pher and translated Aristotle's Categories. Hubaish ibn Hassan, the nephew of Ishaq, translated other works. Abu Bishr Matta Ibn Yunus, (a Christian, A. D. 940) translated Aristotle's Ars Poetica. All of these and many other Christians, (mostly Nestorians) had found great favour in the eyes of the earlier Abbaside Caliphs.

Besides these translations we have numerous more or less original philosophical treatises written by Mohammedan Arabs, such as Ibn al Rabi, author of a treatise on Politics; Ibn Ishaq Al-Kindi, of Kufa, who is said to have written two hundred works on the most varied topics of philosophy; Ahmad al-Sarakhsi (A. D. 899); Al-Farabi (A. D. 950) who wrote about seventy volumes on logic, morals, politics, mathematics, alchemy, and music; and Ibn-Sina, better known as Avicenna, (980-1046) probably the greatest Arabian philosopher and theologian and a man of encyclopedic knowledge. Al-Muhashshir ibn Fatik (XI. century.); Ibn abi Randaqa, of Tortosa, (1059-1126), Avenpace of Saragossa, (A. D. 1138); Ibn Tufail, of Cadiz (A. D. 1185), and especially Ibn Rushd, known all over the West under the name of Averroes, of Cordova, (1126-1198) the greatest Arabian exponent of Aristotelic philosophy, and a man endowed with extraordinary talent and originality.

In the study of mathematics mention must be made of Al-Khawarizmi (from whose name our word "Logarithm" or "Algorithm is derived) who was born in 820 and died in 901 A. D., and whose works on Algebra and Arithmetic were early translated from Arabic into Latin and studied in Europe; also the following: Thabit ibn Qurra; his son, Sinan (A. D. 942), and his grandson, Ibrahim (A. D. 946); Abu Bakr, of Karkh; Ibn al-Haitham; and 'Umar al-Khayyam, the great Persian poet (A. D. 1121) now known all over the English speaking world through Fitzgerald's free rendering of his famous "Ruba'iyyat," who wrote many mathematical and astronomical works in Arabic.

In the field of astronomy and Astrology the following names deserve mention; Abu Yusuf Ya 'qub al-Qarshi; Ahmad al-Farghani, Abu-Ma'shar Ja'far ibn Muhammad, better known as Albumaser, probably the greatest Arabian astronomer; Muhammad ibn Jabir al-Battani, famous all over medieval Europe under the name of Albategnius, from whose name "Jabir" our word "Algebra" is derived; and many others.

The Arabs of the Abbaside dynasty produced numerous and very valuable works on Geography, the knowledge of which they acquired mainly through long and extensive travels and observations all over

Asia, Africa, and parts of Europe. These works are exceedingly valuable, practically the only records we possess of the customs, climate, political vicissitudes, history, and social conditions of medieval Western Asia, India, China, Tartary, Persia, Syria, Egypt, Africa, and Moslem Europe. Many of these works have been lately edited in Europe by the indefatigable Arabic scholar, Prof. De Goeje, of Leyden, and others. The best known of these Arabic geographers and travellers are Ibn Khurdadbeh (A. D. 856); Al-Ya 'qubi; Abu Bakr ibn al-Faqih; Ibn Rosteh; Abu Zaid al-Balhki; Al-Hamadani; Abu Abdallah al-Maqdisi; Al-Biruni; Al-Bakri; Al-Idrisi; Al-Mazini; Ibn Jubair; Yaqut, the author of the famous Goegraphical Dictionary, which is said to be without a parallel in any other language; Ibn Hauqal; Abul-Fida; Abdul-Latif al-Baghdadi; Al-Qazwini; Al-Abdari; Ibn Battuta, and many others.

At the beginning of the Abbaside dynasty the greatest masters in the science of medicine were the Christian Nestorians, who were then constantly employed at the courts of the Caliphs as their personal medical attendants. Later on, the Arabs themselves applied their full energies to the mastery of medicine, and with considerable success. Among the Christian Nestorians it is sufficient to mention the wellknown names of George Bokhtyisho and his son Gabriel; Abul Hassan ibn Rabban, (of Jewish extraction); Yahya ibn Masawaih; Ishaq ibn Sulaiman, (of Jewish descent); 'Isa Ibn 'Ali Abu Sahl; 'Isa Ibn Yahya; Abu-l Faraj ibn al Tayyib; and Hassan ibn Botlan. Among the Mohammedans, Abdallah ibn Tumirt, Rhazes or al-Razi (the first of whom is said to have written five hundred works on medicine, the second, eighty); Ibn Ridwan; Abu Sa'id ibn Bokhtyisho, of the famous family mentioned above, but a Moslem convert from the Christian faith; Yahya ibn Jazla, of Christian parents but also a Mohammedan convert; Abul Salt ‘umayya ibn Abdul-'Aziz; and finally, the famous Musa or Moses ibn Maimun, better known as Maimonides, the great Jewish philosopher of Cordova and author of the famous Guide of the Perplexed, written in Arabic. To these might be added several other scholars who wrote on Alchemy, Mineralogy, Botany, Zoology, Music, and other sciences, whose names for the lack of space must be omitted.

From the above meagre and very inadequate sketch of the history of Arabic learning during the Abbaside Dynasty, of five centuries' duration, the reader can easily perceive how, during these centuries when Europe was suffering from intellectual lethargy, the Arabs and the Moslem world at large were the great custodians and promoters of

science and learning and how to them we owe in large part the great intellectual revival of the thirteenth century of the Christian Era.

The third and last period of Arabic literature, which extends from the fall of Bagdad and the overthrow of the Abbaside Dynasty, by the Mongols, down to our own days, is a period of distinct decadence, although in it flourished some able and distinguished Arabic Savants and literateurs.

Among the poets we may mention Safi-ddin al-Hilli (1278-1351); Ibn Nubata (1278-1366); Ibn Hijja (1366-1434); Siraj al-din ibn Mas'ud, surnamed al-Majjan (A. D. 1301); Al-Saruji (1230-1294); Shams-al-din Al-Dahhan (A. D. 1321); Ibn Fadl-Allah Al-‘Umari (1301-1348); Ibn al Murahhal (1267-1316); Ibn Zailaq (A. D. 1262); Al Kaiwani (A. D. 1623); Abdul-Ghani al Nabulusi (1641-1731); Ibn Ma'tuq (1614-1676), etc. The productions of all these poets are characterized, with few exceptions, by decadence both of thought and expression,

In the study of Grammar, lexicography and Arabic philology in general, the following names represent some of the most conspicuous authors: Ibn Mukarram, of Egyptian extraction, (1232-1311), who is said to have written five hundred works and who is well known as the author of a very extensive and scholarly dictionary of the Arabic language in 20 vols. entitled Lisan-ul-'Arab or "the language of the Arabs;" Ibn Ajurrum (A. D. 1324), author of the "Aljurumiyya," a grammatical treatise, noted for its brevity and conciseness; Ibn Hisham (1308-1360); Majd-al-din Al-Firuzabadi (1329-1414), the well known author of the famous Arabic dictionary called Qamus or "Ocean" and a standard authority on Arabic lexicography; Gabriel Ibn Farhat, a Maronite bishop of Aleppo, (1660-1732), and author of an Arabic Diwan, grammar and dictionary; and many other writers, who flourished in Iraq or Mesopotamia, and especially in Syria, Egypt, and the Berber States, such as Al-Watwat (1235-1318); Al-Abshihi (1338-1446); Al-Nawajji (1383-1455); Abdul Quadir AlBaghdadi (A. D. 1682), the author of a very valuable work in four vols. entitled "Khizanat-al-Adab" or "Treasure of literature," etc., etc. Special mention must be made however of two scholars whose names and works are familiar to all Arabic students. The first is Jalal-al-d'n Al-Suyuti, an Arabic polygraph of marvellous erudition and learning and a distinguished grammarian, philologist, historian, Koranic exegete, theologian, and jurist. The other is Hajji Khalfa A. D. 1658), of Turkish descent, the author of a great and extremely

valuable encyclopedic and bibliographical dictionary of Arabic, Persian, and Turkish literatures, called Kashf-al-dunun or "The Clearing up of Doubt," first edited with a Latin translation, by Gustavus Flügel, in 8 large vols. in folio, under the title of Lexicon Bibliographicum, etc. Among the historians and writers of this third period may be mentioned Ibn-al-Tiqtaqa (XIII century), the author of a valuable history of the Moslem empire; Ahmad-al-Ghabrini, the Berber, (1246-1314); Abul Hassan ibn Abi Zar', of Grenada, who wrote a history of the kings of Maghrib; Ibn Taimiyya, of Harran in Mesopotamia, (1236-1328), a very prolific writer and historian and author of over fifty works; AbulBarakat al Nasafi (A. D. 1310), a traditionalist and theologian of great reputation; Rashid-al-din of Hamadan, of Jewish descent, (1247-1318), author of a famous history of the Mongols; Abul-Fida, the great historian and geographer (1273-1331); Abul-Abbas al-Nuwairi (12821332), a distinguished lawyer and historian; Shams al Din, of Damascus, (1254-1327) the author of a valuable Cosmography; Abu Hayyan, the Berber, (1256-1345), who wrote a number of books in Arabic, Turkish, Persian, and Ethiopic; Shams-al-din Al Dhahabi (1274-1348), the author of a useful history of Islam; Zain al-din Ibn al-Wadi (12901349); Ibn Shabir Al-Kutubi, or the "Bookseller," (A. D. 1363), of Alleppo, who wrote a Chronicle of the Caliphs and of the learned men of Islam and a supplement to Ibn Khallikan's Biographical Dictionary; Khalil Ibn Aibak-al-Safadi (A. D. 1363), who wrote a biographical dictionary in 26 volumes and many other books of the most varied character and contents; Ibn Kathir (1302-1372); Lisan al-Din AlKhatib (1313-1374), who wrote a history of the Mameluke Sultans of Egypt; Ibn al Furat, of Cairo, (1334-1405), a jurist and historian, who wrote a history of the Moslem Dynasties in 15 vols.; Sharaf-al-din ibn-al-Muqri, of Yemen in Arabia, (1354-1433); and especially Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406), one of the greatest philosopher-historians, sociologists, and men of letters of Islam. His History and especially the Prolegomena which he appended to it, is a masterpiece of a philosophy of History, written after the most approved critical method of modern history-writing. Other historians and writers of the period are Abul-Khair Ibn al-Jazari (1350-1429); the great Persian poet Jami (1414-1492), who wrote thirteen Arabic works on theological subjects; Ibn Duqmaq (1350-1406), the author of a history of Islam in 12 vols. and a history of Egypt; Shihab-al Din al Qalqashandi (A. D. 1418); Taqi-al-Din Al Fasi (1373-1429), the author of a topographical and historical description of Mecca; the famous Al-Maqrisi

(1356-1442), the author of a history of the Copts, a history of the Fatimite Caliphs, of the Mameluke Sultans of Egypt, of the fall of the Omayyads and the beginnings of the Abbaside Dynasty, and of an immense biographical dictionary in eighty Volumes; Ibn al-Arabshah (1389-1450), of Damascus, the author of a history of Tamerlane and of the Mongols, etc., etc. A most interesting literary production of this and the preceding period of Arabic literature is that strange and liveliest of all story-collections of ancient and modern times, the Thousand and One Nights or Arabian Nights, so familiar to all European and especially English readers, through many versions and translations.

The history of Arabic literature in the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth is that of a healthy revival full of promise and expectation. All over the Mohammadan world, but especially in Syria and Egypt, this revival has assumed gigantic proportions. In these two last mentioned countries Arabic erudition and learning is almost entirely in the hands of Christian Scholars, who have been busily engaged in founding new colleges and schools, printing houses, and libraries, in editing the old Arabic classics, and in establishing numerous daily, weekly, and monthly publications. The most illustrious Arabic literateurs of the XIXth and XXth centuries are Christians, and, to a great extent, clergymen belonging to the Maronite, Syriac, Chaldean, Armenian, and Greek Churches. Special mention however should be made of the indefatigable energy and zeal of the Jesuit Fathers of Beyrout, Syria, who have there a very flourishing university with library and printing offices whence are issued a semi-weekly newspaper, and a bi-monthly scientific and literary periodical called Al-Mashriq or "The Orient." Among the Mohammedans, the centre of Arabic learning is Cairo, where the famous Mosque and school of "Al-Azhar," probably the oldest among existing universities, was founded in the IXth century A. D., Even at the present day this school is frequented by over three thousand students from all over the Mohammedan world.

Also in India, Mesopotamia, and the Berber States, Arabic studies are contsantly developing and increasing. But the greatest impulse towards the revival of Arabic studies has come from Europe, where in all the most important Universities, special chairs for Arabic studies have been founded and fully equipped. There also we find several scientific periodicals entirely or partly devoted to the advancement of Arabic studies and researches. It is also through the untiring patience and deep scholarship of European savants that hundreds of the most valuable Arabic classics, including poetry, grammars, philology, history,