. Medic, c. 3, n. 21. p. 126.
The firft notice of the fmall pox, and the meafles, is likewife owing to them 3 . LaStly, the restoration of phyfic in Europe took its rife from their writings b . — [ a Bibl. Anc. Mod. T. 20. p. 400. feq. b Schelham. loc. cit.]
There are Latin verfions of moft of the writings of the Arab phyficians, but thofe generally miferably done, befides that moft of them are become fcarce. It has long been wilhed, that better verfions were made ; but this is now fcarce to be hoped for. Bibl. Anc. Mod. T. 20. p. 400. Schelham. loc. cit.
Abon OSIaiba, or, as Dr. Friend calls him, Abi OSbaia, has given a hiftory of the Arabian phyficians *. The like has been done by Ebnal Daiah. b M. Le Clerc. has given a (ketch, and Dr. Friend e , an ample hiftory of the Arabian phyfic. We have alfo a notitia of all the Arabian phyficians, by Fabricius d . — [ a D'Herbel. Bibl. Orient, p. 3r. See alfo Friend, Hift. Phyf. P. 2. p. 34. <• Id. ib. p. 43. c Hift. Phyf. P. 2. d Bibb Gnec. 1. 6. c. 9. §. 4. Junck. Confp, Phyfiol. tab. 1. §- 18. feq.]
Arabic Marble, Arabicum Marmot, a name given by the antient Greeks, to a fpecies of marble brought from Egypt and Arabia, and remarkable for its beautiful white- ned. See Marmor.
ARABIST, a pcrfon curious of, and fkilled in the learning and languages of the Arabians.
Erpenius and Golius were great Atab'tfls. The forme? is faid to have written the language in its utmoft purity and perfection, infomuch that his letters to the emperor of Morocco, were the admiration of that court. Baill. Jugem. de Scav. T. 2. P. 3. n. 742.
Severinus gives all the furgeons in the thirteenth century, the title Arabifs, Arabifia. Friend, Hift. Phyf.- T. 2. p. 301.
ARACARI, in zoology, the name of a Brafilian bird, of the woodpecker kind. It is of the fize of our common green woodpecker, and has a very large, Sharp, and fumewhat hooked beak. Its head and neck are covered with black fea- thers, which terminate in a rounded figure on the back. Its breaft and belly are of a pale yellow, variegated with a glow of feveral other colours ; and on the breaft there is a broad tranfverfe line, of a fine blood red j its back wings, and tail, are of a blackifh green : But at the origin of the tail there is a
